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!