I wrote you last weekend and the computer froze and I lost it. That never happens on my Mac so I am only assuming you didn't need to read it. I have no idea what it said. Probably more of the same. No electricity. Plans for the week. I made quinoa pancakes.
Last week was full and hectic as are most weeks. I am just now checking emails and messages are a week old.
I have my passport in my possession and will take it again in about 3 weeks for stamping. The current process seems to be working and it is much cheaper than having to leave the country. Thank you for your prayers in that area.
This week two people approached me about coming to work with the school. They both want to help teach English. And by work I mean volunteer. This is a huge answer to prayer. Together, we are forming a curriculum that works within this culture and want to offer formal certification courses in the evenings for the professionals in this area in Portuguese and English. We could potentially charge for the evening courses that we would offer to local businesses and therefore, the school in the day could be self-sufficient! I love that word. We are looking for local English text books that are culturally relevant. We are in desperate need of a formal curriculum and more teachers. It is just impossible to do without proper texts and just two people. I also met with the new director of our Iris primary school. We have 2,500 students there. He is also looking for ways to help me and wants to partner with the work that we are doing.
We are still making big plans for the gift shop and continuing to train girls in the community in sewing. I love being out of the classroom a little and in a creative environment. I get to learn so much more about them and their personalities. The long range plan would be to have the girls creating housewares for the gift shop, giving them jobs, and a safe space to come and learn.
We’ve been dreaming about creating this illusive curriculum but I think it is slowly coming to us. It is coming in the form of creating a gift shop, that needs supplies, that need a sewing school, that need our girls. But it is the original plan fully, to create social businesses that give jobs and vocational training to the poor. We are raising awareness and others are joining us. I hope to be able to share more details with you soon. I have yet to meet with the contractor but hoping that happens this week. I am excited to see what else can happen once this space is created, as we raise up seamstresses, create a line of products, create an online shop and have some of you come and teach what you know! I already have a seamstress, cobbler, and potter in mind! Seriously! I know 3 beautiful women who are each talented in these areas and would love to come and teach here. Can you imagine what bringing these skills to this community would do? Yes, there are skilled artisans here, but they lack infrastructure, supplies, resources, and a market to which to sell. And it is not as much about the product that we make and how we sell it as it is about encouraging these children that they are valued. I loved watching these girls sew a simple hem and beam with pride and giggle at the finished product. It is such a beautiful thing to see.
I was once told that working here is like putting a coffee pot in the refrigerator. The coffee would quickly grow cold in the environment and could not warm up the refrigerator. But if the coffee pot could be plugged into a source and the fridge unplugged, the coffee pot could make a difference. It is a little far reaching analogy but I get it. If I can stay plugged in to the truth and unplug them from the lies, I can make a difference. We can make a difference. The truth is who God is. The Way, the Truth, the Life. The lies are what the enemy wants this nation to believe, they are poor, enslaved, not worthy, not valued, not important. Giving someone skills and cheering them on while doing it obliterates the lie. It tells them they are valued, they are unique, created for a purpose. They are not slaves anymore. Twyfa used to not make eye contact and now she bear hugs. And all we did was thread a needle together. This is such a beautiful thing to see -this transformation.
As I attempted to thaw out the refrigerator today I wondered if this was a prophetic act. I literally open the door and put the hot kettle inside. As I do this I recall this analogy. Because the power goes out, the fridge melts and then freezes over again and it leaks and there are huge chunks of ice around the vegetable bins. I kept trying to whack at them with a knife and then poured hot water on them. The ice was really thick and the knife, nor the hot water was an instant fix. The real fix is, unplugging the fridge, but that requires taking everything out and spoiled milk and melted butter. But I completely got the analogy and realize that it is going to take time and patience. Changing a culture and thus readapting an environment cannot happen overnight.
Meanwhile, I also live out the day to day. Some say this life is easy. We do live quite well here considering. I live better than 99% of the people here. My wallet literally won’t close after I make a withdrawal from the one ATM I have found that lets you withdraw a maximum amount of $300USD or 10,000METS. I live in a proper house with indoor plumbing. Yet for me this life is still hard. I am away from you. I live apart from my own reality. Sometimes I feel like the world is passing me by. I have to think hard to remember what month it is. I rarely read the news or get online. Everything here to me is hard, especially language and transportation and a huge range of cultural differences. It is my life and I am growing accustom to it and I love it, but it is so drastically different from the life I knew for 34 years. Laura mentioned yesterday that she is ready for me to come home where I belong. But then she broke out into “We are the World” and we just laughed rather than cried. Christine called to let 19 month old Axel talk to me over the phone. He has a Southern accent. I do long to be back where I can be a part of their lives, and yours. But I am so fully focused here and there is so much work to be done. A lifetime really. I could never be finished here. But I know the day will come. Just no time soon. A sweet friend wants to set me up with a guy who lives in Anderson. God bless Anderson, but how can one ever dream of living in Anderson after being here? As I go about my routines here and the longer I live here, the more complicated going back gets. It is impossible to explain, but how can one go from life here to life there? I don’t dream anymore about making a lot of money and getting a prestigious job. I don’t even think I could pick out Mitt Romney in a line up and I had to think hard about that name. Having the prettiest lawn in the neighborhood is not a priority. What do you talk about at backdoor BBQ’s? But then I am bemoaning rural South Carolina? I miss Atlanta. If I am coming back, I want to come back to Atlanta and my life of museums and restaurants and parks and concerts and shopping and coffee shops. And how do you go back to your life of opulence while Twyfa is still here struggling in hers? These are the questions I ask myself because you aren’t here to talk to me about them. All the other missionaries are no help because they are in the same boat and the conversation never ends. I do see how very, very different I am and how I will never fit in. It was a good lesson to learn. I am not Mozambican. I am American. I am a minority. It’s been good for me. This week I have missed men who open the door for you and tomato sandwiches.
I am going to turn 35 this week and maybe that’s another reason for all this pontificating. But if I were home eating tomato sandwiches and not having to open doors I would be longing to be here. I am happy. I am excited to see what 35 brings.
Thank you all for giving. The dream is happening!
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