Good-bye Pricilla

No, no one died, or even really left. It's just that it's not always easy saying good-bye to someone. . .even when it's a character from a book.

Okay, maybe it sounds a bit crazy, but when I turned in my the third and last manuscript for my Cozy Crumb mystery series this past weekend, I have to admit that I was a little sad. It's been so much fun to write about Pricilla and her quirky adventures that always manage to get her into trouble as she tries to solve a murder mystery.

For those of you who missed the first book in the series, it kicked off with Recipe for Murder. Pricilla Crumb, a superb cook and articulate hostess, plans an informal buffet for her son, but the dinner party turns to chaos when a guest is found dead after sampling one of her salmon-filled tartlets. Pricilla’s determination to save her reputation and find out the truth begins her unofficial career as a novice detective.

Book two, Baker's Fatal Dozen, comes out this month and is just as quirky and fun. Get ready to cook up a second helping of Pricilla Crumb and her hilarious schemes to serve up justice. When Reggie Pierce, who runs Pricilla Crumb’s favorite bakery, is found dead, Pricilla finds herself hot on the trail of another sticky scandal that begins with murder.

So if you love a good mystery, be on the lookout for Baker's Fatal Dozen. You can order a copy directly from me here or check out the official Heartsong Presents: Mystery site. The club offers four books every six weeks for a fantastic price of only $13.99.

And once again, I'll be holding a contest in my upcoming newsletter. If you haven't signed up, do it now because I'll be drawing THREE names from the subscribers list toward the end of this month. Each winner will receive copies of BOTH Recipe for Murder and Baker's Fatal Dozen.
You can sign up for the newsletter here.

UPDATE ON MY MOM: She's now in an transitional facility where she will receive therapy for her leg. She will be there for the next couple of weeks. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails!

Blessings,

Lisa

Update on my mom

Since so many people responded to my last post, I thought I would just send a quick update here again. Mom had her surgery late Thursday evening and was back in her room about 11 pm. They put a rod in her leg and everything went well. She had her first physical therapy session Friday, and was able to spend some time in a chair.

We spoke to her yesterday and while she's doing well, she's obviously very tired and is in some pain. She will be in the hospital until Monday. Because she has to be off the leg for eight weeks, there are a number of decisions that have to be made in the next few days. Please continue praying for my mom and my sister and her family who are caring for her.

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!

Lisa

Prayer Request

I just found out that my mother fell on Tuesday and broke her leg in a couple of places. Since many of you who subscribe to my blog know her, I felt it important to ask for prayers for her here. She goes into surgery some time today.

If you want me to keep you informed of how she is doing, please feel free to contact me personally and email me here.

Blessings,

Lisa

Be prepared

I've decided that the boy scouts have hit one something very true with those two little words. Here, at least, I'm quickly learning the importance of being prepared. So what have I discovered?

1. Keep candles and flashlights in every room. You never know when the lights might go out.

2. Keep your computer charged. I have the feeling that my editor won't like the excuse of a dead battery.

3. Keep the water jugs filled. There's also no telling when the water might be temporarily cut off.

4. There are no McDonalds or Wendys here. Find ways to make cooking convenient.

Which is exactly how I spent a good part of my weekend. I froze pineapples, passion fruit and papaya (the fruit here is fantastic) for quick morning smoothies. I made individual banana breads for breakfasts, and a sourdough like starter for breads, muffins, pizza, and pancakes. I still plan to make salsa, tomato sauce, cookies, and muffins to freeze in the coming weeks.

Living here definitely takes longer, but I'm enjoying the cooking, baking, and finding ways to simplify my life.

What about you? I'd love to hear of things you do to simplify your life, including any recipes you'd like to share.

Blessings,

Lisa

Coming next. . .Good-bye Pricilla

Our new house

I realized this week that I haven't posted any photos of our new house. The owners are busy having a second floor built, and will move into it once it is finished. Considering it was supposed to be finished over a month ago and still has tons of work left, I don't think they will move in for quite a while. While we would prefer our own place, we think the situation will work out well. They have their own entrance and the yard is blocked off so we have our half for privacy.

Sunday night, we had a small church service and was excited that our living room was full. We are planning to use house churches throughout the area, but this was an encouraging beginning to our work here.
















When we first move in, I hated my kitchen. The workmanship is horrid and the cupboards are nothing more than deep cement holes, which isn't exactly where you want to put your clean dishes. It's amazing, though, what a bunch of cleaning can do. We are still going to built shelves in the bottom shelves, so I don't have to store my pots and pans in a bucket, but I actually love my kitchen now!
















Another project this week was to hang up mosquito nets. While the annoying fliers don't bother me, they certainly bother the rest of the family, and with malaria and issue here, they are important. This is Jayden's bed and net in the room he's sharing with Mariah.
















I love my schoolroom! We have just enough room for four desks and two bookshelves and so far it's working out great. We started yesterday and Gabriel told me that he loved his first day back to school. Not bad. And I even have the library for the kids I've wanted.

















I couldn't resist throwing in this last photo. We had some major plumbing problems to correct. The master bath was flooding at least an inch at night, and the main bathroom tub drained into. . .well. . .that was the question. Yesterday we brought in our own plumber who said the whole system had been done wrong and fixed both the leak and the tub. You can imagine my horror though, as I walked into the bath and saw the tub removed! As of today, though, the leak is gone.

Eighteen Years ago. . .

Eighteen years ago today, I married my college sweetheart. Like all married couples, we’ve gone through better and worse, and unlike most, lived in half a dozen states and that many countries. Looking back, I’m amazed at all that God has brought us through, and the way He’s forged us together like a team.

Yesterday, as part of our downsizing process, we made a pit and burnt years of files and papers we don’t need anymore (thanks to the internet). For me though, some of these papers spanned a decade of my writing career--from old rejection letters, to proposals (that certainly weren’t ready to be sent off back then), to printed out critiques from my writing partners. It made me think of how much he’s supported me all these years, through all the rejections, hours spent writing, and eventually paid deadlines.

He cooks dinner when I’m up against a deadline, takes the kids out to give me some quiet time, and faithfully critiques every manuscript straight through before I send it in to my publisher. When I get discouraged, think about quitting, or am simply too tired of the juggling act, he helps me put life into perspective.

And of course, there is life beyond writing. Every woman, wife, and mother out there understands how complicated life can be. Yet, he’s always been there to wash the dishes, run an errand, and sometimes, just to simply listen.

So here’s to you, Babe. Thanks for the past eighteen years together. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the next eighteen years!

Lisa

Downsizing

We knew this day was coming. Last fall, before moving to Brazil, I sorted and got rid of as many things as I could before putting our things into storage, and. . .well. . .I'm doing it again.

Now, I'm not a pack rat at all, which meant that our house in SA actually had empty cupboards. Here, though, is another story. With our house much smaller, storage is at a premium.

Most of the houses around us are either cement block (like ours) or made from reeds. Thankfully, like one of our Mozambique neighbors in this photo, I don't have to hang my toothbrush out on the outside wall!

That's it for today. I'm off to unpack the last of our boxes. . .and find a place to put what's inside.

Blessings,

Lisa

It's here!

For those of you who have been following our move saga, the truck finally arrived yesterday morning! The driver and his crew have had quite a week with a flat tire (that almost tipped over the truck), the brakes going out, and finally being stuck in Maputo for almost a week.

But of course, the drama doesn't stop there. Unloading went quickly, but as the truck was ready to leave, we discovered that it was stuck in the sand. (We pretty much live in the midst of a giant sand pit). Four hours later and a hired truck, we were finally able to tow it out. Needless to say, it was quite a long day.

Our wonderful co-workers took the kids last night, so we were able to work late into the night putting beds and desks together. The room I'm most excited about is our school room. We're converting a bedroom for the kids and it's going to work out perfect. I'll send photos once things are finished.

The truck returns later today after a quick trip back to Maputo for the things they had to off load from the truck, but this time we won't make the same mistake of letting it take the road up to our house. Thankfully, it's just a few pieces of furniture and our mattresses.

More soon from this side of the world!

Lisa

Quick update

I realize that it's been a few days since I've posted a message, but to be honest, I've been too exhausted to find an internet connection and write. This was supposed to be the week of our big move into our house and well, as usual, things haven't gone exactly as planned. Here's a brief rundown of our week.

Monday: We were expecting our truck to cross the boarder in the morning. Then we received a call from the clearing agent who was missing a document. The same document Scott had asked them about everyday last week, even offering to drive it to Maputo if necessary. The moving company kept saying, no, everything was fine. So Scott drove to Maputo (six hours) with the original requested document.

On the home front, David and I painted our new house that will work for us, but is in need of a lot of TLC. TLC meaning painting and MAJOR cleaning.

Tuesday: Scott returned from Maputo with the clearing agent saying that everything was fine. We were now hoping for a Wednesday delivery since they were half way there. That idea quickly changed when we got a call saying that the truck was overweight and was not going to be allowed to continue in Mozambique. At first we thought there would just be a fine (which the driver didn't have). Eventually, though it was clear that the truck would have to be offloaded to meet the weight requirement.

Wednesday: While we waited on an update on the truck, we continued to paint and clean. The sand and wind make for piles of dirt in the house even if kept clean. The movers work to get a second smaller truck to offload the weight.

The plumber arrived to fix what we thought was a small problem and started ripping out the tile in the shower. There was a shower head, but they had never hooked it up to the water! Yet another mess.

Thursday: We found out today that because the truck had to be opened, a clearing agent has to inspect it, a process that could take up to three days. There is still a chance that they can bring the first load up tomorrow (with the extra weight locked up in storage) but there are no guarantees. More likely, we are looking at next week. We have to be out of our current house by eight tomorrow, so we are praying that the beds and furniture do arrive tomorrow as well, but we are learning to go with the flow.

I'm finishing up writing the third book in my cozy mystery series with Pricilla Crumb (and if my esteemed editor happens to read this, yes, it will be in on time!) Today one of the characters mentioned how she had enough fodder to write a book with all that had happened. I had to laugh, because our lives have been crazy enough these past few months to fill a book.

I've posted a photo of the view from my kitchen window. In the background you can see the bay. It's really beautiful.

Enjoy today!

Lisa

Home Sweet Home

With today being Sunday, we had a service at the bay and witnessed the baptism of two young men David has been studying with the past couple of weeks, while Scott continues to train David on how to disciple. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and communion as we start our new work here.

The only downer was the crabs (look closely at the photo below) There were literally thousands of them and Mariah wasn't too thrilled about their presence. :-)

Tomorrow at eight we get the keys to our new house! We'll be doing some painting and cleaning as we prepare to move in. At this point we are praying that the truck with our belongings has been repaired and is now waiting at the border to cross in the morning, but we will see.

It could be a few days (or more?) until we get our internet situation figured out, so if you don't hear from me, just know that I will eventually.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Lisa

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29ojxJlaOTxalr6EuA-KYxfyqsFgLrA5nHnU4Nmd7TQ2u9FHQOnksXGQxv1Awbt7WHxqNK5f3m11sjAnpRmB2Vqi79Kf1CPVz_3uL5olQXaYWiPNMdNtPULa2gSHhPtMYZOHSUQ/s1600-h/IMG_3224.JPG">

Moving Day

Well, the big day finally arrived. While many of my friends and family celebrate the Fourth of July in the US, the moving company came to pack up our things. The team who packed up did a great job and somehow managed to get everything into the truck. Yes, we were a bit worried as we got to the end, because the truck was their medium size and we weren't sure it would all fit. All except for a couple odd things, though, made it on.

Oh but wait, there's more.

Like any good mystery and suspense author, we need to add a twist to our story, right? Well, I've got one for you. Less than a mile from my aunt and uncle's place where we packed up, the truck broke down. Yes, you read that right. And as far as I know, six hours later, it's still sitting there waiting for a mechanic to show up.

They weren't planning to leave the country with the truck on Monday morning when customs is open again at the border, so we have a couple days for them to sort things out. Please pray that they can get the truck fixed so they can drive our things across the border. We're all so excited (and ready) to get this moving process over.

Blessings!

Lisa

Wagons west. . .I mean east

I've always wondered if I would be one of the brave pioneers who headed out west in North America to find a new life. Many of them faced hardships, death, and sorrow along the way, while others found the new life they were looking for in the rugged untamed territories of the west.

I told Scott this week that I feel a bit like a pioneer. We've spent the past week working out travel arrangements and stocking up on supplies we will need like mosquito nets, laundry soap, and some staple food items. Th reality, though, is that our trek into Mozambique is nothing like it was for the settlers back then. When they left home, most of them never saw family members again. There were no telephone, internet, or moving trucks.

Turn of the twenty century missionaries had it even worse. They often left behind children and spouses and packed up their belongings in a coffin. No. Life is definitely easier for us today.

When we packed up to go to Brazil for language school, one of the hardest things we had to do was give away our pets, but circumstances made it necessary. So one of the things on our list has been to find pets for the kids. Which is exactly what we did this week. We decided that each child would have their own animal and with that pet would come not only the joy of having a pet, but the responsibility as well.

So meet Bella. (first photo) Bella is Jayden's new puppy. Eight weeks old and a ball of energy and personality. She's already bonded with him. She's a Jack Russell. This breed is especially good at catching snakes.

Next is Arya below, Gabriel's sweet and cuddly golden retriever. She is such a beautiful dog, and at six weeks old, loves to nap with Gabriel.

Mariah decided to wait and find a kitten in Mozambique. In the meantime, she's enjoying playing with the pups without having to clean up after them.

A new thing

For the past few weeks, all I've been able to think about is surviving the jumble of paperwork, packing up to move, and all the other things that have had to be done in the meantime.

And finally, the end is in sight.

We've spent this week dealing with moving companies and buying supplies we will need in Mozambique. The movers come on Wednesday to pack up and take our things across the boarder, By the next week, we should be almost settled in. Through all the paperwork hassles, packing, and living out of suitcases for weeks on end, I couldn't be more excited.

But something struck me this week. Our move isn't the end of things, but merely the beginning. As we continue to follow God's call, it's important for me to keep in mind the new thing that will be happening in Mozambique as we move forward with our work among the people there. We are excited to see what God is going to do in this beginning of His work there!

Winter in Africa

I've learned in the past few months to be more appreciative for the things I have--through things I have had to temporarily do without. Things like a vehicle, washing machine, and refrigerator are items I've always taken for granted. Considering that most people in the world don't have any of those "necessities" we truly are blessed having these conveniences in our everyday lives.

We are now enjoying winter in Africa, a time of year I love. The sun sets early here, bringing with it a chill at night, but the days are mostly warm and sunny. There are no snow-capped mountains close by, though it is possible for a frosty night to nip the plants. And the plants, as you can see in these photos from my aunt's garden, are especially beautiful--even in winter.

BTW, I received some interesting responses to my photo I posted a few days ago of the white bags hanging from the trees. They are filled with cashews that are grown in the area, then sold by the side of the road.

Be thankful today for your blessings,

Lisa

We got 'em!

The day we've been waiting for--for weeks it seems--has finally arrived. Today, Scott took the boat across the bay to pick up our Dires and they were ready! We're in Maputo tonight, on our way to South Africa (with our Dires!) which means we can now move our furniture across the boarder.

Thanks for your prayers, and praise God for His answer!

Below are two photos on the road south to Maputo. Anyone up to taking a guess as to what is hanging from a tree in the second photo?

Blessings,

Lisa

What’s for dinner, mom?

Now normally, the question of beef or chicken for dinner doesn’t bring a grown woman to her knees, but throw in a new culture, new shops, and. . .well. . .it’s a question liable to strike fear rivaling parachuting into a snake pit or swimming with Jaws.

My second day here I walked to the market near our house--a long, narrow row of tiny, outdoor shops selling everything from clothing to batteries, and ground peanuts to cooking oil. The choices, to be quite honest, are nothing compared to your local Wal-Mart.

On the food aisle, you have a limited range of things like spaghetti, tomato paste, beef bullion, garlic and onions, sugar, rice, corn meal, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, along with a couple dozen other basics.

But don’t let that scare you off. Not yet anyway.

In town, I found a quaint shop ran by someone Scott had met on one of his last trips. It’s two aisles of everything from cereals, to spices, to cheeses, to meats. More choices. Not bad. And now that I’d found a source of meat, we could eat something beyond cabbage, and rice for supper.

Of course, there still are a few drawbacks. Not only is a quick trip through the local drive-in out of the question, without a refrigerator, meal selection is limited even further. Take a look at your favorite cookbook and find the recipes that call for dishes that don’t include anything pre-packaged, frozen, baked, or refrigerated. Typically, you’ll be left with a menu of boiled eggs and popcorn.

Still, even without a kitchen, meals have become fairly routine. Breakfast is fruit, cold cereal with powdered milk (temporary thankfully), and bread. On days we have time, I might make pancakes or waffles with homemade maple syrup. (Jayden above)

For lunch, it’s sandwiches and fruit. There are a couple great bakeries here that make wonderful Portuguese rolls. A stock of peanut butter (available here) and jelly works great.

Dinner is typically rice with chicken and a sauce. Maybe some potatoes and curried cabbage--trust me, it’s fantastic. Spaghetti is also an easy option, especially now that I’ve found ground beef in town.

Despite the drawbacks, I have to say it’s really not been that bad. We have an unlimited supply of pineapples--the best you’ve ever tasted--coconuts, cashews, fresh fish and prawns.

So next time you hear that heart-pounding question--“What’s for dinner, Mom?”--go on out and enjoy your Happy Meal. I just might be sitting along the Indian Ocean dining a fresh pineapple and prawns.

Blessings,

Lisa

My (temporary) kitchen

Housing update

I can’t begin to thank you enough for all your prayers, emails, and phone messages. It’s kept us going the past few weeks as we go through this transition. Some of you have expressed concerns over our current living conditions, and I wanted to give a quick update on that.

We had every intention to make the situation in the house we are now renting work, but after a lot of prayers and discussion with our teammates, we’ve decided that we are going to move. Loud music begins before six, sometimes from all three sides, and lasts until late at night with all I can describe as African karaoke. Water is out most mornings and evenings. There are a number of other issues, including the fact that we will have to invest more money in the house just to make it livable (adding a water tower and a place for washing machine, etc) We also learned that the road leading to our road floods during rainy season making it impossible to pass. I already have to use four-wheel drive just to park inside our yard as it is.

We’ve found another house not far from here that we can move into without putting any extra money into it to make it livable. The area is quiet, safe, and has water 24/7. We are also praying about building a house during the next year which would be a good investment, because we are so near the sea. The house we’ve decided to rent won’t be available until the 5th of July, so we will return to SA after we receive our paperwork on Tuesday. There we can organize the transport of our things, rest some, and return here with our furniture the beginning of July.

I’m still without internet and only checking every few days, so please understand that I’ll be slow at responding to personal emails. Continue to keep us in your prayers. It means so much as we juggle a household with no refrigerator, stove, washing machine, or dryer, but God is good. I am managing to keep up with the kids, school and my writing, but definitely am looking forward to when we actually have our furniture again and more settled lives.

I’m posting photos of the sea today. What a blessing to be living near such a beautiful place, and the kids, of course, love it. We plan to spend our day off every week there just enjoying the peace of the ocean. It’s truly stunning, and we are looking forward to many of you coming for a visit!

Blessings,

Lisa

Held for Ransom. . .Tire changing 101

HELD FOR RANSOM

The last thing I ever imagined getting involved in here was a ransom situation, but our first week here has been anything but normal. Now before you panic, none of us were held for ransom. Instead it was David’s cell phone. Yes, that’s right. His cell phone.

We’d gone out briefly to buy electricity for our meter and on return David realized that he didn’t have his cell phone. It didn’t take long, though, for us to find out what had happened. He had dropped it outside our gate where some children found it and had started playing with it. Before long, the entire neighborhood was arguing over who should sell it in the market, or demand ransom money. When they found out whose house the phone had come from, the ransom money apparently became the choice.

Two men came to David and told him that he could have the phone for two hundred medicash (eight dollars). He came back to ask me what he should do. With Scott still in Maputo waiting for the papers, it was, it seemed up to me to decided if I should give into the demands (and set a precedent in my mind) or refuse.

Before I could decide, I was told that the police was now involved and wanted to talk to me. David had already paid one hundred medicash, but they wanted me to prove that it was indeed David’s phone. Fair enough, I thought. All it should take was a simple phone call from my phone to his to prove it.

Of course, even after I’d proved without any doubts that it was indeed David’s, the police still wasn’t finished. He wanted me to compensate him with transport, though to where I never understood. I decided to refuse. The phone was clearly David’s and I wasn’t paying any more to get it back.

It was definitely an interesting welcome to our new neighborhood.


HOW TO CHANGE A TIRE 101

We’ve had two--yes two--flat tires in the past week. Thankfully Scott was driving the first time and not me. In my driver’s ed class years ago, it rained the day we were supposed to learn to change a tire, cancelling the class, so Scott decided that it was time I learned. Thus How to Change a Tire 101.

It’s a good thing really. After seven years of living in Africa, it’s about time I learned how. We had a second flat tire in our front yard yesterday.

PAPERWORK

We filed all the papers on Monday. The only they missing now is a police report from the states, but they said they will go ahead and begin processing our papers, and that they will be done next Tuesday! More on that process next tim.

Blessings,

Lisa

A different perspective

I thought Maputo was hectic on a normal afternoon, but add a heavy down pour with inches of water, tons of traffic and pedestrians and you've got a recipe for disaster. Thankfully the only problem we had was taking a long time to get home.

We've actually made progress the past few days, praise God! We received the stamped papers we needed for the kids and found out that our police clearance from SA will be ready on Friday. These were the two crucial "last" steps. A friend will meet us at the boarder with those papers so we can once again file our papers on Monday. We should get them early the next week.

Mariah and I had a fun girl road trip driving from South Africa to Mozambique last weekend as the boys road with Scott. She decided to photograph our adventure from Tzaneen, to Maputo, and up north to the sea.

I thought you might enjoy her perspective!

Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Lisa

Settling in. . .sort of.

The past few days have been a whirl of activity. We made it to Inhambane and our new home Saturday night, tired, but happy to finally be there. Mixed feelings followed as we did our best to settle in with nothing more than the things from our suitcases. An ice box became a fridge, a small hot plate our means to cook. Empty boxes became a bookshelf for the kids school books and kitchen cabinets.

We were so pleased at the things the church was able to fix and are getting used to four wheeling it up our driveway (and this is dry season), no water in the mornings, and the competition of radios. Such is life in Africa.

Sunday morning, we studied about the life Abraham and his journey of faith with the kids. It was a great encouragement for all of us to remember how Abraham stepped out on faith to a place he didn't know. A place where he was a stranger in another land just like we are now.

The kids were thrilled when headed off to the beach in the afternoon, and it ended up being exactly what I needed. Time to just rest in the midst of a beautiful piece of God's world. This will be something we enjoy on our days off.

Monday morning, we left for Maxixe to file the papers for our residency. Bia and Gustavo didn't have any problems, but we were told we had to have signed letters for each one of the kids, requesting the visas we'd already received from South Africa. Something we'd been told in the capital that we didn't need.

So today, we are back down in Maputo. Scott is getting ready head off to the government offices and get signatures for the visas we already have, and we are praying that this will be the last of the paperwork. Until these papers are signed, we can't move our things over from SA, so you can imagine our urgency to finish this. We will also buy a stove while we are here and stock up on some staples that we can't find up north.

Tomorrow I'll post a different perspective of our two day trip across southern Africa from Mariah's perspective. She had a blast photographing our journey.

Lisa