[HEART] the heart

The Meyers, the couple I'm staying with here in Beira, are a Director and teacher at an international school of 94 students. Marilyn taught her class about the human body and managed to get her hands on a cow heart, lungs, liver, and kidney. She asked if I'd do a lesson on the heart... how could I resist?

Her class is made up of 7 third graders who have a diverse background.  I had forgotten how unqueasy the little tykes are, so I actually to had to warn them they wouldn't be getting to touch the heart today.

For anyone who knows heart anatomy, it was unfortunate that the heart had already been cut and was somehow missing the right atrium.  Yet we persevered... (I think the water balloon demonstration of pumping was particularly a favorite.... at least it was for me! :P)  It took a while, but the third graders also discovered how to listen to their heart beating with my stethoscope and how to count their pulse on their wrist.

The science teacher's 8th graders also joined us and here they are holding up the poster I made with sticky notes that the younger students could literally step on to walk through the heart.


I was sad to only get an hour with them!!

Beira city highlights

Beira is a large city and is widely spread out.  The best way to get around is by chapas - but I hadn't really explored much until today.

Club Nautico, which has recently been redone and has a nice overlook of the ocean, is expensive.  They have good pizza and a private pool (which costs 375 mets ~ $14/day).  I was deterred by the cost to go swimming - also there was too much else to do today. (!) 

Club Nautico

Have you noticed a lot of beaches?  It's kind of the neatest geographical element of Mozambique - such a long beautiful coast.

If you look close enough there are lots of canoes in the water with fishermen

 First stop on way into explore is to grab an 'African pineapple'!  Which is basically a peeled pineapple you eat like a carmelled apple.

'African pineapple' DELICIOUS!

Praca de Municipio "Coke bottle plaza"

Family getting photographs for youngest's 3rd bday

 I wandered the city with Dan, a 3rd year family medicine resident from Alaska, who is here for 3 weeks doing a rotation at the same clinic.  He is living with Peter (my preceptor) and Peter's wife Emily.  He and Emily had already been down to this same area before and so he showed me around today.

While enjoying a cafe - we saw multiple wedding parties coming to take pictures at the Praca

Chapa ride

Praca de Municipio

Dinner at the Millards!

Sometimes when it's hot, we wear swimming suits to dinner :P

Bananagrams

We also went to Praia Nova Market but didn't buy anything.  On the chapa ride back we randomly ran into the Millards who invited me over for Peter's special pizza.

Friday Friends #1

Someone told me the best mission blogs highlight people and I agree.  So today we commence Friday Friends where I'll highlight some of the people in Beira, Mozambique.  Since I haven't gotten pictures of many of the folks I work with at the clinica, I'm going to begin by introducing Lisa Brown who started an awesome project called Building Lives for Christ.


She is a Canadian who worked for 15 years as a dental hygienist before going on a mission trip to Gambia which started a spark in her for the people of Africa.  She then spent some time in Mozambique before feeling called to move here and work full-time.  Working at an orphanage in Beira or hereabouts, she saw orphaned and displaced children that were being institutionalized.  Feeling a calling by God to do more, she began a program (switching careers entirely to go into construction) that builds houses large enough to accomadate Mozambiquan families of 2 parents and 4-5 children.  She has already built one house in which a native couple has adopted 4 orphans and live as a family.  She was able to procure a larger piece of land that can fit up to 5 more homes.  Construction is under way for a second home.  Lisa has so much energy and charisma, such a passion for her work it's extremely inspiring.  For those of you who haven't worked in Africa, it takes a lot of time just finding trained, hard-working employees.  Lisa has done much of the work on her own and her bronze and darkened skin reflect daily excellence in working alongside her employees outside in the heat of the day.

Last night as she took time from a very stressful and hard day to have dinner with the newcomer to the area (me!), she talked about her work.  She's begun the building of the second house with only enough funding to pay for half of it praying that God will provide what is necessary to continue.  As she said, "It's not difficult finding children to fill these homes, though finding good couples to match is.... but I know God has me here.  When you ask me how long I'll stay, I don't know.  There's work here and I'm called to do it."

Awesome.  People working in much "nicer" working conditions often work half-as heartedly and have no zest for life.  She's working as unto her God and her passion is changing lives pouco a pouco (little by little).  Steady, hard-working, and faithful to her calling - what an inspiration!  Read more by clicking on her name or program above, or here: Building Homes

Watching the sunset at dinner with Lisa

Winding down after the first work week :)

Newcomers to A Casa de Meyers

Meet Kyla and Phillip. They are both teachers for the year at an international school that the Meyers started in Maputo. Phillip is an old student of the Meyers and Kyla is a nurse from Canada taking a year off to teach. The busride was 18 hours from the capital to here - but they made it! They'll be around enjoying holidays for about a week before going back to work.

Kyla and Phillip at the onset of a great game of Phase 10 (I won! :P)

Fun fact #1: feeding chickens dried fish makes the yolks appear pink!