Hard Earned Flour

Life here is very different to the western world. For example, things take more time. I took this photo from the verandah of the lady I study the Bible with each week. What you see on the ground is their maize flour which has been freshly milled, and is now drying in the sun. 

If you would like to get an idea of the process my friend goes through to earn this staple food, here it is, from my still limited understanding:

• Walk an hour or more to the field each day.
• Plant maize seeds by hand as soon as rainy season starts
• Weed the field by hand each day
• Harvest the maize by hand
• Carry the maize back to the house little by little by bicycle
• Shuck the maize (take off the outer green layer and then the kernels by hand)
• Extend the kernels in the sun to dry
• Carry the maize kernels to the mill (they carry it on their heads, wrapped in a large piece of material) OR
• Crush it by hand using a very big wooden pestle and mortar type instrument
• Winnow by hand using a basket made of reeds. 
• Lay the maize flour in the sun to dry.

I am probably missing parts of the process, but you get an idea of the time that is involved to provide flour for your family!

It's Sugar Cane Season!

Twigs, Twine and Elephants

Something that seems to have been important to my mum is that her infant grandchildren have mobiles above their cribs. She has bought mobiles galore and made some beautiful mobiles of her own. Sadly, mobiles were a bit too bulky to bring with us to Africa, so I made this little elephant mobile for Ambrose last year. A few twigs from the back yard, some fishing wire, some beads, and some paper.

Something simple, yet Ambrose loves it. He points to it when I put him to bed, and when I get him up. He laughs when I spin it around. 

Thank you, Grandma, for the inspiration you give with your beautiful life.

You know you're in Africa when...

• Your daughter packs away her toys by carrying them on her head to her room
• Your husband makes a 14 hour trip over dirt roads with a leaking fuel tank held together by sacks and duck tape
• You're walking on the sidewalk with your daughter and she asks "Mum, are they papaya seeds?" and your response is "No sweetie, that's goat poo."
• Your two year old yells from the bathroom, "Do we have power? Can I flush?"
• Your young children know how to greet in three languages
• You're on a nice quiet walk as the sun is setting, just you, your family, and twenty giggling african kids close behind
• Your husband, who loves the cold of northern America that he grew up in, says on an 90F day, "Wow, this weather today is nice!"

Job Satisfaction

We have a meeting with local believers each week, which usually occurs at our house - about 1km out of the village. We have been encouraging the people to have the meetings at their homes in the village, and last week we had our first meeting there. 

I have to admit, having the meetings in the village rather than in the safety of our backyard is a bit trickier for me. Ambrose misses his nap and I spend most of the time making sure the kids don't get into goat poo, cooking fires, or hard earned water (carried from a well). But, it is worth it. We had two new people come, simply because we met in the village, and they heard the Word of Life taught and had good discussions about it. We sure are thankful for this job! What a privilege. 

Birthday Present

For my birthday last year Nate gave me one of my favourite presents. A day to paint. He cooked, cleaned and took care of the kids all day while I sat on the back verandah and painted. I was going through a red and turquoise phase, though all I had to use was blue and red house paint and some black and white water colors, hence, the finished product...

I copied the flower painting from one I liked on the internet (search turquoise and red flower paintings), I painted a panera (winnowing basket) that got moldy in the rain and used a branch from the back yard as inspiration, and the little rectangle painting is my attempt to give a birch tree effect. (Hubs didn't realize it until I told him :).

The gift that keeps on giving...

I got a big surprise this morning when I walked to the table and saw a Mothers' Day card lying there. With no t.v. or grocery stores to remind me through advertisements, I'd honestly forgotten that it was Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to all of you, and especially to our two own beloved mothers, Grandma Triplett and Grandma Larter. You truly are gifts that keep on giving. 

Good night… I'm off to get a foot massage!

To brighten up a hallway...

Children's artwork and IKEA frames. Thanks for the frames, Aunty Wooz!!!

Hook Hanger Thingys

Something that helps me keep the house in order is hooks. Nate and I have an ongoing joke about flat surfaces - Hubs' favorite place to put things when he gets in the door. 

I try and create special homes for regularly used things so it not only keeps my flat surfaces free, but so that it's easy to find things when we need them. 

Hence, in my effort to make some homes with hooks, we did these little projects, which Nate likes to call "hook hanger thingys". I covered some scrap wood with modje podged material and then Nate screwed in some hangers and hooks for me. It sure has helped us keep track of keys and the girls' hairbands and clips!

Book Boxes

One of my favorite things that Nate has made for me are these book boxes. We are a family who love to read and who love to own and borrow books. The problem is, little hands find it hard to put books back on the shelf in an orderly way. One day I saw these book boxes on Pinterest. I quickly showed hubby and put it on the top of my "love list" (hubby's 'to do' list). 

I love them! It makes it easy for me to change out books to keep things fresh. Both the girls can easily choose and pack away books now. They have also kept precious books away from Mr Destroyer (aka Ambrose), though I'm not sure that will last much longer. His reach is growing! :)

Back Verandah View

This is not the first time I have posted a photo of this mountain, and I'm quite certain it won't be the last.  This is the view from our back verandah at 7am. This mountain collects a billion different colors throughout the day. What a mighty God we have, who fashioned this world and decorated it with such beauty.

Back verandah view without zoom

Back verandah view with zoom

House photos: Work in Progress

Well, I mentioned a few days ago that I would tidy up the house a bit to take some photos of our "work in progress house". However, I happened to get out the camera this morning to capture Eliana reading to Lilah and Ambrose. It was 6:30am. Beds were unmade, laundry was on the bed to be put away, toys are in disarray, lighting wasn't that great, but I had the camera in my hands so why not enjoy a "lived in" house. Here is our house in progress. And what a blessing it is to call home:

The lounge room

The kitchen

Our bedroom. Nate made the bed. The four posts are for a mosquito net we are yet to order.

Ambrose's room

Ambrose's room

The girls' room

The girls' room

The lounge room

Bonfire Night

One of the things I love about living in the bush is Saturday nights - "Family Bonfire Night"

Yard with a View

The people who built this house, twelve years ago, were offered an amazing plot of land by the local chief. It has a view of a gorgeous mountain. Over the twelve years since the house was built, trees had grown up to block the view a bit. So one of the first things Nate did back in November was to chop down all the trees that were blocking our view (Don't worry, he has planted far more than he has chopped!)

Before

Man with an axe

Getting there

Our mountain. It's usually covered with a cloud first thing in the morning during rainy season.

Thank you Lord for this beautiful place!!

House photos. 'Before".

The lounge room

What does a typical house look like in rural Mozambique? Not like our house! This house was beautifully built by colleagues twelve years ago. We moved into this house in November 2013. Here are photos from the first week or two of being here...

The kitchen

The kitchen, new angle

Bathroom

Our bathroom (yes, two bathrooms!!)

The girls' room

Our bedroom

Ambrose's room

Since these photos were taken, we've received a crate with some furniture, bought or made beds, made curtains, painted a little, etc. We have by no means finished the work, so the "After" photos are yet to come. There is however, quite a difference in the rooms now, so I'm almost ready to put some "Work in progress" photos up. I've just got to pick up a bit so that I can take photos of an orderly house and pretend that it's always that way :)