Moved In and Getting Started

My new little house is great!  I can get internet in my room and it has been surprisingly reliable (although I do not expect this to last).  There are 13 missions school houses and I am living in one of them.  I am the only one in this housing compound so I had the privilege of going through the other houses to find the things that my house was lacking (I call it house shopping).  I found an electric kettle and enough hand sanitizer to make any nurse smile!! And I acquired some fans which made my night more bearable in the heat.

Just after breakfast this morning (7:20am) a Mozambican man showed up at my house... once we established that he spoke about as much English as I speak Portuguese he said the word ‘plum’.... I realized that he must be the plumber.  I was right, soon after his arrival his helper arrived.  I know that my house has water because my bathroom sink works and the toilet has water but the kitchen sink had no water and the shower would not work.  These men quickly (30min) fixed my kitchen tap and have been working on the shower for 2.5 hours!  The water is now running but I still need a shower head!  I am sure it will arrive! (It arrived before I posted this J)

A quick update on my missing bag for those of you not on Facebook:  On my luggage tags, I do not write my address but I write my email address.  A couple of days ago I got an email because of that tag (it made me smile that my idea was efficient).  My bag decided to hang out in Johannesburg; maybe it went on safari or chased some elephants!  I now know that my bag got on the 0830 flight this morning and it will meet me at the airport after lunch... so exciting!!  This is also the first year that i locked my checked baggage so i am sure everything will be present!!

Now to town for groceries before going to the airport!!

Have an amazing day!

Candace

Update on the update: My bag is here and I have shaved my legs J. I chose not to include pictures!.. everything that I put in my bag in Canada came out again with nothing missing and no explosions. God is Good!!

Stay Tuned: My next blog will be all about latrines and what the nurse has done here!!!

The end of one journey, the beginning of the next...

Hello from afar!

I am now in Pemba!  It was a long journey and I am glad to finally be here.  I have been resting a lot, allowing my brain to catch up to my body.  It is VERY hot.  Even the people that have been here for years live in a constant state of sweat.  Of course, I know that ladies don’t sweat, they glow... I have been GLOWING BUCKETS!!!  I arrived in with one piece... I started with 2 pieces of checked luggage.  The heavy one (70lbs) arrived, he light one (50 lbs) did not.  I am amazed by this circumstance because I did things differently and because of a few good God ideas along the way, I am not stressed at all about this missing bag!  I packed equal amounts of clothing in each of my bags, including my carry on, so I have 2/3rds of my clothes!  I was planning on buying a brand new back pack before I left but a friend gave me her old one instead (saving lots of $$$)... If it was a new back pack missing I would be anxious but because I did not spend the money I am at peace!!  While I was in YVR I randomly bought deodorant... so weird for me... the most important thing in the missing bag is my toiletry bag.  I am amazed because I have everything that I need.  A friend here is in charge of donations left behind by visitors so she hooked me up with flip flops, shampoo, and a new toothbrush.  All these simple things make me smile!!

Since I have been here I have chased several canine sized cockroaches out of my room, my house, three different bathrooms, and one from inside my bug net.  I might stop chasing them and just start naming them... I might look for some cockroach leashes in town so that I can take my new pets for walks!  Other than more bugs than I remember, I am settling in very well.  I love catching up with old friends and hugging kids all day long.  I have yet to take many pictures since I have been here but I have cleaned my new house... the water was the colour of mud and almost as thick!

I am still adjusting but I absolutely love being here!!!! I will write more interesting blogs to come but I think that my brain might be in that missing bag... or it melted in the heat... or a cockroach ate it while I was sleeping J

Thanks for reading this little update!

Until next time, Candace

PS  Here are a couple of pictures from my travel... my travelling buddy is named Cheeky and she proved to be a lot of fun!!!

Before I Go...

I have heard that just before a pregnant woman goes into labour she goes through a 'nesting' stage.  She gets this urge to clean and make sure everything is 'right'.  I am not pregnant!!! But I am nesting.  The 'due date' is tomorrow and everything is on schedule.  I am officially really, really excited now.  I think (hope) that I have everything in order and I am now working on packing! My methods are a little odd but I am praying that everything will fit!  I have stacked everything on the couch and now I have to get the couch into the bags... I am so thankful for my friends!!

I wanted to quickly update my blog to touch base with you before I take off.  I truly believe that this is an adventure that we are on together!  

I would love and appreciate your prayers!  I start my day tomorrow with a little flight to Vancouver.  I then board a 14 hour flight! I get to stretch for 2 hours in Hong Kong then I board a 13 hour flight followed by a 4 hour flight!!  That is 31 hours of sitting still, and we all know me!!!

Hopefully once I finally get to Pemba (on Saturday) I will get to go swimming before I even unpack! (my bathing suit is in my carry on).  

Quick prayer points: Quick and easy adjustment back to life in Pemba, No illness (not even once!!), that I can learn more of the language, that my practicum would go smooth, and just the basic protection stuff!!  I want to encounter God on this adventure!

I love you guys, thank you for journeying with me!!

Below are pictures of the task at hand.  First a pic of my couch covered in most (not all) of my stuff to pack, then a pic of the three bags I am taking, Then a couple of Laura trying to come with, and then a picture of the couch and bags in perspective... quite a task but it will be completed!!!

Love always, Candace of the Bush Bush