Final Farewells

One thing I have in common with Lloyd Christmas is that we both hate goodbyes. And yes, that is ALL we have in common- the similarities stop there. (If you're asking yourself, "who is Lloyd Christmas?" please understand that my roommate Jenny and I watched Dumb and Dumber at least 15 times our freshman year since the only other movie we had was Beaches. Jim Carey was Lloyd.) Whenever I say goodbye to someone, I feel the need to say, "See you tomorrow, soon, in a few days, next week, in a few months, later,...you get the idea." So the goodbyes I've been saying recently are quite difficult because for most people I don't know if I will ever see them again...on earth. And saying, "I'll see you in heaven" just sounds morbid but it is true- for many of the people I've met in Mozambique, I most likely won't see them again which makes saying goodbye very difficult. There are several people that I most certainly will see again and will definitely stay in contact with, but for others, this is it. This final week in Mozambique has been one packed with farewells and "last moments." (this is the last time I will do this, eat this, look at this...) Here is a recap of my last week in Mozambique.

It began on Friday night with a Brazilian-style BBQ in which most of my new friends showed up and I was reminded yet again what amazing community God provided for me here. Here are the faces of the people God used this year to comfort, entertain, challenge, and uplift me. First, my girls. These 5 little ones are all so precious and it was so adorable this night when they all were lying on my bed watching Babar. (do you remember the beloved elephant?)Next is Cecelia and her children- Oliver, Viktor and Elvira (their dad, Par couldn't make it). Cecelia is Henrik's sister who I've often run with, gone to "African dance" with and enjoyed many interesting conversations with over meals. I love her kids and will greatly miss this family. Sometimes I accidentally pose like a mannequin. This was one of those times.In the back of this shot is Mateus, a hilarious German missionary. Tony and Leila are next to him- I got to meet them in CO before moving to Mozambique and instantly liked them. Mrs. Meyers is next to me- I hope I have as much energy as this fabulous woman when I am her age! I was terrified of her at first because she has a very strong personality but grew to value her friendship and wisdom and loved all our conversations. Below Mrs. Meyers is Bev- the art teacher at CAM. We were just saying today that it is such a shame we are both a bit shy around people we don't know at first. She is incredible and I appreciated her thought-provoking questions like "Could suffering be considered a gift from God?" her joyfulness, wisdom, devotion to Christ and laughter.
Unfortunately I didn't meet Mark, Julia and their girls Hannah and Emma until a few weeks ago but I so enjoy their company- they are absolutely hilarious and fellow Lost fans.
I was constantly bumming rides from the Bowers and Millers and have Cory Bowers in class as well as Kimberly Miller. One thing I loved about teaching at CAM was seeing my kids outside of the classroom and getting to know their families on a personal level. Yes, my awkward fist returned.
A sign of true friendship: a willingness to make yourself look horrific in pictures. So blessed by these two! Judith and Lisa are the friends I went to Cape Town with over Christmas break.
Finally, the two people I see the most and will greatly miss- Madalena and Henrik. My living situation here has been absolutely wonderful. I've lived with a fabulous roommate and have had a side-splitting crack-up for a neighbor who is willing share his dog with me.
The day after the BBQ, the OC team planned a farewell getaway and we all drove to a beautiful beach called Bilane. It was an incredibly relaxing time on the white sand beach, wading in the crystal water and enjoying a feast for a picnic. We played Frisbee golf and I discovered that I'm really bad at throwing a Frisbee. I'm not sand-bagging. Six-year old Rafa nearly beat me. My right arm is actually still quite sore. Pathetic.

This team has been family this year and I will miss each member.
On Sunday, I went to Shiparango for the last time. Mada translated for me as I told them how God has spoken to me through them; how He has revealed that He is bigger than I imagined and offers joy and peace in even the most remote areas. I thanked them for letting me worship with them, play with their children and learn with them. Mada's sermon that morning had been about the party we are all invited to in heaven and so I told them that most likely I would not see them on earth again but oh the day of the party- it will be quite a celebration! One of the men responded by giving me a message to bring back. He said, "Tell others about us. Tell them how we too love God and are not turning back to our old ways but are moving forward." Wow. Consider yourself informed:) During the service, I sat on the mat between one woman clearly suffering from AIDS with giant welts all over her body. (I noticed her glancing at the eczema on my own legs) The woman on the other side of me was breast-feeding for most of the service and I remember sitting there thinking, "Thank you LORD for bringing me here. Thank you for opening my eyes."

Here is a brief clip of the last song I heard sung in Shiparango.









This was the last time I heard Mada bang the rock on the metal shield to call the people to church. The little boy and Lucia were the first 2 to arrive.

Some of my favorite people in the world.

The children of this village have forever changed my life and perspective. The boy on my immediate left, Lorenzo, is one of my favorites. When I first met him, he had a huge bloated belly but now he is looking MUCH better!
On Monday I did my last and final run with Gizmo. It was the last time he would pull my arm out of the socket chasing a stray dog, the last time I would run along the Maputo ocean, the last time we would chase terrified, screaming children. I brought my camera to commemorate the final run so I'll never forget this route I've come to love running with this dog that I may have an unhealthy attachment to.










I love the picture on the left because you can see a woman in the distance walking with a basket of fruit on her head. I was in my "alias-mode" and was trying to be tricky taking pictures of people without them knowing. I stopped on a bench and hid behind a palm tree while I took the picture of the woman. Then later I passed by the crazy old homeless man who lives on my running route. I really wanted a picture of him so I stopped to "tie my shoe" and pretended to take a picture of myself but really was aiming for him. You can't see him that well but you can see my "sneaky face."














On Tuesday Lisa and I had our final sleepover. We went to Mundos (the most popular spot for ex-pats) and ordered our favorite meals. Then we went home to make the Brazilian treat, brigadeiros. We don't have a lot of experience in the kitchen. We'll never live down the time we were babysitting and had to Google "how to make popcorn." The brigadeiros are supposed to come out like little chocolate balls covered in sprinkles. Ours were more like pancakes. They were still delicious though and we had a little too much fun making them. Here is step 1: butter your hands.
The pictures tell the story.


The only thing missing from these pictures is all the squeals of laughter. After finishing making the brigadeiros, we still were hyper and decided to go toilet-papering. Yes, we are college graduates and decided to toilet paper in Africa. We put on our disguises and toilet papered Henrik's porch and had a blast. We even toilet papered Rambo's leg. (No Lubito did not come back to life. Simba was sold so Henrik got Rambo to keep Gizmo company)










The next morning, Mada made us delicious pancakes and a very tired Henrik joined us. I am going to miss the conversations and laughter with these new friends so much. Here are my kids from Tuesday when we played the review game for the last time.









Wednesday was the last day of school as well as graduation. Here I am with the graduating class: Neel and Natasha. Love these kids. Thursday was my final day full of goodbyes. I said goodbye to our empragada Teresa who I will really miss although we never could really talk. I said goodbye to our bible study group whom I have appreciated so much. We went to the Meat Co together as my last meal with them. Yes, Philip is asleep and wearing a cape. I love it.












There is so much I will miss about my life here. I will miss the continent, the country, the culture and the community. One of my last times driving into the city, we were met with a beautiful scene which seemed prophetic of what my future will be like- what all of our futures will be like.
There is definitely going to be rain in my life, and not just drizzle; it will pour. However, from a different perspective, it is clear that in the midst of the rainstorm, there is a rainbow. I might not be able to see it all times but I know that God's promises are with me always and His beauty is there in the midst of the storm.

Worship in Shiparango

Trav and Emma's pictures

I realize this has nothing to do with my "tales from Mozambique" but I need to take a moment and brag about my family. I just looked at Trav and Emma's engagement pictures and they are INCREDIBLE! I knew that Rachel, the photographer, was amazing but I was super impressed by the pictures and couldn't help but think, "Wow. My brother and future sister-in-law are remarkably attractive." The bunch of these amazing pictures are posted on Rachel's blog which you can access by clicking here and then clicking on the "blog" button and scrolling down to find Trav and Emma.

I looked at the pictures while at school and I confess I grew a bit self-conscious. Glancing down I noticed a big stain on my khaki ankle-length "missionary skirt" which makes me trip all the time. I had on my very comfortable but very uncool according to my sister, hiking sandals and was sporting the classic french braid. As I looked the model joining our family I couldn't help but think, "Crap. I am not ready for the OC again." One thing I have loved about living in Africa is the freedom from the competition and pressure to look nice that I feel in California. Some of you may be thinking- "Katie sure doesn't dress like she's trying to compete with the fashion gu-rus of the OC." And you're right- I don't try to compete but there is definitely a noticeable difference in my attitude about my appearance. It's been so freeing to be here and not care at all how I look- I haven't blow-dried my hair in over a year and I wear the same plain out-fits over and over again-it's been great. I hope this attitude sticks with me when I return to California.

Turning 26 with lions

I have truly had a remarkably blessed life. I have an amazing family and fabulous friends and therefore I've always been made to feel quite special on my birthdays. I've enjoyed many pool parties, slumber parties, toilet papering outings, and scavenger hunts. Some reoccurring items at a typical party included a pinata, banana splits AND cake, cheesy games my dad invented like "who can balance the Squeeze-It bottle on their head the longest," balloons, laughter and fun. When we first moved to Brea, I was just turning 5 and hadn't met anyone yet so my parents invited thee ENTIRE neighborhood. In 3rd grade, my friend Megan and I who is a week younger than I, planned a joint party- we skipped school, puffy painted matching teal shirts, dawned our ultra-cool fanny packs and ran around Disneyland with our moms and 2 other friends for the day. Another memorable birthday was shortly after college when my friends from Westmont called up my friends from high school and we ate an incredible meal in the kitchen of a restaurant, singing "God Bless America" at the top of our lungs. Very surreal.

This year was the first year I was not surrounded by my family on my birthday, well my blood family- I was with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The OC Mozambique team went to Johannesburg, South Africa for a long weekend in order to join the OC South Africa team in saying farewell to the Carlson family who have been the Africa Area directors for a super long time and are moving to Colorado. The Carlsons are an amazing and hilarious family who I got to know a bit in December during our retreat and I also was super excited because I got to stay with the Witherow family. I had met them at the retreat and then when I came home for Christmas, they picked me up in the sketchy bus station and let me stay with them and then took me to the airport. I bonded with their three very fun boys while bouncing on the trampoline and feel incredibly welcome and at ease in their home. I was thrilled to spend my birthday evening with them. The boys had even baked me a cake and helped me with the candles:)







I had a blast with the boys and Heather is such an encourager- I was so glad I got to spend more time with this amazing family before leaving Africa.Yes, it is May I am wearing a scarf. The seasons are opposite from the States so it is almost winter and Joburg gets FREEZING!! I can't remember a time I've been colder.

One thing I really wanted to do while in Joberg was visit the lion park. We drove through the park in a caged truck and it was absolutely amazing to see lions so close. I must admit that it wasn't the same as seeing animals in Kruger because here these are fed and not really in the "wild" so it had a bit of a zoo feeling. The lions are definitely still "wild"though- the guide pointed out the lion which a few years ago killed 2 tourists who tried to pet it. Also, in Kruger one could rarely, if ever, get so close to the lions and watch a bunch of cubs nursing so there is no way I could ever get lion pictures in Kruger like I did here. I took a ton of pictures- here are my favorites:

The first ones we saw are "White lions" and actually can't survive in the wild because of their light color. The male was recently used in a movie.




These lions were in the next area. The males have to be separated.











And I thought my cat had attitude...





Sometimes I have staring contests with random kids when their parents aren't watching. (didn't mean for that to sound so creepy) I also do this with animals sometimes. I don't really know why but I feel the need to create competition all the time. I always win these competitions. However, I chalked up my first loss with the gal on the left. She was a fierce competitor and was staring so intently and I didn't want our truck to get attack so I averted my eyes.



















Sure I prefer to be with my family on my birthday but hanging out with lions was cool too:)
Learned something new and random about lions: they like to spoon. Weird.Probably my favorite part of the journey through the park was when we went off-roading to closely observe this odd family. Although the males usually are all separated, these two are brothers and formed a "coalition" according to the guide. I admit that I'm a bit saddened that polygamy happens in the wild. The two females seem to get along great though.













We showed up just in time for family bath time.












Loved this spunky lil fella. Also, who knew that male lions grew arm pit hair? Odd.













In Kruger, it is considered a huge treat to see a lion sitting in the far distance. I've craned my neck out of cars, strained my eyes through the binoculars and have felt very lucky to even catch a glimpse of a lion sitting in the shade. So being able to park our car right next to these beautiful animals and watch them do more than sit, was a wonderful birthday present. The next picture is my favorite:Next, we were able to pet the lion cubs! Heather warned me not to touch their heads and to pet them hard because they claw you if you touch their head and might mistake your hand for a fly if you don't pet hard. Armed with my "lion-petting tips" I approached the little guy on the left and when he batted at my hand at first I confess that I jumped back and felt like a chicken. These kitties aren't exactly declawed so I feel justified in my wussy behavior.









Lastly, we dropped by to feed the giraffes. Sounds neat huh? By far thee grossest thing I have ever done. I was expecting him to eat the food out of my hand like a horse does. As I was sticking my hand out to offer the snack, a vague memory flashed in my mind of reading that giraffes have incredibly long tongues... I don't get grossed out easily- in fact I usually enjoy looking at some things that others may label as "nasty." But when the giraffe's incredibly long, rough and black tongue wrapped around my entire hand, I almost gagged. I was hoping to get cute pictures of me feeding a giraffe...It did not happen. The others had a great time laughing at me thoroughly disgusted.
This wasn't intended to be one of my "ugly faces" pictures. This is a genuine look of horror and disgust.Can you see the long string of drool stretching from his mouth to my hand? Not cool Geoffry. Not cool.

Overall, it was a wonderful birthday. When I returned to my home in Maputo, I opened the door to my room and was very confused to find the following:


My friends Lisa and Judith had broke into our house (ok, used a spare key) while we were gone to decorate my room with banners, balloons, paper chains and streamers. (aka toilet paper) I've left most of it up because it is so festive and fun. My friend Lisa reminds me a lot of my friend Lesley from home. They both are super smart, have similar mannerisms, are incredibly considerate and know how to make their friends feel special, especially on their birthday. With no way to call me, many of my friends who are very talented vocal artists, were unable to leave their usual beautiful messages. (sarcasm noted?) However, Lesley found a way around this obstacle. I highly recommend you check out her awesome performance:

Lesley's performance

I definitely felt very special and very loved on my birthday, despite being thousands of miles away from my family and "home friends." Having such wonderful friends is not only a blessing, it is a necessity to make strides in my walk with Jesus. I've been learning a lot about accountability this month. It seems to be a common theme lately and I feel like perhaps the Lord is trying to tell me something. The first mention of the importance of accountability was brought up at Bible study. We were finishing Ezra and discussing the importance of repentance and why on earth Ezra listed the names of all the men who had sinned by marrying foreign wives. Our conclusion was that it was a record for the sake of accountability. This led to a great discussion about how to hold our friends accountable and how after we repent of something to the LORD, we should also repent to a friend who can hold us accountable. We compiled a list of questions we could continually ask our friends to make sure we were on the right path. Here are a few of them:

1. Are you justifying any sins? / What justifications are you using?
2. Is there anything or anyone drawing you away from God?
3. What did God do in your life last week?
4. What did you spend most of your time thinking about today?
5. What have you been learning through the scriptures?
6. Is there anything going on in your life right now that you wouldn't want anyone to know about? / Is there anything you are trying to hide?
7. Is there anything you are placing in front of God?
8. Are you doing anything unwise?
9. Are you putting off repenting of anything?
10. Have you just lied?

Then I read a passage from Teresa of Avila about pursuing a virtuous life which reads, "...that is why it is very important for us to associate with others who are walking in the right way. Those who have drawn close to God have the ability to bring us closer to him, for in a sense they take us with them."

Next, I came across Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."

Finally, I listened to a sermon by Mike Erre about how we should live in light of our new identity in Christ. He talked about the disputable "grey areas" in life when we sincerely don't know if something is outside of God's will. (ie- movies to watch, what music we listen to, drinking, etc) He provided a grid to use when deciphering how to act in the "grey areas" which is to ask oneself the following questions:

1- Does is bring dishonor to God's name?
2- Does it compromise my witness or give the appearance of evil?
3- Will I be mastered by this? Is it enslaving?
4- Does it hinder my relationship with Jesus?
5- Does it cause another to stumble?
6- Is it true, noble, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy?

After running the questionable issue through that grid, it is essential that we are also living in community and can ask for our friends' opinions. It is incredibly easy to justify and rationalize everything in our heads which is why we must have accountability if we truly want to live a life pleasing to God.

When I think of birthdays, I will always think of my family and friends. God has showered me with incredible people who make me not only feel special, but hold me accountable and point me on towards the right way.