Service times are:

-Saturday, March 7th at 7 pm
-Sunday, March 8th at 9 am (don’t forget about daylight savings time)
-Sunday, March 8th at 11 am

Here’s a map and directions if you’re coming from somewhere else.

Back in the USA!

I’m safely at Pam’s house now.  Tea and Cupcakes!  Thanks for your prayers- travel was smooth as peanut butter (not crunchy).  Love ya, it’s good to be back, although I DO miss Mozambique.

and Happy Birthday Kiddo!

Pemba Spending (click to enlarge)

The blue + symbols show the amount I spent on a given day (I didn’t spend anything on the days the blue marks are on the bottom).  The green line and the green numbers on the left are running weekly average, which means the past 7 days are added up and divided by 7.  You can see that this gives a more accurate view of daily spending than the daily blue marks.  The purple line and numbers on the right are a running estimate for how much I would spend based on my spending history to date.  These are simple but useful algorithms that I won’t write here because this post is already dry enough.  You can email me.  You can also email me if you want to see  complete itemized spending (for instance if you’re planning a trip to Mozambique).

Bottom Line: I lived on about $7/day.  Take out gifts (haha, yeah right), social outings and my mobile phone purchase and I’m down to $3.27.  For comparison South Africa is costing me about $60/day.

I spent less than I had planned.  I expect I’m on the very low end of what’s normal for visitor there.  Here’s a few more bits from Mozambique that you might enjoy:

• Days before budget estimates stay within ±15% of actual spending: 25 days
• Average Water Intake: 3.27 Liters/Day
• Sick Days: 2
• Rolls of Toilet Paper Used:  2.5 (And Pam, it was mostly healthly)
• Bars of Soap Used: 1.5
• Deodorant: < 1 Stick (What, you got a problem?)
• Total TrekScratch Mozambique Posts: 30
• Total Comments on Mozambique Posts: 185 (Thanks!)
• Of These, 157 are by girls, and 28 are by guys, couples or families (…thanks?!!?)
• Legitimate Emails Received in Mozambique: 381 (not including TrekScratch notifications)
• Emails Sent: 184 (Internet happened on my front porch at 4 or 5 am)

Photography:

• Photographs Taken: 3030
• Total Data: 11.8 GB
• Average: 3.89 MB/Photograph

Movies: (if you must be pedantic, it’s video…but I like the way “movies” sounds)

• Movies Taken: 1180
• Total Data: 231.16 GB (including thumbnails and cache)
• Total Duration: 19 hours 46 minutes
• Average Clip Length: 1.01 minutes
• Average Bitrate: 23.34 Mbit (not including thumbnails and cache)

Flights: (Entire Trip)

• Distance from Home: 16,040 km (~10,400 miles)
  (as the transatlantic crow flies, just above sea level)
• Distance Flown: More than 41,000 km (~25,480 miles)
• Time in the Air: 52 hours 35 minutes

So that’s that.  The only other interesting bit is that I’ve managed to fill my passport entirely, possibly without duplicates.  I am blessed that my South African Visa from November is still valid.  The last two pages are a total stamp fest.

Village Boy with Popsicles

Village Girls Being Sillyfaces

Mark, Jen, Nasimo, Chantal, Rosa and the Wood boys came to the airport with me.  Jun was leaving on the same plane.  Boarding time came and we were rushed through onto a little jet, the kind with only 3 seats per row (Pam prayed that I would get a small plane because they’re more fun).  It was small enough that the asked us to move to the back of the plane because it was imbalanced for take-off.  I sat in the very back left corner between the wing and the engine.  There was a misty rain as we waited and occasionally streams of water would leave tracers on the window.  We left early.  The plane made a steep accent, the land is greener now than when I arrived.  I noticed all the buildings that had been invisible when I flew here in November.  You just had to know what to look for.  I watched the beaches go by and recognized a few of them.  They served lunch immediately and there was cheesecake.  It’s was hard to eat without the kids- I didn’t escape thinking about them and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to.  One thing my stay has produced is a keen awareness of what is available to whom.

My Dear Friends Mymuna and Nasimo

In my estimation I’ve left at least a ventricle and quite possibly an atria or even both at with my family in Pemba.  There’s the Iris kids, the village kids, the missionaries and tias, the babies that have broad teethless smiles- the kind that would show all their teeth if they had any, babies that only want you and fall asleep however you hold them.  There’s the challenge of putting Mildo (his name is “Mildew” heh heh)  to bed after he’s asleep in your arms.  He grasps your shirt and then monitors your intentions.  Plenty to miss.

Agira is Sweet

I’m writing from South Africa- I’ll be here for 5 days before arriving at SFO in San Francisco, 1:25pm on Thursday, February 12th (Happy Birthday Kiddo!).  It’s cold this morning.  Please pray for my friends in Pemba and for me as well, daily bread, keep us from temptation, deliver us from the evil one, exalt God, that sort of thing would be good.  Especially pray for Nasimo that he would have a close godly Mozambican friend.

Party! This isn't quite everyone but just to give you an idea

There’s more pictures, just click “read the rest of this entry” below.

In other news, my iPhone now has a cracked screen (almost made it!) and my camera (the second one) stopped working, you know “Lens error, restart camera”.  I’d try to fix it but #0 Phillips Screwdrivers don’t seem to exist here.  So it looks like I’m done taking pictures. Sad.  Did I mention that my computer’s speakers don’t work?  Haha.  I’ll still put pictures up here but they’ll be from other people with other cameras *sigh*.  See you soon,

More pictures from my festa:

Getting Started with the Cooking

Sabina and I waiting on the truck

Sabina and Frankie waiting for FOOD!!

Friends & FOOOD!!

That's real chocolate on that cake

Suzete, dear friend and coordinator extraordinaire.

Rosa (who stole Sabina's head-thingy...what is it called??) and a sleepy Merina

Mindo, showing off his grill T-Rex style. Somebody knows how to brush!

And finally, in all it's low quality, grainy washed-out, glory a pic of me having stolen Sabina's head-clothing (what's it called again??). Make fun.

This isn’t a very descriptive set of pictures but let me assure you that the night was over the top amazing.  I am SOO blessed .

Update: It’s two days later and I got more presents.  Wow!  I like presents.

Nasimo and I show off our awesome gift

Hurray! Watermelons are pretty uncommon in Pemba. If you find on it’s likely to be ridiculously expensive. What a grand gift- and we didn’t even do the hard part.  Thank you God for healing our sister…and also for our watermelon

Yesterday we had a birthday party for all of the January birthdays! Here’s a quick clip of the party. I wish you could all join me on the warm sand and in the warm water but it’s cool, we can do it another time

I was walking back to base along the beach with about 12 others when I realized how natural and normal it felt. Just walking and chatting; kids jumping into the waves occasionally. I’m going to miss this place- I’m going to miss my friends. Sentimental, Yikes! . . . breakfast time, see ya

Beautiful Sunrise the Beach. I took this picture on my phone, it's quite a lot more amazing in real life

Thanks for your prayers! All of our toddlers are doing well. Vitor is through with cholera and Merina seems to have kicked malaria also. Please pray for my Fatima who seems to have become ill with malaria. Yikes.

I’ve noticed lots of skin infections on the tops of the heads of a bunch of village kids too.  Please pray for us all!!

I’m teaching Piano on base and Fatima is one of my students.  I have to say that the girls learning piano are pretty amazing.  We’re doing a bit of music theory- by the third day they were able to name every note as well as form scales and chords.  They moved the keyboard into their house so they can practice and do their “homework”.

Nice Visitor?

Let’s compare:

or something else?

Coincidence?

Maybe.  I don’t know if changing glasses and putting on a smile changes who you really are.  I’ve got my eye on you mister.

I hope you’re enjoying this year and all it brings …and if you don’t understand this post, no worries, I still like you.

Matopi on the window sill

He is a looooong cat

Matopi shows off his grill, Marissa style

And just as long as we’re talking matopi, thanks and kudos to Melissa for these pictures (not to mention teaching me everything I know about pottery):

Preparing the Mud

Demonstrating Technique

And then you squish it!

My Name is Mud