A country almost 2 times the size of California. It is in southeast Africa right above South Africa as I tell so many people when I get the blank stare. Portuguese speaking. A place plagued by civil war until 1992. Was once the poorest country in the world, now 14th. AIDS, tuberculosis, malnutrition, malaria, and so many other diseases are a part of daily life. Life is hard and death is normal.
Mozambique.
My home for 2 years. A place that will always have a part of my heart. A people I did my best to love and grew to appreciate. Babies and children I have personal relationships with who are growing up without a family. The place that taught me to be a nurse and a mother. Teenagers who are pursuing Jesus while raising the children around them. Women and men who sacrifice time with their own families to love, discipline, and parent orphans. A people who seek the Lord at every turn and trust Him for their most basic needs. Joyful worship through trials. Dark skin and gorgeous white smiles. Sweaty days with sand ground in your feet. Diapers, hugs, fevers, nap time, assessments, toys, smiles, diseases, kisses, drool, medicine, joy, love, Jesus.
Mozambique will always be more than a country of poverty to me. It was my home, and it has a piece of me. My time there formed my thoughts and my heart.
God made us to form relationships. He gave Adam, Eve. We are not meant to go through life alone. And when I lived in Mozambique I did just that, formed lasting relationships.
As we drove up from the airport, I was distracted by conversation in the car and taking in all the changes on the roads and at the center where I lived. I really had no idea what seeing everyone again would be like... Then we rounded the corner to the playground and I looked up. I recognized every face I saw. Not just recognized, I knew every face I saw. I knew their names, I knew their personalities, I knew how they acted when they're sick. God hand picked the perfect group of children to come running up to the car, yelling my name, Mana Meghann (in only the way my Mozambican kiddos can). I hugged them all, called them by name, and asked how they were. It was just like coming home to family after being gone for a long time. It was comfortable. We knew each other. And I was blessed.
The next 5 days filled me up. I ran around and played with the little boys and girls (now 4-6 years old)...who lived in the Baby House when I was their nurse. I blew bubbles and sang with these sweet little ones. I sat in the sand with the babies and cuddled. I joyfully had conversations with so many workers who filled my day to day life before. I took a trip to the hospital to see a sweet girl we all care dearly for who was extremely sick. I went to church and even made it through greetings in front of the congregation in Portuguese! I dropped by the clinic daily to check in on the nurses I once led. I hugged Aurora's neck many times a day (the Baby House nurse I worked with side by side), encouraging her that her work is important and doesn't go unnoticed. I played games and ate meals with missionaries who were my family. I got cooking lessons from one of the youth. I talked for hours with those I love. I walked to the local market to buy my veggies. I ventured into the community to visit one of my friends who no longer works for the ministry. I laid down each night full and tired.
I'm so thankful for the time I had. It was a blessing. I never expected to see so many of my babies, growing, healthy, and developing. When I left Mozambique 2 years ago, I had no idea when or if I'd be back. And I certainly did not know which children would still be there or how they would be doing. But, overwhelmingly they are thriving. They are eating full meals, sleeping in warm beds, going to school, and receiving medical care. Things that are not reality for so many in Mozambique. But, most importantly they are being raised to know their heavenly Father's love. The worship and joy through circumstance will always leave me speechless and in love with my Father.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul talks about planting seed. "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." The whole time I spent being blessed by my relationships in Mozambique and forming new ones, the same truth rang true. In my time as a nurse there, some days I planted and some days I watered. "But God gave the growth." And what a huge blessing it was to get to see the harvest of God's growth.
Before I left, I wrote, "Countless times I've seen a sweet child and wondered about all my kiddos over in Moz...how are they? where are they? what are they doing? is someone loving them? is someone caring for them?" God answered these questions with a resounding, "Trust Me." My sweet children are thriving because He is caring for them. They are safe because He loves them more than I could dream of.
So I left full. I left hopeful. I left joyful.
I left in love with my Father because He first loved me.
Mozambique.
