15K

The morning started off cool thanks to an amazing thunderstorm that passed through during the night.  A few of us got up before the sunrise in an attempt to see it do so over the ocean.  Unfortunately with the cloud cover, we did not get to see the sun itself.  But, with the cool breeze coming off the water, it was still a perfect start to our day.  After breakfast with the Lehman's we were picked up by Daniel and Simao who took us to the World Hope International Mozambique offices in Xia Xia.  We got to meet the staff and hear about what was in store for us this coming week.  We met our 3 interpreters for the week and reloaded into the cars to head to the village of Chissano for the well dedication ceremony.  Off the beaten path does not begin to describe how out in the middle of the bush this place is.  It was a beautiful drive out to the village and we were greeted with song and smiles when we pulled up.  As we stood on one side and the people of the village stood on the other, the gap was quickly closed with outstretched hands and the greeting of lixile (lasheelay) which means good morning in the native language.  This village has a well that was dug in January and this particular well is one that was funded by 12Stone (see picture above).  During the course of the day we learned that the people of this area used to travel 15km to get water (about 9 miles) from a reservoir type source before the installation of this well.  The women would leave the village around 9 in the morning and return about 3, carrying the heavy and full water jugs on their heads.  The team was honored to be a part in the entire celebration.  At one point we split up into groups with women, men, and children.  Todd, Shawn, and Jeff enjoyed meeting with the men and hearing about their villages and learning from one another's cultures.  Amanda and Sally met with the women and also shared from each other's cultures and offered encouragement in their faith, ending with a dance lesson from a few of the women.  There is video evidence of this moment, but unfortunately the file is too large to load.  So sad.  Vanessa and Steve taught the children of the area about the salvation bracelets and gave some away.  As with the women's group, their time together ended with singing and dancing.  The joy was evident and shared by all.  Our time in the village ended in a feast of delicious Mozambiquan food (goat meat anyone??) and goodbyes were said.  We made the ride back to Xia Xia and ended our evening with even more food provided by the Lehman's.  


Tomorrow we will again attend another well dedication ceremony in another village.  Thank you for your continued prayers over our trip.