North...to Beira

Dear readers…well, it’s been awhile. I’ve been composing “blogs” in my head for the last few weeks, but have had a difficult time finding time to sit down and share them with y’all. In addition, it appears that internet access here isn’t quite what it is in the States.

Our trip up to Beira from Maputo was full of emotion. It’s been a journey “in process” for at least 3 years when we felt the Lord leading us to “Cross this JORDAN” in 2006 and to move ahead with a fledgling desire to minister in Mozambique. I found myself getting choked up throughout the first day of our journey as we sped north along the national “highway.” The juxtaposition between poverty and beauty is heart-rending, and the sense of destiny was strong. Then we got to Vilankulos.

Oh my, how much like the Israelites am I! How quickly I can interpret God’s provision as a punishment. Somehow the memories of our first stay at Smuggler’s in Vilankulos (Jan 2008) were much better than the reality. Hmm….

We stayed in a “chalet” which quickly went from “charming” to “nightmare-ish” as we discovered that the twins didn’t want to sleep in their pack-n-plays, Jordan didn’t want to sleep with her sisters, and Josh’s room was locked with no key. So…Brian ended up sleeping with the twins, Megan “slept” with Jordan, and Josh kept company with the kitchen floor. Oh, and the power went out for 5 hours that night, leaving us HOT and prime targets for mozzies (as we’d left our nets in the car, and had neglected to slather on repellant…thinking the fans would keep the mozzies away).

Needless to say, we were ready to head on out of there by the next morning. The roads were reasonable, and we had a great time with Robert & Karis Koehn (& kids) for lunch. Then off to Beira.

Our entry into the city was less than triumphant. The girls had all managed to fall asleep but were rudely awakened by a pothole and decided to accompany the last 10 minutes of our journey with screams (not of joy, let me add). I was reminded of T.S. Eliot’s poem “Hollow Men,” (thanks to my High School English teacher, Mrs. Brown) in that our journey ended not with a “bang” but with a “whimper.”

We finally found the AIM guest flat, dragged ourselves and the girls and the luggage up the 3 flights of stairs to the top of the apartment complex, unlocked 5 locks, and entered our new “home.” It was HOT, the girls were miserable, and I was quickly degenerating into something not quite human. Desperately I tried to remind myself that this was my choice – I chose to join Brian & Josh on this trip to help decide on housing, rather than stay in Maputo. I was ready to throw in the towel and find a nice air-conditioned hotel where I could take a cold shower and drink a “stiff” cup of “coffee.” However, we had nowhere else to go.

So….we managed…and we’re still managing, by God’s incredible mercy and grace. Somehow, we’re slowing finding our way around Beira, making new friends, opening a bank account, taking Portuguese lessons, and, hopefully, have found a home to live in for the next 2 years. We’re surviving the heat and frequent black-outs, learning to wear sunscreen and repellant religiously, navigating around the markets with our crummy Portuguese, and (most days) still loving each other deeply. More than that, we’re learning to appreciate our new friends and gaining a greater sense of God’s calling on us here.