There is certainly less to write about now that the Conference is over… My quest for a new daily and weekly rhythm continues. I have been feeling that it was a pity I haven’t been visiting any more churches for quite a while, so this past Sunday I went to Allison and Angie’s church with them. The pastor, Vicente Manuel, works in the print shop at SIL and has been coming to the Fiel conference for a few years now, I believe, and the good things I had heard about his preaching were proved reliable in my own experience. It was certainly the most Biblical and fiery preaching I have yet heard in Mozambique, a very clear presentation of the gospel, though I felt he could have preached the Cross more. Their congregation is fairly small, but very warm and friendly and they clearly love each other. There was great excitement to have Allison back, and she was even asked to come up and sing a song, which she did beautifully. Even though it’s impossible to visit any church here and not feel like an outsider, it was a very pleasant experience of fellowship.
The rest of our Sunday was quite packed – Angie and I had arranged to borrow a friend’s car and go to the feira (the big Sunday market) – normally I hate it, since it is so crowded, but I needed some sort of sandals or flipflops sort of urgently and wanted one or two other things as well. The most rewarding purchase of all was 2 esteiras (bamboo mats) which Angie cut in half and put up on our veranda so that it covers the screened-in area about halfway – leaving room for light and air but making us invisible from the outside. Why didn’t we do this months ago? We ended up rearranging the veranda a bit and finally feel like we can sit there and enjoy it again! This was after we got back from a garage sale some other missionaries were having. We may need to return some of the stuff we’re borrowing from friends in a month or two, so we went there hoping to get some stuff for the house. I did get a nice dishrack and some loaf pans, but mostly bought books… House-wise it was a pretty productive day!
I went to do some work at Dr Woodrow’s on Monday and Tuesday. At first I felt depressed as the pile of work seemed unending, and I had some unpleasant (i.e. incorrect) post-conference accounting to finish up and report back on… The Lord was gracious to me though, and with that out of the way I felt greatly relieved, and slowly but surely started feeling like some progress was being made. I took an “at-home day” on Wednesday, mostly from a strong desire to set aside time again for language study! It was just as well I was home, since I wasn’t feeling great, so reading (Narnia in Portuguese! It’s so cool!) and working on vocabulary lists suited me just fine. Around lunchtime Angie went with me to the bookstore quickly, since I needed to drop by and she had been wanting to see it, but that only took about an hour. At 15h00 I had my first session with my language helper in I don’t know how long, which I think went fairly well. I didn’t get much other work done, but felt grateful for a good language-day. I ended up staying home yesterday and today also, though that wasn’t the plan – whether I’m doing my own time-consuming work (mostly updating our Fiel contacts at the moment) here or at Dr Woodrow’s doesn’t really make a difference. And I have been relatiely productive, a wonderful feeling! Today is a holiday – day of the city of Nampula – and as always I’m avoiding public transport, with people in a party mood…
Last night I went to cell group again for the first time in ages. It was lovely to see my friends again and feel sort of connected with other people again, though the message left much to be desired and the main focus of the evening was anointing and praying for this couple whose child had nearly died last year and still requires much therapy. I noticed once again, like a stranger seeing a situation with new eyes, how I had come to not even expect an encounter with Jesus at cell or church anymore, how I don’t even seek a meaningful experience of corporate worship…. Just before that I had been chatting with Rubenita, a new Brazilian lady with New Tribes, about how much she misses the girl she had been having Bible study and prayer with in Brazil. I am feeling generally sad and disappointed with the level of fellowship and sharing in my life, but I don’t quite know what to do about it…
