Irashmo: The Boy I Can't Forget

During Summer 2010, I spent two months living and ministering on the coast of Mozambique at the Wesleyan Bible College in Xai Xai. At 7:00am sharp, I arrived at the Bible school for the conclusion of breakfast. The students went to various classes and I spent my mornings ALONE with 12 beautiful children between the ages of 1 and 6, with whom I only have fond memories.  With only 3 beach balls, various sticks and rocks, and a few broken plastic cups, we played hours and hours and hours.  They had the most fun riding on my back or spining circles in my arms; I had the most fun cuddling, rubbing their soft skin with my fingers, and capturing mental pictures of their big smiles.

Video of a precious moment with my crianças:

During the afternoons and early evenings, I spent my time with the Bible college students - teaching and learning, talking and laughing, dancing and singing, eating and working. I cannot tell you what I enjoyed the most because I truly LOVED every single minute I spent at the Bible College (except when we had shima for lunch;) but I can tell you one thing: one little baby boy stole a large piece of my heart - a piece that will never let anyone else or anything else in.

His name was Irashmo.



From day one, snotty-nosed Irashmo was my favorite of the children in the creché. There is this common disbelief that we aren't supposed to have favorites, which I suppose stems from the truth that everyone should be treated equally. Nonetheless, Mo was my favorite.

He smiled big [but not for the camera,] sung loud, and cried a lot. Like his sister Maria, he is a cry baby and was bullied a lot by João and the others because the kids knew Mo would react in a big way. He would scream "maaamaaa" and run into my arms with crocodile tears running down his dark, soft cheeks. He was also very forgiving, because João was his best friend. Mo loved bubbles and every morning he would put grab my bag and ask, "balão?" (balloon) in his endearing, squeaky voice. He also loved riding on my back, or swinging in my arms, and he was very jealous when I did either of those two things with another child, especially João. That's why I was often seen like this:

Irashmo and João


Irashmo and Japhete (another boy who has a special place in my heart)


Gabriele, Maria, Timoteo, João, and Irashmo


Irashmo at front, with friends

I don't know why, but God will not let me forget this boy.  He brings him to mind almost daily, and I go to sleep thinking and dreaming about him: the softness of his skin, the glow in his eyes, the joy in his smile, and his precious voice (so squeaky and unique.)  I do not know if I will ever be blessed to see him again - to embrace him again - but until then, I will continue praying for Irashmo and for his parents, Isak and Mama Sala.

My sweet Irashmo

May God protect you, as He protected Daniel.

May He give you a heart of love, like David; a spirit of power, like Elijah; and courage, like Esther.

May He make you wise, like Solomon; devoted, like Hosea; forgiving, like Joseph; a leader, like Moses; an encourager, like Barnabas; and patient, like Job.

His sweet hand; I never wanted to let go... eventually I had to.
That hand is almost two years bigger now, and it still has a strong grip on my heart.

With tears in my eyes, 

Jewel

Irashmo

From day one, snotty-nosed Irashmo was my favorite of the children in the creché. There is this common misbelief that we aren't supposed to have favorites, which I suppose stems from the truth that everyone should be treated equally. Nonetheless, Mo was my favorite.
He smiled big, sung loud, and cried a lot. Like his sister Maria, he is a cry baby and was bullied a lot by João and the others because the kids knew Mo would react in a big way. He would scream "maaamaaa" and run into my arms with crocodile tears running down his precious cheeks. He was also very forgiving, because João was his best friend. Mo loved bubbles and every morning he would put grab my bag and ask, "balão?" (balloon) He also loved riding on my back, or swinging in my arms, and he was very jealous when I did either of those two things with another child, especially João. That's why I was often seen like this:




I wish I could have brought Mo home with me from Africa. Oh, I love love LOVE that little boy! I would ensure that he has have everything he needs for his body, mind, and spirit to grow strong. Until the Lord opens the door for me to return to Mozambique, I pray that he is safe and well in the care of his parents, Papa Isak and Mama Sala - very sweet people.




Look at my happy boy!
The first week that I was in Mozambique, I couldn't understand Irashmo's name and I called him "Rudolph" instead because almost every other day he wore this red Rudolph t-shirt.




I love you, my sweet boy.

A Cobra in a Toilet

If you saw the title and doubted that this post would actually be about a cobra in a toilet, you're wrong! Jason and Rachel Helm, my missionary hosts in Mozambique, recently found a cobra in their toilet for the second time. Imagine...

Yes, it's true, snakes can climb into your sewage pipes and up into your toilet! I imagine Rachel is very insistent that Jason repair those pipes ASAP! They flushed this guy out with five gallons of scalding hot water.

"Lot's of problems with snakes here in Africa!" - Jason

Congratulations

Congratulations to 9 of my 35 students who graduated from the Wesleyan Bible College in Xai Xai, Mozambique today. I wish I could have been there to celebrate with them; they have been on my mind all weekend. I am so glad that I was able to send notes and pictures to each of the students through a visiter last week. Many of the students and their families made a significant impact on my life, and I know God is going to use them to do incredible things.

Mario and Abrão were my two best friends in Mozambique. Abrão, Alima, and their baby girl are returning to their province of Nampula tomorrow; it is a 5-day trip by car. Soon, Mario, Cristina, and their two children [their son Japhete is my little angel] are moving to South Africa to begin their ministry. One day I hope to return to Xai Xai, and though I may never see these two friends again, they will always be in my heart.

Abrão's wife, Alima, and their baby girl. I loved making this baby girl smile!

João's wife, Idenia, was my translator when I visited tsongan speaking communities, during my evangelistic tour one afternoon, when I taught community health at the Bible College, and when I preached in her church. Idenia really is a powerful woman, and when she prays, it is as if the clouds roll back, the Heavens open, and the hand of God literally touches each person that is present. I truly was blessed to have her pray over me during my going away party; it is a memory that I will carry forever. Here Idenia is presenting me with a beautiful capalana from all of the students. I will cherish that simple piece of cloth for many many years.


One of my favorite pictures from Mozambique because it illustrates one of my favorite memories: sitting down to chá (tea) and building relationships. Second to the hours spent with my babies in the cheché every morning, this was the best part of my daily routine! I miss it.

Although Abrão, Mario, and Idenia were three of my closet friends, the others are equally special, but I don't want to bore you with too many stories of past memories.

Malaria Free & Dream Free!

I wrote this a few weeks ago but forgot to post it. Oops!
I have been taking a daily malaria pill since May 6th and on Thursday, with my Frosted Flakes, I took my last pill! It's a little pink pill that I take with breakfast. It doesn't make me nauseous, dizzy, or give me a headache, but there is however one nasty side-effect: CRAZY DREAMS. I have taken doxycycline the previous two summers on my trips to Cambodia, but it wasn't until this summer that I realized the effect it was having on my dreams at night. We are taking crazy, ridiculous, out-of-this-world dreams!

Wednesday night I had a dream that I was going on a trip [imagine that!] and I had only minutes to pack all my things. I was absolutely frantic. I was throwing in my toothbrush and shampoo and contacts between socks and books and medicine. Jessie kept walking and commenting, "You see, THIS is why I tell you that you should always be packed!" Upon grabbing my passport from its safeplace, I realized that the passport wasn't my own, but belonged to House M.D. - yes, Hugh Laurie. I did not know where I was going because the trip was part of the witness protection program. Apparently I had walked in on President Barrack Obama while he was copying and pasting his next speech off of Wikipedia. When my alarm went off at 7:15 I was quite frustrated; now I will never know what adventures were awaiting!

One night in Mozambique I had dream that got me moving. Let me first set the scene: The previous afternoon my group and I painted the missionary's storage room. It was a disattached building about the size of an average one-car garage. There were a few small windows and one door, however the ventilation was not sufficient for the overwhelming paint fumes. After Jason [our missionary host] left and closed the door behind him, I commented that I was convinced the room was actually a gas chamber and Jason had intentions to kill each one of us.
So I woke up around 3am the next day; it was dark, and I was under my mosquito net. I said aloud to my roommate, "Caitlin, we're stuck!" I was certain our entire group was lost in the deepest corner of a dirt cave. [I'm pretty sure most caves are stone, however this particular cave was dirt.] As the leader of our team, I felt very responsible to bring each person to safety. So I grabbed my pillow and I immediately began beating at the walls of the cave. Confused that the caves' walls were solid, I turned on my flashlight [yes, I kept a flashlight in my bed] and found myself to be a dreaming fool.
Too bad Caitlin slept throught it all and missed the adventure....

The future is now...

Here's a couple facts on Mozambique::
* Life expectancy is 40 years
* 7th worst infant mortality rate – 1 in 10 children die before the age of 1
* 1 in 5 children are malnourished
* 1.4 million orphans – .5 million due to losing parents from HIV/AIDS
* 14% of population have HIV
* Only 43% of the population have access to clean water
* The literacy rate is only 40%
* Only 50% of children finish primary school
* Only 7% of students go on to secondary school

Children are our most valuable natural resource.

– Herbert Hoover

I'm praying these babies grow healthy and strong!
I'm praying they know Jesus' love at an early age!
I'm praying they bring their country from darkness to Light!

Matusse is The Man.

I promised that I would only talk about Mozambique on Mondays and I'm very excited because today is Monday! Today was a very busy day - it was my first day back to work since April - and I worked two jobs. I am back in the Nursing Division on campus, and I am also working at Marion Community School's registration, advertising school uniforms from a local print company. I'm actually too tired to blog, but I knew that if I waited until tomorrow, that I would miss the opportunity to write about Mozambique! So here goes:

I want to tell you about a wonderful man named Pastor Marcos Matusse and his wonderful church. First, it must be stated that Pastor and Mama Matusse make very beautiful children.Marcos Matusse Jr. (Markito) is the cutest baby in Mozambique:


It was at Matusse's church where my team and I built concrete blocks to construct a new church building. We carried the water African-style, mixed the cement, and used molds to make the blocks. It really was an incredible experience! On day two we decided that it would be more effective to hire professionals, who we assisted in the morning, and watched in amazement in the afternoon.Albert & Pastor Matusse taking sand to the cement pile:


An official Mozambican block mold. We made more than 800 blocks with only three molds.


The finished product drying in the sun (where it should remain for a week):

Notice the very flat-footed imprint (bottom left corner) - the effect of walking barefoot for any number of years, or with flipflops if fortunate enough.

João and I worked like clockwork together! I shook the mix in the block mold before the others pounded it down. Then I carried the full mold to João, who carefully placed the blocks. As I dropped the full mold, João handed me an empty mold that I carried to the cement pile to be filled again. The work was both exhausting and exhilarating.


When finished, the blocks will be used to build a new structure around the existing reed church; the old church will then be torn down, and the new church will be bigger and stronger. I hope to have the opportunity and blessing to visit again when it is completed!

It was at Matusse's church where I was fed this incredible feast of chicken, chips (fries), and brown rice with onions. Each guest was given their own bottle of coke, and we had hot tea and boiled cassava for dessert.

and it was in Matusse's church where Maria, Amelia, Grace, and others taught me how to cook the African way. This meant in a reed kitchen that looked like an outhouse, and over a fire under a large cashew tree.
We pounded corn and cassava:


We gutted fish with our thumbs:


I'll never forget cooking with these ladies, and singing with these ladies. I'll never forget playing peek-a-boo with Amelia (on my left) on either side of the cassava tree. I appreciate very much the beautiful capalana they gifted to me, and sometimes I wear it just because I'm feeling sentimental!

Finally, it was in Matusse's church community where we went on an evangelistic tour from house to house, and where this papa and mama were saved! It was in that community where I preached the message of salvation at the home of a witch doctor, wherein the witch doctor's wife asked forgiveness for her sins and was gloriously saved and redeemed! Praise Jesus!

Mozambique Mondays: I miss my babies!

From now on, until I run out of pictures and stories, every blogging Monday will be Mozambique Monday. I still have so many things to share, but life [unbeknownst to me] is continuing on ahead and I don't want to neglect the things of present, so I'm going to limit my Mozambican blogs to Mondays. Here is the first of at least a few more. :)

I miss Japhete and his kisses. I miss eating with him on my lap. I miss how he told everyone, "It's Joya! It's Joya!"


I miss Irashmo's laughter, tight hugs, and squeaky voice. I miss carrying him on my hip; I miss consoling him when he cried. I miss kissing his cheeks.


I miss my little helper Jonah and his beautiful eyes.


I miss beautiful Maria and how she sang so sweet. I miss how she cuddled me when she was sick, and how she always ran off to tell the other children when I arrived.


I miss Simeon's hand in mind, and the way he fit perfectly in my arms while he slept. I miss having tea at his house, and wiping his nose with his shirt.


I miss Markito, the cutest baby in Mozambique. I miss how he always smelled so sweet, and I miss chasing him as he waddled away.


I miss Tatenda and her sweet countenance. I miss her beautiful little sister who never cried.


I miss Gabriele and his always smiling face. I miss cuddling with him and carrying him on my back. I miss how he would always look deep into my eyes.


I miss Timoteo and his chubbiness. I miss him running up to me in the mornings, hands reaching up. I miss how he attempted to repeat everything I said to him.


I miss João and his scratchy voice. I miss how his eyes lit up when I arrived, and how he gave the best morning hugs. I miss his laughter and how he always asked to carry my bag.


I miss Calamesa and her politeness. I miss her innocence and her sweet smile. I miss seeing the joy on her face when I swung her in my arms.


I miss beautiful Elena and her sweet voice. I miss her chubbiness. I miss watching her head bob as she fell asleep.