10/28/07 Life in Africa #2

So, here I sit in Pemba Mozambique. It’s about 11pm Sunday night, (which is very late for Mozambiquens considering that the sun raises at 4:30am and sets at about 5pm)
I honestly don’t even know where to begin an update for you all. So much has happened. Life here is so different, but for some reason I find myself feeling very at home. I never need an alarm, because the 200 children that live here, plus the 100+ village kids that hang around are all up playing by about 5:30am. The breakfast bell rings between 5:45 and 7am (This is Africa and time means nothing… haha!) Breakfast is a roll and nasty hot tea that is so sugary! I usually make myself coffee or have coffee in “Man Town” with my buddies there. Sometimes I eat the roll, but usually I just make oatmeal, or skip breakfast.
I head over to the big tent around 8am for school, which is different most every day! We usually play some music together and then Leslie lectures. That woman is crazy awesome! She’s been all over the world, doing whatever God has her do.

Two days a week, the Mozambiquen pastors from the bible school join us. We had a feet washing ceremony Friday to build community with each other. It was really neat. I usually spend lunchtime with either the pastors, or the children; which has been the best way for me to learn Portuguese. 2 weeks in, and I can communicate pretty all right. I’m sure I sound 2 years old, but they seem to get it mostly. I think I get more frustrated with myself than they do.
It’s interesting though… I don’t only have to learn a verbal language, but I have an all new body language to learn as well. It’s so hard to read people here, because even their facial expressions are somewhat different. I am sure I look like a freak to them most of the time. The guards laugh at me a lot. I’ll say “bon dia!” and they return with “bon dia” and then I say either “to the bon?” or “como esta?” then then they say “to the bon.” and then I don’t know what to say after that, so I say “bon!” and then “chao!” and then they all laugh. Maybe I am pronouncing it funny? (Certainly spelling it all wrong, sorry!)

The kids here are very aggressive. There are 4 horses that run around all over in the day, and the kids chuck rocks at them, which make the horses very scared and angry, but this evening I spent about an hour with them (the horses) just petting them. Which is really quite amazing because they don’t come up to people, but 2 of them were all the way up to the fence with their heads peeking through for me to hug and pet. I’ve pet all 4 actually, and they are beautiful! I feel very honored that they allowed me to touch them this evening. 
One of the hardest things for me has been dealing with people asking me for money like I am an ATM. My new friend Adiza doesn’t speak any English, and very little Portuguese. Today after church I had a kid translate for us and she said she wanted to ask me if I would give her some money. Haha! It’s such a frustrating thing really. There is a need, but at the same time, people have lived in Africa for a long time. And they are getting by. I refuse to feel guilty for being from America. (Though it can be hard.) People here also try to scam all the time in hopes that you will give them money. We luckily aren’t supposed to give any money. Which makes it easier because there is a rule about it. Really, it’s good because giving people money is only feeding the lie that money will fix everything. We feed everyone on Sunday. And we feed the village children every day. (we don’t feed adults outside of Sunday church, because in the past, riots broke out, and the children were threatened with knives. We still have a guard stand by when we feed though, because you just don’t know what will happen in a community that is starving.)

I fed the children twice this week, and the first time we ran out of food. We kept praying, and it just so happened that the kitchen had enough to give us more (which is so unlikely) and then the second day, we had less food and twice as many children, and every child ate! All the way to the last plate. God MUST have multiplied the food or something! I mean, we are talking 50-70 more people with less food. Crazy! He is so good!

Church here is so hardcore! These people sing and dance for hours! I feel like I have run 10 miles by the time they are done with Praise and Worship. They are so full of joy too! The church works a lot like the first church did too. Everyone serves! People take turns leading the songs. And there are usually 2 or 3 dances the kids have put together, and then the pastor teaches. It is translated into Makua and English. It’s crazy! Sometimes Heidi teaches, and other times it’s one of the student Pastors. They sometimes have skits too. Their teachings are also kind of like skits, it’s wonderful!

Today God told me to pray for a blind guy, I didn’t really want to, but I went up to him and laid hands on his head and he had tears dripping to the ground, it felt powerful. I then prayed for another blind man, and then many others. I went to the corner where the older woman tend to sit together, and I started praying for them, many of them are lame, one of them just held on to my hand the whole time. Several of them hugged me many times.

Part of the time I was ministering to people I was holding this baby boy. Children curl up in our laps during church and often fall asleep. It was so cute. ‘

Starting next week, I will be working in the preschool one day a week. (This means I will miss half a day of class every week, but it’s counted as an elective.) Preschool is age birth – 3 years old. Should be neat. I haven’t even been to the baby house yet. I may also be working in the clinic as an assistant with Eric. He is one of the doctors here. Erica G has been going to the villages to do scabies treatments on the children; I may join her as well. I think I may have scabies on my arm, or, they might just be funky bug bites. We’ll be able to tell in a couple days. Put some triple antibiotic ointment on it and call it good. Haha. It’s actually neat, I have not worried about getting things like this because worrying would hinder me from being able to love these people, and they so badly need love.

I’ve been asked about marriage 3 times I believe. And many people (mostly young boys) say they want to “spend time” with me. (Which spending time with anyone of opposite gender means you are dating. And holding hands means you are probably sexually engaged.) Some things lead people to believe you are dating. So one has to be careful, and it’s difficult!

Last night I went to the Dolphin with my outreach group, so that we could do some team building. I ate lobster, and this restaurant is on the beach. Pemba has one of the nicest beaches one has ever seen! I also had ice cream, and the whole thing seemed too good for mission work, however, taking a break is good things sometimes I do believe.
Lobster is $4 here! So cheep! Food is priced differently here, and of course the currency is different. It’s 25 Metici to the doller. It’ll be funny when I try to pull out 500 dollars at the ATM in America. (meaning to get about $20)

I love wearing Capalianas here! I seem to live in them. At home we tie them around like a dress (but this is considered rude when out of our homes. In fact we are only to wear them as skirts when worn as clothing, because it offends the people.)

Last week the pastors were trying to teach me different body parts in Portuguese. They would point and say the word, and then I would point and repeat the word. Well, they got to “breasts” and the pastor cupped his hands over himself and said mamos! My whole face turned SO RED! We have a saying “A boob is a nose here” it’s so different, because knees are offensive! Actually their own knees aren’t as offensive, but thanks to Hollywood white woman’s knees are very sexual. (An African woman would not show hers in church though. Yet they do show their breasts in church!)

Next weekend I will be in the Bush for 3 days. It should be pretty neat. I hope I learn a bit more Makua before leaving.

I love walking on the beach and finding shells! It’s so wonderful; I just wish it were safe for me to do it myself. Kathryn from my house does all the time, but she is from Uganda, and blends in a bit better.

I am making many friends. And all of my housemates are amazing. It’s neat to meet people from all over the world. There are so many English! Ruth that lives in my house is from England, and says so many things we get confused with. The word “trash” is never said, they say rubbish. Etc…It’s neat. We introduced her to PPJs, and Gramcrackers. She’s never heard of smores. And she asked if our proms are the same as in the movies. Haha!

Anyway, I am so very sleepy, so I am going to go to bed.

Blessings and love!

-Bethany