http://www.bigfoot.com/~phillip_piper The latest ramblings of the Pipers on assignment in far northern Mozambique. http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-10-17 A relative of a church member had died and the church had planned to hold a culto de consolação in their house. The service was supposed to start at 2pm. At 2:15pm, I decided it was time to go to the Pastor Marcelino’s house. Outside, it was 39 degrees in the shade. I could either walk to his house (having more time to greet people) or take the bike (having less time to be grilled by the sun). I took the bike. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-05-29 Today is our fifth day without telephone or internet. We had three days last week without both, plus five days this week. This is not a good time to be without any communication. We’d love to be able to talk to Karen in Australia, given her situation there. Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-05-28 We had an interesting conversation with some of the church leadership today. They were explaining why it was better for a man and woman to live together before they were married. Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-05-27 The national director of Christian Vision, the provincial superintendent of Niassa, and the pastor from Lichinga made a flying visit yesterday. They were supposed to arrive today, spend a leisurely day with the church leadership, hold a service, and then leave the next day. Reality was far more rushed than that. But it was still good to have them visit. Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-03-26 The painful summary of the last couple of weeks is that Dinho had stolen the iPod and our mobile phone. He also confessed to having stolen quite a few other things while he was living with us. Even though we had suspected some of this, we were still terribly hurt. We have decided that Dinho cannot enter our house again, and for the next year, there will be a complete break between our families. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-03-12 No good news to report, I’m afraid. Our bike and its thief have not been found. Dinho spent Saturday out of the house (apparently looking for the thief), arrived for dinner on Saturday night, and then went back to his house to sleep. On Sunday morning, we couldn’t find my iPod or my mobile phone (and still haven’t). Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-03-07 One of our bikes was stolen today. Dinho had borrowed it (without our permission) and was visiting some friends. At one house, he left the bike in the care of someone he thought he could trust, but when he came back, the bike and the one guarding it were gone. He spent most of today running around trying to find the guy and the bike. He even came back and borrowed a second bike (again without asking) to cover more ground in his search. Late this afternoon, someone noticed that two bikes were gone from the garage, which is how we knew there was trouble even before Dinho came back. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-02-21 Continuing with my sad stories, the inescapable problem is that almost everyone is poor here. As soon as anyone has a little money, everyone they know flocks around them, asking for money. And they really do need it. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-02-20 I haven’t written here for a while. This isn’t because a lack of material. It’s just that the stories are mostly sad, and I’m tired of writing sad stories. But I supposed I should write them up, since they are truly what is happening here. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-01-23 January is normally a hungry time in this part of Mozambique. The maize from last year is gone; the new maize is not yet grown. The price of a sack of maize normally doubles during January. Because of this, there are always portions of the various rural communities that are hungry. No one starves, but there are some very lean days. Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2008-01-03 We have been having many troubles with rumours and backbiting in the church. We can see that God is doing good things, bringing people to know Him, but there have been these constant murmurings against the pastor. And as far as I can tell, they are baseless, but persistent nevertheless. Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2007-12-31 Like Arthur Dent and Thursdays, I’ve never got the hang of New Years Eves. Other people seem to enjoy them, but I always get the New Years Eve blues. I like holidays: Easter is a good reminder of Jesus, Christmas is a lovely family time, even Queens Birthday weekend reminds me of when Nicola and I started dating. But I don’t know what to do with New Year Eves. Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2007-12-20 Sometimes God arranges things so well. Technically, He always arranges things perfectly, but sometimes the arrangement is more obvious than others. Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2007-12-18 It was Joshua’s birthday yesterday. He turned thirteen, and he is so big! I gave him a lesson in shaving with his new razor. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.figtreeanglican.org/pipers/html2/ShowOneJournal.php?date=2007-12-14 A little light came on in the dashboard today: “t-belt” glowing an ominous orange. What’s a “t-belt”? A badly translated safety belt warning? I wish! Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000