A picture of My summer

My first post in Mozambique is coming after nearly two months here. Good Internet is hard to come by as is free time for posting! I have been focusing in keeping contact with family and friends when I do have acess to the web but now I have some time so I will share a snap shot of my summer in Pemba Mozambique. I just returned to base from an amazing 24 hours in a local village. It was arranged for a friend and I to spend the night with a sweet Mozambiquen Momma from the jewelry design school. We were both so excited to experience the real Mozambique and to make more friends. Our schedule can be quite full sometimes and it is sometimes hard to find time to just be with the people. This trip provided the perfect opportunity for that to happen. We spent the whole time with our new friend and her family just living life in Mozambique. In classes all summer we have been learning from many people how to (and how not to) love people and share hope in a cross-cultural setting. This weekend we got to put some of that to practice. My friend and I had an amazing time going into a village with no agenda other than learning and loving. Our new friend let us sit with her as she cooked and she even let us help. We played with lots of little kids, singing and talking like babies with our tiny vocabulary. I love spending time with the women in this country, they are all about being together and have taught me that what you do isn't as important as how you do it or who you do it with. Relationships are priority here and I want to carry that with me wherever I go the rest of my life. Jesus did ministry that way. When He was on His way to raise the little girl from the dead, He stopped to talk with the women healed of the blood issue (Matthew 9). He was constantly stopping to heal someone or just to feel their pain. When His friend Lazarus died He didn't just rush to the tomb to raise him to life, He stopped to see how Mary & Martha were doing (John 11). My friend and I didn't start a crazy revival this weekend or plant a church, all we did was cook, eat, clean, play games, paint nails, and try to speak the local language. We don't have a list of accomplishments but we have new friends and that is far more precious in the kingdom of heaven. This was just one small picture of my life here, there are so many more lessons and experiences that will have to be shared later. This seasons is like sitting under a waterfall; so many good things are being poured on me! I look forward to sharing more stories and photos when I return to the states. Love from Mozambique!!