The 28th mom and Madison and us cruised around LA after we took our covid tests. We went down Rodeo Drive and Sunset Blvd. and drove all over Beverly Hills while the rain beat down. Then we went to Skid Row and I know I’ve written about it before, but that’s just insane. So we had a fun day and they dropped us off Tuesday at noon after a walk on Venice Beach. Thank you to each of you who prayed or have been praying for open doors to visit Dillon’s. Our negative results were an answered prayer and we have been thanking God!

Now we’ve completed Step 1 of several and I’m writing in the Doha, Qatar, airport where even though it’s the world’s richest country, they cannot provide 3 feet of carpet anywhere for us to sleep on our layover. We had hoped to go out into the city but they aren’t accepting anyone but Qatari nationals so we get to sit in the airport for 7 hours. Its not all bad. We had butter chicken and naan and some kebab things and now we’ve been walking all over. I’m pretty impressed with Qatar Airways so far. They have been quite lenient with mask wearing which has been a relief. We had to wear plastic face shields AND masks to board and deplane but luckily not for the flight. The meals were delicious: chicken biryani, cold couscous salad, foccacia bread, and chocolate mousse, and breakfast consisted of egg with mushrooms and ratatouille, fruit, and yogurt. Morgan and I love Indian food so we’re stoked😊 The plane was maybe 1/2 full and it was the first flight we’ve taken during pandemic where they actually spread people throughout the plane with a seat between so that was really nice!

I guess this will be abit disjointed but…WE ARE HERE!! With dillon&renae&max in their little house in Maputo. Our boxes arrived for Dillons and getting our visas went smoothly so we are very thankful! We watched the New Year in outside on the dirt street with fireworks lighting up the sky all over the city. We fell asleep to the sound of the electric fence zapping and the fish tank bubbling above our head.

Yesterday we slept in and then drove to the fish market to get some seafood for lunch. A storm blew in while we were unloading and we spent a lot of the time outside getting sandblasted. By the time we left the fish market for the house, there were piles of sand collecting on the roads. Everything was shut down due to being New Years but luckily the fish market was going so we picked up some shrimp, squid, and clams. It was very difficult for me to say no to all the fish people who were trying to sell us things, mainly because they don’t really take no for an answer. We dropped the seafood off at a little restaurant, although that’s a loose word for it beings it’s nothing more than a concrete room. They said it’d take an hour and a half so dillons drove us around for awhile. Usually it would be so packed with cars in some places and people everywhere so that we wouldn’t be able to drive but the streets were almost empty and we cruised around freely and saw some of Maputo. We saw the old fort, and the new US embassy, and a New York Pizza place even. We are looking forward to seeing it in full swing once its opened up the 4th. We went back to the restaurant and ate our seafood, which was delicious. They fixed shrimp and couve caril which is basically shrimp and plant curry stuff, the squid was in seasonings and juice, and the clams they boiled. They served it all along with xima, which is this white cornmeal porridgey stuff you’re supposed to roll with your fingers and use as a scoop to eat your other food. There were a couple other people hanging out there and we had fun talking to them and listening to them argue about Trump and America. We spent the late afternoon at the house, the guys swam, and I’ve been spoiling Max. Morgan grilled barracuda and made mashed potatoes and coleslaw for supper and we had good conversations and kind of planned out some of the drive back to Tete.

Thats it for now..we had toast for breakfast and Max is cooing and the wind has died down outside. Looks like a good day🙂 oh wait. Levi just opened the curtains and its still super windy. Ciao.