Soccer Stars!

Look at these gorgeous and oh-so-professional looking  futball players!  We received such wonderful  new  uniforms as a gift from friends in the US. 

Let's see if I can explain this properly:  My friend Dot has a great-niece, Alyssa, who is on a girls' soccer team.  Her niece, Lisa, is the coach. Alyssa won a grant for $250.00 from a professional soccer player.  They decided to collect uniforms and balls for my boys and use the money to pay the postage to send them to us. In addition, the Ladies Sarah Circle of the United Methodist Church, Waretown, paid for postage that was over and above.

Lisa and Alyssa contacted a uniform company called "Jako" who let them pick from tons of brand new uniforms!  They sent us FIVE boxes!!!  Mostly uniforms, several balls and pumps as well.  I think the thing they liked the best are the goalie pants!!

There were lots of different sizes in the boxes so we will be able to bless other dorms and even perhaps some of the older youth teams that we play with in the community! 

Thank you so much Alyssa, Lisa, Dot, and the Ladies Sarah Circle, as well as Jako and the foundation which gave Alyssa the grant, for having a heart to bless my boys this way.  They really feel so special when they put these uniforms on!

 

Angelo celebrating a goal!

I killed a chicken!

This post isn't for vegetarians, squeamish people or children.  There will be photos with blood.  Sorry, just too proud of myself to leave out the good photos!  In case people want to know the story but not see the photos, I'm saving the photos to put all at the end of the text.

So I've thought for a long time that I'd like to learn how to kill a chicken and properly prepare it for eating.  My mother never did but my grandmother did!  That was just how it was done.  Loads of people all over the world kill chickens to eat.  It seems like a handy skill to know.  Especially here in Mozambique.  And if I'm ever selected for Survivor!

But I didn't think I'd really be able to do it.  One time, I bought a live chicken for a friend for a present and he laughed at me when I told him all the way in the car I was apologizing to the poor chicken because it's legs were tied!  When I admitted I'd like to learn how to kill one, he said "Oh, Mana Laura, you don't have the courage!"  I mostly agreed with him.

But last week my Tias bought a live chicken and prepared it here and cooked it in my house.  I told them that I want them to teach me how to as well.  Reading a friend's post who lives in Kenya where she talks about helping gut and clean chickens further piqued my interest - I had no idea there were little things inside that you CANNOT let burst open or it will ruin the whole thing!  I guess they take those parts out before you buy a "whole" chicken at Albertsons and certainly before you get a rotisserie chicken at Costco!

So I decided today was the day!  I had forgotten to soak my beans for chili overnight so that left me wondering what to make for dinner.  It's Tuesday so there are no particular commitments in the evening so I knew it was perfect.

I asked Mana Marta if she felt like helping me tonight and she said sure, laughing all the way.  I'm quite sure she thought she'd end up doing the dirty work - so did I!  We walked into the community and to one woman's house where she had two chickens to choose from.  I had to "weigh" them by holding one in each hand and deciding which was best.  After paying 85 mets, about $3, we were off.  Stopped next to get some potatoes, onion, tomatoes and bouillon and headed back home.  Oh, I was carrying the chicken by the wings the whole way.  I tried not to apologize out loud.  I did manage to not name the chicken.  I thought that wouldn't help matters.  Marta is quite sure I'm strange by this point as she explains that most women would have begun killing chickens at age TEN!

We get home and I change my shirt (it was white) and get a cooking pot and my sharpest knife.  Because we don't have any axes laying around!

So I step on the legs together, then I step on the wings.  Then we both hold the head taut and well, you probably know what happened next.  I can't believe I had the courage!  I will say, restraining the chicken that way means that it didn't make a peep or move a muscle so it didn't feel like I was doing anything mean  (goes to show how you can't always rely on feelings!).

Afterward, we plucked it and then cleaned it inside and out, cutting it into edible pieces.  I went all the way Mozambican and cut the tomatoes and potatoes in my hand (I was too slow so Marta did the onion) rather than a cutting board.  We added some garlic and green pepper and we were set to cook it on the stovetop. 

Me and my three tias ate it (there wasn't enough in one chicken for all the boys) and there was plenty left over for them to eat later or with the chefes.  I have to say, it was a little tough!

At one point I did think I might become a vegetarian after this but I don't think so.  In a way, it feels good to be more connected to my food.  Especially after watching the secret video taken at an egg company and their treatment of chickens!  But I don't know if I'll make it a regular part of my dinner preparation!

But I did go up several notches in the esteem of my Tias, Chefes and boys!!  They still can't believe I went through with it!

Now here are some photos!

Weighing the chickens for the best one!

Marta's showing me just where to cut.

The dirty job is done!  Sorry chicken!

Notice there's even blood on my toes!

(Do I look like a girl who would kill a chicken?)

Plucking takes a long time!

That's what the inside of a real "whole" chicken looks like!

About half of what we ended up with (I'm not eatin that foot!).

Simmering on the stovetop . . .

And the finished product!

Wow!

I'm Learning to Sew!!!!

I'm SEW excited!  Haha!  I've wanted to learn to sew forever.  I did have a section of my Home Ec class (remember those days gone by?) that was for sewing and I made a really misshapen heart pillow without the lace because I never could learn how to add it in.

Then years after finishing college, I tried to take a sewing class at a JC but there were over 20 students so if you got stuck (which I seemed to do after sewing for about 1.5 minutes!) you had to wait SEW long for the teacher to come help.  I think I have half a pair of pants in storage someday, hoping I'll learn and finish!

I've also thought that "every good missionary" should know how to sew (and cut hair and kill a chicken, but those are different stories!).  So when Betty, the lovely woman who teaches our girls sewing, told me she had one woman (Carla) she was teaching on Tuesday and Friday mornings, I asked if I could join in.  She said Yes!  So, unless I need to give up my spot to another woman who wants to learn, I'll be able to learn to sew!  Yay!

I started by practicing sewing straight hems on capulanas, the big piece of material that is used for wrap-around skirts here in Mozambique.  I was supposed to make ten but she said I was doing so well, I could move on after five!  Today, I graduated to making little tiny purses, bags really.  I made two! 

I can't wait to sew again! And next time, I'll take a photo of Betty as well!

Burning Bush applications

Well, this little lesson on the Burning Bush has proven to have an unexpected side-effect that is SO helpful! 

I have been able to use the experience of making a fire (and adding little bits to it which of course, the boys were over the moon to participate in!) to illustrate how small problems can escalate into grande problemas!

We had a small issue amongst friends turn into a near-brawl with seven or more kids involved this morning.  Lots of hitting, biting, scratching (wait, is this a girls dorm?!?), shoving and shouting later, I was able to talk with them when the fire came to mind. They really seemed to get it when I reminded them the fire went out when we stopped adding fuel.  But it grew when we added leaves and sticks.

In the same way in a conflict (especially with other people around) the problem can be resolved if we stop adding more "fuel to the fire" but it grows with every added insult and every new voice throwing in their two cents.  I was so pleased to see the recognition in their eyes when I shared this with them!

Will they now go forth and fight no more?  I doubt it.  But perhaps they'll think twice before jumping into someone else's argument . . .

perhaps I will too.

Boys and the burning bush

We're preparing to teach the boys the Ten Commandments soon and we've also been talking with them about hearing from God.  So we followed up on last week's lesson about how God speaks to us.  We finished up with explaining that God can use anything to speak to us - even a burning bush! 

We told the story of Moses and then decided to actually go light a 'bush" (a bundle of sticks and leaves!) on fire.  I asked them to imagine if God were to call their name out of that bush, what would that be like.  And that the really cool thing is that Moses replied, "who am I that you would speak to me?"  He responded with humility before the Lord, not arrogance that the Lord would choose him.  

After we all kicked sand on our bush, we went back in the house and painted a burning bush. 

Boys love fire!  I hope the visual image will help the story stick with them!

And Birthday GIRL fun!

I never told you about my birthday!  It was on July 7th and I had a very nice day.  I went into the city in the morning and had a nice massage.  I also had lunch at a little cafe overlooking the ocean.

When I got back to the center, Fiona, Sarah and Naomi had planned a  little celebration for me with the boys with cake and juice and popcorn!  So fun!  Joao Macamo had somehow obtained a bar of soap to present to me for a gift!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my chefes (dorm helpers) has recently completed a cooking course and had shown me some photos of some dishes he had made which looked wonderful.  so I asked him to cater a little evening party at my house.  He worked all day!  I think he started at 1pm and the party began at 7:30  Here's the master at work: 

 

He made six different plates of food!  This just shows four of them, the pizza and the other yummy tomato/egg dish was still cooking. 

 

 

A lot of friends came over,

including all my chefes

and the three Tias who were on that shift.   They gave me this capulana (skirt) as a pressie! 

 

It was a fun night and I think Armando was very pleased with how it all turned out!

Birthday boy fun!

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Antonino jumping up in the background!  He was having so much fun cheering his team on in the frisbee relay!

 

 

 

The frisbee is really supposed to go on our heads but I just went along with all the boys improvisation!  Much easier on your nose.  Except for . . .

 

 

when you can't see where you're going and run right into your friend! 

 

 

 

 

 

These boys probably couldn't see where they're going either!

 

 

 

 

 

That smile of Elidio's says it all!

I am blessed by these boys who are happy with so little!  I want to appreciate and enjoy the little things as much as they do!

 

 

Paulo's favorite birthday pressie!

Paulo just loved this little Kid's Meal toy that plays about 20 seconds of a song over and over again.  If we'd just given him this, I think he'd of been perfectly happy!

 

Pieces of Pumpkin Pie

Did you expect something round, orange and reminiscent of Thanksgiving?  Sorry!  "Piece of Pumpkin Pie" is one of my pet names for my cute-patoot littlies!  I took photos of the newest boys to print, laminate and put over the door to their respective rooms and just had to share them here.

Geronimo (who goes by Jerome)

Elizio

Gaspar

Simois

Ivo