The Scenery
Leaving in the morning on a taxi bus from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, we drive for about three hours north into the Province of Gaza. Passing through the big city of Chockwe, you hit a checkpoint, and then enter into the town of Guija. The roads are dirt and there is one main road where stores, the government building, and schools are on.
I have no clue how the actual neighborhoods are marked, but we turn by a house and move from cement buildings to mud and bamboo huts. Fields of crops seperate the main road life and the neighborhood life. Dirt roads change to dirt paths worn with the frequency of cars. On rainy days, the potholes can double as a pond for the hundreds of chickens running around.
On the outskirts of the neighborhood Matador, lives Tienie and the Christian Bible Institute. Right next to the community well, our host’s fenced in property is guarded by two dogs, Ratse and Jack. Fields, cows, and goats are everywhere. If you could think of an African Iowa, you could probably picture Guija pretty accurately.
The People
The Changaan (shang-gan) people are so warm and welcoming. Because a majority of the men leave to find work in South Africa, the town is run by the women. Violence and crime isn’t a major thing, and when someone commits a crime, usually they don’t make it to the police station. They speak Changaan and Portuguese, and the occasional HELLLOO.
The women are fierce, tending their fields with babies wrapped on their back or carrying buckets of fruit on their heads. They are community oriented. It is an insult to them if a guest doesn’t feel safe. When a person dies or marries, hundreds of people will go to the funeral or wedding. Orphans are watched over by the community, and everyone says hi when you pass them. There aren’t many ways for this town to be economically stable, especially since Mozambique is communist, but they are a community that continues to survive.
The Ministry
Tienie and His Church operate the mission base, Christian Bible Institute, in Guija. Their purpose is to show Jesus and spread His love by taking care of orphans, widows, those with HIV, and those who are incapable to take care of themselves. Tienie has 5 people on his team, with 2 young men working on becoming translators. The team is responsible for fostering relationships in the neighborhoods of Guija. They go to the neighborhoods, make relationships, pray for people, and identify needs.
Everyone knows Tienie and what he stands for, and yet, he first makes relationships before introducing Jesus. Tienie does programs with the prison, the schools, and a special needs school (for mainly deaf children) in addition to his main ministry. He also visits over 20 churches throughout the year. He hosts World Race teams, mission teams, and intern teams from his home church. This ministry isn’t flashy, but you see the changes God is doing through Tienie, and people who have nobody, have Tienie. He has helped over 500 people reach the end of their life with love and Jesus.
The Call
Tienie and the people of Guija are wonderful. Tienie is a great steward of the gifts and blessings God has given him. Even when we paid him, he turned around and bought food for the special needs school. Please find Tienie Steyl on facebook, and get involved with his ministry. For about $200, he builds mud huts for people that have no home. He provides food to families/ widows that don’t have food.
He is also working on building a fence for the special needs school. They are trying to build a garden so they have a sustainable food source and a way to sell something for money. Animals keep getting in so they are working on a fence around the property.
Please partner with Tienie on either of these projects because he is walking out the Great Commission.
