Sultry, Sunny Saturday in Dondo

Phew! What a Scorcher - went the 'Sun' headline during one of our hottest summers in the UK. Don't know what the paper would make of today - hot sunny and humid, OK if your on hoilday but no picnic if you have to work. I doubt that any of you reading this in England will have the slightest sympathy for Dan and myself as you struggle with the cold and we compalin about the heat. God created both to challenge us.

Dondo went did we. Lights fit some and paint did we. That was Yoda speak. Dan, Pedro and yours truly. Pedro was the guy who helped us paint a lot last year - Josh will remember him - he sends his regards to Josh.

This is Pedro painting at Dondo. That's not Dan in the background.

Dan painted the high bits - I knew his altitude would come in handy. Dan also played loads with the little children on his own. Though he did get help when he discovered on of the little ones with pants off and a huge soft steamy lump on the floor entangled with his pants which were also on the floor. He'd done the job and certainly wasn't going to carry it around with him for any time at all. What's the point of a Poo after all. One of the helpers came with bucket and disinfected water to wipe up after scooping, much to Dan's relief. Dan helped one of the little ones to walk. There should be a video below showing her first steps and the part Dan played. But it took to long to load. After an hour and a half it ground to a halt with an error. So no video.

The electrical installation at Dondo has had a number of additions and modifications which might have seemed logical and appropriate at the time but now they've weathered and been used present some problems. That's a polite way of saying the wiring's a nightmare. At least I can turn it all off, which I frequently do. Progess is slow, by the time the transport to Beira arrives I've only done 3 of 5. But hey that's 3 less to do. Then the list of lights grows as Alece (or is it Alice) tells me she wants 2 more on the outside. We'll have to return on Monday to complete the work as the painting is not done and the table not repaired.

All this is good news as God is continuing to work with us. However some stunning news is that the blue truck is now back on the road. Augusto told me he had taken it for an 'experience' - think he ment a test drive - and he says that it is all ok. We will just have to see if the MTBF has improved. (MTBF = Mean Time Between Failures.) I'll try and get some shots for the record tomorrow. Oh yes Sunday, Dan is preaching having been asked by another, different, pastor to preach in his church. Not sure If Pastor Bonga knows. Dan says PB does know. Dan has gone to prepare.

Back to England for 7 but two remain

Well the 'Magnificant 7' left yesterday and it's all gone a bit quiet. The did all achieve a lot though.
Electrical fittings changed, walls painted crockery and cutlery for Dondo bought, bottled GAS Cookers for both Inhamizua and Dondo bought. Prayerful support given, Sermons preached faith deepened and friendships made or made stronger. And that's only some of it. Julia who was unwell for some of the time is now safe in the loving arms of her family and the doctor.
No photos today as I'm doing this from an internet cafe - 30Mtn for 1 hour that's 60p - as by the time we got back from Inhamizua Boniface had locked the office and with it the possibility of uploading photos. Dan was miffed as he had planned to Skype people. That was hard for him but I dare say his inginuity will improve as time goes by.
We should be collecting the cookers tomorrow, well that's what Pastor Bonga told me today, we will have to see if it happens. We are going to Dondo to do some work out here tomorrow - Saturday - we aim to paint some of the outside of the building and replace some of the electrical fittings.
Talking of electricians, William my trainee (bright and quick to learn) has got Maleria and seems to be quite poorly. He has tablets and says he's getting better but he seems quite weak. Please can you all pray for him and for a full recovery and no lasting damage. We are so lucky.
Better go now as my internet time is running out.
Let's see what challenges God puts before us tomorrow.
May God bless you all richly and may he persuade you to support the Casa Reom Trust. Get in touch if you want to give to the work we are doing.

Nhamatanda

So, the first entry from yours truly.

Tuesday (I think!) 13th of November

At the moment I'm peering up to the next level of the room, listening to a mouse scratching about, I reckon hes considering making another visit like last night, more info on the mouse loving side of things in a sec!

The day started at about 0740 for me, casually rolling out of bed (wow I love Africa!) and hopping into the shower. Gradually people started arriving for the 0800 start it had been decided we would make the previous night. Due to a slightly late driver some of the group, no, i'll admit, not me, continued the painting effort until about 1000!

Leaving on the drivers arrival we set off for Nhamatanda, dropping in at Inhamizua and Dondo on the way. Leaving Beira it struck me just how green it was in places, then how desolate and barren it looked in others, passing various small villages on the way we finally saw some of the traditional mud huts for which I'm sure there is a proper name but at the moment can't inform you of it due to the lack of locals around! Discovered that slowing down anywhere near dwellings of any sort instantly attracted a swarm of people selling their various produce, all of which looked absolutely delicious. (Mousey just made another appearance, too quick for me....)

Arriving at the site in Nhamatanda after travelling for a little while on the dirt tracks was a welcome stretch of the legs for all, we walked around the site and were shown where the maize crops were being planted, quite dry at the moment out there, they are hoping for a lot of rain to fall as it will produce a good crop, apparently the fact that it's a little late shouldn't matter! Met yet another georgeous group of kids, who as usual were thrilled with the digital cameras..... We prayed before we left, proclaiming the land fruitful in the name of God!

Another long drive back, though for some reason it never seems as long on the way home...... Arrive at Dondo at about 1730 for lunch/tea (tunch?) a delicious meal made by some of the ladies there, consisting of rice, prawns, chickin and potatoes....... after eating messed about with the kids for a while, they're so beautiful! I LOVE THEM..... just wondering how I could explain 20-30 small Africans sat on my lap in the plane home..... I'll find a way!

Everyones tired so we end up heading back for sleep, droppng Phil and Dave off en route to discuss business with engineer Mario.

Once the guys got back we decided that, having been foiled by the crafty little fellas we'd put the mousetrap in a new room, perhaps hoping for not such a bright group of mice........ and a surprise we had when just an hour or so later we came back to find one dead mouse! Although at first overjoyed we soon started to feel sorry for the little bloke........ Oh well 1-0 to us! The killings won't stop there we hope!

Well, currently all rustling has stopped, thinking about buying a hammer................

xxx

Monday

Just a short note to keep in touch, as folks are off to bed now - had a busy day today including buying paint and brushes (yes, more!) and visiting the airport to confirm our flights. Then to Inhamizua and 3 of us to Dondo for painting and Phil to do some electrical repairs. We now have photos of all the children at Dondo & Inhamizua (apart from 10 who are at Nhamatanda - where we are going tomorrow).

While we were away, William did a great job of continuing the paintwork at base camp - Thanks, William!

After returning from Inhamizua, we were all treated to another feast - this time by Pastor & Mama Bonga who welcomed us into their home - we returned this evening fully fed and a bit tired. Hopefully someone else can blog tomorrow and fill you in on more details - however, in a nutshell, we are getting a lot done in the time we have available. I expect we will have quite a lot for Dan to finish off when we leave.

A day of rest.

Today's blog is written by Sue & Bob Cooper:
[A message for Ben Lenton - I was sorry to hear about your Grandma, Ben. Was unable to put a comment on your blog, so hope you see this.]
Another amazing day today, Sunday. We split into 2 teams to worship at Pastor Bonga and Pastor Boniface's churches. One team took puppets to Pastor Bonga's church, Victoria played her flute, and Dave preached. The people enjoyed learning "Praise ye the Lord, Alleluia" with the usual actions! The rest of us went to Pastor Boniface's church where we were warmly welcomed. The worship & praise were energetic and joyful - I (Sue) was priveleged to be given a sarong by Pastor Boniface's wife and lead forward to dance with all the ladies in the church. I wasn't really in step but I enjoyed it, and they seemed happy with me. After this, 4 new converts came forward and Bob & Dan were asked to pray for them. Phil then preached a challenging sermon. I then had the exciting but daunting task of giving a name to a baby boy. I felt God wanted me to call him Abraham, a man of faith and father of many righteous people. (see picture - Left to right, Pastor Boniface's wife Helena, Sue holding baby Abraham, & his mum)


We were joined after the service by the rest of the team and given a delicious feast in the church, cooked and served by their members.

After returning to the centre we walked around Beira - through a shanty town on the edge of the beach (an amazing experience) on to the port, where we watched a beautiful sunset.

Returning eventually through the city back to the centre, where yet another delicious meal of fish heads and tails awaited us!

A real day of rest.

Day 5 - Jocum Beira and the inhabitants

I know that many of you will be keen to know the situation with the rodents in our building -I have decided to refer to them as mice (not rats) for 2 reasons - the ones I have seen are small with the appearance of field mice (or town mice) - ans we have bought a mouse trap to try to eliminate them. Night one saw the trap bated with left-over BFC (Beira Fried Chicken) and in the morning the bait was gone and the trap not sprung. So last night I purchased sausages to tempt our rodent friends - in the morning I found the trap had been sprung (I was woken by a distant snap) and the bait was still there. A note was left by the girls who had been sleeping in the lounge to say that the cat who has appeared yesterday was seen poking the trap and setting it off - but probably was scared off so didn't return to eat the sausage. Let's see what tonight brings!












This morning we went in search of paint, scraping materials, polyfilla etc. to spruce up the lounge - Marion has been wanting the brown wall neutralised for ages. William Karshima (a YWAM visitor from South Africa, originally from Nigeria) has been helping us - you can see him and Bob preparing the wall for painting and Phil meanwhile looked at repairing some of the electrics. Meanwhile the girls went shopping for Dondo and returned frustrated without the items they really wanted.


This afternoon we were invited to the Youth group in Pastor Bonga's church which consists of about 20 people aged 15 - 25. We had an opportunity to give a testimony and introduce ourselves as well as giving "a word" (luckily I had brought a Bible)!!

These evening we have just returned from praying on the beach with about 25 people which was another opportunity to see how things are done here and introduce ourselves again. I think we are all finding these experiences uplifting - even if we are taken out of our comfort zone. Tomorrow we are splitting up and half of us will be at Pastor Bonga's church with the puppets - the others go to Pastor Boniface's church, where we will all meet up for lunch.....

Day 4 I think

Dan Chant arrived safely and is now well installed. He's good competition for Victoria bot enthusiastic and jolly so that's good. Yesterday we did various things including shopping for things for Dondo. We gave Corinne a list and some cash and sent her - don't worry Richard not alone - off to get items on the list. "Success" she said, " I've got it all". "How much I said" oh it was all at bargin prices", she said. "but how much does bargin prices add up to", I said. "Oh well there wasn't enough cash so I put in on my card" - Sorry Richard - "But Corinne how much was it altogether?" "Well i suppose it was about 8,000 metacaix". "OK I suppose that the children at Dondo do need plates, cups, cutlery and table cloths would be nice so I suppose it was worth it. You know it was worth it.

Today I believe that we have ordered 2 industrial gas cookers for Inhamizua and Dondo so that they don't have to cook outside. We paid a 50% deposit of 11,000 metacaix so the man could get materials. We trust him because Boniface trusts him and he has a genuine aire about him. We laid a specification out with safety devices built in so theat the children cannot accidentially turn them on - Boom prevention. They will be ready in a week he said. That would be good we said. I should be able to take some photos before I leave on the 20th Nov.

Today we had a minibus provided and went of somewhat later than planned to Inhamizua and Dondo. At Inhamizua we've painted the wall framework in white. We've put up 5 light fittings well William put two of them up after I showed him - he's one of the boys. We played games and introduced them to parachute games.

At Dondo the team painted, presented and had a banana cake made by the children. They played loads of games and handed over the net book. The book to the boys at Inhamizua was also handed over.

Home for tea - the weather is now cooler after the roof ripping storm we had yesterday so I geuss we'll go out tonight for a pastry and a drink without getting drenched.

That's all for now from gorgeous Mozambique. Bye and may God bless your ever move.