Maputo, Mozambique

Well, I'm finally here.

I went to church with the family I was staying with on Sunday morning. After church we drove straight to the airport and had lunch there. Then Nathan and Sissy left me with the final parting words, "Don't talk to any boys."

My bag was supposed to weigh 30kg, but instead it was 33kg (72.6lb). I started thinking how I would remove those extra 3 kilos. The guy asked me, "Why is it overweight?" I responded with, "It's only 3kg over. Hamna shida." He grinned and let my bag through. Woohoo!

Upstairs in the airport I had to go through security again. I greeted the guard with, "How are you?" He frowned at me dramatically and said, "Oh, not great."
"Why?" I questioned.
"Because you're leaving," he responded sadly, then he waved me through. I noticed that though he had asked the lady before me to remove my shoes, he hadn't asked me to.
"What about my shoes?" I asked.
He peered over the counter for a minute, then looked at me and replied, "They are very nice, ma'am."
Smart alec. :) I laughed.

My ticket implied that my flight would go straight from Dar es Salaam to Maputo, Mozambique. Shortly after I'd settled in and was ready for 4 hours in the air, the flight attendants came through and announced we were landing. Confused, I put my seat in its "upright position." We landed at the very small but clearly labeled "Pemba" airport. I thought maybe we were dropping off some passengers, but they herded us all off the plane and through immigration. It must have taken at least an hour.

After all the confused passengers had their visas, we got back on the plane. Once in the air, the pilot announced our flight time would be "20 minutes." I figured I must have heard him wrong. We were still in the far north of Mozambique. Maybe he said "120 minutes." Nope. Twenty minutes later we began our descent into Nampula. Surely this time we wouldn't have to get off the plane. But we did. Everyone got off and went inside. I chatted with a few other passengers as we waited for probably 20 minutes. Then we all got back on the plane and continued our journey. Thankfully that was the last stop. The next leg of our trip took us directly to Maputo. I wanted to sleep (seeing as it was dark outside) but the cabin lights were so bright that I couldn't. They fed us a meal with fish. I asked for a vegetarian one, and the guy said, "It's fish." I asked if he had anything else, and he said, "Chicken." So I ate the rice and a piece of bread.

During the first two legs of the journey, I had my row entirely to myself. Then on the third segment a guy decided to sit in the aisle seat next to me. I didn't mind, except that he had awful body odor and everytime he moved a wave would rush toward me. I turn the air conditioning on full blast to try and dissipate the smell.

We were supposed to land in Maputo at 8:40pm. I'm not sure what time we actually landed, but I didn't get my bag until 10:20. I waited as they unloaded all the bags from our flight, but mine didn't show up. Neither did the bags of the two other white guys on the flight. Another plane came in and we waited for them to unload it also. Then a third plane. Still no bags. Finally an employee thought he could help us. He walked us through a maze to another part of the airport labeled "international arrivals," thinking our bags would be there. They weren't. He chatted with a lady and then took us to a back room filled with unclaimed luggage. Sure enough, there were all our bags. Why in the world they were put there instead of with the rest of the bags, I'll never know. I'm just happy I got my bag eventually.

Justin, Neil, Janelle, and Marquelle all picked me up at the airport. It was so nice to see familiar faces!

Dar es Salaam

I didn't sleep much last night, but was feeling quite a bit better this morning. The bus ride was nice, actually. It was long...9 1/2 hours. I sat next to a young woman with a 1-year-old and was able to help her out throughout the trip. I also ended up with the baby of the woman across the aisle. The bus attendant dumped the kid on me. People seem to like handing their children to me...but I don't mind. :)

At one point the baby next to me sneeze-puked all over my arm and lap. I was laying back in my chair with my headphones with my eyes closed. I didn't even flinch. In fact, I barely glanced down and went back to my reverie, totally unfazed. But the mother was so apologetic and tried to clean me up, so I took over and cleaned up myself and scrubbed her leg too.

Now I'm at my friends' home in Dar es Salaam. I am staying here until Sunday, May 24. Relaxation, here I come. Did I mention the house is right on the beach?

Outta Here!

I haven't slept in ... 43 hours. I am exhausted. I have just overcome malaria, again. And in 6 hours I'm going to wake up and stagger on board a bus headed for Dar es Salaam. Just wanted to let you know that this is my last night, my last few hours at the orphanage (my feeling regarding this: very sad, naturally). I begin my two-week travel period now and will update as possible.

Love to you all and can't wait to see you!

For those of you who haven't received the invitation to the fundraiser dinner I'm hosting in early June, let me know! I'll get one to you ASAP. The dinner will be Tanzanian fare and I'll be showing pictures of my trip. Karibuni! (You are all welcome!)

MPS+2 AGAIN?!?

Well, I'm not convinced I didn't have giardiasis, but in addition to that lovely ailment, I also have malaria. Again.

I started medication for malaria this morning. Hopefully I'll be well by Thursday morning when I start traveling.

Keep me in your prayers!

Sickie

It's my last weekend at the orphanage and I've been out of it the whole time. I've been having stomach cramps and trouble eating for a few days. On Sabbath I started feeling particularly ill. I went to bed fairly early and woke up the first time at 2am, then at 3:30am (and fell back asleep at 4:30) and then at 5:30am, then finally at 7:30am. I just stayed up at that point. I had been in awful stomach pain all night and could hardly sleep in between bathroom breaks. My fever was over 100 F the whole night, and just recently dropped down to 99.7. At 4am I took some medicine that's supposed to kill anything inside me. I'm pretty convinced I have giardia. It was a toss-up between that and amoebic dysentery.

I went to the Vineyard church in Arusha this morning. My friends there said a "safe travels" prayer for me, and I cried. I can't believe I'm leaving! I could hardly make it through church--I felt so ill. Afterward we all went out to lunch, and even the waiter commented on how ill I looked. Rachel wanted to sit on my lap all during church, but I was so exhausted that it hurt to hold her.

I'm too tired to keep writing this blog...*chuckle*

I should be better within a day or two. Just wanted to keep you updated on my current status, even when it isn't good.

Early Shift

Last night and this morning I took over my roommate's shifts so she could go into town and spend the night with her girlfriends. Last night went without incident; I even finished changing my kids and tucking them in half an hour early.

I didn't sleep well last night; I kept waking up and had bad dreams. Yet strangely I woke up at 6:15am, ten minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I pulled on yesterday's clothes and a sweater (it's COLD here in the morning!) and stumbled downstairs.

I'm really glad all 4 of my babies are happy in the morning, because it's a lot easier to change an overflowing, over-poweringly stinky diarrhea diaper when the child is grinning up at me. Did I mention we use cloth diapers? We wash them in waist-high "Hungarian toilet" contraptions (not sure why people call them that).

Apparently I am colorblind in the morning. I dressed Hope in a pink and white onesie with white cloth overalls. Cute, right? An hour later I realized the overalls were actually yellow. Likewise, Rachel donned white pants and a pink sweater. Or so I thought. Luckily her pants ended up being pink, so at least she matched in the end. I just left Hope in her Easter ensemble.

I am learning very quickly that toddlers can be really helpful. I was sitting on the floor feeding bottles to Amina and Nina (7 months and 5 months) while Nelson (9 months) was about 6 feet away with his bottle. Amina wouldn't grasp her bottle, I needed to burp Nina, and Nelson lost his to a pillaging toddler. In one of my rare moments of brilliance, I instructed Rachel to feed Amina. I hoisted Nina onto my shoulder and burped her while striding across the room to fix Nelsons predicament. I let Rachel finish feeding Amina, and then I sent her to the kitchen with the empty bottles. Afterward she felt the impulse to kiss the babies. I love her more every day. :)

When my shift ended I headed back up to my apartment, intending to sleep (which I haven't yet done). It was ten minutes after 8am. When I came out the back door, I noticed two young guys (about my age) changing in the backyard. Yes, changing. I kid you not and I exaggerate not. I immediately looked at the ground and quickly walked up the stairs to my apartment (they really didn't pick a very inconspicuous place). When I got upstairs, I thought, "What in the world?!" Usually we don't have guys that age on campus. Especially not at 8am. So I hurried back down the stairs, still averting my eyes (they weren't very quick at changing either). I found the guard and asked him who in the world the guys were. It turns out they were working for the painter we hired. Maybe tomorrow I'll inform them that they can change in the bathroom. Or at least behind a tree.

New Song

Well, I've traveled halfway around the world and lived on another continent for 8 months. I've experienced a different side of life. And I've discovered that life is essentially the same, no matter where you are in all the world. In poverty or wealth, people still face the same life decisions and the same heartbreak. No one escapes the enigma of relationships (romantic and platonic). No one is exempt from doubt regarding God. No one can conquer sin on their own. No one has everything, in any sense of the word, unless they have God, because He is everything we need.

I wrote this song today. It was inspired by Downhere's song "What It's Like."



Fix Me Again

I didn’t plan on getting hurt today

I didn’t plan to spill my tears on You

I didn’t want my heart to break into

A million little tiny pieces

And so I come running back to You

Fix me again

Heal me again

Forgive again

Where I have failed

Restore again

For I am broken

Of course I’m not the first to cry to You

Of course we all make mistakes, they’ll say

Of course we all fall from Your perfect way

We run off with our own ideas

And so I come crawling back today

Fix me again

Heal me again

Forgive again

Where I have failed

Restore again

For I am broken

I lay prostrate on the cold floor

I bang my fists, I cry out for You

You’re knocking at my heart’s door

Is opening up all I must do?

Fix me again

Heal me again

Forgive again

Where I have failed

Restore again

For I am broken

Days Are Disappearing

I somehow managed to hurt my foot, and so I limped around campus yesterday and today. Hopefully it'll resolve itself soon. Thankfully I don't have much walking on my itinerary.

Today I slept in and then relaxed with my roommates into the late morning. I stayed up late last night trying to get ahold of a friend back home and had a tough time rolling out of bed this morning. Davona and I drove to the airport at 11am to pick up our newest volunteer, Krissy.

Four of us girls went into Usa for lunch. I finally tried chipsi mayai, a Tanzanian favorite. It is an egg omelet with fries inside. Sounds healthy, right? I finally decided to ignore it's nutritional lack of value and just try it. It was decent, but would have been significantly better with ketchup or Taco Bell hot sauce.

After lunch, three of the girls headed back home but I walked down to Mamo Catering, a business run by a German ex-pat. He sells yummy baked goods. The two girls who work there are close to my age and have become my friends over the months. The one who knows English, Irene, told me she would make me "something special." I expected a pretzel or something equally trivial (though much appreciated!). Instead, she greeted me with a whole loaf of macadamia nut bread! Salome (the other girl) presented me with 3 sweet muffins. How kind of them! I talked with them until a quarter past four and then decided I should probably head back to work. :)

Back at the orphanage I discovered that I couldn't work because the internet was down...again. All I need to do is e-mail one work permit, and I can't do it! I'm upstairs now, so I can't do it from here. Krystal and I joke that the internet hates us.

Our stove was heading out of commission until today, when Ross (an ADRA worker from Australia) and his wife Ramona came and fixed it. Yippee!

I'm almost finished packing, and it looks like my bags will make it under the weight limit.

Ticket Confirmed/Travel Plans

Today I received my e-ticket to Maputo, Mozambique. Leaving is starting to feel more real. I had a going away party last night and next week at church they will pray for me. All I have left to do is finish packing (why oh why all the weight restrictions?), clean my room, and buy a bus ticket to Dar es Salaam. And then I am on my way on the next stage of my journey--the last leg before I come home. *gasp!*

So, for those interested, let me tell you a bit about my travel plans:
I am done here at the orphanage on May 18. I'll spend the 19th cleaning up and I might even stick around the 20th. Then I take a bus to Dar es Salaam (8-10 hours). In Dar es Salaam, I am staying with a friend until my flight on the 24th. On May 24 I fly from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, straight to Maputo, Mozambique. There I will stay with the Woods family for the rest of my Africa trip. The day before my flight leaves Johannesburg, I'll take a bus from Maputo, Mozambique, to Johannesburg, South Africa. I am staying with a church member in Johannesburg for one night, and then the next day I fly out of Johannesburg!

My flight back home goes:
Johannesburg, South Africa -> Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -> Washington, D.C., USA (with a stop in Rome to refuel) -> Chicago, IL ->PORTLAND, OREGON!!!

Thank you everyone for all your support. This year has been amazing and I can't believe how much I've grown! (Okay, I kind of expected the growth, but it's still fantastic!)

Please write to me. I know I don't usually respond to blog comments, but they really make my day!

I'm better at responding to e-mail, so feel free to e-mail me. Just realize that in 8 days I may not have internet anymore!

A Good Day

I have no reason to blog except that I had a good day. Nothing special happened; it was just good. I didn't expect to have such a good day, considering how many times I woke up in the middle of the night being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Davona and I spent the morning in town and we got almost everything we needed. That is a rare treat. Usually some shop is randomly closed or what we need doesn't exist, etc etc.

The immigration official continues to think we're on better terms than we are. The last two times I've walked into his office I've been greeted by:
"You look cute today"
and the next time:
"It is going to be a good day. " Me: "Why?" Him: "Because you came into my office."

Please, sir, just approve my work permits and let me go. (Last week he also tried to talk me into going to a dance club...ha ha)


The picture at the top is of me handing baby Violet (now named Clara Shei) to her adoptive mom, Kirsten, the day the father signed the paperwork. Yay!!

Just for the record, I'm looking to buy a car when I return home. I really want a Honda Civic, 1992 or newer. I will only buy a manual and I strongly prefer a 4-door. I'd also like a CD player, but that isn't necessary if the price is right. My price range is currently around $1500-$2500. I've been tempted by some newer, more expensive Civics, but I haven't decided yet if I want to take out a loan. Anyway, if you know of anyone selling a car that meets this description, let me know! :)

Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate your interest in my mission!

Back in T-Zed

I guess I haven't blogged since I got back to Tanzania. I've been back since the 21st of April, which was 13 days ago. I was sad to leave Kenya, but I also knew it was time. Plus I had been missing the children (especially my Rachel) dearly. Coming "home" to Arusha was quite exciting!

Not much has happened since I've been back. I made some new friends from England. They are working at an orphanage not too far away. On Sunday they treated Marsha and me to lunch at the Impala Hotel. YUM! Excellent Indian food.

The other day I had an interesting experience on the dala-dala. It was crowded so I had to stand. The lady I was standing next to and I shared smiles saying "this is so uncomfortable" as we were jerked about the bus. Someone got off, and she sat down, then pulled me onto her lap! I thought, "Okay, this is at least more comfortable than standing." A while later someone else got off and I sat next to her. She felt the need to hold my hand (this is happening to me more and more frequently). First she wanted my phone number. We spent several minutes trying to figure out each other's name over the din of the dala-dala. I finally figured out her name and I told her mine. When we reached her stop, she demanded that I come to her house. I politely told I would come some other time. She was quite persistent, but I eventually convinced her that I couldn't come now because I had to go home. She was silent for about half a minute, then said, "Well I will come to Usa River with you then." I panicked inside. This lady was crazy! I told her she couldn't, but she kept saying, "Twende!" (Let's go!). I was desperate to get her off the dala-dala while it was still stopped in her town. I pleaded with her that I had to go to work, so she couldn't come with me. Finally she gave in and left. Did I mention that all this time she was holding my hand and stroking my hair? I can take a lot, but it was getting strange....