Projecto Sonjho

The Dream Project in Portuguese, Projecto Sonjho.

The kids that live in the house, I’m guessing on their ages. Many of them came to the house without a birth certificate, so we have to create them once they arrive. We currently have 11 living in the house, because social services has asked us to leave a bed open for them in case of emergency. We hope to have an addition built in the fall allowing us to house 2-4 more children.

Amido – abt 8

Carlos – abt 16

Helder  (silent ‘H’) – abt 7

Izack – abt 13

Joao – abt 16

Juma P (Pequeno, because he is the smallest and youngest of the 3) – abt 7

Juma G (Grande – big) – abt 11

Latino – abt 16

Nelson – abt 9

Njuale – abt 13

Pedro – abt 12

We also have some 4 Interns that live in the House. They are like the kids older brothers, making sure the kids are staying on task. It has been amazing to watch them interact with the kids, you can tell how much they look up to these guys. They all go to school during the day, except Nunu who takes night classes.

Sumate – Activities & Family Time/Bed Time

Nunu – Tutor & Administrative (Leadership Team)

Santos – Finances

Ernesto – Wake-Up & Morning worship

The workers are also like family to the kids. You will notice we have many cooks. Many people are in need of work and this way we are able to give them a little bit of money and feed them.  To give you an idea in Pemba, $100 a month is considered a decent wage for most people.

Maria – house mom (Leadership Team)

Daniel – Music (guitar and piano)

Genito – cook

Musa – cook

Antonio – Administrative (Leadership Team)

Zito – Crafts (mainly cards)

Mendes – Night guard

Momade – cook

Geneito - cook

We also have kids we work with in the community. Some of them you would think live in the house, because they are here so often, others come out for lunch during the week or on Saturdays to check in.

Helena (aka Bitta or some sort of nickname – she is Maria’s granddaughter ) – abt 5

Elsa

Chuale – abt 16

Antonio – abt 15

Osvaldo – abt 8

Mateus – abt 16

Anna – abt 8

Juma Mendes (his uncle is Mendes, not actually his last name)

Elicio

Aida

This house really does function like a family.  In fact, a lot of the kids and even some of the adults are related. One example is Izack and Njuale are twins living here and their older brothers are Musa and Genito who both help with the cooking. They have lost both of their parents, but because of The Dream Project they are able to see each other daily.

For Prayer Requests today, please pray for the kids/adults by name =)

It will make them happy to know people in the States are praying for them!

Amanda

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Retreat in Paradise

This weekend we went away from Saturday to Sunday. We went one town or so over to Murrebue It was supposed to only take us a half an hour to get there. Our directions were, ”once you get thought the town look for the white sign with blue writing, go left. At the triangle, go left.” Of course we got lost.  Lost in Africa is amazing though, well except for the roads. It just so beautiful out here. The roads make Detroit’s roads look amazing. We were out in the country and when there is a hard rain it really takes a toll on the road. The rule of thumb is drive where the road is the best. You’re supposed to be on the left, but if the best side of the road is on the right that is where you go. Granted there isn’t much traffic out in the country, but still it’s a new experience. One part of the road was so badly damaged from rain the locals had crammed bags full of trash in the space where the water had eroded the road.

I forgot to mention that we got 31 people and 1 dog with food, clothing etc into 2 vehicles. One vehicle is a mid-sized SUV and the other a truck with 5 seats and a roof over the bed of the truck.

The beach we stayed at was so amazingly beautiful, it was paradise. Crystal clear blue ocean and sand so soft it might be mixed with baby powder. We set up tents on the beach for sleeping and I introduced the kids to some Campus Life games. These kids are hilarious and unlike kids in the states, they show NO fear. I mean NO fear for themselves or others. We played Buck Buck, where you jump on each other backs trying to create a big pile of people without anyone falling off and they just threw themselves onto each other with no regard for heads or backs anything. It was so funny to watch them though. We also played a game where you pile things in the center and each person around the edge gets a number and when the number is called people have to run in and grab as much stuff as possible. Granted I probably didn’t set up a big enough game site but you would have thought this was tackle football. The last number I called every kid ran in and we had a huge pile up!

The kids played soccer or football as they call it till dinner… they have so much energy I don’t even know what to do with myself. After dinner we had a fire. The kids were so funny they went out hunting crabs in the dark, armed with bamboo. They would see one making a run for it and then wack it on the head and then bring them back for cooking. I went out with them with my flashlight and I don’t get how on earth they could find these little fast moving crabs in the dark. They dog must have been their secret weapon. They probably got about 20 or so and they would just bring them back and cook them. I ate some at it was much better than what I remember crab tasting like.

The boys began singing around the fire as well. I don’t even know how to describe their singing, but it was so amazing! Jesus was about the only word I could pick up on and they probably even sang some in their tribal language. These boys are just all so talented and full of life, it’s just amazing to watch them be themselves.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sleep on the beach in Africa… so while everyone else slept in a tent or on a tarp surrounded by all the tents, I slept on a blanket on the sand. I probably should have slept in the really soft sand closer to the water, but I didn’t want to get run over by any crabs =)

The sky was amazing and the stars were so bright, looking around you see no sign of life. No building, no electrical towers, no nothing… just God’s beautiful creation. I probably ruined the moment by reading on the Kindle app on my phone, but I can’t resist a good book and crashing waves.

Sunday morning Adriano and Michael had to run to town, because the kids who packed the food had forgotten the spaghetti for dinner the night before, which threw every meal off. While waiting for them to come back the kids played Uno, Jenga, swam and who knows what else. We all hung out in the shaded area and once the guys arrived back we ate, and had church.

After lunch we played capture the flag. They played on the beach and it appeared as though they all really like the game. I sat the one out and went swimming in the Ocean and took pictures. I still can’t get over how warm the water is here. It’s actually more refreshing to jump in and then get out that it is to stay in the water. 

The weekend was lots of fun, but it was nice to get home and sleep in my little bug protected bed =)

Prayer Request:

-          Continued prayer for health and learning Portuguese.

-          Julie and Adriano are leaving on Sunday for Brazil and then the US. Pray that they are able to accomplish what they need to before they depart and for their stress level.

Same Pictures as last time: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Amanda

Typing and English Lessons... who would have thought?!

I’m really starting to get to know the kids. I have a new buddy, Latino. He is amazing! He is 16 and in 8^th grade. I know that sounds weird, but here you start school when you can afford to pay for it. He goes to a special school that offers trades he is in the business trade (there is also mechanical and somthing else), he wants to be a doctor.. While most of the kids have a 15-20 minute walk to school, Latino has a 1 hour bike ride! Not only that but most days he rides home to eat lunch and then go back! Latino speaks decent English, I don’t always understand him, but he usually gets the point across.

He has asked me to help him learn more English and at first I wasn’t sure how I could help someone who already knows so much. I’ve decided to start writing out the lyrics to songs and then playing the songs for him, and then we talk about the lyrics. We actually sign the songs together too, and some of the other boys have joined in with us.

The next night Ernesto , one of the LIT’s (Leaders in Training) asked if I could show him some stuff on the computer. He only speaks a little English, so I think something got lost in translation. I was surprised that he couldn’t type, so what started out as a lesson about Excel and Word, turned into a lesson about where “Home Row” is. Eventually he and Latino just started typing things to each other and Latino would ask is this true? Meaning does his sentence make sense… those of you who know me are probably laughing at the thought of me teaching someone grammer!

This has cause some jealousy though. Pedro apparently thinks I’m his, or that I shouldn’t be letting other boys help me and what not. On top of that I don’t think Pedro really gets that I don’t speak Portuguese, either that or he is just convinced that if I hear enough of it I will just get it one day. He always talks to me and then gets mad that I don’t know what he is saying, or if someone says something mean to him that I don’t defend him. I’m not really sure what, but it’s hard for me to handle.

On Wednesday night while Ernesto and Latino were typing Pedro came in my room and said Mama Julie and motioned me to come with him. Figuiring she needed me for something, I went.  Turns out Pedro and I were in for ‘council’ he wouldn’t look at me and he kept his arms over his face. It stresses me out just typing about it, but as I said Pedro’s feeling were hurt and he wanted to bring Julie in to translate and fix things. We tried to explain to him that I need to be able to spend time with everyone and Latino translates for me and that I don’t speak Portuguese. After much coaxing from Julie he said sorry and gave me a hug.

The next morning something similar happened and eventually he said sorry and gave me a hug. Then again on Friday something happened. I’m not even sure what. I was doing with the other boys, but I think one of them said something about him. Because he kept going on to me but all I understood was ‘Juma.’ He got so bad I just had to ignore him, but I was the only adult and no one there spoke English. Pedro was in full temper tantrum mode though crying/yelling in his room. Temper tantrums from English speaking 5 year olds are bad enough, but from 12ish year old Portuguese boys I just don’t even know what to do! Learning patience in Portuguese is like learning a new language.  Eventually he settled down, but man was he wound up. About an hour later he gave me a hug and said sorry. I’m just not sure how to convey to a 12 year old who’s language I don’t speak that this isn’t okay.

                                                                                                                                                       

This has really consumed much of my week, but a lot of other stuff has happened too. Michael Goodnight (the other founder) arrived on Wednesday. It was nice to finally meet him. 

I washed clothes for the first time outside. I also did some laundry in the sink of my bathroom, it reminded me of being in Europe.

I was supposed to go with Julie and Antonio to Juma P’s house with Social Services on Thursday. They are going to show Antonio how they would like to have each child documented. A man showed up on Wednesday night saying a woman would be by the next day. She never showed. Apparently that’s the norm.

You might be wondering why Juma P is living with us if he has a home. Well he is 7 but because of malnutrition and HIV/AIDs he appears and acts like a 3 year old. He wasn’t taking any medication while he was living at home, nor was he getting enough food.  The house here is for orphaned and impoverished children. 

Prayer Request:

-          Continued prayer for health and learning Portuguese.

-          I’m not even sure what to pray about for Pedro, just that he would chill out. That the other kids and I would show him grace and forget the way he has acted this last week.

-          Patience and whatever else I need in all of the difficult and new situations I will be placed in this week.
I'm going to schedule some other blog postings for later in the week, but here are all the pics from Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63

Amanda

I'm in AFRICA!!

Bummer I blogged yesterday, but it didn’t upload. Sorry about that.

Well I made it to Pemba, Mozambique on Wednesday Feb 16^th after about 24 hours of flying. I was met at the airport by a bunch of the boys. They had each drawn me a picture, they were all very shy about saying hello. That night Julie cooked for me and while she was cooking the boys all poked their head in one at a time to quietly say hello. One boy popped in and said “Peter” and I thought “strange I don’t remember that name. I wonder if this is Pedro my helper.” Sure enough that’s who it was. He doesn’t speak a word of English but introduced himself as Peter!

Speaking of my helper he has come in very useful. My first night here I put a bug bomb off in my room. When I went back in there were a dozen or so cockroaches! I was just gonna sweep them out but I went to open the windows first and one fell so I jumped back. Pedro came in and started picking cockroaches up off the ground throwing them outside. He also recruited a few more helpers and they did a through job checking to make sure they got them all.

If you haven’t heard yet the boys waited for me to celebrate Christmas. I was so sleep deprived that it didn’t even click that my plan was to be here for Christmas. It was an amazing day though. We ate fried chicken, fried potatoes (like French fires), salad (cabbage and onions) and of course rice. Julie shared about Christmas and Sumate interpreted for me, because Portuguese is the national language. The children got a truck, a backpack, stickers, a fork and other small toys. The were so happy it was unbelievable! The boys also took a liking to my video camera and we had a party in my room that night, so I could record them all singing and dancing. First they did a Portuguese rap for me and then one of the boys wanted to dance to Michael Jackson! Good thing I didn’t know that we were only supposed to play Christian music, so Isaac’s MJ skills were a one night only show and I got it on tape…

On Sunday morning the power went out at 6am and didn't come back on till 11am on Monday. 29 hours without power, the hardest thing was that the kids kept saying let's make a movie or let's listen to music. Or at least they would get that point across and I couldn't figure out how to tell them that since the power was out I couldn't charge my electronics.

Okay well I think that is the basics of what I wrote yesterday, moving on to today….

Exhale. We just got to the internet café, but on our way we came across an accident. A man was laying in the road, who had just been hit by a motorcycle.  We pulled up behind the man and Julie (a Physician’s Assistant) jumped out of the car to see what she could do. In the time that it took her to get out the car and walk 5 feet to the man there was a swarm of people looking at him lying on the ground. Another truck pulled up in front of the man and before I knew it they were picking him up like a doll. The crowd was carrying him only by his arms and legs. It was crazy. I wasn’t scared just couldn’t believe what I just saw.

Julie just kept saying they needed to support his neck and depending on his injury they could have just killed him when they picked him up. We followed them to the hospital, and they didn’t treat him much differently. Not being careful of his neck while they picked him up.

We were dropping one of the older boys off to get a Malaria test. Adriano had to coach him through demanding that he get tested. Apparently health care is a big problem in Mozambique. Doctors often send people home with medication when they should be spending a night or two in a doctor’s care. In the case of Malaria they have had another guy go in to get tested and sent home with Tylenol.

Whew.

Where to go from there?

A few things that I forgot to mention yesterday. I have yet to get sick, well sorta. I threw up my first morning (Thursday) in Pemba. I took my Malaria meds on an empty stomach which I also did at home, but I think combined with the heat it did me in. I’m not really counting that though, so thank you for your prayers about my health =) The rest of the day I just sat in front of a fan, helping Julie sort and wrap Christmas presents.

I’ve had jet lag before, but never have I had such a temperature difference. It’s about 85 and humid. It’s so humid here, that there must be another name for it. I just feel like I’m constantly covered in yuck, I think it’s getting better but for the first few days it was hard.

Adriano and Julie take one day off a week. This week, on Friday, they went to Pemba Bush & Dive Camp ( I think that is what it’s called), and I joined them. Going to the beach here is strange too. The water is so warm. It’s the opposite of back home, you search for cold spots rather than warm spots. I was so hot laying the shade that I actually didn’t even want to get in the water, but once I got in it was great! It was also interesting bc the tide rose about 6 feet in the 4 hours that we were there.

Every Sunday the kids go to the beach, Wimbie Beach. It’s a secluded beach on the out skirts of town. They go to this beach so they can bring the dogs, because the Muslims don’t like dogs. They think their teeth have venom so they are afraid of getting bit.

I was unable to upload pictures, but click on the link below to find them:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020325&id=102500461&l=51b516af63 

Well that is probably enough for today, I’ll leave you with some prayer requests:

-          The man hit my the motorcycle. That the doctor’s would take adequate care of him.

-          My continued health.

-          My ability to learn Portuguese.

-          The children’s ability to learn English.

-          One of the children, Amido, was living on the street and at the garbage dump before come to house. He would sell things he found to survive. It has proved a hard habit to break. He sold 2 small cars that he got for Christmas and got 2 metical, about 7 cents. I ask that you would pray that he would come to understand that The Dream Project will provide for his needs and that we will continue to provide for him.

Thanks again for all of your support on this journey of mine.

God Bless,

Amanda

The highs and lows

What a busy two weeks it has been! On Sunday January 30, I finally booked my flight to Mozambique! I was very excited and slightly overwhelmed that I would only have to weeks to prepare for my trip.

That next morning I woke up and my dad said we needed to take Maddox (my 8 year old shar pei/ pit mix) to the vet, because she wasn't doing very well. She has been sick since Thanksgiving and that Monday she was worse than ever. The vet told us that she wouldn't make it though the day without a blood transfusion, and there was only a 50/50 chance that would get her through the day. She hadn't been herself since Thanksgiving and so we made the very tough decision to put her down and end her suffering.

How can you not love that face?!

Well here is the last letter I sent out, including all my flight info. I will do my best to update while I'm gone!

It’s official I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKETS!! For months I have been planning this trip and for one reason or another it kept getting moved back. Planning this trip has become such a daily thing that I was starting to feel like for the rest of my life I would be planning a trip to Mozambique, “In about a month.” Well now it’s less than two weeks away and I’m not sure what to do!

A few weeks ago I went and got four shots; Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Polio, and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella).  I also took the pill vaccine for Typhoid and got three more prescription’s for Malaria and two types of antibiotics. All I have left now is the second Hepatitis B shot. That’s more shots than I’ve had in the last ten years!

I spoke with Julie this morning and she said that one of the boys, Pedro, wants to be my assistant. I’m not really sure what this means especially because he doesn’t speak English! It makes me smile that the boys know I’m coming and that one of them wants to be my helper.

I’m so excited to go on this journey and thankful that you have chosen to come along side of me. Raising support is one of the most humbling experiences of my life and I truly have appreciated each and every dollar that you have generously given, each time you have prayed for me, and that you’ve walked beside me while I prepare to go. I really couldn’t have done this alone!

I will be doing my best to keep you all updated from Mozambique. The internet isn’t very good so I’m not sure if I will be able to upload pictures, much less video. I will be using my blog (www.amanda-nichols.blogspot.com), Facebook (search Dreaming of Mozambique – Amanda Nichols), or if you would like email updates let me know.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Amanda 

Travel Itinerary:

Monday, February 14, 2011

   Detroit (DTW) 10:02am – Washington (IAD) 11:32am

   Washington (IAD) 5:40pm – Dakar (DKR) 6:10am (+1 day)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

   Dakar (DKR) 7:10am – Johannesburg (JNB) 5:30pm

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

   Johannesburg (JNB) 8:40am – Pemba (POL) 1:10pm

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

   Pemba (POL) 1:50pm – Johannesburg (JNB) 6:30pm

   Johannesburg (JNB) 9:30pm – Dakar (DKR) 4:10am (+1 day)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

   Dakar (DKR) 5:10am – Washington (IAD) 10:20am

   Washington (IAD) 12:15pm – Detroit (DTW) 1:45pm

I'm back...

Not from Mozambique... I still haven't left, but I’m back.

My work with TDP is emotional, many a days I’m completely tapped and on the verge of tears. Grandpa Charlie’s death pushed me emotionally over the edge. The weeks following his death were hard and I avoided a lot of things, but mainly TDP. It’s not to say I didn’t work, it’s not to say I didn’t try, but the reality is I pushed anything that required thought off till another day. I did what I could, which wasn’t much.

We had a Memorial Service for Grandpa Charlie near the cottage in Sawyer, MI. Despite the insane lake effect snow, we had a good turn out and celebrated the life of Charles Berg.

I can’t explain it but that following Monday was the first day in a while that I felt like myself. I headed back to work trying to pick-up the pieces and push forward. I was excited to discover that two women had emailed me asking about volunteering at TDP and I was excited responding to them.

I’ve really been in need of a volunteer who has the time to come into the office on a weekly basis and has a basic knowledge of computers. I’ve had so much going on that I haven’t even known what specific things to pray for as far as volunteers go.  So all I’ve been praying is "send me help!" One of the ladies, Nicole, that wrote to us asking how she could help has agreed to come into the office two times a week. Not only that but she has a great heart and feels very passionate about what TDP is doing in Mozambique.

If you know ten things about me, odds are one of them is my love for Australia. It all started back in 6^th grade when I did my country report on Australia and started dreaming about traveling there. Some of you even know that I made a video to apply for The World’s Greatest Job in Australia in 2008 and today if you ride in my car with me you will notice that my GPS has an Australian dialect. What does all this have to do with anything, well Nicole is AUSTRALIAN!

Would I ever in a million years asked God to send me an Australian to help out in the office?! Uhm no. It just absolutely amazes me how good God is. I mean really I don’t even know how to put this in words. So if you don’t understand what I’m talking about… let me know and I’ll attempt to explain.

TRIP UPDATE:

Good news here too… I got my shots about 3 weeks ago. They cost me $509! I’m $400 short of my $3,000 goal! I’m hoping to purchase my ticket in the next 2 weeks, but I’m waiting for a few more checks to come in first. My goal is to be on a plane no later than February 20^th and it looks like my flights are going to cost around $1,800, but I continue to try different combinations looking for a better deal.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

PRAISE – Nicole my new office helper!

Vision/Planning – How to lead move TDP forward financially and with policies and procedures.

Financial Support – I have a few more follow up calls to make so pray that people feel led to support me and that they do so in a timely manor =)

The Silver Lining

I'm not exactly sure where the time has gone. I didn't know that time flies when your overwhelmed, but you can quote me on that. It feels like every week is filled with a new fire to put out. My lack of blogging is because when I was done working the last thing I wanted to do was blog about work. So I didn't blog.

I'm still very overwhelmed and not really ready to write much about my day to day at TDP but at the same time I want to keep people updated.

I still don't have definite plans for Mozambique, but looking at the last week of January or the first week of February. The Lord is defiantly trying my patience in more ways than I knew possible. I've been at peace about not going to Mozambique for Christmas, I understand that things will happen in His perfect timing. Last week was a reminder of that.

For those of you that haven't heard Grandpa Charlie died on Thursday. As hard as his passing has been it's REALLY allowed me to see just how caring and merciful our God is. Just think had I made it to Mozambique as i had planned I would have left around December 12th. I will be forever grateful that I was around to spend time with family these last few days. It's amazing that even in such difficult times the Lord has blessed me with a silver lining.

I was also able to be with my Architecture girls from Judson. We've had a yearly Christmas dinner for the last four years. A few weeks back I realized that I wouldn't be able to make it. It was a hard decision but I couldn't justify the cost. Well we usually exchange gifts that night as well but this year we decided not to because money is tight. Well little did I know that rather than gifts they all conspired giving me money to go toward my trip to Mozambique... I was literally speechless.

Grandpa Charlie was an amazing man. I truly feel blessed that I got to share life with him. I'll never forget the road trip we took this summer from Chicago to Detroit and the sight of him working his way in and out of my little car without air conditioning. I went to put on music and asked him what he liked, of course he answered "the Gathers." Well I don't have any of them on my ipod so I asked "what did you listen to before them" and he answered "The Gathers" =) Don't get me wrong at times he was a grumpy little old man but for the most part he cared so much for others and put them before himself. The whole week he was in the hospital leading up to his death he kept asking how Maddox was doing (cause she was sick) and how my fundraising was going. The night before he passed, he asked Millie to bring his checkbook in and he wrote me another support check. To the very end Grandpa Charlie was an amazing man whom I loved dearly.