Doing the Mozzie Disco
May 23, 2010 - Monica
The "Mozzie Disco" as it is affectionately referred to as is a Wycliffe Discovery trip to Mozambique. Here's an update on my trip!
One week left until I am off to Mozambique! Everything is really crazy as I'm trying to wrap up packing and all of my preparations. I leave this coming Sunday, May 30 and will join the rest of my team at JFK. From there we'll fly through South Africa to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Then we fly to a city in the north called Nampula. -cultural understanding
-spiritual growth
-team bonding and unity
-direction for future vocation
-processing and transitioning to Brazil in the fall
Manic Monday
May 24, 2010 - Megan
I don't know what word other than overwhelmed to use to explain how I feel right now. I leave early Sunday morning. The whole "packing and being in another country for six weeks" thing isn't what's weighing me down. Thats the easy stuff. I'm Soooo excited to go on this trip. I am so ready to just go. All the implications of what this trip will mean in the end is what's on my mind. Missions is something that I have always been open to. That, I'm not afraid of. I'm not even really afraid. I guess I'm just anxious to see how this trip works out, and how the rest of my life will follow. I'm not expecting this trip to be God's only word on the subject of going into missions when I "grow up." I'm not foolish enough to think, if this is harder than I thought then I shouldn't pursue missions work later on. I'm just a bit of a control freak and would like to know now.
A blag? On my wobsite?
May 25, 2010 - Brad
It's more likely than you think.
I've never had one before, so I make no promises about how often I'll actually update it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
This page looks a bit plain, I know. I'm severely lacking in the graphic design department.
Check here for the most updated info on moz!
May 26, 2010 - Jess
Welcome to my moz blog!
Here, you will be able to keep an update of what’s been happening as I prepare for the trip and what I will be doing while on the trip. I will be using this blog more often than sending you e-mails, as this will be an easier way to keep you updated and it will also allow me to post and share photos easily.
I’m sorry for taking so long for sending the latest updates, as most of you know I am currently and furiously preparing for the trip, of which i’m leaving in 3 days. eeeekkk Packing has been a huge challenge, as it is in my Chinese DNA to overpack. Packing minimally as proved to be difficult, however I am almost there. As you can see below, God has been good with providing the financial funding that is needed for me to go on this trip. I would like to thank all of you for your partnership with me on this trip. Without your support I would not be able to go on this trip. So thank you.
STAY TUNED.
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prayer requests: 1. to use my time wisely and make sure everything is done and ready to go before I leave for moz.  2. for God to watch over me and my team mates and protect us as we all travel from different areas of the US and me in CAN to meet up in NY as we continue our leg of the trip to moz. (It will take us 3 days to travel there and back). 3. please continue to pray that God would continue to prepare the hearts of the people there and also mine.
days till moz: 3
financial support: $4 309.83 / $5 600
880 miles later
May 26, 2010 - Monica
After many correspondences with my soon-to-be university in Brazil, one certified letter, a visit to the sherrif's department, one $170 postal money order, and two trips to the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami (LOTS of driving) I finally have my visa!! Which also means I have my passport back, and just in the nick of time.
Prep Pack and Pray
May 27, 2010 - Cassie
Okay sorry for the cheesy title. I still think it's kinda cute :)
Anyway,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a blog now and that I am in the process of getting ready for Mozambique. I have been packing all day and preparing myself for this trip. I really don't know what to expect there ( I guess I will find out what I actually expected when something doesn't meet my expectations).
I am a bit nervous because I've never been out of the US for that long. I have been on several trips outside the US but they have only been for two weeks long each. I think I am more prone to homesickness the longer I am away from home. Yesterday I was driving with my dad and I was just looking at the blue sky and noticed how pretty the clouds were just floating there. Then I realized that I was going to miss them. I started noticed the landscape of my hometown and how beautiful I thought they were. These past two years I have definitely learned that "you don't know whatcha got 'til it's gone." It's not like I have lost my hometown or that I won't ever see it again, but I just never thought I would take it for granted and really miss it.
I think one thing that I am looking forward to are the people that I am going to meet there, both on my team and from Mozambique. I am so glad that God has blessed me with someone to go with from school. I think it will make the homesickness easier.
So I have been praying about this trip as well. I know that this trip won't be for God's glory if it's not smothered in prayer by others and me. I have been praying that God will prepare my heart and that I will seek to participate in what He is already doing in Mozambique. I pray that I would be extra sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to fully rely on His power during this whole trip. God has really been teaching me what it means for Him to be my shelter instead of myself. I have been reading passages like Psalm 91, 23, and 62. I have seen His financial provision for this trip and seen that He is always faithful. Even if He didn't provide all the money for this trip, He would still be completely faithful and would have another plan for me for this summer. Thank you again to everyone who donated to my trip. I am so thankful and grateful that you would support me and go with me, in a sense, on this project. Thank you again for those you have been praying for me and continue to pray for me. Without all of you, this trip would not be happening and could not be possible.
Another way that God has been preparing me is that He has gently shown me my weaknesses. He has shown me areas where I have not trusted Him or things that I have been prone to. He has shown me how I deal with difficult things (ie finals, finances, anger, etc.). He has shown me my attitude towards the people I love and how He gives me the grace to love them, even when it's difficult. The Lord will continue to be faithful in this trip and I have faith that He will guide me where He wants me to be. Praise God that He is so gracious and loving.
Prayer requests: Pray that God would continue to prepare me for this trip and would be the center of it. Pray that God would give me opportunities to tell others of His faithfulness to me in Mozambique or wherever I am. Pray that God would be preparing good works in advance for me to do (Eph. 2:8-9). Please pray for safe travel and immunity from sickness for my team. Pray that the joy of the Lord would be our strength. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads.
In Christ, who holds everything together by His Word (Col. 1:17),
Cassie
Off to Mozambique!
May 29, 2010 - Maggie
I've had this blog for a year now, but this is the first time I've gotten around to posting. I woke up at 5 this morning--not to catch a flight, just because I'm excited and nervous and wired. I leave for Mozambique today! And no time like the present to actually get to starting my blog.
AND THE TRIP BEGINS!
May 29, 2010 - Jess
this morning leaving from calgary was a joyous thing since there was a blizzard last night. I KNOW IN MAY. anyways this morning i woke up to a brand new blanket of white, and it was at least 5 cm. So now I’m stuck in LA (and thank God i found free wireless) for the next eight hours just to go back to the east, to NY. I guess it isn’t that bad since i’ll be collecting tonnes of miles by the end of this trip!
3:00 am
May 30, 2010 - Monica
I'm on my way! Here I am at the good ole MCO, Orlando International Airport. Unfortunately, the airport ticketing doesn't even open until 4! So until then I'll continue to chat it up in the lonely terminal with my mom, make sure my luggage doesn't weigh too much, and procure a tasty treat from Starbucks!
Crossing Oceans
May 30, 2010 - Lisa
First, I want ti apologize for keeping you all in the dark these last few weeks. Between finals, work, finding housing for next semester, and preparing for the trip I just couldn't get on!
With that said...I'm happy to say that I am posting this from JFK airport in New York, awaiting to board my flight to South Africa...which will then take me to MOZ!!! (Yes, we say Moz, it's just shorter ;) ). I am so overwhelmed by all of the support that God has provided through friends, family, and finances. It all came together, and to God be all the glory.
Please continue to pray for safe travels for all of us, and that God would sustain us!
I have to keep this short because we only get 20 minutes of complimentary Wifi, but I wanted to just give a quick update! Hopefully the next time I post it will be from Nampula!
-Lisa
Airport
May 31, 2010 - Megan
So the first two flights were fine. I really didn't get much sleep. My legs never fell asleep though! Well we have been hanging out in South Africa's airport for the last 4 hours. Our 945 flight got overbooked and we were bumped to the next flight at 1. So we have another hour before we can fly out. It ended up being a blessing cause we had time to brush our teeth and clean up in the bathrooms. This is going to be interesting :)
I made it!
June 3, 2010 - Maggie
I made it! Today was my second full day in Nampula at the SIL center.
It's been busy getting to know the team, practicing Portuguese (Here it's strangely more comprehensible than the Brazilian or Portugal varieties), getting all orientated, and getting over jet lag Things here are good. Tiring, but good. My body is convinced that it's still 3 in the afternoon, not 10 at night, and I'm posting this through an intermediary back home because I'm too sleepy-awake-wired to be patient and blog from here. I will try to update more tomorrow, but for now: I'm safe, I'm healthy, and I'm loving it thus far.
Now it's off to bed for me. There's a bat that sounds like an alarm hanging out by our house making noise all night. But maybe tonight I'll be used to it.
Até amanha! (until tomorrow)
Maggie
Sounds of Mozambique
June 4, 2010 - Monica
My first night in Mozambique my team stayed in Maputo and at about 2:00 in the morning both my roommate Carrie and I woke up. (I think I'm finally over the jet lag!) For the next couple of hours we both laid there under the mosquito tent covering our beds and tried to discern what could possibly be making the noise we were hearing. It was very rhythmic and electronic sounding, just a small little beep every other second or so, but it sounded like it moved throughout the house. We talked about it at breakfast the next morning and all of our team had heard it, but no one could figure out what it was, until Will (our fearless and wise meta-data-minded team leader) informed us that it was a bat! Or a "mocho." Now every night we fall asleep to the sometimes quiet and sometimes not so quiet (although by 9:00 we're too tired to care!) beeping of the mocho.
Another sound that we experience every day is the singing of the cooks! To summon us to each meal the Mozambicans sing and let us know that the food is ready. It's really fun! Singing seems to be really important here. The first night our host asked us if we wanted to sing a song before dinner and when we all looked around at each other very confused she informed us that it was unacceptable for any group of young people to not know how to sing! Since then we've been learning a short song or two each day in Portuguese and English.
In a nerdier, linguistics sense, over the past two days I've been learning all about the sounds of Mozambique! In our orientation we've been going over Bantu sound systems (Bantu is the language family in southern Africa) and just today I received the phonetic inventory of the language I'm going to be helping with in Milange! My team and I leave on Monday for this "vila."
Please be praying for safe travels (I'll right more about the crazy "chapas" later) and healthy, godly relationships. It's been great going off on all of these excursions into town and getting to know both my team and the people here. I'm looking forward to more!
so it's almost been a week. and the bat beeps on!
June 4, 2010 - Jess
i’m sorry for taking so long to update. as you can see, there is internet here but it’s a little sketch. apparently we’ve been having some internet issues the past couple of days, so sorry if i couldn’t be online to catch up or just fill you in! it’s been going SO WELL here over in moz. the kitchen crew (all Mozambicans) are feeding us both american and traditional moz food so it’s been a good transition. so MOM and DAD I’M EATING VERY WELL. the 20 something hour plane ride in three days seemed to take forever, but we finally got there with nothing lost. it was amazing. no luggage or people so GOD IS WITH US! thank you for those who have consistently prayed for us. it has definitely helped on the other side.
it’s time for dinner (my team mates are cooking, and so i’ll be back to write more!)
And the Bat Beeps On...
June 5, 2010 - Lisa
The the title of this post was loaned to me by my good Mozzie Discovery friend/housemate Jess Yu! We have a bat who likes to beep us to sleep every night.
I have been in Mozambique for almost a week now, but it feels like I've been here for much longer. Our first week has been spent in orientation. We have been learning a little Portuguese, mastering getting around town using public transportation, and learning more about Makhuwa culture. It was been really fast pace up to this point, but it has been very enjoyable. Nampula is a beautiful place, and since it's winter here the weather is beautiful, ranging from 60-mid 70's every day.
I am living in a house on the SIL compound with three other girls from our team. We have internet for the most part as well as running water and electricity. Hot water is hard to come by, so I am definitely mastering the art of the bucket bath!
The last couple of days we have been riding the chapas into town in the afternoon to explore and shop in the market. A chapa is essentially THE public transportation. It is a mini-bus that is built to fit 15 people, but it normally winds up being 20! We were split into teams to make dinner for one another the last two nights. Last night was our night so we rode the chapa into town and with the help of our amazing guides/translators we bought ingredients in the market and bakery to make spaghetti, garlic bread, fresh green beans, and a banana-papaya fruit salad. It was quite tasty!
Next week I will probably begin working here at the center in Nampula. I'm not sure what I will be doing yet, but I'm excited to start!
Thank you all for your prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for the physical health of the team and safe travels for those members who will be leaving this Monday for their assignments in various parts of the country.
My time is almost up, hopefully I will be able to update at least once or twice a week from now on as we seem to have sufficient internet.
-Lisa
Day 7
June 5, 2010 - Megan
Today is our first day without anything scheduled. Tomorrow we get to go Moz churches which will be amazing!! This week has been intense and for a lack of better vocabulary "Face melting." We have one week with real linguistically legit people telling us about the languages in the country. Its really interesting and interactive. They have us practice making sounds that the English vocab does not have. So its pretty funny to listen to us try like fools to shape the sounds. This afternoon is free time so a bunch of us are going to go into town and shop. We know our way around so its pretty cool to be a grown up and not have to hold someone's hand to go shopping. My Portuguese is pretty basic. Spanish really did help me have a good base to pick up. I know all my numbers up to 200 in spanish and they are basically the same in Port. so Shopping is a breeze. They add a lot of SH and Ch/Sh to the send of words so I get a little confused but can basically figure it out.
Nampula
June 5, 2010 - Cassie
Sorry I haven't updated my blog since I've been here. The internet isn't as reliable as the US, so if I don't update in a few days, just be patient. I will eventually. :-)
Wow. A lot has happened since I last updated. The plane ride was really long, but praise God that everything we smoothly. Everyone got there in one piece and so did all of our luggage. Apparently it's a miracle or something. So Friday I got up in time to have coffee with Chad and Madi before I took the train to my school. Then I did some errands that day and mostly hung out with the few people still on campus, my beautiful roommate, Candace, included. :-) Saturday I hung out with Candace and watched part of the graduation ceremony. I packed and met Lisa so that we could meet her parents and to hang out for a bit before we went to the airport. We met Jess, a girl from Canada on our team, and we all flew out of LAX to JFK, which was a five hour flight. Then we met up with the rest of our team at JFK and flew to Johannesburg, which was a fifteen hour flight. From there we flew from Joburg to Maputo (pronounced Maputu), which was only an hour. We went from the airport to a missionary center called Casa Koinonia, where we stayed for a day. We didn't have time (or energy) to go out and explore the capital, but perhaps we will when we return in July. After sleeping very well (at least I did :-) we left early for the airport to fly to Nampula, which took two hours. So it took three days to get there and 23 hours in the plane.
When we arrived in Nampula, David picked us up at the airport and we drove to the SIL Mozambique center. After moving our things into our houses, we had lunch, which was very welcome to a weary group and was pretty familiar. We had an initial meeting, which was thankfully short and then we were free until dinner. After dinner everyone was so tired that I think most of us went to bed as soon as we could.
Well I don't think I can give you everything we have done in the whole week, but I will give you the highlights. :-)
Monday-arrived in Nampula
Tuesday-learning some Portuguese, culture, and information about living on the center in Nampula, went into town
Wednesday-more Portuguese, culture, information, linguistic workshop, went into town
Thursday-Portuguese, culture, information, linguistic workshop, went into town (shopping), cooking for half of our team
Friday-Portuguese, culture, information, linguistic workshop, went into town (museum), the other half cooked for us
Saturday-devotional and workshop until lunch, and the rest will follow...
Overall, I love the team that I am a part of and I am enjoying every part of life in Nampula.
so it's been almost a week. have you missed me yet???
June 5, 2010 - Jess
ME AND MEGAN!
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i am beginning to miss a little bit of home now.
not too much. but just a little. i miss my bed, of which does not cave in when i lie down on it. CHINESE FOOD. where is that in africa? hahahha i was actually talking to a mozambican yesterday and he said that there was one chinese shop in town. he said he would take me yesterday but it never happened because he didn’t show up to our trip to the museum!!! so disappointing. hahaha but yeah yesterday we went to the museum in town. it was only two floors! essentially two large rooms. it was interesting in the fact that it had artifacts that are specifically related to mozambican history and culture. it was interesting. THEN THE BEST PART:
WE WENT TO A BAKERY! and i got to share a chocolate donut with my teammate, cassie. IT WAS SO GOOD. like REAL CHOCOLATE.
since this was the first week since we got to nampula, they’ve been intensively preparing us for the coming weeks. orientation week has been filled with linguistic and phonetics lessons since the main reason why we’re here in
moz is to do be involved with the ongoing linguistic projects. did you know that mozambique has more than 500 LANGUAGES? no, it’s not DIALECTS, but LANGUAGES. so there’s tonnes of work to do here regarding recording linguistics, language and then utilizing it to produce Bibles. they are really understaffed here (as in always with missions work) and so please pray for SIL Mozambique (where we’re staying at) and that God would continue to work through the staff to reach the unreachable.
i love traveling to the town, in what we call a chappa. it’s like a hong kong mini va
n bus thing, except it’s lacking in the safety area. the “max” number of people that are supposedly allowed on these buses are 15 people. however i’ve been on one so far with 21, and so that is the number to beat. and let me tell you, these vans are not meant for tall people. you’re so screwed if you’re tall…there’s barely any leg room for me. and dude i’m short. so you get the picture. plus you fit four to a seat, regardless of how big you are, so IT’S QUITE AN ADVENTURE. next time i should take a picture of the inside and outside and i’ll post it on here for you to see what we have to get on in order to get the town.
and since i’m the only asian on the team i kind of stick out, especially we’re in town. there was a time when a smaller group of us were walking down the street and these african ladies started to make these stereotypical chinese so
unds. and at first i didn’t know how to respond to that, but after thinking about it, all you could really do is laugh about.
ohhh they’re burning something outside. i’m going to go check it out.
keep checking the blog for more updates! feel free to leave comments on my comment page!
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prayer requests: 1. more than half of my team will be leaving on monday to the bush (to villages) to do some linguistics work with the people there. please pray for God’s protection and safety as they travel there either on bus or on the plane. 2. for those who are staying in the compound, please pray for God to use us effectively in areas that need work. Regardless of what the job is, that we are able to do it to the best of our abilities. 3. thank God for being with us throughout this week. so far, nothing has been lost, stolen or no one has been hurt. everyone is dong well so PRAISE GOD!
financial support: $5 309.83 / $5 600
CIAO!
I'm surrounded by linguists
June 5, 2010 - Brad
Well, we made it, and so did all of our luggage. "We" consists of myself, ten others more or less my age, and Will Reiman, our fearless leader and translator. We flew in to Maputo on Monday, spent the night there, and arrived here in Nampula on Tuesday morning.
We've spent the past few days getting to know each other, some of the people here, and a bit about the culture and language. Some of the orientation has been very much focused on linguistics, which is completely new to me but quite fascinating. They've got crazy detailed systems for describing and classifying sounds.
We've been staying on the SIL training center so far. Six or so people and Will will leave for various locations to do very linguistical stuff. From what I understand, it involves making recordings (audio and video) of native speakers of a language, then going through the recordings and analyzing and transcribing them with their crazy phonetic system. Four others and I are staying here. I'll find out more about what we're doing on Monday, since the main focus thus far has been getting everything ready for those who are departing Monday.
I will also begrudgingly admit that taking Spanish might not have been a complete waste of time after all. Portuguese is surprisingly similar, so I'm able to get a basic idea of what most of the signs say. It's not really helping me understand it when people speak it, though.
From Nampula to Milange
June 9, 2010 - Monica
The next day our plan to rent a bus was thwarted and the only transportation option left was the back of an open-air truck! That was quite the experience. I think the highest count of people was 27, plus a rooster or two. I have no idea how that many people with that much stuff fit in such a small space! Mozambicans have a way of staying put—they never need to stretch or more or adjust anything. I don’t know how they do it but they can jump on with all their stuff and a couple kids and sit for hours. We Americans get real figidity real fast. In the states we have the luxury of prioritizing comfort, but it's not that way here. 
Maggie and I wore capulanas to keep the dusty road on the road and not on us!
This was the truck we came in. The whole trip took about six or seven hours. 
Baked Oatmeal
June 11, 2010 - Monica
I’ve recently stumbled upon a tasty breakfast treat! The Shrums made us delicious baked oatmeal for breakfast one morning and I stole the recipe. :) Here it is if you want to have a taste:
Combine: ½ cup oil, ½ cup sugar, 2 eggs
Add: 3 cups uncooked oatmeal, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup milk
Pour into greased 9x9 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Serve with warm milk, sugar, and cinnamon.
Tudo Bęn
June 11, 2010 - Lisa
So the internet has been down for the last few days, but thanks to a lot of hard work from Roland, the computer guy, and a fellow Discovery intern, Brad, our internet can now be used inside our house!
In Portuguese, Tudo Bęn means 'all is well.' It sums up nicely how I am feeling at this point. I feel a lot more settled in here, and am working pretty consistently everyday. The weather has been beautiful since it is winter here. It is mostly sunny, and doesn't seem to reach above 80 degrees. I wake up at about 6am everyday, and am in bed no later than 9:30pm, so I have been getting a healthy amount of rest!
This week Cassie and I are working with Oliver, an amazing linguist and expert consultant on Bantu languages, on an orthography document for the Chuwabo language spoken in and around Quelimane in the central part of Mozambique. We are putting together a list of the difficult aspects of the orthography to show a visiting consultant next week. After conferring with him, he will take the document to Quelimane to present to the community so that they can make decisions on these difficult areas. We are also working on some publications that we can take down there with us when we travel to Quelimane next week. I am enjoying every minute of my work here. Also seeing how a linguist like Oliver works is a real privilege. There has also been a translation team here on site that just finished up the translation of Ephesians into Kimwani today! Unfortunately I did not get a formal observation time with them, but it was really neat to see them at work when I was able to pop in! Seeing all these various stages in Bible Translation has been such a cool experience. It makes me that much more excited about future career opportunities after university.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I am still in awe that God has brought me here and so thankful for it. Please continue to pray for health and travel safety for my team. A lot of have been and will be traveling around the country. Also pray for our families back home as they are really beginning to feel our absence. Lastly, pray that God will continue to use our lives to impact Mozambique, and that we would be open to how God is using Mozambique to impact us!
-Lisa
Another week ends
June 11, 2010 - Brad
There's a lot more to Bible translation than I had imagined. It's really cool to be able to see just a few of the many steps happening. Part our team is doing language documentation, which is basically gathering a bunch of data about an undocumented language and, well, documenting it. One thing they do is make audio and video recordings of native language speakers speaking, then analyze their recordings to find out exactly what sounds a language contains, what "rules" exist that specify where certain sounds may appear in relation to other sounds and word boundaries, and a bunch of other stuff that I only have a vague understanding of. Then they have to make a writing system, actually start translating, and a plethora of other steps that I know nothing about. There's a small group of people that have been staying here the past few days that are busy translating Ephesians into some language that I forget the name of, and it's neat to pass by the room where they're sitting and to realize each time what an important thing they're doing.
This week I've spent a lot of time with the computer department, whose name is Roland. (He's also the finance department.) A large part of what I've been doing is troubleshooting the network problems they've been having here, and learning quite a bit about This week I've spent a lot of time with the computer department, whose name is Roland. (He's also the finance department.) A large part of what I've been doing is troubleshooting the network problems they've been having here, and learning quite a bit about networking in the process. (Pity I'm not taking a networking class until this fall...) But now it seems like it's working pretty well; it just needed someone to spend a few days trying to locate the problem. Roland doesn't have the time to do that (he's extraordinarily busy with all the stuff he does around here), so I'm glad I was able to help with that. Another project I'm working on is converting Paratext documents (created by one of the main computer programs that Bible translators use) to SWORD modules for use by various other software. I was amused when I found I'd be finding ways of converting files from one format to another, since that was a large part of what I did last summer at CCEL.
Well, that's a lot of writing for me. The sheer volume of activity going on here, the missionaries and translators coming and going and working, the pastors of local churches who come here, the church services... it's incredible to see how much God is doing here. It's also encouraging for me to see how much stuff they have for us to do and how much they appreciate our help here.
My Fair Lady
June 11, 2010 - Monica
The Friday night tradition at the Shrum’s house is pizza and a movie! We made delicious pizza (one with pepperoni and one with fresh pineapple) and then watched My Fair Lady! They were appalled that we linguistics majors had never seen it! Now I am officially deemed ready to graduate by the Shrum household.
Across the Border
June 13, 2010 - Monica
Today we took a short venture to Malawi for the Sunday market. It was quite fun! One of the guys got a haircut for 50 kwatcha (about 30 cents), which drew quite a crowd. At the peak there were 22 people crowded around the window of the barber shop besides us whiteys. I also got a great capulana, a Malawi original!
On the Road Again...
June 18, 2010 - Lisa
It has been a very busy week here at the center in Nampula. Cassie and I have been working hard with Oliver to get this orthography document ready to go to Quelimane. We met with Salude this morning to go over what we had so far, and I'm happy to say that it was an encouraging and productive experience. We are meeting with Oliver once more this afternoon to make final changes and make sure our format is consistent.
This morning we met with everyone who had been away this last week to talk about their experiences thus far. We were then asked to share individually about our experience so far. We each talked about our work, something wild, and something wonderful. I thought I would share about my wonderful experiences so far. It was hard for me to pick one to share, as many experiences have been truly wonderful. So here are a few:
Last week Jess and I visited a church in the outlying community whose pastor works in the office here at the center. It is a very small church, mostly consisting of women and children, that meets under the side of a small building that is covered with a roof. many of the women in the church are young mothers and some of the children are orphans. This church's vision, as shared by Pastor Carmona, is to reach this community by first building a school building and an orphanage along with the church building on the property they have purchased. Jess and I were both very encouraged and blessed by the faith that these people have and the joy that they find in knowing Jesus. They also taught us some dances, which was also wonderful! It was an experience I will never forget.
Another cool experience I had happened one day while Cassie and I were working with the Emarevone speakers in Oliver's office. Monday through Wednesday we were transcribing Emarevone, specifically looking at the tone, since it hasn't been looked at very much at this point, but seems to be an important part of the language. One of the days we had Oliver, his wife Heidi, Oliver's assistant Romao, our Emarevone speakers Santos and Pedro, and then Cassie and I in the office at once. Cassie and I would speak to each other in English. Oliver and Heidi would speak to each other in German. Oliver would speak to Romao in Portuguese. Romao would speak to Santos and Pedro in Makua. And then on top of it all we were transcribing Emarevone. That means that we had 5 languages being spoken in one office at any given time! For someone who loves languages like me, this was a DREAM! It was definitely a wonderful experience.
Another wonderful thing has been seeing our team work these last three weeks. Not everyone here is trained in linguistics, but they have plenty to do as well! Jess is a Design major and has designed a logo for a website that she is also helping to build. Brad is studying computer science and has been such a blessing in fixing computer problems and helping with all the tech stuff. Megan is an Education major and has helped as a subsitute teacher for someone who was sick and has also assisted various people who were doing the work of four people by themselves. Other girls have been taking pictures that are now being turned into clipart for dictionaries and literacy documents in various languages in Mozambique. The rest of us have been working on different language projects, helping them get to the next step in getting written documents out to the communities. It has been so great to see everyone work in their own element and be able to contribute so much with the gifts God has given them.
So those are some of my wonderful points for now! On another note, Cassie and I are headed to Quelimane tomorrow with Salude to stay with a national family for a week. We will be working on various projects down there until we come back next Sunday. We will be traveling down there by bus, so it will be a long journey. Please pray for safety and health during travel, and that our hearts would be open for what God has for us in Quelimane. I am not sure if I will have internet access while I am there, but I will try to give an update when I get back if the internet is working! Thank you for all of your prayers thus far. I know I say that a lot, but I cannot express enough how appreciative I am of all the support that has been given to me on this trip.
-Lisa
Mihavani
June 18, 2010 - Monica
We stayed in Milange for one week. While we were there we helped write up a phonological outline for the Emihavani/Malawi Lomwe language. It was so cool! The first three days we elicited and transcribed words to come up with a solid inventory we could analyze. Then we had just three days to run all of the cool linguistic programs I have newly installed on my computer and write everything up. The final product was 55 pages long and even included spectrograms for some funky words! I made the phone and phoneme charts and wrote the sections on ambiguous phones and loan word phonology. I feel like a real linguist!
This is the SIL office in Milange where the Shrums work on the Takwane project and where we did some of our work.
Maggie and I transcribing our little hearts out! Mihavani has quite a bit of retroflex and some fun prenasalization and labialization combinations. Even a little bit of breathy voice!
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James, Supuni (Spooney), and Alfred, our three language consultants.
The last day Alfred held a “closing ceremony” of sorts for us to thank us for all of our work. It was really special to see how appreciative they were of having their language studied and written about. They even wrote us a poem in Mihavani (with a translation in English)! Our research was mainly to help them make orthography decisions. It was so cool to see someone deciding how to write their language for the first time!
Tea Time
June 18, 2010 - Monica
I love the schedule here. It’s all about the tea breaks. We start at 8 and go until 10 when we break for tea. Normally there is tea and some Ricoffy coffee on hand to have with bread and jam. Lunch is between 12 and 2, but normally requires quite a bit of prep, so it’s not as luxurious as it sounds! Then we have another tea break around 3:30. I can see why the locals adopted this Portuguese tradition--so tasty!
To Milange and back!
June 18, 2010 - Maggie
Dear all,
This is my third try at posting this. I apologize if things show up multiple times!
I’m also sorry for my lack of communication! My internet connection has been pretty limited. Well, should clarify: my patience with the internet has been fairly limited. For the past week and a half I was in the town of Milange, in Zambezia province. It’s right on the border with Malawi, and it’s next to some pretty spectacular little mountains.
Four people, and Will, our fearless leader for the Zambezia part of the trip, headed out at 3 in the morning on Monday the 10th. The trip to get to Milange was interesting, to say the least. It took two days. The first we spent in a crowded bus. We thought we didn’t have much leg room then. The second day of travel was even more of an experience. We rode in the open back of a truck, piled in on top of our luggage and everyone else’s, along with 15-27 people, bundles of clothing, some charcoal, and even at one point a rooster! Will taught half the truck (called a “chapa,” which means “tin”) a song, and we all sang it for a little while. The whole thing was quite an adventure, and it’s an experience I’m glad we had.
Once we arrived in Milange, Monica (another linguistically-inclined girl on the trip) and I stayed with the Shrums, who are working on the Takwane translation project. They were wonderful to stay with, and their hospitality (and hot shower!) has really been a blessing.
Starting Wednesday morning, we worked with Alfred, James, and Supuni. They’re speakers of Mihavani from Malawi, and Alfred is the translator working with Malawi Bible Society to translate a Mihavani Bible. But along the way they ran into some snags. Mihavani had never been a written language, so when people wanted to write it down, they came up with their own orthography (writing system) based on the bigger languages around. But now they’re translating the Bible and realizing their orthography could probably be improved and standardized. So, along with Ilse, their exegete from the Bible Society, they came over to SIL in Milange for some assistance in phonetics, phonology and orthography design.
Big linguistic words to describe what we were working on. Pretty exciting. Basically we had a list of hundreds of words, and they gave us the Mihavani words. Then we transcribed them phonetically. Friday afternoon we quit transcribing and started consolidating our three transcriptions into one we could agree on, and we got to use some excellent computer programs to play with our data.
Monday through Wednesday we collaborated on a 55 page paper. Half of it was the wordlist, but still, 5 people wrote 25 pages in 2.5 days. We wrote up our findings about the phonemes of the language, and us students got to listen in on some decisions on changes to make to the orthography! It was exciting.
They were very grateful for our help, and thanked us with gifts. And a poem! They wrote us a poem, in English and Mihavani, with a snippet for each of us. The part about me:
“Maggie, kaahilota wi okhuveya wawo onnuphwanelha, mehaawo oripa eri phi, wonanko onahelha ize bulaki, sika wi kookhalha ni ehache, vawi onnakuupusa amoowe, yaakiwatiheraka osukuluni. Ndithu khaniwa nuutuwalhani.
If I am not going to appreciate your shortness, your black hair, as if you applied easy black, then it will be out of jealousy, for you remind me of my mother, when she was encouraging me to go to school. Truly we will not forget you.”
It’s strange to get used to the extra formality here. You have to make a big deal of people coming and going, shake hands all the time, greet people more than I’m used to. But I appreciate the added formality, too. I think we miss something when we’re so informal all the time. I really admire the way that people aren’t slow to express things like admiration or gratitude--things we kind of shrug off or get embarrassed about at home.
Yesterday Monica and I rode back with the Shrums. It was a treat to ride in a vehicle with seatbelts! The van-chapas and the truck-chapas definitely don’t have them. So we got back to the SIL center in Nampula around supper, and it was a fun reunion. Even though we’d only spent 5 or 6 days with the other Discovery (otherwise known as Very Disco) people, we had missed them, so there were hugs all around, especially from me. I like my hugs! We celebrated our return with a couple games of Bang, which one girl was brilliant enough to bring. Emporio! [ɛm.’po:.ɾi.o] (Had to transcribe that beautiful vowel length.)
There’s the update!
love,
Maggie
So, I am a bad blogger
June 19, 2010 - Megan
I have been informed that I am bad at blogging. BUT Africa internet is kinda here and there. I haven't had the opportunity to sit down for a moments peace and think about everything that has happened.
Travel the Mozambican Way
June 19, 2010 - Lisa
Today was the day that we traveled to Quelimane. What an adventure! We left the SIL
center at 3am to catch the bus at 3:45. Sulude, Tome, Cassie, and I arrived at the bus stop just in time to get our seats and take off. The next 9 hours were spent enduring bumpy roads, frequent stops, and a very small amount of personal space. There was one moment, though, that stood out from every other on that long bus ride. About half way through the drive I was a little chilly (real winter in Africa, who knew?) and hungry. So I took out my capulana, wrapped it around my shoulders, took out a piece of bread and started munching away. I was very content. Cassie then turns to me and says "Lisa, you look very Mozambican right now!" We both laughed and returned to our silent thoughts. It was then that I thought, 'Lord, how did I get here? You did this to me!' Despite the long drive, bumpy roads, and lack of the personal space that Westerners covet, I was loving every minute of it! I would do it all over again if I could! 
Vendors outside the bus at one of our stops
We arrived in Quelimane around 2pm unscathed. Sulude got a taxi to take us to the Viegas house, where we are to stay for the next week. We were received by Josina, Pastor Paulos wife, and one of their daughters, Nini. Thankfully we were able to rest the afternoon away before having dinner with Pastor Paulo and Josina that evening. Tomorrow we are to go to church and then we start our work Monday. I'm excited to see what God has for us here!
spectrogram!
June 19, 2010 - Monica
[ËbĘ·É‘Ëž.Ęo] This is a spectrogram of the Emihavani word for canoe.
Quelimane
June 21, 2010 - Lisa
We have been in Quelimane a few days now. It is so beautiful here! There are coconut trees everywhere, which means I have been eating fresh coconut every day (I'm in heaven). Josina tells us that this is one of the places where coconut trees originated, so they grow quite naturally. I can believe it! There also seems to be a different atmosphere here in comparison to Nampula. Even though there are a lot of people out all the time, it doesn't seem as busy. Plus, it has been raining here all week, so it isn't as dry as Nampula. 
View from our bedroom window
Sites around the neighborhood
Cassie and I are enjoying staying with the Viegas family. Pastor Paulo and Josina have a great sense of humor and have made such an effort to make sure we are comfortable. They have 8 children living with them at any given time. The three youngest are their own, and they have taken in three nieces and two nephews as their parents have passed away in recent years. I am really enjoying our mealtime conversations. Their generous hearts and deep love for the Lord are very encouraging. They expressed the need of more missionaries in Mozambique. From what they've seen, most only stay for a couple years before returning home. There is still a great need here. 
Pastor Paulo, Josina, and I
Dinner and a Chapa
June 22, 2010 - Monica
Welcome to the public transportation of Mozambique—the chapa. This is a mini-bus that in the states would fit 15 people tops. I think the record for the most passengers for anyone on our trip so far is 22 people, 2 kids, and a chicken. The crew of the chapa is made up of a driver and the doorman. The doorman really holds the chapa together—literally. His duties include signaling the driver to stop (normally by banging on the roof), opening the door, shuffling the people into whatever space there is (seat or not), slamming the door shut (usually while the car is already in motion), collecting the cash, and occasionally holding on the door on. There are no official stops, you just flag â€em down when you want on and yell â€Saida!’ when you want off. The great part about the chapa is that you never have to wait, there are always chapas rolling by. The bad part is that you might have to get friendly with the person sitting next to you. It’s quite the adventure!
*Credit for prime picture taking goes to Mr. Timothy Krug.
The Great Provider
June 22, 2010 - Lisa
Since Pastor Paulo is the head pastor of his church, him and his wife are very involved with weekly events. Virtually everyday we have spent at least a few hours at their church. 
Today was an all day event of fasting and a time when the widows can come together to tell what God has been doing in their lives and worship our Heavenly Father in their mother tongue, Chuwabo. Many of these women come from outlying villages and travel great distances to be there. It was inspiring to hear their testimonies of how God has provided for them. One testimony that really touched me was not from one of the women at all, but from two nice, very clean-looking gentlemen who were present that day. Josina had told us about them the day before. Two months ago they were homeless and, as Josina puts it, mad. Somehow they found their way to the church and accepted Christ into their lives. Now they are healthy and live at an extension of the church in another part of town, looking for work. I was overwhelmed to the point of tears. What an amazing God we serve! I so grateful to be able to fellowship and worship our Provider with them in their mother tongue. 
Cassie and I with a Brazilian missionary and her adorable children Paulo and Sara
Brasil, Mozambique, and America!
10 things I didn't expect to be doing (but I'm glad)
June 23, 2010 - Maggie
10. Playing Bang with the Discovery people in the evenings. And winning occasionally!
9. Swapping favorite book suggestions with the Diskies and the Ker kids, and then finding out that the Morningstar Academy library had lots of them!
8. Watching an episode of Firefly a night with Monica, MJ, Carrie, and Brad
7. Learning how to run right from MJ, who ran at nationals last year
6. Eating leftover lasagna for supper
5. Mastering the art of tricking Word and Publisher into doing what I want them to.
4. Baking chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
3. Playing pingpong when we're taking a break
2. Getting cold early in the morning. It doesn't get super cold here (maybe 50 F this morning?) but the houses are really really open. The windows are always open, for one thing.
1. Understanding a decent amount of the Portuguese I hear! (I've even interpreted for other people a time or two)
It's been busy
June 23, 2010 - Brad
Though most of our day is spent on the SIL Center, we do manage to "go into town" on occasion. To do this, we first walk for about ten minutes down a sunny dirt road deep in bear country until we reach one of the main roads around here. Then, we wait a short while until we see a chapa coming and wave it down. Chapas are the main form of public transportation here. They are normal-looking vans that you pay 5 meticais (about 14 cents) to ride until you yell at them to stop so you can get off. They're intended for about 15 people, but we've been in chapas with over 20 people and a live chicken or two.
Once you arrive in town, the markets are one of the main places to go. There's the central market where they sell fruits and vegetables and chickens and spices and all sorts of things. As you walk around, little kids constantly come up to you and try to sell you grocery bags. There's also the Sunday market, where you can find people selling everything there is to be sold around here. You also have to deal with merchants following you around and trying to convince you to buy their goods.
When we arrived in Mozambique, we made photocopies of our passports and visas because sometimes police stop you to check your papers. Last Sunday at the market, we found out the hard way that un-notarized photocopies are not good enough. Megan, Jess, and I were stopped, and after several minutes of bad Portuguese on our part and bad English on the officer's part, it ended up that I had to go back to the Center to get the original copies of our documents while the other two stayed at the little police building. They let us all go when we returned with the papers, but at least now we can say we were arrested in Mozambique.
I intended to write about the work we've all been doing during the last week, but now it's dinner time. I'll write more about our days and evenings soon, and perhaps see if I can get a couple pictures uploaded. Stay tuned.
Prayer requests:
- Health for our team, that no one else would get sick. A couple people have gotten sick and then gotten better again so far.
- Rest for David and Hilary Ker, the people in charge of the Discovery program (that's us) here. They're extraordinarily busy doing all sorts of things for us, and it takes up a lot of their time.
- Safety for Lemos and I next week. Lemos is one of the Mozambicans who works with the computers around here, and he and I are going to Beira and then to Quelimane next week to help out the translation teams that are there.
moving on up to the east side.
June 24, 2010 - Jess
well it’s been a while since i’ve updated. sorry about that, as internet connection here is sometimes a little sketchy. and i suck at blogging on a daily basis…
first of all: THANK YOU JASMINE FOR GIVING ME BANG!!! we’ve been playing it for the last two weeks for almost every night after work. GENIUS IDEA.
anyways so this is actually the third day since i moved away from the SIL compound and into the city with a teacher and a team mate of mine. For the last 3 weeks we’ve been living on the main compound, SIL. it is so nice here, it’s literally a retreat centre. I used to live in one of the “houses” (more like a little cottage) but since there’s this huge AIM conference going on, we had to move out of Niassa (my house name) and me and megan got to move into the city. the rest of the girls on the team got to move into another house on the compound with another teacher.
it’s actually been nice being able to live in the city. i feel like that is how we can get the real mozambican experience, by living with the people, and not in an isolated compound that has minimal experience with the people.
it has been super busy, for me at least. i’ve got tonnes of design projects that i’m in charge of, so i’m really thankful that i actually have a role on this team. earlier i was a little worried about not being useful on the team, since all we did during the orientation week was like linguistics and phonetics. i was a little worried. but now they’re using me to the max. and today I’M GOING TO GO VISIT A SCREEN-PRINTING SHOP!!! to hopefully get my t-shirt design printed for the office.
The other day i got to eat a true mozambican meal with garlicy fried tuna (I KNOW TUNAAAA) and this awesome tomato sauce thing. We also had boiled sweet potatoes. IT WAS AWESOMMEE. so tasty. i should’ve asked him for the recipe….sigh. oh well. i hope to try more ‘mozambican’ food, since at the compound they’ve been feeding us mostly american-style foods, including grilled chicken with fries and coleslaw. (that was one of my favourite meal, actually.)
there’s 3 more weeks left technically, however there’s only two weeks left to do get the work done. the last week will be a debriefing week, so the plan is no work will occur during that week. but on missions, you never know. so i should actually try and focus and get things done now…
PEACE.
————————————————
prayer requests: 1. please continue to pray for safety and health. Your prayers are definitely helping, as no one has gotten hurt or very sick yet.   2. Praise God for providing us with jobs and specific roles on the team. We are all enjoying our work very much so praise Him for that!  3. thank God for being with us throughout the past weeks. everyone is dong well so PRAISE GOD!  4. continue to pray for the mozambicans that we will be working with.
THANKS.
The Bucket Bath
June 24, 2010 - Monica
This is a photo of the best shower in all Mozambique. (oooo, aaaaah!) Hot water flows abundantly from that shower head, can ya believe it!? This was at the Shrums house when I was staying in Milange. Unfortunately, the water was off six of the eight days I was there. The showers I did get to take there were wonderful. Otherwise, when the water was off and while I’m here at the center in Nampula I am cleansed by the good ole bucket bath. I heat up some water on the stove and pour it into a bucket (like the green one in the picture) and use a smaller pitcher to scoop up the water. It works quite well and provides hot showers!
Happenings of the past weeks
June 24, 2010 - Brad
And now, the thrilling conclusion of my previous post!
Many of the people who were off doing linguistical stuff have now returned, so now there are seven of our team here on the Center, and David has been keeping us busy. A lot of the team members have been busy creating clip art for some of SIL's publications, updating the ficha tecnichas (basically the copyright pages) of a bunch of the publications, getting them all ready for placement on a CD and a website, which I'll describe shortly.
Personally, I've been busy doing projects of various sizes here. Some of the smaller ones include:
- Fixing a computer that wouldn't boot
- Installing and configuring Paratext 7 (software that translators use) on a couple machines
- Getting Squid (a caching proxy to save bandwidth) and Dansguardian (a content filter) working on the network here
- Learning how to make Ethernet cables and running them to a couple computers for the other team members to use
- Figuring out how to convert Paratext files to SWORD modules (format conversion—I felt like I was back at CCEL, my summer job last year)
- Figuring out how to stream a live video feed over the network for a conference they're having here in a few weeks
- Figuring out how to use the LingaMerge, LingaSplit, and related programs that Roland created for manipulating word lists. David calls this collection of scripts LingaLinga; he loves coming up with goofy names for everything
- Updating the script that starts up all the servers after a power outage so they all actually start
- Installing a virtual XP machine on David's computer so he doesn't have to reboot into Windows anymore (he's a fellow Linux user!)
- Creating a system to automatically generate thumbnail images from all the publications for use on the web site and CD (this was my idea; the original plan was that they would all have to be done manually)
- And my biggest project: the web site
One of David's big goals is to make SIL's publications available to everyone. These publications include Scripture as well as other works, such as informational pamphlets on hygiene and books of folk tales written in the language of their origin. Although there is a small print shop on the Center, SIL does not have the resources to make mass publications of all their writings. So, the point of the CD and website is to make the publications freely available to anyone who wants them, including those with the resources to print and distribute them. Jess designed the web site, lidemo.net, and I did the coding for it. I finished implementing the design today, and late next week I'll be finalizing the process to automatically create pages for each publication. (Until then, there's not much on the site).
And, pictures! From left to right:
- Mountains are pretty. The Midwest is too flat.
- Walking to catch the chapa to church on Sunday. (That's Kelly and Tim.)
- The server room where I spend a lot of time.
- Publication preparations. Carrie, Maggie, MJ, Jess, and Roland (the computer/finance guy).
Capulanas
June 24, 2010 - Maggie
Let me tell you about this wonderful invention called a capulana. On the wordlist we elicited from the Mihavani guys, it was translated as "cloth women wear." That definition, though, doesn't really give a good idea of how awesome these things are. Capulanas are a piece of durable cloth about 1-and-a-little by 2 meters.
Their primary function is as a kind of wrap-around skirt. But they're also used as shawls, sheets, blankets, baby-carrying slings, or just fabric to make other things out of. We've used ours as cushions and pillows and head coverings to keep dust out of our hair. Mozambican women use them to tie up their bundles of produce or clothing or whatever else they carry on their heads. I use them to tie up bundles of things that I try to carry on my head.
Capulanas come in all sorts of designs, and the designs available have changed even while we've been here. A common theme is bright blue and green (think the colors I usually wear) with cream-ish backgrounds, but we've also seen reds and yellows and purples and all sorts of other patterny ones. I've got a couple with flowers, and one with leaves, and one with what might be giant fish fins or possibly some kind of plant-ish fans. There's a pretty crazy assortments of patterns.
I haven't yet gotten to my favorite things about capulanas. Yes, they're useful, and there are lots to choose from--but the best thing is that you can get a good-quality capulana for 65 Meticais. Translated to dollars, that's not quite $2 each.
The other awesome thing about capulanas is that they seem to be the Mozambican version of flowers, or chocolate. Guys get them for their wives "regularly," we read in a magazine article. How often that is depends on how well off the couple is. If a man has a good wife, he shows her by buying her capulanas. How cool is it that these things can be beautiful and useful, can last a long time, and are a sign of affection from your man?
One Size Fits All
June 24, 2010 - Monica
Our favorite cultural tid bit that we’ve adopted as our own has by far been the capulana. It’s a piece of cloth that can be used for basically anything. It’s most common uses are clothing, especially skirts, and baby slings, although it is also quite handy as a head wrap, bag, sheet, tablecloth, hot pad, rag, blanket, diaper….you get the idea. They come in all sorts of patterns and if you’re really hip then you would even by them for elections and specific holidays such as the upcoming “Dia 25 de Junho” capulana for Independence Day or for Christmas.
It’s such a big part of the culture here—they’re EVERYWHERE! Even before we got off the plane I read an article about the significance of the capulana and how they can even be a euphemism for chastity. Mothers instruct their daughters to “tie their capulanas well” or if a woman is kind of loose you can say that “she doesn’t know how to tie her capulana.”
Quite useful, quite fun, and one way we can partake in the life of the Mozambican.
*Photo also by Tim.
Villages!
June 26, 2010 - Lisa
The end of our stay in Quelimane is coming fast. All that has happened this week is so hard to convey in a blog post. But I will try my best!
As I mentioned before we left, Cassie and I had been working on an Orthography Proposal for the Chuwabo language with Oliver and help from Pastor Sulude. This last week we have been visiting villages with Sulude to present the issues to the community and document their decisions on the best way to represent certain sounds orthographically. We went to one or two villages every day, talking to the headmen first in order to hear their opinion and to get permission to work in the area. We would then talk to others who were literate in the village. I cannot begin to express the excitement I felt when we entered the first village, Namacata. There we were, sitting outside with the headman, children playing in the distance and chickens running around close by, talking about his native tongue. I was once again overwhelmed, in a good way!
The beauty of the first villages was just astounding. 
We walked one by one down a narrow path for a good twenty minutes through coconut groves separated by wide open fields that had been turned into farm land. It was a clear day, with an occasional cloud blanketing the sun. From time to time we would see clusters of mud huts roofed with thatched grass and palm fronds. As we got closer to our intended destination, more people seemed to be moving about. Most were women coming back from their gardens. Everyone who passed by greeted us in Portuguese or Chuwabo, which gave me the chance to greet back, with some trial and error of course! They would laugh, but were happy that I was trying. The whole time we were lead by an old man who initially greeted us when we got off the chapa. Sulude told us that this man was the key to this area. He knew the area very well.
Needless to say he was very helpful and we were grateful to have him with us!
Cassie and I were also very thankful to have been able to work with Pastor Sulude as well. He is a man of good humor and was always enthusiastic about what we were doing. Being a Chuwabo speaker, he really saw the value in what we were doing. Overall, it was an amazing experience, and probably one of my favorite parts of this journey. Please keep the Chuwabo people in prayer. Pray that God will use people like Sulude to reach the community and that His word would be spread among them.
songs from the kitchen
June 29, 2010 - Monica
We love our kitchen staff! I think I have already mentioned that we know it is dinner time when the kitchen staff sings. I have been bugging Magdalena, one of our master chefs, to teach us one of these songs and today after lunch we got to learn one! It is in Portuguese and Makua (the language spoken in Nampula) and even has motions! One person sings the main part and everyone repeats after them. Here is the Portuguese section:
vamos fazer assim
quando vamos aos ceus
quando se encontra com o Senhor
quando se encontra com irmaos.
The translation is basically:
we’re gonna do like this
when we get to heaven (wave your hands in the air)
when we meet the Lord (clap your hands down low)
when we meet our brothers (give the person next to you a high ten!)
ten thousand miles away, yet still home
June 30, 2010 - Tim
I've been in Mozambique since June 1, and I'm leaving in nine days.
craft night
June 30, 2010 - Monica
One of the ladies from the office brought in her sewing machine and a few of us made purses out of our capulanas. Relatively painless--I only got my hair stuck in the sewing machine once--and now I have my very own reversible bag!
Oh, Canada!
July 1, 2010 - Monica
Today is Canada Day! Many of the people here on center are from Canada, including our very own Jess Yu. They decorated with maple leaves and flags and at tea time they all sang the Canadian anthem. In honor of our dear mounties...
O Canada our home and native land
True patriots love in all thy sons command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise
The true north strong and free
From far and Wide, O Canada
We stand on guard for thee
God keep our land glorious and free
O Canada we stand on guard for thee
O Canada we stand on guard for thee!
Monica, the Lexique Pro!
July 2, 2010 - Monica
For the past two weeks I have been working on one thing—dictionaries. Well, they are not full dictionaries, but rather long word lists that the people working here in Mozambique have compiled. I have been assigned the task of taking all of the hard work that other people have done and making it into something that can be handed to people and distributed across the country. First we had to standardize the list of words and the way they are numbered, run all sorts crazy lingalinga programs on them, import them into Lexique Pro, a computer program that has decided it is my arch nemesis and finally export them into different formats so we could have them as PDFs and in HTML. I did this for 16 languages! Lexique Pro even played nice long enough for me to print them with pictures! We also created one master lexicon that has Portuguese as the head word and has glosses for all sixteen of the languages in the same entry! It was pretty exciting stuff. I’m really glad I got to work on this and I might even be able to take a class on Lexicons and Dictionaries next semester in Brazil!
valchives
July 4, 2010 - Monica
Ever wonder what to call that pestery white membrane of pulp on the inside of tangerines and other citrus? Valchives—now you know. Take it, use it, spread it as you please.
There and back again
July 4, 2010 - Brad
It seems to be an unwritten rule here that all buses going on long trips must leave at 4:00AM. I discovered this last week, when I took three separate bus trips around Mozambique with Lemos, a Mozambican man who works part-time here on the SIL Center assisting Roland with the computer and finance departments. From Saturday to Tuesday we visited the team working on the Sena language translation in the city of Beira, then from Tuesday to Thursday we were in the city of Quelimane visiting the Chwabu language team. Both teams are now entirely comprised of Mozambicans, which is neat to see, but which also means I heard a whole lot of Portuguese this week.
I present a Handy Map to satisfy your geographic curiosity that will undoubtedly arise as you read the following paragraphs. Click on a marker to show its name.
View Mozambique in a larger map
So on Saturday morning, Lemos picked me up at 2:30AM, and our bus departed on time at 4:00. It was a very nice bus, for which I was extremely thankful since we didn't arrive in Beira until 9:30PM, after 17.5 hours of riding the bus. (Incidentally, I think that's about how much time it took us to fly from New York to Johannesburg.) Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique, and it felt a lot like a city you might see in the US. Most of the roads downtown are paved, there are lots of cars driving around, and there are several tall buildings. On Sunday, Lemos and I spent a couple hours walking around the city just to see what it was like, since he had never been to Beira before either. On Monday, we went to the Sena team's office. We fixed a few computer issues they were having, and then began doing our main tasks there. First we installed Paratext 7, which is the newest version of a piece of software that's often used for Bible translation. Its main purpose is to be able to display an arbitrary number of different Bible translations and version side-by-side, so that when you look at a verse in one version, all the other versions on the screen will automatically display their version of the same verse. Paratext 7 has new features for synchronization (so multiple people can more easily work on separate computers simultaneously) and internet backup (for backing up the translation to a remote server), so we spent much of our time teaching the team how to use these new features. We also made their non-Paratext files automatically get backed up.
My 30-day visa expired on Wednesday, so our initial plan was to get it extended in Beira. The immigration office in Beira informed us on Monday that if we submitted it that day, it would not be ready until Friday. Since we were supposed to leave for Quelimane on Tuesday or Wednesday, we decided to try and get it renewed in Quelimane instead.
On Tuesday at 4AM, we left for Quelimane. This bus wasn't quite as nice; there was much less room between the seats and I had to hold my backpack on my lap for the 7.5 hour trip. The immigration office there also informed us that it was a five-day process, but the man at the desk said that if we brought in my passport on Wednesday at 7AM, they might be able to finish it by Wednesday afternoon. During the day, we went to the Chwabu team's office, but we couldn't do much of anything there since they did not have an internet subscription and therefore couldn't do any automatic backups. We spent the afternoon visiting one of Lemos' relatives and waking around the city. Quelimane is much smaller than both Beira and Nampula. I saw far more bicycles and motorcycles there than four-wheeled vehicles. The taxis are even bicycles: you wave one of them down, tell the driver where to go, then perch yourself on a little seat that sticks out over the rear tire. (That's how we got to the immigration office.) That afternoon, and after a lot of praying, we returned to the immigration office and found that they had been able to extend my visa that day. Yay!
Thursday we returned to Nampula on a very crowded bus (about a 8.5 hour trip). Even though there was a lot of bus riding, it was very cool to be able to see two other cities (I was surprised at how different they were from each other and from Nampula) as well as some of the beautiful country that lies between them, especially the the northern parts where there are lots of small mountains all over the place.
Less than a week remains. Although I am looking forward to seeing everyone from home again and returning to work at CCEL, I'm quite sad that it's almost time to leave already. I'm going to dearly miss this place and the people I've met here.
Back in Nampula...
July 4, 2010 - Lisa
It has been a week since I arrived back in Nampula from our time in Quelimane. It was our last normal week here at the center. We went to the Sunday Market to buy gifts and spend one last day in town before heading to Chocas for debrief on Monday. I also made a bag from capulanas this week. It is quite an accomplishment for never sewing before!
Road Trip!
July 5, 2010 - Maggie
Today the Diskies are on the road to Chocas. I don't know much about Chocas, except that it is the beach. We'll be staying in houses, and the houses have hammocks. This is delightful. (If you didn't know how to feel about hammocks, I just told you.) There is also sand, and water, and tasty food. Hoorah!
I refuse to be connected to the outside world while enjoying our 2.5 days at the beach, so I'm leaving pesky disfunctional internet connections behind. Be warned. Not that I have been consistent enough in blogging for any of you to be concerned if I disappear for a couple days.
I'm sad to leave Mozambique. I look forward to seeing everyone back home, but I really will miss it here. I'll miss things running on Africa time. I'll miss the women who smile at us and say "Bom dia" with a melody in their voice I'll never master. I'll miss the blueness of the sky and the southern hemisphere stars and even the giant bugs--as long as grasshoppers stay out of my hair and spiders stay in their webs, they're really pretty cool. I'll miss church services where songs are in anywhere from 1 to 8 languages and are sometimes made up of two repeated words (like "Number 1"). I'll miss fresh bread everyday, and I'll actually miss the ability to pretend ignorance that I don't understand Portuguese. I'll miss the friends I've made here. The nationals I've met, the missionaries, and the Diskies are all really wonderful and interesting people. Now that I know them, it will seem strange not to see them most every day.
I'm flying out on Friday, and arriving on Saturday--but not back in the US. First I am spending several days in London, keeping my parents company while they're doing businessy things. Then I'll be home late on the 15th. I think. So, be praying for safe and unheadachey travels, please!
1 Thessalonians 2:8
July 6, 2010 - Monica
So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
This is how I want to live my life. First and foremost I want to share the gospel, but I don’t want that to be the end of it. I want to share my life with people.
Chocas
July 7, 2010 - Lisa
We spent the last few days in Chocas doing our debrief. It was a time to discuss 
all that has happened on the trip, our anticipations about reentering into the States, and our future plans. Not only was it a fruitful time of reflection, but it was just nice to relax and enjoy time with my teammates and team leaders.
If there ever was a place to do such a debrief, Chocas is the place! It's located on the coast of the Indian Ocean, a three hour drive from Nampula. We stayed in bungalows right next to the white sandy beach. It is fairly secluded, as the only people we have seen are local fisherman and vendors along the beach. 
There are coconut trees everywhere (once again, a major plus!) and there is a village close by. Apparently the well that supplies the village with water was built by Vasco de Gama! The last night we built a bonfire on the beach and made hobo stew. We sang songs, chased ghost crabs, and just sat under the clear starry sky. It was amazing how many stars were out! The milky way was so clear, it felt as if you could reach up and touch it. It was one of those moments that makes you feel so small, yet so grateful for God's beautiful creation! Jess, Monica, and I decided to sleep out on the veranda that last night. It was a good decision! We fell asleep under the milky way and woke up to a breath-taking sunrise over the Indian ocean. 
On the way out, we stopped by a very old church. In fact, it is the oldest active church in the Southern Hemisphere! We were able to sit inside and sing a few songs, 
as the acoustics were great, and John Iseminger (the Director of SIL Mozambique) gave a short message. The interesting thing is that even though it's active, this church building sits in the middle of a virtually unreached community.
chocas
July 7, 2010 - Monica
On our way back to Nampula we stopped at this church built in 1579. It’s either the oldest active church in the southern hemisphere or on the mainland—take your pick.
everyone loves gazebos
July 8, 2010 - Monica
Clouds
July 8, 2010 - Lisa
Throughout my time here, I have been stopped in tracks almost daily by the beauty of the African sky. One thing I love about Mozambique are the clouds. They are always so dramatic and eye-catching. Most of the time they are fluffy and white. But when storms come in you see massive thunderheads and a sea of rolling clouds. During sunset, they soak in the rays of the brilliant sun as it dips under the horizon, displaying vivid oranges, dramatic pinks, and soft purples. One phrase that I seem to say daily is "Ooooo...look at the clouds!"
Last Day...
July 8, 2010 - Lisa
Today was our last full day in Nampula. It was perfect timing as today was the center's company picnic! All of the staff and their families were invited to come, hang out, play games, and eat a yummy lunch of frango, arroz, and ensalada (paired with a coke, and you have my favorite meal!). It was a good last day as we were able to interact with local staff members and their families. We also handed out the t-shirts that Jess had designed for the Lidemo website. It was fun to see everyone enjoying each others company and just having fun!
Megan putting the books of the Bible in order...in Portuguese! 
Pastor Carmona, organizer of the event!
Singing "Deus Ă© tĂŁo bom" (God is good) while Megan sorts!
Some of the staff and their families
6 international airports and almost 30 hours of flight time and the land of polygomy
July 11, 2010 - Jess
so now i’m on my 27th hour of flight. i’m currently blogging from the land of polygomy, that is salt lake city. the plane ride from LA to salt lake was HORRENDOUS. there were so much turbulence that people were like screaming. it was a little frightening considering the drop in altitude. i sat next to a cowboy. he seemed like he just came out of a western movie…he was a big burly dude, with a pretty thick moustache and a cool western accent…whatever that means. he had a cowboy hat on and the whole get up. and he offered me an orange tic tac. so funny. he even helped me put on my sweater. such a nice guy. i think hes in the rodeo or something because he was talking to me about calgary stampede and being in the rodeo contest. anyways he was a funny guy.
the last couple of days of flight transit has been ups and downs. right off the bat, when we left nampula (where we were working for the last 6 weeks) the flight was a couple hours late. to add on to that, when we stopped over at Beira (another province/district thing) the president was leaving so that delayed us even more. needless to say, when we got to maputo to connect to our johannesburg flight, it was impossible.
as a group of 11 we placed some pressure on LAM (the airplane company) to fix the problem since it was their delays that caused us to miss our flight to joberg. so immediately 6 of my teammates were able to make it on the next flight, but the rest of us had to stay back because of several issues. HOWEVER in the end we scored a 4 star hotel in Maputo, with free dinner and breakfast buffet. and a free ride to the airport. it was sweet. for me personally it didn’t affect my itinerary since i had a 23 hour layover in joberg anyways. (who knew that a 23 hour layover would be so helpful?)
so from there went to johannesburg (the airport is so beautiful. one of the best ones i’ve been to…at least out of the 7 airports i’ve visited as a result of this trip, and considering most of the american airports are ugly and dingy) so if you have a chance, go hang out at the south african international airport. i dont’ think that’s what it’s called but do go check it out. anyways i’m going to stop here since my computer is going to die soon. i’ll fill you guys up with more updates and i’ll start sharing some pics of the trip!
Back Home
July 12, 2010 - Megan
Traveling is always an adventure. I was blessed enough to experience the craziness of African Airports with my entire Discovery team. Our original plan was to be back in America on Saturday morning at 11:30am. God obviously knew we needed more time to get adjusted back into American culture. We ended up being split among three flights leaving from Maputo, Mozambique to JoBurg, South Africa. Five of us were able to spend the night in South Africa at a missionaries house. Her name is Leah Preston and she is an awesome lady. The next morning four more of our team flew into JoBurg and we were able to all hang out at this beautiful guest house. The temp was about 48F we had all packed for Mozambique weather so we were chilled. But Leah took great care of us and had tons of sweatshirts and blankets for us to not be uncomfortable. There was a hot shower is water pressure! You don't know what you have until its gone. She also made us Pizza! Pepperoni Pizza! You can not get pepperoni in Africa, you have to import it! So that was the best tasting Pizza I have had! Needless to say we all got to finish up our togetherness and bonding time. I was really sad because two of us got back to the airport just in time to catch their next flight so I didn't get to say a second goodbye :( The first goodbye was a little hectic trying to get everyone out on a flight and splitting up the group.
hello? goodbye? ah!
July 12, 2010 - Monica
Well, here I am, back in the states. It took three days and some unexpected adventures to get here, but I made it! We ended up spending an extra day in Johannesburg, South Africa (during the world cup finals!) because our first plane was quite delayed and the president of Mozambique just happened to be leaving at the same time we were intending to! It was actually nice that our trip was extended because I think my whole team needed a little bit longer to realize that our trip was ending and that we wouldn’t see each other anymore.
Reverse culture shock started before I even left the country, though. As soon as I got on the plane to go from Maputo (the capital of Mozambique) to South Africa I was surrounded by white people! No one was staring at me. So. Weird.
It’s weird to understand everything going on around me and to have toilets flush automatically and for one meal to cost $15 and to have five different options of water and to be able to order lunch on a computer without any human interaction. (All things I faced just in the JFK airport.)
I’m glad to be back and to see my family and friends again. But I do miss Mozambique and especially all of the wonderful people I spent the last six weeks with.
Trying to be thrify
July 14, 2010 - Megan
I am just giving up. I realize that while I am in America I can be thrifty to only a certain degree. I fell in love with a French press and an electric kettle while overseas...so I bought one. THEN My best friend ambushed me and booked us for Pedicure appointments (totally a lie. I really wanted a pedi so bad! I kept saying how nasty my feet were). I feel pretty guilty about spending so much money so soon after getting back from Mozambique. But Honestly I know that God has blessed us to be in these kind of economic situations for his greater purpose. If I didn't live in Suburbia and know all the blessed people that I know, I would not have been able to raise the funds to go on such a trip and learn all the things that God has taught me through this incredible experience. God takes such good care of me. I am jumping back onto my budget plan as soon as I start getting regular pay checks once again. Don't judge me! lol Oye
My Favorite Moz Church
July 20, 2010 - Megan
I know that there isn't any audio to this video... I don't have a high-tech camera. This was my absolute favorite church experience in Mozambique. Erica Snyder took us to her home church. It was a pretty long bus ride out to get there. We also had to walk behind all the big buildings on the main road and walk through peoples yards or alleys to get there. It was funny to see people in their natural routines of the day and see their faces totally shocked to see a white person walking through their back pathway. Now these people don't really have yards. There are tiny houses with dirt paths between them and they are kind of a no mans land, everyone is free to walk through. Unlike in America, if I was some stranger walking through my backyard I might hide in my room with my cell phone. It was also funny to see all the NON church goes. They just hang out in the shade eating chamusa and drinking tea. This is a Chanusa.......
Home?
July 20, 2010 - Lisa
Well, I've been home for over a week now. I still haven't been able to process all of my experiences. I think it will take a quite a while to do so. Some of the processing will be done in my internship class this semester. We are required to turn in a portfolio of different assignments that help us think through everything. This will keep the trip fresh on my mind and help me to answer questions that I probably wouldn't be able to come up with on my own. All I can say now is that my time in Mozambique was definitely life changing. It opened my eyes to a world of possibilities and affirmed some of my desires in life. I'm going to continue blogging over the next few months to help in the process as well. I'm not sure the exact direction it will go, but I guess we'll see what happens!
Support Letter Fail
August 5, 2010 - Tim
In one of my many attempts at writing a post-internship thank-you letter to my supporters, I ended up with something that's probably way too heavy for that purpose, but I realize it's nearly perfect for this place. Do enjoy.
