The Lasts...

The other night I was in my tent taking pictures of my nightstand.

I really like them.

I like the peeling label on my alarm clock, evidence of my initial strategy to learn Portuguese.

I like the candlelight.

I like the way that necklace looks sitting on top of a beautifully carved box I bought in Malawi.

I kept going back to look at these pictures and had been wondering what it is about them that appeals to me so much when another blogger, a young woman who lives in Sudan, gave me my answer.

She wrote:

"Sometimes, I feel like I should write about the things that are different or interesting or noteworthy about life in Sudan. But, just as noteworthy are the little things that seem simple and mundane. I often overlook the abundance of my life."

I like these photos because they remind me of the little things, the myriad of small things, that have made my life so rich these last 10 months.

I remember one day back in March. I was riding The General out to the school and thinking about life and, due to different things, feeling deeply discouraged.

I must have arrived at the school just as the kids were getting out for recess because a good chunk of the grade 1 and 2 students poured out of their classrooms as I pulled into the yard. They crowed around me and my bike so closely I couldn't get off, saying hello, shouting my name, reaching out to shake hands.

When I finally managed to get off my bike I was escorted to the classroom with one set of little hands holding on to each of my fingers, my arms. One little set of arms was wrapped around my waist. Several little boys offered me their treats of roasted corn on the cobs. Other little boys took turns wearing my helmet and running about the schoolyard making motorcycle sounds.

I sat at the back of the class with tears welling up in my eyes because God was speaking to me. He was telling me that I was measuring my life by what what it didn't have, instead of by what it did have. The truth was that my life was full up of good things.

And my life is rich. I am blessed every day by so many things, big and small.

I am entering my last week in Mozambique, which also means that this is my week of lasts.

Last time I build a fire to warm my bath water.

Last time I make supper in the camp kitchen while I watch the sun sinking down over the trees.

Last visit to the school.

Last trip to town

Last ride on The General (no!).

Last devotions with the staff.

Last time to buy a Coke at Fadzai's shop.

My last chance to appreciate all the small things that God has used these last 10 months to show me grace and comfort.

It makes my heart heavy to know that the time has come again to say goodbye. I have been here for a relatively short time, but it has been so (ahem) eventful and full that it feels like much longer and it will be difficult to let it go.

The General...

It is no secret that I quite appreciate The General, my little motorbike. I've never felt, however, that The General has returned my affections. Actually, on many occasions it has almost seemed like he wanted to do me harm. This has been rather puzzling.

The General and I went out to the school today. It's about 40km round trip. When my cousin was here she would come with me and we would chat. Now that it is just me, well, I talk to myself a bit. Or sing. 40km of total silence? No thanks.

The scenery on the road to the school is quite pretty. The road itself, however, is another matter.

When the nursing students were here one of their leaders was taking a turn driving out to the school in our big van. I was sitting in the passenger street giving her tips on how to navigate the road. As we we nearing the school she said, "I feel like I'm getting to the end of the level!"

Well said. It IS kind of like a video game. I tend to think of it in segments, each segment ending with one of the obstacles. It goes a little like this:

Sand trap. First sketchy bridge. Rocky incline. Hell's Corner. Sand trap. Second sketchy bridge. Deep ruts full of rocks. Sand trap. Final stretch to the school.

Here is where the road kind of turns into a "W" sort of shape and the ruts are full of sharp rocks. The General once drove itself right into one of these ruts and remained there for some time. It was a bumpy, slightly terrifying ride.

Here's sketchy bridge #2. Let's take a closer look.

Here is The General at the bottom of the Rocky Incline. It is his least favorite part. Coincidentally, it was also my cousin's least favorite part.

Anyways, I have been wondering if maybe after all The General doesn't hate me. Maybe his bad behavior is rather a cry for help. After all, the road to the school is less than ideal for a little bike like him. Maybe all those times he tried to scrape me off on a tree or wanted to fall over in one of the sand traps, he was only trying to get my attention in order to beg for mercy. He didn't want to scratch his shiny purple paint job or dent his Chinese Throwing Star wheels. Completely understandable.

I guess I have put him through an awful lot.

General, I forgive you for being so ill-tempered and breaking down so often.

Group shot.

Introductions...

As I enter my twilight days here in Mozambique I am trying to make sure that I don't leave things undone. One thing that I have not done (how is it possible?) is to introduce you to some of the people I have been with for the last ten months.



Here is the whole kit and caboodle. Sorry it's so tiny, but I'm sure you can get the gist of it. As you can see, the farm employs quite a large staff. The number fluctuates somewhat throughout the year as some staff are permanent and some on contract. In this groups we have health workers, administrative staff, carpenters, gardeners, shepherds, drivers, teachers, staff for the orphan program, staff for the women's program, bricklayers and general laborers as well as some women who are part of our "work for milk" program.

Here are my fellow expats.

Me: Hi!

Andy: just coming on board. He is a pilot and will also be involved in the agricultural aspect of the work. He is from Switzerland and makes very delicious and artistic bread.

Dwight: Also known as Mr. Boss. He is our most excellent team leader and the head of SAM Ministries here in Mozambique. He is also a pilot. He is involved in pretty much everything that goes on around here, though I would say that our pastoral leadership and training program is quite dear to his heart. Dwight it just generally great.

Lynn: Mrs. Boss. Married to Dwight. She is a nurse and runs the health aspect of the work here which includes two, soon to be three, health posts. She is also involved in running our child sponsorship program AND she is also continuing her education by correspondence AND she takes good care of Dwight. Pretty impressive.

Ron: Ron is an American but has lived for years in South Africa heading up the ministry of Mercy Air. Now Mercy Air is establishing a base here on the ASAM farm so Ron and his wife Barb are here to oversee that. Ron and Barb have been a big encouragement to Dwight and Lynn for a long time and it is great to have had them living here on the farm.

Barb: Also American. Married to Ron. Barb is one of the sweetest ladies you will every meet and has a huge, compassionate heart for people (as does her husband!). Right now Ron and Barb are in the States raising support.

Francois: Francois is a South African and has been working here in Mozambique for a number of years. He has a passion for evangelism. He is also in charge of our schools and does a lot of work with finances here on the farm. He is very funny and an excellent speaker!

Alta: Also South African, and married to Francois. Alta runs our women's ministry which has well over 1000 women enrolled through several provinces in Mozambique and up into Malawi as well. The women learn to read and write as well as learning income generating skills like embroidery. Alta is also in charge of our very delicious lychee orchard. Alta and I share a deep love for coffee and have shared many a cup along with chit chat and yummy baking.

Chris and Corissa: They were here for a month as volunteers. We are very blessed to have a lot of people, like Chris and Corissa, come out to visit us and give us a hand for short amounts of time. It is so encouraging!

Tendai: Short, cute. Likes to punch people in the face. 20 months old. Did I mention that she is cute?

Rick: Is a fellow Canadian. He oversees the youth and children's ministry here which includes regular programs for the orphans and other students as well as travelling up north to train pastors and other leaders on how to care for children. He is also very handy and is involved in many of the day to day projects that take place on the farm. He loves to hunt and do all things outdoorsy, and it currently teaching his daughter Tendai to hunt elk in anticipation of their upcoming furlough. Rick also makes very delicious fruit smoothies.

Heather: Is married to Rick and is Tendai's mom! She is in charge of the orphan program here. She and Rick run a program for our orphan kids every other week and she makes sure that food and other supplies are delivered to the families on a regular basis. Heather learned to cook when she moved to Mozambique and now she is basically a gourmet. She is also learning Portuguese very well. Heather and Rick are my neighbors on the farm and let me come and hang out at their house quite often (thankyouthankyouthankyou).

Mushu: Mushu belongs to Dwight and Lynn. He was born on January 1, 2000 and Lynn likes to joke that he got the Y2K bug. She is probably right. We still like him, though. Mushu cannot sleep without his blanky. He has serious issues, I'm afraid

The new kid...

Notes...

I've never been very good at keeping a diary in the one sense. I have kept a journal on and off throughout my life, but it usually takes YEARS for me to fill one. The entries are very sporadic and have little to do with keeping any sort of record of events. I usually write about things that I am thinking about, or something I learned, or about something I hope will happen. In the midst of all the extended passages about what I'm thinking or feeling there will be a little statement that says something like, "Oh, by the way, I graduated from college last month" or, "Oh, by the way, I spent the summer in Peru." See what I mean? For historical purposes, it's rather useless.

I'm afraid that my blog has gone much the same way, which is unfortunate for those of you who read this hoping to hear about what is actually happening here at the farm.

Allow me to try and do better.

1. I only have a few weeks left here in Mozambique. I haven't mentioned this because I wanted to surprise a few people when I went back to Canada. As it turns out though, it is one thing to surprise people when you are popping home for a visit and quite another to try and surprise people when you are coming home. I can just picture myself bursting into my home church a few weeks from now and saying hello to the wonderful people who support me financially who perhaps might be a bit confused as to why I'm not in Africa. So, the cat is out of the bag!

2. The health manual is done and printed and the health course makes its debut into the curriculum of our seminary tomorrow. We also wrote a (much shorter) book (a booklet, really) about how and why churches can promote health in their community. This booklet is the health manual's travelling companion. Who knows where all they will go?

3. On Friday the shepherds started a brush fire to clear some ground for our sheep to graze. Unfortunately, said brush fire reignited itself several times throughout the course of the evening. Mr. Boss beat it out.

4. Speaking of the sheep, they seem to have developed a distaste for their pasture and have taken to grazing around our homes and the office. Several times I have come out of the office only to find that I am surrounded by sheep frantically nibbling on the lawn.

5. Also on Friday, a helicopter landed on the farm. It was friends of Francois and Alta, just stopping in for coffee. This happens every now and then, but it's still exciting.

If you really want to read about what happens around here please allow me to direct you to Lynn's blog (you may know her as "Mrs. Boss"). She does a great job of recording all the happenings around here and she takes a lot of lovely pictures.

Okay, there we go. The regularly scheduled random postings will recommence shortly.

I have good friends...

...I have evidence.

Currently in process...

...one pod of hippos.

(Heather, I changed it just for you. Did you know you can also call a group of hippos a herd, dale or bloat? Anyways, totally besides the point...)