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We have now been in Mozambique
for six weeks, and it is around this time that culture shock is
usually at its most severe. We have been rather more stressed
recently than normal, but on the whole we are still feeling
reasonably positive, so thank you to those of you who have been
supporting us in prayer.
We are now
settled in our flat. It is a second floor apartment in a
residential area. There is no garden for the boys to play in,
but the road is so full of potholes that cars only drive about
10mph, and we are not worried about the boys playing in the
street. (It strikes me that this is a cheaper alternative to
traffic calming than putting speed humps everywhere!) Many of
the local residents are in the habit of holding parties at night
time, but we quickly learned to sleep through these. There were
also some faults with the flat. The most alarming was that
Gregory received a severe electric shock from the cooker socket.
The most irritating was that the drain pipe from the kitchen
sink leaked, and the water flooded all over the floor. We could
avoid this by carrying the dishwater to the bathroom and
throwing it down the loo (being careful that there was no
cutlery lurking in the murky depths!). However our landlord has
proved to be a responsible man, and these faults are now being
fixed and we are feeling more comfortable. We calculated
recently that in 15 years of marriage this is the 11th place we
have called 'home'.
We finally took
possession of our car this week after some delays in the
paperwork. It is a sturdy and comfortable 4 wheel drive which
should be suitable not only for our time in Maputo but for wider
travel around the 'bush' in Mozambique. We thank the Lord for
his provision in this area. The delay in getting the vehicle was
not without its benefits though; we have become connoisseurs of
the minibuses that ferry thousands of people around the city
daily. We have also spent hours walking the streets and becoming
infinitely more familiar with them than is possible to do in a
car.
Our language
study is going well. We have tuition daily from 8.00 - 10.00 and
then spend much of the day consolidating what we have learned.
We were most encouraged last week when we paid our teacher for
the first 50 hours of lessons and she remarked that we are
further ahead than most of her previous students after this
time. When she gave us our receipt it felt almost like a
certificate! The challenge is always to take the language out of
the classroom and onto the streets. Only then do you learn to
speak naturally. We were not making much progress in this, but
last weekend another missionary couple gave us some suggestions.
Since then Sharon has started chatting to the stall holders in
the local market each day, and Gregory has learned to play the
local version of draughts which is played by all the security
guards who sit in the streets day by day. He has so far played
our guard and another from across the road, but there is
potential for him to play everyone in the street! Such informal
social contacts are essential for gaining fluency. We are both
able to see progress in our ability to communicate, though there
are days when we still feel very inadequate and tongue tied. Our
whole purpose in spending this time in Maputo is to learn
Portuguese. If we fail to get a good grasp of the national
language we will never be able to work meaningfully in this
country. We are therefore making a concerted effort to stay
focussed on this goal and not to become distracted by other
projects.
The boys have
settled well in the school and are doing well academically.
Socially however they are struggling somewhat. Because of the
difference in school starting ages between the UK and the USA,
Josiah and Daniel are both two years younger than the other
children in their classes and this is giving problems. We hope
these issues will resolve quickly.Grace to you
Sharon and Gregory Kane
Elim International Missions
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