I'm home!

We finally made it home late Thursday night, and it feels so good to be with my family again! I slept late yesterday and today, and have been busy unpacking and working on getting the house back in order and buying groceries. I don't feel too good today--zero energy. But I'll be okay. So...back to Mozambique journal entries, and now I can add pictures!

May 17
Friday night we went to a Bible Study at Mahotas Baptist Church. There were about 10 young adults there. First we played the animal game, where you make your animal noise then someone else's, and someone in the middle tries to tag you before you do. It was fun. Then their worship leader led 2 beautiful songs in Shangaan, their tribal language, then Kelsey shared about Philippians 3:8-11 and the pastor translated into Portugese.

He spoke a little bit after her, as well, and really convicted me about holding onto rubbish instead of the precious jewel of Jesus Christ. When we came home Angie and I didn't play hearts with everyone else because we didn't want to stay up late--then ended up talking until 11:00!! It was funny.
Yesterday morning we got up and went to the Saturday market.

It was full of people and bright colors. When we'd stop to look at something, we'd be surrounded by vendors. It was only slightly annoying, unless they completely encircled you--then it was rather unnerving. Scary. One little boy with a butterfly mobile followed me around all morning. We bought a lot of souvenirs. Once I called Mike "Miguel" and they all surrounded him yelling, "Miguel! Miguel!"
After lunch we went back out to Mahotas and met some of the young adult members and some little boys (Royal Ambassadors) to go out witnessing/visiting with. I was teamed up with Gildo and Ernesto. Ernesto was 9, and very shy and quiet. Gildo was from Nampula, and was in Maputo waiting on a visa to go to Brazil to a Bible School. His dad is a pastor and runs an orphanage. He's 19, the oldest of 5...or was it 4? He was so nervous before we went out that his lips quivered when he talked. But he did great! The first house we went to, he walked in the gate (all the houses are behind walls or hedges)

and yelled, "Licensa! Licensa!" (excuse me) and a lady walked up with a little girl about 4 years old and 2 babies. She brought chairs out under her tree for us to sit on, and she and her daughter sat on water jugs. I was playing with one of the babies, and the little girl let me hold her. Gildo did all the talking, while I prayed. Her name was Elsa, and she was already going to Mahotas Bapt. Ch.

At the next house, an older man did the same thing with the chairs, and an older woman came out with a toddler and a packet of papers. She sat by me and pulled out something that looked like a shot record, speaking in Shangaan, and Gildo was busy talking to her husband, so I had to wait for him to be done. Then he was able to figure out (once she switched to Portugese) that the toddler was their neice--her parents had abandoned her because they both had AIDS, and now she has AIDS, too. She thought since I was white, I could help her. Gildo prayed for her out loud, while I prayed silently; he put his hand on her head and prayed in the name of Jesus Christ--I could figure that much out! When we got up to leave she double-kissed me.
At the house after that, Gildo yelled "Licensa!" about twenty times, then decided they weren't home. The next house had 2 young men trying out their English outside, and a teenager named Nando inside. He invited us to sit on the concrete porch, and Gildo shared the gospel. Nando said he read in the Bible that there's no such thing as hell, and Gildo handed me his Portugese Bible to help! I was praying for the gift of tongues. He ended up telling the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man, and we prayed with him and invited him to church. We went to one house after that, but the lady said she goes to church somewhere else.
We all met back up in the church courtyard, under a tree, and shared our experiences.


Gildo talked a lot! I really liked him, and had a great time. He thanked me for going and praying for him--said it helped him a lot. But I was the one thankful for him, because I was nervous--almost dreading it--and he made it easy and fun. Besides doing all the talking! I loved it.
When we got home, the Jacksons were here, and Carla and Angie had supper all ready for us. We enjoyed visiting all together, talking about seminary days in Fort Worth. Coleson went to bed with a fever and Angie had to take him to the doctor today. Not malaria-
This morning the electricity went off just as I was stepping out of the shower...which means that was the last of the water! Electric pump--reminded me of home in Pickles Gap! Made it very difficult to flush the toilet...
Church at Mahotas was awesome. Gildo and Rafael were right out front waiting for us, and many other people greeted us as well.

Jim Bowers taught Sunday School, with Rafael translating, about Ephesians 5--mostly submission--Stacy and I were the only wives there, and Jim asked us to share about our experiences, so I said a few words.

After Sunday School all the kids and other people came in for a wonderful time of worship--I loved hearing the singing.



Some of the songs had motions, and we swayed and clapped, and they'd do this "looloolooloo" thing--such fun. Most of the time I tried to sing along (the words were on an overhead projector), or was video-taping, but sometimes I would stop and just try to soak it in, to remember as long as possible. All the children sat on one side of the church, and I loved watching them take care of each other and sing and play. Little bitty girls carry their younger brothers and sisters on their backs.




I loved when the older women pressed their cheeks on mine. One song was "Beautiful One." The last song was to welcome visitors, which meant us and the girl next to me. During announcements they asked all fathers to stand (in Portugese, remember) and Charlie nudged Mike to stand, so I stood with him, making everyone laugh. When they took up the offering I was ashamed that I hadn't taken any money with me. Even the little girl visitor next to me put money in the basket. Carter read his testimony in Portugese, and did well.

Mike preached, with Pastor Gildo (not my Gildo) translating, on 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 about the marks of a Christian.

I thought he did a great job. Once he pointed to his wedding ring, and said, "This means I belong to Kecia" and Pastor Gildo said, "This means I belong to Irina" (or whatever his wife's name was). Everyone laughed. Mike also said that when girls see the ring they say, "Aww, he belongs to somebody," and they laughed again. They are such beautiful people. Such beautiful smiles, and quiet, friendly eyes. Pastor Gildo spoke a few words after Mike, then we sang the invitation, which was a song about the mark of the promise--so cool. Then he got Mike and I to stand with him to greet everyone as they left. They were playing, "Jesus...Jesus...you are the holy and exalted one...Jesus" the whole time.
For lunch we met Angie, Will, Luke and Abby at Surf again--the electricity was still off at home. We had fun, but got so hot. (We eat outside.)
(view from Surf)
(playground at Surf--took that one for my girls.)
The electricity finally came on again at home. Funny thing is, it's the 3rd time that's happened since we got here, and they've only had it happen once in the 3 years before. The enemy tries to discourage us with pain (Angie falling), sickness (Coleson), discomfort (power), and fear (street evangelism), but he is a big loser and we have the victory in Christ!
Things I've learned so far:
*They eat fried sand. Seriously.
*They also eat Shima, which is like grits.
*Bon Dia--good morning
*Boa Tarde--good afternoon
*Boa Noite--good night
*Obrigada/obrigado--thank you
*'Ta Bon--it's all good
(I learned how to say them, not necessarily spell them!)

Stuck in Jo'burg

Well...I'm still not home.
We left Maputo Monday afternoon, with Sessely feeling very sick at her stomach. We survived the 1-hour flight to Johannesburg, and then had a 4 hour layover. She just kept feeling worse and worse. We boarded the plane, and I made the mistake of asking if there was an empty seat for her closer to the bathroom, and they started asking questions and reported it to medical, and next thing you know they're asking her to leave the plane. Escorting her off, actually. I said I needed to stay with her, and they said that was up to me. Heath, Lauren, and Kelsey looked awfully big-eyed, but I told them they'd be fine and to get home and followed Sessely off the plane. We waited forever for our luggage, and both had our break-down-and-cry moments, but due to God's grace I had Charlie & Angie's phone number in my pocket. I couldn't figure out how to use my credit card to use the pay phone, so this man who also got kicked off the plane let me use his cell phone. (That's when I cried. Sympathy always makes me lose it.) Charlie called the missionary who runs the guest house here, and he came and got us and brought us here. While I waited for Charlie to call back on the pay phone to tell me that a rastafarian guard tried to pick me up. Then I was in the wrong place (barely) to meet the missionary and we both waited for 30 minutes in basically the same room before we found each other. It was a long night.
Sessely saw a dr yesterday, and he gave her some medicine and a note for the airline, so last night we re-booked our tickets for tonight. We don't have to pay anything because we're on missionary tickets. Thank God. I also got to see Mike and Carter on their way through. Even got a kiss. :) Pray for no more delays and for Sessely to get well--she's still pretty sick.
Gotta run

Carter's okay!

I just talked to Mike on the phone--he said they did Carter's surgery as soon as they got there last night, and he is doing great.  His knee cap was broken into 4 pieces, and they got them all back together, there were no further injuries, and they can start working on flying back home as soon as Wednesday!!! I'm so relieved.  Praise the Lord!

Monkey Wrench

I will now take a time warp to last night in my Mozambique journal so that you will please pray for us!

Saturday night:

blah, blah...We were so tired, but happy, and started showering and getting ready for bed.  Carter was in the shower when all of a sudden we heard loud yelling and screaming.  Charlie, Angie, and I waited a minute to see if one of the kids was goofing off, but it kept going, and got worse.  It was awful.  Then we all 3 ran up the stairs, and it was Carter.  He fell getting out of the shower, right on his knee, and broke his patella (knee cap) in half.  When we saw the x-ray there were about 2 inches between the halves.  It looked awful.  I stayed downstairs at first, but when Mike came down looking grey in the face and needing water, I went up and stayed with Carter until the ambulance came.  I guess I was so scared that they would hurt him again that I got sick and woozy then and went downstairs myself needing water.  It was so traumatic.  Abby was crying; Coleson and Will were shook up; Lauren was in the other shower and heard all the noise but didn't know what was going on and was afraid for her life.  Angie reminded us that God has given us everything we need for this situation. We all sat up until Charlie and Mike got home and some details figured out.  Went to bed around 2.  Carter is going to have surgery.  He spent the night at the clinic around the corner.  I got up and sat with him this morning, while the students went to a rural church and led the service, and Mike and Charlie worked on getting Carter taken care of and insurance stuff.  We almost didn't go to the service, but Mike didn't want to give the enemy the satisfaction.  

Mike and Carter left by ambulance for Nelspruit, South Africa, this evening.  The surgery should be tomorrow, and they're supposed to be able to come home 10-14 days later.  I'm hoping (praying) that they get to leave even sooner.  I was very emotional this afternoon after Mike called Carter's parents, and again when they left.   We haven't heard from them yet, and not being able to communicate is going to be so hard.

The other students and I leave tomorrow on our 2-day trip home.  I never dreamed I'd be the one in charge of seeing them home!  Please pray for all of us, but especially Carter.

More Journal from Mozambique

May 14 Maputo Angie's house

I'm having so much fun!  Our flight to Maputo was uneventful and quick.  We got off the plane and went through immigration and everything-they searched my suitcase because of the water filters I was bringing the missionaries.  They searched Lauren's, too, and we're not sure why--it was just a sleeping bag and pillow!  Miracle #1:  all of our luggage made it here. It was great to see Chuck and Ang--hardly got to hug them, we were all so crowded and had full hands.  She fell and cut herself up before we got there.  :(  

I rode with her & all the luggage.  Saw lots of old dilapidated houses, crazy driving, beautiful people.  The Lechner's house is very nice--wood floors, high ceilings, gated courtyards.  We ate lunch right away, got our rooms figured out, showered and went to the kids' school--CAM, Christian Academy of Mozambique--to do youth group.  They played basketball, then a couple of crazy games, then had a snack.  The Bible study was discussing difficult questions about God, like, "If He knew Satan would be so evil, why didn't He destroy him a long time ago?  Why does God allow sin?"  We threw them out there and the kids were amazing!  Had the deepest answers, yet simple and with great word pictures.  I'm looking forward to meeting with the girls again next week.  

We came home and ate and played spades; I talked to Ang and we all went to bed.  I slept GREAT.  Woke up and got ready--Ang took me to her ladies' Bible Study--9th session of Beth Moore's "Daniel."  It was great to meet all her friends.  Very sweet ladies.  On the way home we bought a few things at a couple of stores and from some ladies with veggies on the street and some guys with a fruit cart.  We had lunch and then the group planned Chapel and went driving around town.  I stayed with Angie and helped pick up the kids from school, and we've been talking a lot.  I can't believe I'm really here!

(I don't know what happened with the spacing there...)

Boa Tarde from Mozambique!

We're having such a good trip.  I'm keeping a journal, which may or may not be interesting to you, but I'll try to edit it as I go:

May 12 London Heathrow Airport

Yesterday we left Magnolia in torrential rain and drove to DFW, in torrential rain! I have a picture, but I may have to wait to download those. 

When we all met up at British Airways, the computers for that terminal all crashed.  So it took a while to get checked in.  But they finally got it fixed, and we all made it through security and to our gate.  Mike and I had great seats on every plane--bulkhead, with wide open space at our feet.  We got a kick out of our flight crew's British accents.  And Lauren, one of our students, who found herself speaking with one! :)  It was a 9 hour flight, and I tried to sleep, but didn't get much.  As we were approaching Heathrow I stood up and looked out the nearest tiny window and saw Ireland!  I was so excited.  

We left the airport to do a little sight-seeing, and as we were getting our passports checked I took a picture of a sign that said, "UK Border."  But you won't be seeing that one--it's against the law, I guess, 'cause I kinda got in trouble.  Thank goodness for digital cameras--all I had to do was delete it.  

So we got on the tube and went out into the city.  (I thought it was funny that there were no exit signs...they had "way out" signs instead!  And the automated voice said, "Mind the gap between the carriage and the platform" at every station.  Mind the gap!)  We got off at Picadilly Circus, which reminded me of a mini Times Square.  One of our students back at SAU has a cousin in London, Ezra, and he met us there and took us on a walking tour through Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace (outside, of course), Parliament, Big Ben, across the River Thames, down a ways, and back across to Leicester Square.  We saw the Palace Guards on parade and playing in a concert.  They played Star Wars--I found that odd.  We also saw pelicans, swans, ducks, and lots of pigeons.  Street performers, politicians, and panhandlers.  We ate lunch and then headed back to Heathrow.  That's when our poor guide got sick.  Literally.  Bless his heart.  I loved looking at the buildings--they were fascinating to me--I kept thinking of Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Little Princess, and the Thoene books.  I could hardly believe I was really in London.  

May 13 Johannesburg Tamba Airport

The flight from London to Jo'burg started out rough, but got better, and I actually slept!  We had supper and breakfast on the plane, and after breakfast we watched the sun rise over Johannesburg--it was huge and hot pink--beautiful.

To be continued....

We leave tomorrow!

I'm taking a break from packing, waiting for the dryer to stop. Hey, it just buzzed! Hang on a minute...
Okay, I'm back. Folded clothes, took my malaria pill, ate pb&j for supper, watched Amazing Race. Back to business. :)
After Rebecca's last day of preschool, we took the girls to Conway. I was excited to go to the Kris Allen parade and concert on Friday, while Mike was in Little Rock meeting with his boss for evaluations, but the girls wimped out on me. So we watched it on the news. My brother took his family, and said the girls wouldn't have been able to see anyway. The Conway paper was so funny--full page color pictures of Kris on the very front and very back pages. (The paper's only about 10 pages long, anyway...)
This morning we enjoyed going to church with Mom, and Mike's boss filled in for our their vacationing pastor. He mentioned our trip, and lots of people came and hugged us. :) Made me feel loved.
Mike and Mark grilled steaks (in MORE RAIN) for me and Mom and Sally and her mom, and we ate and ran. Rebecca was awfully clingy all morning, but the good-bye went well because she was excited for Whitney to paint her toenails, and J & M were ready to go play with Kennedi. We saw a lot of water, standing and running, as we drove home in the rain. We were a little worried about our house, because the rain tends to pool around and on our front porch, and has gotten as close as an inch from the door, but we got home and all was well! Thank the Lord. So now we're packing and hoping we haven't forgotten anything and hoping my excitement doesn't keep me from sleeping tonight! Pray for us!
Doh! There's the dryer buzzer again... Can you see Rebecca's drawing of me? Rebecca's class on her last day (she's missing her "graduation" because she'll be in Conway with my Mom, so I went and watched them practice). Rebecca with Miss Kim, her teacher's helper. All the girls! While we were in Conway Mike made the girls a swing and they LOVED it!

Nashville!

Thursday morning we got up early and hit the road to go to Nashville, Tennessee, for the National Collegiate Ministers' Summit Conference. (Basically, a great way to reconnect with old friends!) It rained on our way there...while we were there...on our way home...and after we got home. But we had a good time!

When we got to our really nice hotel, Mike registered us and we got so many free books!!! The Holman Apologetics Bible {insert quote from Mike: if we truly lived the Christian life, we wouldn't need apologetics}, The Case for Faith 6-week Bible study and DVD, and The Unexpected Adventure, also by Lee Strobel (& Mark Mittelberg). It was fun. We also saw our friend Rea, from the Northwest, almost right away, and she told us our friends Beth and Susan would be there (yay!) but not Matt and Jackie (boo). :( We also saw lots of other BCM directors that we've known through the years--I was walking down the hall and heard, "That's Kecia," and it was Robert, a guy I went to college with who lives in Quebec now! It was really fun. The girls started begging to swim the moment we got there, but I made them wait until after supper. Mike and I got to go to a banquet sponsored by NAMB, where we sat with his boss man and his wife, and I slipped out after I ate to take the girls to the pool. I really hate indoor swimming pools. I don't care how heated they are, I'm always cold. I only like to swim when I'm hot. But I swam with them for an hour or so until Mike came and relieved me.
Friday morning breakfast was really crowded, and I lost Mike and the girls while I was getting my food. Beth and Rea called me over to them, so I ate and talked with them...when I saw Mike looking for me, I was glad they had given us such big honking name tags, so I could hide from him! Just kidding, he was happy to let me visit. In fact, the girls wanted to swim again that morning, and he slipped away as soon as he could and jumped in with them and the Inman girls (who used to be in Arkadelphia but are now in Ruston). He was throwing them around and making them all so happy. He's a great dad. I left him with them so I could meet my friend Beth in the lobby and get all caught up. Beth was Mike's associate at LCSC in Lewiston, Idaho, and took over when he left. She was living with us when Jessica was born, bless her heart. And she's still our friend! ;) Now she works with Matt & Jackie in Portland. She is a gifted woman with a big heart for college students. The girls caught up with me when they were done swimming, and Jessica and AnnaKate decided to entertain us on the piano.

(not safe. but cute.)


Me and Beth!
Entertainers

After everybody dried off we grabbed lunch with Susan and the Nelsons (who are currently in Arkadelphia) and then scooted off to have some fun! We went to Opry Mills, and had so much fun walking through the Aquarium restaurant that we got arm bands for the girls to pet the stingrays and ride the merry-go-round. Okay, actually they started chickening out about petting the stingrays and I told them they had to pet the stingrays or they couldn't ride the merry-go-round. Whatever. They were proud they did it, anyway.






We had fun at the mall, buying Jessica some summer clothes, and buying new Webkinz for $1 at the Webkinz Extravaganza, and especially getting ice cream at the Marble Slab. Then we walked swam over to the Grand Ole Opry museum. I love free fun! And I love Brad Paisley. But that's another story.
Here are the girls performing at the Grand Ole Opry...

Jessica with Minnie Pearl...

Rebecca with some country singer because she wanted a picture, too...

And Mikayla on stage again.

When we got back to the hotel, we tried to warm up and dry off while we ordered the girls room service. Okay, so here's the deal...the night before, we left them locked in the room while we went to the banquet, so we ordered them one plate of chicken tenders. It was plenty for the three of them, came with fries and one glass of water, and they loved it. So the next night we decided to do the same thing. Only this time the lady who brought it in (same lady) said, "No extra charge, but I brought you some chips and water, too." Ahem: 4 bottles of water, 2 bottles of Sprite, 3 bags of Doritos, 2 bags of white cheddar popcorn and 1 bag of Cracker Jacks. Then she said, "Wait a minute, I have another thing," and she brings in a fancy cheese/fruit tray and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries!!! Have I mentioned that I love free stuff?! I was thinking that maybe we tipped her more than usual or something the night before, and Mike was saying how God had blessed us, when suddenly it dawned on both of us--she felt sorry for us! She thought all 5 of us were eating that one plate of chicken tenders for supper, and brought us extra food! We laughed so hard. But we sure did enjoy it. :)

The IMB treated Mike and I to supper that night, and again I took the girls swimming. This time I told them I was just too tired to get in, and read until Rebecca got too cold and we went upstairs for a warm bath.
The next day we told everyone good-bye, and got the best free book of all: Vicki Courtney's 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter!!! I had been wanting Mike to buy it for me all weekend, but there was never anyone at that table, and finally somebody told Mike they were giving all those books away at the end of the conference. He picked one out, too. So much fun! Then we drove 8 long, looong, wet hours home. We did have fun eating a late lunch/early supper at the original Corky's BBQ in Memphis. Mmm-mmm.
And now it's one more week until Mozambique!