Highlights

Our end of year break is over and now we're back to our routines. Steve has made some exciting contacts for coconut oil sales, I've contacted the first church team that arrives in March, we're writing quarterly reports, had some fun dinner dates with friends, I'm working on a management course, and we've had time with our housemates.

Here are some highlights of our break.

We started out by spending time at home and one day we went to visit the orphanage where Mirtha and Yudel spend three days a week.

Vasco is a young boy who has AIDS, and sarcoma. Before Yudel came to the orphanage he spent most of his time in bed because he could not walk. He was depressed and ashamed to be seen and when Yudel would take him to the hospital he would say, "take me in the back way." Yudel found him a Cuban oncologist who got him started on chemotherapy. About one month later his leg improved to the point where he started walking with a crutch, but now he is walking unassisted. More importantly, his relationship with Yudel has caused him to come out of his shell, to laugh and have self-confidence. He still has discouraging days, but now he has a friend that he loves dearly.




Vasco has a knack for fixing small electronics. He is self-taught and does a good job! He recently fixed a fan for Yudel that Yudel and Steve were unable to fix.










Debora is a 9-month old baby. She is so passive, that unfortunately she is sometimes left in her bed for long periods and is not getting the attention or food she requires. Mirtha is helping her as much as possible and encouraging the care-givers to treat her as they do their own children. She is a smart little girl but we are concerned about her slow development.


Christmas Day we spent with some friends from church at their home outside the city. It was nice to get out and be in the garden and yard and their pool. It was hot!
Here we are having ham and turducken (turkey, duck and chicken rolled into a loaf).



New Year's week found us at the beach. Our landlords have an apartment there so we took some time and relaxed. We spent mornings and evenings by the water and the rest of the time we were out of the sun. Thankfully we didn't get burned and we still enjoyed the ocean and had time for reading, videos and unwinding.

Xai-Xai beach has a rock barrier close to the shore. It makes pretty pictures but one needs to be careful when the tide is in and many times there is a strong undertow. Some friends got caught in it once and said they felt like they were in a washing machine - pretty scary! Steve found this pool that was deep enough to swim in front of the rocks and we felt like we were in a lake.




When our daughter was here a couple of years ago she taught me to look for "texture" when taking photos. I've started noticing it, especially in the sand and we found many different kinds close together. Here are some samples:





Happy and Blessed New Year everyone!