the view from the indian ocean

what to pack

2011-12-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

"What to pack?" How many packets of ranch dressing mix can I stuff into my four-year-old's carry on bag ? Will my first grader's 50 lb luggage allowance be enough to fit in the next six weeks of homeschool...or (like he's hoping), will the math flash cards have to be put in cargo to arrive sometime later? Exactly how many disposable diapers can I cram into the baby's diaper bag (and still carry it on the 18 hour flight)..and cram into big sister's purse, and Daddy's computer bag...so as to stretch out the blessing of disposables just a little bit longer before real life hand washing begins again?

As we begin to prepare for our return to Mozambique for our second term of work, I've been struck frequently by the significant differences of this move from the first one we made over 5 years ago. Some of them make me laugh and some of them have had me crying.

When we left Kentucky to move go Mozmbique in 2006, we were a young couple with just a little toddler in tow...we were excited...we had the support and blessing of friends and mentors...we were passionate about God's name being made known and worshiped...we had this amazing background of having grown up in a developing country and having seen the God's love shared with those who had never heard...and we...well, we basically had no idea what we were getting into.

We had no idea how hard it would be. How overwhelming the need all around and how helpless and ineffective we would feel--most of the time. How the truths we came so excited to share had to be first carved into our own lives through pain, dissappointments, and ever so real fears. We had no idea how many opportunities there would be to turn back. And we had no idea, no idea, how sweet it is to find "the One who called you is faithful, and He will do it." (I Thessalonians 5:24)

And this time...this time we take four children. This time we take homeschooling supplies. This time we stock up on all the spices for scratch cooking...all the books we can get our hands on...all the Benadryl and Dramamine and Children's Tylenol I can get without looking too suspcious at the pharmacy...and we try to figure out how to pack it all so that if one bag mysteriously "goes missing" (i.e. blesses the baggage handler), we won't have lost our entire library of Veggie Tales. And truthfully, I find myself trying to cover all the bases and trying to remember everything we learned the first four years in Mozambique...because we know what we are getting into this time, right? We should know what to expext this time around! We should be prepared.

I think we have no idea what we are getting into. :)

And in the same breath, I know that whatever it is (that we are getting into) will show me and draw me to The One Who Calls Me.

make-believe

2011-03-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

When children make-believe, who decides who gets to be the princess and who gets to be the frog? Who gets to be "Beauty" and who gets to be "the beast"? Is there a hard and fast rule about boys always being the "knight" and girls always being the "princess"? Apparently in our family it has something to do with...whatever the biggest person decides.

While I was in the kitchen making supper the other day, Wesley (not quite 2 years) was sitting sweetly on the couch "reading" herself a story while her older brother Christian played around her wielding his hand-made cardboard shield and sword, engrossed in his fantasy play of "Viking warrior." After a while, he apparently decided he could use some interaction and I heard him tell his sister, "Wesley, blow on me." She looked up from her book with a puzzled expression and he insisted again, "Wesley, blow on me." In all sweetness she puckered up her lips and obliged...only to be met with a fierce "HA!" and brandished sword in her face as Christian cried out "Dragon fire! I'll defeat you!" and proceeded to valiantly defend himself with shield and attack with sword as he darted in and out around her. Little Wesley screeched and scrambled down from the couch running into the kitchen shouting "Wesley not a dragon! Not a dragon!"

I was surprised that she (a) knew the word "dragon" and (b) knew immediately that SHE was the dragon in that little scene. Hmmm... Apparently she has been relegted to that role before. Poor thing. With two older brothers, will she ever get to play the princess?

"Alex"

2010-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Alexandra ("Alex") Joy Kern was born November 22, 2010 weighing 6 lbs, 7 oz. and we could not be more thrilled with her!

Her two older brothers love to sit on the couch and hold her while her sister is a bit over-the-top in her excitement with the new little one. Every time someone comes to the house, she starts to jump up and down and screech excitedly pointing at "Aaahex".

hike in the woods

2010-11-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

It is sometimes hard to even think back and remember what life was like in Mozambique last year around this time. The months tend to blend into one-another without the changing of seasons like we have in North America.

This year it has been so fun to experience autumn with the kids--the rushing in of fresh, cool weather, brightly colored leaves, pumpkins and apples, hot chocolate... The other day we took a Saturday morning to take them on a hike in a state park.

Cohen and Christian bundled up with their new hats and loved alternately running ahead and dwadling behind looking for acorns, rocks, leaves, and special sticks.

Wesley rode on Stefan's back for most of the hike.

They enjoyed a snack from a lookout point.

The boys in the family (and even Mommy) are getting used to the...emotional drama...that sometimes comes with little girls.

Fortunately, Wesley's little "storms" don't usually last long and she is quickly back to her charming and typically joyful self.

glimpses

2010-09-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Diapers and Hermeneutics classes, reading seven chapters from "Foundational Bible Teaching" while watching three kids and folding laundry, logging work-detail hours while praying for the troubled boy met during community outreach, chatting with a friend in Mozambique about their recent country riots...and then calling a friend in Lexington to chat about child-rearing--these are just a few of the facets and responsibilities that have been occupying our days the past few weeks as we settle in to classes here at the New Tribes Mission Training Center. Our lives have felt a bit fragmented at times as we juggle our responsibilities with our growing family, the communities we are a part of around the world, and our classes here in Missouri.

Sometimes I even find myself wondering what God is doing. Wondering things like...

...why He's blessing us with another baby--in the middle of the semester!
...why we find ourselves putting our five-year-old on a school bus every day when had been looking forward to home-schooling.
...why we find ourselves back in classes in the middle of Missouri rather than a year at "home" in Kentucky

Over our last four years in Mozambique we have found that the Lord often clearly sets us off in a direction without always giving specific insight into why He is moving or what He is doing. We know He is acting but our perspective is so narrow that we mostly just feel the growing pains.

And then there are those rare moments when He gives us a glimpse of the beauty of what He is doing...

I saw my daughter's face for the first time the other day--in three-dimension--her tiny hands clenched up by her delicate features as beautiful as any face I've ever seen. I haven't met her yet--still another nine weeks or so to go--but it was such a special moment to get a glimpse of what God is doing as He actively forms her. It isn't that I have not known He's been at work--there have been some pretty clear signs! Like the fact that I can't hardly walk up the long hill from classes to our apartment every day without panting heavily...or that my 18-month-old daughter runs around the house chanting "belly, belly, belly" and asking for peeks at my ever-so-conspicuous one.

It can be so easy to focus on the uncomfortable things in our lives--the growing pains. But I am finding that it helps to remember that my perspective is so incomplete and that God is doing something through that process--that all the stretching is somehow for His glory--and maybe for something beautiful. He doesn't always show us...but it is pretty amazing when He does!

My daughter's strange connection to my suitcase

2010-06-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

So in April we left Mozambique and the Indian Ocean, and began our travels back to America. For Stefan and I it has been coming "home" in many ways. But the reality is that for our children it was leaving "home" and everything with which they were familiar.

It is June now and we have been on the road and living out of suitcases for two straight months...with two more months of travel on the horizon before we finally settle down for a time. We have had so many neat experiences on our travels...visiting family in Germany, going to Virginia Beach to meet the kids' uncles and aunts, going camping in Kentucky and spending hours visiting with friends.

And it has been so fun to explore life in America through our kids' perspective as they take in so many new experiences...like wearing fun pajamas to bed every night, eating cheerios for breakfast, discovering the hours of entertainment that a playground holds, and watching a rabbit or squirrel in the backyard (strange animals compared to the monkeys and crocodile's they are more familiar with). It has been such a special time. But...we're still living out of suitcases.

Wesley in particular has seemed a bit unsure of all the movement and change and has developed a peculiar attachment to my suitcase. It probably has something to do with the easy access to things that she is not usually allowed to play with like Mommy's make-up or hair dryer. She takes great delight in rummaging through the neat piles of clothes and throwing them up in the air and out onto the floor. She occasionally completely re-arranges the items and I'll find she has re-packed my clothes in HER suitcase. But many times I find her just sitting there...watching all the movement around her. Or I find that she has taken her bowl of snack or box of raisins and, rather than sit in the living room or in the dining room with everyone else, she takes them into my room, climbs into my suitcase, and munches on them in there.

I'm trying not to read too much into it...otherwise I think of things like: "Perhaps this behavior is an indication of extreme insecurity. Maybe subconsciously she is afraid of being left behind and therefore positions herself by (or in this case IN) something that she knows will always be taken along on our journey..." (I know, I know...more than likely she just enjoys playing in a large box like any well-adjusted toddler).

A few weeks before we left Mozambique, I wrote out a memory verse for both Cohen and Christian...truths that I wanted to teach and encourage them with throughout our upcoming travels. Christian has been learning Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." And Cohen has been memorizing "The Lord is good, a safe place in times of trouble. And He knows those who come to Him to be safe, " from Nahum 1:7. Obviously one-year-old Wesley is not quite old enough to be comforted by those words or her "own" verse. But the truth is, I think that at their ages (1, 3
and nearly5), all three of my children's feelings of security and safety and peace is much more dependent on the extent that I believe and appropriate those truths than to the extent that THEY understand them. Although it is great that I can remind them of those truths when they are showing fear or anxiety and unrest...I think the reality is that I need to be reminded of them even more. And as I rest in them, the tone atmosphere of my home is changed and the children sense peace and security. It's just something I've been thinking about...

And in the meantime...I'm enjoying the antics of my sweet daughter in her special, mobile, comfy "box."

visit to Ana

2010-03-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

The other day Wesley and I took a walk to go visit Ana--the girl who works for us--where she lives on the outskirts of town in the "bairo." We rode the "chapa" (public transportation) for the first 30 minutes or so and then walked another 45 minutes on a less accessible road.

Ana lives in a cinder-block home surrounded by a walled courtyard with several fruit trees and an outhouse. She had her clothes hanging up on a line that she had washed by hand early that morning before making the trek to our place to work.

They don't have electricity or running water set up. But she had a large cement tank to catch run-off rain water from the roof during the wet season.

Wesley enjoyed the morning playing on the "estera" (mat) in the shade. She is used to having the run of the house and crawling and climbing wherever she pleases (what with our western culture of bleaching everything and 'baby-proofing' our houses)--but out in the "bairo" the surroundings are not so child-friendly. Typically all the food preparation and cleaning is done at ground level which allows things like hot coals, knives, etc. within easy reach (not to mention a plethora of broken glass, sharp metal, and other trash lying around). I've always been amazed at how Mozambican babies seem so content to play on a mat and sort of thought my rambunctious and curious babies wouldn't do it that well. But I found with a lot of re-direction, she eventually learned her boundaries and spent over an hour playing with a lemon and her water bottle...of course she did get a lot of attention from Ana.

After making the long walk to Ana's house, I wasn't really sure how long we would stay. But upon arrival, Ana sent her brother out to buy four little river fish...and when he came back and started cleaning them, I realized we were expected for lunch!

He and Ana prepared a simple and typical Mozambican meal of grilled fish seasoned with lemon and garlic and "xima" (cooked cornmeal).

Ana served our meal on plates with a side of water to wash our hands in throughout the meal whenever they became too..."goopy"...with the xima and fish. It was delicious! Unfortunately I had forgotten my water bottle...and after that 45 minute walk in the hot sun, a few hours of sitting around in the Mozambican heat, and eating a salty meal I was completely parched. So I braved a glass of water too. (To be honest, I think SHE was more concerned about me coming down with something from the water than I was--over the last few months she's worked with us she has picked up on how germ conscious we are--comparatively speaking--and I think she was convinced that within a few minutes my "weak" Western body would be in convulsions. We were both pleasantly surprised that there were no ill effects from the water).

Pink Icing

2010-03-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have so thoroughly enjoyed having two rough and tumble boys that my pleasure in mothering a girl has surprised me a bit, I think. A year ago, our newborn baby ushered in a a whole new world of ribbons and dresses, baby dolls and purses, drama and sweetness. Sometimes I wonder how we ever existed without it.

I never really liked pink growing up myself...but it was absolutely delightful to put those drops of pink food coloring in the icing making cupcakes for my one-year-old daughter's birthday!

beautiful Africa

2010-03-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Stefan and I left our work and the city behind to spend a morning hiking around in some land further out in the district. Well, I guess it wasn't completely leaving work behind since part of our time was spent looking together at the land where the Christian International School will likely be buitl (the project Stefan has spent the past two years working on). It was so great to spend the morning out in the open climbing rocks, wading through a few marshes, and walking through a few "machambas" (the local farms) planted with rice, peanuts, corn, sourgum, and manioc. It was nice to dream, too, about the possibility of moving outside the city when we return to Mozambique a year from now... The past four years we haven't exactly spent much of our time in the beautiful part of Africa; rather, we've been in the city--croweded, oppressive heat, overwhelming smells, sewage and trash, violence and noise. And by God's grace we've managed to stay sane and learned to find beauty in small things. But how refreshing it was to be surrounded by physical beauty again!

So while Stefan and I were out on our fun "date," some friends cared for Cohen and Christian on a nearby farm. They had so much fun playing with the animals and exploring the extensive grounds. They were completly hot, sweaty, tired, and rosy-cheeked by the end of the day--just the way I like my boys! Wesley stayed home and spent the morning with one of her favorite people--Ana, our house helper, who adores and completely spoils her.

3

2010-03-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

Christian had some friends over to celebrate his 3rd birthday by splashing around in a few wading pools in our yard.

He was particularly excited about his birthday cake and especially liked choosing the sprinkles to put on it. He was completely proud that he was FINALLY the one who got to blow out candles (after attending multiple parties where he was told NOT to blow them out).

Of course we told him he did not have permission to touch the flame when it sparkled back to life. But in the constant testing of boundaries, curiosity, and (ahem) defiance that is life with Christian, sometimes we find it best to let him discover the consequences of disreguarding wisdom on his own...so yes, he walked away from his birthday party with two slightly singed fingers (and absolutely no remorse).

Stefan decided to give Wesley a taste of egg white and chocolate a month earlier than the traditional "one year". Of course she loved it...and loved her daddy for it.

Christian got his first bike--but it took a while for it to sink in. Cohen seemed more excited than Christian at first (perhaps because his little mind jumped to the implications that he wouldn't have to "share" his anymore?)

seething

2010-02-21T23:18:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I came home from the market a little disheveled and...well..."seething" I think would be the appropriate term.

Every Sunday Nampula has a "feira" or an open-air market that is well-stocked with everything from local hand-made housewares and furniture to piles upon piles of second-hand shoes and clothes. It also has quite a lot of artifacts made by local artisans and yesterday, I decided I would go and browse for a few items I had been needing. Like all markets, it is noisy and packed with people trying to get you to sell you their products and the hundreds of people shopping. Despite the chaos that accompanies shopping at the feira, I usually really enjoy it--there is something refreshing about leaving the kids at home with Stefan and having an hour to myself to walk, do some shopping, and just participate in part of the experience of living in Africa. However, although refreshing, going to the feira isn't really relaxing as you spend a lot of your time being shoved and hassled and pursued by vendors--not to mention petty thieves.

Yesterday I was particularly hounded by a few vendors and at one point a man started following me and grabbed hold of my arm. I tried to shake him off but he was persistent and I had to put up quite a little scuffle to finally get him to let go of me--raising my voice and elbowing him(meanwhile the guys in the stand right in front of me watched with a smirk and did nothing to help). A little while later, I felt someone grabbing my arm again and realized it was that same man--but I noticed he really wasn't trying to sell anything. Walking back up that same isle, a man started yelling at me saying I had stepped on his fabric that he had displayed on the ground. Then someone else from behind me started yelling and saying that I should just apologise. But something didn't feel right about it because I was pretty sure I hadn't stepped anywhere near the fabric and even if I had, they seemed to be making a big deal about it--abnormally so--so I kept walking...and when I looked back, I saw that the man who claimed I had stepped on his fabric was walking away--it wasn't even his stand!

At that point that point I should have realized that I was being targeted and should have just left--but I had a few more purchases to make and after each incident, I had grabbed my bag and felt to be sure I had everything. I felt pretty on edge for the rest of my shopping and finally just decided to go home. As I was walking away from the market, someone let out a yell that I had stepped on their foot! (Incidentally, this was a little odd because in a market like that everyone is constantly shoving and hassling to get by--so no one says anything like that). I looked down to see where I had stepped and then looked up and realized it was that SAME MAN who had grabbed me twice before! I rushed out of the market and got on the first "chapa" (transport van) I could find to go home.

On the chapa ride back to my house I was starting to calm down a bit and was wondering why I was targeted repeatedly--especially since I was so clearly hanging on to my bag and they weren't being successful. As I climbed out of the chapa to walk the rest of the way home, I clutched my bag....and felt the empty pocket where my phone had been! I was SEETHING. I was already stressed and pumped with adrenaline for having been grabbed twice and then publicly yelled at twice by strangers. And then to realize that they had been successful....!

Later when I got home, the men in the family listened as I told my story...and sobbed (crying being the only outlet for my fear, wounded pride, and anger since yelling up a storm would have been highly inappropriate in front of the two youngest little men). Christian and Cohen asked unending questions as they tried to wrap their little innocent minds around what had happened. At one point Christian looked at me skeptically and asked if the man had pulled my hair--apparently he thought I looked a little disheveled! He then promptly offered to find the man and stab him with his fork--the object he happened to have in his hand at that moment since we were sitting down to lunch. Of course I told him that would be inappropriate...(but thanks for the thought, sweetie!) Cohen, after listening to the story to his satisfaction indicated that he had something to say... "Well, I guess you should NOT have taken your phone with you, Mom." !!!!!!

The older and more experienced male in the family wisely refrained from offering comments on my appearance, proposing reckless revenge or giving counsel on what I should or should not have done. He simply hugged me.

Christian and Cohen think that the next time I go to the market they should go with me for protection.

Little Miss

2010-02-13T00:23:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we packed the kids in the car and drove to the ocean for three wonderful days on the beach. Of course all the preparation and packing required for three days away with little kids leaves a person in need of vacation if one didn't already. In all the last minute shuffle, Wesley was somewhat ignored (compared to her defalt as center of attention) and at one point I found her rummaging through our food basket and finally finding and helping herself to a banana. Little Miss Independent apparently didn't realize she needed to peel the banana before she ate it.

She's been trying to walk on her own recently, too! Someone needs to remind her she is only ten months old!

We always find the ocean so calming and relaxing. The kids are so easily entertained by the waves and ocean creatures and endless stretch of sand.

Little Miss did not want to be held while near the water. She wiggled and complained extensively until we finally just let her eat sand to her hearts content and crawl head on into the waves.

What we don't have pictures for but also contributed to our special weekend: Mommy getting stung by a jelly fish. A green snake outside our cabin. Falling asleep waiting to roast marshmallows. And searching for crabs on the beach at night with flashlights.

why I find myself staring at jars of yogurt

2010-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I’ve been finding something so cheering in looking at a clothes line pinned with row after row of clean white diapers. Or, at the end of the day when the kids have been tucked in bed, I find myself taking a moment to just stare contentedly at my counter lined with jars of fresh yogurt that after a day of incubating are ready to be put in the fridge.

It probably has something to do with my longing, like that of every mother of young children, to have something to show for all my effort at the end of the day. Because most days, allthough I’ve been working from 5:00 am until long after dark, I find it hard to point back to any physical evidence of the things I’ve poured myself into.

How do I measure what I do every day? If I spend an hour making “cakes” and pizzas” with my boys, in the end we squish it all up and put the play dough back in their tubs. And although you can’t tell when you walk in the door, I actually did spend an hour picking up toys and strewn laundry and even did a spot of cleaning today! I made three square meals from “scratch” and even a batch of cookies but you won’t find the results stacked in my fridge, freezer, or pantry. Somehow… mysteriously…they are already gone! And how do you really measure all the patience it took to brush the teeth of a two-year-old who thinks he can do everything himself, or answer a four-year-old’s question (for the fifth time that day) about why it rains, or spoon feed a babbling, daydreaming ten-month-old baby a mashed banana as she occasionally swats at the food?

Having children and moving to Africa has required a huge shift in how I define my “accomplishments”. As a missionary I long to spend more time in concentrated language and culture study and would love to spend an hour reading the Bible with my friend who is so eager to hear the words of God. But I’m learning to be content with spending a few moments laughing with my neighbor over my sons’s attempt to communicate in Portuguese and appreciating the teachable moment with my house helper when we talk about life while we wash the clothes. Even the simple act of being a gracious host looks different now—sometimes I wistfully remember putting together a five course meal, lighting candles, and inviting some friends over for a relaxing evening…but I’m learning to be content with serving a cup of tea to a Mozambican friend who unexpectedly stops by while I’m in the middle of cooking dinner and as our kids run circles around us. And slowly, I’m learning to not place so much stock in checking off the items on my (according to my husband) “never ending” To Do List; rather, to be more in tune to the Spirit’s whisper to set down my bucket and pick up my baby and kiss her…to stop writing that e-mail and give my son my full attention while I explain to him ONE MORE TIME why it’s raining…or to run shrieking around the house as a little “crocodile” chases me.

None of that can really be measured and sometimes I don’t think I’ll see the results for literally years. And some days, although I’m becoming less and less focused on "accomplishments”, I’d still like to see something finished by the time a climb into bed. That’s where those (admittedly odd, but) peaceful moments of staring at yogurt jars in the quiet of the day come in. In a few short hours, the diapers will be dirty again and filling up the buckets. And the yogurt will be in little tummies with the dirty jars waiting to be washed. But for a few sweet and cheering moments, I see the evidence of my work.

crocodile pond (?)

2010-01-01T04:29:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we went with some friends out to Mts. Nairuco--the place about 45 minutes away that has a small lake, some orchards, and a restaurant.

It is always so fun to see the boys explore and be with other kids their age and just...be boys. Wesley and I always enjoy taking a quite walk when we are out there and soaking in the beauty of all things green and living...and especially the unique rock "mountains" that are typical of this area of Mozambique.

Well, just after we got back from our outing, we heard that (gulp) the owners of the place had recently discoverd that a crocodile had somehow found its way through the streams that feed the lake and had taken up residence there.

(Incidentally, I do NOT have a picture of the crocodile).

But you can imagine how we felt in retrospect--reliving all our fun memories and looking at the pictures of the kids splashing around in the water! Granted, I spent a good chunk of my childhood playing in rivers in the middle of the jungle that had plenty of camen (South American aligators)...and Stefan spent most of his childhood swimming in the Amazon River on a daily basis...But somehow, inexplicably, it is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT when I imagine that crocodile in that pond watching my sweeties swim.

That is not to say we feel it necessary to avoid the place altogether. In fact, we just went out a few days ago with some of our colleagues over the holidays. But this time the kids stayed OUT of the water. And stuck to fishing.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-30T04:33:00.000-08:00

We had a truly special Christmas season this year with so many neat memories. As the kids grow we are finding it so neat to watch them begin to get some picture of the magnifitude of what we are celbrating--God with us! And as they have more experience and frame of reference to draw from they seem to be beginning to make connections between some of the fun and traditions and celebrations we associate with the Christmas season. I know they probably won't remember most of it. They probably won't remember making Christmas cards and picking out lollypops for the kids at a friend's orphanage...or the Christmas pagent that they absolutely refused to participate in but were thoroughly delighted to watch from a hard bench...They will likely forget the fun crafts they did at Christmas party with some other missionary kids...or the day that they helped us take some food to a widow in the church and how she pulled them into her arms and blessed them in a language they couldn't understand...or that they spent Christmas eve spent sipping cool mango smoothies and singing Christmas carols with their Daddy. They probably WON'T remember what each of the Advent candles represent next time around... But I think that they will have impressions...impressions about the joy of the season and about generosity and sacrifice and that this event that we celebrate--the birth of Jesus--is a pretty powerful and wonderful thing.

Of course it doesn't help that we don't have pictures for any of that. (smile)

We did, however, have a lot of fun taking pictures of the kids getting their own abundant blessings on Christmas morning...

Wesley doesn't wear clothes very often during this season...a diaper is about all she can tolerate with the heat. But of course we had to dress her up in her pretty Christmas dress for Christmas morning!

"Smile for the camera, swettie, cuz my grumpy baby is going back to bed!"

The boys were shocked and delighted to find that those funny little things we hung in the window actually had GIFTS in them on Christmas morning!

We had received several packages from family and friends in the States that the boys were super excited to open.

And after breakfast and a good nap, Wesley was ready to open HER gifts.

Wesley got her first baby doll for Christmas. She was a bit suspicious at first (seeing as how it was pretty life-like compared to the stuffed animals of her brothers that she was familiar with). After looking at it for a few moments, she grabbed it...and promtly took the "bottle" out of it's mouth for herself!! I'm guessing those nurturing insticts come later?

matapa

2009-12-01T05:53:00.000-08:00

Ana, the girl who recently came to work for us, has turned out to be one of the neatest "surprise" blessings! She's so fun to be around and a hard worker...and so great with the kids. She made matapa the other day--a traditional Mozambican dish made out of pounded peanuts, manioc leaves, and coconut milk.

Sifting the peanuts.

Pounding peanuts and then matapa leaves.

Snitching peanuts.

Grating coconut to make coconut milk.

Washed matapa leaves ready to pound.

Child's Birthday Party: A Potential Landmine of Social Blunders

2009-11-03T02:56:00.001-08:00

The kids were invited to a friend's birthday party the other Saturday. It was quite the ordeal for our three little kids ages four and under (not to mention their mommy and daddy). You may remember from a previous experience we posted that birthday parties in Mozambique are very different than in America. But like in America, the birthday parties can vary quite a bit depending on the individual's culture and values and what a "party" means to them. It was a privilege to share in celebrating our friend "Prescott's" birthday...and once again it was quite the experience!

The invitation said the party was at 3:00pm.

We arrived just after 4:00 pm (taking our cue from the last party!) and were still one of the first families to arrive. The party was held in the (small) apartment of the family and children and adults mingled and sat chair to chair in the living room and veranda (a few meter's square). A variety of loud music was playing from the stereo system when we arrived, and apparently in our honor, was turned up even louder when we entered the house.

By about 5:00pm the kids were soaked in sweat and getting restless from just sitting. (Incidentally, children don't typically play structured games at a Mozambican party--they just run around and entertain themselves). My attempts to correct any of my own boys' roudiness was promptly condemned by the surrounding adults with the typical Mozambican expression of "e crianca"--literally,"he's just a child" and with the meaning/implication "don't be so hard on him" and "let him do what he wants".

We finally gave the kids freedom to just run around the hallways of the apartment building with some of the other kids--it was much cooler out there than in the house even though it was a bit more difficult to keep track of them. I was pretty...um...bored...myself, to be honoest. And every time I offered to help with something I was given a shocked expression and told that no, I needed to just sit!

By about 6:00pm Stefan disappeared with Wesley and I found him a while later outside the apartment trying to get some fresh air. :). Soon after that the kids all sat down--filling the veranda, the living area, and the hallway--to await the food.

Finally I was allowed to help! We spent about 45 minutes serving food to all the kids--a banquet of typical Mozambican food--grilled chicken, fried potatoes, rice, xima, matapa, baked fish, cabbage salad, lettuce salad, potato salad and lots of fried batter-type apetizers. When the kids were finished eating, most of them were shooed out into the hallway while the adults finally all rushed to the food--and I mean literally rushed! An orderly line and taking turns at the food plate is not so much valued here. One lady offered to hold Wesley for me so I could get some food and I could tell she was getting frustrated that I wasn't forcing my way in there and that I was allowing others to push me out of the way.

At that point (around 7:00pm) there was still no end in sight. So after Stefan and I politely juggled a plate of food around the swarms of people while trying to keep track of our kids, I tried to figure out a way to politely excuse ourselves. You can sort of imagine at what point of melt-down our kids were in after spending three hours in a hot, packed, house with loud music! And there was not a single space in the house--bathroom included--that didn't seem to have bodies filling every square foot. So feeding Wesley, who was quite hungry, with any sort of peace and privacy was not an option. However, telling our hostess "the truth" wasn't going to translate accross the chasm of our two cultures. Leaving a party because your kids are tired, hot, and overstimulated just would not make sense to most Mozambicans. And the need to feed a baby with privacy and/or quiet is also just not understood.

Eventually I just thanked the hostess and told her we had to leave (no reasons given!) and she insisted that we could not leave without staying for the cutting of the cake. Seriously. That was not just a polite invitation to stay longer, it was a big huge hint to the apparently ignorant foreigner who had the audacity to suggest they leave before singing to the birthday boy! And who should appear on the scene at just that time? Prescott! The two-year old birthday boy who had just woken up after sleeping through the first four hours of his birthday party! So we stayed. And we sang. And ate some cake. And then wearily packed into the car and drove home around 7:30. We said lots of things on the way home like, "Wasn't that fun!" and "That was so nice that Prescott invited you to his birthday." I think we (Stefan and I) were mostly trying to brainwash ourselves.

Whew! Who knew attending a friend's birthday party could be such an ordeal and provide so many opportunities to commit huge social blunders?

Beautifully Expressive

2009-11-02T05:23:00.000-08:00

(It seems forever since I've managed a post...have lots of material FOR a post...and yet no post. However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a picture of Wesley that a friend recently took. )

Our little girl is nothing if not expressive! At seven months, despite being unable to talk, she somehow manages to remarkably and actively convey what she is feeling, wanting, and sometimes even thinking. She is opinionated, quirky, delightful...and the boys and I agree: absolutely beautiful.

And thanks, Grandma, for the advice to never shy from telling her so!

Mozambican Meal

2009-08-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

The other day some ladies came over to our house to work with me to prepare a Mozambican dinner in honor of a new family that had arrived. It was a lot of fun to work with them (and a little bit of a stretch for me to turn over my kitchen to prepare food in the traditional way) and a really neat time of getting to know these ladies better.

On the menu of this very Mozambican meal was: grilled chicken seasoned in salt and garlic; oven-roasted fish with garlic, chicken bullion and lemon; a rice salad; "arroz novo com coco" (freshly harvested and pounded rice cooked in coconut milk); a lettuce salad and cabbage salad; "xima" (traditional African staple made from cooked white cornmeal); and "matapa" (made from greens, pounded peanuts, and coconut milk).

This meal took about 5 hours to prepare with the three of us working--and much of it had already been done up ahead (such as pounding the peanuts and rice). I had decided in advance to do my best to "let go" of my Western ideas about cooking and cleaning (and yes, even food poisoning) so that I could really learn from these ladies and enjoy our time together. I got down on the floor with them to grate the coconut, cut up the vegetables, and pound the garlic. I looked the other way when the same knife and board that were used to cut up the chicken were again used to make the salad (without being washed with soap or bleach!). And, well, some of the other things are best left unmentioned... The point is: the meal was delicious. No one got sick. And more importantly I had a really neat time growing in friendhip with these women and learning from them.

Dona Vera, recently widowed and without any children of her own, came over early to get a start on the meat. She was incredibly gracious with my own little ones running around and constantly pulling me away from the preparations.

Paula, a girl my own age, came over a bit later since she had to prepare an entire meal up ahead of time for her five children that she left at home. I asked her to teach me how to grate the coconut in the traditional Mozambican manner since we had to use three for the meal.

Cohen and Christian hung out drinking coconut water and snitching pieces of coconut for snack as they watched their Mommy learn a new skill. As for Paula--she laughed most of the time. And finally shook her head and took back the job saying that we would be here forever if she didn't finish up. Just for good measure, she mentioned out loud that her own (8 year old) daughter already knew how to grate a coconut.

I'm thinking Cohen and Christian like it better when I prepare food on the ground anyway. This way they don't have to hear my constant reminders to get their feet off the counter and stop messing.

Mts. Nairuco

2009-07-29T04:21:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we got together with some of our team members who also live in Nampula. We went to a place called 'Montes Nairuco' that is about a half hour away from the city. It is a beautiful place that has camping options and little shelters with nearby grills. It was SO great to get away from the city for a bit and it was particularly nice to enjoy the outdoors on a cool day (as we are in the middle of our 'winter' here in Mozambique).

Christian decided that one of the guys was going to be his new friend.

He pretty much spent the afternoon with him. The poor guy didn't have much choice. Christian is quite loyal if he recieves any sort of positive affirmation.

Cohen and his friend spent much of the afternoon "fishing". I say "fishing" (in quotes) because all the bigger kids had the real fishing poles with fishing line and hooks, leaving Cohen and his friend a makeshift stick with a string and a wight on it.

However, they had a GREAT time pulling up all sorts of scum and plants and trash from the pond and exulted triumphantly over each and every catch.

pink and brown

2009-07-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

All right. Here's a Wesley Grace closeup especially for the grandmas.

far from home

2009-07-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

In June Wesley and I left our boys back here in Mozambique and traveled to the States to be at my "little brother's" wedding. It was more special than I could even have hoped--to be with my family celebrating together, especially since it will probably be a very long time before we see them all again. We had some great professional photography at the wedding, and already many different friends and family have shared some pictures of our time together...but here are just a few images that reflect some of my favorite moments...

Jason married a darling childhood friend--Krystina Royer--a girl I also knew growing up in Brazil. It is pretty neat when you grow up not only loving your siblings, but really liking them too. And what a reflection on their character when they choose pretty great people to add to our family and spend their lives with!

Wesley Grace met her great-grandparents, Robert and Dolores Schuring, and spent some time on Great Grandma's lap one evening as we all sat around and ate pizza on the lawn of the Bible School that her Great Grandpa and Great Grandma, and Grandma and Grandpa once attended years ago...(Yes, "eating pizza" is also a part of the special memories seeing as how we've been living in Mozambique the last three years :)

This is where Wesley spent most of her time in the States--in the arms of grandma. It is so special to watch your mom love your children...

...and your dad play with them. Not only is that relationship so special, but for me, it also was a small reflection of many of my own happy memories growing up. (My parents are headed back to Brazil to work and I don't know when I will next see them, so it was such a special gift for them to be able to meet my daughter.)

Before and after the wedding, my brothers and sisters and friends and parents all spent hours playing games and sports...just dragging our sweet little kids along to cuddle up and nap in the fun.

Being at the wedding was amazing. The truth is, though, three weeks of traveling alone internationally with an infant...away from my husband and two little boys...was pretty crazy. But we made it through multiple international airports, delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost baggage, items stolen from baggage and missing our boys.

As for said boys, I think they did pretty well here on their own. It's a pretty good guess that I don't want to know most of what went on (and whether or not my frantic last minute reminders--such as to eat some fruit and vegetables and bathe regularly--were followed). Skype conversations during the three weeks I was gone from Nampula included such topics as: what items I should buy to replace what the rat chewed up, step-by-step instructions on how to make pancake syrup for Saturday morning, and clarifying to my two-year-old that I was NOT playing hide and seek with him and that I would, indeed, eventually be returning home.

It was so great to be with family far from home. And it is pretty great to be with my own little family here again too.

The road back to Nampula

2009-05-16T02:18:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we made the trip from South Africa back up to Nampula where we live. There is one main road running up from southern to northern Mozambique, and while there are stretches of freshly poured black top, there are also some areas with unbelievably large potholes and gullies in the road that are often several feet deep. There are also some stretches that are just regular dirt/mud roads. Navigating these roads is, of course, challenging in and of itself and terribly hard on the vehicles (e.g flat tires, bent rims, and broken tire rods are quite common on a trip). The other danger is that many people walk along the roads in seemingly unpopulated areas--and with ten foot tall grass on either side of the "highway", it can often feel like a person appears on the road out of nowhere! Probably one of the most dangerous aspects of the trip, however, is avoiding the oncoming semi-trucks. They literally run smaller vehicles off the road in their own attempt to keep to the best part of the highway and avoid the potholes. Friends of ours only about a half a day behind us on the trip north were in a terrible accident due to this very reason.

On our trip up from South Africa this past month, we were blessed with a safe and uneventful trip...Nevertheless, it was still a long, tiring, and stressful journey as we tried to keep two little boys entertained in their car seats and a newborn fed and changed and back in her carseat for three straight days. Obviously, there are no rest stops for the children to get out and run around, no bathrooms, and no McDonalds to make the trip a bit more bearable. No matter how hard you try to find a private place along the road for any necessary stops, Cohen still had to figure out how to "do his business" with a half a dozen people crowding around him to see the novelty.

One of the places we stopped for the night was on the coast and we enjoyed just taking a walk on the beach after beeing cooped up and strapped in for so many hours.

Down the beach a ways from where we were walking, some fishermen were bringing in their catch and we got to watch them hauling their nets in and sorting through the various fish and other ocean creatures they had caught.

The women relatives of the fishermen sorted through the days' catch, throwing various types of fish, lobsters, and squid into piles.

Little children with bowls and pots also crowded around to beg the smaller fish that would not be able to be sold.

We really enjoyed being on the coast again even if for only a few hours!

Kruger National Park (April 17)

2009-04-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Of course we couldn't allow Stefan's parents to come all the way to Africa and not visit a game park! So last week we all piled into the car and made a day trip to the internationally renowned Kruger National Park! It was so much fun for adults and children alike, but it was particularly fun to see what interested the boys.

We saw so many different animals including...

wart hogs

baboons

vervet monkeys

hippos

crocodiles

giraffes

rhinosourus

elephants

buffalo

and others...

After seeing one animal, we typically asked the boys, "What do you want to see next?" and without fail, in a few minutes we would come accross that particular animal! At one point, Cohen informed us he'd like to see a lion...Well, we didn't want him to be too dissapointed so we explained to him that it wasn't likely since they would all be hiding and sleeping during the day...but not 30 minutes later we actually saw a pride of lions resting near a large swamp in the shade of some trees!

As we came to the last few hours of our time in the park, Cohen and Christian said they wanted to see a zebra--one of the last animals we still had not come across. However, the boys fell asleep and we continued to make our way toward the park entrance, actually not seeing many animals at that point. No sooner did Cohen wake up, then we came accross some zebra!

Graskop (April 13)

2009-04-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

We spent one day in the area around Graskop (a town about an hour north of here). We were originally going up to see Blyde River Canyon and the beautiful lookouts which surround it...however, it turned into quite a cold and foggy day without visibility. So we spent some time in Graskop (once again at a pancake house!) and enjoyed just being together.

At one of our stops, Stefan and Cohen kept warm as they waited for us to look through some of the artifacts.

The boys sort of got tired of "smiling for the camera" and began to make faces toward the end of the day.

Melissa, we are still all scratching our heads at your choice of the chicken liver and piri-piri pancake! ?? Only in Africa!

Wesley was completely unimpressed with the splendor around her. But pretty much everyone was impressed with her! Everywhere we stopped, people were completely taken with her. (In most of the local African traditions, it really is not cutomary to take the baby out from the house until he or she is older--one lady in church the other day was telling me in her culture they don't usually take the kids out until they are at least 3 months old--so it is quite a sight to see a newborn being hauled all around!)

The serious family photo didn't quite turn out.

Lowveld Botanical Gardens (April 9)

2009-04-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

Two years ago when we were here in South Africa for Christian's birth, Stefan and Cohen and I visited the Lowveld Botanical Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed walking throug the beautiful forrested areas with waterfalls and rock formations and manicured gardens. So we came back and this time brought Stefan's parents with us. The boys particularly enjoyed climbing all over the rocks and trees and the picnic lunch!

Kapsehoop (March 28)

2009-04-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks we have done quite a few day trips in the area showing Stefan's parents (who are here visiting from Germany) this beautiful and interesting area of South Africa.

Kapsehoop, a small town about 45 min. south of us, is situated up on a high plateau and surrounded by huge rocks and boulders. We spent the morning climbing around on the rocks (well, the boys and Stefan and our friend Melissa climbed--at a week post baby's birth, I sort of just shuffled). We had an amazing pancake brunch, and the boys enjoyed watching the "wild" horses that sort of roam the area.

"Wesley Grace Kern"

2009-03-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

Born March 20th at 6:35 pm in Nelspruit, South Africa
2.825 kg and 49 cm (6.2 lbs, 19 in)

We are all pretty much in awe of the incredible blessing of Wesley Grace to our family!

walk

2009-03-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite times of day here is the early evening where we have gotten into the routine of going on a walk. We typically walk up the length of the air strip once a day...sometimes the boys make it up the hill and sometimes they plop themselves down on the side in the grass to wait for our return.

a boy's paradise

2009-03-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

Since arriving in South Africa a few weeks ago, we have been staying in one of the guest flats of the mission agency Mercy Air--an organization that does flight outreaches into Mozambique. Their property is on what used to be an old farm and the wide open spaces, green grass, and hills are a boy's paradise.

Cohen and Christian have been loving having a "real" yard and taking advantage of more time with their dad.

Even something as simple as a swing has been so much fun for them. They also enjoy watching monkeys steal into the yard to eat fruit off the trees.

By far their favorite thing to do, though, is walk up to the grass air strip and hangars. Every day they watch planes fly in and take off and get so incredibly awed and fascinated each time. Christian particularly gets excited and exlaims each and every time about the "LOUD NOISE!"

One day they even got to watch Stefan go on a ride in the helicopter.

With the boys so easily entertained, it has also been in a sense "mommy's paradise" as well! Here I am enjoying the last Sunday with our family of only boys.

Soaking it all in

2009-03-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

This picture about sums it up: cooler temperatures...green grass and beatiful scenery...and rest--all of which we've been taking in and enjoying since arriving in South Africa about a week ago. This area of the country is so beatiful--farms and orchards scattered across green hills. The town nearby where we are staying has just about everything, including grocery stores with delicious food that we've missed in Moz as well as a mall and restaurants...all of which we have already enjoyed. However, by far, what we have enjoyed the most is just watching the boys soak it all in.

2

2009-03-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

Christian had his second birthday on our way down from Nampula to South Africa. While we were staying with some friends in Maputo we celebrated (on a somewhat smaller scale than the last birthday we attended!) with pizza and cake. Christian' loved the day's attention!

Right away that night he tried out his 't-ball' gift. The timing was great since now that we are in South Africa he has a large yard to continue playing in. Predictably he has a powerful swing...and not such a good aim.

Running around with his shirt off, his curly blond hair, and the bat, we've taken to calling him 'Bam-Bam.' (Flinstones)

The Birthday Party

2009-02-02T03:56:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we were invited to a celebration of the first birthday of our neighbors' baby girl. We've gotten to know the family a bit since moving in six months ago--particularly the children as our kids sometimes play on the sidewalk out in front of our houses together. The parents own a used car parts shop in town and are often gone long hours so although we've spent quite a bit of time with the children and the "nanny", we haven't been able to get to know the parents as well as we would like to.

If when you think of Mozambique, you think of mud huts and thatched roofs...and, for example, our neighbors (on the other side) who raise large quantities of loud foul in their yard and regularly slaughter goats...and if you think of Nampula as being a heavily Muslim area with women wearing long skirts and covering their heads...you would be completely right! And last I heard, Mozambique was still ranked up there as one of the most impoverished countries in the world. But there are also the more privileged and less religious Mozambicans who make up this country and culture and this birthday party turned out to be quite an interesting cultural experience that had us adjusting some stereotypes!

We knew that the invitation was for our whole family, and understanding the generally relaxed sense of time here, we arrived at the location for the party a little past the time given. We were told that the party would be held on the ground floor of one of the larger buildings here in Nampula that houses several businesses, shops, and a cafe. As it turns out, the location of the party was a night club--which appeared to be locked up when we arrived. After about a half hour, the host family with the birthday girl arrived! And we were escorted into the night club (turns out we were the first guests) where we waited for another half hour for the party to start.

Cohen and Christian had fun throwing around balloons that were being used to decorate the room. It was an interesting atmosphere, to say the least! Lights were dimmed and other colorful lights were flashing...Heavy liquor lined the walls surrounded by clusters of balloons. The party was being set up by the same people who typically run the night club...and let's just say that their attire was more along the lines of their night job rather than your typical capulana and conservative dress!

And then the music started. Apparently the night club didn't own any children's music so they played what they had...the lyrics of which would be completely inappropriate to repeat on this blog...we were thankful that our children lacked any comprehension of most of the phrases! Maybe to balance out their lack of children's music, the night club people projected a Disney cartoon beamed in by satelite onto one of the walls...although it was quite impossible to hear.

After a while, the other children began to arrive...probably about 30 or so in total...some with their moms and dads, others with their nannys...and I'm quite sure some were just dropped off at the door (if the chaos were any indication!)

Cohen and Christian got right in with the rest of the kids and played with the baloons...but I have to say that they mostly seemed in a daze with all the over-stimulation of the lights and music and children running around unsupervised.

Speaking of over-stimulation...the birthday girl (remember, she is turning ONE!) seemed a bit overwhelmed. She readily went to a face she recognized and clung to Stefan while chewing on her fingers.

The food was pretty amazing...tray after tray of sweets and cookies and cakes and salty snacks and chicken pastries...In the end we didn't get much visiting done with the mother or father of the birthday girl afterall...but it was a really interesting experience. And we were glad to have been invited.

Oh...and did I mention? It was an open bar....!?!?!?! And we're not talking orange juice and milk!

Head injury

2009-01-18T01:04:00.000-08:00

A unique thing about Christian that you may not know is that on any given day he will likely be sporting a number of cuts and bruises in varying stages of healing on his head. It has become sort of a "normal" thing in our house to hear a thud followed by a screech, followed by Cohen running to tell me or Stefan that Christian "hurt his head." Again. And of course, every time, my heart leaps up into my throat and I wonder if this time it is really and truly serious.

When these injuries first began to take place right about the time Christian became mobile (It seems he went pretty much from a squalling baby lying on his back to running and climbing--altogether skipping the crawling and toddling stage, although I'm sure it was in there somewhere), I felt like surely we must be failing in propper supervision and correction of the boy. It certainly hadn't been our experience with Cohen, who although has had his share of little boy injuries in his 3 and a half years, just doesn't tend to always be hurting himself. But it seems we are having to adjust to the idea that no amount of supervision for our youngest son is going to be able to protect him from the trouble he gets himself into. The boy just does not STOP! His combination of curiousity and boldness seem to be more of a factor than any amount of supervision. Which is scary, becuase I can only imagine what will be interesting and motivating to him at the age of 8...or 14 for that matter!

We all had to learn the hard way to insist on icing whenever Christian came up with a new "owee" (We had one particular bruise that took months for the coloring to subside!) As you can imagine, a toddler is not too keen on having ice on his head for 20 minutes. So it has sort of become a family affair. Whenever Christian hurts his head, we all got together and take turns holding the ice on while we try to entertain and distract him by singing or reading books or talking. Cohen has gotten good at helping out and Stefan and I frequently pass the job off to him.

Oh, son! You wear your mamma out! Good thing you're so cute.

Super Long Blog about Christmas in Mozambique

2008-12-30T05:32:00.001-08:00

This was our third Christmas in Mozambique...and like the last two we especially missed family and friends and the cooler weather during the holidays. However, the Lord also gave us a neat time with new friends and co-workers here in Mozambique and the season was special for us despite the distance from home and the ever-present heat.

We kept really busy this December with work/ministy as well as finding ways to prepare for and celebrate the season with our boys. Cohen is just at the age now where he is beginning to understand the Christmas story and the various ways we celebrate Christ's coming. He is also beginning to understand more about sharing and giving and we had several opportunities to express that this year. One day we took the boys out to an orphanage on the outskirts of town and spent the morning making Christmas decorations with the kids. We had several Christmas gatherings with friends and co-workers over at our house both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--which the boys seemed to love.

We also had an interesting (but typical) cultural experience in giving some gifts to our guards and maid. We employ two men who trade off guarding our house during the night hours and one woman who helps out around the house. In thinking of what we wanted to share with them, we decided to put together some large boxes of food to give to them and their families as gifts. Saving and planning ahead is not as important in this culture as it is in ours, so often, by the end of the month of December as in other months, many families here are low on charcoal (for cooking their food) and low on even the basics...which makes it difficult for them to have a good meal during their holidays or to really celebrate with their extended families who all flock in from their small farms to spend Christmas in the city. Because of this, we wanted our gift to them to be a practical help...but also somewhat special. So the boys and Stefan and I did some shopping and bought some staples like beans and rice, as well as some special "treats"--sugar, drink mixes, cookies, and some candy for the children. We wrapped up the boxes and put bright red bows on them. You have to understand that exchanging gifts for most Mozambicans--who are extremely poor--is just not something typical--especially not going all out and wrapping with paper and bows. We really wanted this to be something special--an expression of kindness and blessing that flows from our own gratititude to the Lord who so generously blesses us!

So the day came to give out the gifts and...Well, I don't know exactly what we were expecting.... We have lived in Mozambique for over two years now and are somewhat familiar with certain aspects of the culture that are so foreign to our own Western culture...Anyway, let's just say the gifts were not received in a manner we would have expected after putting so much thought, effort, and resources into them. Our maid accepted her box without so much as a smile or a thank you and went on her way...very much as if she had expected to receive that or more. The response of one of the guards, though, was so completely shocking that I'm glad it was Stefan who had the experience instead of me! When Stefan gave him his gift and the man looked through it, his response was...not "thank you," but "Where's the oil?" Apparently, he felt that if we gave him beans to cook, we should also have given him oil to cook them with.

!?!?!?!?!

Here's the thing, no matter how good our intentions are...no matter how much we truly desire give someone a gift for THEIR sake--as an expression of kindness and love to them, there is something that we from our own culture just naturally expect or anticipate as a part of that exchange--some form of thanks or gratitude. But alas, as we found out this Christmas, that was just not to be...and somehow as with so many aspects of a culture so different from our own, we have to be able to get past that--get past the things that frustrate or annoy us about a culture to truly love the person that God does and that He so sacrificially sent His son to redeem.

We were able to celebrate in some ways that reminded us of home, though, and that were special for our family. The following are some pictures from our Christmas Morning with the boys.

We made a special big breakfast to celebrate the day. We found special treats at a local store that imports things from South Africa such as sausage (not typical in this heavily Muslim area), sparkling grape juice, plumbs, and even grapes!

Here is Christian getting ready to snitch a grape before breakfast...

Cohen and Christian shared a box of chocolate milk...also very hard to find around here!

After breakfast Stefan told the Christmas Story to the boys and talked about different traditions that we associate with celebrating Christ's birth.

Different friends and family had sent some gifts gift/money that we used to buy the boys some presents. This was the first year here that we actually had a Christmas tree--something we also found imported from South Africa. Before opening each gift, we talked about the person who had sent it.

Legos from some friends in the States were a big hit!

Hugs for the boys!

We knew the boys had some gift money coming their way, so in the months before Christmas, Stefan began his search for a bike with training wheels for Cohen. Although he's only 3 and a half years old, he is kind of tall and we thought he would be able to enjoy a bike already. We had him cover his eyes as Stefan brought it out...it was SO fun to watch his expression when he realized that this was for him!

Christian enjoyed the gift too, since the bike came with a seat at the back for a "passenger"!

We were truly blessed this Christmas despite missing home!

Weekend at the Coast

2008-11-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to the coast on Saturday and spent the night. It was great to get away for a while--the boys enjoyed playing in the sand and water and we enjoyed the break from work and normal routine.

Lowes Project

2008-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

While we were back in the States for a couple of months this summer, our friends Casey and his son Canaan introduced Stefan and Cohen to the projects for kids at Lowes. Cohen loved it! Then as we were preparing to leave, Casey threw in an extra kit he had picked up one Saturday for Cohen and Stefan to work on. This past week they finally got it out to work on.

After much concentration and examination of the work plans, they got to work. About a half hour later (and several yelps followed by bruised fingers--mostly Daddy's), Cohen proudly showed me his "measuring tape" that he had constructed.

Thanks Casey and Canaan!

Life in Africa...still just "life"

2008-11-07T03:40:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day about life in Africa and in Mozambique and how very different it is from where we grew up in Brazil or where we spent many happy years in Kentucky. At the same time, though, there are many things about life that are pretty much just the same everywhere. Here are some pictures of just regular "life" for us here in Mozambique.

Making cookies with two little boys...

Horsing around outside...

Helping Mommy make supper...

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work...

Wrestling with Daddy...

Calling up Grandpa and Grandma (on skype)...

I kind of think that we would be doing all these same things no matter where we lived. It's fun to think of it that way, at least...makes things a little easier sometimes.

"Hilaria"

2008-10-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Chocas Mar: At the Cabin

2008-09-18T07:37:00.002-07:00

We had a beautiful view of the ocean from the cabin we shared with our friends.

On Sunday it was really neat to get together with everyone to sing a bit with our kids and just talk about what the Lord had been teaching us recently. What a special thing!--to share our families and our faith and worship ON VACATION with our co-workers. It was a neat reminder of how the body of Christ can function.

Chocas Mar: Football on the Beach

2008-09-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

Stefan and Christian played some football on the beach...

Chocas Mar: A Weekend at the Beach

2008-09-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in September we went with some friends/co-workers to the coast--about a 2 and a half hour drive from Nampula--at Chocas Mar. It was beautiful and relaxing...sort of...when we weren't running around after two little boys full of energy. But it WAS beautiful.

It was fun to be there with the three other families and get to know our co-workers outside of "work." The boys are really loving all the opportunities they've had to interact with other kids since arriving in Nampula.

Cohen went for a ride in a kayak. Notice the ever-so-cool goggles. Once he found them in his previously hidden stash of "beach toys," he insisted on wearing them pretty much the remainder of the weekend.

And then after his adventure on the high seas, he got sort of cold and sat out for the next few hours...

trip to the farm

2008-08-19T23:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the boys and I drove about a half hour outside of Nampula to the farm of some friends from Zimbabwe. We met up with friends (also with toddlers and pre-schoolers) for a "sports day." The boys had fun throwing balls around, jumping on a trampoline, and figuring out the obstacle course. Cohen, however, was most interested in the horses. He is typically a cautious boy and judging by the way he was initially hesitant to join in the fun with the other sports, I was so surprised by his enthusiasm for the horses. But he absolutely loved it!

It was so fun to be out of the city for a few hours--and to be in the "country" (or Africa's version of it) and to be near animals again. And it was especially fun to watch Cohen enjoy horses the way he did.

Neighbor's yard: As seen from our Veranda

2008-08-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

One of the neat things about our apartment is that it has breezy veranda that extends out from our living room. The boys love it out there and Christian is particularly entertained with the view we have of our neighbors and their yard.

And when I say "entertained," I mean he literally pulls up a chair and sits there watching all that is happening in their yard! Because our neighbor's yard is filled with:

Ducks and chickens and roosters and Guinea hens and...

turkeys! I think they fascinate him so much because at night he is so freaked out by them. They all make such a ruccous at night (especially when they get in fights with dogs) and since Cohen's and Christian's bedroom window opens up right into the neighbor's yard, they get an earful. Usually the first thing Christian does when we walk into his room in the morning is point toward the window animatedly trying to sound out "turkey" and "duck" and "chick chick" and "doggy."

So naturally he finds it interesting to actually watch these animals who make all the noise outside his window all day and night.

peanut butter

2008-07-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

Since arriving in Nampula, Jose (the "empregado"--house help--of the family who previously lived in our house) has been helping us out as we look for an "empregada"(female house help). It seems to be pretty difficult to find a female empregada up here for various cultural reasons and the norm is definitely for men to be in these positions--they do everything from washing laundry to running errands to serving as a sort of security guard. Although it has definitely been a cultural adjustment for me (Sharon) to get used to having him around the house throughout these past weeks, we have been thankful for his help.

The other day, I asked him to show me how to make peanut butter in the traditional Mozambican way. Cohen was in dreamland that afternoon but Christian got in on the fun.

After roasting 2 kg of peanuts, Jose rubbed the peanuts together to get the peels loose.

Christian also helped.

Then, using a "peneira" (a woven reed basket/sifter), Jose repeatedly tossed the peanuts into the air and the wind blew away the peels.

Next, he emptied the peanuts into the "pilao" (large wooden mortar).

It took about 15 minutes of strenuous pounding to grind the peanuts, occasionally separating the fine grounds from the large pieces with the "peneira" again.

Finally, the peanuts were ground into small pieces and the natural oils began to make them creamy. Later I added a sprinkle of sugar and pinch of salt and we now have 2 kg of crunchy peanut butter!

Christian, what are you doing with the peneira?

And hey! That's peanut butter in your hair!

Our yard

2008-07-27T00:32:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our yard where the boys and I spend a good deal of time every morning. Our house is the top floor of this structure (another home has the bottom floor) and our yard begins at the road and extends down the side of this house to the back.

Here is the opposite view where you can see our gate.

We planted some tomatoes, mint, citronella grass, pineapple and a pepper plant in a space right beside the driveway. It is really fun to have this little space to get our hands in the earth even living right here in the middle of the city.

Toward the back of our yard, there is a cement overhang and a small little room called a "dependencia" where our security guards hang out at night as they are watching our house. To the right of the little grassy space there are several fruit trees including papaya, avocado, lemon, and here you can see the guava tree.

These are the stairs that lead up to our floor.

View of the yard from the stairs.

Trip to Nampula Mozambique

2008-07-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

So we made it back to Mozambique!

We flew out of Lexington and eventually landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, where we spent the night at a lodge just outside of town. It was kind of neat, actually, to wake up to some cool and fresh air and walk around the lodge where they had some local game.

From J-burg we flew to Beira and spent a few days there both catching up with and saying good bye to friends and other missionaries before beginning the two day trip up to Nampula. That first day we stopped off in Gorongosa--the district that we had spent quite a bit of time working in since arriving in Mozambique. We were able to meet up with a couple of former Mozambican co-workers and it was neat to see them while the boys ran around and got out some energy.

We arrived at the Zambezi River in the early afternoon. You have to cross it by barge and that particular day the barge workers took an extra long lunch break. So we waited in line for about an hour and a half before finally crossing. It was another good little break for the kids, though, as they had one more stop to get out and ran around. We watched women washing clothes and little kids playing on the banks of the river--right beside the signs warning of crocodiles (The Zambezi is notorious for crocodile and hippo attacks!)

We also watched as all kinds of animals were loaded onto trucks and readied to cross the river. Particularly interesting was a herd of goats who were quite unceremoniously hauled up on top of a large truck where they were tied up and left to endure the rest of their journey.

After two days of travel in our car, we finally made it to Nampula where we stayed in some guest housing for about two weeks before moving into our own apartment. We are so thankful for the safety of the trip and excited to be back here in Mozambique.

We don't have quite the same "view of the Indian Ocean" as we had in Beira (Nampula is about three hours inland from the coast) and I know we'll miss the sea--dirty or not. But we are enjoying the interesting rock formations and mountains that this area is known for. And we're looking forward to our next trip to the ocean!

"more than a friend"

2008-07-18T04:43:00.000-07:00

To our friends, the Dunns:

We have always said that we have the most amazing friends in the world. But never have we had the chance to experience such friendship, love, fun, sacrifice, and giving as we experienced in your home. You have been more than friends to us and we will always remember our time in your home those weeks as such a special and grace-filled gift from our Lord.

Canaan, sweetie, thanks for taking Cohen under your wing (literally!)...

And teaching him about the joy of a good ball game with Dad ...

And how to be a good Cats fan...

Thanks for all the toys you shared with Christian and Cohen. They had so much fun! ...

Especially with your "Flinstone" car and your tricycle.

And Sarai, you're a sweet heart!

What a special treat to be around a little princess!

You had such a sweet little spirit even with the addition of two more brothers...

...to love on you...

...push you around...

...and occasionally steal your popsicle.

We do have such amazing friends in you and it is a privilege to both be serving the same God together! We love you guys.

Ok, so this picture doesn't really fit with the rest... But I love the memory it brings with it. Cohen and Christian were sitting on the large sofa reading books and I watched as, after a while, Canaan inched over to be closer to Cohen. Cohen, without looking up from his book, moved slightly further down the couch. After a few seconds of looking at his book, Canaan looked up to see Cohen and scooted over to him again, this time up so close their arms and legs were touching. Cohen, apparently feeling a bit uncomfortable but still oblivious, picked himself up and scooted WAY over to the end of the couch and settled down to read his book. Not long after that, and still pretty absorbed in his own book, Canaan inched his way over to Cohen and plopped down beside him. Well, not so much beside him as practically ON him, as you can see. I laughed remember how Shannon and I had just had a conversation earlier in the week about how Shannon could tell already that Canaan is someone who really likes physical touch and I had noted how Cohen seems to be more someone who needs his space.

Henry Clay Estate

2008-06-11T10:44:00.001-07:00

Stefan's parents from Germany recently visited us and we took them to the Henry Clay Estate to walk around with the boys one morning.

The grounds are so beautiful and it was fun to watch the kids explore the grass and leaves and sticks--all so different from what they are used to in Mozambique.

It was very special to spend some time with the boys' Opa and Oma. Oma met Christian for the first time.

We took some pictures of Stefan, his father, and Cohen....and while I was trying to get a good shot, we had someone join the party.

Strawberry Picking in Wilmore

2008-06-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Last week we went strawberry picking with April and Bethaney and their families on a little farm outside of Wilmore. This was such a fun and unique experience for Cohen and Christian-- they have loved all the new berries they've tasted during our time back here in the States--picking berries with friends will definitely have to be something we do together whenever we are here! I thought it would be great to pick a few pounds myself to make some strawberry pie. But, alas, most of my time was spent supervising the boys' adventures. Maybe you can get an idea from the following pictures:

The girls and I and our nine kids all grabbed buckets and talked about the guidelines for strawberry picking: Pick only the ripe red ones, don't stomp on the bushes, You can eat all the strawberries you want--except DON'T eat the ones out of your sister's pail...

The kids set off excitedly up the hill to the strawberry patch...leaving the little ones to stumble along behind on their stubby little legs swinging buckets about half their size.

Cohen loved the challenge of hunting down the "wipe wed" strawberries and shouted excitedly every time he was successful, "Look Mommy! I found one!"... And I mean each and every time for the about two hours we were out there.

Christian kind of did his own thing.

I'm not really sure if he knew what we were all doing, but every once in a while he would stoop down like he saw us doing...

...reach out, and pop something in his mouth. I'm thinking some of those could have been strawberries, right?

Cohen showed me his bucket proudly. Of course, not all of them were as "wipe and wed" as I would have hoped for making a pie...so I sorted out the really good ones and, not having the heart to throw out his collection of not-so-ripe-ones (and, admittedly feeling a little guilty about tossing a couple of pounds of green strawberries my sons had picked), I set him down on the side of the patch and told him these "special" ones were for him and Christian to eat.

They LOVED them! I figured, they don't really know what they are supposed to taste like anyway.

Well, maybe Cohen had his suspicions about a couple particularly green ones.

While I finished picking a few more strawberries the boys entertained themselves.

And...hey! Christian, that's Mommy's bucket!

crazy ducks

2008-05-22T12:33:00.001-07:00

We took the boys to a park the other day and introduced them to ducks. There was a cute little bench overlooking a pond where we stopped for a snack and rested (and gave the ducks a chance to catch their breath after being chased all over by an excited 14 month old).

The ducks were, of course, curious about what the boys were munching on. Well, one duck got a little too courageous and before we knew what had happened, he had snatched the bag of gold fish right out of Cohen's hand!

Cohen was completely taken off guard and more than a little intimidated. Yeah. In fact, I would say it was a quasi-tramatic experience for him.

I mean, hey! A pack of aggressive ducks with limited sense of boundaries can be pretty scary for a two year old! (Or even a grown woman, right Mom? You and the duck episode will always be one of my funniest childhood memories :)

As you can see, Cohen spent the rest of our time at the park a little on the cautious side.

California

2008-05-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

We spent a month out in California debriefing our past two years in Mozambique in preparation to transition to a new organization. Here are some pictures of our time there:

Family

2008-05-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Finally our boys get to put faces to those strange voices they hear over the internet!

It was so neat to introduce my son to his Aunt Joy. The few days we had in Kentucky together went quickly!
We then spent a very quick week in Missouri visiting Grandpa and Grandma. Grandmas are just perfect anyways, but this one particularly knew just how to put Cohlen "in his element" by giving him the very serious task of helping to cut up strawberries for dessert.

Cohen and Grandma sliced and cousin Ellen ate them just about as quickly!

Christian was thoroughly entertained at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

He had a ready partner in crime in his cousin Ellen.

Uncle Scott insists being burried up to their necks in pebbles was Cohen and Ellen's idea.

Christian and Grandpa made fast friends. There's nothing and no one quite like a Grandpa for fun!

Garlic

2008-04-04T06:36:00.001-07:00

The following demonstration of how to crush garlic in typical Mozambican culinary fashion is provided for you by Christian Kern.

Tasty!

In all the packing, Christian has been my right-hand man. Actually, mostly just AT my right hand...pulling everything out of the boxes just as fast as I pack them in. At one point I found him playing with this wooden mortar and pistal--just like he's seen Fernanda do this past year. Mozambicans typically put the cloves of garlic in the base with a bit of salt, and then grind it to a pulp for seasoning meat dishes and other food. And they always put it on the ground when crushing the garlic because you have better leverage. As you can see from the pictures above, Christian has picked up the general idea.

Opa's visit

2008-04-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

We have so enjoyed this past month of March with Stefan's father here visiting. The boys loved getting to know their "Opa" from Germany. They all got in a morning routine of drinking coffee (well, Daddy and Opa had coffee, the boys got their juice) on the front porch.

Opa helped out around the house by feeding Christian (which, in this household is actually quite a chore!) :)

We made a trip to the Savane beach with some friends.

Stefan, Opa, and Cohen took a walk on the beach.

Stefan and his father also shared their birthday together at the end of March--we counted it up and this was only the 8th time in Stefan's 36 years that he has actually been with his father on their birthdays! It was particularly special to share it in Mozambique together!

"Toy Story"

2008-03-17T04:31:00.000-07:00

Several months ago some friends sent Cohen a DVD of Disney's "Toy Story" which fast became one of his favorites. Interestingly, the movie is quite an emotional rollercoaster for our son, who we affectionately refer to as having a "tender heart." Cohen giggles and laughs and watches with rapt attention virtually every DVD he has--this one beinng no exception. However, there is a scene in the story where the character "Buz Lightyear" discovers that he is, in fact, and toy and cannot, afterall, actually fly. And Cohen responds with tears every time. When I first discovered my two-and-a-half year old son with tears streaming down his cheeks I was horrified that he was so sad and thought I would never let him watch the movie again. However, he actually loves it, and when the roughly 30 seconds of melancholy music is over he laughs delightedly at the turn of events in the movie and is once again giggling away throughout. So we've taken to sitting with him during the "sad" part of the DVD and holding his hand and assuring him all will be well...and Cohen is now at a point where he can get through the movie without crying.

Well, in a subsequent package, we recieved a "Buz Lightyear" costume that we had been saving for a special occasioin. After the boys went through a horrible week of sickness we decided just an ordinary day was that "special occasion" and brought out the costume, much to Cohen's delight.

Presenting...Buz Lightyear!

We "flew" around in circles...

...until we were too dizzy to walk!

"Flying" with Daddy was even GREATER fun!

Christian watched all the fun in his Opa's arms. (Stefan's father has been here visiting us).

Cohen shared his "hat" with Christian.

All worn out! Not to mention sweaty from wearing a costume designed for October weather in the US on a hot March evening in Africa!

First Birthday

2008-02-25T03:58:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we celebrated Christian's first birthday! We took the boys to the ocean in the morning and let them play around in the muddy water--they loved it!

And what's a trip to the beach without tasting the sand?

After naps the boys taste-tested fluffy blue frosting as I iced the cake.

We invited our neighbors over to celebrate with us and the kids had fun making forts out of the sofa cushions and playing with baloons.

Christian "lasted" until about 7 pm at which point we cerimoniously produced a cupcake with a candle, took a picture, and promptly put him to bed. The rest of us partied on.

This first birthday is not just a celebration of a year in a child's life, or even a celebration of the having survived all sickness and made it to the first year (a real cause for celebration in so many developing countries) It is, afterall, also a celebration of the PARENTS having survived baby's first year--ever a reason for a party if there was one! We are so thankful at God's sovereign placement of this incredible child in our home.

Daddy's Hat

2008-02-25T00:34:00.000-08:00

Christian loves to play with his daddy's hat.

We're still not sure where the blue eyes came from. But they're always sparking and and sparkling and mostly they're just darling.

Snowing

2008-01-21T03:47:00.000-08:00

Just kidding. It isn't really snowing here.

But the boys devised a plan to play in the "snow" never-the-less. I walked into their room to a "winter wonderland" the other day. By their expressions you may be able to imagine our dialogue...

("Cohen!")
("What did you do?!")

("Just look at this big mess you've made!")

("Yes, and you too, Christian!")

("Seriously?")

Cohen seemed to pick up on the fact that I wasn't really excited about their grand idea. Christian, however, played on in oblivion.

Chameleon

2007-12-31T03:18:00.000-08:00

I found a chameleon hiding in my flowers on the back porch the other day. Actually, I'm not exactly sure it was a chameleon, but that was my best guess.

He was a little shy of the camera and kept trying to hide. (Just ignore the three cocaroaches that snuck into the picture on the left hand side--they're always trying to steal the show.)

No, seriously, we don't have THAT many cocaroaches ALWAYS hanging around our back porch...we had just sprayed bug killer the day before so they all came out for one last hurah.

It is an amazing thing to watch your kids wonder at creation.

I hope my children are always this curious, this enthralled, at the beauty of our world.

Sleep

2007-12-29T00:56:00.000-08:00

When you're on the road for three weeks, you learn to fall asleep and wake up in all sorts of strange places. Sleeping and napping was particularly a challenge with two little boys who nap at different times...especially since we all shared the same room for most of those three weeks. After one particularly challenging "nap" time, I heard Christian wake up and walked into the room and found Cohen out of bed and leaning on ours. I told him to get back into bed and to stop waking up his little brother...but upon closer examination, this is what I found:

Blyde River Canyon

2007-12-29T00:47:00.000-08:00

We went for a short drive to see Blyde River Canyon while in South Africa. They had some really neat lookout points along one of the roads so we hopped out and did a little hiking. Our friend Melissa from Beira was with us.

Cool dude.

Christian and his girl.

Obligatory "family picture."

Farm in South Africa

2007-12-21T04:12:00.001-08:00

At the beginning of December we took a trip down to South Africa for medical checkups and some supply buying. Despite a very difficult and trying journey, we finally arrived at a farm just outside Nelspruit, where we spent several days resting up.

The farm is actually the residence of a South African couple who opened up their home to us to stay as a sort of "bed and breakfast"...but we got MUCH more!

The farm was an ideal place for us to relax and unwind after some very stressful weeks, culminating with the disasterous trip down, (not to mention the past year of living in a dirty and run-down city). The family had a pool, some children for ours to play with, and just beautiful grounds with trees and rolling hills.

They let us borrow their four-wheeler for some "fun." Clearly Cohen felt slighted when Stefan chose me to go on a ride with him.

Oh well, who needs "alone time" anyway? We just couldn't leave him behind after the face he worked up.

The family we stayed with were so hospitable and friendly. They provided wonderful meals and fellowship and many "extras" such as frequent cups of hot coffee and a fire by the pool! It actually was beautiful weather while we were there--despite it being "summer," South Africa, and particularly this valley were much cooler than Mozambique this time of year.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to get to know Banie and Louise and their children and for their gracious hospitality while we stayed with them!

Licking out the Bowl

2007-12-21T03:08:00.000-08:00

Like most children, Cohen loves to "lick out the bowl" after I'm done baking something sweet. But now Christian has begun to show an interest in everything his older brother does...so when Christian crawled up, I was bracing myself for some screeching and shouting (and yes, shoving and hitting)...before I would inevitably have to stop baking, intervene and supervise for the next ten minutes...

But this is what I found.

Aww...Such loving and well behaved children I have! (I quickly snapped a couple of pictures before we all returned to the real world of siblings.)

Coconut

2007-11-29T06:34:00.001-08:00

While we were at Fernanda's house this past weekend we were showered with some very special cultural gifts for a growing baby: coconuts.

Fernanda's family has a coconut tree in their yard and they sent a little boy to climb up and take down a dozen or so to give as gifts for Christian.

And this was a BIG tree! According to local tradition, if a baby drinks lots of coconut water, he will have no trouble with speech, and in fact, will speak "early."

After the coconuts were down, Fernanda's son demonstrated how to break them open (which, incidentally, is VERY hard work).

Everyone joined in to peel them. Then they offered one right away to Christian. Afterall, they want him talking EARLY!

Christian, being the good little cross-cultural kid that he is, was eager to taste something new.

Dribble, dribble all over Mommy.

Turns out he LOVES the stuff.

Great! Just what we need. Now, I can't prove or disprove local belief about coconut water helping babies to talk early as I can't reference any scientific studies. However, I can tell you what I DO know about excess amounts of coconut water....let's just say it "cleans out your system"!! And very quickly!

Visit to Fernanda's House

2007-11-28T04:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we took some pictures of a visit to Fernanda's house. (Fernanda is the lady who helps us out with the laundry, the dishes, and a hundred other things around the house).

This is "Dona" Fernanda. Cohen and Christian love her! Although her primary job is to help out around the house, she takes care of Cohen and Christian so that I can go to a weekly Bible study and prayer meeting.

This is Fernanda's house. She lives about 30 minutes away by "chapa" (the old vans that are the country's public transportation).

These are some of Fernanda's family members who all live on the family property: a mother, an aunt, a couple of sons, dauthers-in-law, a few grandchildren...and well, many more. (Note: For those of you that remember the story of the the little boy named after Stefan, he's the little baby toward the back sitting on his great-grandma's lap).

Her property has a nice well on it--clean, and functioning--which is so important in Mozambique due to the droughts as well as the floods when much of the water around can be contaminated.

We spent some time just visiting.

And brought cookies and juice to share.

Cohen was fascinated by all of the animals running around.

And as usual, he made friends quickly.

Here he is playing with one of Fernanda's sons and a friend.

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

We couldn't bear the thought of "missing" Thanksgiving even though we are now living here in Mozambique, so when we didn't hear of anything happening by way of celebration, we decided to get together with one or two families to celebrate. Well, in the end, we ended up having over 25 people in our house for dinner!

One family brought a Turkey down from Nampula but didn't know how to bake it so brought it over to our house for us to fix. We ended up having all sorts of delicious food--everything from the traditional turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes to...the not so traditional okra side dish and beef goulash. Afterall, we weren't celebrating with only Americans. Our house was filled with all sorts of nationalities from Peruvians to Zimbabweans to English to...well, you get the picture.

We threw some Mozambican mats out on the grass for the kids (mostly to get them out of the house :) They didn't seem to mind the swealtering heat as much as the adults.

It certainly was a houseful! And we loved it!

Melissa, our good freind and collegue helped us run around after the boys while we tried to be good hosts. She has become their best friend this past year.

It was so great to spend the day with friends in the absence of family. We stood around in front of the fans and air conditioner trying to pretend it felt like winter was right around the corner :).

Team (without Mama and the boys)

2007-11-14T07:06:00.000-08:00

Stefan and our co-worker Melissa led another short-term team out to Gorongosa at the beginning of this month. Some leaders of Orchard Hill Church in Iowa and the FH-US VP and his wife came to see the work in Mozambique and look at parternship opportunities. Their visit was such an encouragement to us and it was so exciting to see a church with with such a passion for cross-cultural ministry.

This time Mama got to stay home with the boys.

One look at this face and you can maybe begin to imagine what our week was like.

"Mouse" in the Pantry

2007-10-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

Christian has been crawling for a little over a month now and finds all manner of things to entertain himself. It is great. He gets into everything from the trash in the bathroom, to Cohen's prized toys ("No, Christian! MINE!!") to the cupboards with the dishes. Although it is time consuming to walk around the house picking up after him, I figure the trade-off is worth it: He spends 15 fun-packed minutes playing and I spend two cleaning up! One of Cohen's favorite places to play is the pantry...and the other day he left the door open and Christian snuck by me and crawled in. I heard some rustling inside and went to inspect and here is what I found:

Speaking of rodents...We do actually have somewhat of an issue with large rats here. Thankfully they are not IN the house--but they run around quite confidently in our yard without any apparent fear of humans. We share our yard with three other tenants and their domestic employees and the families of the domestic employees and the security guards--all of whom have their own little space out back. Point being, we cannot control the hygiene and trash habits of all the people we share our yard with and hence continue to learn to just "deal" with the creatures.

For example, when Cohen and Christian and I are out on the grass playing and a rat comes running straight at us I stand up and yell loudly shouting my disgust (I've found this to be quite effective! It typically scurries away, undoubtedly with it's feelings hurt). Cohen, however, hasn't quite figured out what to make of them. We have been teaching him to be respectful of animals and trying to get him over his fear of dogs....so apparently he thought the same rules applied here. The other day when I rat was running around us, he looked up at me, opened his arms and asked me, "Mommy? Give "wat" hug?" I'm afraid my shock and horror were so great I may have yelled "No!" a little too vehemently! Poor boy. It's got to be confusing. Why do Mommy and Daddy teach him to pet and hug puppies and not the large furry animals in our own yard? Hmmm....

(Nearly) Beach Front Property

2007-10-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

One of the many neat things about our house in Beira is that we can actually see the ocean from our front porch! All that separates us from the vast Indian Ocean is about 100 yards and a four-foot wall. Well...that was yesterday. This morning we woke up to find the ocean lapping just a little too close for comfort after tearing away a large portion of that wall!

This is the view from our front porch. The ocean is just on the other side of those cars in the background.

Here is where the wall used to be.

So we are definitely feeling a little too close to the mighty ocean for comfort. Not to mention rainy season (i.e. storm season) is just starting!

This is the view from where the wall SHOULD be...looking back at our appartment (the mustard-colored building behind the trees). Yes, we are definitely feeling like we are living life a little "on the edge."

Oh, and did I mention that we came about 10 feet from being crushed by a tree this afternoon? As the ocean wears away at the sand, the trees along the road are also falling. Today when we set out to walk along the beach, this tree you see in the background cracked and began falling just as we were in the middle of crossing the street right in front of it! Thankfully it was caught on some trees in front and so it didn't actually make it on top of us or the street.

Vacation in Mozambique

2007-10-15T03:44:00.001-07:00

Today marks one year that we arrived in Mozambique! We just got back from a 10 day vacation which really allowed us to do some reflecting on this past year and some praying, discussing, and dreaming of where the Lord is leading us this next year. It was perfect timing as we had not really gotten away since Christian's birth and had not had a vacation since arriving a year ago. Although the last two weeks included a lot of traveling (over 1800 miles by car) and a lot of packing and unpacking (we never stayed more than two nights in any place), we so enjoyed our time away as a family.

Our idea with this vacation was to not only "get away" from work for a while, but to also get to know Mozambique better. So we headed north and spent some time visiting some old friends. We visited Phil and Elin Henderson with New Tribes Mission who work in Pebane. We also visited DJ and Tricia Morrisson and Pete and Charity Rogers in Nampula who also work with NTM. All of those girls I (Sharon) knew from my childhood at the boarding school in Brazil. We also spent some time visiting with Danny and Marilyn Germann (of NTM), regional leaders of NTM who just happened to be visiting Mozambique from Senegal at the time. It was really neat to see the work that NTM has begun here in Mozambique and their vision of future ministry.

On our way up from Pebane to Nampula, we caravaned with another missionary. Here are Cohen and Stefan helping to pump his tires.

Despite all the visiting, we did have a couple of days as just a family on Carusscas Beach just accross from Nampula. We spent a lot of time just hanging out in the sun and collecting shells.

Stefan and Cohen (and Christian) sorting the shells...

Here's Cohen...and like most kids completely oblivious to the previous night's catastrophe...Here's the thing: apparently we have some sort of an issue with rats following us around on our get aways. Here again, they joined our family and the first night ate through our bread and apples. The second night, when all that was left was a box of unopened UHT milk, yep, they ate through that! (Not to mention chewing up Christian's toys and leaving little bits of wood and plastic everywhere!)

Little "Laurence of Arabia" and his Mommy. Stefan always thinks it's funny when I put this little hat on Christian since it has that funny flap in the back. But on the beach, sun protection comes before image and style. So Christian gets to be little Laurence for a few hours.

On the other side of the cove is the Ilha de Mocambique (Mozambique Island), a small island with beautiful old buildings and a lot of history. We spent one night on the island at a B&B (using the term loosely). It had a really beatiful balcony view. See the mosque right next door to us? It had a loudspeaker attached and working at full volume...which in and of itself would not have been an issue had it been a normal week. But if you recall, last week was still the middle of Ramadan...which we found out meant hour long blasts of preaching and calling from roughly 8 pm to 3am throughout the night. So much for getting some sleep!

We visited a beautiful old Portuguese fortress on Ilha...

...complete with rusting cannons, crumbling walls, and a spectacular view...

...which Cohen also appreciated. Appreciated so much, in fact, that he forgot all about his shoe and dropped it over the edge. Now, any other shoe we might have just cut our losses. But it was one of his special "crocs" sent in a package from our sunday school class in KY.

So we spent the rest of our tour trying to arrange for someone to unlock old dungeons and gates and climb over falling rocks and sharp coral and wade through the rising tide to search for and retrieve said "croc." Cohen was super happy to have it back. And the boy that came to our rescue was super happy to have some money for a soda.

Finally we made the three day trip back to Beira. Along the way we stayed at a guest house in the home of a missionary family we had never met before, but who graciously housed us both on the way up and back. It is truly amazing to be a part of this body of Christ as each member seeks to glorify God through the gifts and ministry God has given him. This vacation was such a beautiful reminder of the larger work that the Lord is doing through His children in Mozambique and even around the world.

Sunday in Local Church

2007-09-26T23:02:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this month Stefan took another team out into the districts. This team came from FH US and was working on the FH magazine "6:8" and included writers and a photographer. They were gone for about a week visiting FH Moz's work in various communities.

Typically, whenever Stefan is out in the communities on a Sunday, he is asked to preach at a local church. It is always a neat opportunity for Stefan to minister to these churches as they so desperately crave biblical teaching. We are always blessed by the dynamic worship that characterizes these services. The following are some pictures (taken by the photographer who was on the team from FH US) of a Sunday service in the town of Gorongosa.

The congregation.

Some lay ministers.

Children and women singing and presenting a "special" piece.

Kids sit at the front of the church together.

Although Stefan preaches in Portuguese, out in the districts, a translator is often necessary because many of the people only speak and understand the local tribal languages (in this area it is Sena).

Bibles are usually scarce, but when you do see one (in this case belonging to a pastor), it is humbling to see how well worn and read it has been!

Women and small children usually sit together. Babies often sit through an entire service clinging to their mother's backs in a "capulana". (BTW, the services are typically 3 hours long!)

Stefan has a unique gift for being able to communicate biblical truths to a wide range of audiences, blessing local pastors who have had seminary training on down to the simplest of local farmers who may not have any education and limited understanding of the Bible and who God is.

A captivated audience.

Cookie Monster

2007-08-31T03:43:00.000-07:00

First Meal

2007-08-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Christian is six months old today!

Here are some pictures of his first "meal"... something similar to rice cereal that we found at a local store. We began giving him this cereal about two weeks ago. He didn't seem to take to it very quickly...and after the second day, I decided to taste it myself. And that was when I discovered that it was, in fact, moldy. So Christian's first experience with cereal was the taste of mold because (despite having vaguely printed expiration dates on some processed food here), there really is no guarantee that the food you buy at the store is safe to eat. We had planned on making our own baby food anyway, due to the exorbitant costs. But this experience sure sealed the deal.

So now we have these wonderful pictures... to forever remind us of nearly poisoning our baby with his first foods. Sorry, Christian!

Oasis Retreat

2007-08-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last two days running around on the beach after Cohen who, as you can see, is getting a little bit to courageous for his two-year-old britches!

Stefan was asked to speak at a conference/retreat for the British mission agency Oasis who also is headquartered here with us in Beira.

The retreat was held at "Rio Savanne"--a local getaway about an hour from Beira by car. Here are Stefan and Christian waiting for the boat to take us accross the river to the penninsula where the retreat was held.

The area is a prime location for local fishermen.

Our accomodations... We were really happy to have a tent which gave us somewhat more control over potential guests that wanted to join us for the night (We had a run-in with some rats in our bed in the middle of the night last time we went to Savanne...but that's another story...)

Stefan spent the days in meetings with the group...

.. and participating in their team-building activities.

The boys and I just hung out...

and ran around the beach.

Child Labor

2007-08-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

Two years is certainly old enough to begin helping Daddy out with the chores.

Ah, yes... Have I told you yet about the grin Cohen pulls on his face upon hearing the words "Smile for the camera!"? He loves to pose!

"Amigos Brasileiros" (Brazilian Friends) in Mozambique

2007-07-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of months we have been getting to know some Brazilian missionaries who work in Beira and the surrounding communities with various organizations. They get together twice a month for fellowship in various people's houses. It has been so neat to become a part of this community of believers and we have really begun to see these missionaries as a group we can relax with and just come away refreshed for ministry.

We are typically packed into someone's living room for a time of devotions and worship, and as you can see, kids are very much a part of the service.

Pastor Alfonso and his wife seem to be the patriarchs of the group as they are some of the oldest missionaries in the area--they work with AIM (African Inland Missions).

After getting to know this couple a bit, we found out that they are from Guajara-Mirim--a small little town in "the middle of nowhere" in Brazil where Stefan's parents made their buying trips for the village and where Stefan spent much of his childhood. Pretty crazy!

Christian enjoying the worship...(at five months now, he can't sit still--but hasn't quite picked up crawling--so he spends much of his time in my lap kicking his little legs as fast as they can go).

One of the nice things about being with a group of people like this is "sharing" your kids. One of the ladies took Christian outside for a bit to give me a break.

Stefan talking with the guys...if you're thinking they're having an in-depth discussion on ministry strategies, theology, or cross-cultural biblical teaching...well, you might be right. But, more than likely it's: soccer.

Of course, one of the best things about getting together with Brazilians is the food! Many of the group are from the state of Goias (where Sharon attended school) and we've been enjoying flavors from our childhood like: farofa, Brazilian-style rice, pudim, pao de queijo.

Cohen often spends much of the time outside running around with the kids. By the time we get him back home for his afternoon nap, he is typically filthy, red-faced, sweaty, and exhausted: just the way we like a little boy to be, right?

Saturday at the Beach

2007-07-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings are perfect for getting out of the house and enjoying the moderate weather. This past weekend we spent some time on the beach...

cuddling with Christian...

playing ball...

pausing to watch a ship go by...

examining a fresh catch...

playing ball with "Mommy" (a whole different sport than previously mentioned)...

and getting sandy.

Our Weeks With the Short-term Team

2007-07-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks we have been hosting a short-erm team from the United States. The following are some pictures of our time with the team and our trip out into the district. We began our time in Beira with a couple of days of orientation. On one of the days, we gave the team a tour of the city as Mozambicans celebrated their Independence Day with parades, speeches, and dances.

"Our" intern, Grace, was able to finish up her month with us by joining the short-term team for two weeks.

As usual, Christian managed to sleep through much of the celebration...in his favorite spot: a Mozambican capulana.

The short-term team was made up of about 12 Americans from oround the US who were interested in learning more about missions and the work Food for the Hungry is doing in Africa.

After a couple of days of orientation in Biera, the team traveled to Gorongosa where they toured the community of Mucodza. This is the community that will be opened up in 2008 through a partnership with the Church Strengthening and Child Development Programs. Stefan has been dedicating much of his time the past few months to developing the project in this community.

While the team met with church leaders, groups of mothers, and community leaders, Cohen entertained many of the kids.

Of course, traveling with an infant, there are times when you just need to get away... So much for privacy!

The team was able to tour various projects that Food for the Hungry is working in the district of Gorongosa, specifically in the areas of health, AIDS work, and agriculture. Cohen, Christian, and I were able to tag along for some of these trips. Here we are trying to keep Cohen out of the crops.

Ah, yes. And he loves to pose.

Although the overall trip went smoothly, there were certain things we just began to expect to go wrong...like flat tire #3.

Back in Mucodza, the team continued to work with the approximately 600 children of the community. They participated in activities such as distributing vitamin A and worm treatments, acting out educational skits, teaching the kids about propper heigene, making crafts, telling Bible stories, and singing.

The local children seemed to love getting out of school for a couple of days...and particularly enjoyed playing soccer.

Cohen, of course, made quick friends.

After a couple of weeks of being dragged all around central Mozambique, the boys were pretty exhausted and "crashed" in the land rovers on our way home from Rio Savane. Now, if only Mommy and Daddy can get caught up on some sleep...What do you say, boys?

Cohen's Birthday in Gorongosa

2007-07-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cohen has turned 2! We have been out in "the bush" for the past couple of weeks as Stefan has been leading a short-term team from Food for the Hungry US. So we were all out in Gorongosa together with 13 other new friends from the US for Cohen's birthday.

On the day of Cohen's birthday, Stefan, Cohen, and Christian took a break in the shade of a tree as we shuttled the team on their visits to different projects that Food for the Hungry is working on in the district of Gorongosa.

We toured several agricultural projects that churches have come together to work on in their communities. Cohen however, was mostly interested in the cute little frogs.

Part of our time in the community that day was spent with a group of women who portrayed what they had been learning about healthy living practices and the love of God through music and dancing. Their joy and dynamic spirit were wonderful to witness! After some prompting by the women (and some from my husband who somehow managed to get this shot), Christian and I joined them briefly--they were absolutely delighted and laughed to see a "white girl" try to participate in their demonstrative dancing.

Cohen's birthday celebration started after his nap as he played with balloons outside while I decorated a bit and finished up the cake and brigadeiros.

Cohen with his "loot." Thanks to several US visitors within the past few months, Cohen had many presents saved up from grandparents and other friends back home in Kentucky. (Thanks so much! Your gifts were wonderful!) Christian missed out on the fun that night as he somehow managed to sleep through the party.

Cohen needed a little help from his daddy blowing out the candles. His concept of blowing at this point is still mostly just putting his lips together and making funny noises. Actually, the whole house was filled with candles that night since the electricity went out--it was a truly beautiful evening.

Chocolate Cake! We made most of it up ahead of time and then wrestled a bit with a broken oven (and the roaches crawling out of it) to fix Cohen's 2-year-old birthday cake. It was definitely worth it as my beautiful boy truly enjoyed his cake (enough to give an exasperated sigh when Mommy interrupted his eating for one more picture)!

House Tour

2007-06-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd give you a tour of our house here in Beira. We have been blessed with a beautiful space to live in--the bottom half of a four-plex that is located only a few hundred meters from the ocean. Hopefully you can get a sense of our house through the following pictures:

Front Porch (with the boys).

Side Yard. Although we technically "share" the yard with all the othe families in the complex, we pretty much have it to ourselves throughout the day since the other tenants are at work and do not have children.

Living Room (the view as you walk through the front door).

Dining Room. This room is actually a part of the living room. We knocked out the blocked "window" that leads to the kitchen (You just can't keep Stefan from home renovation!)

Master Bedroom.

Cohen's Bedroom. We've got him sleeping on the floor due to the lack of a bed with rails. Even this way he is literally "all over the room" while he sleeps: We often come in after a nap to find his mattress scooted way over in front of the door!

Christian's Bedroom (with Cohen posing).

The Kitchen (leading to the back porch).

Back Porch (where we do laundry and wash dirty little feet several times a day).

Changes in Weather

2007-06-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

We are beginning our first "Winter" in Mozambique and have really been enjoying the change in weather. It is so much fun to wake up to a cool and breezy house or to spend our afternoons outside walking on the beach or playing in the yard. Cohen always looks forward to Stefan coming home from work so we can spend a few minutes playing ball or sitting and eating a snack on our front porch.

The Beach

2007-05-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

What to write on a first post on a first blog? Not even sure where this blog is going at this point other than serving as an attempt to join twenty-first century communication.

How life has changed from the time Stefan and I were little squirts romping and reveling in our own little lives as missionary kids--from the Amazon jungle to the highlands of central Brazil! And now here we are with our own two little ones--their view vastly different than our own as they look out from the shore of Mozambique. As parents we wonder what this experience will be for them...hoping they will be blessed as we were with the opportunity to live extraordinary childhoods as they come to know and love this God who led them, at least for now, to this country...these people...this view.