De-Robbed

A miracle! This week at a nearby mission compound (not our mission), my documents, credit and bank cards, photos and some of my house keys were found? They had all been put into a plastic bag and thrown over the wall where they would be found by those living inside. How in the world did they know these would get back to me? Well, likely they looked inside my residence visa, which says "missionary" and knew that lots of missionaries live at this particular compound.

Hooray! A dear friend found them and called me and and we all did the dance of happiness at our house. This saves all kinds of hassles and money, and puts us out of the danger of not being able to procure all that we need. I was a little perturbed to see that I only received back a few of my house keys, though. THankfully they were the keys to the front and back doors and padlocks, which seems very strange. Kevin thinks that perhaps they kept those other keys to use on interior locks of houses they break into. I don't know - anyway, I'm glad to have what I got.

Why did they give the stuff back? Well, in asking around I got various theories. A missionary colleague who has been here over 15 years tells me that in years past, you always got your documents back. The thief wasn't interested in them and would simply throw them down somewhere, and the police would find them and return them. These days, they are more likely to be burned so as not to leave a trail. One Mozambican suggested that the people feel kindly toward missionaries and wanted to "help" by returning my documents. Someone else refused to answer when I asked, and looked nervous. This makes me think that perhaps the thief is afraid of me - afraid that I will put some kind of curse on him for stealing my purse. Another person suggested that the thief didn't return anything, but someone else found my things and threw them in a place where they knew I would get them, and did this to be nice.

Whatever reason, we are thrilled. Nampula is a city of almost a million people, not a small town, so my hopes of seeing these things again were very low. Thanks to God for His mercy toward us in this thing! Of course, we'd rather not be robbed. But these things do happen. We feel so thankful that it has ended in a way that minimizes the difficulties for us. All praise to Him! - C

Inselbergs

Do you know what an inselberg is? Well, just look at the photos and you will see some.

Here is a definition I found online: An inselberg is a prominent, steep-sided hill made of resistant solid rock, such as granite, rising out of a plain, usually in a tropical area. Its rounded appearance is caused by weathering, in which the surface is eroded in successive layers. Ayers Rock in Australia is an example.

Nampula is surrounded by these kinds of rocks and you find them all over this area for hundreds of kilometers. They really are so interesting and when flying over in a plane it looks like a giant just hurled all these enormous stones in all directions. I'll include a few photos here for you to enjoy. Kevin and Toby have climbed one of these outside of town several times and enjoyed the view. Some of them are MASSIVE! Like a mountain, really, but a large piece of stone. In various places, the sides of them are being quarried (often by hand) and the pieces of granite sold for construction. I would not want to be the guy who is trying to chip away that mountain. -C

ANAMED Seminar

The last two days we have been enjoying some very interesting guests. Katrin (German) and Monika (Austrian) are missionary nurses who work in a bush location teaching a team of people how to use local plants to treat illnesses, wounds, and skin problems. They use papaya, Neem, Moringa, Onion, Hot Peppers, and many other plants. Most of these are indigenous plants, though some have been brought in. They also use a particular plant, Artemesia, to prevent and treat Malaria, and we have been using this in our home for a couple of years as our malaria preventative.

ANAMED, Action for Natural Medicine, is an organization that has developed materials which teach how to use all of these plants in Africa to do all these things as well as how to make soap and other basic items.

Kevin asked our friends to come and give a seminar for his students, since he likes to give them a variety of tools to improve their lives and understand the world around them better. Almost all of them came, and I could see, watching them, that they were very interested in the material. Did you know that onion has antibiotic properties? That papaya is good to treat diarrhea? That hot pepper cream can be used for arthritis? The two men that Katrin and Monika brought with them were the ones who actually led the seminar, which was especially valuable, because they were able to communicate in a manner more understandable to the students, and because the students could see that WE can do it. Often, if a foreigner does something, people think "Well, that is well and good for YOU, but WE can't do that." They could see that these pleasant gentlemen were well versed in herbal and plant treatments, and could prepare all of the tinctures, creams and syrups themselves. At the end of the two-day seminar, people crowded around the table to buy the creams and crushed leaves, which sell for from 75 cents a packet to twelve cents a packet. Very cheap. More importantly, they left with knowledge to help themselves in treating basic illnesses.

We hope that the information presented will be passed on to others, and most of all that the students will begin to understand that they can help themselves rather than depending on the system here to take care of them (which it tries to do, but often fails at). God has provided so many wonderful things for us to use to help ourselves - it is truly astonishing! Good job, Kevin, in bringing this information to your students. And thank you Katrin and Monika for driving five hours in from the bush, dragging all your materials. And also to Vasco and Vincente for your hard work and great job you did in teaching. - C

Robbed!

Well, something happened to me this week that I was just waiting for. Theft is pretty common around here, and sooner or later pretty much every missionary has something stolen. My parents were here in April, and during their visit my mom and I were in town. As we got into our truck, a man came to my window and gestured frantically toward the back, and someone thumped on the back bumper. This is a ploy to get you to exit your vehicle hurridly, leaving your valuables open to theft in the front seat of the car (usually your purse). Having heard about this from other missionaries, and having already had it tried on me twice before, I simply smiled at him and yelled "thief!". He gave me a disgusted look and walked away, and as we drove away, I commented to my mom: "Well, we didn't "get it" this time, but one of these days I am going to make a mistake and let down my guard, and I am going to 'get it'."

This was my week. I left my purse on the floor of the front seat on a quiet street in town while I ran in for just a minute to pick up Ben from preschool. While I was coming out, we heard the alarm going off, but didn't see anything. As we entered the car, I noticed that the back door on the other side of the car was unlocked and saw that my purse was gone from the front. They had smashed the small window in the back, put an arm in to unlock the door, jumped in and grabbed the bag. I pushed Ben into the truck, and jumped in the driver's seat, and we took off to find the perpetrator! Of course, he was long gone and we drove up and down the streets in vain. Ben thought it was all very exciting.

In my purse was my driver's licenses (International and New York), credit card (now canceled), bank cards, my identification document with my Mozambique visa (critical for a foreigner in Moz), my wallet, cell phone and house keys. All of those things are replaceable, for which I am very grateful. There was less than $10 in the purse, so there was no great financial loss. There will be the costs and hassle of replacing all those documents, and we'd appreciate prayers that it all comes through before we leave for Malawi on December 5th. The cell phone was a cheapie, but it is a pain to lose all my numbers! It is the house keys that worry me the most. We've changed the outside padlocks, but it is harder and much more expensive to replace all the interior locks and outside door locks. Lost my Leatherman utility knife too. :-(

Of course, there is that icky feeling one gets when one has been a victim of a crime. Your personal effects are now in the hands of a "bad guy" and your dear family photos from your wallet are thrown in a garbage can somewhere. He has your organ donor card and your name and photo on your driver's license. It is is not a pleasant feeling. However, I don't have that feeling of anger and helplessness that I expected I would feel. Maybe because I figured it would happen sooner or later, and I'm thankful that I didn't have a bunch of cash, my PDA, or anything dear to me in that bag!

I spent the afternoon at two different police stations, which really did a number on my back. I've been having back problems and finally feeling a bit better, but three hours of sitting on wooden chairs has set me back quite a bit. The police were quite friendly and pleasant, however, though one asked quite pointedly if I were married and if I live with my husband and wanted me to teach him English. Sorry buddy, not interested. Reports were filled out in longhand, to the tune of an hour per report (3 reports). I was given a paper to show that my documents were stolen, to help procuring new ones (no help for USA documents, since it is in Portuguese! And I was told to report to the police investigations unit on Tuesday to see what they've found. I have no hope of seeing my bag again, though I do hope that somehow my documents will be recovered and maybe even the house keys. There is so much petty crime here, though, that the police are completely overwhelmed and unless a bribe is paid, usually nothing is done. So, we'll begin the process of replacing everything.

I am so grateful that if I was going to "get it",it ws in this manner. No violence, no fear, nothing irreplaceable taken. Enjoy your new Leatherman knife, Mr. Criminal. - C