My parents were able to spend three weeks with us here in Mozambique. They were not only able to see where we live, meet the people we work with, and see the country of Mozambique, but they were able to experience our daily life here. They know what it feels like to go into a small village and be surrounded by kids touching and laughing at you. They know what is like to eat shima with your hands. They know what it is like to drive out to a village a few kilometers away that may take two hours to get there because of horrible, bumpy, muddy roads. They know what it is like feel uncomfortably wealthy in the face of extreme poverty. They also know what is like to be able to give and watch a person light up with joy at receiving their first new piece of clothing they have ever owned. They know what it is like to sit in a mud floor church on logs for benches for hours when you can't understand anything being said. They also know what it is like to watch Africans worship the same God we worship with such joy and passion. You can try to explain these things to a person, but you really don't know what it is like until you've experienced it and we are so thankful that when we talk about things here and our life here, they now know exactly what we are talking about.
They also were able to see the grandkids, watch Kallen learn to walk, celebrate Karis' 4th birthday, and participate in Traeger's homeschooling. The kids had three weeks of getting just about anything they wanted and now we are in the process of de-spoiling them. Which we often hear " I wish Grandma was still here." " I want Grandma to do it." and " Grandma would give me it." But it was all worth it! Here are some pictures of their "experience" here.
giving gifts to kids in Caia
Seeing hippos in the river
a view from Zomba, Malawi
a jungle walk to a waterfall
Karis and Auntie Janice blowing out her candles
playing peek-a-boo with Kallen
wrestling with the kids
reading to the kids
helping the fisherman pull in their nets
a walk through Muembe
giving gifts to each of Mateus' family
eating shima
visiting with Mateus and his family
posing for a picture with kids in Caia
giving gifts to kids in Caia
Seeing hippos in the river
a view from Zomba, Malawi
a jungle walk to a waterfall
reading to the kids
helping the fisherman pull in their nets
a walk through Muembe
giving gifts to each of Mateus' family
visiting with Mateus and his family
posing for a picture with kids in Caia
1 comment:
Your post made me cry :) So sweet that your parents were able to be there with you and to know you in your new environment. It will make it so much easier from them to understand who you are becoming as this life changes you. SOOOO great that the kids got their time with them and visa versa. I am sure it was really hard for them to leave after all that. Hope you guys are doing well. We miss you bunches. So glad that we have this blog to keep up on your lives.
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Leslie Norris
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