Friday: Work, Worship, and Celebrate!

Work

Friday was another busy day finishing up the system. We started the day off by cutting the holes in the styrofoam rafts that will eventually hold the plants in place as they float on top of the water. The scrap styrofoam provided hours of entertainment for the children in the backyard. Needless to say, this will be the closest thing to snow many of these children will ever see. There was a great turn out of local brothers and we all worked very hard planting new seeds, cleaning tanks, and finishing up final details.

Worship

After lunch, we gathered for Church. Fridays, are the day of worship here since this is also the day of worship for Muslims. It was a sweet time of reflection on The Greatest Commandment found in Mark 12.

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28‭-‬31

We discussed the importance of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Allowing this vertical relationship with God to fuel our horizontal relationships with our neighbors. Lord willing this garden will allow many people to receive nourishment for their physical being, but more importantly to receive spiritual nourishment for their souls through the Gospel! Finally, we celebrated the success of this project and God's faithfulness throughout the week.

Thursday: Work Day!

Thursday Day 8: Work May 31, 2018

The work today consisted of making a pump house out of cinder blocks for the air pumps that oxygenated the water for the fish. Two of our local friends mixed the concrete without the help of a mixer. Everything is labor intensive. A little sand, a little water, a little concrete a little mixing. Cinder blocks that were not the correct size were whittled to the right size with a machete. The machete is also used to measure distance and dig a hole for the poles.

While some were working on the pump house, Jason went to the “lumber yard” for poles and bamboo. The wood is transported on top of the Land Rover. The poles are used in the place of 4 x 4s. The polls are actually small trees that are about 15 feet long and have all limbs removed. The poles will be used for the shade cloth that will be draped to cover the plants during the hot days.

Bamboo is used to tie the poles together, and to support the shade cloth. Conventional hammer and nails and used to secure all the wood. The shade cloth is secured by zip ties.

The kittens have found the fish so a covering is made for the container that is holding the fish. While all people seem to be working on different projects, a professional soccer team from Tanzania stopped by to see the project. They are in town for a provincial soccer match tournament. The winners receive a prize of approximately $5,000. They were an extremely nice bunch of guys who spoke only Swahili.

While the men were working, our host was leading a Bible study with four young girls complete with balloon art for headwear.

After the shade cloth was hung everyone gathered together for a time of prayer and for lunch. Lunch consisted of rice and boiled chicken. Typically, chicken would be only a monthly affair. Once served, the women and children sat under shade trees while the men sat together under the hut. The men always eat first and the women eat later. Often not eating what they had just prepared. It has been a very productive morning.

Thursday Day 8: Afternoon Bible Study

Andrew led a time of Bible study under the hut from 2 Timothy 2:1-10. The word of God spreads by Paul teaching Timothy and Timothy teaching others. The aquaponics project is an example of people teaching Adam. Adam taught Steven and our host. And, all the men of the community teaching other men of the city. Paul references a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Being a soldier is difficult. There is hard training. The spiritual battle is one that we suffer in together. An athlete must follow the rules. A Christian must play according to Biblical rules. In other letters, Paul calls it obedience of faith. The farmer, the hardworking farmer gets the first fruits of the garden. Our host will do likewise. There is a reward in the end. God will provide the growth.

1 Corinthians, Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God will give the growth. Be faithful to share the gospel. 2jTimoth 4:7-8 says I have fought the good fight (the soldier), I have finished the race (the athlete), I have kept the faith…and afterward, the reward that awaits the victor. One of the believers continues to share from 2 Timothy 2:11-15… “the crown of life is worth suffering for.”

Our evening finished up the community center teaching ESL from 5 pm until 7 pm. 

Wednesday: Fishing Trip on Indian Ocean

Fishing on the Indian Ocean

There was very little work today. We arose early and were on the water, the Indian Ocean by 6:00AM. Our host has a fishing boat that is about 30 feet long. Fishing is a way of life for those in this coastal town. Each morning, an army of boats-sailboats, small dugout canoes and a variety of others head out into the Indian Ocean to practice a livelihood that has been around for thousands of years. I could easily count dozens of boats leaving the bay for the depths of the ocean. 

Our boat is called a dowl. Hanging from the back is a small 15 HP trolling motor. An added "feature" is the sail that is currently wrapped around the mast that is made from a long then tree trunk. The boat has seats along the edge, and I have been told that is has carried close to thirty people in the past. Today, there are only ten. Besides the seven Americans (our host, two college graduates who have been leaving here since February and our four team members) there are three from Mozambique. There is the captain, his first mate and a local believer and teacher in the ESL class.

The captain of the boat is responsible for getting the motor chained to the boat, fueling and driving all day. The first mate handles all other aspects of the trip including dropping the anchor, but most importantly he sits in the bottom of the boat and bales water for the entire day. 

Our fishing location is approximately a two-hour boat ride. The seas are very choppy today with ocean spray keep us all soaked for the duration of the trip. The windy day added to the size of the waver that crashed against the boat all day. The front of the boat dipped and rose then crashed into the sea with each passing wave forcing some into the Dramamine pills to keep their equilibrium at bay.

Fishing consisted of trolling lures along an island which was the location for several hours. As the tide sank, it revealed a sandbar where locals would walk from one island to the next transporting goods, setting and catching their own fish in traps. From a distance, the people appeared to be walking in the water as they traveled from one island to the next.

The main fish that was sought was known as "GTs" which stands for grand trevallies. They are known to be very fast and one of the hardest fighting fish in these waters. Our local teacher caught the first of two GTs on the day. Adam caught the second with both weighing approximately 10 lbs. Steven hooked another large fish which he fought for 7-8minutes. This fish tested Steven's strength but eventually broke the 80lb braided test line that was on our reels. Although disappointed, this provided a bit of excitement for the day. Two other fish were caught but were not landed. One of those was a small King Mackerel that fell off right as he was being hoisted into the boat. The day provided only one fearful moment. As we moved closer to the shorter, our boat hit one of the large rocks that lie just below the surface. The tough old boat handled it well, but it did provide a moment of angst. 

As we headed back to that bay to end the day, we can say honestly that it was a very exciting adventure. As things quieted down for the trip back, we noticed that our captain had fallen asleep at the helm. His hand was still steady on the motor and pointed back to our bay. 

Tuesday Afternoon: Hunting for Fish in the Bush

Tuesday Afternoon: Hunting for Fish in the Bush

Today we went outside of town looking for fish. We carried several cane poles and a mosquito net. The scenery out in the bush was beautiful. As we walked down to the creek, we waded through a rice patty field with thick black mud between our toes. After arriving at the creek, it was easy to see that the depth would not be enough for any cane pole. That did not deter a couple of the locals who took the mosquito net and stretched it across this small ditch of water while the other locals went upstairs to scare the fish downstream to the mosquito net, Miraculously, we aught nearly 60 fish of all types. We caught the cherished tilapia (mekuba), African walking catfish and other unnamed species. Not to mention there was a four-foot monitor lizard in the stream with us the whole time. Although we struck out the first day of hunting for fish, the second day was a homeroom. 

Port Town: Aquaponics

The aquaponics system here in Port Town is up and running! Our team installed the last few pieces of the system Tuesday morning and things have run rather smoothly. The system contains roughly 800 gallons of water housed in three IBC food totes that have been cut in half. All 800 gallons is cycled twice a day and is run off a $40-dollar air pump. The water is pumped to the farthest tank with a rake siphon and a long run of PVC. Then the water is siphoned back to the fish tank with manual U-shaped siphons, making a complete loop. The physics behind the system is rather amazing and ingenious.

It is rather surreal seeing this system take shape. All things have fallen into place with ease and the local brothers are very interested and willing to learn. They have grasped the concepts with little effort and are eager to teach each other. It was encouraging to see one of the brothers teach his small son how to us a U shape siphon to transfer water from tank to tank. Any teacher worth their salt will tell you this is a true sign of mastery.

The goal of this system is to grow fish and plants for the local community with the hopes of one day expanding. It has also become important for our friends here to be able to renew their visas under a new platform. Lord willing, this could possibly be an avenue for them. However, this is not the ultimate end. This garden has already become a ministry platform for the Gospel here in Port Town. Just this week we have been able to share with many brothers the Good News! 

Tuesday: Lunch Bible study

Steven led the men in Bible Study from Matthew 6. It is ironic that just last week, a couple of the men memorized Matthew 6:38, which was the focus of today’s lesson. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you.” This led to several good questions but more importantly, it led to examples of devotions that arise out of the aquaponics project. Adam has stressed to the locals the importance of having good water. He described the water that is good as “gold.” As Jesus was approached by the woman at the well, He informed her that her water would cause her to thirst again but His water would leave you never thirst again. The water we have in the project would eventually evaporate but the real “gold” water was what Jesus provided.

Tuesday: Malaria

Facing disease in third-world is much different than how we face disease in the states. As the men gathered today and prepared for work, we were hit with the news of one of the workers who was found to be sick when he returned home on Monday afternoon. (Name withheld)'s three-year-old daughter was incoherent. He was the first to arrive but with pain in his voice announced that his daughter was "bad." Our host quickly got on his motorcycle with this worker and headed to his house.

After arriving at his home, his daughter was unable to open her eyes and unable to respond. She was quickly on the motorcycle for the trip to the hospital. The short trip to the hospital was met with the bad news that his daughter had a very serious form of malaria (cerebral malaria) which affects the brain. The prognosis is given with only one treatment at all that might offer the slimmest of hope. A blood transfusion would be required but beyond this lone treatment, there was only a very slim hope that his young daughter would survive.

Before lunch, he had returned from the hospital in obvious need. the hospital would attempt to use the blood of the young father for the transfusion. the hospital removed the necessary amount of blood but without payment refused to put the blood into his daughter. The father quickly mounted his bicycle back to our host home to ask for the necessary funds to complete the transfusion. This is a stark reminder of the need to remember our own malaria medicine each day.

Monday Morning and Meals

Our host expects the men of the community to begin arriving around 9 AM. But, before the day begins, our host has provided a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and a fruit medley. A better tasting cinnamon bun could not be found in the States. After breakfast, several men from the community begin arriving around 10 AM.

Islam AM Prayers

As we wait outside for the men of the community to come, we hear the Islamic call to prayer from the city. This reminder of the beautiful, yet dark, calls us to remember why we came. We hear this faint reminder five times each day. Our arrival coincides with the month of Ramadan. In Islam, this month features a call to prayers before sunrise followed by a day-long fast. Throughout the day Muslims are called back to prayers and each day concludes at sunset with Muslims breaking their fast until the following day.

Monday Meals

Meals, especially for breakfast and supper have been fairly standard. As mentioned before, we had cinnamon buns and scrambled eggs with fruit each morning. But, lunch each day is more the standard for Mozambique. Rice is served at virtually every meal. Usually, there is so much served that it is placed on our outdoor table in two wash pans. Today, lunch consisted of xima, matapa and fried fish. The fish market is less than a mile from the house and is a way of life for the people here. As in most countries besides the US, the fish is always cooked head on.

Xima is a dish that is made from cornmeal and looks like grits or even porridge. The taste is blander than grits. The men usually squeeze the xima into a ball and use it to sop up the matapa without using a fork. The matapa is quite tasty and is made from multiple different types of items. Casaba leaves, ground peanuts, garlic and onions and tomatoes. We have not starved while here but we have not had the standard American diet either.