Weddings in Mozambique

Greetings!

 We celebrated May Day or Day of the Worker on May 1.  And just like many Labor Days in Ind. this one was chilly with rain.  Folks are saying it will be a colder "winter" this year because we've had a lot of rain.  It will probably stop raining soon as the cold season is also the dry season.  So far it's been very pleasant and hasn't been very cold.

This week in Chokwe we saw some very excited kids in front of the WR office.  The reason they were excited was because there were lots of grasshoppers and crickets there next to a light that is left on at night.  They were busy catching as many as possible and stuffing them into bottles and jars for a yummy snack later in the day.  (They like them fried.)  Hmmm, I guess I'd rather eat that than a caterpillar.  Their fun quickly came to an end when a nearby store-owner chased them away with a stick.

The last few days Steve has been busy trying to get supplies purchased and delivered to Matola, a bedroom city to Maputo. He just called and said he was shoveling sand.  So the job description has plenty of variety, as you know.  This is the last community we will build chicken houses in for a while.

I've been reading a book that I would recommend to anyone, not just missionaries.  It is titled "On Being a Missionary" by Thomas Hale, a doctor who has worked with United Mission to Nepal over 20 years.  It is very thought-provoking, he writes about some basic issues of human nature that we all deal with and has some great stories.  Maybe I'm finding it especially helpful because it has to do with some of the very issues we've been experiencing lately (resolving interpersonal conflict, dying to self, relating to nationals, cross-cultural issues etc.).  Thank God for books.  It seems we have done more reading than ever since we've been here.  We've read most everything we wanted to read out of Evangeline's collection and now we are discovering other friends' books.  Reading for pleasure is a rare thing in Mozambique.  Libraries are very scarce and when they exist, they are to read there.  One is not allowed to take the books home.  Even the church library requires a $10 deposit to take a book out.

 

We’ve experienced our first wedding in Mozambique.  The groom had been in our training and invited us.  In Mozambique one goes to the “wedding palace” first for the civil ceremony, then the church ceremony, then a reception usually at their home.  The wedding palace is downtown Maputo and weddings take place every 20 minutes day in and day out.  Theirs was scheduled for 8:45 a.m.  But, wouldn’t you know, one of the vehicles with participants wouldn’t start so they arrived late.  Then they had to wait to be fit in somewhere in the schedule.  The church ceremony was to start at 11 a.m.  We arrived, but only a few people were in sight.  We were told they were behind schedule so we just waited and they eventually arrived at 1 p.m.  It was basically the same as a Western ceremony with a few differences.  The wedding party lined up on either side of the aisle (singing all the time) and the groom came down the aisle to walk in with the bride.  The whole wedding party sat on the platform facing the audience and the parents sat right next to the couple.  One thing that really struck me was how little the bride or groom smiled.  Apparently they are not supposed to because this is a serious commitment.  But to me they almost looked sad!  After the wedding everyone goes to the home, eats a big meal and then gifts are presented with dancing and singing.  And speeches, don’t forget the speeches.  It all makes for a very full day and hopefully worth the expense—usually a year’s wages.

 

Today we just learned that a friend from home, soccer coach to our kids and dad of some of their very good friends, Jim Van Elk, passed away yesterday of a massive heart attack as he was jogging.  Their family always has an open home where kids love to hang out.   It is a shocking thing to realize that someone fairly young and healthy is gone.  We are still trying to process it.  Pray for their family and the Concord community as he had a lot of influence and his loss will be greatly felt by all.    He was not afraid to tell anyone that he loved Jesus and his life demonstrated it.

 

God bless,

 

Rachel (and Steve)