Incredible scenes are what remain in our minds to become lasting memories. Maputo has given me so many images that I doubt I will forget. The red dust and beautiful imperfection stands out. The dust everywhere, red, warm, to remind you constantly; not about the dirtiness but rather the ‘down-to-earthness’ of this place. It is void of the perfection and sterility and symmetry and monotony that we civilized cultures pride ourselves in. The hustle and bustle and broken sidewalk meets road with no lanes where nothing works like clockwork, in fact most clocks don’t work. Its not better, or worse, it just is, and its a beautiful thing to live in right now.
Images… like today, we played soccer in a colonial public pool. It felt like exploring, pillaging even, ruins of an old time. If the Portuguese could see it now, see us now, legs dangling over the side watching until we played again. Maybe soccer is a compromise tho, portuguese love soccer, its not like we were playing cricket.
On the weekend we took the incredibly rickety ferry across the always brown river, and drove over to Makaneta. It’s a beach. And its kiff. Maybe its kiff because you have to take a ferry to get there but its a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. On quiet a beach away from everything.
Yesterday I watched some of our kids play a soccer match in this broken down stadium, with the coach who is now my mate. The games were fine except in the second game the ball went flying into a patch of long grass and a big chicken (in south Africa its called a hen) came flying out with its little chickens. I laughed. It was a stadium and there were chickens. I laughed. I was then invited back to the coaches place for supper. He lives in the township around the corner from us which is kif coz townships are the business and in mozam you cant get stabbed in townships. I love how the kids are in the street visiting, playing soccer, hanging out well into the night. I love the richness of the air, filled with smoke, joy and music. As you walk a different songs comes into focus every hundred meters and someone asks my friend david to introduce me to them.
The most memorable schenes however, are the times spent with the groms that come to Masana every day.
The kids who fight and have rough and calloused exteriors that hard lives have forced apon them but with a love that takes you utterly by surprise, if you stop and look you see it burgeoning from these massive hearts. They love each other in a different way. A bond formed in hard times that we have no idea about, rainy and cold nights we have long forgotten. They sit so quiet, and always wide eyed as they listen to the stories of God and how he has a plan for their lives. These are the kids I get to hang out with every day and its changing me.
Peace
p.s will post pictures soon
