Muzungu! (White Person)

This week has been great so far! The weather is basically the same everyday!  My tan is coming along wonderfully!!  We spent the weekend at Rio Savane, which is a local resort about 40 km from our house.  The beach was amazing!  It was so nice and relaxing and the shrimp was the best!  I actually swam in the Indian Ocean! I didn't have the pleasure of doing this as a missionary, so it's nice being back and being able to experience some of the nicer things I wasn't able to do as a missionary.

Here's a nice usual picture of my happy self! we are in the back of the landcruiser on our way back from the beach!  Luckily, the roads weren't too bad.  I have missed everything about Mozambique, EXCEPT the roads. haha most of the roads here are horrible because the rain season messes them up pretty good.

Look at our friends we found along the way home! A family of monkeys! Everybody used to ask me---what kind of animals did you see in Africa!? Lions? Elephants? etc..... welllll, Mozambique isn't the hotspot for african wildlife, but they DO have monkeys! Although the wildlife is particularily scarce, this place is still my home!

Here's a nice shot of some girls from the Vila Massane village.  They were playing outside during one of the meetings.  Each week they have a community leadership meeting and talk about the goals and achievements of each of the zones.  The goals each family makes are wonderful!  They start with the basics like having a clean and functioning "latrine" or bathroom, sanitizing their water with bleach and later planting gardens and participating in reading and writing classes!

I got a haircut the other day! It was honestly the simplest haircut, but the best haircut ever! I can only remember a few select times that I had a good haircut, and this was one of those times.  I'm also testing out the limits of my facial hair for the first time in my life! Yes, yes I'm sure you are all thinking, you are nasty Kevin! Well, I figure that trying to grow a beard in Africa is the best time! So, who knows maybe ya won't recognize me when I get home! Anyways, the week has gone well and I'm looking forward to our other 4 volunteers that will be arriving this weekend to join Wendy, Karen and I and the rest of the Care For Life team!

First week...I feel like a greenie again

Well this first week in Mozambique has been a great experience so far!  Surprisingly, my portuguese has come back at an incredible pace.  I've remembered lots, but lots of words I have had to learn again. So just like I did on my mission, I carry around my little notebook and jot down those words that I'm unfamiliar with.  It's been a good learning opportunity....again.

It's been a difficult week, mostly for the fact that getting into a routine takes a while to get used to.  Lots of team preparation has been going on so that when the other volunteers arrive on June 1st everything will be organized and flow smoothly (we can hope-but we all know that nothing generally runs according to plan!)  But I would have to say that I'm now comfortable being back in the place that I love.

It's a very humble experience being back where I served my mission.  On Wednesday night we had 6 of the local missionaries over for dinner and my mind was instantly swept back to memories I had as I served in Mozambique.  The elders left a message of "remembering".  We read in Helaman Chapter 5 about Nephi and Lehi and how they remembered the words of Helaman their father.  It's so important to remember the blessings the Lord has given each of us and to remember the Lord in times of doubt or fear.  I was really able to feel the spirit as they shared this short, but simple message.

You wanna know the best feeling I had today?  Sweating my face off as I walked down a dusty road from one Mozambican village (Subida) to another (Jean Piaget).  The sun beating on my face.  I just love it.  Adilson is the coordinator that will be helping with our projects when the volunteers come in June and I was able to be with him all day to learn a thing or two about the various projects that are going on in the villages.  The families that participate in the Family Preservation Program make certain goals that will allow them to live healthier lives.  They can start by making a "latrine" which is a bathroom, followed by making a garden and sanitizing their water with bleach.  These simple goals help families live healthier lives and make them more capable of accomplishing even greater goals.  I'm glad to be a part of these great projects!

I hope you like the pics of that crazy tree with its big roots! Also the other pic is what we call a Latrine here in Mozambique, which is basically a form of bathroom

How Could I forget about this place!?

            Goodbye Canada.  Hello Africa!  Well, it’s official.  I finally made it to Mozambique after some very long flights!  Words can’t really describe the feeling I had as I landed in the place I spent 2 years of my life as a missionary!  Memories started pouring into my mind as I passed through the city of Beira.  To be honest, I’ve been quite nervous about the whole travelling to Africa thing.  Not because I thought I couldn’t do it, but because I know I would miss people who are very close to me. NEWSFLASH KEVIN! I’m gonna be back in Canada at the end of July.  I won’t be here forever! Although it’s a long time to be away from family, friends, and .......a significant other, the time is going to go by fast because of the busy days ahead!  

            The chance of returning to a far away country I love doesn’t come everyday!  That’s why I’m going to make the very most of these couple months I have here in Mozambique! 

            On a side note, I drove for the very first time here since my mission! Driving on the opposite side of the road, along with the steering wheel and clutch on the right side of the vehicle can always be entertaining! Just make sure you don’t revert your mind back to Canada laws, or else you may end up in an accident!

Anyways, it's time to go for now! Tomorrow will be a big day of training!

Hope you like the pic! ---mosquito net and all