Kill the BEAST!

“Do you have a flashlight?” Many nights that is the question. The answer is always yes, but my response is “What do you want it for?” Some of the kids ask me so often, I think they are just playing out in the yard, so now I ask and lend the flashlight when it seems necessary.

Tonight’s response was one I’ve never gotten before… “There is a snake in our room, we can’t find it.” This is cause for borrowing a flashlight.

Nunu heads out of our room (we are staying in the main Missionary house and short-term friends are in our normal room) to find out what’s going on. He doesn’t make it very far before we realize it’s in the room next door to ours.

I make it to the door as a dresser is pulled out the door. A few kids are going inch by inch through their room looking for a snake. Yowers! Mattresses, clothes, and dressers… everything gets pulled out and someone carefully opens each drawer and pulls everything out.

Like many things in Moz, a crowd is drawn. It’s pretty entertaining, but I’m also worried. But no I’m not helping. This is Nunu’s department! I stand in our doorway and I let Nunu go see what is happening. I’ve never seen a snake in Moz and I’ve been okay with that.

The search goes on and on and I’m thinking, “How hard is it to find a snake?!” I venture out and sit on the porch across the way so I have a better view. I take pictures of some of the kids… there is so much excitement in the air, you would think we were hosting a block party.

Could Juma be having any more fun?!

Yep... that's my husband looking for the snake!

Pedro asks me for matches. Once again… I’m like why? To make a torch to smoke the snake out. That sounds like a good idea… but I don’t know I’ve never tried finding a snake!

Njuale and another child are in the room and the door is completely crowded with kids. THEN just like that it happens. The children explode from the door like a firework. They all run in different directions. It didn’t take much to know they found the snake.

One second...

and the next... I love Juma's (in red) face!

I still avoid, Nunu jumps in to capture pictures. The kids gather back around the door and I see them wacking it with some bamboo posts.

Nunu shows me this picture…

What? THAT is the snake? THAT snake caused all of this? That looks like the largest worm I’ve ever seen!

The children gather around Njuale who has the stunned snake hanging on a long stick. I go to check it out and before I know it I’m in a scene from Beauty and the Beast. You know toward the end of the movie when they rile up all the towns people to go “Kill the Beast!” Yep that is what it’s like.

Kids are carrying bamboo and sticks like weapons. Pedro still has his torch. “Kill the beast! AH Kill the beast!” The words play over in my head. In a big group all 20 of them march over to our burn pile, so they can burn the snake.

I found out later that they burn them because they think other snakes will come if they smell a snake.

It’s so funny because I don’t exactly like snakes, but I look back at my first Mozambican snake experience with a smile. I love who these kids are. I loved watching them meticulously take apart their room. I love how determined they were. I love that the hunt to find a snake had the same joy as a block party. I love that some of the kids expressions are permanently etched in my mind from that night.

I love that I love something that is so unexpected.