Thursday in Mozambique

Whew - the rain stopped and thankfully, has been replaced by a cool breeze. Scott is still at the beach, which I was told several times today is one of the most beautiful spots in Mozambique. I'll be anxious to see his pictures and hear what they were up to.

Lynne has a bible study on Thursday mornings and I was lucky enough to tag along. Here I met Lynne's friends who provide support, encouragement and friendship. It was so obvious that these women totally enjoyed each other's company and it made me miss my very good friends back home. Two of the women, along with their husbands, were with a sports ministry and worked with students in the upper middle class providing recreation. Right now, they are looking for a location to run a recreation ministry - I think this is cool. One gal there was very young and wants to work with orphans. She reminded me a lot of my niece Tracy, who with her husband are also considering mission work. it was fun to listen to them talk about their lives and joke with each other.

After that, Lynne and I went to a little cafe and had lunch. We were able to eat outside since there was such a nice cool breeze. Then, we went grocery shopping to get the food needed for when the guys return. It's fun to see how things are the same and how things are different here. The meat counter held open pieces of meat. Lynne ordered a pound of hamburger and the butcher scooped it out putting it in a plastic bag. Fruits and vegetables need to be weighed by an attendant who sits in the produce department before paying for it at the register. Soda's are sold by the can, not the six pack and chips/cookies are sold in small bags. They have cakes that sell for close to $15.00! (They didn't tempt me at all!) Things are very expensive in Mozambique which seems so backwards to me since a good wage is about $500.00 a month. It's so expensive because almost everything is imported from South Africa. Most people get by here eating beans, rice and fresh produce - which they an buy locally. However, thanks to Mozovos, the egg farm that supports this ministry, eggs are now affordable! People buy them in large boxes - I heard one man order 19 dozen today. Mozovos has a small delivery truck and they drive these boxes all over town delivering the eggs to local businesses and individuals. I haven't seen Mozovos yet, but I heard they have 8,000 birds! Bread is another item that can be bought locally for just pennies.

The city here looks a lot like cities I've seen in Bolivia, Albania or Mexico - except it is probably the most crowded. Everywhere you look there are people walking, either selling cell phone minutes (there are no plans here) or carrying packages on their heads. I've seen school kids on the streets carrying their books all the time since they either attend school during the morning, the afternoon or the evening. Litter lines the streets in every direction. This was also true of Albania and it made me wonder why? Also small vendors are all along the streets. They are selling fruit and vegetables, shoes, clothing, furniture, carvings, and everything else you can imagine.

The housing in the city consists of large apartment buildings and other multi-dwelling housing that lines narrow streets full of cars. People sell things from sidewalk stands or little rooms stuck in corners of buildings. Some of the bigger houses along a main road have been taken over by businesses that pay twice the rent displacing residents to find housing elsewhere.

In some parts of the city, huge house with fancy yards lie behind guarded gates. Still, the houses are very close together and the street crowded with cars. I was told that somewhere in this neighborhood was the home of the newly appointed American Ambassador who was arriving in Mozambique today. Funny, Obama has been in office a year and this ambassador was just arriving. Lynne drove me down by the beach which she tells me becomes quite the hot spot on the weekend. Bars and restaurants line the street and vendor sell their wares. Lynne says that the beach is not a great place to swim because it is really muddy, but it looks beautiful to me. Fruit trees are in abundance; coconuts, mangos, lemons, limes and fruit I don't recognize are everywhere.

It's been a great day and I look forward to tomorrow when the guys come home. Till then....