Tudo Ben? Tudo Ben!

Yes, we are alive & well in Zimpeto, Mozambique! Sorry to leave you all hanging - internet is only available to us on Monday afternoon and Thursday morning so this is our first chance here.

Our flights were rather uneventful aside from two temporarily misplaced passports at the JFK terminal, we had very smooth (yet uncomfortable) flights. We arrived in Johannesburg on time and the weather was overcast& cool. We explored some fun gift shops in the very cosmopolitan airport then boarded a short 50-minute flight (which included snack and drink!) to Maputo (Ma-POO-too), capital city of Mozambique. Here we disembarked on the tarmac and were greeted with muggy, enveloping humidity, as we should have expected, but are never quite ready for. All eight of our bags arrived and were waiting forus on the conveyor belt! A quick scan of our luggage through the x-ray machine and we were off. Now what? Several men wanted to help us with our luggage carts, and we tried to let them know we had it under control, but we weren't firm enough. We wandered outside like stray cats, past several taxi drivers and people with signs for World Vision and other individuals & organizations. A couple minutes later a young named Samuel(Sam-WELL) showed up with the Iris sign and a Toyota truck and we piled in.

Our journey to Zimpeto took about 40 minutes as drove out of the capital to the north. This trip was so reminiscent of Latin America, but with a fewnew twists- I
'd love to show you some pictures but 1) we only have 20 minutes and slow internet, and 2) taking pictures is ILLEGAL in most of Mozambique, so we are forbidden to do so except on the property and in certain locations..

Along with roadside fruit stands, corragated tin roofs, tropical vegetation, wandering goats, sandy roads covered in mud puddles from the previous night'srain, now we had people of varying degrees of chocolate brown - many women with babies wrapped onto their backs in large swathes of cloth, all women wearing skirts or capalanas. Drivers made their own traffic rules- honking to alert everyone of their whereabouts- same as Latin America, only this time they're (mostly) on the left side othe road. Cement brick factories, and used clothing stands are scattered about both sides of the road.

Portuguese may only be spokenby a small percentage in the country but it seems that everyone we've metin zimpeto & Maputo speak it. Tudo Bem (it's all good) is a common greeting heard among all.

The Iris property is quite impressive - enclosed within the guarded gate are: five boys dorms housing about 230 boys, 3 girls dorms (housing over 50 girls), a baby house holding 32 little ones ages 9 months - 5 yearsold, a nursery that holds up to 8 infants through age eight months (currently six are here). There's also a government-run school that doesn't only serve 250 of the iris kids, but also another 750 from the community. A large building doubles as church & the cafeteria. There are homes for several of the long-term staff, as well as a visitor's compound (where we are) with 10 dorm rooms. There's a huge playground made out of wood, barrels and ropes, a basketball court, soccer field, a garden, clinic, refreshment stand and parking lot for the many ministry vehicles.

Our perception of coming to help these "poor" children has been rocked significantly after seeing the structure in place here and the self-sufficiency of these children. the airhorn alarm sounds at 6:00am to wake everyone, and at 7:00 it rings again to beckon everyone to breakfast - a baguette atleast twelve inches long provides enough sustenance until the 12:30 lunch time.

I must point out that most of the ~335 kids here are not orphans in the true sense ofthe word. They arrive here by invitation (now with government help sometimes) after seeing evidence of neglect, abuse, or the inability to be properly caredfor. Many have come to live here afterbeing found by "Mama Ida" (Heidi Baker) while living in the streets or thecity dump, the Bocaria.

Lunch and supper truly is "rice with topping" as we were told - picture a giant vat of rice that isused to scoop more than two cups of white rice onto each plate, followed by a giant ladle of a topping - brothy beans, noodles and potatoes, cabbage, or the dreaded "green stuff" - sort of like bitter spinach with a peanuty flavor.

We are on our own to plug in and be pro-active about finding ways to serve while here. With over 1000 visitors each year, they certainly don't micromanage their short-term visitors! We have spent some time in the baby house watching & helping these wee little ones feed themselves big bowls of rice with meat and salad. Most were successful at getting the food in their mouths independently. when they finish they're given a cup of juice then it's movie time while their Tias (the Mozambican women employed full-time here) go through the ranks changing, bathing and putting on p.j.s. They climb right up on your lap - sometimes 2-3 at a time, with a hug and a grin. They love watches, keys and blonde hair (sorryKylie!)

We've done coloring under the shade trees- the kids meticulously color then return the markers (caps on) and also hand in their pictures. We did origami and while all I could create was an ugly frog-type thing, one of the boys taught me how to make a ball, so we adapted our plan.

Dan went to the Bocaria where he was amazed by the childrenwith nothing worshipping freely - unhindered to love the Lord lavishly and unabashedly.

The girls and I had an adventure of our own at Shoprite, the grocery store downtown, when we needed to find a bathroom. Not quite as easy as finding one in an American grocery store. We found some South African Easter candies and bought some staples which we can prepare in the visitor's kitchen if we want a break from rice.

We have attended four different church services - each lasting more than 2.5 hours. The Mozambicans LOVE to dance and they make worship into a dance party too. Almost every song has it's own set of moves and from the youngest to the oldest they get up there and dance in perfect rhythm.

At a monthly youth service held downtown in an old theater we saw dozens respond to the speaker's invitation to let Jesus be the lamb needed for you the 'Pass over' struggles in your life. They lined the front of the altar filled with hope and expectation.

We have met some incredible people - from the kidswho livehere, the volunteers who serve here, and other visitors from Germany, Canada, England and the US.

The girls at times have been overwhelmed by the language barrier. Please pray for them to make some connections with individual children. Kylie & Savannah love the playground, the tireswing, and chasing the two cats, Mitsy and Esperanza. Hand washing wasn't as exciting asthey had hoped - since there's only tubs, not washboards. Though Dan and Savannah still have slight coughs, it appears everyone is on the mend. Savannah has one big mosquito bite on her leg, and my ankles are a bit swollen from the humidity, but other than that we are well and tudo ben.

Please continue to pray for us to push beyond our comfort zones & explore all mninistry opportunities here. This week we plan on adopting a girl's dorm so we can focus on one set of childrento get to know.

Happy Birthday Dad! My time is up! Até logo!!