Back in the U.S.A.

Nate.

Mike, Ann, Mia and Nate.

Yohani and his cousin Anthony watching the game.

Yohani playing baseball with his Uncle Mike.

Running barefoot in the grass for the first time in his life.

Love this time with family.

Being carried away by his cousin Mia.

Yohani giving me flowers on Mother's Day (with my dad in the background). 

With my sister and mom and our kids, Mia, Yohani, and Nate (Anthony was sleeping) on Mother's Day.

Yohani eating an American Cheerio.

Victor is finally here from Mozambique and if anyone is wondering why I look like this it's because we are expecting twins in July!
Thank you so so much everyone who has been praying for us during the last eight months and please forgive me for failing to update the blog for so long!

Pictures from the YWAM Conference in Zimbabwe

Getting Sick Enough To Stay 2 Nights In The Hospital

About two weeks ago I suddenly got really, really sick in the middle of the night.  The whole next day I lost so many fluids (in every way that you can lose them) that I even passed out and Victor had to carry me to the car and then into the hospital.  I think that Victor and the kids were scared because it was pretty extreme.  As soon as I got into the hospital they gave me some injections and an IV and I became alert again.  After some tests the doctor said that I had Typhoid Salmonella.  (I later discovered that you actually can not diagnose this in a few hours but I think the doctor had seen it enough to declare it after looking at a patient and the other test results).  You get Typhoid Salmonella from eating or drinking something contaminated, which is really unbelievable because I am the most cautious person I know here in Mozambique and I think most people think I'm a little crazy with how far I go to make sure food and drinks are okay before eating/drinking them.  I spent the next two days in the hospital and then was okay enough to leave and finish recovering at home.

While I was in the hospital I was pretty overwhelmed by the (lack of) safety and sanitary conditions.  For example - the entire clinic has only one bathroom - a bathroom with no toilet paper and a toilet that didn't flush.  The hospital is treating people who have all kinds of different diseases - a large majority of which only still exist here because of these exact poor sanitary conditions!!!  There were also problems with nurses administering IV drugs at the correct intervals and preparing syringes (where sterility is crucial) in a way where the syringe was touching dirty mosquito nets right before being injected.  I am really really really thankful that I survived the clinic.

I am also really really thankful for my wonderful African doctor who was patient, kind, knowledgeable, and willing to listen to, put up with, and answer all my paranoid questions and concerns.  The clinic I stayed in is the best one available in our city.  There are about half a million people here and probably no more than 20 doctors.  I can hardly fathom the difference in healthcare here in Mozambique compared with where I come from.  Being sick here can be really really scary.  Thank you so much - you who prayed for me when I was sick.  Please keep praying for the healthcare situation in Mozambique and in all developing nations.  There is still a LONG way to go in this area.  I know that God's hand is on all of us and we especially feel this in the orphanage where we have come through most crises okay.  We believe this is largely because of all who are praying for us.

TJ also got sick with the same thing and had to spend a few days in the hospital the next week.  A few of the kids got sick too but none of them seriously enough to stay in the hospital.  And even Yohani, who eats everything I eat, never got sick, which I am SO grateful for.

Prayer Requests

Our team traveling to Zimbabwe just left around noon today (Saturday).  It will take them about two days to get there in the orphanage truck.  The roads in Mozambique are extremely dangerous so please pray for their safety.  Please also pray that God will teach them a lot through the YWAM Youth Leadership Conference.  And please pray for the protection of all the kids who are back at the orfanato.  Thank you for your prayers - they make a huge difference here!

Youth Leaders Trip To YWAM Conference In Zimbabwe

Look how little luggage Mozambicans are able to travel to another country with!!!

Early tomorrow morning we are taking a team of youth leaders on a trip to Zimbabwe to attend a YWAM conference on youth leadership.  Victor found out about the conference through our friend Elias, who is with YWAM, and decided to take our staff and several other young people and pastors who work with kids and young people in the church.  Going on any trip inside the country is a huge big deal here, so going on a trip outside the country is basically too exciting for words.  Most of the people going on the trip expressed to us that this trip is exceeding their wildest dreams for anything they ever imagined doing! 

The Team:  Back:  Fernandes, Pedro, Gabriel, Victor, Pastor Basilio, Silva, Elias, Elídio; Front:  Samuel, Jaime our driver, Osvaldo, Marta, Antonio, Tomás, Mario, and Adelia.

The Leaders:  Elias (YWAM), Marta (Evanjáfrica), Victor (Evanjáfrica), and Pastor Basilio (Asembleia de Deus Avante Pela Fé)

Last minute tire repairs.

Mechanics working on finishing touches before the trip.

New benches in the back.

Loading the luggage.

The team in the back of the Orphanage Truck, which a group of mechanics have been madly working on since it was destroyed in a crash a short while ago.

The kids look on from the shade of a nearby tree.

The drivers:  Jaime and Victor.

The team with the truck, good as new again!

More kids look on from under another tree.

And life in the orfanato continues on in the background (these three are serious about improving their goal posts for lots of soccer when the team is gone)!

Sunday Night Open Air Service

Almost a year ago we began having an open air church service every Sunday night under a big cashew tree in the orphanage.  The service goes from 4pm to 5pm just when the shadows are long enough to keep everyone in the shade.  Marta prays and the orphanage band leads singing.  Then Victor preaches and then people who want can get prayed for.  We have loud speakers so the whole neighborhood can hear the service and some people say that they listen to the singing and messages from their homes.  Other people have heard and then started coming.  Besides the kids in the orphanage and some neighbors, youth groups from different churches and even many of our friends from the Congo come once or twice a month.  After the whole thing is over some go home while others stay for hours into the night singing and dancing along with the band.  The service has a really great feel to it and it's a really nice way to reconnect with God one more time before the weekend comes to a close.

Victor preaching.

Dorcas and Yohani in the audience.

Girls Dorm Cleaning

Many "housekeeping" (literally in this case) things turn into whole-day events when you are doing them with over 40 kids.  And fire is usually involved when it's in Africa.  A few weeks ago there was a gigantic cleaning out of the boys dorm and then a week later, of the girls dorm.  It's actually more like a room inspection or "locker check" type thing and then everything that should or doesn't need to be in the kids' possession (as determined by the staff) gets thrown into a blazing fire bin.  The boys seem to handle this fine, but the last time the girls dorm was "cleaned out" (monitored by Victor and TJ) it resulted in a lot of tears and hysteria (from the girls, not from Victor and TJ).  So this time the staff was determined to have a spring cleaning that was nice and peaceful (and the boys were there to watch in case it wasn't).

Clearing everything out of the (temporary) girls dorm.

Virginia, Nolita, Tercia and Regina trying to sort through their stuff before Victor comes to see what items need to be thrown in the blazing fire bin.

Some of the boys watched from the doorway of their dorm.

Canito and Samito.

The wiser ones watched from a distance.

Francisco, Manuel, and Yohani.

And the wisest ones just went to the other side of the property and stayed under the mango trees by the well until the whole thing was over.

Belson, Merecido, TJ, Celso, Little Victor, Jose, Jordão, Gil, and Jeremias.

The blazing fire bin burned the entire day.

There is no trash collection or disposal system here so you have to burn everything (yourself).  This really means everything - like plastic tubs, suitcases, batteries - everything.  (I'm sure you can imagine how good it smells and how long the aroma of plastic (and other things that should never be burned) lingers after the fire is put out!  But the smell reminds me of traveling in other parts of the world so it always gives me good memories.)

The whole day went well and the girls were able to part with the things they "didn't need" and even appreciated being able to go back into a fresh and clean dorm at the end of the day.  It is sometimes really entertaining to watch Victor and the other guys on staff handling the teenage girls when they act like American teenage girls.  But it's a good thing that the kids are in an environment where they are comfortable enough to be themselves when they are happy and also when they are frustrated.  And ideally you want every experience to be a learning experience.  During the last cleaning out several of the girls had huge melt-downs when stuff they were not supposed to have got taken away.  Afterwards there were a lot of meetings and discussions over how the whole thing went and this time everyone was more prepared and had good attitudes about the cleaning day.  And our kids are really, really great.  Even cleaning is fun with them and certain kids always bring energy and laughter to the most seemingly un-fun situations!

Leonora's Lunch

 Me, Regina, Leonora, Gabriel, Marta, and Zaqueio eating Leonora's birthday lunch.

Victor, Yohani, and TJ eating the birthday lunch.

A few weeks ago Leonora turned 21 and she came up with a little bit of money to make lunch for the staff and a few of the oldest kids here.  She and Regina made chicken, coconut rice, and salad, and they got refrescos too.  It's really amazing and fun when the older kids initiate doing something on their own and then include us in it!