My first week here was a re-welcome
to all things Mozambique (the water out for days at a time, absolutely no paper
down the toilet, red sand and very welcoming friendly people to name but a
few!) and I was reminded of being an ‘acunya’ (white person) when I visited the
local market a few days ago to buy some fresh fruit. Work wise I was able to help get the houses
ready for the students arrival and spend time getting to know the rest of my
team. Upon the students’ arrival, I had
the task of ensuring that all the keys for the students were sorted and they
received a good welcome.
So in the last few days about 320
students have now arrived from over 30 nations to learn how to work cross
culturally in a Christ like way. This
number includes nine families with one family who has a significantly disabled
child – hugely inspiring. I am living
with a group of 11 girls who are aged 19-27 from 5 different countries including
the UK and I get to be their ‘house mum’ which is a great privilege. I am very thankful though that I have my own
bedroom..a perk of being a staff member in a big house!
School unofficially began on
Saturday with Childrens Day. When about
half of Mozambique’s population is under the age of 16, this is a significant
day. On the base where I am living, close
to 5000 children were played with, fed chicken and rice and given sweets as they
left….a hugely logistical challenge which involved some of the local young adults
working all the way through the night cooking…going to sleep with the sound of
their singing as they worked was such a beautiful sound! My team’s role was to be on kitchen duty
which was a busy job!
Today the missions school began
and we got to go with one of the local ‘mamas’ to visit their homes and many of
the students were clearly impacted by the homes or lack of that people are
living in. It is so sobering to compare
lives here with many of us from the West and it humbled me all over again……
this is so great Liz! Great to hear your 'voice' and be able to vaguely picture what youre doing....Darren has arrived in Rio - Eilidh, Finlay and I fly 3 weeks tomorrow - butterflies in my tummy thinking about it
ReplyDeletelots of love
Aif
Good to hear your news.
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