e-mails from Rachel

"heyo, here briefly before amber and i go off to watch 'children of men' so will write another blog, very hot and sunny again today."

Then.....

"I just lost my entire really long and lovely blog! aaaaaaaah."

"Anyway just quickly before i run off, today (Wednesday)is the start of Oasis Mozambiques 24/7 prayer week for the churches in Beira. It is amazing because last friday there were only 6 names on the timetable and now it is nearly full up. We have planned hours to do with our youth groups at church on Saturday and the four of us are doing 2-4 on Monday mornin. So prayers for the week would be much appreciated.
We are going to Savane again on Sunday nioght as a mini retreat/ debrief so won't be blogging, but have lots to say about cinemas and freak winds, so watch this space!
Byeexxx"

Please could you stick this on for me!

Hello everyone, I am blogging via email again, but it really is me!

So after the cyclone last week we went to Vaz on Saturday morning and there wasnt too much obvious damage, and people werent talking about it. We visited a couple of our guys houses and they looked ok, so that is great. Apparently though the places Soph and I were planning on visiting have been flattened so we are trying to get in contact with our hostels! The weatehr has finally brightened up again today after a week of grey and rain which is nice but we found out last night that Beira would be experiencing severe water shortages for the next two weeks which will be lots of fun I am sure!
We are leaving Beira in less than three weeks! That is scary close, we have t start sorting stuff out soon like packing and saying goodbye and present buying and all sorts! its like getting readfy to come here all over again, we are even having to start thinking about debrief and readsing up about reverse culture shock!
The girls ahad a really horrible time at Manga the other day (i was poorly:( ). it weas the day of the cyclone so the kids were really excitable, but all was going reasonable until they handed out pens for drawing. Normally we take pencils and there isnt a problem but they think that it was the sight of pens that set the kids off, suddenly they were surrounded by all of the kids begging them for pens, like they do for mnoney in town, and when they dropped soem the kids would all leap at them grabbing. They kept trying to tell them to sit sdown and that they would all get a pen, but they wouldn't and the girls found it really hard. When Pastor Manuel came back in the kids settled down though and he explained a lot of stuff about them, like how some are just thrown out of their houses for months and forced to go and beg. Its such a shame that it happened though as we were really starting to get into our work there and I think that it wil be strnage going back this week so please pray that all goes well and that we have the confidence to do it!
In complete contrast Em and I had a really ghreat time with ur youth group on Friday afternoon. They came round to visit us and we ended up spending about three hopurs playing games asinging songs hearing a message and praying together, it was just like a youth group at home. We discovered that Miquitaio really likes the Kooks and Marcelena likes James Blunt. Best bit wa sthat Euridice came in to join us, despite being completely emabarrassed by Rosa introducing her as 'this thing that lives in my house but doesnt like going to church', and then she came with us to church yesterday!
Speaking of I gave 'a word' in church yesterday, not even remotely cheesy like last time. It was very scary but i Spoke on Philippians 4v13 'I can do all things thourgh him who strengthens me' , which is quit a confidence booster. It aklso helped that Euridice had gone though it with me before hand and helped put it into proper Portuguese! So all went well and there was amen-ing involved! Emmas turn next week :)

So thats about it for now byexxxx

She is still there!!

Hi, this is Rachel's dad.

Rachel has been having difficulty getting on to Blog this last week and today, so she e-mailed me to ask if I could do a posting so that you know she is o.k.

It's the morning after the cyclone hit Mozambique and I asked Rachel what it was like in Beira and had she heard from anybody at Vaz as she was very worried for their saftey last night as the wind was 175 to 200 km/hr and torrential horizontal rain.

"havent heard anything from vaz yet but there should be some peeps coming round later so we might find out. Isnt too much obvious damage in town, klots of leaves and twigs everywhere, apparently we were just outside the actual cyclone and in the tropical sorm area, we missed the type one area by about 10km and the eye where it was type 2 was about 20 km awaywhen i spoke to you last night. The tropical storm area was huge, reaching to the zim border, so the whole thing lasted a long time s the entire diameter went past us, does that make sense? the second ione is currently in Madagascar we think so shoulnt get us, but it is a type 3/4 so really big(katrina was a four), the third one which last night was just a tropical storm off india is now a cyclone heading down towards the bottom of Africa, if it stays on course it should just carry on and miss africa alltogether, but thats what the one yesterday was supposed to do and it changed its mind so came up towards us!
so thats about all i know! "

Hopefully she will be able to do a posting soon, but if not I'll keep you informed.

Grrrrr

I dont like power cuts, i had a lovely long blog for you all and it has now disappeared and i dont have time to recreate before we go out for PIZZA!!!!!!!!
We had a massssssivve storm last night, when we went to bed(quite early absolutely shattered) we could just see lots of lightning but at quarter past 11 it broke over the top f us, the sky was lit up constantly, it was so bright i could see flashes with shut eyes an eye mask on and facing away from the window, and the thunder was so loud that our windows were rattling! But it has cleared the air a bit, so t is now slightly easier to breathe.
We had a really long(over four hours) joint service yesterday, Emmas first. We were let of doing the dance presentation though as we didnt know the songs, although it turned out we actually did, so we sang along anyway. Then we spent the afternoion at tim and Beths learning loads of stuff about Mozambique Vaz and Polygamy. they have been here since 1995 so know kloads of really interesting stuff, as a future anthropology student i loved it!
Saturday night was Marlemes 14th brithday poarty, the girls and rosa had spenmt forever cooking(i helped make biscuits) and Rosa hgad bout a huge and very extravagant cake, pik white and glittery icing. There was sooo much food, and just our famiy, Euridice's two brothers and us GAT girls to eat it. We had fun listening to cheesy old music and watching novellas with the sound off. One classic moment listenign to 'how do i live without you' which fitted rerally well with the action on the TV, I dont think the family understood why the four white girls were rolling around in Hysterics. We also listened to Enrique Iglesias (Marlenes favourite) and played mUsical chairs. So now we know all about how to party Mozambican style!
Sophie and I are actually getting somewhere with our travel plans. We have booked hostels and everything, and a day trip to thge Bazaruto islands inc snorkelling. Think that we might tyr and visit the Amos project while we are in durban as well. I have read Tom Hewitts book since being here and it sounds amazing stuff!
So off to feed rumbly stomach now
Rachelxxxxxxxxx

Manga 'n' that

So we have just got back from our second afternoon at the Grace of God church in Manga, where the amazing Pastor Manuel runs a school for Orphans, and generally helps and feeds them. He is such a great guy, he started up the whole thing with nothing, not even a building(they built the church themselves last year) and now they have official status as a school so the kids can get their grade certificates and he has over 200 orphans. We go over on a Thursday afternoon for 45 mins english lesson and 45 mins bible study with 80 kids(split between two classes).
Last week we started off with the alphabet (with actions) and 'my name is'. Sadly it seemed to be a disaster, they copied everything we said, including the portuguese, and nothing seemed to sink in, they were all so nervous that when we asked a question they just giggled. The bible study was on the lost sheep, so we asked for 6 volunteers to come up and read the story, we got six and even had to turn some away, but then the older girls refused to read because they were too embarrased. So we moved on to the drama, splitting into two groups. Sophie had the littlies and they had fun pretending to be the sheep, but as hard as emma and i tried the older ones did not understand what we wanted them to do. The colouring activity went well though, and Pastor Manuel was very happy, but we all left feeling exhausted and a bit low. This was probably partly due to the fact that we had had to wait forever for a chapa to Manga and then got on the wrong route so had to alk FOREVER in the hot sun somewhere we didnt really know. Oh what fun. The lovely pastor Manuel came in half way through our lesson with ice cold fanta for us though so we picked up a bit.
This week however we felt very prepared, and Amber came along as well(she is feeling better yay) It went so well, we were amazed when some of the olders girls greeted us in English and were able to tell us their names, we had thought that they hadn't understood at all. And they all got the hang of numbers really quickly. There was only one class as the others were having vaccinations so we felt really relaxed, it was great, Pastor Manuel even joined in the colouring. We have decided that Emma should move to Mozambique in order to design Sunday school worksheets, they looked really professional!
Last week Oasis mozambique had a retreat day at ummm, well I forget where, it was on the beach somewhere in Beira, and we led the prayer meeting part talking about how we should encourage each other, especially as all the departments, except Central, were missing their team leaders and lots of changes were taking place. We are leading the prayer meeting again next week on Valentines day, so expect stories of cheesy dressing up!
Emma and I are enjoying a social life this week, we went to Jim and Janes for dinner on Monday (with soph), have diunner at Marinas tomorrow, having a party on Saturday for Marlenes birthday (she was 14 on tuesday) and are going to Tim and Beths for lunch on Sunday! How popular are we?
Also debating whether or not to have my hair braided, any suggestions?
Speak soon
Byexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorrrrry

Hello one and all I am so sorry that I seemed to disappear for two weeks, panic not, blame Blogger, even now I am haviung to navigate my way round the site in Chinese!
So anyway all is well here in Beira, the weather is , as ever, very warm, though not so humid unless it is going to rain which makes a nice change. Emma has settled into home and Vaz really well, iut feels like she has been here forever.
We suddenly seem to have no time free , except Mondays, which of course is why I am writing oin a Tuesday(!). Today we started our PEPE (preschool) programme, an hour and a half of games and activities loosely based on an animal theme. However only Sophie and I went as Amber has now been ill for over a week(see later) and Emma had a bad case of Saturday morning belly this morning(again see later). But off we went armed with a bag of cutting sticking and paper plates, though sadly lacking in dictionaries. We went first of all with Sirley(PEPE coordinator, small bouncy brazillian) and Marina to The second Baptist church. Sirley then spoke to the teacher and decded that they were going to put all 90! kids together for one of us to work with and the other would go to Machatazina! Sophie was the unlucky one who stayed behind so Marina and I plodded off and spent about an hour playing games with 15 very cute and very timid little people. It was so sweet, tehy were really shy but loved chasing each other so we palyed a lot off duck duck goose and cat and mouse(told you there was an animal theme). When we got back Sophie wasnt under a heap of kids as I had expected, it turned out by the time Sirley got back to help they were having a brewak time so she had fun playing with just one class, a very good way to break us in. Now we sort of know what to expect for next week.
The other thing that wee started last week was the orphanage in manga, we go over for an hour and a half on thursday afternoons for an english lesson and a bible study. Sadly that story will have to wai though as it is lunchtime, aaaah so much to say.,
Oh yeah Amber shye had suspected Malaria but the treatmenbt seemed to make her worse so she has been off work feeling sick tired and dizzy since last saturday spending lots of time at Marinas, however she is on the mend now, but please keep praying that she gets all of her strength back.
And saturday morning belly is what we call the rather weird feeling that we always get the morning after eating nice english food at Marinas on a Saturday night! Funness.
So sorry again, I will be backxxxxxxxxxxxxxx