This month has definitely been different from any other. It started out rather interesting with all the difficulties in transportation but after several days of waiting and several hours in a van we made it to Vilanculos, Mozambique. We pull over to the side of the road and we’re told we have to walk because the van won’t make it on the road. So, we get out of our van and start walking about ¾ of a mile around a lake.
Walking up to the place I thought we were going to stay for the month made me think a little bit about The Swiss Family Robertsons. The house and other “buildings” were made from bunched up reeds and there were little paths also made from reeds leading from one building to the other. The house belonged to a family of four missionaries from South Africa.
We stayed there for about a week before heading to Machanga, a village about four hours away. We’re talking the middle of no where A.K.A. the bush. Our homes were our tents, our bathroom was a hole in the ground and our shower was the river. Doesn’t sound all that appealing but it actually wasn’t that bad. Due to the worms in the drinking water I can’t guarantee I didn’t come out without parasites but I kind of expected that to happen in Africa anyways.
We did all our cooking over an open fire and I actually learned how to make bread in a dutch oven. We purchased a goat and a couple chickens for our consumption and yes, they were alive when we got them, so the guys got to try their hand at butchering. We put the chicken in pasta with a white sauce and that turned out really good. The goat didn’t taste bad but it was extremely tough and chewy which made it rather difficult to eat.
The church we worked with in Machanga was having a women’s conference while we were there and several from our group had the opportunity to teach. Some of the other ministries we were involved in were, teaching Bible stories and doing skits at the school and a group went to do a hospital visit. Although our time there was short it was amazing to see God work through my teammates. Right before we left for Mozambique I was reading in Romans 12 where it talks about the different gifts and I think this month I really was able to see that lived out.
