Deforestation

While in Malawi, we learned a few things. First, Malawi is considered to be one of the poorest nations in the world. Apparently, it has made some of the top 10 lists. What is funny is that Malawi is more developed than Mozambique. I suspect that the problem lies in the population density. There are many, many more people per square mile in Malawi than in Mozambique, where there are large tracts of sparsely-populated land.

In Malawi, there is a great deal more industry. Locally-made products are sold in all the stores, while in Mozambique only a small percentage of products are local. It seems, also, that there is a more fertile environment for growing crops. We saw corn planted on every spare square inch of land. However, there have been droughts over the past 15 years and to the subsistence farmer this is devastating. We see the same thing over here - in a year of good crops, people get by just fine. In a bad year, you see malnutrition, sickness and starvation.

One of the problems that Malawi faces is deforestation. We took this picture while we were driving up on Zomba mountain. Long-term missionaries tell us that not long ago, it was like driving up into a rain forest up there. It was dense with trees. As we drove up the winding road, we saw bicycle after bicycle loaded down with cut and stacked wood. We even saw one man carrying a huge load on his back. And up on the mountain, we saw entire slopes like this one, with every tree cut down. When all those stumps rot out, I imagine the mudslides will begin. I am not an expert on this stuff, but it seems a grim future for Zomba mountain. There is a forest service up there, and I hope that they are caring for it responsibly.


Why are they cutting down the trees? For cooking. Many, many people are still living in homes with no electricity, or do not have the money to purchase or use an electric hot plate. A very high percentage of people (and in Moz especially) are still cooking outdoors over fires. To use bottled gas is very expensive (especially to get it set up, with a cooker and with buying the gas), and solar ovens are complicated. When we lived in Namibia, I constructed and used a solar oven, but after about a month I gave up on it. It was very difficult to cook with, even in a constantly sunny place like Namibia. Of course, there are better-quality ones and better systems, but often it requires a commitment to longer cooking times, and different cooking methods that poor, uneducated women aren't willing, or are unable, to make. There are no easy solutions, and there are quite a few people who are working to try to create options for the poor, and to work on education so that deforestation will not continue to be the devastating force for land destruction that it currently is in many third-world countries. - Cami

Oh, I Forgot

We had a "funny" moment yesterday. When we arrived home several days ago, we found that our well had collapsed, a pipe had broken under the house, mold was growing on some of the walls and some of the roof is leaking again, after a major repair job a few months ago. Kevin came into the kitchen and said, in frustration, "Why does everything have to go wrong when we go away on vacation?". I said to him (I hope with some compassion), "Kevin, you've just forgotten. Things are always like this." He looked at me intensely for a moment, then burst into laughter. And it is true. There is always something that needs fixing, and usually it is something difficult.

Of course, these things don't happen just to US. Back at home, things happen too. It's just that here, often it is difficult to get these things taken care of. Instead of a call to a professional, you are faced with sorting it out yourself. Or, you have to speak to 10 different people to figure out what you ought to do about the problem (like the collapsed well). You have to find the tools to do it with, and the materials. Kevin has been outside all morning digging up pipes, and the poor man looks like he's taken a shower in his clothes. Very humid today. The pipe that is broken will have to be cut and capped, and a new one run. This is because when the house was built, all the pipes were buried in cement and there are no access points.

Kevin is a champ. He's working on it and I am so thankful that I married a handy guy! Otherwise, I'd be out there with a shovel instead of typing this blog entry. Thank you, Kevin. :-)

Christmas in Malawi

I updated our blog up to our stay in Zomba, which was a beautifully cool spot where we stayed in a small house reminiscent of a lake cottage. With flagstone floors, Readers Digest Condensed books on the shelves, bunk beds in the corner of the living room and chintz curtains, it felt like a cottage in New England. We enjoyed visiting with our hosts and neighbors, the Theissens, and our kids played with their kids quite a bit. Two trips up nearby Zomba mountain were like a little taste of heaven, with green forests, ferns and walking trails. Kevin and Toby went on a nice long hike and Ben and I hung around near the trail beginning looking at all the ferns, throwing leaves in the bubbling creek, and investigating various bug homes. You just cannot imagine what a breath of fresh air this was for us. After living in the northeast USA, we really miss being able to hike and spend time in the cool, green outdoors. Here in Moz, it is not even possible to go for a walk. There are just people everywhere here near town, and further outside of town there is just not a lot to see. And it is HOT. So, we drank in the beauty.

On our way from Zomba up to our new digs on Lake Malawi, we stopped at a game park. A Christmas gift from a family member allowed us to go on a little safari trip. The park was too wet to navigate in our truck (bridges had collapsed) and so we paid for an hour's boat trip up the river to see hippos and animals on the shore, then for another hour in a safari jeep where we saw warthogs, Waterbuck, Impala, Bushbuck, Baboons, and monkeys. We had hoped for elephants, but this time of year they move further into the park where we couldn't follow. The kids really enjoyed seeing the animals, though Ben got bored pretty quickly and fell asleep lying face-down across my lap. I think he is much more of a homebody than Toby, who is always up for adventure. Ben seemed to tire so easily on the trip, and it makes me believe that he is less of an adventurer even though he is much more personally adventurous (in the form of pursuing danger!).

At Lake Malawi, we had a big house all to ourselves. It was only about $15 per night for the four of us, and we had a gentlemen to cook our food and wash the dishes, and he graciously cooked with the simple things we had brought. We had our own little beach on the very still lake, and a little cabana with comfortable beach chairs. What a treat! Despite a torrential rainstorm with thunder and lightening that kept us up until 1 am, Santa did indeed arrive. Our small people informed us of this at 5:30 am. Needless to say, we had a nap later! That night, we drove down to a nearby resort to eat their buffet. It was a small, family resort that was very cozy, and we enjoyed the feast of pork, chicken and goat on the menu while we watched the Queen's speech on the "telly" in the small dining room.

We headed home on December 26th after quickly packing up all the presents and bidding farewell to the gardener and cook. They were busy getting ready for the next instalment of visitors. We drove south and then east, crossing the border without problems. We drove on beautiful tar roads to the border, and then were pointed down a small dirt road after we crossed. "That is the road to Cuamba", we were told. Good grief. 2 1/2 hours of bumping later, we arrived at the Piper's house, Australian missionaries with SIM who gave us a warm welcome. We enjoyed talking with them and hearing about their ministries there in the "frontier" town of Cuamba. Our trip home the next day to Nampula took only 6 1/2 hours, much less than the 8-11 hours anticipated. We found that our heavy LandCruiser handles these bumpy dirt roads fabulously, holding the road and handling the punishment while not punishing the passengers. We were very thankful for our strong truck. It handled great. When we love it, we love it, but when we hate it (paying for diesel, paying for repairs) we hate it.

At home in Nampula, we found some wonderful Christmas packages waiting for us, and had our second Christmas with much rejoicing. We found that our well had collapsed, and that a pipe under the house had broken. More on that in a later post. The pets were all still alive, including the chickens, and the summer planting has begun. A month's worth of african dust has settled over everything, and I spent quite a bit of time unearthing all of our electronics and valuable documents that I had hidden all over the house. Almost everything has been found. :-) Our faithful workers were happy to see us and we have been busily unpacking and cleaning.

We are so thankful for a good vacation. It only lasted a week, the vacationing part, but it was great and we enjoyed it a great deal. We were all grumpy (except Ben) after returning, wishing we were still in Malawi, but glad for the time we had and thankful for the safe and "easy" return.

Thanks for your prayers!
Cami

Times are Tough All Over

I know we have mentioned from time to time that things are rough for us financially, for various reasons including rise in prices here, and being under-supported. However, times have been even tougher for our non-American colleagues. We had word this last month that the Brazilian Real was devalued in Mozambique by 40 percent. Months ago, the South African Rand lost 33% here in Moz, and the Euro has decreased in value as well.

Can you imagine losing 40% of your already-small missionary salary, simply to a bad exchange rate? We wonder sometimes how our colleagues are getting by. It puts into perspective our own difficult situation. We are very thankful, because our US dollars continue to have the same value here. This is because the Mozambican Metical is tied to the dollar, for reasons we don't understand.

Above, you can see how we were “rich” for the day. This is Malawian Kwacha, and when we took US$100 out of the ATM, we received almost 15,000 Kwacha! In 500 denomination notes, that is 30 notes. It seemed like a lot to us, because in Mozambique a 500 note is worth about US$20. However, in Malawi 500 Kwacha will only buy you about 20 eggs. It is confusing dealing with different currencies, as you always have to calculate things out in your head to think if you are getting a good deal. Calculate Kwacha to dollars, then calculate how much that would be in Mozambican Meticais to compare. Phew!

Fun and Freaking Out in Malawi

Well, our trip to Malawi went well. We left Chimoio at 4 am in a driving rain (the rainy season chose to start 18 hours before we left) and had a wonderful road - for 45 miles. Then, the diversions, deep mud and potholes started. That went on for an hour or so, then we found the road turned back into cement along with the requisite deep craters that go by the cute name of "potholes". Really, they weren't too bad and you could dodge them if you saw them soon enough. After enough dirty looks from me, Kevin slowed down and worked on his "truck slalom" moves more. We arrived at the beautiful new border post into Malawi about noon and spent 2 hours trying to get someone to take care of us. Well, Kevin did. I stayed out by the car and tried to keep the boys entertained while I fended off all the men and boys who wanted to "help" me. Most just wanted to sell me something, but some just enjoyed harrassing me or seeing how close they could get to our possessions in the truck. Sheesh. Kevin meanwhile was inside the beautiful customs building where no one was manning the desk and the supervisor was asleep in his office. He finally emerged, quite frustrated and exhausted, to find that Ben had just pooped in his pants and that several beggar boys wanted him to provide them with lunch. Poor guy. When we tried to exit the border post, no one would come to open the security gate. We sat for awhile, and finally Kevin went out in the pouring rain to ask for assistance. Apparently he was supposed to check out there in the little tent by the gate. No one ever bothered to inform him of this. The guys there hemmed and hawed for awhile and finally took his information. He returned to the truck and we waited there some more. Finally someone poked his head out of the tent and looked at me (at the wheel) in confusion. Obviously, I was not Kevin. There must be a mistake. He returned to the tent. Pokes head out again. Finally he ambles out, while Kevin is gesticulating wildly "See, I am in the car!!! I am Kevin Zwart!!" and slowly opens the gate. We entered Malawi in a less than thankful mood, with poopy Ben stinking up the place.

A few miles outside of Blantyre, our destination, Kevin pulled over because the radiator was steaming. The pinprick that he had repaired from time to time with epoxy had widened into a crack, and the car was overheating. He was also very concerned because the car really lacked power going up hills at high speed (40 mph +). He filled the radiator again, and we came into town to buy a phone card to call our accommodations.

Meanwhile, we stopped at the "Game" Store. That is the name of the store, which is a South African chain which resembles an upscale Kmart. It is a place where you can buy all kinds of good quality things which are simply not obtainable in Nampula, and Toby had been much anticipating its toy aisle, in order to spend Christmas money sent by Kevin's folks. He was beside himself with joy, but his spirits lessened somewhat when he saw the prices of the toys. We had tried to prepare him, but even we were shocked. One Hot Wheels car - $10. One Hulk action figure, 9" tall, $30. One plastic bucket of Mega Blocks - $50. It took our breath away. We soon realized that anything that is a "brand" item was astronomical. But the things that were not were more affordable. In the end, Toby very happily exited the store with some new guns and a robot, and Ben had a robot as well. We wandered up and down the aisles, wide-eyed at all the beautiful merchandise for sale. Look at that - a rice cooker! Good-quality knives! Curtain Rods! Luckily we have all we need already and didn't need to purchase anything, but it was funny to feel like the country mice coming in to the city.

We got quite a few looks as we parked at the store, in our big Land Cruiser with the roof rack and yellow metal jerry cans (filled with extra diesel) on top. It was completely covered with mud from our trip and we looked like we had just come off of safari.

We settled into our guest accommodations (provided very cheaply by missionaries serving missionaries there in Blantyre) and the next day found Kevin spending all morning investigating how to fix the car. He about had a Freak Out in the toyota dealership. We have a plastic radiator which cannot be soldered, and we thought we ought to replace it. He inquired at Toyota and they quoted him a price of $1,800 and told him it would take a month to get the part in. He almost had a heart attack right there and then. He started praying for God to help him, because we couldn't get back to Moz with the radiator the way it was. God provided help in the form of a local Christian mechanic from South Africa, who spent a great deal of time the next day repairing the radiator in a way that we feel will hold for a long time. They also solved the problem of the low power by simply replacing the fuel filter. What a relief.

Kevin was able to have his annual ECG done on his heart, and the doctor noted with satisfaction that nothing has changed since last year (he has some mild problems that we need to keep an eye on) and commented that he could start doing the test less frequently now. Kevin has been jogging 3 miles 4 times a week since September and is feeling great. I had my knee checkup, which I commented on in a previous post. We pulled out of Blantyre at 6 pm on the 19th to drive an hour north to our cottage to begin our vacation, very much relieved on several fronts. And God continues to provide the finances we need along the way!

We are currently ensconced in a lovely small home on a mission compound 12 km south of the town of Zomba, where the Zomba mountain is. We drove up there yesterday, and up to the top of the mountain, which is covered in forest and ferns. It is so beautiful, green and cool. After the dusty, hot dryness of Moz, it is a balm to the eyes. We are enjoying wearing socks and light jackets, and resting a lot. As I sit on the couch and write this, I can hear the birds and see green leafy trees out of the window. It is nice to be away from the stresses of Nampula for a bit. Our vacation is cut short by the car troubles, but we are thankful that we didn't have to cancel it. Tomorrow Kevin and toby plan a hike around on the mountain and on Tuesday we'll head to a nearby game park for some game viewing by boat. Then we'll continue up to the lake for a much-anticipated Christmas celebration. Usually we have a birthday cake for Jesus, but this year I'll have to figure something else out. Maybe cookies. . . or ice cream, which is a big treat for us.

Meanwhile, we wish a very Merry Christmas to all.
Love, Cami

17 days in Chimoio

Since we have internet access for a few days here in Malawi, I thought I'd update with how our trip has gone so far.

We arrived in Chimoio and stayed at Maforga mission with friends who are working there in medical work and mobilizing people to spread the Gospel. We enjoyed seeing the different kinds of work going on there. As we approached the driveway, we pulled over to bid farewell to our colleages, Inge and Angelika, who had kindly caravaned with us for the day. We had heard of an armed robbery on that road and didn't want to travel alone. After we said goodbye, Kevin noticed a huge amount of liquid on the ground under our car and realized that it was Automatic Transmission Fluid. Not good. We bid farewell to our friends the next day, and after topping up the ATF, drove into town to the mechanic. We left the car with him and then drove out to our AIM Mozambique conference with colleagues.

We had such a nice week with all of our colleagues. I think there were about 30 adults and 17 children. We stayed in a Catholic retreat center, and had two rooms for us and our kids, which was great. Last year we were all in one tiny room (I was in charge of housing, so that was my fault!). We all slept well, and enjoyed the many times of fellowship and teaching and catching up with the colleagues whom we only see once a year. There were some new colleagues on the field this year and it was fun getting to know them a bit. Best of all were the 3 children's workers who had come out from the USA and Canada to do ministry to the kids. It wasn't just babysitting, it was ministry! They brought two huge suitcases full of toys, treats (chips ahoy!!) and teaching materials. The kids were in bliss, and we came away with a huge bag of wonderful things for the kids. They were so kind and had such servant hearts. I was able to attend all of the meetings htis year knowing that my kids were happy and safe. Thank you Carol Ann, Cindy and Barbara!!!

Unfortunately, on the 3rd day of the conference I slipped on a wet floor after doing some laundry by hand, and twisted my knee badly. I didn't rip out the ligament that was repaired in April in South Africa (from my motorcycle accident last year), which I am thankful for. However, 2 1/2 weeks after the fall I continue to have pain and swelling. The doctor in Blantyre, Malawi, that I saw last week couldn't tell if I had torn the miniscus or not and we have to wait and see if I continue with this situation for another couple months. If so, I'll have to fly back to SA for another, more minor, surgery. I did rip the miniscus last year and it healed on its own, but there is only a 10% chance of that. We'll see! Please pray.

After the conference was over, our mechanic informed us that the seals on our Torque converter needed to replaced, and needed to be flown in from South Africa. So we ordered them, and started waiting. We started our wait in the home of dear friends from Nampula who have moved to Chimoio, Jacob and Jaynie Michaels. Here is their website: http://www.goodnewsforafrica.org/gnfamichael/
They made us feel so welcome and comfortable, even though they had finished painting parts of their "new" rental house only the day before! We had such a nice time with them, getting caught up on various things and going out to see the farm outside of town that they hope to buy to start ministry in Chimoio. On the 12th, we moved down the street to the empty home of AIM colleagues since the Michaels had other guests coming in to stay and we felt we had imposed on them long enough! The house was so ideally situated, because we could continue to visit with J & J, as well as our new AIM colleagues, the Allens. It was fun getting to know them and spending time with them, and our boys especially enjoyed playing with their girls. Toby and Rebecca (age 5) had a fantastic time.

There was delay after delay in getting the part in and our car fixed, and we had to keep calling our housing in Malawi to let them know we would be delaying a couple more days, a couple more days. It was so frustrating. In the end, the car was fixed well by our great mechanic, and the price was one we were able to pay! God provides.

Originally, we were to stay in Chimoio until the 11th, but didn't leave until the 16th. We were sad to see days of our Malawi vacation slipping away. . . but grateful that we were in such a good spot, with good friends, to spend that time. And, as we commented at the end, it was really restful and peaceful. When we left, the dark circles under our eyes were gone and we were all feeling much healthier. -C