The Peanut Lady

I have learned so much about God and about people from the Peanut Lady. Let me tell you about her. (I deeply regret that I do not have a picture of her, my camera broke about halfway through the school :(

What I loved most about my time in Africa was visiting Mozambican families in their dirt homes. I wanted to spend allllll of my time in the villages. I wish I could have. But anyway, the times I did spend in the villages were wonderful.

Whenever I would leave one specific village to get back to the base, I would turn a corner onto the main street, and right across the street there was a lady sitting there in the dirt, selling roasted peanuts. I would see her every time I left that particular village. One day I decided to go meet her. I only know a small bit of Portuguese, (Poco!!) and then I found out this woman didn't even speak Portuguese. So what little bit I did know really didn't do any good. So we were absolutely language-barrierred. But I sat down next to her in the dirt, and just sat there with her for a few hours. We laughed and tried to communicate, and some kids joined us, and we just had a fun time.

Every day I left that village, I went over to see the peanut lady. I just really enjoyed sitting there with her, even though we weren't doing anything. We became good friends never knowing a word the other was saying.

I will never forget her. The more time I spent with her, the more we learned how to communicate in other ways than words. I know that she saw the love of Jesus in me, because every time she saw me, she would break into this huge smile and call for me to come sit with her. She was blessed by my company and I was beyond blessed by just sitting there with her.

I figured out ways to make her laugh. One day she had some friends with her. I don't think any of them spoke Portuguese either. They all spoke Makua, which is a Mozambican tribal language. Anyway, so her friends were with her, and I came and sat next to her, meeting her friends. Then they all started talking together. I wanted them to know that I was not just some rich American who didn't really care about their culture. I wanted them to feel like I respected them, and respected Mozambique, and I really genuinely enjoyed them.

Whenever one of them would say something, I would wait and listen for a part of their speech that was easy to say, and then I would say it just like they did, really fast like them. And of course it was never right, but they would get such a kick out of it. Every time I would try to say stuff in their language, they would all just laugh SO hard. I had so much fun making them laugh. And one day I even tried to teach some kids a dance while I was with her, and she enjoyed that SO much.

The Lord really allowed me to bring so much joy to this woman. I seriously could just go sit with her all day and I would be happy.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

I never witnessed to the peanut lady. I never got to have a conversation with her. But LOVE is so much bigger than words. Jesus is real, and He just wants to be with people and love them. I really believe that if He was walking the earth right now, and living in Mozambique, that He would be sitting with the Peanut Lady. Love truly breaks all barriers. It transcends all cultures. It can shatter through even the hardest hearts.

The day before I left, I ran out to see the peanut lady one last time. I gave her a capulana (which is a long piece of cloth that is worn around the waist as a long skirt- it can also be used for just about anything else--baby carriers, tablecloths, bags, etc. etc. etc.) and she just got the hugest smile on her face, stood up and gave me a huge hug. Just before I left, I hugged her again and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and I walked away from her knowing she had seen Jesus through me. I also knew she had been a tool in the hands of God to do a WHOLE LOT of work on my heart.

Sometimes the simplest things teach you the most. Sometimes the smallest things do the biggest work.