Category: Mozambique

Giggling Slobber-Chin Comes Home

We arrived home in Mozambique the day before you turned 3 months. Government delays in developing countries always add adventure to our lives, even if we don’t always welcome that kind of adventure. And now we can finally fill out that page in the baby (record) book called, “your first days at home”. 🎉🙌🏼🎉

You absolutely LOVE your hot air balloon mobile. And while excitedly kicking legs and flailing arms prove harder to undress and redress, your delighted coos at the balloon people bouncing along for their daily ride sure melts out hearts.

Finally being in the same country as all our homeschool curriculum has added to increased morning snuggle sessions to the soundtrack of civil war history at the moment. You don’t seem to mind in the least. Nor do you mind being “one of the girls” as you fit right into home life, despite the slight discomfort of the twenty degree jump when we crossed the border back into the tropics.

We even got to take you on your first walk on the beach… well, more like your first napping walk on the beach… hiding under a Muslim blanket for sun protection. … honestly, I’m not even sure if you knew we were ON the beach. 😂

You are THRILLED to now be old enough to face outward in the carrier (given to us by the wonderful friends you have yet to meet in your passport country, though not your birth certificate country). And with outward facing comes an instant teething bar and a whole world of excited “air swimming” amidst cooking, cleaning, and everyday tasks.

You’ve found your hands, your giggle,

And you still adore your bunny lovey (even when Mommy and Daddy accidentally leave him in Maputo and your Uncle Steve graciously drives him all the way up from Maputo, along with a lovely rocking chair).

We love you, Smalls, and are thrilled to have been given the privilege of three months of you.

Welcome home, baby girl. And happy 3 months!

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Pullets

Remember the chicks one overjoyed new nine year old got for her birthday?

Well, much like that nine year old, they’re growing by leaps and bounds. Therefore, they outgrew the small chick cage and moved on to the yard version outside.

(Lady checking on the chicks during a rainstorm after we put a tarp on part of their cage for a rain shelter. She’s a sweet and gentle “mama dog” to any animal we happen to bring home.)

With quadrupling their size, our happy pullets then moved on to the deluxe coop recently. They seem to really enjoy the bug buffet in there. And while they flew the coop into our larger yard a couple of times on the first day, they’ve since settled into their new, expanded bird sanctuary as their home.

We have it in the books to upgrade the hutch to an enclosed laying house before heading to South Africa at the end of next month (and about the earliest the pullets could start laying), but for now the old cage is a good perching place and rain shelter.

Since we don’t have chicken predators within our property’s walls, the fence is there as a courtesy idea to keep dogs, rabbits, chickens and children from mingling 24/7 (especially when we have neighbor kids over to play) and also makes for easier future egg collecting (less daily Easter egg hunting throughout the yard 😉). Our dogs have very little interest in the chickens, honestly, and have accepted them as “just another one of us” like our bunnies that have free reign in the yard with the dogs.

(Sometimes the bunnies come up on the porch and peak in through our “floor to ceiling” windows to see what we’re up to in the house. Hehe.)
(Eating the dog’s leftover food while the dog watched at a distance without a care. 😂)
(Feeding the Marshmallow a mango while Shadow came over to say “hi”.)

Yeah, the chicks have grown into teenager pullets, with all their awkward feathers growing in patches like a bad haircut. Haha. But the love for them hasn’t changed one bit. 🙂

(Éden posing with “Sunny” [in memory of her beloved duck from the States].)
(They even tolerate being interrupted to be pet sometimes.)

And this chick mama is still loving her babies as much as ever before. ❤️

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Cooking Adventures

One Sabbath we decided to embark on a new cooking adventure as a family: homemade bagels and cream cheese.

Since the store hasn’t carried cream cheese in over a month, I set to scouring the internet for a realistic cream cheese recipe based on our Mozambican ingredients.

The older three girls began making bagels while I researched. They’ve grown accustomed to making batter from scratch and felt confident in their ability to prep the bagels in boiling water like we do when we make homemade soft pretzels.

Then while the bagels baked, Rachael, Abi and I went to the store to buy heavy cream and UHT shelf whole milk (that’s the best shot at milk that we have here).

Upon our return, we brought the milk and heavy cream to a boil and added lemon juice to separate the curds and whey.

We used a handkerchief as a cheese cloth and squeezed out the excess whey, while pouring cold water over the curds.

On the side, we also heated up some frozen strawberries (our “worth it” big buy once a month) and mashed them as a mix-in to part of the cream cheese. We mixed it to taste at the table, leaving it a tiny bit watery (we just had to fit in all the strawberries we cooked), but full of flavor.

To the “hand mixer thing” we went for the final stage of whipping air into the cream cheese with an added dash of salt. I also put in a dash of sugar for the littles’ enjoyment. 😉

We took turns mixing the thick cream cheese, adding back in a bit of the whey (oops, we were too efficient) to make a creamier cheese spread and to give our biceps a bit of a break. Ha!

Breakfast was served some two hours later (with the store trip in there). It was a WONDERFUL little “taste of America” and it was a fun family bonding time too.

Abi even made us a peanut butter banana smoothie to top off our breakfast 🙂

We’ve discussed making bagels again during a bulk cooking day and freezing them for future spoiling opportunities. 🙌🏼 Though I’d be really happy for the store to start carrying easy cream cheese again. 😝

Now on to washing the dishes… 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

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The Battle

We have been going through a spiritual battle lately. Ironically, returning to Mozambique to continue on with the Lord’s work, after having testified to God’s handiwork in the States, has resulted in some new waves of spiritual warfare for our family. (Go figure, right?) How the Deceiver loves to capitalize on our weaknesses. And while I am still a baby in the world of spiritual warfare, Matt and I are finding a renewed bracing on the Word of God itself.

We are too weak to fight. We are but broken people. But our Lord? Oh our LORD has ALL the victory. And we are learning to guild ourselves better with the Word of God. To arm ourselves better in His very armor. Taking Him at His Word. And using the Word to fight our battles. Literally taking His Word to the conflicts, praying His Words back to Him, meditating on His Words, journaling His Words and singing His Words. He is our defense. He is our everything. The Rock of our salvation will not be moved!

Lord, lead us into this battle, we are willing.

This song has become a theme song in my heart lately as I fall before Him.

He WILL win the battle. HIS is the victory.

Oh God Who makes the mountains melt, come wrestle us and win!

Lord of Hosts, You’re with us. With us in the fire. With us as a shelter. With us in the storm. You will lead us, through the fiercest battle. Oh where else could we go but with the Lord of Hosts!

Selah.

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Foreign Turkeys

Today, to celebrate Thanksgiving in a foreign world that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to the beach.

And it was a lovely morning and early afternoon to “get away” together as a family.

How we enjoyed slowing down and exploring some hands-on science of checking out dead jelly fish on the shore.

Our Stateside swim lessons for the Littles also provided much joy and peace for the entire family.

Then we came home where two native Americans and two pilgrims joined us for Thanksgiving dinner 🙂

It was simple and it was also simply delightful to share in a thankful meal together. Each person went around the table and shared three things they are thankful for.

And even after the meal was finished, the sorority laughed and chatted on so.

Yes, it was another marvelous Mozambican Thanksgiving.

❤️ Happy Thanksgiving, all. ❤️

May you also find MUCH to be thankful for.

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Ask God for Mercy

 

Please pray for Africa when you wash your hands again today for the millionth time.

How the discomfort of chapped hands is getting old, I am sure!

And what a blessing to have fresh water that you didn’t carry on your head back to your home.

What a blessing to have soap. Any soap at all! Let alone ones that smell so lovely.

Ask God for mercy to protect the poor who would wash their hands with soap if they could.

(some local “toilets”)

 

Please pray for Africa when you take your extra vitamin C and daily vitamins.

I know we’re all doing what we can to avoid sickness.

And what a blessing to be able to avoid HIV and tuberculosis as a baseline before this virus.

What if HIV weren’t a choice? What if vaccine access was inconsistent?

Ask God for mercy for the immunocompromised people.

Please pray for Africa when you avoid public places.

Going from busy days to quiet hours can be maddening, I understand and have been there. It takes time to adjust and find new purpose in the quiet.

And what a blessing to be able to avoid crammed public transport – the very transport to get to the hospital after walking an hour to get to the pick-up spot.

Ask God for mercy for fellow Africans to be able to get to COVID-19 testing facilities, that the facilities would be equipped, and that those sick would not infect the entire transport vehicle.

America, my words are sincere.

I understand the legitimate challenges of this virus. This inconvenience and even this fear.

The beauty I have seen as you all make the sacrifices to protect the vulnerable is admirable.

Our African brothers and sisters are praying for your sick and your vulnerable populations.

Please pray for Africa too. Ask God for mercy.

No one gets to pick where they’re born. Ask God for mercy.

My heart is broken for you, brothers and sisters, there in America.

And my heart is broken for our brothers and sisters waiting here in Africa.

Viruses aren’t population selective.

The challenge is different and strong all over the world.

We’re praying for you, America.

Please pray for Africa.

Ask God for mercy.

 

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