We want to start this blog off by thanking our wonderful families and friends who have blessed us with many packages. We have realized how much we miss and take for granted the things that we can get so easily in the States. This past week we received several boxes of Lucky Charms (for Jenni) and packages of beef jerky (for Corey) and many other US things which we have enjoyed greatly. We also received the new Chris Tomlin CD which Jenni has worn out already. It is a great CD! We highly recommend it for everyone!Lately, it has been SO HOT. We think we’re going to burn out our A/C in our room! It has been working overtime for us! It’s very humid here and the sun is so intense. We think we might eventually melt, especially since it is only going to get hotter.
Well, we’re wrapping up our language study this week and that’s kind of scary since we are far from communicating effectively. We had another funny experience with our language class this week. If you remember, we learned how a “castanha” can be a chestnut or donkey poop. This week we discovered a false cognate that we thought was pretty funny. The word we learned was “constipaçao”, which sounds like constipation. So we thought our language teacher was telling us he had constipation, but he really had a cold. Just a little difference!
We have had many interesting experiences here in Nampula. Last week, we had been asked to help a family in one of the churches that needed help with transporting a baby that had just died. A pastor had asked us if we could transport the baby from the city hospital to the family’s house (about 40 kilometers outside of the city). It was a lot different from what we’ve seen in the States. There was no casket, no ceremony, nothing like that. A family member of the baby’s mother just held the baby wrapped up in an African cloth (capalana) until we got to the mother’s house. We were able to witness another huge difference in the way people live here compared to America.
Next Monday we will be going to Zambia for a 5 week training. This training will teach us how to live AFRICAN STYLE. (ie, living in the bush, learning about African culture, how to go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground, how to wash our clothes by hand, etc.) We think that it will be good to actually live how Africans live and gain a heart for them and their way of life. After our training, we are going to visit Victoria Falls and take a much needed break! We are so excited about this! It is one place we definitely wanted to see while living here in Africa. Also, while we are there, we are going to jump from one of the highest bungee jumps in the world! It is about 100 meters and you jump from a bridge that looks over a river. It should be fun. OK… if you know Jenni…this would never happen unless we were the final 3 on the Amazing Race!
So you probably won’t hear from us for about 6 weeks or so. We wish we could have some access to family and friends, but we don’t. That is the way of life for Africans, so we will have to get used to that part as well.
Please Pray For : 1) Our stomachs while living in the bush. We are nervous about it because we have had some “stomach issues” for some time now, and we really don’t want to experience these issues in the bush! Also, the mosquitoes are really bad now that it is hot, so pray that we don’t get malaria! 2) Safety as we travel to and from Zambia. We return Dec. 11th 3) This week we will say goodbye to some missionaries for a little while as they go on furlough. Please pray that God would raise up new leaders for our team. 4) Please pray that we wouldn’t take too many steps back in Portuguese since we will not be immersed in it for 6 weeks. Pray God would protect our memories from losing to many words!
