visit to Ana

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

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

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

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?)