Monday morning was an early start. Christina and I were going to walk to Masana. She estimated it would take us around 40 minutes to get there. We ate breakfast and left the house at 7:50 am. Exactly 40 minutes later, we arrived at Masana despite almost walking past it (Christina: "It should be somewhere around here." Me: "[pointing at the sign behind her] Like right there?"). Christina called one of the leaders who came and unlocked the gate for us.
Masana is an organization that ministers to street boys living in Maputo and focuses on rebuilding relationships between the boys and their families with the goal of one day reuniting them. Masana is a word in the local dialect Changana that means "rays of light" or "sunrise".
They open their doors at 7:00 am and stay open until 2:00 pm, providing a place for the boys (aged 12-18) to come and hang out. Masana tries to meet the boys' basic needs by providing food, showers, and schooling. They also have a few rooms that they rent out to some of the older boys.
When Christina first told me she had arranged for me to help at Masana, I wasn't quite sure what to think about it. Those who know me well know that this is definitely a place where I would be out of my comfort zone. If Christina had given me any other option, I probably would have taken the other option right away. But she didn't give me another option. I knew if I truly wanted to learn what God was trying to show me, then I had to keep myself open to it. Looking back on it, I'm so thankful that Christina "forced" me to play with the street kids (Christina, just so it's in writing, you have a gift for getting people out of their comfort zones. This is me giving you permission to force me out of my comfort zone in the future.).
We arrived at Masana during tea time, when the boys get a hot drink and a small loaf of bread. Once they were finished eating we headed to a nearby soccer field. I happened to be wearing a shirt that said "champion" on, so the boys took that to mean I was really good at soccer (ironically I was wearing a hockey shirt). Christina also perpetuated that rumor since she wanted to see me play.
Now this is usually the part of the story where the athletic American gets schooled by boys, but you'll have to read someone else's journal to find such a tale. I don't want to brag, but I did a little better than hold my own. I think the boys were used to Westerners joining them and they didn't really guard me. That changed fairly quickly after I scored a hat trick in the 1st half. From that point on I found myself being marked on every play. I was done scoring anyways and tried to get the ball to some of the younger boys on my team. I also learned that I have a knack for getting the ball to teammates in traffic. One such ball gave one of the younger boys a really nice goal.
Defense was a different story. Many of the older boys were very skilled at dribbling. The loose dirt of the field made it even more difficult to recover if you lost your balance. Luckily, my offense helped to make up for my lack of defense.
After the soccer game, we walked back to Masana. There Christina and I hung out with the kids. A few of the younger ones were really interested in our watches. Fortunately they were Timex's so they could take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. The boys were really interesting in the timer feature since they could watch it count down and then beep.
Around noon, we headed back to the house. It was much hotter now and we didn't feel like walking the whole way back so we caught a chapa. It was quite a different experience being on the inside of one instead of trying to avoid being run over by one while crossing the street.
Back at the house I got a much needed shower and change of clothes. For lunch, Christina made hummus and we had sandwiches. We talked about her time so far in Maputo and some of the highs and lows of her year.
After lunch, we went to an ATM so I could get some meticais. Then we headed to one of the local parks where art vendors have stands to sell their wares. I was scoping out some souvenirs to take home for my family. I didn't buy anything, but Christina bought a bowl for her grandma who collects bowls for all over the world. We also made friends with a lady who does leather craft.
On the way back to the house, we stopped to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. We were both tired from the long day and took a nap. I got up around 5:00 pm and journaled while Christina took care of some other things.
On Monday nights, Christina and her friends I met at lunch have a Bible study at Katie's apartment. Christina got a call that Katie had ordered pizza and we were to bring it with us when we came. In the meantime, I showed Christina the pictures I had taken.
When the pizzas were ready to be picked up, we walked to the pizza shop and then got a taxi to Katie's apartment. At one point on our taxi ride, Christina starting singing something. The driver must not have liked it because he turned the volume on the radio up. I told her it didn't matter because I liked her singing.
At Katie's apartment building, we climbed the stairs to the top floor. The stairway was dark. Fortunately, Christina had her phone to use as a flashlight. Unfortunately, this also showed all the cockroaches. When we got to Katie's door on the 4th floor, she opened it before we had a chance to ring the doorbell.
We went inside and were surprised to find Melanie was still there (she had to stay another day). It was interesting running into Melanie again since I didn't think I'd ever see her again. Judith showed up a bit later.
During dinner, Melanie and Katie talked about their interesting day and why Melanie was stay in Maputo. She was in town to meet someone, but that person hadn't scheduled enough time with their other meetings. Now Melanie had to reschedule her flight to stay another day.
In addition to this problem, Katie and she had to deal with another crisis. A young lady working for another missions organization was making an emergency trip to Tete. To get there she had to fly into Maputo then transfer to Tete where her friends would help her get a visa. She had done this trip before without any problems. This time, however, the immigration official in Maputo forced her to get a visa there. The lady didn't have any local currency. The official said she was going to be put in jail. The stress of this on top of her original situation was unbearable. Somehow she got Melanie's phone number and called her for help.
Eating and relieving the stress of the day took a long time so a Bible study never happened, but the fellowship was still beneficial for everyone. We left around 9:15 pm and got a ride home with Judith.
Back at the house, I got online to check Facebook. It was at this time that we learned there had been explosions at the Boston Marathon. At the time, no other information was released except that there were explosions and fatalities as a result.
We went to bed at 10:00 pm which was much better than 12:30 am from the night before.
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