Weekend @ IRIS

Sunday during the church service it started POURING down rain!


Then it came pouring into the church! Everyone was a little distracted & the pastor tried to get everyone focused! We did give God praise for the rain though! Some of the guys were dumping the buckets as they got full and moving the benches so they would not ruin. It was crazy for about 15 minutes while the water rushed into the church!


The sun (& heat) came out & we headed into the city with "the band" for lunch. Katie & I wanted to treat these guys to an early Christmas dinner. They have been such good brothers to me and I love them dearly. These are the same 6 that make dinner together once a week & who I helped make spaghetti a couple of weeks ago! They are all very involved at the orphanage, all but one are Sunday school leaders & the one who is not is on the worship team! They are a great group of guys. I say 'the band' b/c they are such a close knit group & have named their band, "Fishers of Men".

eating at Mimmo's (early Christmas dinner)
(Left to Right) Jobi, Ernesto, Benario, JohnJacob,Nelson


Baby Irene


Katie & I arrived at the center Saturday afternoon. I took her over to the baby house to see the little ones. I had not been there in a while because the baby house is so overwhelming! But I wanted her to see these little ones. There was a new baby, Irene, & I held her for about an hour and ended up feeding her a bottle. Now, most of you who know me know that I don't really do babies & don't know the 1st thing about them! BUT there are so many kids & she was in her crib so I took her and held her for a long time. Later I got her 'story' from one of the missionaries. She got to the center 10 days ago. Her mom is dead and the dad is not really in the picture. The grandparents were not able to keep her and raise her so after a few visits and trusting IRIS that they will be able to have her back someday, they agreed to let her stay at the center. She is 7 months old. When she arrived she was only 2 kilos. She was malnourished, but is doing much better now. She is so sweet and looks like a porcelain doll. I got a GLIMPSE of what mothers must feel for their babies...I wish all these kids had a home & family to go to each night. It just breaks my heart. They are all definately in a better place (in the orphanage) than they were before, but I wish they all had loving families to go home to who could love and provide for them in all the ways a family should be able to.


I took some pictures of some of the things we pass as we go to the center from the city. This is part of a market on the way to orphanage. You can buy a variety of things on the street! Here you can see shoes, clothes, coal, etc.




"SURF" This is a popular spot to eat in Maputo. It is only about 2 years old. It overlooks the ocean & has fairly cheap food. It has an ice cream shoppe and is just a relaxing place to go! IRIS usually takes their visitors to the Saturday market to shop for souvenirs and then takes them to lunch. This gives the visitors a chance to see the city. Katie & I met them at the Sat. market & had lunch w/ them & hitched a ride out to the orphanage!


This was our last weekend before we both leave to go back to the states for Christmas!