Rachel's Reflections

Oh no , I groaned on Thursday. I had just left to go visit Mama Z when she messaged to say she needed to go out and wouldn't be back until later. I pulled my car over to the side of the dusty road.  What do I do now?  I thought. I called my mechanic, " Are you available to look at my car?" I asked. He said yes so I continued down the road to his shop. I've owned my car for two years and never had major problems with it. Until this past month that is. After seeing my mechanic twice in June I had two new issues to fix in order to pass the annual car inspection.  Thankful to have a reliable mechanic, I discussed what needed fixing with him. Then I went to wait in his office, unsure of how to fill the time. I glanced at a book on his desk and did a double-take. The Portuguese words Why Am I on the Earth?  grabbed my attention. Good question , I thought. I've been asking myself similar questions the past few weeks. What am I here for? Why here in Nampula? Why am I the

What do you do when circumstances are not what you had hoped for? When South Africa is locked down so you can't go to your friend's wedding?  When all you can do is watch the live stream of her getting married in front of a few witnesses?  When you had looked forward to staying with one of your best friends? What do you do when your heart is not in the place you live? When your heart is in Pemba but it's too unstable to be there right now?  When you had an incredible experience out in one of the districts and now struggle with being stuck in a city? What do you do when one of the Mwani families you visit tells you they are being kicked out of the home they've been staying in? When you don't know where they are going or when you'll see them again? When you feel conflicted in your soul by the suffering and injustice around you and keep asking God why?  You remind yourself that  God is in control. You remind yourself that He has a plan and a purpose in everything.

I walked through the narrow alley, a spot of pink at the end catching my eye. I smiled. My friend already sat on a mat under the mango tree, working on her crochet project. Her pink headscarf standing out against everything around her. She looked up and smiled as I greeted her. "Wow, this looks great!" I exclaimed as I examined her circle. I had only started teaching her and her sister-in-law how to crochet a few days before. Both women had picked it up fast. She glowed at my praise and asked me what the next steps were to create a hat. I pulled out my Kimwani notebook as the sister-in-law joined us. I looked at my new phrases and told them the pattern. The day before, I had gone to Mama Z's house. She had taught me the Kimwani vocabulary needed to teach crochet. We laughed together as she attempted to start a crochet circle and I stumbled over the Kimwani words of telling her how to do it. The idea of teaching women to crochet started growing in my mind a few weeks ago.