Thanksgiving

Through the years that I have been away from family and/or overseas on my own, I have realized that Thanksgiving is a very special holiday to me, perhaps even more so than Christmas.  I'm very glad that I booked my ticket to arrive back in PA before Thanksgiving.  My family in M-burg made the drive down to the family farm for the day.  Although a part of our family is still in Moz, we were almost all together.  

We had the traditional feast, and the usual nap time afterwards.  Once revived, the kids needed to expend some energy.  Anna was thrilled to find out that Kolton and Emme have a "neigh neigh."  Said "neigh neigh" is an elderly miniature horse named Molly.  Molly has lost some teeth and one eye, but she doesn't seem her life of grazing and the occasional pony ride.  

As we put the kiddos on Molly for a walk around, the sun started to set.  It was that perfect time of evening when the world looks golden and life feels uncomplicated.  I love those moments.  It was wonderful to have the time with family.

Anna giving Emme a kiss

Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful.

Colossians 4:2

On the Road

I think I've started a post about ten times and each time, I've just not finished it.  There are a number of reasons, lack of time, lack of means (I knocked my laptop to the the tile floor by accident while still in Mozambique and it is not turning on!) and a few other things, but either way, it's time to start writing again!

I can hardly believe that two weeks ago today, I was attending my last church service in Moz.  Various church people had presents for me and presented them to me in front of the entire congregation.  By the time they were finished, I had tears streaming down my face.  These are good people.  I have been blessed to get to know them. 

I left Moz on the following Monday.  The trip from Beira to Joburg to DC took a full 24 hours, plus a seven hour time change.  Normally, I have no problems sleeping on planes, but this 18 hour flight, sleep eluded me.  There was a surprisingly bad selection of films and a rather negative woman in the seat behind me (who didn't mind sharing her opinions rather loudly with her husband and those of us in a ten seat radius.)  Aside from that, the flight was uneventful.  I like adventures, but in terms of plane rides, uneventful is a good quality!  

It was wonderful to see family once back in PA.  I swapped my swim suits and sandals for sweaters and slippers, but the fall leaves are gorgeous and I love sitting by a fire on a chilly evening.  It doesn't hurt that there is usually a little Jack Russell Terrier who is happy to sit with me.

Farewell to the tropics

Today is my last full day in Mozambique.  I'm surprised by how sad I feel to say goodbye.  The church had a special place in the service to say goodbye to me.  I was given several really thoughtful gifts and during the process, I started crying.  I think that was actually a source of great entertainment for the church, although not in a malicious manner.

The community pool for my parent's little complex has been a source of much joy for me.  In the last few weeks, the pool's temperatures have soared to perfection.  It may not be an ideal pool by American standards (considering the water is very chlorinated and usually has a variety of palm fronds, ants, and occasionally a roach floating in its depths.  But I'll miss it.  I'll miss the little Bronze Mannikins who line up side by side on a branch of the almond tree to catch the last rays of the day.  I'll miss the pink blossoms of the frangipani.  I'll miss the bliss of warm water on a hot day.

 

My parent's house has been home for four months.  I keep snapping "just one more picture," wanting to capture people, places and memories in megapixels for preservation.  I have mementos taped into my journal to accompany my written notes and souvenirs packed into my suitcases.  But the best parts will still be here in Mozambique, waiting until I come back, whenever ever that may be.  In the meantime, I'm so thankful that I will be able to picture my folks at home and at work.  Mozambique and her people will have a special place in my heart.  

 

The next step of my journey will begin tomorrow.  I have a sneaking feeling that the East Coast of the USA will offer weather a teensy bit colder than I like.  Although goodbyes are making me sad today, with every goodbye there is another hello.  The hello at the end of this journey will be my US family :)  See you the other side of the Pond!

One week remaining in this land of sunshine and mangoes.

We we given some mangoes from a friend's tree.  As a child living in Zim, I didn't really like mangoes. I started to enjoy them when studying in Egypt.  Tasting these, I can't believe I missed out on all those mangoes as a little girl!

Yesterday at church, Pastori Z announced that I would be leaving.  He challenged the church to bring things to help me remember Mozambique.  I just hope no one hands me a chicken next Sunday!

One woman came forward to give her gift and handed Pastori 200 MZN for me.  I didn't even recognize the woman as someone I have met before.  Two hundred meticais is about $7, which may not seem like much.  However, it seems huge when you consider that most families only have one family member (the husband) working outside of the home.  I don't know the details for every family in our church, but most of the men seem to make about 1000 MZN a week, which is about $36. I hate to think about taking a portion of a family's income, especially when that income might be so small.  

Another man came up to me after church.  He speaks English well and he wanted to ask me what I liked, so that he could be sure to bring me something I liked.  I told him I like everything but that having been in Mozambique for four months was enough of a wonderful present.  I really don't need anything more.  He grinned and said he was so glad I've enjoyed it.  Now it is up to the church to give me small things to show others how wonderful Mozambique is and to remember my time here.  That wasn't quite the intent of my comment, but his face showed his joy at hearing how much I've loved being here.

The best parts of the last four months cannot be packed into a suitcase.  They are the people I've met and the gorgeous places I've seen.  The memories aren't all beautiful.  Some of them bring tears to my eyes and make me want to change the world so that life here isn't so hard.  But those memories are just as special as the memories of golden beaches, roads with craters instead of potholes, and seeing how green the country becomes after a few rainy days.  They are all Mozambique.