Here's the classic 1950's cookbook I chose to learn how to make a pie crust from scratch. I think there were 11 pages of directions, including lots of cool photos.
Not so pretty, at this stage I was worried!
Mom helping cut the strawberries while I cut the rhubarb.
Ain't she a beauty?!
Delicious! I was SO proud of this pie, the crust was super, flaky and yummy! I loved it!
I have been so happy with how my mom's been doing these two weeks I've been here. Beginning the day I arrived, she's been eating more and more each day (bringing her weight up to about 102 now) and we've been getting out of the house each day so she's been getting some exercise as well. Overall, she's gaining strength and feeling better.
Although most of her lymph system responded well to the chemo she finished at the end of April, today, she had a biopsy of a mass in her stomach that her doctor said is a different type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The results will tell them more what they're dealing with and what type of chemo she will need to treat it.
Her doctor did say that he didn't think she had the luxury of waiting one or two months to begin chemo. I think that's what is bothering my mom the most - she really had wanted to wait to get her weight/strength back before beginning chemo again.
I know many people are praying for her and for me and I appreciate it so greatly!
Here she is enjoying half of her Mother's Day pressie of a mani/pedi!
Just a quick note to let everyone know I'll be heading to the US tomorrow, Friday, to spend three weeks with my mom. She's been battling cancer for three years and is having a tough time right now. The doctors don't think this is due to the cancer, per se, but the chemo. So we're hoping this is a rough spell that she'll pass through. Even though I just left her a month ago, I really feel she needs me during this time and I have total peace to go. Please pray for my mom and for me. And for my boys who are sad I'm leaving after such a short time. My staff are sad as well but totally understand my need to go.
Who'd a thunk it? Not me! But boy was I excited!
The Marine Guard House (where the Marines live who are on duty at our Embassy here in Moz) hosted it and lots of expats came and sold their stuff.
It was a bit overwhelming to walk around all that stuff, especially as most of it is from the US, with a smattering of things from other countries. Most of the people selling work for the Embassy or NGO's who've had posts in other countries previously.
But I quickly found my stride and here are some of the treasures I came home with. Lest you think I exercised incredible self-control, this is probably about only 30% of the stuff I got!
I didn't come home with the two boys, those treasures I already had! But Domingos got these new shoes and a cow toy that makes lots of noises. He's blind and developmentally delayed so I thought he might engage with this toy. Simois got a new shirt from Target, tag still on it!
Here's an assortment of the highlights, including the blanket which has a mint green reverse side. A Sit and Spin! I couldn't believe it! An Eddie Bauer backpack, racing cars, a black dollie, a skirt and top for me, some books, Spiderman, lots of videos, a mechancial monster/dog/thingie. You can barely see the edge of a shield on the left - I got a whole dueling set.
Here's the best thing I got - if it works! A Canon Rebel camera! It's not digital but it was $20!! The battery is dead so the lady gave me her phone number so I can call her if it doesn't work but she said it does. She said she thinks she even has another lens at home she'll give me. The lady who sold me this, with her co-worker, volunteer at something called International Club of Maputo where they support NGOs. So they gave me lots of clothes and some games. Several people gave me free things when they found out I work at an orphanage. One person told me to come back at the end and whatever kid stuff she had, she'd just give me. It ended up being a BIG bag of things! Mostly for the Baby House but that's awesome!
These earrings are a special find. I've been buying jewelry with this stone for my mom each time I've passed thru London on my way here. I love it too! So now I have something for myself in this gorgeous green stone!
This might have been the best overall bargain (especially if the camera doesn't work!). It was $1.00! There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, I think it's such a darling basket!
The most amazing thing I found was this chopper. Only the day before, I had thrown mine in the trash because I had broken it trying to chop clams and left one in the shell, not good. The very next day, here's exactly what I need. God is so sweet to even bless us with the little things!
Well, I'm off to find homes for these and all the other goodies I came home with!
During school holidays, I wanted to get the boys out of the center for a bit. You might remember from my post a few days back that we went to the reservoir. Last week, we went to the city park for a picnic lunch!
Who can remember the first time they ate ice cream? I think Aurelio will be able to! He's our newest boy and everything we did was accompanied by a big "wow!"
Yummy tuna, cheese and tomato sandwiches, hard boiled egg, chips, an apple - oh it was exciting! Afonso loved it!
Adilson, a budding football star, before we were asked not to play on the grass! At a park! I guess it is looking a little bare in that spot!
There aren't any photos to prove it to you but none of this batter ended up splattered all over the kitchen! Just a bit of flour that didn't make it in the bowl. But here's the end result - yummy banana spice muffins that the boys enjoyed helping make and loved eating even more!
Well, I cheat. I still use the box mixes I love from America. I always bring a couple with me when I've visited the US. They are just so good. And I don't know what it is, but the flour or the sugar or something here is different - the homemade cakes here just aren't the same as at home!
So today I decided to make a yummy cake for our Staff Meeting. I had forgotten that I had had to buy a new hand mixer because my last one broke the first time I used it - the ejector button pushed all the way into the handle and that caused the speed indicator to stick and that was the end of that! (that was my second mixer by the way, my first one had broken too. when the second one broke, I asked around to see if I could borrow one from anyone and every person who had one - you guessed it, broken! but I digress.)
So I plugged it in, stuck it in the batter, turned it on and - nothing. No power. So I shut it off and went outside to look and see if everyone was without power or just us (sometimes we or the dorm next door does something that trips the breaker and only affects us two dorms). I couldn't really tell as it wasn't dark enough for lights so I was heading back to my door when the power came back on - yay! EXCEPT, not yay, I quickly discovered that what I thought was the off position on my new mixer was really the highest setting so I walked in to the mixer whirring away and chocolate cake batter everywhere!
I decided to laugh thankfully and not cry. I also decided to scrape that batter off every half-sanitary surface and make that cake. Hey, it's from America! I can't waste it! (and I did not consider the floor even close to being half-sanitary so what
landed there did not make it into the cake!)
After it was baked however, I did decide I couldn't in good conscience bring a cake made from scraped-off-the-toaster batter to Staff Meeting - well, more for me!
It's school holidays so Pedro came to visit for the first week. It does my heart good to spend time with him. I love his heart for God and people, his joy, his smarts, his sense of humor (including his giggle) and the way he wants to help his friends here in the dorm to know more about God and, let's I'll be honest that I love this part -
how to obey Mana Laura!
We always have so much fun together. I recently bought an Uno Attack game from someone in the city and we had a lot of fun with that. We went out to eat a couple times and of course he joined us for the dorm adventures.
Even standing on his head he looks like he's getting so tall!
At the Thai Restaurant where he tried to use chopsticks!
His first time at the beach with real waves! Normally the boys only go to the bay. He was tentative but loved it!
Friends, I'm sad to add this post that Selso has run away back to the streets again. Almost two weeks ago actually, but I have been behind in blogging, and it wasn't until I saw him on Friday begging at a street corner that I remembered I hadn't told you all about it. He ran from us (Pedro was in the car with me) which bro
ke my heart. It's hard to love a boy and raise him for two years and have him run from you, even if I can understand a little from his point of view why. We still want to be his friend, even if that means quick visits on the street.
We will not use force to bring him back and it isn't decided whether he would even be allowed back if he wanted to come. You see, this time, he took four boys with him. He even tried to get our new seven-year old, Gaspar, to go with him. He knew having a little one would bring in more money. So, since he's posing a temptation to others, we will have to use great wisdom in deciding if he can come back if he seeks us out.
But the members of our street ministry team, myself and the other missionaries who see him in the city - we all want to keep in touch with him, bless him and pray for him and see how the Lord wants to use us to help Selso. How I wish he would choose to love and follow Jesus and entrust his life to His hands.
Please keep praying for him!
(This gorgeous photo of Selso was taken by my friend and Iris visitor, David Ford. Looking at it makes me cry. Anyway, David's website, davidford.com.au, has lots of amazing photos of our children, as well as many others. I want to make sure and give him credit for his talents!)
We've just begun two weeks' holidays so I thought we'd do something fun. There's a reservoir about 1 or 1 1/2 hours from here that I've been wanting to take the boys to. My plan was to take one room at a time, in lieu of the afternoon program, 
but decided it would be to book the ministry bus and we could all together. So off we went on Wednesday morning for lunch and a swim. We met up with some visitors who were at our Iris center in Boane. So there were 46 of us all together. It was such fun and having the whole dorm together on the bus certainly felt like an adventure! 
The boys absolutely loved it, as you can tell!
Ahh, it's good to be home, especially after a long bit of travel with more than a normal share of hiccups. But God is amazing and already had a solution to each dilemma. I felt very peaceful even when not knowing what would happen next!
I arrived home on Sunday and it was so good to see the boys! It was also so lovely to realize how many people had been praying for my mom and me as so many approached me and asked how she is.
Some things that weren't fun, in no particular order:
- bugs and bug debris in every cupboard, on every dish!
- sand, although Sarah was a doll and cleaned up so much for me, it still seeps into every drawer, every book, even the cushions.
- spiderwebs in the kitchen cupboards
- being awoken at 6 the next morning and realizing the days of lazing in bed late in peace and quiet are gone again!
To end on a good note, here's some of the pleasures:
- having a pristine fridge/freezer after the power was off for an unknown time while I was gone so Sarah cleaned it out, along with the . . . maggots! Gross! Even CSI couldn't have found a trace of them!
- Pedro awaiting my arrival with tangible excitement
- Joao Macamo not needing to ask Sarah "when is Mana Laura coming home?" every day
- Aurelio, a new boy with a big smile and an evidently huge heart racing to see who this "Mana Laura" was he'd heard about and welcoming me with a big embrace!
- Lots of hugs and kisses and shouts and cheers from all the boys!
Me, Sean, Mom, James and Sandra
Before the guests arrived.
The Happy Septuagenarian!
We had a lovely time celebrating my mom's 70 years. She was thrilled seeing so many loved ones, nearly 60 people came! But the highlight was my sister and two of her sons coming out of the kitchen as a second surprise. For those of you who've met him, can you believe how tall and grown up Sean is???
It was a joy to come home to surprise my mom with a special celebration. She's blessed so many people throughout her life, most especially me!
Hello readers! I didn't realize it had been two weeks since I'd written anything. I left for the United States the day after I wrote the last post and have just been caught up in all the goings on here in New Jersey. I arrived on February 29th and hosted a surprise 70th birthday party for my mom which was fantastic, it all came together so well. I'll do a separate post about it with photos too.
Since then, I haven't been doing too much but my mom has been really sick. She has non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (has since 2004) and has had a very rough several weeks. We've been in the ER a couple times and the two weeks I've been here, she's been out of bed about an hour or two a day, on average. We went to her doctor today and they'll begin chemo again next Friday. She currently has a bad case of shingles, which is what caused a halt to her chemo a couple weeks ago and has caused so much pain, as well as side effects of the medication.
We're of course hoping that the chemo will help and she won't have side effects, as she hasn't the previous two times. Please keep my mom, Joyce, in your prayers.
I thought I'd put a little update on Thabo here. He is still holding his own and doing quite well, although not gaining much weight. We had a rough time a few weeks ago when his breathing became quite labored and he had a fever that we couldn't get down, but he recovered from that and has been very well since then.
We have a pool quite near our center and he just loves it! Here he is with Judite, one of the Educators who looks after him. They both love orange!
Sometimes I wish I could fit in the Spiderman playhouse and just hide away! Sometimes I wish I could be a kid and play House with whatever is at hand, just escape into my little fantasy world. (hmmm, perhaps I do that a little with the plethora of home-making blogs I've been reading lately?). Today they used the Spiderman playhut, but they're just as likely to stack chairs and broken cardboard boxes to create a makeshift home. I do love that I brought this playtoy back here with me. It is SUCH a hit, lightweight and more durable than it looks. It's currently one of the top three requested toys! This photo is of Salamone and Antonino enjoying their cozy, little home!
One of my darlings, Agostino, moved up to the next dorm last month. But he's been in the hospital for the last few days, very sick with malaria and some other complications. I tried to visit him yesterday morning since I was in the city early to take some visitors to the bus, but I couldn't find him. So I was determined to go today. Well as we arrived, the nurse said,"he's better and you can take him home!" Problem was, he didn't have any clothes, not even underwear! For some reason, the nurses had told our Educator to take his clothes home. Fortunately, I had a pair of shorts in the car, and a big towel so we were able to take him home decently.
Perhaps I've mentioned before that I don't have the utmost confidence in Central Hospital. I'm not quite sure why they released him, he was quite feverish and limping from a swollen foot that he injured days ago, unrelated to being sick.
Anyway, we thought it best to bring him back to my dorm for the night because the missionaries over his new dorm are away in South Africa, and there's only one male Educator for that entire dorm (versus me and three female Educators living here in mine).
So I showered him up and now he's sleeping in the living room with Spiderman to keep him company.
(When Antonio isn't guarding the cabinet, see below, she's guarding Agostino! She always sleeps near the sick kids!)
Please pray for Agostino to get well completely and quickly!
Something tells me it's not the sardines that are capturing Antonio's interest so intently! Especially since she began her cabinet vigil when the door was still shut! (I'm avoiding the feeling of wishing my cabinet was more organized before showing it to everyone!)
I just got back from one of my favorite places in Mozambique - Inhambane. There's a couple visitors here right now who were planning to go and when they invited me along, I jumped at the chance. I hadn't been in over a year. Now it was a bit crazy - it's about, how many hours drive? In theory about 7 hours or so. It took us 10. But we left on Friday and came back on Sunday so it was a bit of a long way to go for such a short time. I would have loved even one more full day there to relax.
A new missionary Sarah (who arrived in December) came along and I so enjoy her company. Then there was Dana and Jonah, crazy soccer players who initiated the trip. Dan from England and Samuel from the US rounded out the group. Dana and Jonah are hilarious together and there was very little time I wasn't laughing on this trip. They all surfed while Sarah and I hung out and were generally entertained.
I must say that although the company was great, the scenery stunning and the atmosphere so relaxing, the best part had to be the air conditioning in our rooms!
Yummy Food
My Favorite spot
The whole gang
More yummy food
Paradise!
(sorry, didn't think to take a photo of the AC!)
I'm still feeling pretty poorly as is a new entry, Elias. He was fine on Thursday night but Friday he came in my house in the afternoon and hasn't left since. Poor guy has been sleeping most of the time, headache, tummy ache, occasional fever. He's had a malaria test but we don't have the result yet. At any given moment, one of us is sneezing, coughing or sniffling! And usually sleeping.
An amazing thing though - Friday and Saturday nights I had to get out my blanket to sleep with!! I hadn't used one since some time in October. (Of course I was gone all of November.) I loved being able to curl up under a blanket and at the moment don't even care if it was from a fever!
Six, count 'em, Six boys are sick in my dorm right now. I took this photo in my living room last night during church. They didn't go obviously so they all slept in my living room. Poor pumpkins. Most of them have malaria. It's the season and it's going around a lot here at the center. The nurses told me that over the weekend, they diagnosed 15 cases!
Perhaps not surprisingly, I'm not feeling well today either. I've spent most of the afternoon in bed but am up for a few hours so I can sleep thru the night. How I wish it wasn't 90 degrees in my house so I could at least curl up under a blanket!!!
Just thought I'd give an update on Selso in case you're wondering how he's doing. We had a few rough days, the Tias accused him of thinking he could do whatever he wanted because we were afraid he'd run away. I tend to agree that he was thinking that way so I lovingly but firmly set him straight! I told him this is his home and we are his family but he cannot do whatever he wants and think we'll allow it because he might run. The rules of the center still apply to him.
A few days later, he moved up to the next dorm with all the other boys who were set to go. At first, we were all a bit nervous about this as we do think him not wanting to move prompted him to run away. But I think it helped that half the boys had moved up two weeks earlier (the day he ran away) so they had adjusted and we're doing quite well so he could see that. He moved without incident, praise God!
He has been doing great since then, just over a week now. Still comes to the dorm quite often to visit, always comes running to greet me if I'm walking across the center while he's around. So I see him quite often and get to pour out lots of love on him.
I'm so thankful that God broke through the walls around Selso's heart to allow enough of His love in to bring him comfort - and bring him home! I continue to pray that God will heal every wounded area of Selso and lead him into the man He has created him to be! Thank you for your prayers as well!
So it's four o'clock in the morning and I hear this strange meow. Didn't even think it was one of my cats! So I turned on the light and there's PussPuss with her prize catch, a rat - at the time with his head still attached. Having shown me, she then proceeded to bite the head off of it! Well, it wasn't long after that before the whole thing was finished off without a bit of anything left behind!
I guess I should consider it a progress of manners that she woke me with a meow - last month, I awoke to the crunch, crunch, crunch of bones!
I really don't think these rats live in my house. I've never seen droppings, or shreddings or heard scurryings. I think she catches them outside and brings them as presents. Such a thoughtful girl!
Selso gave me quite a scare recently. He ran away two weeks ago, on Tuesday, January 8th. I'll tell you the end of the story first - we found him two weeks later, on Tuesday the 22nd, Praise GOD!
We found Selso on the street before he came to live with us almost two years ago. Last year, he talked about wanting to go back, and I had written a group email asking people to pray for him.
On Tuesday the 8th, he and all the other boys from Room 2 were in my house and we were arranging their clothes bag they were going to be taking with them when they moved to the next dorm that evening. I was giving them all new underwear, shoes, sandals, and shirts.
Right in the middle of giving them these gifts, Selso and another boy, Nelson, left my house and went and stole another boy's peanut butter (the New Year's Day gift). I was very angry when I found out, that right while they are being blessed, they are stealing! They knew I was angry as well. I said that I wasn't going to give them the new clothes that day, they could have them later but I wasn't going to give them gifts when they are stealing. So they had to leave my house while I continued sorting out the other boys' clothes. But they were welcome to come to the little leaving party we were having at 4.
When it was time for out little party, Nelson was there but Selso was no where to be found. The Tias went and looked for him but couldn't find him. It was my night to go into the city so I spent my whole evening searching the streets for him. I knew he was angry, he never apologized although Nelson had, and he left very mad. Sadly, I didn't find him.
Over the next two weeks, I spent many afternoons and evenings driving the streets, talking to street kids, looking everywhere I could think for him. Our pastors on street ministry were looking for him as well.
On Tuesday the 22nd, a friend, Sarah, was going on Street Ministry. I was going to the city as well. She said "see you tomorrow" and I replied, "see you tonight when you call me to tell me you guys have found Selso!" And at about 5:15, my phone rang and they had spotted him! Sadly, he had run, and the pastors ran after him but didn't catch him.
But I went to the area and just walked around, sat at a cafe and ate a cookie, hid in bushes, waiting to see if he would re-appear, etc. After about 1 1/2 hours, he did! And when I approached him, thankfully, he didn't run! But he wasn't happy to see me either. He wouldn't let me hug him and barely replied to anything I asked. He wouldn't let me buy him dinner (we were in front of KFC) or even a coke, or even sit down on the curb with me. So we stood for over an hour, me trying to persuade him to come home with me, or at least let me take him home. (He was insisting he was staying with an aunt which I knew wasn't true and indeed, it wasn't.)
He started to walk away when three guards who'd been watching us starting talking with him. While they were, I called the pastor on street ministry and told him I was with Selso if he wanted to come back. The guards were behaving fairly typically, issuing lots of warnings about life on the street, one even said if he refused to go with me, he couldn't come there any more (a prime location for kids who beg as a lot of foreigners eat at KFC) to try and make money, he would beat him if he saw him again. But one was very kind, bent down to Selso's level and began talking to him about God, saying he knew that inside Selso wanted to go home but that the devil was telling him "no, stay on the street" and that he should listen to what God was telling him instead. He was very kind.
While he was talking with him, the pastor arrived and tried to just talk normally with Selso but he refused and acted like he was going to leave. Ultimately, the pastor just picked him up and forcibly carried him to the van, Selso crying, kicking and screaming all the way. He even tore the pastor's pants! They forced him into the van where he made a fuss all the way home (30 minutes!).
The interesting thing is, they had found two brothers, 7 and 8, very little, on the street who had been there over two weeks. So they were in the van being brought back into the center where we can investigate their situation. I can only imagine what they were thinking when it looked like Selso was being kidnapped! But Sarah said they just fell asleep on the way back to the center.
Although I had misgivings about using force, in a way, I think it showed Selso that we were going to do whatever was necessary for him to be safe, that we loved him and we were going to push through the barrier he had put up. I think small children (he's about 10) who act like that really want someone to pursue them and not give up, perhaps even force them to do what they can't choose for themselves. At least that's me looking on the bright side!
When he came home, he still refused to stay. I told him I had his clothes and bracelet and at least come up to the dorm to get his things, then we could take him back if he really wanted to. All of us had agreed we weren't going to lock him in, we're not a prison. So I finally coaxed him to let go of the kinesu fence he was clinging to, and amazingly, he let me take his hand and walked with me to the dorm. One of our Mozambican men who is part of our staff and a good buddy to Selso was talking with him as well and really was the most instrumental in helping him calm down.
We arrived in the dorm where the Tias were so happy to see him. They greeted him as though he'd just come home fairly normally, said "let's go take a shower" because he hadn't showered or changed his clothes since he'd left. Then he sat down in front of the worship DVD they were watching and ate some bread they gave him. When he fell asleep in front of the TV, I said just leave him, wake him when you go to bed and perhaps he'll be too sleepy to refuse! Which is what happened and he went to bed like normal.
The next day was quite touch and go. I felt like we were doing an awkward dance. In the morning, he had refused to eat and I sat on the step with him where he refused to talk to me as well. It struck me that this is what God deals with all the time and has for thousands of years! He offers love and care and only wants what's best for someone and how often people refuse to respond or even to look at him! So I asked God to help me love Selso like he loves us in those situations and what that would look like. I felt like it would look like continuing to offer that love, regardless of the response. So I just sat with him, until my Head Tia arrived who made some small progress with him.
She brought him to my house where he sat very distantly most of the morning, us making baby steps toward one another, me afraid to push him away, him undoubtedly afraid to show any sign of opening up. At one point, I turned to him and said "Selso, I so wish I could speak to you in English because I'm afraid perhaps sometimes I say things the wrong way in Portuguese. But I really, really, really want you to stay. It's so nice to have you here and I've missed you. I just want you to know that." Again, I was just trying to offer him love with no expectation of response.
My main strategy was to get him involved in things. So he helped sweep my house, helped me make salad, helped set up the chairs and tables for the Afternoon Program, etc. When it was time for lunch, the Tias called him but he said he wouldn't eat. I offered he could eat in my house but he said no. A few minutes later I had stepped out and came back and said "Selso, it's beans!" All the boys know beans are my favorite! I asked would he go get me a plate and if he wanted to bring in a plate, he should feel free. And he did!! That was a huge victory.
I knew we'd finally turned the corner when it was shower time and the Tias called him to go shower. He went without a fuss and afterward, standing in his towel, he asked "Mana Laura, can I go in your house and get my bag of clothes?" I said sure! When he returned, he dressed then plunked his bag down with the other boys', right where it belongs! It may have been internal but my "Thank You Jesus!" may have been one of the loudest I've ever shouted!
It's been two full days now and he shows no sign of leaving. We're taking baby steps in talking about everything. it seems that one of the reasons he left is being afraid of moving to the next dorm. For now he's staying in my dorm and we haven't decided if he can stay for the next year, or should move up as planned. We need God's wisdom on this. It might be a good time for me to learn a lesson about grace over principles.
I am so thankful he is home! Honestly, for two solid weeks EVERY SINGLE TIME my cell phone rang or I got a message, I would think "maybe someone's found Selso!" He was never off my mind.
Searching for him on the streets just made me so aware how little he has and who would look for him if I didn't? it made me sad all over again that he doesn't have his own family looking out for him. While I was looking behind buildings, I noticed how many mosquitos there were and I thought, "who would help him if he got malaria? would he just die from it?" I don't know what all happened during those two weeks on the street, but I know these streets are mean. I'm praying that God will reveal anything that has happened and we'll know how to help Selso through it, as well as deal with the issues that led him there to begin with.
Selso's closest friend is Pedro and in God's perfect wisdom, we had planned for Pedro to come visit this weekend. He had been praying for Selso's return.
Here we are playing a dice/bowling game, just tonight. Lovely Selso is on the right.
Sorry for the long post! Thank you for reading and please keep praying for Selso and all my darling boys! And for me, for wisdom, perseverance and patience! And faith! And joy! Oh, for all of the fruit of the Spirit! I need it all!
They'll always be that to me, even if they came up short in the AFC championship game against the Patriots. By the way, do you know that I love football? LOVE it! After searching all over for a way to watch or listen to the game online, I finally settled for NFL.com's live play by play. It's not quite the same, let me tell you. But neither was the pain at watching Tom Brady take a knee the last couple plays.
Hello! I've had the great opportunity to spend a couple days with my friend Adele who is from South Africa but living in Kenya, working with ELI as a missionary there. Some of you might remember I celebrated my 40th birthday with Adele - you can read about it here if you forgot!
Adele flew to South Africa just before Christmas to spend time with her family. Terrible violence broke out in Kenya just after Christmas and Adele hasn't been able to return to her home there. We were talking on the phone and suddenly realized "hey, let's get together!" So we met up in Nelspruit, where I come every 4-6 weeks and where she had lived for a couple years as a child.
We've had a great time together - it's so nice to have company while on my respite in SA! We spent an afternoon at the Botanical Gardens and the next day, drove through the beautiful Lowfeld area to a town called Hoedspruit where there is a Cheetah Rescue project. I thought I'd see a few cheetahs but we also saw a baby rhino, a baby zebra, hundreds of vultures, two lions, grounded hornbills, a King Cheetah, VERY rare, and . . . a tiger! Yep, that's right, a tiger! Yes, he's on the wrong continent but will probably live out his life in this refuge. He was actually abandoned in Mozambique by a Portuguese circus. Sounds bizarre and I don't think I got all the details. But it was still wild to see him. His growth is too stunted to release back into the wild, that's why they're not transporting him back to Asia.
This trip, and even the beauty of the drive, was probably the highlight of what we did. But the highlight of my time was definitely just talking with Adele. As another missionary with several more years experience than I, she is a great sounding board, encourager, resource, etc., for life on the mission field, in so many areas. As a single woman, ministering among the poor in an African nation, even being a white missionary in a primarily black culture. And let me not forget - just as a fellow Christian passionately pursuing God. It was good to spend time together and it's given me lots to think and pray about! Thank you Adele for being such a great example! And for coming to Nelspruit!
(In addition - Adele is very techno savvy - can you tell she reminded me how to add links in my blog?!?)
Let me introduce our two newest little ones to the dorm: Israel and Salomone. They both have lived here at the center for several years. They lived in the Baby House, then spent the last year in a new-then transition house, with seven small ones total. The idea, and it was a good one!, is to help them have some adjustment from the Baby House system to coming to live with the big boys! So far it's gone quite well. Salomone has been a dream. Israel, a bit more of a challenge. He was actually supposed to come last year and thought not ready emotionally so we waited a year. He still has some issues that 
are likely not only related to where he lives. Each day, he has a least one screaming tantrum that can last up to a half hour. However, amazingly, when he calms down (usually with a cup of water he's always obedient to take, even in the midst of screaming - hmm), he almost immediately says "desculpe" and does whatever he needs to make amends. Please pray for me for patience and wisdom with Israel. You can imagine it's hard to deal with that in the midst of 30 other boys' issues!
I've just starting reading Raising Great Kids by Drs. Cloud and Townsend and during today's tantrum I kept thinking "justice and mercy, Laura, justice and mercy!"
The top is Salomone, the bottom is Israel.
Perhaps the title is a bit melodramatic but that's what's making me cry tonight. Tomorrow, 13 of my boys, Room 2, the oldest ones, will be moving on to the next dorm. This happens every year in January, all the dorms switch to stay relatively age-appropriate. My age range this year has been 4-11 with one 14 year old whom we thought was younger until we found out his birthdate! I've always felt that was too big a spread and I'm totally in support of my boys moving up.
But it doesn't make it any easier to say good bye, after 3 1/2 years for me, and 7 or 8 years for some of them. Nor good night for the last time tonight. I just went and kissed or hugged them, said Boa Noite or Sweet Dreams or See You Tomorrow. But no one will be doing that for them from now on. The next dorm has one male educator at a time and the lovely missionary couple who work with the dorm don't live in it so they aren't able to just pop out at bedtime to say a quick round of good nights.
I had to quickly leave the room to cry my tears alone in my room so as to not upset them. This doesn't bode well for tomorrow's goodbye - uh oh! I've known for months and months they were going and thought I was prepared but I guess prepared and unemotional are not exactly the same thing.
This is the sort of time when I'm so aware that as much as I love what we're able to do here at Iris, this was never God's design for families. Transitions are hard for me it seems. But I pray for their future just the same and if you are praying for Adilson or Nandino, Paito or Agostino, Rafin or David, Selso or Abelo, Nelson or Inacio, Manito or Nelinho or Joshua - please continue to pray for them, every day that the the Lord brings them to mind, to become the men of God he has plans for them to be.
These boys love their bike. It's what they want to do all day, just ride up and down our small strip of concrete, about 30 feet long. They also like to fiddle with the bike, which has resulted in some damage already after only one week of use. With so many kids using it, it's hard to find specific culprits which is frustrating. But anyway, they enjoy it so much and I'm glad we have it.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Rooms 1 and 2, the bigger boys, got to watch a movie in the church with the BIG kids and they were very excited. Room 3, the Littlies, stayed home and watched one in our dorm.
About 10 pm, there were grilled sausages in the church and even the Littlies went for that, as evidenced by this photo of my littlest, Simois, whose bread and sausage is as big as his torso!
Then at midnight exactly, we had a grand fireworks show on the futball field. About half the kids ran and hid behind the school, but eventually, most of them came out and joined in the fun, usually hiding behind an adult.
New Year's Day is very important here in Mozambique, we think bigger than Christmas even. So we decided to throw a little party for my dorm. We started with wheelbarrow races, followed by crab races. Then there was parachute play, always a hit! We had a special lunch of hot dogs, apples, yogurt and a whole packet of biscuits each! I can't forget the soda either.
The fun wasn't quite over - we had a great water balloon fight in the garden and topped the whole afternoon off with a present of a small jar of peanut butter each! That was a gift from a new friend named Susan and her family. They learned about my boys through my friend Justin Fox (link in the margin) and wanted to do something to bless the boys. They gave money for peanut butter for Christmas but I wasn't able to buy it beforehand so I decided to make it a special New Year's gift instead. (They also sent three movies and there was enough money leftover after the PB to buy a VCR for the dorm as well, for Christmas! Thanks SO much guys!)
I'm excited about the New Year ahead and all that God has in store for us. I'm praying that both my life and the lives of my boys will be transformed this year by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives!
