What have we been up to?

We have been doing well though the last couple of days have been hard as the twins aren't in best form. Diarrhea, teething and running noses! The last couple of nights we feel as though we have been doing gymnastics in and out of bed! Both Joshua and Abigail have been waking up frantically crying. Please pray for them that they and us will be able to sleep well.

The weather has been changing so much here. Over the weekend we had 35 degrees though today the temperature is 22 degrees! We had lots of rain last night. These changes in climate seem to open us up to colds etc. We are however grateful for the cooler weather today! Sharon is taking advantage of the cooler weather to bake her Christmas cake and puddings!

Tomorrow (25th) is American Thanksgiving and we are actually hosting the Americans at our place!! Strange or what? This is a good opportunity for us to get to know more people and eat like Americans!

Sharon has started her language classes with a Portuguese teacher who attends one of our churches. We had been praying for a teacher and didn't realize that God's answer was right there in the church! Her name is Norma. Please pray for Sharon as she meets with Norma each Monday and Wednesday. God has really blessed us as Norma is able to come to our house which makes child minding much more manageable!

Each week seems to pass us by so quickly. We apologize that it has been so long since the last blog entry. We find that every time we make a plan to sit down to write, there is something else needing our attention. Its actually quite difficult to balance family with OMS responsibilities, all our relationships with Mozambicans and keeping in touch with everyone back home. We feel at times that we are living and moving in at least three or four different spheres. We appreciate that we aren't the only people that feel like that! Pray that we would pace ourselves. There is so much to think about! Besides, it takes so much longer trying to do the basic things. For example, buying supplies takes so much time!

Last week I told Sharon that I would take a quick run out to buy bread - I thought that I could be back in 20 minutes. I arrived back over an hour later having scoured the whole area for bread! I went to a bakery that I was familiar with called 'Pao de Lenha' (translated means bread baked in a firewood stove - an idea I liked!). On this particular day when I arrived, I thought it strange that all the workers were sitting on the ground against the wall outside! The workers proceeded to say that they didn't have bread because the electricity was out! This puzzled me as I had understood that the bread was made in a firewood stove. There was even a stack of firewood outside! Disbelieving, I proceeded inside and there it was confirmed that the 'firewood stove bakery' had electric ovens! In disappointment, I left to find somewhere else to buy bread. I was happy to quickly find a lady on the roadside who was selling bread. I asked her the price and gave her a 500 meticais note (worth about £10) but she looked at me hesitantly and then explained that she didn't have change! Though disappointed twice I was back on the bread search trail! Eventually I found a teenage boy in the shade under a tree with some bread to sell! So desperate to make my purchase, I bought all the bread he had so that I could return home to explain my delay to Sharon!

Thank you so much for following our blog and praying for us. We really appreciate it.

OK, I must run. We will upload some photos soon.

Love from Melvin, Sharon, Abigail and Joshua