A Christmas Story

Inspired by my grandmother and others who still manage to send out a Christmas letter every year before Christmas, I have decided to spend a short while reflecting on this past year in the form of a Christmas blog. Yesterday, in the Christmas sprit, my friend Stephanie and I spent the afternoon baking three kinds of Christmas cookies. In the evening, we drank hot chocolate and ate popcorn while watching my favourite Christmas movie of all time: White Christmas.  In one of the songs in the movie, Bing Crosby’s soothing voice tells us to count our blessings. I decided to do just that, by reading back through my journal from the past year. To give you a snapshot, here are some excerpts from my journal on the 25^th of each month:

March 25^th, 2013-  [living in a rural village in Cambodia doing MCC SALT program] Taught English to a group of monks and kids at a Wat Chiphoch [Buddhist temple]. Today we learned the parts of the body.

 In March, I was half way through my 1-year SALT term (MCC’s Serving and Learning Together program). Living in rural Cambodia had its challenges, but was an immensely rewarding experience. In March had I had recently accepted a position with MCC in Mozambique to start in September, a month after I returned home from Cambodia. Even though I knew I’d only be in Cambodia for a short while longer, I never regretted for one moment the time and energy I put into getting involved in the community; not an easy task for someone of my nature. Teaching English at the Wat was always rather spontaneous and unorganized, but always fun time.

April 25^th, 2013- Fish and rice, fish and rice. Just in case I ever complain about other food and forget what it was like to eat fish and rice [three times] every day.

 Months after I wrote this, when I was home in Canada with all of the comfort food I so longed for all year, I found to my surprise that I missed rice. 

May 25^th, 2013- If you make tacos without cheese, sour cream, salsa, or lettuce, are they still tacos? Went to the market, got a flat tire, fixed the flat, hand-washed my laundry, and it is only 10 in the morning! (and did I mention I also slept in?!)

 Ah, making tacos with my host family in Cambodia. I managed to find taco seasoning and taco shells in one of the more western supermarkets in the big city, but couldn’t carry (or keep) the necessary produce.  My host family certainly didn’t know any different, and though they didn’t taste the same, they were still good!  Last year I also came to enjoy waking up early- 6AM was sleeping in. 6:30 was REALLY sleeping in! I could get so much done in the cool of the morning and enjoyed the quiet for reading my bible and journaling.

June 25^th, 2013- Went along for a sustainable agriculture training session with my Cambodian co-workers. I am finally able to talk with the farmers and answer all of the introductory questions they ask. Sad to be leaving Cambodia so soon.

 I learned to much in Cambodia about agriculture, farmer’s lives, the economics of conservation agriculture, the politics and social issues surrounding the same, farmer’s cooperatives, and how to know when is a good time to share and when is a good time to learn. People often ask what I studied at university. I learned more of real importance, applicability, and value in my one year in Cambodia than I would have in a lifetime in the library. It was a lot of work learning the Khmer language, but such a joy when I finally mastered some basic conversation. Whenever I met people for the first time, they always asked me “where are you from? How old are you? Are you married? I love your nose.”

My farewell party with the ODOV staff in Cambodia

 July 25^th, 2013- [on my way home from Cambodia, stopped in Akron Pennsylvania at the retreat centre for orientation prior to going to Mozambique] Went to the MCC material resources centre in Akron and found an old 1930’s edition Bird of North America written by the legendary Thomas Nuttall. Unbelievably happy!

 Birds, birds, birds. If you know me at all, you know I love birding. What a blessing to be able to experience the beauty of God’s creation this year- from the rice paddies of Prey Veng, to the lush forests of Northern Cambodia, from Canada’s beautiful bay of Fundy to Victoria Falls in Zambia, from Kruger National Park in South Africa, to the Mozambican bush. I’d never thought I’d get to experience so much, nor see so many different birds!

August 25^th, 2013- [Back in Canada for 1 month homeleave] Left bright and early to start off for Ontario, bringing my sister Janet to the university of Waterloo. Learning to drive standard along the way!

 It was so refreshing to be home again for a couple of months. To be sure, I experienced some reverse culture shock (not to mention the shock of the cold August night air). But I was very happy to be home. Before Janet went to university, we had a lovely month of camping, visiting the grandparents and friends, and eating LOTS of food with cheese. A highlight was when the 6 of us went on a 4 day backpacking trip around Cape Chignecto in Nova Scotia- a time to remember!

The Standens in Fundy National Park. Photo credit: Rebekah Hudson.

September 25^th, 2013- [in Zambia for Farming God’s Way training before going to Mozambique] Learned compost making and more about Farming God’s Way in Livuyu village just outside of Livingstone, Zambia. What a beautiful people here!

 Back on into the world of the unknown, of change. A world where adaptability is key. A world where it seems everyone else but you knows what’s going on (likely because this is true). My confidence is firmly placed in God alone.

October 25^th, 2013- [in Mozambique] I have a Portuguese Bible now! I have started slowly reading some of the parables and the book of Romans.

 I am now coming along quite well in Portuguese. I would be even better if I talked more… but some things don’t change.

November 25, 2013- Kids morning at church today in Beira, Mozambique. 4 hours long. 4 and a half for those who didn’t arrive late as we did. Made a delicious lentil curry with host sister Zuleca for supper while my host parents were out.

Starting to feel much at home with my host family. They are such warm-hearted and loving people!

Making pizza with my host family in Beira, Mozambique.

Back in Canada, I am used to measuring the passage of time by the coming and going of the sun and the seasons, of snow and showers, of school and summer holidays. I have to keep reminding myself that, despite the lack of these it is still very much the end of December, and Christmas is tomorrow. No, this past year has not been easy; He never said it would be. But oh, it has been good. I fall asleep tonight counting my blessings, knowing that will morning will come long before I can ever recount all the wonderful things God has done. 

Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas!

Rebecca

The story of Rebecca’s journey home from the magical land of Oz.

Lions, and leopards, and Lilac Breasted Rollers, oh my!

One of my colleagues at MCC got married this past weekend in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. She has been working there for the past three and a half years, met a Mozambican, fell in love, and you know the rest. We all traveled to the city to celebrate their marriage. It was a lovely time. Since most of the rest of the MCC’ers (including myself) live in harder to get to places, we took advantage of being in the city to go on vacation as it is much cheaper and easier to travel from there! Another Canadian family who’ve been working in the north of Mozambique invited me along for a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing.

In addition to seeing lions and leopards (twice!), we saw impala, many other small antelope, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, African painted dogs (endangered wild dogs), hyenas, crocodiles, hippos, buffalo, bush-babies, mongooses (mongeese?), warthogs, baboons, other monkeys, and much more! I got to see the hyenas very close up- they have developed the habit of patrolling the campground fence searching for leftovers people have chucked over the side. I came to my tent one night and there were six glowing hyena eyes not 5 feet from where I was standing. I knew they couldn’t pass the electric fence that lay between us, but it gave me the chills to see them so close nonetheless! As I turned off my light I heard the swish of their feet in the grass, off to find a more promising site.

We stayed in Kruger Park for three nights. Every morning we got up and left the campground at 5:30AM, came back for a late breakfast, and went out again mid-afternoon.  The family I was with knows I am something of a birder, and were kind enough to stop the car every time we saw an interesting bird on the side of the road. Their 6 year old son also has an interest in birds, so at least they weren’t stopping just for me. I’m beginning to understand how normal people feel around birders though. It wasn’t long before I was thinking “oh yay, another zebra… OH LOOK! A RED-NECKED FRANCOLIN! We’ve only seen a Crested Francolin so far!!!!” We weren’t allowed to leave the car, which makes birding rather difficult, but nevertheless, I saw 38 lifers that trip, which is amazing as it was raining half the time! I won’t bore you with a list, but here are pictures of a couple. The first is, you guessed it, a lilac breasted roller (only this is a juvenile, so he’s not so lilacy just yet)...

Lilac Breasted Roller. When they are adults they have bright blue wings and bright purple chests and wonderfully long tail feathers. The only reason I bothered taking a picture of this one with my small camera is because I couldn’t tell at first WHAT he was.

African Janaca- a bird with unbelievably long toes!

Zebra...

Zebra with a Red-Billed Oxpecker on his back!

For all you mammal lovers. 

And finally, a vervet monkey with his adorable unibrow.

 And now, after a short but amazing holiday, I am back in Beira. I think the best part of being away for a small vacation was the glorious feeling of coming home again that I experienced upon my return. It was my first time being way from Beira since I’ve arrived. I didn’t know how I would feel coming back, but it felt great. Pastor Madeira and his wife waited up for me, even though my plane was several hours late and I didn’t come in until 1AM. I sat down and ate the supper they left out for me, not because I felt obliged to, but because I wanted to. They left a note on my pillow saying “Welcome home! We are happy you are here again!” Sunday morning I slept in late, being exhausted from my much delayed and slightly stressful flight home. I asked if it was OK if I stayed home from church this once. Pastor Madeira said, “that is fine. In fact, that is perfect, you can prepare lunch for us! We will be leaving soon after church to go to a graduation ceremony in the afternoon; you can join us for that. Also, you have homework: have a half-hour devotion time and when I come back, tell me what you learned.” No rest for the wicked!

I was surprised to find when I got home that it was already half way through December! I dug out my Christmas decorations last night: a tiny tree that stands about 15 cm tall, some Christmas tree decorations that dwarf the tree, but oh well, and a string of lights that I put over my mirror. As I was decorating, I cranked the music- nothing brings back memories of putting up the tree at home like Barbara Streisand’s Jingle Bells! Yesterday at the office, I sat enjoying a delicious cup of Sleigh Ride tea from David’s Tea, thanks to my dear sister Janet who sent it from Canada. This time I listened to Bing Crosby & the Andrews sisters and watched the palm trees sway, dreaming of a white Christmas. It’s not that I’m pining for slush covered streets and frozen finger tips, but there is something magical about snow at Christmas time that palm trees can’t quite pull off.

Blessings this Christmas Season

Rebecca

The story of why I stopped telling stories (...and then started again)

Before I get to the bit that explains the title of this post, I do have a couple of stories to share. They were written a few weeks ago, but I never got around to posting them for reasons I’ll share at the end of this post…

Last week was full of excitement at MCC. In our tiny office, we hosted partner meetings attended by 25 people from the region who work with MCC. Being new to MCC and not yet fluent in Portuguese, I was given the option of helping out in the kitchen instead of attending the meetings, which I gladly accepted. Aziza, our cook/housekeeper, was in charge of cooking for 25 people for three days, and did a marvelous job of it! The food was delicious, plentiful, and on time every day! Stephanie (MCC SALT volunteer) and I did whatever Aziza asked of us to help prepare. I cut so many vegetables on Wednesday that I got a blister on my finger! I washed countless plates and cups. I peeled several cups of garlic cloves. My hands smelt like garlic for days afterwards. And for the first time since arriving, I felt helpful, useful, and like I sort of knew what was going on. It was oh so satisfying to be the one standing in the hallway with a towel and a basin in my arms, pouring water so the guests could wash their hands.

Things are ever eventful and exciting in the Madeira household, where I am having my homestay. I went with pastor Madeira, his wife, and Stephanie to visit the church in Mafambisse, a small town not far from Beira. While there, I was greeted by every single member of the church, and consequentially, was kissed on the cheek some 200 times. We’ve started having evening prayer time with everyone in the family at home. The only problem is that sometimes these Bible study times don’t start until 9:30 or 10 at night, by which time my brain has long since shut off. I try my best to be focused and pay attention, but after a whole day of not understanding most of what goes on around me, I eventually hit a wall. One thing I really do enjoy though is the singing that starts off every prayer time. Not that I am particularly good at singing, and I am only beginning to learn the song, but Pastor Madeira is determined to make the 6 of us sing in 4 part harmony. This causes no end of hilarity and laughter because we always fail terribly. The 4-year-old girl can sort of follow the tune; the 11-year-old boy is practicing the bass lines because he likes those best, but obviously doesn’t have the voice for it yet; the teenage boy is still trying to figure out what octave he belongs in; and I am doing my best just to stumble along with the words. None of this lets pastor Madeira down. Sometimes we are made to repeat a song until we get it right (or at least closer to right).

I mentioned to Pastor Madeira last week that I wanted to help out a bit more with chores around the house, but explained that being new, it is hard to know what to do, or how to jump in and help out. Ever the proactive planner, he devised a new dish-washing rotation that has me doing the dinner dishes the following morning every day. It’s nice to be able to help out with something, and I am always up plenty early in the mornings anyway. When my host brother came in the kitchen the other day and saw me finishing the dishes and setting out breakfast, that was the first time he addressed me Mana (sister) Rebecca. I guess I am part of the family now.    

This week I am heading off to Maputo to attend the wedding of a fellow MCCer who is marrying a Mozambican. That is on Saturday. Sunday, I am traveling with another MCC couple and their 5 year old son to Kruger National Park. I’ll be camping there for three days, spending two days in Nelspruit, South Africa, taking a bus to Maputo, and then flying back to Beira on December 14^th. I am looking forward to the vacation. It will be short, but sweet. And, for those of anxiously wondering, I did get my visa process sorted out! Praise God! Still waiting for the final residence paperwork to come through, but there is no time pressure now.

Some of you may have been wondering at my long absence from the blog world, facebook, and my general lack of communication over the month. There is a reason for this. Not necessarily a good one, but a reason. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, the political situation in Mozambique has been tense the past couple of months. There have been attacks on the highways and people are accusing the government of fraud and corruption surrounding recent municipal elections. People have been waiting for leaders of FRELIMO (currently in power) and RENAMO (opposing side in the 16 year civil war that ended in the early 90’s) to meet and begin dialogue to ease the tensions.  Because of this, though I am safe in the city, it has not been possible for me to get out to Machanga, where I am to start teaching next year. The location of the attacks on vehicles on the highway happens to be at the turnoff to the road that eventually leads to Machanga. I admit it has been a bit discouraging not knowing what way the situation would go.  Being in a constant state of uncertainty made it hard to communicate with people at home what my plans are, as they are constantly changing. I was hoping that after a couple weeks it would all blow over and our nice plan would fall smoothly into place. But I have to accept that the Mozambique is going through a significant time, and learn to adapt accordingly; to take joy in the experiences I am having now, the friendships that are growing, and the lessons I am learning. I have so many stories to tell now. I don’t need to wait until I get to Machanga to start telling them.

More to come soon.

Yours truly,

Rebecca

PS photos from the past two months to come soon! I am in the process from trying to get them from a friend.