music from the heart

During my time in Beira I was told that Beira is the heart of Mozambique, it's right in the middle, the major city for all of central Mozambique. The culture, languages, landscapes and architecture are all very different. Living in Maputo I've grown to love this city and the culture I live amongst day in and day out. It was interesting to observe and learn from a different culture within the same national bounds. People jokingly told me that I was from the feet of the country, and needed to instead venture to the heart.  Allow me to share with you some music from the heart of this beautiful country! 





I was able to go to an ACAC (Associação Cristão de Artistas Criativos) meeting. These guys are able to be part of a community that helps them have the ability to write their own music in their native languages (which are different than what is spoken in Maputo). This is so important! Lately ACAC has also been able to get their hands on a small recording studio so the music can be preserved and spread to others. Opportunities like this are easy to find and obtain in America, but here it is very difficult and usually expensive. So this opportunity is wonderful and encouraging for these guys. I find something special about being with people as they are able to worship in their first language. Words cannot explain it. I thought I'd share some of what I was able to experience with you and let you see their talent for yourself. Be encouraged as they are singing for the Glory of our Great God!

day at the clinic

When I was in Beira I was able to go with Brian Meyers (a fellow WorldVenture missionary) to the hospital. He teaches medical students most mornings then spends time in the afternoons at the clinic. When we first arrived he showed me around the hospital. We then made our way to the classroom that he was going to lecture in for the morning. It was as I expected. A modest room with desk and a white board. It even had an air conditioner! We hooked up Brian's computer and projector and students started to come in. It was interesting how much I was able to understand, since in the world of medicine most portuguese words are very similar in English. 

After the lecture we walked a ways to go to the clinic. Once we arrived Brian introduced me to several of the people that work there. Something that I wasn't expecting was for the clinic to be so nice. I was informed that it is because Americans fund and run this particular clinic. Local Mozambicans are able to come to this place for medical attention at a very cheap price of 1 met, which is less than 5 cents. 

We saw several different patients throughout the time. Most were women with their sick babies. Some people had strange symptoms and had to take a malaria test. Most of the children had some sort of anemia. I was grateful that I didn't have to witness any graphic procedures or situations. I was even able to take the vitals and check blood pressure. I am grateful that a place like this is available in a place where health is sometimes hard to come by and sicknesses are even harder to treat. 

Living here has made me more aware of the effects of diseases and lack of treatment. AIDS is a simple fact of life for most people, if not directly then through a close relationship. It's a different reality than in America. This hospital is the central hospital and serves all the people in central Mozambique. There are only two other hospitals of this type in the whole country, which is four times the size of California! Patients who make it to the central hospital almost always have a serious problem and have most likely already been referred from the local, to the regional, and finally to Beira. Chances are they will have to go through some intense treatment or may not live much longer. It is a rough life, something I have a hard time imagining even though I see it before my eyes.

Getting ready for a professional day in the white coat at the central hospital.

Patients waiting to be seen at the clinic.

travel time

I was lucky enough to travel during our ten day spring break. We started out leaving early on the first for our WorldVenture Mozambique team retreat. The drive was about 12 hours and consisted of roads that wouldn't be considered actual roads in many parts of the world.

We had a couple of days of meetings, including a good time of worship and sharing our hearts and how God brought us each individually to living, loving and serving here in Mozambique. This did so much for my heart and was a HUGE encouragement to me. Easter we were able to have a service together, in English, and spent the day at the beach. We attempted to build a large sand castle but the high tide was coming in faster than we had expected.

After the retreat I went with the Meyers, north to central Mozambique to the city of Beira where they live. Brian does teaches at a medical students at a hospital and works at a clinic. His wife, Megan, works with an organization that started about three years ago called Christian Association of Creative Artists. They meet to help Mozambicans write and produce their own worship music that is Mozambican instead of translated western music. I stayed with them for about five days and was able to check out what they do. It was a great opportunity to see the lives of other missionaries in this country. And Beira is right on the ocean, which was an extra treat!

Un-American History

Here's my high school US history class of juniors and seniors. You can see all their bright and beautiful faces (except for one that was ducking to hide from the camera). But they are often the joy of my day and keep me on my toes. It adds an interesting twist teaching American history to a classroom of kids who (all except two) aren't American and haven't ever really lived in America. It is a challenge for sure!

There are eight nationalities just among these kids: Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, India, Brazil, United States and South Africa. One thing I'm grateful for is the difference in perspective. How do things like WWI relate to us living in Mozambique? How did the slave trade impact people living in Africa instead of only how it impacted people living in North America? What can we learn from the Reconstruction Era as we are living in a country that is in the process of recovering and rebuilding from a Civil War that just ended a short 14 years ago? How about capitalism and how America has been built on that, amidst living in a Socialist country recovering from communism?

Often it is hard to find relative connections to what we are studying and the world that we live in here. But we still find ways to bring things back to our everyday lives, even if we do tend to stretch it a little bit. I'm thankful for the opportunity I've had to not only teach these kids, but also build relationships with them, that most days include a lot of laughing.

In August, when I first walked into CAM, the week before school started, I was caught off-guard when I was eagerly asked to teach high school US history. I am not certified to teach history or high school. And I haven't even taken a history class since my first semester of college. But God's grace is sufficient and I actually ended up being the most qualified person for the job, simply by the fact that I am American and most recently studied history. Who would've thought. So I trusted the Lord for His wisdom and strength in an area I didn't feel so competent in and it has turned out to be a huge blessing. I'm so grateful to not only have relationships with each of these students, but also the ability to be able to teach them, laugh with them and see them learn new things. Teaching isn't always about the curriculum or the concepts being presented, but more often than not about the overall impact that can be passed down and values that can be shared.

Yesu wa Kanaka!

A couple weeks ago I was able to go with a new friend, Sarah, to see where her family works and lives. They are Brazilian and lived here for 12 years. Her parents run an orphanage that is a branch of Iris Ministries, in an area called Machava. This is the same Iris Ministries, but a different branch, that I was able to visit back in September. But instead this one is located on the opposite side of Maputo from where I live.

The compound consists of a couple missionary houses, guest housing, four dorm buildings (which all together house about 70 children), a church, several school buildings, a cafeteria and a playground. It was much larger than one would expect and was very nice. They even have a pet monkey that lives in their back yard. While I was there a team of Indian people were visiting from South Africa. On Friday night we walked for about thirty minutes deep into the bush to a gathering that her family was helping lead. It was an outreach to the people that live in the area. We sang, danced and watched a film on a projector and screen. I must say it was very strange to be in the middle of nowhere and have access to modern technology!

On Saturday we woke up early to go to the city and wait in line to get on a ferry to an island across the bay called Catembe. On the ferry we brought the guitars out and started singing songs together. We even got other people involved and dancing. It was fun! When we made it to the island we drove back into what seemed like the middle of nowhere once again. Once we got to the community building, where local meetings are held, we started rallying the kids together saying, “Yesu wa kanaka! Yesu wa kanaka!” Which is shangaan for “Jesus is good! Jesus is good!” The kids started running toward us with huge smiles on their faces!

Once we had all the kids together we started by singing songs. This was probably one of my favorite things. We sang some in Portuguese, but mostly in Shangaan. Then the team from South Africa went to the front and started teaching them some songs in English and their Indian language. The kids even started teaching me a couple of their dances, which was fun. Later someone shared a story with the kids. And it ended with a couple more songs, then giving each of the kids a little snack cake as they left the building.

It was a huge encouragement to see other ministries that exist and are thriving in and around Maputo. Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in what we do day to day that we forget there are other things going on. I’m glad these kids are being taken care of and have the opportunity to hear truth and live in a place where they know they are loved.

Another thing I was reminded of, and am constantly being reminded of, is the hugeness of the this Earth and how many countries, languages and people there are. It is normal for me to hear a variety of languages being spoken, and it has become normal to not understand most of them. People have been created by an all-knowing and creative God. And with people come cultures. They all have their outstanding qualities as well as their flaws. They are each beautiful for different reasons, once you get past the initial shock value of everything changing. I'm so grateful for cultures, for differences, and the ability to unite with people who I am so different than. 

eu vivo em bagamoyo

The area that I live in is called Bagamoyo. If someone asked where I live I would say, "Eu vivo em bagamoyo." I wanted to take an opportunity to share a couple pictures of my neighbors in Bagamoyo. The people that I live around day in and day out. The people I am able to visit with in the evenings or weekends and just talk. I am so grateful for each of them for different reasons.

This is Castelo and his family. We have become good friends over the past several months since he wants to learn more English, and is going to school to become a teacher. He is already very good at speaking English and sometimes talks a little too much. He often has questions about sayings and pronunciation differences between American English and South African or British English. One day he schooled me in Scrabble and we were playing in English. I must say that was a little embarrassing! I've also been grateful to be able to practice Portuguese with him and his mom, Laura. They have even spent some time teaching me shangaan! He attends church with us and the comes to the prayer meeting that usually meets at my house as well. I'm grateful for the ability to learn more language with all of them, to visit and laugh with them.

This family lives on the other side of me. Mary, Felix, Angel and Angelo. They moved to Mozambique from Swaziland and are fluent in at least four or five languages, maybe even more. Mary is a librarian at CAM, so we work together, and Felix works for MozOvos. So our lives are very intertwined. Though they are African, they are not Mozambican. They learn new things about culture here every day as well. I'm so grateful for them as I've been able to spend many evenings visiting and just talking about life here. I've even been able to practice Portuguese with them and could still ask several questions, since they speak English as well.

Living somewhere away from family, friends, and everything familiar can be a little difficult after a while. Those days or nights where I can become so homesick I am reminded of God's provision in relationships. He knows what His kids need. He has provided these people in my life during my time here and I have been so greatly blessed by them.

eggs have feelings too....

 

I got my eggs this weekend from MozOvos, along with a few insightful thoughts of what these eggs might be feeling, thanks to the creativeness of one of the American interns.....