Yesterday was a sterling example of how fully we should be prepared to leave every day in Jesus hands’, as things so often turn out differently than we expected! I wanted to get so much done yesterday, and eventually didn’t do much. The morning flew by with work and doing some urgent things in the house, and I received the happy news that so far 3 of the boxes of books we ordered had arrived. In the meantime we found out that the funeral/interment (not really a service like we would think of) was starting at 13h00, so we arranged with our empregada’s husband, Alberto, to meet us somewhere so we could go the rest of the way with him. We left here a little late, at first missed him at the meeting place, and then it was quite a long walk to his wife’s parents house, where the funeral was being held, but since all the proceedings took such a long time I’m not really sorry we missed some of it. We didn’t know what we were supposed to do, where we should sit etc, but he asked us whether we would like to see Lisete (our empregada – househelper) and we said yes, so we were taken into the house where the casket was and some women were comforting Lisete, her mother and others who are possibly sisters or cousins, I never found out. They were weeping bitterly, all covered up in capulanas, and sitting up or lying down the whole time we were sitting there and the women were singing. Although she apparently came to faith before she died, the sister had been Catholic like her parents, so all I could make out from many of the Makua songs was that they included references to Mary and the saints. At one point we also prayed for her soul in Portuguese, and the Hail Mary that was said was unmistakeable. The singing and sitting in the hot stuffy room seemed to last forever, then they moved the casket outside and opened it (I don’t know why), and everyone filed past. The mother and sisters’ wailing and screams as they passed by were terrible, though from what I’ve heard it’s typical – might I say expected? Then, to my great relief, we didn’t all go to the city cemetery, which is what I thought you had to do – we only walked perhaps 4 minutes away and buried her in the bairro (it’s quite a quiet, leafy, spread-out bairro, you couldn’t do this everywhere). We stood by the graveside and listened to the singing for another eternity, some things were said in Makua, and then the grave was completely filled up while we waited. Just when we had come out of the house everyone took branches from some shrub that some of the women had big bunches of, and I kept wondering what we would do with these – at last we stuck them into the ground on the grave, covering it in green. Then we went back to the house and Angie and I could finally talk to Alberto again and ask him what was happening next. They seemed to expect we really need and want to speak to Lisete, so we sat and waited for her for a while, then sat there and didn’t really know what to say, talked a little about how the lady had died, the comfort that she is in heaven (?) etc. I was very relieved when we could finally leave, being accompanied out of the bairro by one of the pastors that Angie knows, because he works at SIL. Unfortunately, his wife was there too and she just had a grand time strolling along and chatting to Angie – some of you will know how fast I normally walk! And then, just when we were finally at the road and I thought we could get a chapa (this was after 16h00), they wanted us to quickly come to their house, which was close by. At least we managed not to stay too long there – but long enough to be offered and in our ignorance to accept maheu (don’t know how you spell it) – fermented maize flour. It was awful and I could only get a few mouthfuls down from politeness. Then another slow stroll back to the road and we were off.
We got back to the flat just about at 17h00, I by this time quite anxious about all my work. I had just turned on my computer and opened my web browser when the power went off… Somehow it made it worse that it wasn’t our area or even our whole block, it was just our building! I really wanted to burst into tears. I did some work by candlelight, and then went over to Clemilda and Cornelia’s, since I was just wasting time. I worked there for about an hour until the power came back on. Ultimately I could get quite a bit done, but Dr Woodrow phoned about all sorts of other work that we need to do this afternoon, so I am not sure whether I will get it all done today. I can only do my best, I guess…
