Firmino & Susanna

Firmino and Susanna are two pillars in the village of Tchincombe. A foreman, Firmino works hard helping to run the farm, driving the Kanga from field to field, checking on the cows, and even working triage at the clinic. Susanna works just as hard all day in the field - harvesting millet, feeding her (growing) family, and keeping the house immaculate. Firmino and Susanna even have a generator that they run for a few hours at night, powering lights, a tiny television set and CD player. They are one of the village's links to the urban world.

Even aside from getting his name wrong every day until our last day there (I kept calling him Filomino), Firmino intimidated me. Tall, stately, and serious, Firmino remained unreadable to me, so I stayed quiet around him. Sometimes I would try to say something in my broken Portuguese, and instead of responding to my query, he would simply correct my Portuguese. This scared me, because if I had to wait for my Portuguese to be correct before speaking, I'd never communicate anything.

As I got to know Firmino, however, I realized that he has high expectations of himself and others. Correcting my Portuguese wasn't about putting me down, but ironically it was about having me fit in. He wanted me to be able to communicate well - not the children's talk I had been attempting, but proper Portuguese. After getting to know him better, I teased him one day about never smiling. The result was the biggest grin in Tchincombe, albeit briefly. Feeling comfortable with Firmino took me some time, but once I understood him better, I realized that he enjoyed our presence. It was one of the most beautiful moments when, at the elder's meeting, he told us that he was so grateful God had brought us to the village.

Susanna, on the other hand, got along just fine with me right from the beginning. We shared the camaraderie that women who work together seem to form naturally, and she laughed easily. On my work day with her, we spent the first part of the afternoon together getting water from the well and pounding millet. After assessing my abilities, she left me alone for the rest of the afternoon to cook, do dishes, and help her run the house. Although I was glad to be able to give her a break, I was exhausted and grumpy by the end of the night. How she does that much work every day, without a rest, is beyond me.

Firmino and Susanna have seven children together, and she's pregnant. She doesn't want any more children though, so this will be the last one. Their family lived next door to ours (on the other side from Alfredo and Segunda). Although they are clearly one of the wealthiest couples of the village, they are still very much core to the village and part of everyday life. They understand compassion and service, and Firmino preaches on occasion as well. I was really fortunate to have been invited into their family life and to have gotten to know them, even just for a short time.