Hello from Mozambique! Mozambique claimed independence from Portugal in 1975. The official language is Portuguese, but Makhuwa, Swahili, Xangana and Sena are more commonly spoken. The currency is Mozambican Metical (60= 1USD). Mozambique has a tropical climate, but it is currently winter so it’s cooler at night. Christianity is the main religion in Mozambique, but it is typically mixed with indigenous beliefs or with witch doctor practices. Women typically wear capulanas, a piece of beautiful and colorful piece of fabric, wrapped around their waist. They also use them to tie babies on their backs.
This month my team and I served with the organization Africa on Fire (Ministério Africa Em Fogo). Ministry consisted of both manual labor and village evangelism. We were working and living on a property outside the town of Chibuto, Mozambique. The property is 74 acres and will have orphan homes, a school for children, a school for pastoral training, a permanent church, fields for farming, a clinic and homes for missionaries and other staff. The compound is in the early stages of construction so temporary housing, a temporary church, a basketball court, one of the orphan homes and the fence marking the property line are currently built. We helped chop down trees, rake leaves, weed, hoe fields and clean buildings. We had the pleasure of encountering lots of red ants that bite and a tarantula! We also helped with administrative work, which included typing up documents, editing business plans and making promotional videos to help raise support.
Another part of our ministry included village evangelism. Teams would go out to local villages to talk and pray with people. We prayed for lots of healings; healings for backs, legs/feet, stomachs, heads and hearts. Sometimes we encountered people wearing string necklaces that were given by witch doctors. We were able to explain to them why they didn’t need those items for healing because Jesus is the great physician. We would pray with them and burn the jewelry. We also had the opportunity to preach in a market and visit local churches that the pastor had planted.
We attended church every evening throughout the week and on Sunday mornings. Worship was by flashlight because there was no electricity. Services included lots of singing, dancing, praying and a sermon. We learned a few songs in Xangana and taught some songs in English.
This month we lived in the temporary dorms or outside in our personal tents. Tents were also set up inside the temporary dorms to act as a mosquito net. Malaria is very common and many of the locals got it while we were there. The temporary dorms had toilets and shower basins, but no running water. We used a watering can to flush the toilets and used buckets to shower. Laundry was done by hand.
All our food was cooked over a campfire by a few local women. Food staples included bread, rice, noodles, fish and lettuce. We consumed lots of carbs and we craved protein. Breakfast was normally bread rolls with bagias (fried crushed up beans that look like chicken nuggets) and sometimes we would make eggs. Lunch consisted of rice and beans or rice and lettuce. Dinner would either be a peanut coconut green stew with rice or fish with pasta noodles.
Adventure Days included trips to the local market to shop for capulanas and snacks. We saved up most our adventure days so we could spend a weekend in Nelspruit, South Africa to go on a safari at Kruger National Park. We were able to meet up with other teams and enjoy a day looking for wildlife. We saw impalas, giraffes, a red billed hornbill, white rhinos, buffalos, baboons, elephants, kudus, hyenas, hippos, zebras, a cheetah, a leopard and wildebeest. It was a fun day!
Some of my favorite memories were attending a 4th of July celebration that included a barbecue, eating dinner around the campfire every night and hanging out with John and Elton, children of the women who came to cook every day. I also enjoyed spending time with the Lord most days under a tree that overlooked fields and a small river. I had a lot of fun going on a safari at Kruger National Park looking for wildlife and I also learned how to eat and kind of like fish.
Thank you for your continual prayers and words of encouragement. Please feel free to say hi via email or Facebook! I love hearing from you back home.
If you would like to learn more about our ministry and living conditions check out my teammate Abbie’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCbSArp3zAWOEjq5kQwKA
