On the Move!

I'm excited today! First of all I was actually able to get up, take a shower, do my hair and get dressed without anyone calling me or needing me for something! That hasn't happened in quite some time. Second, our kids are on the move! Just take a look!

Fernanda!

She has become quite the chubster which is a miracle! But, today the tias gave her a chair to try and get her to start learning to walk, and she immediately started pushing it around the Baby House!

All was well until the other kids thought it was a great idea to sit in "her" chair. She got so frustrated and started crying because they were too heavy for her to push. Oh babies...always with the jokes!

Manuel 1!

Who is also growing by leaps and bounds...

In recent weeks he has started walking holding onto your hand and was getting more stable...but this weekend he took his first steps! He is so sweet as he tries so desperately not to fall down and then when he does he stops to clap for himself...Job well done!

Manuel 2!

This little guy has been doing so very well since he got back from the hospital, drinking almost every once of milk he can get his hands on!And in his last few days in the hospital he started crawling! No one really believed me when he got back here because he was a bit scared and timid. But now he's crawling 90 miles/hour all over the Bercario! And today he even put his feet on the ground and stood up for me with help!

Alberto!

This little guy has also learned to crawl! He gets a bit frustrated at times but once he's moving it doesn't take him long to get where he wants to be...even if that is out the door in front of you! (Sorry I don't have a photo of him crawling...)
Altogether...we are on the move at the moment! It's so cute and so fun to get to celebrate these milestones with all the little tikes around here!

Hide and Seek!

Ok...so I don't make it through most day with playing with children. I mean I do live with 350 children and work with 45 precious babies day in and day out. I've heard it said...I live on a playground (yep, that ones from you Laura). Seriously, when I wake up in the morning just to get to my kitchen I walk through sand. To get to work I walk under a jungle gym. No exaggeration, I swear. So Monday night we as a missionary team finally made use of the fact that we live on a playground...after all the kids were in bed we used the center where we live as a giant yard and played HIDE AND SEEK!!!
Ok, I'll admit it was more like a game of Seek and Hide because the goal was to find the team (groups of 2 or 3) hiding and hide with them until the last group found you. Somehow as adults (or at least bigger kids) we can find much more ingenious hiding places! When you were little...in the shower, in a cabinet behind some dishes, or under the bed were FANTASTIC places where NO one would ever think to look...even if your foot was hanging out or you left the shower curtain open a bit. But let me tell you 8 missionaries with a children's center as their yard can find some pretty amazing places to hide! I won't divulge our genius ideas here...because I might just need to use them again...but lets just say some involved pulling ladders up onto roughs, sitting on rocks or buckets in a dirty hole, and "feeling VERY green" as one of the text message hints read.
On our first attempt at finding people my team had a bit of a tough time. First, I took a little spill...ok, I can't even call it a spill it was a face on the sidewalk FALL. If you have been here (mom and Wilder you'll appreciate this)...you know the funny place on the sidewalk in front of the clinic that goes up a step. Well, somehow even though I must walk over it approximately 25 times a day I didn't remember in the midst of desperately looking for our hidden opponents. As Rebecca describes it...she looked down just in time to see me fall on my face and skid a little. Don't anyone worry, I'm just fine. The only lasting effects are a sprained wrist that is getting better today and some sore shoulders. Next came the text message giving us a hint of where the girls were hiding. We were on the complete opposite side of the center and had already seen the boys (opposing team) run toward where the text was sending us. Of course we didn't have our keys with us to use the back routes...so we started banging on the back door of a building where missionaries live. Sheri (fellow nurse) came to our rescue and let us go through her house even though she was in the middle of dinner with her husband...thanks Matt and Sheri! All of that...to WIN the round!
All of this to say...we live with kids and we are kids at heart! I suggest no matter what age you are a quick game of hide and seek will do the heart well!

Home Sweet Home!

Little One has made it back to us! It took me ALL day of waiting for discharge yesterday but about 3:30 we made it back to the center with a tired but strong Little One! He weighed in at 6.6kg (14.5 pounds) yesterday. His cheeks are filling in, he's eating everything in site, and he's playing, chatting, smiling, sitting, and crawling! He's a little crawling miracle!!!
As for other miraculous stories...he is the first baby from the Bercario (nursery) to come back to us from the hospital! In this vulnerable age group the team has seen a lot of death over the last year...but Little One is a change of events! He is back and doing much better!!! As I walked into the hospital yesterday all the mothers in the hallway said to me...your baby is in there and he's doing great! What a relief!? And, the tia that has been with him these last 4 days is an amazing Christian lady. I could tell that just in the few minutes I had to talk with her on Thursday. But yesterday as we sat together waiting for him to get discharged (8am-3pm), she got to share with me all God has been doing on the malnutrition floor. Each of the other mom's slowly but surely made there rounds to come see our Little One. He has become quite the funny guy...he responds NAO (no in Portuguese) to anyone who asks a question near him even if it wasn't directed at him. He LOVES to ask for things...DAR (give) is his favorite word. He has learned to give five, kiss you (mouth openned wide of course), clap, sit on his own, and crawl! He has also learned to answer the telephone...HOLA! So cute! That was all amazing to see...but as the tia explained to me how she has prayed with all the mom's every day I was blown away! In the midst of her trusting in God for Little One's recovery she was also able to encourage and pray over all the other babies!
The nurses on the floor even came to her one day and said...you're a woman of God aren't you? She responded yes and sadly a baby died each day on the unit that she was there...but the nurses came to get her to comfort and pray with the families. What a testimony!
My favorite story was about the little guy in the bed next to Little One. He has been sick...having diarrhea and vomiting up everything he eats. The night before the mother asked our tia to pray over him. She was very afraid he would never get to go home. Our tia in faith said...don't worry, he will come home tomorrow with us! Praise God that little guy walk out of the hospital with us and even came to get KFC (we don't have McDonalds in Moz but we do have KFC) for lunch! Absolutely miraculous I tell you!
After the first 30 minutes of announce once I realized I'd be in the hospital ALL day waiting on this discharge...I was so blessed to get to experience what it's like to be in the hospital and the difference one woman of faith can have on a whole unit of helpless mothers and babies. Let our Lord reign!

Look Who's Smiling!

LITTLE ONE! I got to go see him in the hospital yesterday (Thanks Tracey for bringing me!), and he consistently smiled at me! He smiled!!! A good sign for sure! Just as Sheri has reported to me he's all pinked up! His hands are not the color of mine any more and the inside of his eye lids are pink not bright white! All VERY good signs that his hemoglobin is not below 3 any more! He also has finished up his courses of antibiotics although he is still on preventative cotrimoxazole (completely normal for now)! He also is still finishing up his course of fluconazole. All looks well. The only thing that concerned me a bit was his quick breathing. They have already done a chest x-ray so my prayer is they are on top of this. They are changing the dressings on his head and bottom every day and honestly seem to be taking great care of him...doing all the things I would be doing! And he is already eating papinha (a type of baby cereal)! This is a great improvement and makes our life here a bit easier whenever he does come home because he will have already made this transition. All is looking positive. Keep him and tias in the hospital with him in your prayers...but know I am encouraged...and very excited to have him back here with us soon!!!!
Oh a bit more somber note...one of our girls has been in and out of the hospital since she came to us. She has many long-term issues going on and is 8 years old but about the size of a 3 year old. On July 1st she had her spleen taken out and now is in the recovery stage. The BIGGEST risk at this point is infection. She has already suffered one infection this week...her grandmother (who is staying in the hospital with her) says it was diagnosed as malaria. Please keep her in your prayers as well! Surgeries are always risky but especially here where infection rates are high and follow up care and monitoring almost nonexistent. Just keep praying with us for God's healing power and protection! This is her on Thursday...definitely in pain and just starting to recover from malaria. Keep praying!

Updates...

1st- for Little One...Sheri got to see him Monday and was VERY encouraged by what she saw. He was smiling, interacting with her, and wanted ALL of his milk. He's taking even more (up to 130ml) every 3 hours. And he's weighing in at 5.7kg again (back up to where he started...which losing a bit to come back up is completely normal). He is now on an antifungal medication as well and finishing up his courses of antibiotics soon. It seems from what Sheri could sneak read in his chart that he had a urine infection. But while she was in there he was breathing a bit fast, but was also scheduled for a chest x-ray that afternoon! Seriously I am blown away by the treatment he is receiving...absolutely blown away! Keep him and the tias looking after him in your prayers, but know we are encouraged by how he looks. And I'm very excited that I'll get to go see him Thursday afternoon!!!
2nd- We have another little girl in the hospital as well. She came to us extremely sick with a VERY enlarged spleen. She went into surgery on July 1st and has had her spleen removed. She is now recovering and the biggest risk for her at this point is severe infection. Please keep her in your prayers as well...for relief for her pain and protection again infection!
3rd- We have 3 little boys who are struggling with respiratory issues at the moment, be it infections or asthma. Please keep Alberto, Vasco, and Augustinho in your prayers as well...and those of us treating them!

Ok...I'm off to bed in my newly painted, moved into room...that I am loving! Pictures to come soon I promise!

Our time on Outreach

Here on the center every weekend of few of our pastors take visitors out into the community on outreach. What does that mean you might be asking? Well it's something a bit different every time. To define "the community" for you first...we use the term community to refer to anywhere outside of the center. Basically neighborhoods in Moz. But don't think paved roads, nicely manicured front yards, and nice brick houses filled with cute families. Instead they are wandering dirt paths (usually not big enough for cars to pass through),sand covered front yards with thorny bushes to divide up who's land is who's, and reed or cinder block houses with kids being raised by whoever is around. As for outreach...it is a term that to me brings up sharing the gospel with many, praying over the sick, and forming relationships with whoever come to hear the good news. Our experience was in the community for sure but a bit different from how I imagined it to be.
We headed out on a Saturday morning with Pastor Paulo. We all jumped in the back of a truck with out backpacks packed and our tents and sleeping bags in hand. We jumped out of the truck only to get into a CRAMMED chapa (read this about chapas if you haven't already). We finally arrived about 30 minutes later in a small town where Pastor Paulo lives. We started on our trudge through the community wide eyed. It was just as I described it above. Once we got to Paulo's house he told us to pitch our tents and hang out for a bit. Thanks to Mom who had brought me a bunch of beads we made necklaces with all the community kids. Ladies from the community came by for the next day asking if we had any necklaces left and if they could have one. They absolutely LOVED it!The boys helped a bit but they also took some time to learn just how to eat sugar cane!I decided to help out the lady who was cooking for us by watching her baby. You know how I've always loved the little ones! All was well until his diaper soaked through...yuck!Once Pastor Paulo got back we all sat down to eat before we headed off again. We ate fish and rice or sheema (a traditional substitute for rice that looks like mashed potatoes but tastes like rice and is gummy). Here's the outdoor kitchen where everything was prepared for us. And here's our tasty fish lunch!Next we walked over to a church where a young member of the community had invited us to attend there Saturday night youth service. "Youth" in Moz refers to anyone who is not married so it's a bit different than what you would think of as youth group in the US. I quickly became out group's translator, which is funny to say the least...so I'm pretty sure no one really understood what the preacher was saying. By the time the service was over it was dark. We got back to Paulo's house where we had salad, bread, and tea for dinner. It was amazing! Seriously! Then we played UNO late into the night by lamp light. And I just saw Paulo the other day, and he is still playing UNO every night with friends!
Then we all laid down for a restful night of sleep...NOT! Paulo's amazing neighbors who have electricity played the radio ALL night long LOUDLY! I spent the entire night laying in our tent trying to sleep, not actually sleeping. Then about 4am the roosters started crowing.Sunday morning the girls helped out by washing all of our dishes from the night before. I have a new appreciation for how hard Mozambican women work day in and day out. We look happy but it was hard work!Next we all went to church with the same youth who had invited us the night before. It was a long service and by the time it was complete we had lunch back at Paulo's and then were back on the chapa to the center.
I couldn't close up this recap without telling you just a bit about the bathroom and about how we learned to kill a chicken. First, the bathroom and shower look like this.The bathroom is behind the left curtain and the shower behind the right. The shower room is just an open room with a basin. The bathroom is a hole......quite the experience for us. Second, yes, you read that right. We learned to kill a chicken. Paulo came back Sunday morning with a chicken in hand. He let it go in the yard, but we all knew it would be lunch later. Soon he had picked up a knife and was holding the chicken like this...Next we learned that pouring boiling water on it makes it simpler to pluck. We were all a bit shocked that he used the same surface where we put the clean dishes earlier to pluck our soon to be lunch. And he used the same dish that we rinsed the clean dishes in to wash off the chicken. But praise God no one got sick and lunch was amazing!
Altogether it was an eye-opening and wonderful adventure into the community that I got to share with Wilder!

BEACH WEEK!

When I decided to follow God's call and spend this year of my life in Moz I knew I would miss a lot of things at home...weddings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, fun weekends with friends, Clemson football, graduations, big moments, and small moments...hugs, chats, tears, family, and friends. It's just the reality of moving to the opposite side of the globe. This week I am missing BEACH WEEK!
We all have something in our life that we remember doing EVERY year. For me going to the beach with the people I fondly refer to as the Clemson Crew is one of those things. The Clemson Crew are a group of my dad's friends from college that has blossomed as they each got married and had children. There are pictures of beach week from when I was an child and memories back as far as I can remember of the then half week we all spent together soaking in the salt air, waves, and sun. Once the "kids" who are now in our 20's got old enough we didn't get shipped off to our grandparents on Wednesday anymore and that marked the start of a full beach week together. The idea was at this certain age we could all fend for ourselves so our parents basically gave us free reign of our days but we always come together for dinner each night! I'm not sure I can do the memories justice...but I'll try...if you're at beach week this week feel free to comment and add any memories I forget...constant fights between the kids, Norville brother drama, the bunk bed room, sleeping in the closet, WindJammer, a bachelorette night to remember, an arm cast FULL of sand, dancing on the table, scrabble on our AMAZING scrabble table, pound cake fresh out of the oven, mom and hunter with their angle cut, Mother Meghann, Princess Amanda, the days of picking crab, crabbing, fishing, the Scooby van and it's smells, surfing lessons, Louie's whistle that still means come back RIGHT now, spades, something about poo on an outhouse??, card games, tons of dancing, Jimmy Buffett, sand bars, piles of sand dollars, sun burns (particularly me), "fun parent night", movies, Hunter's Hush Puppy Hut, who's cleaning up after Steve?, never making it through without an injury or 2, kayaking in the pool, the infamous rip tide that pulled Taylor and Meghann out to sea only to be saved by Amanda, lazar tag, ski ball, many tumbles from the kayaks, Princess Carolina and Jack Attack, the Sullivan's Island house (where oh yea we couldn't swim in the water!), wind surfing, women's Wednesday in downtown Charleston while Dad's go to meet the grandparents to drop off the kids, afternoon tea with the girls, James town, the boys singing inappropriate songs late into the night, the tilt-a-hurl, the kid room, the kid table, quotes on the white board, butler night, Tiki Barber, Washed Ashore, Mitch's dune deck, Carla's house, and I could probably go on forever.Just in my lifetime we have spent over 160 days together at the beach. That is a big chunk of life we have lived together (not to mention all the football weekends). Know I miss you Clemson Crew, Mom and Dad, the beach, and the fun I know you are having even if it is without me! I love you all!

Wilder!

Old friends...what can be better? Wilder and I have known each other for 7 years now, and it seems like just yesterday we were getting to know each other as he drove me home from youth group every Sunday night junior year in high school. Some times I miss those days. At the time they seemed complicated and now I look back and realize how simple they were. Either way old friends know our history. They know why we are the people we are today. They can anticipate our reactions to things, even complete our sentences. They can always read our faces from across a room. Just in being there all these years they have taught us to trust. They somehow make life make a bit more sense. Wilder is one of these people for me.

Here is us in high school with HOPE (I miss you Hope)!

So, why am I telling you this? I'm telling you about old friends because Wilder came here to Mozambique to spend 3 weeks with me. I wasn't quite sure how it would be. I knew it would be amazing, but I also knew it would be a transition for him and me. It would take our friendship to a new level, but it would give me the opportunity of fresh perspective and someone to live life with for a bit who already knows me. Everyone who comes here is hit by something...be it orphans, poverty, unfairness of life, the dichotomy...whatever it is, it hits them. And, it changes them forever. So I also was prepared to experience with Wilder what would hit him.
So here are all the things Wilder got to experience...

Much play time with my amazing babies!Many moments of joy on the playground!A night in the community on outreach (I'll tell you more about this in my next post).Many LONG African church services with kids clinging to you the whole time.Lots of time following me around as I dealt with whatever medical problems came up.Children's Day!Wearing his first capalana (something usually saved for Mozambican women but Wilder had to try his out making everyone laugh)!Fun times in the city.An adventure on the ferry.Getting to see the Indian Ocean!And what African adventure is complete without time on SAFARI!

Altogether it was amazing, for me and I hope for him. Here's what I wrote home to his family and friends after I saw him off at the airport...
Hello to All,
I know some of you don't know me, but I just wanted to send you an update and let you know Wilder is on his way back to the US. I brought him to the airport this morning after we had an amazing 2 days in Kruger National Park on safari. In 3 weeks, he experienced more than can be put in words, as I'm sure you know after reading his updates. He got to see the city where I live (Maputo), the hospital here (the largest and best teaching hospital in this country that is probably 50 years behind US standards), the community from which most of the children I serve come from, how difficult even the simplest of tasks are in a developing nation, the realities of life for those I live with, there was much play time with all the kids, he completed
many odd jobs all the missionaries have been trying to get finished for ages (including painting my new room!), and spent 2 days spotting African animals (elephants, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and warthogs just to name a few)!
I have absolutely loved having Wilder here with me. I'm so glad he got to experience my life, but more importantly I'm very excited to see the lasting impression this trip leaves on his heart and life. God is at work here in more ways than any of us realizes. He constantly fans the flames inside those who allow Him to. I hope these pictures can help you to see a glimpse into the last 3 weeks of Wilder's life (and have fun looking through the 100's of others Wilder
is bringing back with him). Be kind as he transitions back into your time zone and your life style PLEASE! It can be harder than we think. :) He was a bigger blessing to me in the last 3 weeks than I could tell you. It was priceless to gain new prespective from him and again be able to see why exactly the Lord has me here! But to watch him process his life after experiencing Mozambique was by far my favorite part. Of course there are never enough hugs or enough chats when you live on opposite sides of the globe but thanks for giving him to me for 3 weeks! It really was amazing! I'm going to miss you Wilder and know you are always welcome where I am!
Following the Call,
Meghann

Wilder...thanks for blessing me with your presence, hugs, chats, and love! And even more importantly thank you for loving on the kids I love and call my own. It means more than you know. I miss you!

I promised updates...

Ok, so sorry it has been 2 days but here is what I know about Little One. He is in the hospital and has received blood. Sheri saw him yesterday and said his little hands have pinked up! An answer to prayer for sure. He is also on 2 types of IV antibiotics (ampicillin and gentamycin) and the tias says he is crying more...meaning his strength is coming back. They have bumped him up from watered down formula to fortified formula (just what was on my list of to do for yesterday as well!!!). As a team we are encouraged! It seems they have a heart for this Little One and are providing the best care we can expect. I pray he soon is strong enough to come back and live with us so we can lay hands on him and show him the Father's love daily! For now keep him in your prayers, as well as our team and the tias who will be switching out staying with him. May God be their strength and provider!

As for me...2 days ago I got sick. :( I'm struggling through some stomach thing. Who knows if I ate something or caught something from the kids. I just woke up after sleeping 12 hours and am feeling a bit better. I'm hopeful by this afternoon I'll feel better and be able to get back to painting so I can move into my new room this weekend. I have Friday-Sunday off after working the last 8 days!!!!!!!! So I'm excited about that. May God bless you as you continue to pray with us!