Making up stuff to write here has its own kind of flow to it. Sometimes inspirations strikes and I'll come up with three or four posts in a day. Other times, life drags on a little bit and there is just not much of note. Sometimes, like this time, stuff happens. After that stuff happens I immediately start thinking, "How can I let everybody know about all that in a way they won't fall asleep reading." Then I think about how many times I can break the fourth wall. Is there a fourth wall in writing? Or do things jump off the page. Or jump out of the screen. If you had one of those 3D computers they'd jump out of the page. I bet that spinning tag globe on the right would look pretty crazy in 3D.
Sometimes, there's just no way to tell what happened other than to start at the beginning and finish at the end. For some reason, everybody has decided this is the proper way to tell a story and so I'm going to give in to pressure and tell the story that way.
I recently went down to Beira as part of making my way out of the country. Beira is a good day's drive away. I took a bus that left at 1am and got in that night after it was dark. Actually, it was two buses. But the trip went smooth and it didn't break down in the middle of the jungle. Breaking down in the jungle is bad.
The point of the trip was to get out and visit some of our kids that are down there studying. Just a friendly visit to see how they're living and adjusting and getting along down in their new confines.
I know not everyone, or anyone, remembers that we have kids that have "graduated" from the orphanage. Every now you get reminders, like when I told you about the two boys that threw a dinner party for us one day. 'Dinner party' is probably not the best thing to say, but it was a party, and dinner was involved. So there. But for us still in Nampula, we are constantly reminded and constantly praying for them, so I had been looking forward to getting out and visiting them.
The ones that are down there this year have joined and are living with Lazaro, one of our kids who is studying at a university down there in his second year. They are all living together in a rented house. Gizela, who went down at the same time, is living in a dormitory at the vocational school. They're all studying things like refrigeration and air conditioning repair, auto mechanics, cooking, electricity.
It was just a trip to go down and see them and spend a few days visiting. I wasn't "being nosy" or "checking in on them", it was just a visit to see them and they were thrilled to have me. I spent the first day just telling them all that's new back at the orphanage and how everybody is doing. They were full of questions how everybody is doing and wanted to hear everything that has been going on back at the orphanage.
The second day they took me to see their trade school. They had just finished an exam day so they had a day off of lessons so I just got to see their classrooms, meet their instructors, see all their friends. And unlike a similar American experience they were thrilled to see me and wanted to show me everything and meet all their friends.
Some of the boys took me out around the town to look at some of the projects they had done as part of their training. Zaqueio showed me construction sites where he had installed the electrical box going in the office complex. Albertino showed me a bank of air-conditioners he tuned up and got in working order at a flour factory. They were all proud and couldn't stop telling me about all they've done and are learning.
The trip to visit our students was one of the most fulfilling and encouraging things I've gotten to do in my nearly two years so far in Mozambique. The boys (and girls) were truly thriving, learning well in their school, and appreciating and valuing the education they were receiving. They are participating in church as often as there is a chance to. They are valued in their neighborhood, which was initially skeptical of 7 young guys moving in to rent a house together, but soon realized that they are respectful, play great with kids, and are there to learn and to improve their live and not just fun and games (there are still plenty of fun and games though). Their once skeptical neighbors now thank them for watching their kids and providing protection, "because no thief would dare come here during the middle of the night knowing there are seven strong men right next door. A couple of the boys go down to a nearby orphanage when they have a weekend free to socialize and play with the kids there because they know how important things like that are.
Well, yesterday they graduated their job training program to much fanfare. Here are some pictures I got a hold of.
Perhaps one of the most encouraging moments of my trip was getting to really hear from the heart of our kids there how much they've grown up in such a short time and how much they value what they are learning. As I talked to them, it was clear how hard they are working. Isaty was particularly emotional, tearing up as he told me, "My whole life I never understood school. But here, I'm working with my hand, getting the best marks in my class, and enjoying it so much. This is exactly what I want to do in my life."
As the ones that graduated Young Africa Trade School get ready to move on, keep praying for their hunt for jobs and apprenticeships. The climate for work is extremely challenging, but they are all going to work hard to find opportunities, so pray with us that God rewards their efforts and blesses their knowledge and that they would find stable and healthy jobs.
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