curiosity

this is Bebe. i don't know if i am spelling it right. it might need a thingy above the e's like they do in french but i don't know how to put one on. basically it sounds like baby but with a accent. i found it very interesting to know that many children are called bebe and when they get old enough they can choose their own name. i think they do this when ever they feel they are ready and want to change it. bebe is Milicina's grandson. this was a very exciting day as we were giving Millicina and Bebe some clothes, a warm blanket, a mat to sleep on, and some food. their is also a man in millicina's area who has been hired to build her a platform that is raised from the ground so their food can be better protected from the rats.

i am helping lynn and gorge show millicina and bebe what they will be taking home with them. i put bebe's new sweater on him and continued holding up some other clothes to see if i picked the right sizes. bebe is sort of confused with the whole thing and i'm not sure that he has had much interaction with a white person. i thoroughly enjoyed myself.

one thing i have noticed is that the Mozambique people don't show much emotion. it was hard to read millicina and to get a sense of her appreciation; however it was defiantly there. gorge informed us after that millicina was very happy and that she would probably go home and dip the corner of her new blanket in a class of water and drink it to show how grateful she was for this gift.

the other thing that amazes me is the amount that these people carry on their backs and heads. millicina raps up the clothes and blanket on her back like she would if carrying a baby. (i might add that the blanket in of it's self was not that light) then she carried the food on her head. bebe carried the mats on his head and they were off. if you read my blog before you might remember that this walk took gorge and i one hour to complete..... with nothing but the heat to slow us down. never mind having around 20 to 40 ponds on my head. i'm not kidding you! i put a bag half the size of millicina's on my head and it took all the strength in my neck and back to keep from tipping over. i couldn't even last five minutes and i was standing still! i marvel in wide-eyed-wonder at what these men and women do. survival has a way of pushing you to your limits.

i don't know that i will ever understand how glorious this walk was for a widow and her grandson.

moving the mill

this is a little late because the internet has not been preforming all that well......so, last week the mill was moved! the big blue machine on the back of the truck is the mill that is used to grind the maze the women bring. they carry this sacks of maze on their head and many of them have to travel great distances to do so. the decision was made that the mill would be better accessible if it was at the ASAM school rather than the farm. (about a 20 min driving distance!) but as things go in Africa, just because a action is decided upon by no means that action will be executed immediately. you see many unexpected events can happen that will prevent you from accomplishing tasks as soon as you would like. i don't know how long these women have been waiting but i do know that the sight of the blue machine on the truck brought many shouts of joy and dancing along the road! the men are shoveling sand and rocks onto the truck so they can make cement to secure the mill at the school.

So one this trip I decided it was time to join the workers in the back of the truck for the trip up to the farm; I had to of course because this is illegal in Canada and we always want to do what we are not aloud. Here, when there is a ride, and there seldom is, you sit were ever you can and hold on!

Today I helped Fernando serve lunch. Feeding 150+ kids is a big job for this man who says he is getting old. Every time I come to the school he asks if I will be staying to help him and until today I have always had to leave with the truck. Now I understand why he appreciates getting help. First we dish up sudsa which is corn ground up and cooked in water to make a pasty substance that resembles Portuguese. Then I topped it off with bean and fish soup. Yep! I said fish. And just to clarify I don’t mean the yummy fish we buy at the local Safeway…I’m talk’n little tiny fish about the length of your thumb nail….heads and all. Fernando offered me some and I politely declined. I was happy to let my stomach grumble for the afternoon.

since hardly anyone owns a vehicle the locals will take a ride when they can get one. before you could even offer a ride the kids were piling into the back!

well the two teams are here now and it has been an absolute blast! there is a lot of hard work being done with so many willing hearts to give and it makes for great recreation at the end of the day (just a added bonus!) i am encouraged by the talk at the campsite about the days events and what everyone saw and felt as they were offering their hearts and hands to the Mozambicans. i know they are making a difference in the lives of so many. my first team has been going to one of the large schools in the area to teach basic health along with a few english classes. by the third day, when we were pulling up to the school the children were running after the van with a burst of excitement that could not carry their legs fast enough. it was a moment i will never forget.