Arriving in Pemba

I flew into Pemba and was ready to see this place I knew so little about.  I got off the plane and walked into the very tiny airport.  We all crowded around the luggage conveyor belt and I realized how much I stood out.  I was guarded and kept a close watch on my things because of all the warnings I had heard. I prayed that the couple who helped coordinate my visit to Iris would be there waiting for me.  I gathered my huge backpack from the belt, tried to move through the crowd and walked outside to see a sea of people waiting for others who had just flown in.  I saw a white woman and figured that may be my ride.  It was!  John and Cindy are missionaries and they help with visitors who come to serve at Iris.  I was so happy to see them.  There was another young man named Nick who had just arrived the day before.  We put my luggage in their truck and piled in.  Nick and I spent so much time talking in the truck that I barely looked out the window to see the landscape.  When I did, I saw the ocean and people walking everywhere.  I saw mud huts and people congregated in various spots.  I wondered what they were up to, how safe it was and what I would be experiencing in the weeks ahead.

Nick was in a similar season of life in that he had a great job in New York City, but felt God calling him to something different.  He and his family are close friends with Heidi Baker, the founder and director of Iris, so he realized that a short visit to serve in Pemba would be a good way to continue to seek the Lord.  I was thrilled to know there were others that God was calling to this same place.

When I arrived at the base, I tried to take it all in.  However, the way my brain works, I really need time to process.  I can't look around, see everything and take it all in within seconds.  I did notice the guards at the entrance, the gates around the Iris "base" and the red dirt.  It wasn't until I got a tour of the base that I was able to begin digesting it all.  John and Cindy gave Nick and me an orientation about Iris, what to expect, how to stay safe, the rules, and opportunities to serve.  We then walked around the base to familiarize ourselves with everything.  We made our way to the "baby house" where the littlest children live.  Suddenly, a stout little boy with short legs raced toward us and threw himself in my arms.  It was beautiful!  I loved it.  What a welcome!  Later Nick was laughing and told me how disappointed he was because he thought the little guy was racing for him.  I guess he likes the ladies:).

This is a picture of the Iris base.

After getting settled into my room a bit, two young women arrived with backpacks, long skirts on and looked exhausted.  It was my bunkmates Sarah and Sandra who had just arrived back from the "bush outreach".  This was a four day outreach to some villages in the Nampula province to share the gospel. They hadn't showered in that time and were quite eager to bathe and get some clean clothes on.

In the meantime, I met a group of 7 from the YWAM organization (Youth With a Mission).  They asked where I was from and I said NC, but had been living in Seattle the last 6 years.  One guy yelled something loud and favorable, although I can't remember what.  He was from Washington and stoked to find another lover of the northwest!  His name was Forrest and he has the most amazing energy and love for life.  That was the first of many outbursts that I heard from Forrest, which still makes me smile.  So there I was in Pemba, getting to know some of the other visitors from around the world and eagerly anticipating what was next.

Below is a picture of one of the huts on the base.  This one was used as a place for people to pray and worship.

For Pete's sake!

After spending the afternoon with the amazing family in Johannesburg, I had one more evening before flying out.  Michelle, the woman who I met on the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, the one who advised I keep my wits about me, had shared breakfast with me.  We both had plans to spend the day with friends, but no dinner plans, so we agreed to meet each other in the lobby of the hotel to dine together.  Once again, I was relieved to have company and yet something else to look forward to.

We met in the lobby as planned and found a table in the hotel restaurant.  We talked about how fun our afternoons were as we visited friends.  Although I had eaten a full African meal for lunch, we both decided the buffet just made sense.  My theory is that clever restaurant owners set the food prices on the actual menus relative to the cost of the buffet in such a way that you will pay just a bit more than you really wanted to, in order to have the MASSIVE amount of options. It worked!

Michelle and I had a rich discussion about NGOs, women's empowerment in communities through leadership and economic development, water and climate issues, Kony 2012, her kids, the United States and Africa.  She is South African but is currently living in the US.  She and her husband spent 14 years in Malawi raising their 3 kids and working for an NGO.  I asked her how she feels about having raised her kids in Malawi, now that she can look back on the experience.  Hindsight and all.  I expected her to share the horrors of it all.  She immediately answered "it was the best thing I've ever done".  She loved having her kids socialized with people from all over the world, experiencing life in a real community and not in front of a screen playing video games.  Her kids got to see the realities of life, poverty for example, and went to school with kids from over 40 nationalities because of all the families with parents in the embassies, NGOs, etc.   I gave her my contact information and a few Melatonin pills and we both went back to our rooms for sleep before flying out the next day.  Don't worry!  Melatonin is just a natural sleep aid that I travel with for emergencies and her lack of sleep the night before falls into the emergency category.

So why the title for this post?  Okay, that is the crazy part of this story.  I was scheduled to fly from Johannesburg to Pemba the next day, but we touched down in Maputo for a short layover before boarding the same plane for the flight to Pemba.  I got off the plane in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique in the southern part of the country, and waited in the small airport until it was time to board again.  I was given an oversized plastic yellow card to indicate that I am supposed to get back on the plane, at least I think that is what it meant.  At first I thought it meant "foreigner!" but then everyone had one, so I didn't take offense;).  The whole time I was traveling to Mozambique, I was wondering if anyone around me was going there for the same reason as me.   I mean, why else would people be flying there?  I love talking to people and often strike up conversations with strangers.  I was just certain that the white woman sitting across from me must be on her way to serve with Iris Ministries.  I asked her if she was going to Pemba, but alas, she was not.  She was South African and going to meet her husband somewhere, as he works in another country.  Imagine that!  That cannot be an easy relationship.

It seems there are other reasons that people travel to Pemba besides going to volunteer at the orphanage.  One very affectionate couple had just gotten married and were flying to some islands off the coast of Mozambique for their honeymoon.  Apparently this is a popular destination for South Africans.  Another young man was from Pakistan and traveling to Pemba on business as he is in the used auto parts industry.  He was a really nice guy with captivating green eyes.  He was surprised to learn I used to recruit technical candidates from Pakistan and that I had hired many professionals from there to work in the US.  I told him how impressed I was with the students I hired from Pakistan.  They were so smart, hard working, talented and a pleasure to work with.

Finally the time came to board, which I only realized because the people also holding the plastic yellow cards began to get up and walk away.  Wait for me!  I got up and followed the crowd, which often works out as a good decision, though not always.  This time, it was the right choice.  I walked past the one gift shop in the airport and saw this man standing outside of it, as if he was browsing the store.  In that split second before I could even think, I just blurted out "Pete!?!"  The man turned to see who was calling his name and sure enough, it was Pete!  Pete and I worked together at PATH.  He was a leader in the information technology part of the organization and we worked together as he was building his team.  I was Pete's recruiting partner and remember how much I enjoyed working with him.  He was passionate, smart, driven, creative, unique and made decisions quickly.  One day while working at PATH we were trying to figure out a solution to a problem that was arising which impacted so many parts of the organization- new hires, information technology, human resources, hiring teams in countries around the world, etc.  We talked through the issue, the roadblocks, potential solutions and a game plan.  Pete jumped to his feet during our conversation, grabbed a dry erase marker and began writing all over the door of the conference room by outlining the parameters, workflow and process to give a visual to our discussion.  Fortunately, these doors had windows that were designed for writing on them.  I loved the way he began white-boarding the ideas and solutions to propel our discussion.  I know this isn't unique as many professionals could white board and do, but you don't always see this happen between IT and HR partners.  I felt there was mutual respect as we sought the right solution for the organization and all involved.  He is also a very talented musician.  Very cool guy.

Pete was in Mozambique on business.  It was so crazy to run into someone I actually knew in the tiny Maputo airport.  We exchanged a quick "hello and what the heck are you doing here?!" and then I caught my flight.  I loved that moment.  It made the world seem very small and gave me a small connection to home that felt good.  Pete sent me an email shortly after that and said he was excited for me as I move into this new journey.  Isn't life fun?  I just think life is so exciting and fun...or at least it CAN be.

Keep your eyes open for connections.  They are all around and can bring energy and a sweetness to life.

From fears to fun

I have so many stories to share about my trip to Africa but have been procrastinating a bit.  What am I waiting for?  Well, in some ways I am waiting to see if my photos can be restored from the current state of "corrupted!".  I wanted to be able to share the photos as I share the stories.  A local camera specialist was unable to salvage them and a friend has offered to use his technical expertise and tools to try to recover them.  There were over 400 from the beginning of my trip through most of the Mozambique portion of my travels that I can't get to.  I am not exactly upset about this, although I will be very happy if I could have them.  If I can't get the photos, I will cherish the memories.

Leading up to the trip, there were moments when I was quite fearful.  I knew this was my calling and I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to serve in Africa, yet there were fears.  I imagined all the things that could happen to me as a single female traveling by myself to some unknown place with unknown people, standing out with my pale skin and light hair.  However, as soon as these thoughts would come, I would pray to God and find scriptures that promised His protection.  I would go back to what I knew to be true- God placed this in my heart, God is GOOD and He would not call me to something for my destruction so I pressed on.

I wrote earlier about the South Africa ordeal.  What started out as something I was afraid of ended up being such a huge blessing.  The family I got connected with came to pick me up at the hotel.  I got to spend time with them at their home, which was so lovely.  I especially loved that the home had doors from the living room which opened up to the patio and beautiful yard.  They cooked a traditional meal for me- chicken, sausage, sudsa, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions and a delicious relish of onions and tomatoes.  It was absolutely delicious and little did I know at the time, but the best meal I would have for quite a while.  The two girls were beautiful and oh so sweet!  The oldest girl had been born in Seattle but was so young she doesn't remember it.  She was so curious to know who this person coming to visit her from Seattle was and what Seattle is like.  We talked a lot about the city and agreed she would have to travel there someday.  She would absolutely love it.

I loved hearing about how the couple met in Zimbabwe, made their way to Seattle and then back to Johannesburg.  The faithfulness of this family to each other and to God was evident.  They were curious about my journey and listened with love and warmth.  Before we departed, they prayed over me.  Do you know what a privilege and gift it is to receive prayer?  I mean, is there a better, more valuable gift, truly?  I wasn't expecting to receive their prayers and I was just amazed at their words as they called out to the Father and Protector, to God.  I was encouraged, truly filled with courage and great expectations as we ended our time together.

I prepared to fly out the next day and smiled at God's provision.  The thing I was so worried about turned out to be such a rich, fulfilling and FUN experience.

Thank you to the beautiful family who filled my heart at the beginning of the journey.  Love and blessings to you and your precious girls!