Hasta que todo el mundo escuche

This is by far the toughest blogpost I have written. I've been staring at this screen for the past 45 minutes trying to figure out how to even start to write about the awesome experience I just had in Africa. What a humbling and gratifying two weeks. I feel really blessed to have had this opportunity. When I last wrote in this blog, the thought of visiting Africa seemed like a far off dream. Sure, I had mildly entertained the idea when I read a blogpost from one of my co-workers, but at the time I was still off adventuring in Spain and didn't give it much thought. Needless to say the seed was planted and that whole "not giving it too much thought" lasted all of about 2.5 seconds once I got home to the States. This really shouldn't surprise anyone at this point!

June 30th I took off for a little African adventure to Maputo, Mozambique.
For those of you that don't know, Mozambique is a country located on the very south eastern part of the continent, next to South Africa and across from the island of Madagascar. As I'm sure you can imagine, Mozambique is also a very poor country. Every now and then I was having flashbacks of the time I spent in Bolivia (shout out to my Samoa-living peace corps amiga for that crazy awesome week!). And although I've seen poor before, this was the first time I've really seen poor. It really gives you perspective when you see the conditions that other people live in. We take so much for granted here such as light, electricity, and clean running water. Notice I didn't say hot running water. Many people in Mozambique go without these simple pleasures that we normally expect to have at our fingertips 24/7. For example, there was a nearby community where the people live in tents. A tent is their home. No bathroom, no TV, no privacy. Makes you appreciate the little things.

One of my favorite things about traveling, besides all of the sweet destinations, are the really cool friendships I've formed with people from all over the place. This trip was no exception. I had a fantastic time with a great bunch of ladies. As I mentioned before, I read a blog entry from Doris about her experience in Mozambique from last summer (2012). Doris works at the same company I do, and I'm the nerdy accountant that reads all of our company blogs, which is how we got to talking. Doris and Pat attend the same church, as well as Laura's mother. Laura is a missionary in Mozambique and was visiting her mother in NJ when she met Doris. Doris and Pat visited Laura in Mozambique last year, and both went back again this year, letting me tag along this time of course! Still following? Good :-) So the three of us were off - Doris, Pat, and myself to volunteer and visit with Laura in her humble abode - the Zimpeto Children's Centre in Mozambique.

The Centre is home to about 300 children, ranging from infants to teenagers. Many of these children are orphans who have lost all of their family. Others are sent to the Centre simply because their family can no longer provide for them. The Centre is located about an hour outside of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. It also has a church and school that is open to the community. The children are divided by age groups and sex so each group has their own dorm where they live. There is a missionary for each dorm as well as a few tías/tíos to aid with the children. There is also a huge soccer field (¿cómo no?), a medical unit, and a separate section for visitors, which is where we stayed. We had clean water, a shower, a kitchen/hang out area, and an awesome mosquito net to surround my bed at night. The African mosquitos love me. Must be my irresistible charm! Pictures of parts of the Centre below.

Outside of our room in the visitors' compound

Part of the Centre - School on the right!

Nothing I love more than some palm trees and a sunset!

We spent most of our time helping out with Laura's boys. She is "dorm mom" to about 30 boys ages 4-8. After all of about 5 minutes with those boys, my heart was stolen. These boys just have so much love, and it amazes me how quick they are to give without expecting anything in return. I'll never forget the one time 3 or 4 of them were practically campaigning to be the one to clean everything up after their afternoon lesson. But that's just it - they don't view cleaning up as a chore, but rather a privilege. That same idea can be carried across to so many other things too. Like when we arrived on base, the children wouldn't let us carry anything to our room. They wanted to help us, without knowing who we were, where we were coming from, or why we were there. I think that's just so awesome, that these children who have VERY few personal possessions are so selfless. They are so quick to come up to you, give you a hug and a smile, and take your hand to walk with you. It touches my heart how much joy these boys have in their heart, and I think that is in big part due to the love that they receive from the people around them.

It takes a really special person to dedicate their life to mission work. It didn't take me long to see how much love Laura has for each and every one of her boys. She so easily gives them unconditional love, which I think is greater than any other gift they could receive. The sacrifices she has made and the way she continues to be a genuine Christ-like example for these boys is really amazing. She has such a big heart and it's truly making a difference. Fortunately for the Zimpeto Children's Centre, Laura is one of many missionaries that show such compassion for the children. And after 10 years as a missionary, Laura has some pretty awesome stories too! You can check out her blog here, which I highly recommend!!

Jeremias is CHEESIN!

Two of my favorites!

During a typical day I would wake up around 9 am, get breakfast and either head to the infant house to play with the babies and help feed them or I could relax until lunch time. At the orphanage they serve bread for breakfast and rice with a topping for lunch and dinner. We were able to stop at the local grocery store so our diets could consist of a bit more than rice for the 2 weeks we were there. After lunch we would normally help Laura with her afternoon program for her boys. This was basically like extra schooling - something to stimulate their minds after school was over. This afternoon program also included a snack for the boys - something that is "a little extra" and something that Laura provides out of her own pocket. We would also spent time playing outside with the boys, and can I just say - I marvel at what these kids can do with tires. I really loved spending time with these kids, and all of the pictures I have are just priceless. After 2 weeks with these children, I really do have some great memories.

Me and Felizardo (who is always all smiles for the camera!)

I love this picture

This little guy is so strong for his age!

This is Freddy - who sometimes doubles as a dinosaur.

One day this little girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old, just came up to me on the playground and grabbed my hand. We walked around for 45 minutes as she was introducing me to her friends. We couldn't understand what each other was saying, but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful conversation. And she wouldn't let me leave her side either, even after I pleaded with her because I had to use the restroom! She finally let me go, God bless her, and then found me again as soon as I returned. What a vivacious and rambunctious little girl. She was awesome!

I remember another day I was wearing these bright red sunglasses. Laura's boys were fascinated with them. I was letting several of them try the sunglasses on. One boy in particular thought he became a rapper. Every time he put on the sunglasses he started bopping to a beat and making hand motions like he was Jay-Z. What a little hearthrob!

I'll never forget the little terror that was teasing me in the baby house either. This little guy just would not eat his dinner and was teasing me about it because he knew that I knew that he needed to eat. Oh, he was tossing his spoon everywhere, throwing his food, taking others' food, etc. He would sit there and open his mouth as if to say "feed me", and then as soon as I got the spoon close to his mouth he refused to open his mouth. Eventually his whole bowl of food ended up on the ground, not before 3/4 of the meal was on his sweater. He laughed and laughed at the foreigner who was in so over her head, and had no problem egging on the others to join in on the fun. That little bugger still makes me laugh at this very moment.

Perhaps my favorite memory comes from time spent with one of Laura's boys. His name is Malikaish (not entirely sure that is spelled correctly pero bueno...), and I knew he was special from the moment he first approached me. What a sweetheart this little boy is. For the short amount of time that I spent with him, I loved every moment. The first time I met him was outside in the garden and he came up to me, gave me a hug, and proceeded to sit on my lap. He was so gentle, so kind, so loving, and he just sat there looking at me with this innocent face and a huge smile. His smile is contagious. He sat on my lap for quite some time that afternoon telling me stories as if I were already his friend. He probably had no idea, but he really touched my heart. I had two more similar encounters with him after that, both equally as special. My only regret is that I never got a picture with him (major sad face). A few hours before we were due to leave on our last day we stopped by Laura's dorm for one last time. I was really hoping to see Malikaish again, but it's harder than it seems to find one boy in particular when there are 30 others running around. As soon as I started thinking about how disappointed I would be if I didn't get to see him again, sure enough he came running up to me and I embraced him with open arms. His smile at that moment just melted my heart, and I think that might have been the highlight of this trip for me.

Felizardo - what an awesome young man he is!

These cuties crack me up!

Manuel loves the camera!

They make me smile!

I know I keep saying it to everyone, so I'll say it again. This trip was really awesome. I still can't believe it came and went already! Not only did we have a really cool experience in the orphanage, but we also had a super cool experience in South Africa one weekend. Laura kindly chauffeured us around for the weekend so we could celebrate her birthday! We visited Kruger National Park and had the opportunity to do a little African safari, if you will. We saw so much wildlife in one day, I practically didn't know what to do with myself! Shout out to Doris and her intense camera with a crazy zoom for snagging some sick pictures. Here is a list of animals we saw - rhino, impala, crocodile, khudu, klipspringer, zebra, baboon, warthog, buffalo, turtle, giraffe, hippo, bushbuck, elephant, vervet monkey, wildebeest. ¡Madre mía! Wowza! To top it off we saw a leopard chilling on the side of the road just as we were about to leave the park! What a perfect day it was.

It's the hungry hippo!

Say hello to Pumba

My favorites!

Vervet monkey

HOW AWESOME IS THIS GUY!!

Wildebeest!!

Look at that crocodile!!!

Looking right at me! This might be my best photo of the day.

We had front row seats for this - LOL.

Giraffes are my favorite, so I was elated about the amount of giraffes we ran into. It was so neat seeing the leopard too - just hanging out on the side of the road staring at all of the people staring back at it. And one of the coolest things I've seen was this herd of elephants crossing the road. The baby was so cute scurrying across too! As they were crossing the road, I couldn't help but think about Mommom. I had no idea why at that split second she crossed my mind, but she did. Came to find out a few days later that elephants were her favorite. Gosh I just miss you so much sometimes Mommom, more than anyone will ever know.

Outside of spending time with the children in the orphanage and spending a weekend in South Africa, we also had the chance to participate in the ministry work that the Centre does in and around Maputo. One day we went into downtown Maputo to visit the homeless and another day we visited the hospital to pray with the sick (I said all of my prayers in Spanish - go me!). These experiences were really meaningful for me, and I can only hope that the people we visited with got as much out of it as we did. It was certainly tough visiting the homeless and seeing the conditions they live in. It was tougher visiting the hospital and being reminded of the hospital from the movie Pearl Harbor because that's what it looked like. The toughest part of it all? The day we visited the garbage dump. We took a trip about 45 minutes away to a huge garbage dump/landfill as part of an outreach to the local surrounding community. I have never seen anything like it. I don't have any pictures to show you from this day, and unfortunately it's hard to even put into words the experience. We climbed the garbage dump to the very top. The smell was unbearable, but I think the sight might have been worse. Once at the top all I could see was garbage in every direction. No dirt or grass; we were walking the entire time on trash. It amazed me the amount of people surrounding the dump and furthermore, the amount of people on top of the dump. People were just sitting there going through trash, walking around looking through the trash, each person with a small bag of things they had collected. At one point 2 garbage trucks pulled up and people raced over to them so they could start sorting through the trash. I've never seen anything like that, and it was at that point that I was brought to tears. I can't explain the feeling of watching this and knowing that the garbage truck arrival was probably the highlight of their day. I will also never forget the time we spent with one of the women up there. As we approached her, we asked if we could pray for her and offer some encouragement, hope, and company. As we were standing there she proceeded to empty an old bag of bread and fill it with some sort of fish that she had found in the trash. My guess is that she had just found dinner for her and her kids. At that moment a rush of emotions came over me and I just lost it. My heart was breaking for this woman, and the realization of just how truly blessed I am hit me like a brick wall. I think my problems are so big sometimes, and here is this woman who has sat atop a garbage dump for several years, each day hoping to find food to feed her children. This experience was the perfect reminder of just how good life is, even when I think it's not, and I wouldn't have traded that day for the world. It was a reminder of how much God has provided for me in my 24 years. It was a reminder of how amazing someone's strength and courage can be with the Lord on their side. After that day, I have a whole new appreciation for everything.

Okay now that the heavy-hearted paragraph is over... I would like to say that we also did have some light-hearted moments along the way as well. We took several trips to downtown Maputo. I even got to dip my feet in the Indian Ocean. Bucket list CHECK! We also went to one of the local flea markets, which was also very cool. They have a lot of incredible hand-carved wooden products, one of which is now proudly hanging on the wall downstairs in my casa. And no need to worry - my magnet and flag collection is still going strong! We also had a really fun Bunco night with the other missionaries. That game is a lot of fun, and I can't remember the last time I laughed as much as I did that night. Other than that, the four of us, Doris, Pat, Laura, and myself spent time hanging out, relaxing, playing cards, watching movies, and just enjoying each others' company. Well at least I can say I enjoyed their company. I would hope they enjoyed my company, otherwise it must have been a really long two weeks for them hahaha! No but in all seriousness, this was definitely one of my favorite vacations I've taken, and one that was very emotionally re-charging at that. I feel like I've had a permanent smile glued to my face ever since returning and I can't explain why. Heck, I even stopped drinking soda. That's when you know something has changed!!

Chicken feet anyone? Fingernails included!

Standing in the Indian Ocean looking at the coast!

Flea market

Me, Laura, Doris, & Pat

I probably don't even need to say it. You all know that I'm incapable of writing a blogpost without some castellano!

A ver... bueno, lo que ya tengo que decir es que esta experiencia fue inolvidable. Me fascina cómo sigue desarrollando el plan de mi vida. Nunca me habría imaginado tener la oportunidad experimentar un viaje como este. Me ha dado tanta felicidad y alegría hasta el punto que yo no puedo describir el sentimiento que tengo dentro de mi corazón. Acabo de ver como vive el otro lado, me siento que Dios me ha hecho la persona más afortunada del mundo. Para conocer los niños de Mozambique y la felicidad que tienen, pues me hace sonreír tanto. Es decir que en el mundo entero, son ellos que saben y entienden el significado verdadero de la vida. Qué no necesitamos las cosas, las posesiones físicas, ni nada. No importa esto. Lo importante es tener respeto, compasión, amor, y fe. Y más que nada, lo importante es tener una relación con Cristo porque El se puede darse más gracia, esperanza, alegría, y amor que ninguna otra cosa que encontraremos durante esta vida. Con El, todo es posible y como dice una de mis canciones favoritas: Hasta que el día se acerque, cantaremos hasta que todo el mundo escuche.

Eu mencionei que eu decidi aprender português? ¿Ya mencioné que decidí a aprender portugués? Did I mention that I've decided to learn Portuguese?  Surprise! It'll be my new project. French was supposed to be next, but I'm putting that on hold momentarily. Portuguese is amazingly similar to Spanish so I feel like I already have a head start which is nice. I think it will be fun! Plus, it always makes experiences more meaningful when you can communicate with people. Pat on the back for those of you who just read between the lines there. Translation: I'm hoping to return to the Zimpeto Children's Centre to volunteer next summer! :-)

Um abraço. Até a próxima!