Happy Christmas?

Christmas is a time of love, friendship, happiness, joy, peace and goodwill to all mankind. Or so we are meant to believe.
At times I wonder how happy it really is for some. Memories of bad Christmas, loss of loved ones, separation of families, there is a number of factors that can contribute. This is not meant to hit until you reach adulthood.

This year among all the joy I took this photo.

This is one girl from my friends dorm. There were times over Christmas morning she sat and just stared into space. There were moments of joy but the pain of separation was quite visible.

She came to the centre a number of months ago now. The police or social services brought her here as they felt she was not safe at home due to events which had taken place.

This was her first Christmas away from her family and it was clear how hard and different it was for her. I hope that this Christmas has replaced horrible memories with happy ones.

Christmas: Part 2

Having gone to bed at stupid o’clock, which was totally my own fault as I was chatting to home online and listening to the sound of chickens being chopped in the kitchen (which was very loud – the chopping not the chickens as thankfully they were dead) and up at 7 its fair to say I was a little tired. It was raining and cold so it really felt like Christmas day.

Why up so early? Well it’s simple, to see the kids with their stockings. Tracey’s dorm has eight 5-8 yr olds in it. Can you imagine the excitement? They had a sleep over in her room the night before and woke I am told at 6.15. I am glad I don’t feel called to be a dorm parent at this time of year, in fact any time of the year. I got to rack up at 7ish…. much more civilised. They each had a little “stocking” at their place on the breakfast table.



Walking through the door I was met with the screams of 8 very excited kids. "Look, look, look!" was being shouted at me from all around and of course at this time the sweets were all eaten and they hadn’t even received their Santa bag yet. It was the best way to start Christmas Day. From there I went to the Baby House, all the kids were waiting to get their presents.

The excitement there was even greater, and of course with more kids a little more chaos but it was excellent. Steve and Ros the centre directors go round each of the dorms and help hand out the gifts so this takes up the whole morning, they also have an entourage with them which makes for very full rooms with other long termers and visitors.
The nursery was lovely, sharing with the kids first Christmas. There was no big deal made about it, but for me this was something special.

Lucia's first Christmas.

Then came Christmas dinner. What a feast! The older guys had been up late last night decorating the church, and they did an amazing job.
Chicken, chips, rice, spaghetti, potato salad, salad. This was a feast for me and even more for the kids here.

Then came one of the other very special moments. We had asked that 100 kids from the Bocaria come up for lunch. When I say 100 there were a lot more. When they were leaving they were given a present as they left, to see their faces was just beautiful.

The long termers gathered in the evening for a party and food. Unknown to us the short termers had got together to do some carol singing for us- it was really very nice.

So with good friendship through the day, a phone call home and the company of many children, this all made for a great Christmas.

Christmas: Part 1

What a blessing it has been to be here for Christmas. If I am being honest as the day came closer I was getting a real homesick feeling, and thinking “what have I done!” But I think it’s fair to say it has to be one of my best Christmases. There is so much to tell, so will break it down. Also it felt like Christmas as we had winds, rains and sandstorms.

Christmas Eve:
Joy to the World – the CD is finished (at least my part is). Watch the Album Charts -this may go platinum. The critics love it! My phone is ringing off the hook with buyers and record companies all wanting a piece of it. Oh sorry, must have gone into a day dream there! Back to the real world. We are looking for somewhere to duplicate it.

I was planning to go on street ministry, as the CD dragged on a little it meant I didn’t get to go which for me I think was a blessing in disguise. At that stage I found myself thinking a lot about home and what they would be doing to prepare for Christmas, etc. and really missing people. The teams went out to hand out chicken dinners to street people. While they were there things got quite nasty for one of the teams and some of the street guys started to grab the food and turned on the team. They drove off in the truck but the mob followed mounting the truck and throwing rocks at them, hitting one of our guys. Thankfully he is ok. I think if I had gone with them and been there in the middle of it, with how I was feeling, I would have been on a plane out that night!

I am moving rooms so I started painting in the afternoon. The name of my paint is Irish Glory (I took it as a sign from God when I picked up the first swatch card and saw the name). So tonight my room is finished and I am starting to move stuff in. Photos will follow.

Christmas Eve was magical. There was a candlelight service. The service had various dorms and people participating. The highlight for me was the nativity play. This was acted out by Tracey’s Dorm (age 5) and the oldest kids in the Baby House (4/5ish). A few photos below. The girl’s dorm did really well too. Their rap was a real crowd pleaser.

After the service I got to help be Santa. I was so excited. I have never done this before and never did I think it would be for 38 kids! They were all sleeping as we were sneaking out their bags. I loved it, and was imagining their faces on Christmas morning. What a buzz! Now it felt like Christmas.

In the middle of the day, the centre received a special Christmas present. A new boy, aged we think 7, named Lucas. From what I can remember he was abandoned in the hospital. He is going to need a lot of love and care, but smiles and laughs and to be able to share a few minutes of his life was a joy on Christmas Eve.

One is not amused.

Since Sunday I have not been very well, I slept a lot yesterday which left me wide awake last night. I was still on the computer at 2.45 when we had a power cut! Normally when the power goes off here, which is almost a daily occurrence a generator will kick in. When the power went of last night.... NADA - nothing. Silence, no motors kicking in, no sound of the generator hum, no sound of my fan restarting up, no sound of the freezer coming back on. So I lay in the dark with only the light of my laptop.

Well as you can imagine, the day was 116 degrees, so the night wasn't particularly cold! The temp started to rise in my room. I was sweating and not amused at having no electricity and no generator and especially no fan. I think i eventually fell asleep about 5am!

What I will say for not having the sound of a fan constantly going is that I get to hear the sound of Mozambique at night and the birds starting in the morning. If it wasn't so hot it would have been nice.

This morning when I got up and by choice had a cold shower, I woke to the news that in fact there wasn't a power cut at all. Some of the boys had jumped the fence flipped the electricity switches OFF so they could steal some people's clothes! One was definitely NOT amused on hearing this. So this morning I am sleep deprived, still not feeling great, and also have a sore finger because I had a Malaria test!.

These are some of the joys of living with 300 kids, some of whom are yet to become reformed thieves and street boys, and a large community living on the other side of a wall which is nowhere near high enough to stop them jumping over.

Sadly theft here is really on the increase. Its silly things which are being taken now, food from fridges, water bottles, cartons of milk. I wonder how much is desperation to find a gift at Christmas.

Community Christmas

One mammoth feeding session down and the bigger one yet to come. Yesterday was the Christmas community lunch for children and adults from the various communities which we work in.

The kitchen were cooking chicken for about 300 people. Which turned into 450! This week on Street Ministry 250 take aways dinners will be prepared. Then they will cook for more on Chrstmas Day, about 750. To enable them to have Christmas Day done they stay up all night on Christmas Eve cooking, so spare a thought for these guys. The gas is still an issue. We think there is enough for the kitchen for 10 more days but the rest of the centre is out and we are looking at Jan now before there is any in the city. I do get challenged a lot to remember there is always enough!

Church yesterday had an interesting aroma to it. At one end there was the smell of chicken cooking…. Yummmm. At the other was the smell wafting in from the sewage hole still wide open from Wednesday. NICE! Thank goodness the sound desk was nearer the chicken end. Mind you sometimes the other smell made itself known. I was praying the fragrance of Jesus in…. clearly I am not as righteous as I had thought!.

Well church was its usual length, in 116 degrees the smell and the shouting from the preacher did not help me engage too much.

After the service was when the work began. What a mammoth task, but it has to be said it went like clockwork.

We had production lines passing the food out to everyone, no riots, people waiting patiently and a lovely atmosphere to the event. Not a morsel was left.

It really made me think what the feeding of the 5000 must have been like, it really was a privilege to be able to serve the poor in Jesus name.

I hope the photos will help you grasp a little of the day.

He put it all away


The production line



Saving the best will last.



All gone.

Homesick

So as the festive season draws near I am finding myself a little more homesick than I expected. I am NOT missing the commercialism or the umpteen pre Christmas Dinner dinners! But I am missing the little traditions which until now I thought I didn’t care about. The carols in Church, the cold (WHY I hear you all scream back), the sickening Christmas Hits, 9 Lessons and Carols from Kings while mum gets ready for Christmas day. (notice I did say Mum not me), the smell of a Pine tree. Ok should stop or I may just cry or puke!

This week however there have been a few things to help me get over my small homesick feeling and prove that this really is a small world after all.

The first thing which hit me and helped was hearing “This is the BBC World Service, broadcasting from Bush House”. Wait… I used to work there and archive the Focus on Africa programmes I have been listening to and know the floor that is being broadcast from! Now I am appreciating what at one point I had started to loathe archiving.

The second was hearing a Southern Irish accent. This week a lady from Athlone was on the base and her accent was beautiful and so felt like another part of home was with me. Her husband works at the Irish Embassy. Lovely to meet her.

Third – mail arriving from my Mummy and Daddy.

Finally today I saw a familiar face. Ehi, he was one of the short termers here with me in February this year. When we left in Feb I had a feeling that our paths would cross again, little did I know it would be this soon. It’s so nice to see a face from the past here. Also today I was chattin with someone who knows Holywood, Co.Down well and also knew a bit about Bangor. I know its something small but it all adds up to helping a gal get over a few emotional bumps.

So enough about me, what’s been going on here!

Thursday: I decided I would finish the CD, this meant I didn’t get to see many kids. I worked for hours on it, only to discover late in the evening none of the work was saved! Ok…. Let me just remember, Love, Joy, Peace, PATIENCE… that’s the one! Hummmmm,

Fri: I changed my schedule slightly so I could go to the Bocaria for the Adult Church and walking through the people living and working there. With a flat bed truck, we headed off. It was decided a long time back that for various reasons we wouldn’t give out food parcels this year at Christmas. We arrived at the dump and obviously word had got out that this would be the day for food. The crowd was unbelievable. It was clear most were there for only one thing.

It also became quickly apparent that they were not going to be happy once they discovered there were no food parcels, so plans had to change quickly. We stayed in church for a long time and scrapped any plans to walk through the people. Normally when food parcels are given out at Christmas the police are there to control the mob and gangs. We could see that some of the gang members were there waiting for trouble, its quite hard to relax when you know that at any moment things could go south and there would be a riot before you knew it.

Thankfully with wisdom and guidance the guy leading it ended the service and we started to walk away. My heart did break for the desperation of these people and at the same time there is an expectation that they are owed something from us for Christmas. It’s not easy here sometimes.

The flip side of this is that today I feel like a real girlie! I went and had a manicure done. Africa is the only place where I can successfully grow my nails... when you see the amount of gunk under them at the end of the day it’s certainly stops ME biting them!

So I found myself in the city today with time to spare and thought I would get one done. So I have silver nails tonight and very soft hands from a great massage. Who knows how long it will last here, I could really do with a Pedicure, but couldn’t face have someone look at my feet today – they were boggin’.

What a Stinkin' Day!

Well as most of you know this is Africa. And in Africa anything can happen. This last 24 hours, well in fact since Sunday has had quite a few challenges in it, not least of all a break in to my room, but nothing was taken thankfully. The mozzie guard cut but they didn’t get the door. I am slightly nervous that they will come back!

Second challenge is that the Church sound board which was caught innocently in a water fight on Sunday night cannot be brought back to life. It is fried! Thankfully I had the wit not to plug it in or I may have been toast! The thing to remember is that in England, this would be very bad. However, here its a disaster as they are not as easy to repair or replace! And I will be living by faith for a new one.

This afternoon however was a totally difference challenge! We had a sewage truck “fall” into a sewage hole. We think the land gave way, but see the photos. The smell was awful! And we really bless them as they kindly dumped all the sewage in the hole to make the truck lighter when trying to pull/dig it out!

Many of the long termers here had really wanted a swimming pool onsite… I somehow don’t think this I what they had in mind, but the Lord does work in mysterious ways!

Take out the trash day

It’s so cold today! Well that’s according to the Mozambicans. They are out in fleeces and woolly hats. It’s a mere 28 Celsius. So I am still in shorts and T shirt. This morning poured with rain, which I was very thankful to see. The Irish gal in me was screaming for rain! What a welcome sight it was. It also helped give me a perspective that we were in December and this is how it should feel.

The Christmas Party at the Bocaria was excellent. There must have been 350ish kids there. Singing and listening to the Nativity story. Please see the photos below (more will follow). There were a lot of good seeds planted today, now they need watering. Also never did I think I would do sound on the dump, but today it was needed!

I had a real blonde moment at the end when we were clearing up the rubbish from the party, I asked “Do we have a black bag to collect the rubbish to take back” The response was…. You are on the dump, just go outside and throw it there! I found this really bizarre, what I would have taken away would just end up back here!

Stopping for the One

Today I found myself stopping for one. One boy whose name I still don’t know was “trailed” into church by his sister? and friends. He was from the Bocaria. The reason for the trailing was the massive cut on his heel. His friends were trying to look after it by tying a very dirty rag around it. The kid was in agony, eyes dull and came and sat on my knee and just clung looking for that place of security and someone to protect his foot from his friends.

I eventually tracked down the medical on call person and took him to the clinic to see if there was anything we could do. The nurse firstly soaked his foot. The amount of sand in the wound was unbelievable and the rawness was horrible too.

This kid didn’t speak at all but yet he did all his communication with his eyes. He looked at me as I carried him to the clinic as if to say, “I don’t know where you are taking me but I do know you are trying to help.” Well I like to think that is what he was thinking.

While we were waiting, to try and distract him from the pain of cleaning the wound, the nurse gave him a biscuit. He devoured it. She then handed him the packet and a fizzy drink - he hardly took time to breath while eating, I got the feeling he hadn’t eaten much all week.

The sight of a kid so hungry really hit me hard. He did seem brighter once we were leaving. Food in his stomach, clean bandage on his heel and someone to say, you are worth helping. We did what we could today. We spoke to the girl who was caring for him to ask if they could bring him back to get the bandage changed tomorrow. Now we wait.

CD

I had a lovely conversation with a Pastor I met yesterday. His name is CD! I was wondering was it the Lord giving me a gentle push to remind me why I am really here! We were chatting for ages… I almost missed this opportunity as my mind was somewhere else when he said “Hello” to me. He is a Pastor of a church in the “bush” which he says is about a 5-6 hour drive away from the base here. He has been to Bible school here for 4 years and is now pastoring a church of 300+ people. He is married, has 2 children and another due in March. His vision is to see the heart of Mozambique change and the nation transformed, which is an interesting theme coming through this week.

We got chatting about me, where I was from and how long I was going to be here. He was very amused at the way I spoke. He couldn’t understand why, if I said I had come from London, I didn’t sound like the other English people he knew! Do you know how hard it is to explain to an African person the concept of Northern Ireland and why I spoke differently? We were there for some time.

He then went on to ask about my father. I was thinking, we have only just met! You have a wife, and I don’t think my father would give his blessing! What was it he really wanted to know? Was my father a believer and also my mother? When I told him both believed and my father was also a Pastor he said to me. Have you any idea how blessed you are. To have both parents, and both who believe.

Up to that point I hadn’t given it too much thought (sorry mum and dad). As we continued talking about Zimpeto and Mama Heidi and all the rest my mind started to think about the gift my parents are to me. Ok, let me be honest! There are times it’s fair to say they annoy me and there are even more times I am sure I annoy them. But as I looked around the kids on the centre, most of whom are orphans, others with a parent somewhere, either not able to care for them safely, or in jail, or else they have been abandoned, I started to realise that Pastor CD was right about how doubly blessed I was to have my parents, ones who take care for me and take an interest in my life and also have given me a safe stable home. I walked away from that encounter with a lot of joy in my heart. Oh and Mum and Dad, he wants to meet you!

Its been a few days since I have written and again with a few valid reasons.

The following are a few highlights from this week.

Monday evening was the 2nd anniversary of the youth service in the city. Som do Ceu (Sound of Heaven) was a real treat. Being able to worship in English also made a nice change. The old cinema auditorium was quite full of the youth of Maputo. We take a flat bed truck from here crammed full of kids. it really is a sight to see and a ride to experience but not for those who get cramp easily or have major back complaints.

During the first part of the week we have the Head of Iris Brasil here, which was really nice. Because of that we moved church to Tues night, so every day since I’ve felt like it should be Friday as church is normally on Thursday nights.

Wednesday I went swimming and took Carmina from the Baby House. She has some learning and physical disabilities so doesn’t get out as much as some of the other kids would do and I have really wanted to take her swimming as she loves water. Well, she loved the pool. Hearing her screams of excitement as we floated through the pool together was excellent.

The biggest news of the week is that we have measles here on the centre. Four of the girls have it and so we are praying for no spread to the younger kids.

I am here a month now and getting my head around the cultural differences and challenges of living in a developing country has been interesting! Currently my body is getting used to the change of water and food and reacting in all the usual and not so appropriate ways!

I am being taught a lot about not being such an independent woman especially when shopping. I know these guys make their money by the small tip they get for packing the car after shopping but I do struggle with it too as it makes me feel the colonial days have NOT gone away. At times I am very aware of my skin colour.

The bugs in the country and I are not getting along too well especially the cockroaches as they climb over me or up the walls beside my bed!

At the moment we are out of gas for cooking and hot showers: the main supplier in Maputo doesn’t know when they will have more in! This doesn’t only affect us but the kids so we are praying that the kitchen gas stays lit so they get hot food. Here’s where Heidi’s tag line “There’s always enough” needs to come into its own!

I have learned 3 magic words. If when driving you are stopped by the police who are threatening to fine you (I wasn’t the one driving) “Ministerio Arco Iris!” The whole demeanour of the traffic cop changes and suddenly you are allowed to drive away!

One thing I am thrilled to be missing about the Festive Season back home is that awful Kirsty McCall song. Fairytale of New York. It is strange hearing "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" being played in 105F as I walk through the supermarket. Only in Africa.

Monday sees the Christmas Party at the Bocaria - I am very excited! I know it will be so hectic but surely it will be hard to beat.

Here I am to Worship

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor.

We sang this today on the Bocaria. This blew me away. I am standing in the church on the dump with the poorest children in Africa singing about the Light of the world stepping down into darkness. Surely this is some of the darkest darkness the song is talking about.

All for love’s sake became poor. This is Mozambique, these are some of the poorest kids, they are all important to God, these are the people he would have been sitting among worshiping with today.

So here I am to Worship, here I am to say, God this is all about you. Here I am to stop for the one and love, and hug and show them they matter.

These kids today know what it is to have Gods love, these kids are Princes and Princess of the Kingdom and I got to share this with 300 of them today.

One of the girls was standing in front of me just totally lost in worshiping, the kids around her were trying to distract her but she was lost in Gods presence today. Just an amazing sight. Some days here are hard and that’s ok but some days I feel I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.

Christmas is coming

To be honest with the heat of Mozambique I am finding it all to easy too forget that it’s December and we are 3 weeks away from Christmas.

A pleasant reminder as I walked through the sand this morning was hearing the Baby House singing Jingle Bells at 7.45 this morning. I am not sure they weren’t using it to say grace… not sure about the theology of that, but hey… they were so happy and that’s what counts.

Hanging out with the kids in the Baby House is a lot of fun. There are over 30 of the little bundles of joy. Most of whom are walking and a lot also talking or beginning to. They really are lovely. If you are looking for some peace and quiet this is NOT the place to go, if however you are looking for some rough and tumble play and laughing and dribbling this is exactly where you want to be. On my first visit, those who were babies are now 2.5 years old. It has been lovely over my trips to see them develop and grow.

Walking though the playground they are so happy digging in the sand, climbing on the slide and generally making a lot of noise.
The other thing I have to be aware of walking through the playing ground is to expect at any moment one of the slightly older kids to jump off a pole and expect me to catch them with no warning! It certainly stopped my heart the first few times it’s happened, but am getting a little more used to it now.

To be looking towards Christmas here does feel very strange. There are some Christmas lights and fake trees! What there are lots of, are freaky Pai Natal’s (Father Christmas). I feel like it is bad enough here without the pain of remembering Christmas with a freaky Santa. Of course here on the centre we tell the true story of Christmas.

Christmas came a lot closer this afternoon when I helped my friend's dorm put up their Christmas Tree. See the photos! It was a lot of fun with many little helpers.

I had another strange experience today when I was walking though the centre and saw one of the old kids wearing a t shirt I had donated on a previous trip! I didn’t like to tell him that firstly it was a girls T-shirt and secondly it was meant to be worn by a big girl!. That also explains where it was when I was looking to pack it! Oh well at least its being used.

Here are some photos of Lucia, the newest arrival in the nursery.

What a crate day!

A small update, not much happening as am working hard on CD. Almost done!

On Monday Kids Church had over 200 there. It was a little manic to say the least but we are expecting it to increase in the run up to Christmas.

Have you ever thought about how you would like to be buried? Well last night while driving I came across a new option.

Being buried under Coca Cola crates – Tons of them! Was out last night in the city and we were tailing a truck piled high with coke crates. Looking at it I did think – I wonder are they full or empty and what would happen if they fell off.
We had stopped at a junction to turn right onto the main road out of Mozambique when this car cut us up and moved in between us and the truck which at this stage was swerving round the corner to go up the slip road. Then there was this almighty crash and noise as all the crates started to fall off the truck and hit the car and local buses (Sharpas) around us… thankfully we were spared any damage because we were one car further back. The bus beside us was damaged and I hate to think of the noise for the people who were sitting in that little tin can as they clattered on top of them! It was a miracle we were not hit! All the way down the road we were the car behind! And now we were saved because of the impatience of another driver!

Driving in Mozambique is MAD and often by faith. Mum – if/when you come, the only way I am driving you is if you wear a blindfold and are heavily sedated.

Cars and vans often drive at night with no back lights and sometimes only one front light and often that is not working. People step out in front of cars day and night. Today my friend witnessed a mother with her baby tied to her front walk straight out in the car beside her. The mother got up quite quickly, but there was no noise from the baby so she doesn’t know if it survived.

Talking about survival the new Baby in the nursery Lucia is doing better. She is gaining weight and has a beautiful smile. It’s still early days and prayer is still needed.

The little moments

Take my hand.

Take my hand, you can trust me, I will try to make it right.
Take my hand, I’ll defend you and watch over as you sleep at night.
Take my hand, can we do this together, we’ll both stand up and fight.
Take my hand, let’s look forward, in this dark world you are the light.

The above picture is the hand of the newest member of the family here. Her name is Lucia and she is 8 months. Without knowing it she is a story of hope, without knowing it she is a miracle.

About 5 months ago 2 of the missionaries here had been tracking her health as at that time is wasn’t great. She had been coming to the milk feeding programme with her mother. Then one week she wasn’t there. Sadly as the weeks went by they had assumed she had died. But on Thursday the mother brought her back to the clinic here on site. It was a miracle to see her alive.

As she is malnourished and has a bad skin complaint it was decided that for a while she should come and live here so we can provide the care needed at the moment. Her mother is welcome to visit and hopefully we can help her too as she is not very well.

I sat with Lucia today for what seemed like ages as she tightly gripped my hand. She is a fighter, if she wasn’t I wouldn’t have been sitting holding her hand, I am sure she will make it and grow to be strong. It will take time, care and love from many people but like so many of the kids here, they all have a story and all are miracles. Pray for her over these days. She is getting used to new people, new surroundings and also being away from her mother.

Today it feels like I have made a new friend (Lucia) and connected with an old.

I went for a walk with a dorm of 8 kids in the heat of today (which if it weren’t for the kids was madness). I thought we were just heading down to the football pitch but no… out into the community where I have never been before. It was nice as we walked along and I pulled out thorns from their feet and chatted to their Tia in my little Portuguese. She is very good with them. Her name is Sonia. She and the kids laughed at me today as they tried to teach me their alphabet - only singing it. Well I was getting so confused and mixing my letters up. I must practice tonight so I can proudly sing it back to them tomorrow.

On my way back from the walk I met an old friend. This girl come running up to me and said “what is my name, what is my name?”. I knew straight away who she was. It’s my friend Jentrude (she is in the bottom left hand corner of the paryer card). I wrapped my arms around her and said “Hey Jentude, how are you?” She said “you DO remember me”. What a moment.

That moment showed me the point of stopping for the one. When I arrived here in 07, she was the first girl I had real contact with. Somewhere there are photos of us sharing names in the sand as we didn’t speak each others language. Now it’s fair to say her English is a lot better than my Portuguese. From that small moment a few years ago hopefully I will have shown her that I remembered her and she made a difference to me.

Saturday & Surround Sound Speakers

Saturday: 105 degrees – what better than a swim in a place off centre, there was also a gentle breeze which helped. It was bliss lying listening to music by a pool. I promise there is hard work happening in the other 6 days of the week. However the sun and I don’t always get along so today my shoulders are a little sore.

Sat night I got to go out for Thai food! We were saying goodbye to two of the long termers here. It was good food and great company.

Before going to the restaurant we dropped into Maputo Hyper Market where I found myself in the unusual position of walking round a mall with no kids and no one else with me. It was so strange, I kept looking round to make sure they were with me – of course they weren’t!

Me being me, I headed straight to the technology area. It’s nice to see someplace where I can buy my own kettle if I need to, oh and the biggest and widest flat screen television you could ever want! Of course 5.1 surround sound speakers and I am sure the cardboard they come in will provide a good home for one of the street boys to sleep under.

How in this world can there be such extremes in a reasonably small capital. I walked out of the store feeling so sick, almost hating every piece of modern technology ever made. (I have gotten over that as I am very thankful for my laptop and internet access). Hopefully you get my point.

Wall of sound

This picture sums up my last few days and what I have been staring at…

This is the editing program Protools which we are using to edit the songs on to make the CD.

My break from this yesterday was to go and help with sound for church! Church last night was excellent. The kids were being taught on how to hear the voice of God. We gave the kids a bit of space for 30 mins to listen to God and draw pictures or write words they heard him say to them. It was an amazing sight. All ages fully engaged. I can’t wait to see the pictures, we are hoping to use one for the CD cover. I know kids hear clearly from God much more than adults because they don’t come with the scepticism that adults can, or the personal agendas. Church was very special last night.

Today was more of the same and then my weekly trip to Shoprite. So my plan today was to go to Woolworths (which I know has just gone bust in the UK) then to Shoprite. However Woolworths here is like M&S back home. So you know already the food will be a little more pricy but today I thought as I am in new territory going into 3rd week it would be worth it. Sadly I didn’t go as mad as I had hoped (the exchange rate isn’t great at the moment) but I did manage to find a lovely pasta sauce which I have just eaten. Yum.

When you exit Shoprite you must show your receipt to the security guard who has a quick look round the trolley, scribbles on the paper and you exit. So I am slowly walking back to the van. Suddenly it hits me…. I don’t have enough groceries…where is my chicken and burgers and the drinks I bought. Agggh panic… I am going to have to go back in, lift MY shopping and somehow convince the security guard that it is mine even though my receipt has been signed. All this time thinking I will probably end up in Jail for “shoplifiting”. I have no passport and how do I explain that I was stupid and left my groceries behind… what is the word for groceries in Portuguese anyway, why didn’t I pay better attention in my language class! Anyhow you will be glad to know, that they actually let me out after finding a security guard who spoke English, he didn’t really care and I am out and home with no mention of thieving or police… Phew, not do that one again.

Maputo is an interesting place. You see all manner of things in a 30min drive. Local buses are bursting at the seems and some even about to fall over! All sorts of things for sale at the side of the road, kids are playing, delapitaded buildings, junk, people pulling karts etc. Each time we go to Shoprite we drive past the bocaria and it does help me remember why I am here and also what the important things are in life and not to worry about security guards at Shoprite.

Leaving the shopping centre I witness a guy being chased by a group of men throwing stones/rocks at him. I am assuming that he had stolen something and so, because the police don’t really care, the locals take the law into their own hands and this is the result, people get stoned and beaten and sometimes to death if the community feels the crime is severe enough. The guy today did seem to be holding his own.

Today has been a pleasant 105F! So here's hoping for a cool night's sleep.

Essential Survival in Mozambique

Today was like a mini Christmas for me as a received two presents from a friend here. I would also like to add to very essential presents which will ensure my survival here in Mozambique.

Firstly for those of you who are still getting to know me here’s another thing you need to know– I don’t do so well without coffee esp in the morning! I packed my small cafetiere to bring out with me. Sadly when I opened my rucksack I was met with the sound of shattered glass. I can hear the cry “Well just buy another one”. That isn’t as simple here, when you do find one which I did, the price tag was 1,500mts. Now the exchange rate isn’t good at the moment I think it’s about 40mt = £1. So you can do the math. Tempting and all as it was I couldn’t justify that so had to face reality that I would be surviving withdrawal and grabbing a cup at anyone else’s house when I could.
I had been plotting how I could get one sent out with any visitors or long termer this side of Christmas.
However a miracle happened! Look what I got. Isn't it a thing of beauty!



A friend found it in a shop for 200 mets which I was more than willing to part with. Horray…… I am sooooooooo happy and for those who have been supporting me in the plight of the shattered cafetiere can now breathe for what was broken has now been replaced.

My second essential survival present is below.


What is it: It’s a mosquito zapping racket. It electrocutes the mosquitoes. This is so much fun. I have killed 3 so far, but my pesky little friends have been biting the ankles and legs off me. So now its time for revenge and I am going to enjoy it. You see a mosquito, hit it with the racket and you can hear it fry and smell it burn. Upon killing on it also gives off a very satisfying blue flash as the mossy dies. I am sure Mosquitoes are not protected under cruelty to animals so war has begun. This new weapon will surely help me win.

Oh Smokin'

Well for those of you who have been following this will know it’s been a few days since I wrote, so sorry.

So here is a brief glimpse of the last few days.

Monday:
The main event was the Bocaria. I love this hour each Monday with the kids and yet somehow it’s quite a hard hour (for the English – there’s another hard phrase to say with a Northern Irish accent!).

I was not relishing the thought of going and the only reason for that was the heat. You can be pretty sure that if the centre is hot then the dump will be much hotter. However this Monday did have a bit of a breeze which was very welcome. What I wasn’t expecting was the thick smoke coming off the dump. I came home and had a shower and was convinced that one of the kids was having a crafty cigarette outside my window but the smell was actually my smokey clothes in the other room.

I know some people really struggle with going to the Bocaria and I can understand that. This really isn’t a place for those with delicate stomachs with the smells, smoke and also the sight of tonnes of rotting rubbish and people working on it trying to make a living. It really can be overwhelming.

I sat beside a 5yr old boy who was looking after his baby brother. He was trying unsuccessfully to get him to sleep, so the kid looked to me and offered the baby to me as if to say I don’t know what else to do, please will you. So I took the baby to get it to sleep and more importantly so that the kid could have a chance at being a kid and not have to get his baby brother to sleep. So off he went to sit with the older guys who were listening and chatting away and just being boys. The ash was thick on the kids today.

In my world life is too short to find and wear matching socks, odd socks are the way to go. Why waste time when you know that the machine has probably eaten one – so grab 2 socks and away you go. At least 5 mins saved. Today I came across a new sight. Odd shoes! An older guy in church was wearing odd shoes. Now I am not ready to run with this idea just yet.

I know I am kind of making light of this but the harsh truth is this guy had been coming to church for a long time and he has an alcohol problem. Two weeks ago Samaritans Feet were here giving out new shoes to people from the dump and this guy was given a new pair of Nike Air trainers. Today he is wearing two different shoes because I reckon he has sold and most likely undersold them to get money for booze. There is no program here to help people with a drink problem and beer is so cheap in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if water cost more.

Monday evening: Had a cockroach crawl across me…. … EUCK!!! I hate the bugs in Africa, please see below for a little friend I have in my room at the moment. Sweet.

Tues: Editing CD. I am hopeful it might even sound ok. Oh and a 30th Bday Bar B Que. Yumm…….

So on to today. At 2.30 our time it was 100F in the shade! Madness…Well what else do you do when it's that temp but head to the pool. Oh yes, we took kids from the Baby House who had not really been this summer before. Seeing my wee friend Yuran in the water was lovely, he is quite cautious of it so taking him in my arms and wading into the water was very special as he clung on for life.

Today I discovered I have another use. I make a good buoyancy aid for small kids! With 3 or 4 on my back at one stage they laughed, screamed and shouted their way round the pool. I loved it. The other funny thing of course is to hold my head underwater, I on the other hand wasn’t so much seeing the funny side as I started to turn blue! (so slight exaggeration or I wouldn’t be sitting here writing now).

Beautiful Day

To all of those who are reading in the freezing climate of the UK sorry you may want to stop reading now.

Today has been hot hot hot! Today has also been the first day since leaving the UK that I have listened to my own music. The first song to come on was Beautiful Day by U2 and I couldn’t have picked a better song.

Well church was long and loud, I think in Mozambique loudness is next to Godliness!
So was desperate for some me time, had been sweating over the sound desk for too long this morning, and somehow the equipment isn’t working. Sigh! (Oh and it was nothing to do with me sweating on it I may add!!!)

I thought I would get some domestic chores done – sorry to all of you who don’t like the fact that I had to do washing on the Sabbath but really it was a necessity and also the machine WAS working. So two loads later I headed out to the kids.

The baby house has just made it to the play ground. Yeah, sitting in the sand with the sun blazing down - just bliss. Some of the kids were having a treat and got to play in the paddling pool, so I thought I would go see how it was going.

Today I had intended to get my washing done, but what I hadn’t intended was to wash the clothes while wearing them.

The kids thought it would be great to have a water fight. Well for those of you who know me, know I am really not one for a water fight and do my very best NOT to start one or get everyone around me soaked. Well I did all I could. But, somehow and I really don't know how, I got totally soaked!! Mama Chris, Mama Chris Agua!!!!! The laughs and screams of all the kids in the pool, it just seemed unfair not to join in.

It really has been a Beautiful Day.

Nao, Obrigada!

It doesn’t matter how many times you say it, the street sellers they still don’t take No for an answer. Today I could have bought: a pair of jeans, some cashew nuts, a delightful musical keyboard, perfume, belts, sunglasses, socket adapters and a windscreen wiper (cause I have so much use for that). This is the joy of shopping in the city. I went in today to get off base for a bit and see more of Maputo. I still can’t believe that as I am driven along the coastline it’s the Indian Ocean I am looking at with Palm Trees.

I went today with a friend and we took 2 of the boys from her house. It’s amazing to be out with 2 boys who don’t complain that all we were doing was shopping. They are just happy to be out seeing the city. Today felt like a day shopping with a friend in London for church events. We started at the cash and carry which was an experience, then headed to the Maputo Mall which is a very western place. Then back to Shoprite. Of course there was lunch in between. Hummmm a burger and chips! The simple things make a girl very happy.

There was also a Graduation from the University so lots of people walking around in gowns and mortar boards and today was extremely hot.

Just in case you have forgotten what I look like as it is 1.5 weeks since I left here is a photo. This is one of the girls from my friend's House. She has been on the centre a few months. Oh and of course a Pato (Duck).

All you need is Sound.

Tonight I feel so alive. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would get to mix live sound in Africa let alone for a session like tonight. I honestly think there was dusk falling from the speakers. It was kinda loud. This is all in the hope that from this we will have enough stuff for the CD. It will be raw but it will be the real heart of Zimpeto on a Thursday night. Having dreaded opening the studio door this morning for what I thought would be another day of frustration I am going to bed now with a sense of excitement and wonder as to how much fun the editing will be.

So on this note of joy I thought I would share another very special story. If you can be bothered, scroll down and read the entry on Dino from the 15th Feb. I have been waiting to see how he is doing 9 months after I left. Iris here has a great number of stories of kids who have come in severely malnourished and are now blooming. Well as it turns out it’s the same story of hope for Dino.

This pic is when he arrived aged 17 months.

The below was taken this week. Dino is just thriving.

Election Day

So today is Election Day. Not nearly as big as an event as the US 2 weeks ago but still a public holiday none the less. Like all public holidays in the UK the bar out side the compound was rammed with people well men to be exact. No I wasn’t joining them (nor was I even tempted!) but merely out buying credit for my phone.

The hairdresser was open which for a holiday seems strange but after all this is Mozambique and there are no rules. Women sitting under those massive blow dryers in the heat I felt ready to pass out just thinking about their core temperature.

So off I toddle to the studio for my days editing and mixing… when will I learn that this is Africa and never expect to get done what you want to do in a day. I get there and the boys have borrowed half the computer over night. I am left with the main computer but no power cables and only a keyboard…. Deep sigh and a looming deadline. Hunting them down was impossible.

It seems I never learn and I like to give myself a challenge. I trained as a sound engineer in a time when it really wasn’t “appropriate” for women to be in the sound industry I do think in the last 10 years that has changed slightly. (Hence the soundgirl name – I got fed up with all the lads talking about soundmen in my presence). Anyway it seems that there is a similar way of thinking about women in Mozambique, so I am going to have to gently convince the lads that this sound girl does actually know what she is doing…well within reason. Hopefully tomorrow evening at church we can get things in place.

So that left me with a day which I had to fill. Not too hard really head to the baby house and nursery for feeding time. I really need the washing machine working again as this feeding thing is NO joke. Today I am on my 3 t-shirt. 2 of the kids refuse to eat and so spit it back at you. Well there is more of their food on me than went into the stomachs. At one point it took 3 adults to feed one baby. I was exhausted.

For those of you who know about my nappy changing “skills” you will be glad to know that I have successfully completed my first nappy change this morning. I am glad to report baby, I and surrounding furniture have survived.

I seem to have reached new levels with my language today. I confidently walked up to one of the boys and spoke to him in Portuguese only to have him answer me back in English! This type of game I don’t get. It felt a little like being in Paris when the French waiters reply in the opposite language to the one you have made the effort to speak to them in. It is weird to have the babies I fed on my first visit now talking to me and say Bye Bye as I leave. Bless them is all that can be said.

Well tonight for the first time I got to see the stars. No rain tonight and a lovely African star filled sky. So I am off to bed hoping to be sleeping alone tonight and no little creatures in the mossy net with me.

Friends Old and New

It’s amazing in less than a week I have lots of new friends. I can’t quite believe it. They love to come and see me at night and after a while they like to come and sit on me and try and suck the blood from me. Yes you have guessed it Mosquitoes. I have a few bites and am trying desperately not to scratch and yes mum I am remembering to take my tablets every day. But they are relentless. The slightest opportunity and they are there. Though it nice to feel loved by such “special” little bugs!.

The new nursery opened on Monday the official grand opening is Friday. It’s a lovely room where we can house up to 8 babies up to 6 months old. It could be a very busy room. We have moved two from the Baby House into the nursery at the moment with the expectation once word is out it will fill up very quickly.

Was back the garbage dump today for Kids Church. It was so busy possibly because it is school holidays here or maybe because there were a team here last week giving away shoes and so those that didn’t come came in the hope there would be extra. What ever the reason it was brilliant. We are teaching the armour of God at the moment and seeing the kids stand up putting real armour on (ok so was its plastic) reminded me of walking across Clapham Common in the mornings taking my wee friend to school and us both putting our Armour on each morning. It’s great to see the same thing in Mozambique and London and yet made me realise I kinda miss the wee monkey back home.

Really what is with the thunderstorms here? It’s not funny anymore, I know that the last time I was here I conquered my fear a lot but tonight found me under my sheet again…. Ok one day I will stay up through it all.
Well the audio is getting edited. The brain cells are really being used at the moment it’s been a while since I have used Protools. My Portuguese is now almost fluent and so it now lets me talk to 2-3 yr olds. I am thinking what more will I need to know. This level of conversation seems ok with me. Will maybe still try and increase my vocab in case I need to talk to the police down the road.

Sunbathing Swiming and Sand.

Finally a day with Sun….. I was beginning to think I was still in the UK with all the rain of the last few days.

So my first Saturday here. Well how else do you spend it but sunbathing and swimming and yes I swam (sorry to any of you who are not traumatised by the thought of me in a swim suit…get over it). Today I have gone further north into Mozambique than I have ever been before, granted only 15mins drive more but still. The reason for this was a Bridal Shower at a private resort. One of the Long Termers is getting wed to a Mozambican so all very exciting.

As I write I have a few patches on my legs where I seems to have missed the sunscreen and yes I did apply more than once to all you out there who know how brown I get.

It was just bliss to stop and lay by a pool and take in the fact that I am in Mozambique.

Last night saw the worst electrical storms I have ever watched flash though the sky, and driving home from dinner it really was a drive of faith. Whatever you do don’t rely on the car in front to guide you they don’t have a clue what they are doing any more than we did.

Back on base today and out playing with the some of the kids in the sand. What a blast. The stories of some of these kids is heartbreaking and yet so full of hope knowing that they are here on the centre where love and help can and will be given.

Dino who I have previously written about on my last trip is one such example. I spent a day with him on the Malnutrition ward in the Central Hospital. That day nearly killed me emotionally. However it was all worth it when you see him today. A thriving vibrant 2 year old boy who is alive because people cared for him. I hope to post photos later.

So now… no rain today lots of laughing and the joy of editing sound. What more could a girl want. Maybe a good nights sleep.

Happy as a kid at Christmas

So after a long and reasonably uneventful journey (nearly leaving my passport at securtity in Heathrow, a delay of 3.5 hours in Kenyatta Airport…. So the place you want that to happen, £40 for excess baggage, 4 movies under my belt and landing in rain). I arrived in Mozambique. A guy at the carousel when he saw my luggage asked me if I was coming home after being away which I found myself kinda thinking yes was the answer. Whether that is the same answer after a few weeks only time will tell.


It was lovely to be picked up at the airport. What I mean is it was nice to see familiar faces rather than the men hitting on me. Now whether it’s an educated guess (as I am a white westerner) but they said you come to work at Zimpeto you know Mama Heidi! Mama Heidi is Muito bom. I found it slightly strange that they could see what I was coming to do.

Anyways, after a quick Shoprite trip and a drive round the city I was back on base. Stepping out of the car the first kid I saw was Pai. He looked at me and said you kept your promise. The promise being I would be back in a year and there I was. A number of the other kids remember me. Quite frankly who could forget but it’s nice to be back with them.

Tonight I feel like a kid at Christmas. The centre director sat me down and said Chris here is my vision and what I want you to concentrate on for the next 3 weeks. I want you to record and produce a CD!!!!!! And then maybe get another on out before Christmas. How amazing is that. I can’t believe it.

Its been a while since I have done studio work but the guys who left for America have brought back about 10,000 dollars worth of gear with them. It’s just amazing that they have their own studio here….

So that’s what I am going to be working hard on for the next 3 weeks I can’t believe I have had to come to Africa to get to do something like this. Granted I have not seen the studio yet but I am so up for the challenge and a small hot sweaty room….. Woah Who!!!
It feels like a real gift from God to be given something so exciting to ease me into life here.

Anyway, for those of you who like to know about the weather. It’s very humid and its rainy season.

One of the areas they want me to work in is the nursery which is a real chore….the nursery is going to house 0-6mth olds…. It just seems like a real hard area to be working in, babies, poo….crying….. cuddling…loving…caring….snot.. dribbling..cooing….I don’t know how I will do it.!!!!! Good job the Lord gave me Oscar J to prepare me.

After last night I am also thinking of starting a cockroach count. Killed 3 in my first night. Not bad. Now to the very loud frogs outside my door. Any suggestions much appreciated.

Fri 22nd Feb. Milk Cookies and Popcorn.

No Bocaria today as I was the only one signed up really but more importantly Tracey had to go to the hospital in the hope that she today would speak to the Doctor. The Doctor didn’t have time yesterday. They are hoping to take the girl on Monday. So if she comes and Tino gets home next week it’s going to be a very busy week/month.

That left me with an unexpected free morning. I started a water fight with Tracey’s dorm. How much fun was that? It has been so nice going out to the park and 8 voices in unison short Mama Chris. It took them a few days to get their tongues around the difference between saying Mama Tracey and Mama Chris and quite often I think have been called Tracey. They are such a merry bunch and a joy to be around. Last night Vella left with her dorm and seeing Paulito growing and leaving with them was amazing.

Then a little but of time in the Baby House and a nap before Shoprite. I only really wanted to use the internet but no! Tracey came and brought Filishmina and Sina. It was such a riot. Sina sitting in the front row and me in the back making faces at each other. We laughed so much. Bought bananas for the baby house as they only get fruit once a week at the start of the weeks so fruit this late in the week much appreciated. I also got some candy for Tracey and Vela’s dorms.

I thought I would treat myself to some chicken and chips from the chicken palace. Well as a warning to others please don’t go there, not so good!

Joined the kids for dinner tonight. It was fish – head and eyes still all there. I really don’t think I have been as happy to receive help with this meal. The kids were eating it all including the bones!

The plan for tonight is to give the girls cookies along with milk. So Nancy has been away for two months and in that time I found it so hard to get my head around. Milk only happens once a week because it is so expensive. The reception Nancy received was incredible when they saw her arrive with milk.

So tonight was a treat, milk cookies and popcorn. They loved it. Watching Paulito’s drink his was almost heartbreaking. He had obviously really missed getting it and also he knew that the cup was not finished. I think they really touched Nancy. Tonight she told me about one of the girls who had stopped eating because they were teasing her she was fat. You think it’s a western thing but definitely not. Being with the girls has just been amazing.

Thurs 21st Feb. Seeing Tino for the last time.

More bombs in distance feels a little heard to get used to. Gill left this morning. It seemed weird saying bye to her. We gave got on very well and have really enjoyed this humour we share.

This morning I took Domingoes from Laura’s dorm for a walk. He is blind and lacks a lot in education. Most of his day is spent waiting and sitting and not much else. So I got his Sapatos on him and took him to the playground. He is lovely. Laura told me about him on Monday. He actually has no eyes. They actually think some removed them rather than being born without them and so is obviously just a burden to people. We sat for ages on the swing together, he just kept hugging me. It was so nice. Then over to the baby house. Was pleasantly surprised to see Louisa there for a change. Got go give Irene her bottle. That took ages! I have also learnt how to tie capalanas round heads! I really think that to say I am a natural is pushing it way to far.

The Tia's were laughing at me. This is a really good team on at the moment. Vasco just is clinging to me the whole time and today I wonder if he actually is partially if not full deaf. I know Tracey has said he is sick a lot of the time and has lost a kilo in recent weeks and so there is a question over his HIV status and will probably get tested.

I rested over lunch time and felt the better for it. 3pm and I left for the hospital with Domingoes. Travelling in a Sharpa really is a step of faith. The seats I would not recommend getting (mind you if you get a seat you are doing well) 1) Directly behind the driver 2) Directly above the wheel! Heading down into Maputo I had full view of the dash. The speedometer didn’t even work! My mother would have been having kittens had she been there. So many minutes later and also prayers we arrive at the hospital. There were three kids to see, Alfredo, Dino and Tino. This would be the last time I would see Tino and unless by some miracle from God which is possible, the last time ever.

Dino looked a whole lot better today. His eyes are not as sunken and his diarrhoea is slowing down. The feeding tube is still in and will be for a while but I was amazed as to in just 24 hours how much better he looked. Domingoes was sweet with him. Holding Dino you feel if you put too much pressure on his ribs when you lift him he will break. The cry is still there but not to the same extent. Today he fell asleep in my arms. That just felt the most amazing thing. The babies have done it before but to have Dino felt quite an honour especially as he has not slept really since the centre for him. Leaving him was a little hard but yet there is so much hope surrounds him and the situation. I feel and also knowing the track record which Tracey and Zimpeto has re malnourished children and recovery I feel that when I am back Dino will be running around.

Headed down to see Alfredo. He has been moved the other way round in his bed. That is pretty amazing, also discovered he gets another visitor I think her name is Elise. She is Portuguese and working with a mission with sports and schools. It was a real pleasure t meet and talk with her but I some how don’t think Domingoes was happy. I did as him but I think he was putting a good face on things. What the future is for Alfredo only the Lord knows. Elise was going to talk to the hospital to see it they thought some medical thing could be done, will keep praying. Then onto see Tino.

On the positive he looked more peaceful than I have seen him for a while but the negative he is now deaf. His hearing has gone and the convulsions are not lessening. What or how do you begin to pray? I know he couldn’t hear me but I hoped he knew I was there. He is SO him. Walking away from the ward I did my best to hold it together, which was hard. I can’t wait to get home to realise how I feel about this with people I feel comfortable doing that with. It just seems too hard to understand and before I came away I knew I may not see him. He was the one I said to Jac, I hope I see all the kids but with Tino I just don’t know. I remember so strongly saying it. It was as if I knew or I was being prepared not to see him. Today he has a very high fever. But on his nappy it says God bless you. It's written all over it in very tiny writing.

Tracey has been a rock through this. Coming back we made it in time for church but some how celebration was not on my heart. I sat at the back of church and really struggled to hold it together with the emotion of the last few days. Church was hard for a number of reasons.

We were asked to pray for Rolland as he is meant to be coming for the international conference but isn’t well enough to be at Zimpeto.

After church was over tonight I went to Tracey’s house to pick up a few parcels and stayed for a cuppa tea …. An hour and a bit later I was leaving. Talking to Tracey is just lovely. She is such a nice women and so approachable. I feel having spoken to her these last few days about various things I would have such a better feeling about coming back. It really has been a blessing sharing these weeks with her. I do hope that her adoptions come through soon. So here I am at 10.30pm cooking my first proper meal of the day. Hamburgers – if its not donkey!

I also don’t think adopting Vasco and Lucy will be possible. They have a father! He has remarried but at the moment it living next to an open sewer and obviously Iris would not let kids go back to that. I am happy they are not total orphans and one day should go back into the family.

Tino today is really in a vegetative state and tomorrow it will have been a month since he went in first of all. He was out for a few nights before I went it but went back in on this Thursday when it was safer to travel. In a place where we have seen miracles and people raised from the dead it’s hard to understand why not Tino. Heidi will be here for the international conference. Tracey really wants her to pray for Tino not because she think he will be healed by Heidi does have a gifting there. I hope it’s a private thing.

Wed 20th Feb. Beatings, Bombs and Bread fights

Today I headed off to Kongo late again. Becky’s father and brother came. It was lovely being back. Some things have changed. The main being running water. The pump has gone. Seeing the pastor was nice.

Back in time for lunch and I had a chance to sit and chat to Gill then the booming started. The munitions dump bombs again. Gill and Anna seemed panicked but that honestly didn’t bother me. Some of them were controlled!

Had a chance to catch up with Nancy. That was so nice. It did feel a little weird being here without her. It feels more like home! Now that Nancy is back and there are bombs going off. Gill was ill again this afternoon.

Spent some time outside and at the baby house before street ministry. Jentrode was outside with her kite. Well it’s a black bag on some string but it works well. Vela has now got Paulito living in her dorm. I thought he had escaped from the baby house but its amazing seeing him move on. Vasco not in good form. I wish I knew what was wrong.

So street ministry…………………..

I feel emotionally wrecked after this and probably a little amount of fear for the first time. We got dropped in the ‘posh part’ of town and walked a minute and were standing on a mini bocaria in the middle of the city. Tonight I was wearing flip flops and walking over only God knows what. I had been to this site before but on the opposite side of the street praying outside the jail as the guys who lived on the rubbish has been arrested earlier in the day for making too much noise – but now we were back with them on the rubbish praising God!

One guy had a massive bandage on his shoulder to cover a wound he got when someone stabbed him last week. It is evident a lot of guys suffer from alcohol. I felt like a day tonight as one of them kissed me on the back of the hand! Of course he wanted one back so an air kiss had to do him I’m afraid. An older Christian woman came to join us. She lives in the house next door and so each week when the team arrive she shows up. In the back of my mind I’m also thinking does she comes for the free bead each week, even so if that is the case she has the courtesy to listen to them preach. Maybe the bread is the reason why each of the kids/men comes back week after week but my prayer is that one day they will fall on good soil.

The guys from Iris protected us quite a lot on this site so I don’t know if something happened and they have been told to look out for us. The other thing I discovered later is most of the guys are packing a gun!
The bus came back for us and took us to another location, this one seemed to be a busy road and at what looked like an unused bus stop beside a church were some guys and a girl sitting on the bench waiting for the bus to arrive. I preached for a bit then the guys took over. As we spoke the crowd grew bigger. Mostly older men. Then the time for the bread to be given out and among some of the older guys they started to fight with Dinis and Ernesto who were giving out the bread. No matter how many times you see people fighting for bread is very hard to watch. As this was going on the police were gathering being with one of the guys was quite drunk and started to provoke the police. First he ran away and one of the police went to get a baton so when he came back and gave them more agro the police started to chase him and beat the life out of him. The police are carrying guns and for the first time I felt fear. These guys are waving the guns around like they are scarves and also standing very close to me. I felt so unsafe.

Watching real life Maputo is not at all easy. We waited for the bus for hours. Well at that point it seemed like it, but it gave me a chance to talk to the guy who translated for me. He used to live at the dump for two years and then the streets for three before one night Heidi found him and brought him back.
The testimony to what one woman has done in so many lives is amazing. Seeing the police chase this guy really has freaked me and also the bread fights. This trip to Moz is not at all what I fought and that is a good day. Each day brings new experiences and adventures.