Invasion of the Rats... and other things...

Well, this is a pictureless post, and im warning you now, if you are bit squeamish you may just want to skip reading it all together!

Last week, we recieved an email stating that the gentleman who had moved into our house a month ago to stay until we got home had decided to move out.... due to "a rat and worm incident". Thats all it said. no explanation- Im sure you can understand that we were worried and a bit confused... especially since this gentleman (our swiss friend Andy, who has just joined the mission to work alongside us) had laughed very hard at Rick and Myself last year when we jumped on chairs and screamed when a rat ran by in our living room. If the "incident" was enough to make HIM move out... WHAT on earth had happened??!!!

After some panicked emails to our colleagues back home we discovered that as Andy had only arrived in February, our house had been sitting empty for much longer than anticipated. This resulted in a large group of rats taking up residence in our attic. 

ICK.

Apparently when Andy arrived the rats were so plentiful and active at night that he could not sleep from all the noise- so he threw a bunch of rat poison up there and thought that would be the end of it. 

IT WASNT.

apparently it wasn't the kind of poison that dries them up when it kills them, or else there was too many for them to dry up properly.... (i told you this was gross... but if you are still reading here is your second warning!) Now... please remember, we weren't actually THERE (we are here.... and only heard this thru emails and rather concerned facebook chats online), BUT... it seems that after the rats ate the poison and died,  maggots (the aforementioned "worms") got to work on the rats! 

DOUBLE ICK. GROSS. EWWW. YUCK.

To make matters oh so much worse, apparently some of them fell thru a light fixture in the ceiling and landed on Andy as the poor guy tried to sleep at night. ACK!!!!  I cant even imagine. I would have FREAKED out. I know that Rick and I are called to Africa, I know this is something we make a decision to do every day of our lives... but maggots falling from the ceiling onto my bed at night was not something I ever imagined signing up for! (and Im fairly certain there isn't a missionary on the planet who would say "hmm yeah, that was something i expected!")  :)

Thankfully, we were not there. And I did not have to deal with it.... and Lord willing I WONT have to deal with it! The attic and house have been fumigated, the plan is to have the attic cleaned out by the time we arrive home, an I can go back to being blissfully unaware that maggots falling out of the attic is even a possibility. (please note, that although I am glad it came up while we are away, I am not in any way happy it happened to Andy- that is one nasty introduction into missionary life in Mozambique and I feel rather guilty it happened to a guest in our home while we were away!)

Ive told you this rather gross story so you can remember to pray for us in the coming weeks. We have one more week in Canada, but then we start the journey home to Mozambique. It will be a long journey, but we look forward to it, and are getting ready for it! Each day we clean up a few more boxes, back another suitcase and see another person for the "last time" (this trip home at least!). This story in particular however reminds me that we need people to bring us before God on a daily basis. This is just one of the many bizarre situations that we can/could/might/will encounter on a daily basis.

 I (heather) worry about taking my child into a home where Rats are apparently running free,  I am concerned about her no longer being able to attend daycare, play with other children her age, and I wonder how I will be able to homeschool her properly- will I be able to teach her everything she needs to know? When you pray for us in these coming months, could you remember to pray for us as we face these challenges? It may seem silly, but rats freak me right out, and I could really use some prayers regarding them... more specifically, that they would all  be gone, and not come back, as I CANNOT sleep when i hear scurrying (you can ask Rick.. ill keep him up all night looking for things). And no mother wants their child sleeping in a room with rats scurrying around.. doesn't matter where you live or who you are... that will always be a concern!

Of course, we also covet your prayers for our health, safety, our financial needs, and that we can get started on the construction of our house quickly once we get home to Mozambique. And Im definetly going to find some ways to rat proof the next one... i have no idea how yet... but surely i can outsmart them... I think I can.. I think I can!!!

God Bless, Rick, Heather & Tendai 

P.S.  Many of you know that we have focused this furlough on raising our 'Prayer Support'  we are still short of our 500 PPD goal, but those who have been praying have been making a huge difference! This coming sunday our church (Grunthal Abundant Life Fellowship) will be hosting a fundraiser for us. We did not organise it, nor ask for it, but one of our PPD-ers felt led by God to organize a chilli dinner for hundreds, along with a small ticket auction and other things as well. If you are in the area this coming Sunday (APRIL 10th), stop by and join us for the Sunday service (10 AM)- Tendai, along with several other children will be dedicated to the Lord during the service, and the chili lunch etc will take place following that. All our welcome to join- and it will be your last chance to hear Rick speak for awhile as we leave the VERY NEXT DAY!! We hope to see you all there! And many thanks to the folks from our church who are putting this all together to help us raise funds for the construction of our home in Mozambique, as well as our other ministry needs!