Dear Laura...

Can you spot the differences between these two pictures?

Me neither. There really is nothing new under the sun.

In the last month...

I did the following:

Hung out at the local watering hole.

Enjoyed having my cousin and uncle here for four weeks.

Went to Malawi.

Observed a lot of health classes at the primary school.

Worked on the health manual.

Made a pancake that looked exactly like Jason Mraz. True story. I would have taken a picture, but a monkey stole the pancake. Also a true story (I think).

Started Girl's Club at the school.

Broke my previous speed record with my cousin on The General.

Crashed The General (it had to happen sometime).

Worked on the health manual.

Got malaria.

Worked on the health manual.

Almost ran over a piglet on The General.

Worked on the health manual.

Sadly neglected my blog.

(I'll do better this month?)

School days...

In February the health curriculum I am working on began to be used at the primary school. I am trying to get out to the school at least once a week to observe the classes. The first unit was called "Why Do We Get Sick?" This month the unit is about water.

The curriculum is so simple and handmade (literally) and there are a few kinks to work out, but it still brings a little tear of joy to mine eye to watch the health classes in motion.

These shots are from Tuesday of this week. Here are the Grade 1's and the Grade 2's. They are listening to the beginnings of a story about a little boy who learns about why river water is dirty (when he mysteriously shrinks down to a minute size and travels down the river on a leaf. I completely stole the idea from a Child to Child book. Why reinvent the wheel?).

I especially enjoy watching Paulo teach. He is so animated and does a great job of getting the students involved.

If you enlarge this picture you can see the kid on the leaf...learning his lesson. Oh, did he ever learn it.

And then, after the lesson on water, we just had to go outside and play water games with water balloons! Because (clean) water is fun!

End of an era...

Once there was a little blue Canadian passport that belonged to a little blond Canadian.

They met in 2006 and had many adventures together.

Then came 2009. The little blue passport was almost full and had discussed with the little blond Canadian the possibility of an early retirement. She agreed. She was going to Mozambique and was worried that the little blue passport wouldn’t be able to hand the trip.

So off they went to the city to start the paperwork.

“No!” said Passport Canada. “Your passport is too young.”

“But, but, but...” said the little blond Canadian.

“No!” said Passport Canada.

So the little blue Canadian passport and the little blond Canadian went to Mozambique. They had to get a gigantic sticker in order to enter the country. It took up a whole page.

Then they ran into some trouble.

Mozambique asked the little blond Canadian to leave the country after only two months, so she went to Zimbabwe and came back to Moz. This meant two more gigantic stickers in the little blue passport.

More time went past, and the little Canadian and her passport had to leave Moz again. So, they went to South Africa hoping to get the usual three month visitors permit which would give them time in South Africa to apply for a more long term visa to Moz. A long term visa for Moz would mean another giant sticker, but this one would be the last one.

But they ran into some trouble.

South Africa would only give them seven days instead of three months. How surprising. How awkward. There only option was to get another giant sticker in the passport and go back to Mozambique. By this time the little blue passport was full, but the little blond Canadian wasn’t worried. Her most recent sticker was for three months in Mozambique. Plenty of time to get a new passport.

But then...more trouble.

It turned out that the three month sticker had a sneaky special feature that required her to leave the country every thirty days. Where to go? What to do? The little blue passport was full!

Then the little blond Canadian thought, “What about Malawi?” Sure enough, Malawi didn’t use gigantic stickers, they only used little stamps. The Canadian looked through her passport and found a little unused corner on page 11. Perfect!

So the Canadian and her passport went to Malawi for the weekend, along with a cousin and an uncle who were visiting her. Malawi was a treat. Really. Just lovely. No, truly. You should go.

Then the little blond Canadian and her little blue passport came back to Moz, and the little passport jumped into an envelope along with numerous assorted other documents and went on its way to the nearest Canadian High Commission where it would finally retire and be replaced with a new, shiny, little blue Canadian passport.

Then, the new passport and the little blond Canadian will get to leave the country again in hopes of then getting a new giant sticker and coming back to Moz for longer than thirty days at a time.

The end.

Cats and dogs...

It has been raining here lately.

And by lately I mean, it's been raining here for weeks.

Our laundry takes days and days to dry.

There are toadstools popping up everywhere. Hundreds and hundreds.

My tent smells funny.

It is fabulous.

Rain.

Food.

Hope.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Laura (my cousin is here!) and I got caught in a deluge while out for a ride on The General. No complaints.

A letter

Hi, mom!

I am back from Malawi. Malawi? More on that later.

I thought you would want to know that I stopped in to check on Paulo the other day.

I told him that I had a present for him. From you. Because he was so brave.

And he thought, "A present? For me? What is this all about?"

Then he opened it up and shook my hand and said, "Thank you very much." (In Portuguese, of course).

See? He really likes it. I was a little jealous. It's a nice shirt.

More later.

Love you.

Little love...

Alyssa

2006-2010

You were so tiny when I started working as one of your caregivers.

I was always so nervous that I would do something wrong: forget a medication, not clean tubing well enough, fall asleep and miss some subtle change in your breathing.

Time passed and my nerves began to settle. You grew from tiny baby to little girl and I grew to love you. You were so sweet and dear to me.

I would sit there all night long and think and pray and pray. Why didn't God heal you? Why didn't He help me help you more? I wanted you to enjoy a night of sweet sleep, but sometimes nothing I did seemed to help you settle. There were a few tears sometimes, too. This is an imperfect world and my heart ached for what should be.

There were lots of other questions that ran through my mind in all the nights I watched over you. I thought about how people go on and on about what makes a meaningful life, about what it means to be a contributing member of society.

Does the ability to walk or talk define a life? The ability to go to school and get a job one day in the distant future? What consumerist garbage.

God used you to teach me that it is love that defines a life.

And you were (and are) very, very loved.

I was never sure how much you could understand this, but I know you understand it perfectly now and I am so glad for you.

You are missed, little love.