MY STUDENTS- of course I will miss these hilarious and sweet kids. Although teaching junior highers has been a new and difficult challenge, it also has been very rewarding and these crazy adolescents will always hold a special place in my heart. The other day they were reading silently and Ude looked up and sweetly said, "Miss Katie? No offense but has anyone ever told you that you look like the White Witch from Narnia?" Awesome. I don't know what's worse, being told I look like a terrifying witch or Kevin Bacon. The kids laughed and laughed until I said I was lowering their grade with each giggle.
One of the junior high girls continually lies about doing her homework- I know that's not funny but I was in a strange mood the other day so when she told one of her lies I made it into a "teaching moment" and taught them a song my friends and I used to sing all the time. Let me preface this by saying it was a song we only sang around Christians because it is terribly untrue and the verse is taken completely out of context. We actually got in trouble for singing it by our youth leader. Why, you may wonder, did I decide to teach such a song to my kids? I really don't know. Sometimes I forget to filter what I say and this was one of those moments. The song lyrics are as follows: "Revelations, Revelations, 21: 8, 21:8. Liars burn in hell, liars burn in hell. Burn, burn, burn. Burn, burn, burn." I know, I know, it's awful and my students learned it quicker than anything else I've tried to teach them this year and sadly, I'll bet it's one of the few things they'll remember. In the picture some of my junior highers are reciting Psalm 1 at the monthly potluck. I tried to convince them to do motions while reciting since they always sound so monotone when they recite verses. They didn't buy it. However, I couldn't resist and when they recited the part about a river, I did the motions for a river and made half of them start giggling. Oops.
We've been having some tough conversations recently about slavery and how people justified it in the past. Teaching about slavery to Africans is, as you can imagine, a sensitive topic. I'll never forget Silvio's face when I mentioned how some people tried to say black people weren't even human. He has these big doe eyes and in a high, squeaky voice he said, "They don't think I'm human?" He said it with such a funny tone of voice that the whole class, including him started laughing. I love that in our world today, suggesting that someone like Silvio isn't human is just plain silly. In the picture, Silvio is the boy throwing the peace sign.Speaking of teaching tough subjects... in my 9Th and 10Th English class we were reading a story aloud and kept coming across the word, "bosom." The first person pronounced it "boe sum" and I knew no one knew what it was but I just ignored it. Then the second person read it as "boe sum" and I felt guilty for avoiding the awkward conversation but still let it slide. Finally, once the word came up a third time and the new reader also pronounced it wrong, I stopped him and said, "OK...so it's actually pronounced bosom. Do you guys know what that is?" Praying I wouldn't have to explain it I unfortunatley only got confused looks and no snickers so they obviously were oblivious to the meaning. Of course they all busted up laughing when I awkwardly explained what it is.
THE BEACH- although I will be in California, I will miss living a block away from the beach. I will miss my running routes along the coast, watching the sunset behind rows of palm trees. I will miss the sailboats bobbing on the sea and the many fisherman on the wall cheering for me and saying, "forsa! forsa!" as I speed past. (OK so maybe "speed" is the wrong verb) A few weekends ago I was "babysitting" for one of my students when her parents were out of town. We had such a great time at the beach and I felt like a little kid as we searched the shore for sea creatures. We found over 20 live starfish and tons of sand dollars and played with these for hours. Some local boys started collecting the starfish for us so we ended up with a pretty impressive collection.
THE LOCALS- I will not miss the begging and persistent vendors, but I will definitely miss the Mozambicans I interact with on the streets. I'll miss Ernesto from the bakery, Isaac from "blockbuster," the security guards I pass each day who never fail to laugh and give me a thumbs up as I breeze past them, and the workers at the gas station where I daily buy snacks. I will miss random encounters like I had the other day while hunting for starfish with Kimberly. There were 3 local boys doing handstands and cartwheels and I was feeling like a little kid and wanted to play with them so I taught them how to do headstands. (my dad said he would only give us money for candy if we could do a headstand for 30 seconds so I used to practice a lot) We then had a cartwheel competition and although I did 10 in a row, I was beat by the 10 year old boy who did 12 in a row. By no means did I let him win just because he's small and poor; I am too competitive for that. I actually ended up shamefully falling on my butt after the 10Th cartwheel. I suppose I can have cartwheel competitions with strangers in America too, but there is something special about doing acrobatics with African children on the beach.DEPENDENCE ON GOD- living in a third world country obviously changes one's perspective on life and I have loved how living here has forced me to cling tighter to my Savior. Life is much less complicated and hectic here and although I love living in California, I know I will sorely miss the simplicity of Africa. With less worldly distractions, I have discovered a deeper intimacy with God which I am terrified will disappear when I return to the hustle and bustle of life in a developed nation. I see that I am susceptible to falling prey to the lie that I can do everything by my own strength. Living in America, it is so easy to think I am providing for myself and I often fail to acknowledge the many ways God is taking care of me. It has been much easier here in Mozambique to see how God daily provides for me and I have loved the continued reminder of my total dependence on Him.
MY NEW FRIENDS- one way God has provided for me in a big way this year is by providing new friendships. Lisa recently had a birthday so Mada taught me how to make a Brazilian treat which Lisa always has on her birthday. Cocoa + butter+ sweetened condensed milk+ sprinkles=
mouth-watering bites of sheer deliciousness. To make these treats which I cannot pronounce so I will not even attempt to spell, one must cover their hands in butter to roll the dough into balls and then roll in sprinkles. This is why Mada and I are smiling although it looks like we have nastiness spread all over our hands. And yes, you'd better believe I licked my hands when I was done. Leila had the less messy job of rolling the balls in the sprinkles but she also didn't get to lick her fingers afterwards. We had a semi-surprise birthday party for Lisa at Mimos and enjoyed some of their famous pizza.
After pizza we went to Lisa and Sabina's apartment to try out the cake Sabina and I had slaved over the night before. We made the mistake of asking Martha Stewart herself (aka Madalena) for a good cake recipe and she gave us quite possibly the most complicated recipe known to man. 10 eggs+ 3 hours+lots of confused looks and laughter= a tasty sponge cake made from scratch.
While enjoying the cake, the topic of "novelty dances" got brought up and Sabina proceeded to bust out her computer and show everyone the videos she had taken of the three of us doing synchronized dances in our pajamas. Not cool Sabina. However, we then convinced the group that they too needed to learn these synchronized dances and had loads of fun doing the random dance moves from Lisa's little town in North Carolina. In the picture below we were all supposed to be doing one of the poses from the dance but for some reason I'm the only one who ended up looking ridiculous and awkward. Why does that keep happening?
THE RANDOMNESS OF AFRICA- it's a good thing I got into teaching where random moments happen quite often but they are certainly magnified when living in Mozambique. The other day I was walking briskly on my normal route home and was concentrating on the ground in front of me so I wouldn't fall into a random hole or trip on a giant crack when I came to a sudden halt; a giant tree had been uprooted and was lying right in my path and across the entire street. A fellow walker made a joke to me in Portuguese, surely making fun of the fact that I came within inches of walking right into a giant tree so I laughed with him and continued on. Speaking of holes in the ground, another day there was a traffic jam because a bus had driven over a giant gap in the middle of the street and the wheel got stuck in the giant hole. Only in Maputo. I've recently found a new Muslim grocery store where I've found my favorite loaf bread. Yesterday as I was perusing the 3 aisles, a tiny, old man started chanting super loud right outside the store and I saw the owner grab a giant stick, storm towards the little man and my jaw dropped as he lifted the stick and then swung and hit the wall next to the chanting man and yelled at him to leave. Ahhhhh. Then today I was signing out the students as their parents picked them up from school and very persistent beggar reached his arms through the gate and grabbed my arm. He refused to leave and our guard had to grab a literal club, pull him by the arm and walk him down the street. Ahhhhh. Speaking of security, I was running past the President's house the other day and decided to peak over the gate. When I did, I saw a bunch of guards who all freaked out to see a "peeping Katie" and yelled and signaled for me to cross to the other side of the street. Apparently we're not even allowed to walk on the sidewalk that runs along side his property. I had myself a good giggle as I ran to the other side of the street.MY DOGS- I can't wait to see Swishy but I will miss my little family of Rhodesian Ridge backs. One of Gizmo's daughters was staying with us for a few weeks so for awhile I was hanging out with Gizmo, Simba (Gizmo's puppy who is quickly turning into a giant) and Miya who was malnourished at first so I fed her with a baby bottle. As you can see, it is quite difficult to take a family picture with 3 dogs.
FELLOWSHIP- I will miss Wednesday night Bible studies and Sunday night worship at the ambassador's home. We recently finished going through the book of Ezra so before beginning
Nehemiah, we had a "Vikings dinner." Henrik, being from Scandinavia, was a bit insulted when I explained that a "Vikings dinner" meant we would act somewhat barbaric and eat spaghetti without forks. Each person brought a random kitchen utensil which someone else had to use to eat their spaghetti. I ended up with the strainer which was a bit of a challenge but do-able. Lisa did quite well with her can opener but I had the most fun watching Molly eat with a whisk. We also had pudding for dessert which was eaten with no utensils at all- wonderful excuse to lick my plate 
clean without looking like a freak.Besides enjoying fun and random things like Vikings dinners, I also love how much I am learning through these studies. I've never taken such an in-depth look at the history of Israel and it has been so neat to discuss how God has worked in the lives of His chosen people. I also didn't realize how applicable the books of Ezra and Nehemiah can be to our own lives. I've been learning a bunch about repentance, accountability and prayer from these amazing men of faith.
In Ezra chapter 9, Ezra prays a moving prayer after realizing that the Israelites had disobeyed God by marrying foreign wives: "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens...But now, for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage...What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this...."
In the midst of being exiled, Ezra acknowledged that never did God desert them; rather He offered relief in their bondage. I love that. Ezra didn't rant and rave about being forced to suffer bondage, instead he praised God for being righteous, acknowledged the sin of his people and repented on behalf of Israel. This led to a thought-provoking discussion on repentance and accountability. I can now see that I need to have a more repentant heart. My sins seem often seem small to me but in light of God's holiness, my "little sins" that others might never even notice, are grossly offensive. My prayer is that God would cast a search light on my heart and reveal the true ugliness of my sins to me so I might have more reverence, more repentance and more appreciation for God's amazing forgiveness and grace.
1 comment:
Hi Katie, you need to post some pictures of the beach (as described in your "The Beach" paragraph). It sounds so beautiful. Enjoy your last 50 days!
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