Mozambique Trip - 2010 - Day 9

Day 9



After a marathon of planning on day 8, we spent the morning today prioritizing the tasks and goals that we had identified. We made a list of things to address within the next 30 days, and then divided those tasks among us. Chief on our list was to improve our communication ability by having Ernesto and Seba purchase a cell phone that could double as a wireless internet access for Ernesto's computer. This would allow him to email / skype us from his home or Possulane, and avoid having to make the arduous trip into Maputo to use the internet cafe. We also tasked he and Seba with getting a bank account set up for CCSR (the community center / orphanage) so that he could track income and expenses related to the center more accurately.

The "to-do" list stretches out over a year and has goals set to accomplish within 90 days, 180 days, 270 days and one year. We fully realize that we must be flexible in our expectations on timing to accomplish much of what we have planned. Things move much slower in Moz. (The bank account mentioned above took 9 days to get open).

We left our hotel and headed for Possulane, where a meeting was planned with the Department of Health and Welfare to discuss completion of the dormitory and foreign adoption of Moz. orphans. We were greated warmly by Adolpho and Anna at the center, and after some brief introductions and comments, we dove into the the subject of adoption. With Seba translating, Adolpho confirmed that foreign adoptions have happened, but that they were infrequent, and would likely be a last resort for the courts. They mentioned that in order to adopt a child from Moz., that child would have to be without any family whatsoever in the country.

Further raising the bar was the requirement that a family would have to live in Moz. for 6 months prior to finalizing the adoption. When asked why, Adopho responded that his department would need to get to know the parents and the children of the adoptive family.

We took the opportunity to tell him that the requirements he was describing were similar to what we had in Texas (Pat and I have both handled several adoptions). He seemed open to the idea of having the Texas authorities coordinate with those in Moz. to conduct home studies in lieu of having the adoptive families live in Moz. for an extended period of time. The lack of depth of understanding of international adoption was quickly apparent. They referred us to the main office in Maputo if we wanted to explore this further. We pointed out to Adopho and Anna that adoption was just one of many ways that we wanted to help the children of Moz.




We next turned our attention to the requirements that were necessary to complete before children could move into the dormitory. Imagine City officials doing a walk-through before giving a certificate of occupancy and you'll get a feel for how this went. They walked through the building and pointed out some obvious and some ridiculous requirements that they wanted addressed. (one being that they wanted cartoon animals painted on a sign out front so that people would know there were kids present). Ernesto, ever confident of his mission, sat there smiling and when we nervously pressed him about how they were going to get it all done, he smiled wide and said, "All these items are negotiable." Add seasoned contractor to his list of talents.

Ernesto drove Adolpho and Anna back to their office in Marracuene and then returned and we held the dedication. Pat and I both spoke about the significance and opportunity of the dormitory, what it represented, and how the Lord saw special significance in the caring for orphans (see James 1:27).

Afterward, the ladies treated us to some traditional Mozambiqan foods - boiled Cassava root, homemade guacamole, boiled peanuts and a fruit called Ata.

The Ata fruit looks kind of like an artichoke on the outisde, but broken open, it reveals this tender, fleshy fruit that surrounds black seeds. There is no easy way to eat this fruit except to stick your face in it, swish the fruit around your mouth and then spit out the seeds. The white fruit is about the consistence of yogurt and tastes similarly.

On our way back to our hotel we drove through the "downtown" area of Marracuene and down to the river. The picture below is of the river basin area and a small neighborhood.

The ferry is the only means of access to a neighboring small island community.

Once back at Turistico Complexo de Roger, we ate our final meal and paid our tab for the week. To our amazement, our entire restaurant tab was about $200.00. That included all meals for Michaela, Pat and I. Seba and Ernesto ate with us as well almost every night, and for one lunch Ernesto's entire family was in attendance.

During dinner, we asked Ernesto to tell us more about how he came to be involved with the Leadership Foundation in Moz. He said that in 2006 he was asked to come to Pretoria, South Africa to speak at a conference. He took a bus 12 hours and showed up with nothing prepared to say. He said he decided to "tell the story of my life." In attendance were Bob Reeverts (of the Denver Leadership Foundation, who helped put the trip together in 2008 when Sheri Pattillo went) and Juliao Mutemba, the Anglican priest that leads the Leadership Foundation in Moz. Interesting how God uses the smallest efforts of obedience to set into motion great works.

One of Michaela's little friends, Nusta, who to me looked like a little pixie. She was ever-present at the orphanage.