That is what Mapendo's husband called this day...the day this photo was taken.
They were sitting in an office building waiting to meet with Canadian Visa Agents. How amazing that this day should ever arrive.
They were asked many questions. The interviewers were kind. And shocked by all they had been through. And by the clothes they were wearing. Argentine was wearing a dress she had made (if you look real close at the purple cloth she has on you will recognize it as a SHONA cloth!) The interviewer asked "Did you really sew that dress? On your own?" She loved the dress. And the hands that made it,
Their fingerprints were taken. They signed forms.
And then they were sent home to wait some more. We think everything went well, but still it is a nervous wait.
Perhaps the SHONA women are better at waiting than I am. Perhaps all of Africa is.
When it rains in Congo, you find a roof to stand under and you wait. That is what everyone does. You stand with complete strangers, huddled together, just barely out of the rain. But there is no cursing the sky and looking impatiently at your watch. There is chatter and laughter.
It always felt to me as though no one had anywhere else to go, nothing else planned. Then I would glance at the basins full of tomatoes they had been carrying on their heads, the bags of charcoal by their sides, and I would know that they were headed somewhere. We all are. My schedule was no more urgent than theirs. They just knew to expect the rain. And to expect the sunshine after a while.
We will let you know as soon as we hear more! Thank you for sending your love and prayers! And in the meantime please keep shopping SHONA!
