Getting back into the swing of things....Mozambican style

We are finally settled and back into a good routine of cooking and school. 

(And that is what we seem do the most of around here.) 

Here is a glimpse into the last few weeks.

Unpacking all of our bags.
"Mom, where's my.....?" 

Our sweet Ode was a shaggy mess from 7 months of no grooming!
Firsts things first....a bath and a haircut. 

That's much cooler!

Emma and her puppy have been inseparable.

We were happy that we didn't miss all the pineapples.
Can't beat a straight from the field tropical pineapple.

Unfortunately it is very hot in the city of Nampula. Only one room had AC in it when we arrived back.
So it was almost 2 weeks of "Slumber Party in Mom and Dad's room".
Thankfully now the girls have their own AC and are happy in their own rooms.

We were very happy to get back to our church home here in Nampula.
Not much has changed on the drive into the neighborhood.
The trash is thick as ever!

Our first Sunday back happened to be the Sunday ending the  "Right of Passage" or
"Coming of Age" teaching that some of our young men participated in.  Normally this is done out of town where a traditional older male teaches the boys about all things men in his tribal culture. Thankfully our church is challenging tradition and doing these teachings from a Biblical perspective. The boys came from the place they had been staying for 3 weeks into the church covered so no one could see their faces. 

For those of you who are wondering about the church construction, you can see the new concrete block walls going up.
In the middle, the boys are sitting still with heads covered. They stayed this way almost the whole service.

Our regular offering was collected plus an offering for the young men and for their leaders for the past 3 weeks.

They uncovered just part of the boys' faces during the offering.
Much discussion was had in the middle of the service about whether or not it was appropriate to uncover their faces just a bit. This is new territory for the church and they were unsure of how to dance carefully around tribal traditions.

This little guy was wondering who was under the coverings.

Here they are back covered, exiting the church to go home to reunite with their families. 

Lee sure what happy to see the guys and they were thrilled to see him.

We are back to homemade tortillas

Homemade cookies

Chips made from the tortillas

With homemade salsa!! So good!

And Meghan's famous cinnamon rolls!

Tracy