Visit to a Village

Julie, the leader of the preschool where we were in Mozambique, invited Samuel and I to join her one afternoon to go visit some of her students in their homes in one of the villages nearby.   There are around 47 different villages surrounding the preschool, clinic, and compound where we stayed.  We gladly accepted her invitation and went along.  Samuel noticed the difference and was a little reserved for the first...two minutes!!  After that, it was just another day of fun and exploration for the little guy.   The homes were mainly made of mud with thatched roofs, and the people spend most of their time outside.  We first visited a sweet little girl and her mom.   They kindly offerred Samuel a little stuffed animal.  It was the only thing that resembled a toy anywhere around.  Of course he wanted to take it with him, but I kindly thanked them but wouldn't keep it.  I quickly figured out also, that once we visited the child's home they then wanted to come with us to the next house.  Therefore, by the time we were leaving we had an entourage of 10 kids with us!  So fun!  (See the last photo)

At the second home we came to, these two little boys were playing on the reed mat with a broken cell phone which Samuel promptly bent down and helped himself to.   

 Then comes along the helpful little girl who's tagging along from the first house to intervene and take care of the situation.   All the little girls wanted to hold Samuel and take care of him.   They gave it their best, but it was like trying to herd a little cat!  They're all so used to care taking from such a young age.  It was very common to see girls as young as eight years old carrying a baby on their backs.

I found out later this plant that he is pulling on and trying to climb through will blind you if a piece breaks off and gets in your eye.  Thank you Jesus for your mercy!  It was planted all the way around this family's home like a fence.  Come to find out it's an attempt to protect their property from trespassers.  If you look closely there are chickens on the other side pecking around.  He was trying to get to them.  I think they had already run from him once.  

Come back Samuel!  Get away from the poisonous plant, please.  

About that time, I was ready for a couple of moments of sanity, so I packed him back up on my back.  These precious little girls were having so much fun.  They love posing for the camera. 

More fun posing.

There was no shortage of "help" with Samuel.

Before we left the second home, Julie told me to wait a second because the family mentioned something about a chicken.  Sure enough a few minutes later the father emerged with one of their live chickens to give us as a gift!  This was a huge honor b/c food is scarce and they so badly wanted to show their appreciation to Julie for all that she does for their children through the preschool.  They would not take no for an answer, so off we went with our live chicken.  Do you see the little girl holding it in her left hand by it's feet?

On to the next home with the chicken in tow.  That poor chicken was just a squawking and carrying on. It got swung around a few times then cradled like a baby doll once too.

I cannot remember the little girl's name who has hold of the chicken.  It's starts with an M, but I just can't think of it.  She was so funny.  She took full responsibility for the chicken and wouldn't let any of the other kids help her.  She was really proud.

Here are all of the children that ended up with us by the end of our journey.  They were walking us down to the main road where we would turn and walk back to the compound.  I was taking the picture and Samuel was on my back.  That's Julie with the children.   They love her so much and she adores them.  Our plan to visit a couple of kids turned into an entire afternoon in the village visiting multiple families and walking along with lots of precious souls.  It was a privilege and an honor.  My heart was full of joy and gratitude as we walked back home.