For those of you who wonder, the answer is yes... Murphy’s
Law does apply in Moz. Most days I think it applies to all aspects of life. The
number of head slaps, big sighs, and so on are to great to count each day. Between no power, no water, broken tools and miscommunication... Murphy is always just around the corner!
A few weeks ago, we were doing some work on our Kitchen. We
had to order a shipment of sand. It comes on the back of a truck and they dump
it in your yard. It’s actually kind of nice.
This is all around the time of the HUGE rain storm. It
severely damaged our road and kept us from being able to drive for a few days
till we could fill in some of what was washed away.
Well Saturday morning, I make my way from our house to the
other. I’m in the middle of a tiling project and it’s taking me forever to
finish. I see a strange man approach, I smile, say Hi, call for our staff and keep
walking.
Generally, speaking to men I don’t know goes one of 5 ways;
- In Portuguese he says, he says hello, I say hi. He says how are you, I say I’m good. Then he rambles off something that I don’t understand. I say I only speak a little Portuguese. He say Oh English (Ohhhh Englace). Yes English. He speaks more Portuguese. I smile and laugh and say Sorry I don’t understand, I speak very very little Portuguese. He speaks again. I say okay bye and nice as possible with a big smile on my face. He says bye. (This has happened more times than I can count. Once I had a kid come translate for me because I couldn’t get the guy to leave me alone. The man was asking me if I had a female friend his age (about 40) in America. He wanted me to bring this friend to marry him, so she could work on his farm. He was extremely animated and it was a funny conversation! Especially once I found out the context! Any takers????)
- Repeat #1 but in Macuwa... but harder laughing, but not at the man. But because I have no clue beyond. Hi, how are you. I’m fine. And the fact that I’m honored that they think I would understand. Maybe Rosetta Stone make a Macuwa version =)
- Men come at me with open hands, looking for money. The need is so great here that Nunu I generally only give money to people we know. One man signed to me that he was hungry with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Hum.
- They want me to buy something from them. Usually something I don’t need at a price I would never pay. One man was selling a gold chain? He was so convinced I needed it he came back twice... little does he know I prefer silver! (The second time he came back, he asked Calmo for me. Calmo knocked so soft on my door the only reason I heard is because I was right there. I asked him later if the reason he knocked so soft was so I wouldn’t answer the door... he said yes. Love when they feel protective of me!)
- They want my phone number... So they “can practice their English.” This one is the hardest as I understand them and they me and I have to be persistent. No. No it’s not good. No I’m married. No. No. I’m leaving in a few days. No. No. No.
Turns out he is here to deliver the sand but because the
road is bad and they can’t turn the corner, he wants to know where to put the
sand. I tell our staff, just have him dump it we can bring it all over in the
wheelbarrow. Not a big deal.
They want me to come and point to the spot on the ground
where it should be dumped. I go. I point. They say no, it’s not good in the
grass. I ask our staff to speak to the neighbors who have a big open spot and
ask can we put the sand in their yard. Yes they say it’s fine. It was really
easy. The sand gets dumped.
While some of our older kids don’t necessarily love the idea
of work... I’ve discovered that the younger ones who generally get overlook...
LOVE to work. They love shovels. They love using the wheelbarrow. We usually
don’t even have to ask them for help. Get one person started and the rest just
jump in. Sometimes they even argue over who gets to do the shoveling, or get
upset when someone isn’t shoveling enough.
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| Look at the smile on Mack's face! What a good attitude! |
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| Even with while carrying a heavy bucket Mack is still smiling! |
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| One of my favorite pics of the day. Such a handsome face! |
I go to grad the wheelbarrow. It’s broken.
The thing that holds the tire to the base broke last night. Ah! I find another broken wheelbarrow, who has no tire. I take the wheel from one and put it on the other.
And off we go! We find some buckets and eventually some heavy rice sacks and start shoveling. Little did we realize that the “new” wheelbarrow had more than just a broken tire. It was missing the stands that keep you from tipping sideways.
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| House Mom, Maria in here 60's and in a dress is hard at work! And our staff member Ernesto has mastered the unstable wheelbarrow. Gotta love TEAMWORK!!! |
So picture this kids filling a wheelbarrow full of sand. And then pushing with all of their might through a few soft sandy spots of road, turning a corner where the gound dips down and back up and then insisting to push the wheel barrow down the narrow path. Needless to say we dropped a few loads!
Once the older kids saw the challenge, they got interested. It became a contest. Who can get the sand from one pile to the other the fastest without tipping over the wheelbarrow?
These kids are working hard and I’m so thankful they have all stepped up. I decide to make them something to drink... like Tang. By the time I’m done. I think about 4 hours have passed and this is all I’ve done today. Sand, sand and more sand. No tiles. No wonder everything takes so long.
Anyways as always the delay is worth it. Every annoying thing, every time Murphy’s Law makes it’s appearance, every time I could feel defeat... there is usually something that melts my heart, touches my soul or just reminds me that this is exactly where God has called me.
Today it was watching one of my Itty Bitties, Eddie, walk around the corner with a small sack on his head. Sure there wasn’t much in it, but he was doing what he could and to me it meant a lot.
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| Cue melting heart. |
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| Abracos leading Eddie. |
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| I love seeing little Eddie there with his bag. And seeing Salena shoveling the dirt. Talk about a group effort! |
It reminds me of having faith like a child. As adults we are quick to question things, say we aren’t good enough there is nothing I can do. As children we pick up a small sack and join in and never feel a hint of embarrassment that our sack is small than the next guys.
Maybe that is why I love working with children. They are capable of the most uninhibited faith.
Funny as I write this, I’m listening to a mix on my iPod, title “Chillin.” It’s a bit of everything Christian and Non-Christian music. I just moved out to the Kitchen and so the sound is faint, but what song is on... Jars of Clay, Like a Child.
They say that I can move the mountains
And send them falling to the sea
They say that I can walk on water
If I would follow and believe
With faith like a child
Prayer Requests:
- Water. We have basically been without running water for 4 weeks. At first it was on our end, as a screw was stuck in our water pump. Then we had water for 2 days and then we have been out again.
- New employees. We are training some new employees right now. So far so good, but I just found out the guy who has the most experience has another job. He works on a boat 15 days of the month and then is off 15 days. Prayers that I will find peace knowing that the Lord has a plan, even if it isn’t mine =)
