Catching Up
In an effort to not be a totally spaced out mama who
couldn’t keep up with anything after having a baby, I want to at least share
how we ended our first operating year!
I’m Not Ready for This
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| Josephine's first day out of the womb! |
As we walked into the hospital clinic on the morning of
December 6th to see Dr. Kwa, my OB doc, I was sure I wasn’t actually
in labor. Sure, water was leaking from somewhere between my two legs but I
wasn’t ready. I had a full day of shopping ahead – I still hadn’t bought
diapers! And honestly, I wasn’t really having much pain.
Never the less, in under 2 hours, Jospehine was in my arms.
It was an easy (if that can EVER be a term used to describe pushing out a
baby…) and quick delivery – totally normal and not a single complication. I was
on cloud 9 and I still am in some ways. It had been a very long time since we
had a baby in our arms, and here she was.
We’ve pretty much been smitten ever since. She’s a sweet
little girl. She loves to chat, listen to us talk, listen to music, and she
hates to be in her own bed. She wants to be held and talked to all the time.
And this girl does NOT joke around with food. She’s a good little eater!
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| Annual Christmas Eve party |
The hospital conditions were quite 3rd worldish,
but I had a great doc and good nurses. The hospital itself was a little scary,
which prompted a new ministry on Friday afternoons. Because of my labor
experience, I spend a little time each week putting together some necessities
for new mamas who give birth at the clinic near the house. I just started 2 weeks ago & so far it’s
been a wild ride - I’ll tell you more about this ministry later this week.
Sprint to the End
After JoJo joined us the beginning of December, the rest of
the days started to run together! After just 4 days home with our baby girl, my
mom & nephew, Matthew, arrived in Nampula. I can’t explain to you the kind
of relief I felt having my mama near.
If any of you had a long break after having a child and
later had another, you know how this feels, but seriously – it’s like starting
ALL over. I couldn’t remember anything at first, but then we finally came
around and got our baby-legs under us!
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| Merry Christmas! |
We ended the year with a lot of excitement. We had a naming
ceremony, a Yoruba tradition (Phil’s tribe from Nigeria), for Josephine. We had
close family & friends over for a sunrise service, where we prayed for her,
everyone prayed over us, and we had a big breakfast together afterwards.
We also had our annual Christmas Eve party with the kids
from our neighborhood. We had over 120 kiddos show up this year! We played
games, and our guard, Jose, taught a great Bible lesson about the birth of
Jesus. We had a tasty meal of goat stew & rice, and plenty of sugar. We
handed out notebooks & pencils to all the kids who passed their classes
& would be starting a new school year in February.
Christmas Day was a beautifully quiet and fun day at home.
Thanks to many friends, supporters and family members, my mom & Matthew
brought lots of games, school supplies & clothes for all the kiddos. We’ve
been learning how to play everything from Connect 4 & Uno to Old Maid. It’s
a great way to pass the evenings when it rains.
Phil’s English class came over and helped us celebrate the
end of the year. We had lots of visitors to attend to, but I think we were all
in bed before midnight! We had been working hard all week – well, Phil &
Matthew worked hard painting – so we had a quiet night.
A few days into the New Year, we left on a grand adventure
to the beach! Many of our supporters from The River Church in Durango, CO,
sponsored our kids so we were able to take them on their first real vacation.
The girls had never been to the beach before, and Ali had only seen the ocean
once. They played and played until they were exhausted. We had sand in every
inch of our bags, every inch of our car and every inch of bodies! This was a
sign of a vacation that served us well.
And thanks to my parents, we were spoiled with a night on
Ilha de Moçambique
– Mozambique Island. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is one of the most
interesting places I’ve visited in Mozambique. Full of history & heartache,
the island has a lot to offer visitors. The museum is full of amazing art &
gifted furniture from kings & leaders of many different countries & cultures.
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| The only pictures from the beach |
The island was a major Arab port and was later overtaken by
the Portuguese. The island has the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, the
oldest European building in the Southern Hemisphere. There were many other
influences through the centuries as well, including Dutch & Indian. The
island served as a port as well as a trading & stopping point on trips to
Indian. The island was a main slave trading post as well.
Starting Fresh
After our grand adventure to Mozambique Island, we sadi
goodbye to Gigi and Matthew, and started the New Year off getting back into
some kind of routine. Let me tell ya – it wasn’t easy. Early school mornings,
homework, long bus rides to & from school for Jadon – I was feeling like
December should return & we should all go back to enjoying adventures away
from home & responsibilities. But we forced ourselves back into a routine,
and eventually we got the hang of it.
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| Mozambique Island |
January felt like it was 12 months long, but we made it to
February & we even celebrated 2 birthdays along the way! Marieta turned 10
in January & Fatima turned 11 in February. We, of course, had to celebrate
with cake and both girls seemed a little blown away that we even celebrated.
Are we there yet?!
Since we’ve been enjoying a nice short break from
constructing, we decided it was time we do something to prepare for our soon to
begin foster program! (You can read more about that later this month!!) I, for one, don't particularly love constructing & sometimes I feel like, seriously?! Is it ever gonna end?! But then I remember all the cool programs we can do once we have other small houses built, too, and then our kids can also have somewhere to play outside!
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| Mozambique Island |
The first thing weve had to complete is a fence around the
entire piece of property. Otherwise, if left open, neighbors will often start
stealing and will begin a boundary war once you actualy start that fence!
Thankfully, we’ve only had a small issue on the south side of our land. Our
neighbor broke part of our fence, and then hurled insults when Phil asked if
they saw what happened. Phil let it go, and we continued with the fence.
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| Mozambique Island |
We’re now finishing up the front side, which is about 85
meters long. Our guard, Jose, has been a champ & has tackled this project
quickly. We’ve seen so much growth in him – he takes initiative, he thinks
ahead for materials, and he’s been thrilled to make his own blocks to use so he
can control the quality.
He even fires assistants when they don’t work efficiently or
if they don’t show up to work. I can’t
explain how big of a deal this is – to see him taking ownership like this is
HIS project. Just know this is a BIG deal! We’re so proud of him.
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| Introduction day before starting school |
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| We've been seeing lots of snakes - hopefully, the fence will help keep them out! |
This year will be full of lots of little, and big, changes.
We’re excited about our new programs and how God will use them to minister to
the communities around us. We also can’t wait to see how God works in our
kiddos who are with us now. We are blessed to be here, and I know the longer we
are here, the more we get to DO and not just build!
Until we meet here again,
Laura & the gang
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