Kitten story

Sooo...a week and a half ago, when we got back from Siloam Springs/Joyworks, everyone was eager to find Precious to see if she'd had her kittens. Jessica was the first to see her, and she yelled, "Mommy! Daddy! Precious is skinny!! She had her kittens!!" At which point much squealing and jumping ensued. We ordered the little girls to stay in the house and went to look under the shed, where Precious had disappeared. Sure enough, she had hollowed out a little nest, and I could see little fur balls in it! So Mike held Precious and I felt around and picked up four tiny kittens and put them in a box we had filled with old clothes and towels cut into strips. I didn't see any more, but I thought I should feel around to make sure...when I did, I felt something round and furry...and stiff and cold. I thought, "Oh, no, one is dead. And I just touched it!" So I rolled it with a stick until I could see it and---it was a Care Bear the girls had given Precious! Phew! So we took Precious and the kittens into the house, in the lovely box we had fixed up for them, and she immediately began taking them out of the lovely box and looking for somewhere else to put them--my closet, under my bed, under the couch. We kept following her saying, "No, not there!" until finally Jessica remembered how she always loves sleeping in the plastic drawer we use for dress-up clothes. She was okay in there for a while, and was even better when we put it in a dark, secluded coat closet. So I was surprised when she went to the back door and meowed, wanting out. I wondered if maybe I had missed a kitten, so I let her out and watched to see where she'd go. Sure enough, she went straight under the shed and came out carrying: a stuffed pink poodle! It was hilarious. She went out again and brought back a little Pooh bear toy, but we drew the line when she started bringing in pine cones. You see, boys and girls, this is what happens when kids are having kids. She's still a kitten herself.
The babies are doing fine; growing, but eyes are still closed. I'm ready for them to be up and walking around!



We loved the way this fat dude was sleeping, but the blackest one is our favorite.

Friends

Remember 1985? Church camp...graduation...swaying with arms around each other or holding hands in the air singing "Friends are friends forever...if the Lord's the Lord of them"...hearing everyone sniff and cry? Turns out that's true!
Malinda moved to Conway a year after I did--9th grade--and we became friends almost immediately. She moved away before our senior year (but after church camp...sniff), then went to Ouachita, and was instrumental in me going there!
(picture of my 9th grade friends...it's one of the few I have where Malinda isn't hiding her face!)
Well, last week Mike's job sent him to the Baptist camp at Siloam Springs, so after sending Jessica off to Joyworks at Ouachita, the other 2 girls and I went up with him, and re-connected with old friends! On Tuesday I had lunch with Malinda and her husband Joe, and I was amazed all over again at how easy it was to pick up our friendship where we left off.
From there we went to the aquatic center and met my friend Margo and her 4 boys. Margo came to Idaho as Mike's semester missionary, ended up marrying a different Mike and becoming my sister-friend. They left Idaho before we did, to move to Maine, then moved to Oklahoma after we moved to Arkansas. Phew! I love her boys like family!
Ian
Caden
Nate
Kyle

On Wednesday the girls and I drove a little farther north to visit Holly, Kate, and Grayson. Holly was one of the first friends I made when we moved to Magnolia 2 years ago. We clicked right away, and needed each other. Rebecca has missed Kate so much since they moved--all the girls had so much fun playing that afternoon.
Holly and Grayson
Silliness
Kate in the middle
Thursday morning we drove to Arkadelphia to watch the Joyworks concert and pick up Jessica. They did a wonderful job, and the songs they sang were from a musical I was in when I was her age! It brought back so many memories of Dale City Baptist Church. I got all teary! Plus we were at Ouachita, one of my favorite places in all the world, sitting surrounded by a mixture of Conway and Magnolia friends...I felt so blessed. And then we met Uncle Jerry and Aunt Barbara for lunch--not my real aunt and uncle, but missionary parents of friends of mine from Ouachita. God used them to put me on the road to follow Him, and I was so glad Mike got to meet them. You know, he didn't know what to expect, and I didn't want him to be bored, so I loved it when we got in the car to leave and he said, "I LOVED them!"
It was such a neat week of reuniting with friends.
And when we got home, we discovered Precious had had her kittens under the shed! But I'll save that story for another day.


Mom and Gabby, my great-neice--we stopped in Conway for lunch on our way to Siloam.
Whitney and Sally

Rebecca after roasting and eating marshmallows--she said, "Mommy, take a picture of me and put it on your blog!" How could I say no?

Back to the Journal

May 20 Fonta da Vida Orphanage Sunrise-ish

Yesterday afternoon Mike and the students played the animal game with the kids for an hour! I played for a little while.

I tried to take a nap but there were a dozen mosquitos in my tent. So I killed as many as I could. It gets dark so early--SO DARK. Supper was chicken (obviously), tomato-y rice, and salad again. It was good. The kids had manioc with theirs, too. After supper Charlie did his devotion, and Pastor did his, and we sang and sang and sang. Our "Father Abraham" and theirs. Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and a bunch of songs in Shangaan and Portuguese. I loved their singing. Then we went outside under our canopy of stars and played Cat & Rat/Gato Rato. Benedita was rat to my cat, and I cheated to catch her! We laughed and laughed. I also scraped my ankle...I guess cheaters never prosper. Then we played a kind of Simon Says game, then they sang Boa Noite to us and went to bed. Before the grown-ups went to bed Benedita and I sang a worship song I learned on a mission trip to Ecuador years ago...Senor, Quien Entrara...I sang in Spanish and she sang in Portugese; it was beautiful. I slept better than the night before. Which isn't saying much! This morning I've swept the porch and washed the table (with a rag and a bowl of dirty water) and now I'm waiting for breakfast with Sessely, Nelson, Silvio, and Anefa. They drew me a bunch of pictures at the end of my notebook! Raphael rubbed this shell from some fruit to sand it smooth, making a little box!

Celebrating 16 wonderful years

On Friday Mike and I celebrated our 16th anniversary at Mount Magazine State Park. We left as soon as I cleaned up my VBS room, and got to the Lodge around suppertime. It was so beautiful! Mount Magazine is the highest point in Arkansas, at more than 2700 feet. People used to say it was the biggest mountain between the Appalachians and the Rockies; while that is not true, it does have the biggest direct rise from the surrounding area (2000 feet). My Northwest and Colorado friends might giggle at our little mountain, but the view is still amazing.

God is so creative! I love His work.
And our room at the Lodge was huge,

and had a balcony with this view:

Here it is in the morning fog:

They built the Lodge so that every room has a balcony looking toward the view--the other side of the hall is the outside wall. It's fairly new, so feels nice, and I believe every room has a jacuzzi tub, too. The "art" on the walls was all photographs taken in the park. Very nice. It is so remote that the only place to eat is the restaurant at the Lodge. They had buffets evening and morning--with yummy Southern food like field peas, fried potatoes, catfish, hushpuppies (and prime rib, which isn't necessarliy Southern but sure was good!) at supper and biscuits with white and chocolate gravy, more fried potatoes, and grits (among other things) at breakfast. Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm!
We hiked to the top of the mountain Friday night, then took 2 other trails the next morning. We saw gorgeous views, of course, as well as wildflowers and butterflies of all different colors, lush green trees and ferns and undergrowth,

and even one bright red lizard which made Mike jump

and a child's grave from the 1800's. By lunchtime we were miserably hot, and soaking wet with sweat, so we headed home (and to Angel's house to pick up our girls. Thanks again, Angel!). It was a really good time.

We took a few detours as we hiked, and one was to some rocks that looked out over this--

and we watched about 7 hawks (okay, maybe they were buzzards...) soaring around.
On the North Rim trail we crossed School Creek, which we detoured down for a while, hoping to see a waterfall.

This is the only "waterfall" we found:

This is the view straight down at "Inspiration Point"--I held my camera over the edge of the rocks--and just getting that close took my breath away!

Mozambique Journal continued

May 19 Orphanage

Last night we had fish, rice, and salad made with cucumber, tomato, onion, and bell pepper tossed with oil, vinegar, and salt. I was a little scared about the fish (I don't usually like fish), but it wasn't bad. The kids ate every bit except the bones--heads and all! I just picked the meat out...when they ate the skin it sounded a little crunchy to me...

After supper the kids cleared the tables and then we played games with them.

I played Memory with Celeste, Marta, Dercio, Celestino, and Mosais. Then we sang a couple songs in Portugese--one was like the Hokey Pokey--had a brief devotion by Charlie and prayer by Pastor Alfonso, the kids sang "Boa Noite" to us, and we went to bed. It was DARK, and Lauren and Charlie were the only ones with flashlights. The stars were amazing--we could see the Milky Way, and the Southern Cross, and satellites crossing the sky--incredibly beautiful. We giggled a lot trying to get ready for bed in the pitch black. It was so quiet during the day, and got so noisy at night--frogs, and something going "hooooooo, hoooooo." Then I heard a growl (!) and thought it must be a lion! or a leopard!...and realized it was someone SNORING! (coughCharliecough) Then I heard a flap-flap, flap-flap, and asked Mike what it was, and he said probably a BAT, which freaked me out. But this morning he pointed out that they eat mosquitos, which is wonderful. So the bat was a gift from God. (There were clouds of mosquitos in the building our tents were in--with an audible hum) I did not sleep well. (Never do in a sleeping bag) But I did sleep...

This morning we woke up with the sun. The worker guys were "supposed" to be here at 7, but it's 9:20 and they're still not here. We hung out until breakfast. Isabelle boiled water for me for instant coffee, and I visited with Nelson and Silvio, drawing in the sand. We had manioc for breakfast--tasted like potatoes--we put butter on it and it was mmm-mmm-good. We also had some of the bread Lauren helped Pastor Alfonso make, and more coffee. (All the plates and bowls and most of the mugs were tin--made me feel like Laura Ingalls!) We read Lamentations 3:22 and 2 Peter 3:9. Our chapter for today was 2 Corinthians 6--very appropriate!

"...4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love... "

(Later)

I also had an appropriate song come to mind as I sat on the toilet: "Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me..." Ha!

I didn't do much this morning--pulled nails out of a board--but I did help in the kitchen some. I hand-washed a dish towel in the sink. And I got to share a cup of shima (sp?) with sugar with Benedita. It tasted like cream of wheat--not bad!--but it was interesting eating out of the same cup.

Then I played hopscotch with some girls (and Benedita!) until lunchtime.

Lunch was more shima (which is ground up manioc) covered in a gravy made of ground peanuts, coconut, and kovi. I was nervous about it, but it was pretty bland. Carter loved it!

After lunch I was watching the students play with the kids in a combination of dodgeball & keepaway,

when Rafael recruited me to take pictures of him (photo! photo!) taking care of animals.

I thought. They actually went and picked out 4 pullets for supper!! I "got" to watch them be killed. (They slit their throats. The knife wasn't very sharp.)

Then Benedita and Isabelle pulled up a stool for me so I could help pluck! That was a first. But it was worse watching them get cut up. They eat everything. Feet, heads, gizzards, and other internal organs.

I'm taking a break right now--even brushed my teeth!
Here's what the rest of the team was doing:

Mozambique Journal

May 18 Fonta da Vida Orphanage Mozambique

I'm taking a break and watching Benedita (the pastor's wife) and Isabelle (the cook?) get food ready. Benedita is cleaning a kind of green they called "kovi"(?)--looks like cabbage but not in a ball. Isabella and Marta are peeling cucumbers, while the small children are working on their letters: A E I O U

Benedita and Isabelle (on her cell phone)
(Mai, Rosa, and Marta cleaning kovi)
Homework


We left the Lechner's around 8:30 this morning, and drove an hour, about half of which was on dirt (sand) roads--very bouncy and curvy.
Scenes along the way

The students started playing tag with the kids and taking pictures when we first got here.
> Lauren playing tag

Nelson
Celestino, Dercio, and 2 others whose names I don't remember
They loved seeing pictures of themselves on our cameras.

Charlie showed us around while we waited for Pastor Alfonso, then we had a brief orientation and tour.
Unloading
I loved the swing under the tree.

"Laundry room"
They have 2 dorms--one we helped build

+ 1 unfinished one that we're sleeping in.
We had to sweep up the dust and debris before we set up our tents.

Each dorm has a small kitchen,

1 bathroom, 3 sleeping rooms,

and 1 meeting area.


They have a barn, too, and pens for animals:

goats,

chickens,

ducks, and pigs.

And they grow lots of things--

peri peri (very hot small hot red hot pepper),

cucumber, squash, pineapple, manioc, sunflowers, mango, papaya, cashews, masala--I don't know what all.
We hauled bricks until lunch.

They dug sand out of the ground mixed it with water, and voila! Mud for the bricks! Which were also made from their own sand.
Lunch was beans and rice and juice. Mike and several others tried the peri peri, much to their regret. :) I volunteered to help in the kitchen, and Benedita handed me a knife and sat me down by a tub of frozen fish, told me to watch Isabelle. So I got to clean fish for supper! I felt so ignorant.

But afterward I was so proud I had to get a picture with my mentor, Isabelle.
Then I hauled some more bricks, then got bored waiting for a job, so I wandered back toward the kitchen. I helped 2 girls, Marta and Celeste, grind what they said was "amendoim" (peanuts) and they laughed and laughed.

First Rosa and the two little ones picked each nut out of the pod.

Then they ground them up.

Wacky me--had my camera turned sideways at first. Duh!
Then I helped Benedita clean kovi for a while. Then Mike whistled to help haul concrete, but that didn't last long. There's nothing really to do at the moment. It's so quiet here, and peaceful. It was REALLY HOT at first, but now it clouded over and there's a nice breeze--feels good.
Sessely
I think this is right before Heath fell off!
Celeste was scraping coconut to cook with the kovi and peanuts. As my dad would say, the right tools make any job easier!

Joao, the master bricklayer. He impressed us all.
Lauren helped Pastor Alfonso bake bread. They'd pick up this dough and SLAM it down on the counter. The wood-burning oven and "bakery" were in a separate building.
Pastor checking the bread in the oven.

Celeste was teaching Mai how to play a type of jacks, using a piece of fruit (masala?) for the ball and a handful of rocks for the jacks. It was fascinating. I got some video, but Mai was having trouble. I wish I had video of Celeste--she never messed up!