In early September, I suddenly started having terrible pain in my upper back and down my right arm.  After trying everything I know to do for sore back (which is a lot) and every medication that has ever been useful, I had an xray of pretty poor quality.  The physiotherapist here was able to tell me he could see a compressed disc in my neck, so Kevin and I decided that I would leave immediately – and I was on the next flight out to South Africa.  We discovered that it is indeed possible to buy a ticket, visit immigration, pack your suitcase and give instructions within an hour.  Of course, we had to split up to get all that done, and I was unable to say goodbye to the kids, who were at school,  but I made my flight and was met in Johannesburg by a colleague who invited me to stay with her family.  Despite help from a trusted local physio, an MRI the next week showed one neck disc that was in very bad shape, and another that was bulging dangerously.  The neurosurgeon I saw recommended a two-level disc replacement surgery.  Needless to say, Kevin and I were very upset by this news.  I finally feel recovered from the lower back fusion surgery I had 2 1/2 years ago, and I’ve never had trouble with my neck until this hit suddenly.  We really struggled with what we ought to do, and in the end felt that our only choice (and God’s obvious leading) was to go ahead with the surgery.  Otherwise, I would not be able to live in Mozambique and drive on the very bad roads.  As I prepared myself to go through another procedure without Kevin, dear missionaries in Nampula provided the money for Kevin and the kids to fly down and be with me.

 They arrived the night before, to be met by me at the airport with a huge smile!  Kevin took me to the hospital the next morning for surgery, where he waited four hours for what we thought would take two.  Apparently there was a lot of mess in there to clean up.   I spent the night in the ICU (their usual procedure), was moved to the ward the next day, and came home the following day.  This was the same hospital I was in 5 years ago when my ACL had to be reconstructed after a motorcycle accident, but a different surgeon.  What an amazing job he did, cutting through the front of my neck to remove the two bad discs and put in replacements.  These should last 15 years, though it is a fairly new technology so no one is really sure.  In the USA, they only allow one-level replacements, so I was thankful to be with this surgeon, who does a lot of these types of surgeries, and has for many years.

Meanwhile, Kevin and the kids enjoyed some time in cooler South Africa, doing a ropes course, going to a movie and a little shopping, and of course a couple of trips to McDonalds!  Did you know that they deliver?  Unfortunately, they had a lot of homework to do even though they were on school break (because of concern over possible violence during national presidential elections in Moz) but working all together we were able to get it done.

They were with me for 11 days, and I think they all had a good time although the whole experience was very stressful for Kevin, and painful for me.  They left me on a Friday, and I promptly went to bed for two days – those kids are exhausting!  I saw the doc on Monday for removal of the 8 staples, and answers to my questions.  It looks like this surgery should not affect my ability to live here, except it is recommended that I wear a neck brace when driving on rough roads.  I came home a week after the others, and am still resting a lot at home while getting caught up on the many things that piled up in my absence, and over the previous months when I was tired out from bilharzia and another chronic virus!  Kevin has done an amazing job of keeping everything running, including ministry and some building projects here on the property.  The kids are well and happy, and all the dogs are still alive.  We are incredibly thankful for the extra monetary support that came in over the last few months, without which all of this couldn’t have happened.  We are also very thankful for the help from some of our expat friends here in Mozambique, and touched by the concern of our Mozambican friends and colleagues.   It has been a major upheaval for our family and we are thankful that we are all back together (I was gone 5 weeks) and that hopefully life can continue on normally again.  Please pray for complete healing for me, and for a good return to language lessons and ministry. – C

This is the view my kids see when they go to school every day.  Beautiful!  At the end of July, there was a school sports day to end the school year, with the whole school split up into four teams to compete against each other in running, jumping, tug-o-war, obstacles course, and other events.  I was still feeling ill and couldn’t attend, but Kevin went.  Toby was still recovering from his broken foot in April and his sprained arm in early July, but he could participate in some of the events.  It was a great way to end the school year.  The kids had a break for a month, then back to school in early September! – C

Here in Mozambique, we attend a lot of funerals . . . and we don’t even go to all of the ones we are “invited” to.  Many, many people die from malaria, sudden fevers (which we never hear a diagnosis for), a gradual wasting away from “that” disease, which is never named, or other causes.  The number one cause of death for babies in this country is diarrhea, and I believe that malaria is second.   A few months ago, Kevin attended the funeral of a local influential Christian man, and many hundreds attended his funeral.  Just the month before, he attended the funeral of the child of one of the pastors, who died from malaria.

In early September, I witnessed the illness and then attended the funeral  of a young man about 17 years old.   He had a high fever over a period of about two weeks and in the end they said he died of meningitis.  However, I don’t believe he received any treatment for that disease until just a day or two before he died.  In fact, his family brought him to the hospital at one point and he didn’t receive any treatment there in the ward for 4 days.  For four days he lay there and had no visit from any doctor.  Finally a doctor came by and diagnosed him with something, but his mother was away getting food when the doctor came, so she never heard what the diagnosis was.  He was finally given IV fluids, and then the family was told to donate blood so he could get a transfusion, which they promptly did.  Then they were told that he would receive no blood because there was none of his type in the blood bank.  I have heard in the past that blood is sold on the black market (I won’t speculate here where that blood comes from).  He died the next day and the family was told it was from meningitis.

What a tragedy.  His girlfriend had given birth to their baby only a short time before.  Now who will support them?  He was a strong young man and should have survived if treated properly.  In cases like these we always feel conflicted.  Should we have taken him to the private clinic for care?  It would have cost over a thousand dollars in the end, money we could have surely raised from overseas.  Probably by the time we realized he was not going to recover at the public hospital, it would have been too late.  We try to help those with long-term illnesses find the care they need, but it is hard to know when to intervene on a week-by-week basis with so many who are ill.  The public health care system here can work, but often it fails due to lack of medication, lack of staff, lack of care.  Many of the people who are ill, and their relatives, do not speak up or ask questions, or understand how to take their medication.  All around, very discouraging.  – C

Well, the last photo of our dogs was in December.  You can see from the photo here that Matapa, our big dog, now outweighs Toby!  He is about 9 months old.  Koli, the tiny Jack Russell Terrier, is now the same size as Mattuvi, our adult JRT.  

Back in December, Matapa was the same size as Mattuvi!  They are all really nice dogs and we are thankful that they keep a close eye on the property.  Matapa was very ill a few months ago but we nursed him back to health.  With tick bite fever, parvo, and snakes around, along with people poisoning dogs, it is hard to keep a dog healthy.  We are very thankful for these three as well as our older dog, Lewa.  She is blind, but still runs around keeping tabs on everybody and enjoys a good head scratch.  It is necessary to have vigilant guard dogs in Nampula, but it is also important to us that they be safe for visitors.  So far we seem to have a good combo.   – C

The ladies from our church very rarely go anywhere, and certainly don’t enjoy retreats, lunches out, or even tea in a cafe.  All of them live in tiny houses, most with a tin roof though some with a grass roof.  Many of them carry their own water; all of them wash their clothes by hand and cook over a fire.  Therefore, it was really special when our Pastor’s wife (Connie) organized an outing for all of us to go about 15 miles outside of town to a “park” and enjoy some games, Bible study, and a special lunch.  Of course, the ladies themselves cooked the food, but we all brought it out and shared it together.  It was really fun watching them play volleyball, most of them for the first time, and run some races.  I brought the message, on boundaries (how God sets boundaries in our lives and how we can thrive within those boundaries), and it was well-received.  We also spent a long time sharing about our pasts, the good and bad, and praying for one another.  It was a beautiful time!  – C