"Hilaria"

pronounced "Ee-la-dee-ah"

We wanted to introduce you to Hilaria, the new "empregada" who helps us out around the house. As many of you know, she is a real answer to our prayers because we were looking for a lady rather than the typical male help.

Hilaria has been working with us about a month and as you can imagine, it takes a lot of adjustments on both sides to work so closely with someone when we both have such different cultures and backgrounds. Hilaria is a very simple lady and hasn't had a lot of exposure to western culture or how a "foreigner" lives, eats, cares for children, and...cleans. We've had quite some interesting experiences as it regards to that... She is illiterate and only understands simple math so sending her to the market for groceries can also be a challenge. She is really sweet with the kids, though, which is so important to us.

Her "story" is very similar to so many other Mozambican women in this area. Her husband left her several years ago and she now lives with and cares for her eight-year-old nephew in a small shack toward the edge of town. They typically eat "xima" for lunch and supper--a sort of porridge made out of ground corn. And like many Mozambicans, she likes what she describes as "heavy" food (i.e. anything starchy) and so she gives me funny looks when I always add fruit and salad to her plate at lunch :).

I really enjoy talking with her throughout the day as we work together and I especially enjoy hearing about her family and learning about her culture and world view. However, it can be REALLY challenging when she wants to know about us and where we come from...trying to explain snow to someone who barely understands ice...trying to describe America to someone without any frame of reference for geography...discussing my values and my parenting to someone whose concept of "church" seems to be mostly loud music, an entitiy who takes her money (through tithe) and who apparently doesn't even open the Bible, let alone teach from it.

Relationships between workers and their employers here in Mozambique are also very complicated by money. Aside from paying a regular salary and providing food, the employer can become the worker's "lifeline" in every sense of the word and be depended on and expected to pay for everything from her uncle's-cousin's hospital stay, to her latrine that doesn't work, to her nephew's school bribe to...well, the possibilities (and realities) are endless. And in the midst of this we are trying to teach and encourage saving (which is completely counter-cultural), planning (which has little value in a subsistence-based life), responsibility (which means something so different between our two cultures), and independence (which goes against her very understanding of our relationship!) And somehow, in all this we want to convey God's love for her...which is easily hidden if the employee feels we are being stingy with our (apparently) limitless resourses.

Complicated, complicated!

We are very thankful for her part in our lives here in Nampula and look forward to expressing who God is through our interactions with her.