Well I made it back to South Africa. Dara and I had quite a pleasant 15 hour bus ride to Maputo (capital of Mozambique) on which we had comfy seats, A/C, tea and sandwiches. It was nice to be able to see more of the landscape, and process leaving Mozambique. The land is very green now after the rains, hilly, and has lots of banana and mango trees. We spent a couple of nights in Maputo, explored the city a bit, bought last minute souvenirs, and made it to South Africa on the 15th.
We left Mozambique with mixed emotions. We were sad to leave Carlos and his family, the volunteers, and the friends that we had made, but we were glad to see everyone back in South Africa, and are excited to see our families and friends back home soon. It was quite a strange feeling to leave our Mozambican family and the volunteers behind. Most of the people there have no hope of ever leaving Mozambique, as just surviving day to day is a challenge. While we get to go back to North America with every opportunity before us, they will continue to live off their gardens, strive to be a light in their communities, and struggle to rise above AIDS and poverty.
Last week Dara and I went to Cape Town for four days as we heard that it was very beautiful, and a must-see. We enjoyed our time, and got to go to Table Mountain, Robben's Island (where Nelson Mandela stayed as a prisoner for so many years), and did all of the touristy things. It felt really weird being a tourist after all the time we spent with suffering people in the community.
I think it would be easy to go back home and slowly forget about our time here. To forget that there are 7500 new children becoming orphaned every day, and to forget about Carlos and the volunteers who work so hard to care for these kids. I pray that I won't forget, and that I will be faithful with what I've been shown.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
coming home soon....
It’s hard to believe that in just a few days my time in Mozambique will be finished! It has been an amazing time, and I have seen and learned so much. On Monday, Dara and I will head to the coast, and will take a looooonnngggg bus ride down to the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. We will spend a couple nights there, and then head back to South Africa. We will have three weeks in South Africa before we head home in early February. We’re hoping to see Cape Town for about a week, and spend a couple weeks at the Hands at Work headquarters.
Mozambique was such a crazy experience- here are a few things that I experienced which I probably won’t experience back in Canada…
1. Chasing a goat. The other morning I was outside talking to Nana (my 78 year old neighbor who I like to swap books with) and we saw a little girl standing close to a goat. The goat had gotten out, and the little girl was having a hard time catching it. I offered my goat catching skills, and tried to help her. Nana and I teamed up and had the goat cornered when it broke out to freedom again. I started chasing the goat- out of the yard, past the wood mill, and up to the church. At the church I saw a man walking and yelled “Desculpa- Ajuda” (sorry, help). The man didn’t think twice, he just started chasing with the help of one of his friends. So now, the little girl, two men and I are chasing this goat- past the baby sick bay, up to the orphanage, past the main house, and down to another missionary’s house. At this point a pastor from England joined in- chasing the goat around the house, and finally successfully capturing the goat with a football tackle. As he got up the two Mozambican men rewarded him with huge smiles and thumbs up.
2. Scary Bugs- One day Dara and I were driving with our Mozambican friend, Paula. Paula looked over at a bug on Dara and screamed. To hear a Mozambican scream about a bug is a bit alarming. Dara brushed the bug off her neck, and it turned out to be a scorpion. On her neck.
3. Spiders the size of mice- we have a new volunteer living with us now named Hannah. Hannah does not like insects at all, and doesn’t even like to use the fly swatter. The other night, Dara and I were in my room, and we heard Hannah yell- “I just saw a mouse! I just saw another one”. So Dara and I ran into the room equipped with shoes, and prepared to kill whatever came out from under the desk. I was not prepared for the spider the size of a mouse that came running out- with a body the size of a baby kosher dill pickle and legs the size of hairy carrot sticks (only slight exaggeration here). At the time we had no electricity, so we were doing this by candlelight and headlamps. After panicking at the first sighting of the spider and letting it get away, we gained enough composure to look for it again. When he reappeared I somehow managed to kill him with a two fly-swatter, mid air attack (I being in midair). After a sufficient amount of screaming, and tearing the room apart, we convinced ourselves that Hannah had only seen one monster spider- mouse, which manifested itself as two separate spiders.
So, I am looking forward to not having to worry about those kind of things upon my arrival to Canada. I am confident that Canadian spiders and insects will no longer strike fear into me.
Mozambique was such a crazy experience- here are a few things that I experienced which I probably won’t experience back in Canada…
1. Chasing a goat. The other morning I was outside talking to Nana (my 78 year old neighbor who I like to swap books with) and we saw a little girl standing close to a goat. The goat had gotten out, and the little girl was having a hard time catching it. I offered my goat catching skills, and tried to help her. Nana and I teamed up and had the goat cornered when it broke out to freedom again. I started chasing the goat- out of the yard, past the wood mill, and up to the church. At the church I saw a man walking and yelled “Desculpa- Ajuda” (sorry, help). The man didn’t think twice, he just started chasing with the help of one of his friends. So now, the little girl, two men and I are chasing this goat- past the baby sick bay, up to the orphanage, past the main house, and down to another missionary’s house. At this point a pastor from England joined in- chasing the goat around the house, and finally successfully capturing the goat with a football tackle. As he got up the two Mozambican men rewarded him with huge smiles and thumbs up.
2. Scary Bugs- One day Dara and I were driving with our Mozambican friend, Paula. Paula looked over at a bug on Dara and screamed. To hear a Mozambican scream about a bug is a bit alarming. Dara brushed the bug off her neck, and it turned out to be a scorpion. On her neck.
3. Spiders the size of mice- we have a new volunteer living with us now named Hannah. Hannah does not like insects at all, and doesn’t even like to use the fly swatter. The other night, Dara and I were in my room, and we heard Hannah yell- “I just saw a mouse! I just saw another one”. So Dara and I ran into the room equipped with shoes, and prepared to kill whatever came out from under the desk. I was not prepared for the spider the size of a mouse that came running out- with a body the size of a baby kosher dill pickle and legs the size of hairy carrot sticks (only slight exaggeration here). At the time we had no electricity, so we were doing this by candlelight and headlamps. After panicking at the first sighting of the spider and letting it get away, we gained enough composure to look for it again. When he reappeared I somehow managed to kill him with a two fly-swatter, mid air attack (I being in midair). After a sufficient amount of screaming, and tearing the room apart, we convinced ourselves that Hannah had only seen one monster spider- mouse, which manifested itself as two separate spiders.
So, I am looking forward to not having to worry about those kind of things upon my arrival to Canada. I am confident that Canadian spiders and insects will no longer strike fear into me.
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