Mozambique's First Lady visits

After all the hours on the road back to Mozambique it was satisfying to hear that the First Lady of Mozambique, Maria da Luz Guebuza visited our community to specifically check up on how women and orphans in the communities are doing.  She got a change to see what the woman are producing in our area through the Women's Ministry.  As a mission we are currently training more than 2 800 ladies across Mozambique with special emphases on central and northern Mozambique.

When an important official, like the First Lady, visits there is a huge entourage that follows her.  It is very often that close to a 100 people may follow her on her visit.  From the police, education and health department to all the tribal chiefs and their assistants. Why they all come is still a mystery but it really is something to behold. However, having a visit of this nature takes a lot of preparation as the photos will testify.

Photo 1:  An offering is always in order when someone of this stature arrives.  A sheep was the offering for the day.  By the looks of it ..... it accepted its fate.

Photo 2:  Our one and only Fire Truck also arrived for the occasion.  Why?  I not exactly sure but it really did look spic and span for the occasion.

The whole of Mucombeze turned out for the joyous occasion.  Dancing and singing is so part of life here - wish we could do it all over the world.

Photo 4:  Everybody brought their instruments and the band got the party going.

Photo 5:  Eunice (Lady Ministry National-coordinator) setting up her exhibition for the First Lady.

Photo 6:  Heather representing the mission, meeting the First Lady with Tendai (an orphan adopted by Heather and Rick).

Just perhaps ......

I speak MAC

While on my way back to Mozambique I heard, like the rest of the world, via Facebook and Twitter of the death of Steve Jobs (CEO Apple, modern day Architect, entrepreneur, visionary).  There was a lot to learn about Steve Jobs and his way of doing things!  Graeme Codrington shares a few amazing things we can learn from Steve who died on Wednesday (05 October 2011) from cancer:

• One man can change the world. It will probably work best with a great team and a growing tribe, but one man can change the world.
• You don’t have to be normal. You can break the rules.
• You don’t have to listen to all the voices. You can give people what they need, and not just what they want and what they know to ask for.
• There are second chances.
• You can change the world. Steve Jobs devoted his life to giving human beings the most powerful devices ever to be put into the hands of individuals (you’re reading this on one of them). He has given me power and abilities that were only available to royalty just a few centuries ago.
• Beauty matters. Design wins. Do gorgeous work.
• Steve Jobs showed us that presentations can be exciting, visually stimulating, enriching and uplifting. We should not copy his unique style, but we should understand the principles that made his presentations so compelling: simplicity, personality, visually gorgeous, “edu-taining”.
• The 1950s were a great time to be born. Baby Boomers are a privileged generation.
• You can keep doing what you love until you die. You don’t have to retire. No-one is asking, “If he was that sick, why did Steve keep working to the end?” Everyone knows the answer.
• Cancer sucks!
• And finally, his death to cancer teaches me that no matter how rich, powerful, connected, clever or technology advanced you are, death comes to us all. I need to live my life in the knowledge that this life is not all there is. I don’t know what Steve Jobs believed would happen after he died – whatever he believed, he now knows the truth. Each of us will soon know that truth too; some sooner than later; some sooner than we think. We need to be sure we are ready to face that. I am. Are you?

RIP Steve Jobs. Thank you. Your legacy is assured.