Africa – Valerie's Voice

Who’s Listening?

One afternoon while in Colorado, my husband and I took the grandchildren to the sandy shores of the pond near the apartment complex where they live. It was a sunny, warm day, with temperatures in the 70’s.

A morning view of the cabana’s from the shore.

After awhile we decided to rest in the shade of a cabana near the water. There were four covered areas, divided by sailcloth and each area had two lounge chairs and a small table. It was inviting, and a lovely spot for a respite from the sun.

A view of the cabana’s from the back…overlooking the water.

We each reclined on the lounge chairs, with one grandchild. We were happy and I said out loud, “It would be fun if someone could capture a picture of us.”

A few minutes later a kind woman popped into our area and said, “I heard you wanted your picture taken!”

She had overheard us…she was tucked in a different cubby of the cabana. She graciously took our photos, telling us to “shake it up” for one of them. It was fun and felt so welcoming.

She was a cheerful woman who was visiting her son, who lived in the complex. But, most interesting is that her husband was on a plane to Malawi, Africa on a mission trip…Malawi is a country bordering Mozambique – we’ve been there. She said she had been to Africa several times.

The next day we were at the playground when she walked by. She told me her husband made it safely to Malawi. I introduced her to my daughter-in-love. She gave her a big hug and told her how much she loved Africa and they visited for awhile.

I was happy for this connection but felt sad knowing this woman was leaving that day to go back to her home a couple hours away. Of course she will return to visit her son, and when she does I hope she and my daughter-in-love connect again.

For Zoey

Zoey, our 4-year-old granddaughter, is moving from Africa to the USA soon, with her family. Her mom says she is excited to see snow in Minnesota. Here are a few photos from our recent snowstorm…for Zoey… and Ezra, her 2 1/2-year-old brother. We cannot wait to see you!

I’m always taking pictures of the cardinals in our yard.

The red cardinal on a fresh layer of snow.

The snow covered trees in our front yard.

Snow-covered evergreen boughs out on our deck.

Looking out at the snow from our kitchen window, through a green-glass star.

I have a fun story about an African snowman. Our daughter-in-love is a native of Mozambique, and we knew she had never experienced snow but was curious about snow. Before we left Minnesota, on one visit to Mozambique, I dug through my Christmas boxes and found a packet of “Real Fake Snow” (when water is added to this white powder an instant reaction is a white-snow like mixture). I tucked the packet into my suitcase. One evening, after a very hot day in Mozambique, we opened the packet and mixed up the “real fake snow”. It was fun to watch a snowman being built, in Africa!

Our son looking on with joy as his wife makes her first snowman.

Swept Up

Hand-crafted broom and broom corn on my front porch.

While helping a friend clean up from the tornadoes that went through our area a few weeks ago I decided I’d like to sweep off the long driveway. Although it was cleared of trees, there was a lot of debris that made the driveway look messy and unwelcoming. I wanted the driveway to look tidy and welcoming once again (as it always had been in the past).

As I was sweeping (using broom first, then a blower) I thought back to our first trip to Africa in 2009, to visit our son who was living in a small village in northern Mozambique.

Tim met us at the airport in Malawi and we traveled a few days in that country before heading to Mozambique. We were excited to see his house, his work place and the village where he lived.

From my photo album…we drove from Malawi to Mozambique. It was a beautiful drive.
We first spent a few days in Malawi, at a National Park, and at a resort along Lake Malawi.

Tim was living in a rented, small four-room house. He chose to live among the people of the village instead of at the compound that his work provided. His yard was dirt, and in his front there was a well (no running water in the house) and a banana tree.

Tim sitting in front of his house. His neighbor told us how much he and his family enjoyed having Tim as a neighbor.

Towards evening, as we approached Tim’s house, the front light was on and the yard had been swept…not raked… swept.

A young man, a native and friend of Tim’s from the village, knew the day we were arriving so he swept Tim’s yard and turned on the front light – he wanted Tim’s house to look welcoming for us. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it (and as I write this), this small act of kindness seared in my mind. Maybe it’s a mother’s heart that makes me get emotional about that seemingly small act of kindness towards one of her children, but it is one I will not forget. It indeed made us feel welcomed.

So as I swept my friend’s driveway maybe I was paying it forward…subconsciously I knew how it made me feel that day when Lucas made his friend’s house look welcoming for his family and I wanted to pass it on.

Thank you Lucas!

From my photo album…beautiful African sunsets.

It Doesn’t Get Easier

Our son, Tim, who lives in Mozambique, managed to arrange a visit to Minnesota after a business meeting he attended in Washington DC. It was a great surprise to learn about this visit. We hadn’t seen him since October of last year.

We had three wonderful days together and nice family time along with our older son, Michael, and his family. We did miss having Tim’s family with us though.

It’s difficult to see your children once a year – and then not all of his family – our daughter-in-love and two grandchildren. Technology helps some these days…we hope our grandchildren recognize us after seeing us on Skype when we see them in person some day…but it’s hard.

So when we took Tim to the airport once again I was sad to say good-bye. After many years you’d think it might get easier, but it does not.

I do cherish the times we have together and hopefully we will get to see the whole family very soon.

Here is a photo our adorable grandchildren who live in Mozambique.

Zoey, soon to be 4 years old and Ezra is 2 years old.

Memorable Hikes – Cape Town, South Africa 2015

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa

After spending Christmas and starting the New Year (2015) with our son and his family in Mozambique, my husband and I flew to Cape Town, South Africa. It was great to see another country on the African continent. Cape Town is a more progressive city and we were excited to see it and the surrounding area, including the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, at the southern most tip of Africa.

Table Mountain is in the center of Cape Town and is visible from anywhere in the city. It’s flat top makes it looks like a table, hence the name. We decided to hike to the top of Table Mountain.

Getting closer to the top…deceiving photo though – you cannot see the people in it.

It was going to be another beautiful, sunny day in Cape Town so we started hiking up the mountain in the morning with much anticipation and energy. The climb soon became difficult: it was steep, rocky, hot and slow going. But we made it to the top and we were glad when we did.

As we were hiking two people stopped to ask me if I had enough water. I did. We are always careful a about carrying enough water with us when we hike. As people passed us up I noticed a lot of them were younger than we were. About two thirds of the way up we stopped to rest under a rock overhang, to stand in shade for a minute because we were so warm. A young man came up to me and asked if I had enough water. I said yes, and then he asked me to hold out my hat…when I did he poured his water into my hat and told me to pour it over my head. I did and it felt so good. I said thank you and he took off and continued on his way and I never saw him again. I was impressed with such a random act of kindness.

A beautiful view of Cape Town off to one side of Table Mountain.

The views at the top were fantastic and we spent a fair amount of time up there. When it was time to head down we took a cable car instead of hiking. The cable car is continually taking folks up to the top of the mountain and back down again. Usually hiking down is harder than hiking up, so I was grateful for the option to ride down the mountain.

A funny story about the cable car is we happened to be first in line for the next ride down. When we stepped into the cable car we were excited to get a front row view out the window. Once the cable car filled up and started descending, the floor of the cable car started rotating so everyone was able to have a chance to have that front row view. It was surprising, but what a great idea.

A cable car coming down from the top of Table Mountain.

Even though the hike up Table Mountain was a difficult one, we are happy we did it!

Memorable Hikes – Malawi, Africa 2009

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

This is about the hike that wasn’t.

Our youngest son, Tim, planned our first trip to Africa. He was living there when my husband, oldest son and myself went to visit. Tim met us at the airport as we stepped off the plane. It was so exciting to be in Africa!

A photo of a page from the photo book I made from our trip.

We met the rep from the rental car company and picked up our car. We were soon on the road starting our adventures. The first days were spent at a rustic lodge in Liwonde National Park in Malawi, Africa. We went on an exciting canoe safari and saw hippopotamus’ up close, and in this park we saw elephants in the wild for our first time (but not our last).

Our first hippo sighting from our canoes.

After a couple of nights it was time to head to the country of Mozambique to see where our son lived. However, the morning we were to leave we had trouble starting our vehicle at the lodge. After several attempts the car finally started and we drove to the park entrance. We had to turn in our permit to the park ranger and by automatic reflex we turned off the car. This time it wouldn’t start again.

Photo from our safari in Krueger National Park…there was no hiking in this park…must stay in the open-top jeep with your guide.

We called the rental company and they said they would send someone right away but of course we were a couple of hours from the city, so we each took out our books and started to read. After a while I decided I wanted to take a walk. My oldest son said he’d go along so we started walking down the road. Immediately the park ranger came running after us and said in broken English…”No! No walk…elephants.” So, of course we had to go back to the car.

Finally two mechanics showed up at the park to fix our car. Thankfully they could do it on the spot and they worked quickly. Soon we were on the road again driving to Mozambique.

A photo of a photo of the sunset we saw as we were paddling back to shore from our canoe safari.

Shortly after we arrived home to the USA I noticed an article in the newspaper about a young mom and her baby attacked by an elephant in Kenya, Africa and they died. Of course I immediately thought about our attempted hike in Liwonde National Park. I guess the ranger knew what he was talking about.

Memorable Hikes – Ulongué, Mozambique 2009

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

My husband and I and our oldest son took a trip to visit our youngest son living in Mozambique Africa. This was our first trip to Africa and we were very excited to see where our son, Tim, lived, to wander around in his current surroundings, and meet the people in his life. Also, all four of us went on a safari in South Africa. We had a great experience and created many memories. This is one of the memorable hikes we took in Africa: a hike in Ulongué, Mozambique.

Ulongué is the village where my son lived. We were eager to see Tim’s small, four-room house, with an outhouse in the back and a water well, and banana tree in the front. When we arrived, near dark, Tim’s friend had made sure the dirt in his front yard had been swept so Tim’s house would look welcoming for us when we arrived (which I found endearing).

One day we decided to hike to the market on the other side of the village of Ulongué, about an hour walk from his house. We walked on dirt paths through neighborhoods filled with children. We took pictures of the children playing and they excitedly ran up to us to see their pictures on our digital cameras. As we walked through streets people watched us curiously.

The curious children looking at their pictures.

We were hiking to the permanent, outdoor market with multiple stands selling a variety of wares along with many produce stands. I bought several colorful fabric pieces. My husband was intrigued by the bicycle shop.

When we finished shopping Tim led us on a longer trek outside of town, on a footpath behind the village, to return to his house. The terrain was picturesque: beautiful, open countryside. As we walked back into town we passed several folks drying maize in the hot sun on blankets.

Photo of a photo on the trail back to Tim’s house in Ulongué.

We enjoyed walking two different routes to and from the market, and managed to take a family photo along the footpath behind the village.

Photo of the family photo on trail outside of Ulongué.

Happy Birthday Zoey!

It is my grand-daughter’s third birthday today, October 10. My son and his wife were married three years ago but recently had a more traditional wedding to renew their vows and incorporate traditions from Lobolo, an African wedding ceremony, and American wedding ceremonies, including a big reception. Unfortunately we were unable to attend.

Here is photo of their two beautiful children all dressed up for the special occasion.

Ezra – 18 months old.
Zoey – 3 years old on October 10.

And another photo from that special day…

Another “Interruption of Service” Adventure

This is one of our many adventures we had while in Mozambique over the Christmas holiday in 2014. A different kind of “interruption of service” from two hired van drivers.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — The Indian Ocean

In 2014 our family spent Christmas together in Maputo, the city where my son (Tim) and his family lives. While we were all together my son planned a special stay at a resort on the Indian Ocean for the New Year. We had a late start the day we headed north to Zongoene Lodge. We rented a van and two drivers to help transport our large group – they arrived two hours late. Once on our way we drove out of the city traffic and had a nice drive along a four-lane highway. After a couple of hours we turned off the highway and started down a muddy, rutty, dirt road. The sun was setting. Our resort was still twenty-two miles away. There had been flash floods the night before and there were many flooded sections of the road. As we drove further into the countryside the road got muddier, the puddles got deeper, and the ride got scarier.

There were five of us in Tim’s car and the 12-passenger van, with the two hired drivers, carried seven others from our party. The road kept getting worse. We came upon another hill and Tim’s car slid down it. We pulled over and watched for the van – I was praying it would make it down the hill without toppling over. It did, but that was it…the angry drivers got out of the van and said they would go no further (as if it were our fault the roads were bad). It started raining again and night had fallen – and it was very dark – and we were somewhere in the middle of Mozambique – with a 2 ½ month old baby! Hmmm…I turned and said to my daughter-in-love, “it will be interesting to see how God gets us out of this mess.”

Well unbelievably, Tim’s cell phone worked, he called the lodge, and the manager borrowed four-wheel drive vehicles from resort guests and came to rescue us.

An overview of the landscape and resort on the Indian Ocean.

We waited over an hour but finally two vehicles arrived with the manager of the resort in one of them. We transferred our luggage and rearranged the twelve of us into the three vehicles. Then the van driver stepped on the accelerator, spun the van tires in the mud, turned the van around and sped away…madder than a hornet’s nest! They headed back to the city and we headed to the resort, another ten miles down the dark, flooded, muddy road.

We had been dispersed into different vehicles with strangers, in the middle of Mozambique, trusting we would all end up in the same place in a short while. The resort owner was behind the wheel of Tim’s car since he knew the road and could maneuver the dangerous spots. Another one of our party was a good sport. He ended up in the open bed of a pickup truck bouncing all the way to the resort…in the rain! Finally we all made it to Zongoene Lodge, at midnight, with a sigh of relief and praises to God.

We had an enjoyable week at the lodge on the Indian Ocean. The sun came out and the roads dried up so they were passable on the way out.

European Holiday

A couple of years ago we celebrated Christmas in Mozambique, Africa. Our son was, and still is, living in city of Maputo. That year I was so excited to meet my first grandchild, little Miss Zoey. We had a great time and many, exciting adventures and the best part…our immediate family was all together even though we were far away from home.

Once again we are very excited and look forward to many, new adventures on our European holiday in Portugal. We will meet our second grandchild, Mr. Ezra Nghala, for the first time in Lisbon. And the best part….our immediate family will all be together again for Christmas, this time in Portugal.