Training Church Leaders

We have some catching up to do on this blog!

Today I'm thinking of World Relief and the work we help to organize from the head office. I work with Church Development. One of the main things we have done is to help four coordinators in different areas to hold trainings and seminars for pastors.

Pastor Madeira, who has worked in the center of the country with World Relief reported that “lack of unity among pastors brought unhealthy competition among themselves, disunity, lack of trust and enmity to the extent of some of them going after witchdoctors in order to prosper more than the other. With the unity we brought among them, there is now the spirit of cooperation, repentance from the wrong done in the past and a passion to serve more and more strongly for the Kingdom.” Jose Madeira is the one on the left of the picture, next to Anastase Nzabilinda who is the director of Church Dev. and other leaders from Sofala Province.



Willem Nel, director of Volta a Biblia, a Bible training center said that it takes a long time, much prayer and discipleship before people are willing to leave ancestor worship and animism. And then he commented that we are all tempted with idolatry, whether it is ancestor worship, or trusting witchdoctors in Africa, or materialism and security in the West.

I learned early in my time in Mozambique that many pastors are chosen because they can read, or they have natural leadership abilities, not necessarily because they are Christians. The country of Mozambique does not have a strong background of Christianity. During the Socialist era Christianity was suppressed and it has only been 20 years since then.

The training these coordinators have been doing is very basic "What we believe" teaching so that the pastors will receive the truth and then pass it along to their congregations. The sad news we received recently is that we can no longer give them even the small stipend we were giving because there is no budget money for this in this new fiscal year. We are also needing to stop support to two young men who have worked with children's clubs and with trainers of children.

It really grieves me to see this part of our ministry end. Who knows, these pastors may continue going out and training even without funds for transportation but I know it will be difficult for them to continue.

If you would like to contribute to WR, one way to do so is through the catalog you can find here: https://worldrelief.org/page.aspx?pid=723&nccsm=15 If you'd like to give to leadership training go to "Stand for the Vulnerable" and then "Train a Church Leader." Mention Mozambique if you'd like.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Hab. 2:14

Magaliesburg Adventures

We recently returned from two weeks in Magaliesburg, SA for a Family Foundations training. They asked us to come help facilitate some groups and we also benefitted from the change of pace and learning to know some wonderful people from S Africa, Malawi, DRC, Kenya and Nigeria.

I never saw a more faithful dog than this one! He went everywhere with his master.

The event was held at a YFC camp with beautiful surroundings. We hiked up the stone mountain a couple of times and explored the gorge.


The last day a group of us went hiking early in the morning.





We enjoyed spending time with and learning from Leon and Marietjie, the Africa coordinators for Family Foundations. They are an inspiration and have a huge job to get the ministry to all the countries of Africa.


On the weekend we stayed with the camp directors. They asked if we wanted to go see kids swinging from the bridge as they had a visitor with them that wanted to swing. So we went and watched and then got in the vehicle to leave. Then the young man said he wanted to go again, so we all piled out. As he was swinging, I decided I'm not too old for a little adventure so I said I wanted a turn too. Here I am thinking to myself "What am I doing? Am I crazy?"



And here I am swinging away. It was worth it, although it was a bit scary. I never quite got the courage to let go of the rope.


Coming and going we met an interesting group called the Latter Rain Assemblies of SA. Some people call them the Blourokkies because many of the women wear blue dresses. They live very simply in community and eat their meals together. In some ways they reminded us of the Hutterites, although their theology is more Pentecostal. We met some very nice people who are also involved with FFI and who hosted us very well. When they found out we would be on an overnight bus ride they were sure we needed lots of food. We said we don't usually eat at night, but they insisted on being generous.

The Saga of Our New House

One year ago we learned we would need to move from the house where we were living. It is owned by the Wesleyan Church and they had a missionary couple coming that would need it. Since housing prices have risen steadily in Maputo and you can hardly rent anything for less than $1,500 I was a bit worried. First we were told we would need to move in January. Then the time was delayed until it finally became July. God impressed on me that He would take care of it and I should not worry. I kept praying and tried to trust.

In March a neighbor friend whom I walked with sometimes said that they were leaving their house and we could probably have it (at a price comparable to what we were paying, and much less than the going rate). Steve and I went to visit and were pleased with what we saw. The furniture belonged to them, so we purchased quite a bit of it as all our other houses have been furnished.

Things were great until she called one day and told us that another couple from their mission who had originally planned to leave had changed their minds and would now be coming back – to “our” house. Wow, that was hard to handle and we were very disappointed. But I came back to what God had spoken – “Don’t worry, trust Me.”

We were given some small rays of hope that possibly they would not actually return. We kept praying. In June I started thinking I needed to do something, so I started looking in the ads. There was nothing encouraging. We looked at a very small apartment and another house that would have needed lots of TLC and work.

We made a “partial” move to another WR Guesthouse. The lease was ending there so we knew we could not stay more than a month. Now what? Finally at the end of July we received the good news – we could have the house we wanted! We met with the landlady who is a Christian and knows she could rent the house for much more, but says it is God’s house and she wants to bless others. We are certainly blessed and so thankful that God can be trusted and that He is always faithful.

Travel in Zambia

Travel can always be challenging here in Africa and usually we do our best to avoid the stress of travel by sticking to well known travel options. Yesterday was the exception. Due to the illness of our pastor in Mozambique, I had committed myself to be at the Sunday services as much as possible. I had agreed to preach on Sunday, long before we had any idea that the service might be a memorial service for Pastor Sammy. It was one of the most challenging sermons emotionally, but it met some real spiritual and emotional need for all of us.

That meant that Monday was the big travel day. I decided that I wanted to maximize my time in Mongu, Zambia, so I would try to make it all the way in one day. Usually I travel in the evening of the first day, then bus for 8-9 hours the following day. It is tiring, but doable.

However, since the SAA and LAM (South African and Mozambique airline) companies have started to code share flights, I can catch the 7 AM into Joburg and the 10:30 AM into Lusaka, arriving by 12:30. Then catch a 1 or 2 PM bus to Mongu in Western Province, arriving by 10 or 11 PM, if all goes well. In theory it works nicely, without too much exhaustion. Notice I said, in theory.



The first leg went fine, arising at 4:45 am and getting to Joburg by 8 am. The next flight was a bit delayed, but we arrived in reasonable time. What I did not plan for was the Kenya Airways flight arriving just ahead of us with their 757 and filling the arrival lounge with visitors. Since both flights were international, the lines were long. Fortunately, I had a seat in the front of the plane and managed to get to the front of the visa required line. Unfortunately, others had some sort of clout to budge and it took more than 50 minutes for me to get through immigration. Now I was in trouble--would there even be any buses left at the station?

I grabbed a taxi and we got to the station by 2:30. All the big buses were full, although two were still sitting there. There was one smaller bus(30 passenger) still there taking on the last three passengers. After I bought my ticket, then there were two still to be sold. This should go fast! Wrong!!! They sold the tickets well enough, but took another hour to load the trailer with luggage and stuff. We finally left the station at 4, but did not make it out of town for another 40 minutes. Hmm, maybe we will arrive by midnight?

We made pretty good time in the first leg, but the second was slow due to the rough road. My seat was actually the last seat available and my knees were up around my chin, on top of the motor compartment. The last two buyers ended up sitting on the motor compartment and the stairs. I was thankful for the flip down seat, but it was still painful. Did you know a neck pillow work pretty good for seat pillows and back support too? I made full use of it.

At one point we stopped and dropped a young couple. The problem was their bags were buried. Time to unpack and re-tie the trailer. Ok, a least some time to stretch my legs. But then, there was a guy who wanted to take a dozen grain bags to Mongu for sale. So, they drove ahead about 80 feet, unloaded the whole trailer and then reloaded it. Total time, one hour. Ok maybe we can arrive by 1 AM now. I texted Wiggan and said, "Get some sleep, I will call when I arrive."

The next stretch of road is typically horrible and it was even worse in the small bus. It took way too long, but we arrived at the Kaoma stopover and took another hour to unload and reload the trailer--again. On the way out of town, there was almost a riot on the bus as the passengers began complaining about how the bus manager had disrespected them by taking so long and he should be forced by the driver to apologize. One guy even started to get out of his seat to get physical. It might have been more amusing if I were not sitting right beside the “manager.”

By now it was 11:30, we only had 200 kilometers to go and I was dozing or trying to. Maybe we can make it by 2:30? The neck pillow only worked one place at a time. I had moved seats when the young couple left, but the seat was not in great shape, so it was like exchanging one pain for another. Once I woke up to the bus sitting beside the road and a loud discussion about fuel. Something along the lines, “It must be the fuel pump, because we should have enough fuel to make it there, we should not have run out.” How comforting. Maybe we will be here all night!!

They restarted the bus, but shut it down again later for what seemed to be an attempt to unclog a fuel line connection. There went another 20 minutes. We did finally arrive at 2:45 and I was in a bed by 3 AM. Guess that makes it a 22 hour plus travel day. I would say never again, but you never know. After all, this is Africa.

Pastor Sammy Gumbe

It is with a heavy heart that I write this as we have received news that the pastor of our church in Maputo, Sammy Gumbe, has passed away. In June it was discovered that he had lymphoma. He had a couple of chemotherapy treatments but then was unable to continue them.

Our friend Mark Estes, who was part of the church for several years and now lives in Thailand with his family, wrote this tribute:

"Within five minutes of receiving the message [of Sammy's death], our family had just finished our evening meal and was listening to some praise and worship songs. My favorite – courtesy of Pastor Sammy’s love for the song – “He Knows My Name” played.

"I found myself suddenly alone with the music – Marcia in the kitchen cleaning as the kids meandered to their rooms to play. I sat down and sang in worship and remembered the passion of the song that was shared on so many Sundays not so long ago in Maputo – with Pastor Sammy up front enthralled in God’s Awe and encouraging Bruno to ‘play it again!!’…and Pastor wanted us all to experience that moment as he did.

"I recall often looking up to see Pastor Sammy holding one of his sons – sometimes both (he was a big strong man!) and seeing how much he and Christine loved them – and each other.

"I remember getting to know Pastor from our early days in Maputo back in 2007. We liked to “challenge” each other in loving and brotherly ways. We often didn’t see things eye to eye, but we let love guide our discussions and in the end, regardless of agreement or disagreement on a subject, I walked away with a deeper and growing respect and love for Pastor Sammy. I hope he did the same of me. I think he did.

What would Pastor say?

“God is Good…all the time…and all the time…God is Good” I can hear his voice. Do you remember how he said the word “Love”?

"I’m far away and know that many tears will flow in the days to come as MICF and the Community that knew Pastor come together to comfort and support Christine and the boys as they say “see you later” to Sammy. There is no such word or phrase in the Christian language that means ‘goodbye’ or ‘farewell’ as our assurance of Pastor’s new home is with us – and our comfort through faith holds us fast to the fact that one day…I’ll enjoy shouting praise with Sammy in a better place with the Father who indeed, “knows our name”.

"I can see Pastor Sammy now with the list of questions for the Lord… "OK Father, now that I’m home…and here for a while…there are a few things we need to talk about!”


The other thing Pastor Sammy would say is "God is faithful...all the time... and all the time...God is faithful, for that is His nature." These are good things to remember in a time like this when we could be tempted to ask "Why" and wonder about God's nature.

Pastor Sammy officiating at the wedding of Bruno and Letticia, from our church.

Jamene and Irene's Wedding

After we moved to Mozambique an accountant from the WR office in Malawi came for a short visit to the Maputo office. He stayed with us at the WR guesthouse and became our friend. It felt like we bonded quickly as we are both TCK's (third culture kids). Jamene's family lived in the U.S. and Canada during his growing up years.

During that visit he mentioned that he didn't think he could live in Mozambique. However, later on he ended up moving here and it seems he will be here a good while since he just married a Mozambican! Irene is a lovely person. She is the deputy director of AfricaWorks and is studying law.

Here he is with his uncle and some of the bridal party, waiting for the fun to start. The wedding time was moved up due to many ceremonies taking place at the church that day. Towards the end of the ceremony we could hear the other wedding party singing.


They had the cutest junior attendants. This little guy caught my eye - he can really move to the music!




After the church ceremony we traveled to Matola for the civil ceremony and the reception. This is the civil ceremony with the godparents, Larry and Mandy, friends of Jamene's from Malawi.


The reception was very nice in a huge tent in a park.


The happy couple. Congratulations!

Moving News and Prayer Request

Here we are in our naturally cooled office. Many times in July and Aug we’ve been in the U.S. so we haven’t really experienced a Moz “winter.” It hasn’t been bad, but it is strange to feel cold in Moz. We moved to our new temporary place last Saturday and it is cooler than our other house because of its orientation. Sweaters and blankets feel pretty good.

The move went quite well. We took a load of boxes Friday night. Saturday Maria, our cleaner, and her strong son came to help us move. Antonio actually carried the small stove up the stairs without any help from Steve! That was fine with him… :-) We had things moved by noon and then the unpacking began. We actually left many things in boxes in anticipation of moving again - it's a long story.

We received hard news about our pastor in Maputo, Sammy Gumbe. He has been ill for the past months and no one could come up with a diagnosis. Last week they did a biopsy and this week they said he has aggressive lymphoma. He started chemo in SA yesterday, but he is very weak and thin. They really need a miracle. Please pray for him, his wife Christine and three young sons. They are Kenyan/Mozambican. The church needs prayer also. Thanks.



We were together at Christmas '09. Sammy is at the head of the table.

Burundi

My arrival in Bujumbura, Burundi did not go as planned as the schedule challenged folks at Rwandair moved the 8 pm flight back to 5:30 pm and did not tell anyone ordering tickets. I arrived at the terminal in Kigali looking for the transfer desk and it was smaller than a lemonade stand. Literally a small stand up desk that said, “transfers.” With no one around, we asked the cleaning lady, who asked someone else, who got a third person who eventually tracked down a fourth. After ushering us through a keyed door way, he told us to wait here, they needed to load a flight to Uganda first. About our flight, there wasn’t one. "May we have your passports and tickets?" After about 30 minutes, when the flight was supposed to leave, a fifth person showed up and said, we would be put up in a hotel and get the 11 am flight out in the morning. We were introduced to a 6th person who said all was well with our tickets and handed off to a 7th person who took us away to the hotel. There were three of us and we were all expected in the WR office at 8 am. This is Africa.

They did put us up in a nice hotel. The going rate is $189 per night, supposedly a 6star, but I think the ladies at the front desk were exaggerating a bit. I have stayed at one 5 star in my life and this was not close. Maybe a 4 but I’m not complaining, except they did not give me the wakeup call I requested. Fortunately I woke up at 6 by internal alarm and made it to the pickup site on time.

We got the airport and you guessed it, 1) our tickets had not been changed and 2) the plane was not even ready for its first flight of the day on time. We left a half hour late, making it 10 am, pretty close to the predicted 11 am, although they had said it was to leave at 9:30. Their in-flight magazine for the month said, departure at 11, so who knows, the employees didn’t and they get the planes ready! This is still Africa.

I had lunch with some of the leadership team in Bujumbura and the expectations were pretty high. “Tell us what to do so that when we get to September start date of the new program, our implementation team will have it all figured out.” Hmm, at least I get three months to do that. This is more of an assessment trip for me since the first time I did not make it out of the capital city due to meetings and shortness of time.

To round out the afternoon, we took a road trip along the coast of Lake Tanganyika and then up into the mountains of the southern provinces. We stopped to visit an association that WR had helped start with a few goats, vegetables, bananas and cassava two years ago. My task was to ask lots of questions and try to figure out how to fashion a real, business-based agriculture and value chain development program out of what is and what ever opportunities exist in the region. These 17 young men were trying to raise small eggplant on a hard rocky and clay soil mix. It is the kind of soil that someone cultivated so poorly years ago that all the top soil has been eroded off and washed away. They get some water from a stream up the mountainside so at least they don’t have to spend money on pump fuel. They just dug a trench across the dirt road, around the bend and into their small garden field and the water just runs. It doesn’t even soak in that well.

To their credit, they had covered the stony ground with a grass and weed mulch, and apparently used come goat manure underneath. The plants looked relatively healthy and had fruit. If all goes well, they could earn up to 30,000 Burundian franks, or $25 every two weeks for the next 6-7 months off that patch. Some of that money will go to buy spray to keep the bugs away, if they can find it. There were lots of little raggedy clothed, bright eyed little kids around, some with swollen bellies. Many of the young men didn’t look much out of their teens themselves.

How to have a real lasting impact on agriculture, incomes and development in such a situation? That is quite a responsibility to carry the next couple of days. When I thought about it, it was a little overwhelming. Fortunately, there is a team here that should be a good resource. The idea is to see the situation as it really is before we try to envision, with God’s help, how it could be different. We'll use the skills of the local people, the resources they have been given, plus realistic ideas from other places that if implemented, could change the future of many who now live lives of quiet desperation.

On a lighter note, needing to have a gluten free meal on the plane, provided me with sirloin steak instead of the chicken, fish or vegetarian option. That was a first. I am staying at the UNHCR hotel in Makamba and the chef said the meal would be ready in an hour. I had a pretty good lunch, so I told him I only needed a small plate of food. I was tired enough to fall asleep on the bed, then was awakened by a knock on the door about 8 p.m. He came in with 3 plates of food. Since it was late, I was hungrier than I thought and could have eaten it all. The temp is pretty cool up here and I will use it to keep warm tonight. As for the meat? You guessed it, sirloin steak, two days in a row. Another first. My compliments to the chef!! He has pretty good taste.

Mongu, Zambia

We've just returned from two weeks in Zambia. We started from Lusaka with an 8 hr. bus ride. Normally the buses are good but this one was crowded with 28 passengers behind us in seats for 17. Then they filled the baggage hold with freight so the aisles were jammed with boxes, suitcases, you name it. It was an obstacle course to get on and off the bus!


Once we got to Mongu we hit the ground running. We thought we were doing a CHE seminar the second week we were there and the coordinator thought we were doing it the second week of May. We were hoping for a week to prepare, but we had a day and then evenings. Once we got going it went well. Now the question is whether these folks will start a program that is community-based with volunteers. We had an interesting discussion and they stated that volunteerism does not work. They suggested that the communities pay the volunteers. Well, that could work, except that those funds should be used for community initiatives. And when the money to pay them runs out, then what? One pastor stated that we need to pray that God will transform minds and give people a willingness to volunteer again. Sad to say, it is one of the down sides of receiving so much aid from NGOs and other organizations when it shuts down local initiative and looking for their own resources.



When we weren't at the seminar we were working on other Zambia Works work. Since Steve grew up on an apple farm he was very interested to find a guy who is growing apples in Mongu! He also has tangerines and oranges in the same mini-orchard. He says the apples grow quickly as they can grow year round. These are Mexican apples.


At church on Sunday we enjoyed the worship team, except that the keyboard sound ran through this big speaker which was on HIGH. I definitely wouldn't sit right in front of it if I attended this church regularly. Whooeee! It was ear-splitting. Note the other items besides money in the morning offering - some reeds and something in a bag.


The pastor of the church is our friend, Lubinda, who directs a ministry to orphaned children, Kids Alive Intl. They have 57 kids in different houses and they wish they could take more as the need is great, but they are filled to capacity. Here he is with his wife, Esther and some of the boys.





Lubinda also took us to meet a man, Emanuel, who was an Angolan refugee. (Angola is about 500 km from Mongu.) He started a preschool and then an elementary school. He also takes in the elderly and others who need a place to stay. He calls it is "village of refuge." It was encouraging to find someone who is giving his life to help others.


No recounting of a trip to Mongu is complete without a note about the Oasis Restaurant. It is Lebanese owned and has great Shwarmas. Their business has gone down since they raised their prices, so we'll see if they survive. The ambience is great with mounted animal heads, a fountain with bubble soap and golden oldies music.




The trip back on the bus was a whole lot better with no overcrowding or stuff in the aisles. We got on at 10 p.m. and got to Lusaka by 5:30 a.m. Sleeping sure does make the time go faster!

I'm always amazed at the signs that include references to God or the Bible and the Christian music on the buses. Zambia definitely has a different culture and history than Mozambique!













This is a little hard to read - it is the Good Samaritan Bar and Guesthouse.

Begging for a Bribe (oh, so subtly)

Jumping through bureaucratic hoops is never fun, especially here in Mozambique. We get to do it at least once a year from now on as the government has decided that holders of foreign residency documents (DIRE) must appear in person to renew them. Last year they also upped the prices by 1200% and re-interpreted the quota systems for foreigners to apply to each office, i.e. not just on an organization or company-wide basis. Since some of our work is in Gaza, our Dire process was shifted to the provincial capital of Xai-Xai, about 3 hours north of Maputo by car. We left April 30 at 6 am to miss the worst of Maputo rush hour.

Since this was the first year of the new “bio-metric” process, it took extra time to take photos and fingerprints. That was understandable. The one handed, one finger approach to typing by the person in charge, did drag things out considerably. Once we had filled out all the forms, it took about 30 minutes per applicant to do the data entry and photographs. We had arrived at 9:30 and were finished by 1:30, most of the time standing up in a small waiting area with 15-20 other Mozambican.

Now you might think that since everything was in the computer, the process would be speedy from then on. Well, it will take at least another 15 days to get our Dire’s back. In the meantime, we have two trips planned. The option of traveling without Dire’s is somewhat formidable since you have to buy a new visa upon re-entering the country or have an authorized letter. Last time they almost did not let Rachel out, because she did not have either. In the meantime, visa prices are now $66, up from $25. The government likes visitors for obvious reasons, but sad to say it seems like fewer are coming due to the price increases.

Since we knew we were traveling, we asked up front if we could get two letters, one for each trip. No problem, but you have to wait to start that process until after you have your receipts for the Dire. OK, no problem. So at 1:30 we made copies of the receipts and started the process for the travel letters. Now it was. “Oh, you want two letters at the same time? No, that is not our way of doing things. “ So we appeal to the next level. Sure, you can go ahead and fill out two forms each. We do and pay but the receipt says we can collect the next day. You have got to be kidding. When we appeal, it was a resigned, “OK, just wait here.” By now we are getting hungry and tired of standing, but the few chairs were all full. Finally, we got to sit down.

After an hour, I stick my head in the office of the person who said we could fill out two forms each. “Ah, just be patient, 15 minutes, it will be coming.” Well, we know 15 minutes is never 15, but we surrender and wait. Finally, we are some of the few left in the waiting area as closing time has come and gone. The person who promised us 2 letters each and 15 minutes appears with only two letters and the word that he would be hung to death should he attempt to issue two letters per person in one day. “ Come back tomorrow.” We take our papers and leave. Someone else will have to spend a half day coming back tomorrow for the forms that are already finished.


Upon review of the letters, they are pre-printed forms with about a half dozen words hand written into blanks to identify us, the date and place of issue. And that took two hours with three of us sitting there. A total of 6 person hours lost forever. The only conclusion we can come to is that he was waiting for money under the table. We did not pay any cash, but it cost us anyway.

By 4 PM we are on the road again, hurtling back toward Maputo knowing we will never make it before dark. The traffic is not too bad, but we come across vehicles with no tail lights and no reflectors, some of them moving slowly. At one point, we round a curve and face cars coming at us two wide, on a hill, that forces us off the road, onto the berm. But by the grace of God, we did not get hit head on. By the time we got home at 7:30, I was exhausted from the travel alone. In times like these, we repeat the words of the national anthem with tongue in cheek, “Moçambique nossa terra gloriosa (our glorious country)!”

April Thoughts

April started with a bang with two Ancient Paths seminars in a row. We had a small one in our home the second weekend and when it was over I felt like I was on a high. It reminded me of how I felt when I was a doula and a baby had just been born. One participant who experienced some significant healing said: "I learned about the power of the blessing. I was healed, especially in areas that I never knew I needed healing. The Holy Spirit just flowed and showed me things I didn’t know in my life. It was an amazing experience of God’s love." This sounds a bit cut and dried on paper, but in real life it was so exciting to see the years of anger, confusion, and unforgiveness melt away.

The rest of the month has been spent getting ready for teams coming from the U.S. Steve has been to Chokwe to work with the group that is making marula jelly (canhu in Shangana). He got a label approved for them and it went much faster than the coconut oil label. It helps to have been through the process before.

I've also found myself pondering Rob Bell's new book, "Love Wins." I have only read excerpts and reviews, but the distortions and omissions of key truths and scriptures is disturbing. Yes, it's a nice message and one that is well accepted by some. But is it the truth? There is a reason Deuteronomy tells us to choose life. It is our choice, and if we don't, there are consequences. I have no doubt that Jesus loved every Pharisee, but he was not afraid to tell it like it was, calling them fools, blind, hypocrites, whitewashed tombs and more. And at the end of that chapter 23 of Matthew he mourns over Jerusalem. "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! I firmly believe God is a God of love, but when we turn our backs and are not willing to come to Him, we make our choice for judgment and not life. I choose to believe that God is a just judge, and as my Creator He is so much greater than I am, that I can trust him completely with my life now and in eternity. You can read more about this controversy here: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2065080,00.html

To end on a more positive note. Resurrection Day started bright and early as we joined our church's sunrise service at the park. The sun coming up as a bright orange ball over the Delagoa Bay was a great way to start the day, remembering that because of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection we have new life.

We invited several young women to our house for dinner and had a wonderful time with them. We have met many people who come and go from Maputo and they are each a gift as our lives intersect during this time.

Swazi Adventures Again

Written April 4.

We just returned last night from another weekend in Swaziland. This may be the last one for awhile as we feel our job is done with mentoring the new AP coordinators there. We had a great seminar and were hosted very well. We had planned to take a facilitator in training with us and he made it to the border when he realized he forgot his passport! So we found him a ride back to Maputo and continued on alone.

Swazi is very beautiful. Here’s what we saw out our bedroom window:


Sadly, I couldn’t find the camera when we went for a walk. I wanted a picture of the nice waterfall we walked to but you will just have to imagine it.

A friend had just purchased a batik at Baobab Batiks and wanted another one so I said we would get it for her. Swazi is notorious for poor signage on their roads, so we had to backtrack a bit but we did find the place. It was actually the factory so we also got to see the ladies working with the wax, sewing and dying the products. They are very beautiful and quite different in texture than the batiks lining the streets of Maputo. Here’s what our friend asked for. These are expensive but beautiful and they don’t fade.



Gone Rural is close to Baobab so we stopped in there to see their products made of woven grass and sisal. I’m trying to find a way for the women in the village in Moz to use the sisal that grows wild there. This organization has created jobs for many Swazi women and their products can be seen in many parts of the world. Check out their website: http://goneruralswazi.com/

The other thing we enjoy at Barry and Viki’s is their large garden. We are trying to start some cuttings of their tree tomato plant. The fruit is amazing – quite tart and good. It looks a bit like a tomato but it is more oval and has a hard peel. This is a big garden with a full-time Mozambican gardner. The picture only shows a small portion of it. They sell some of their produce and use it at the health food shop/café that Viki owns. The eating is always fresh and organic at their house. And the open spaces, clean and beautiful are like a cup of cold water to these thirsty, rural at heart souls living in a city.

Ndagala anyone?

Ordering from a lunch menu in French is a slightly daunting task, if you don’t read or speak French. When the writer starts to throw in local words, it is even more challenging. The dish title was “Plate Tanganyika,” and the line underneath read Ndagala. When my host asked what it was for me, the response came back fish, even though we later discovered the waiter could barely speak French. Since we were at a lunch/sandwich type of place, there were not a lot of non-wheat options for me besides salad, so I said, "Ok let’s try the fish and chips" (fries for Americans).

When the plate arrived, we were both surprised, if not a little shocked.
Ndagala is the local word for what could best be described as a larger than life, fresh water anchovy (and they were slightly breaded too). Well, I ordered them, so I may as well try to eat them. My first response, not too bad! It tastes a little like a cross between a French fry, potato chip and some crisp drippings from a mild flavored meat. Add a little mayonnaise and wala, they just go right down. It was a fully deep fried meal.

I offered some to my host and he politely declined. Afterwards he said he would have sent them back. He is not that adventurous with his food. First time for everything and maybe a last.

Rwanda, Congo, Burundi

The last two weeks I (Steve) have been on my new assignment with WR in East Congo and Burundi. It has been a great experience.

Travel. The planes were normal, but the airport in Nairobi was small and cramped. It is a half circle with lots of shops packed between the relatively narrow hallway and chairs. The transfer desks (if you can call them that) are stuck in a corner with no lights and limited signage. In fact, the first time through, I missed it entirely, but when I went to enter the gate, the agent rejected me saying that check-in had closed and I did not have a boarding pass. I had asked at the information desk and they said, just go to the gate and get your pass. We discussed, I ran back to get a boarding pass and made the flight. Phew! I did not want to spend an unnecessary night in the town some call Ni-rob-u.

Driving in Cars. This was not normal. The first car I got in seemed perfectly normal (steering wheel on the right, normal for Southern Africa). But, when the driver pulled out onto the road, he also drove on the right! (normal for the US). This puts the driver on the shoulder side of the road, not the center line, making it really hard to see around big trucks when you want to pass on a 2-lane road. I can do left side steering wheel on the right side of the road, and right side steering wheel on the left side of the road, but not right on right. I was afraid it would scramble my thinking too much. Needless to say, I let others drive. After the first week, all the cars I rode in drove on the side of the road they were designed for. (If you look in the side mirror you can see the driver on the other side.)

Rwanda. It is a beautiful country. Green and clean. The roads are in good shape, being upgraded and in the capital, there a lots of 4 lane roads, with lots of room. I was there on two weekends, so maybe the traffic was lighter. At the airport, there is a sign, “no non-degradable plastic bags allowed.” If you have shrink wrapped your luggage, it must come off before you leave the airport. Once they checked my suitcase crossing the border back in and someone said they were looking for plastic bags. There is a designated work day (couple of hours Saturday morning) when all citizens must be involved in community help projects. If you are found driving about during that time, the police will stop you and put you to work right along the road. One visiting U.S. church team had that opportunity. Overall the country side was gorgeous.


DRC (East Congo). The town of Goma is right on the border with Rwanda. We stayed in a hotel that was literally built on the water’s edge. There was no beach and if you looked closely enough, you could see where the volcanic lava flow cooled as it hit the water. It was right beside the foundation walls. According to the web, Goma had a volcanic eruption in 2002 that destroyed the city. Apparently several large fissures opened up right in the commercial center and vented towards the lake. It destroyed everything including a large majority of clinics, hospitals and pharmacies. It sounded like a disaster of biblical proportions. That explained why everyone was building, everywhere. Why they are building 3-story, 3-4,000 square feet per floor in this undeveloped town in the middle of nowhere, I don’t know. Just dig down to get your building materials.

It is a stark contrast to Rwanda. Most of the streets are volcanic gravel and ash, with lots of litter. The paved roads are in poor shape, with no traffic lights in evidence. The UN has basically occupied the region as the government does not have enough resources to deal with the rebel fighters who still regularly stop cars to take cell phones and valuables. Go jogging and you meet soldiers carrying machine guns on their morning exercise in sweats. It does give one pause.

We avoided the remote stretches of roads during a visit to the neighboring city of Bukavu by taking a speed boat (2.5 hours) across Lake Kivu. It was a long ride, especially the outbound trip as the lake was rough and it really jarred us hard. Plus you are cramped in small seats with your fellow passengers. Coming back was smoother, but I was ready to get out of the boat.
Lake Kivu is one of the three exploding lakes in Africa. It is extremely deep (18th in the world) and loaded with methane and CO2. Every millennia or so it explodes and causes mass extinctions in the surrounding area. Presently 2 million people live in the area around it. Rwanda has a project that is harvesting the methane and generating electricity. I figured the chances of it not exploding while I was there for 6 days were pretty good.

My primary reason for being in Goma was to participate in two full days of meetings with the WR micro-finance board and review the agricultural loan pilot project. I learned a lot and still have more to learn.

Burundi. Here I never made it out of town, except to go to the airport. Partially because I was in meetings for four days (two days for microfinance called Turame and two days with WR. It did not make a lot of sense to travel with WR when we needed to talk and set some direction first. They were all good meetings even if they were long. I met some great folks and learned lots more.

There is not a lot of adventure when you stay in the same hotel for six nights and just go to meetings, but the people I spent time with said that the rebels still come into town at night and attack the police posts with grenades and machine guns.

One morning I went running and as I headed down the dirt road just beyond the hotel, I heard the guard whistle. Was that for me? I stopped and looked back and sure enough he was running toward me, jabbering in French. So I said, “I don’t speak French.” Then he grabbed his throat and said bandi, bandi, making a choking sound. Even if I didn’t speak French, I sure got the idea that that particular stretch had some potential bandit risks and I should jog on a different set of roads.

Bujumbura is the capital and perhaps the only capital city in the world without a single stop light. The drivers are nearly as crazy as Mozambique and the traffic is worse than Lilongwe in Malawi during rush hour, with long lines of traffic. Most main roads are paved, with some in cobblestone. With all the mountains, there are plenty of resources for that. They say the Chinese are putting these in more residential areas. What is really tough is seeing the cobblestone speed bumps since they blend in to the rest of the road so nicely. For real!

Bujumbura is located on Lake Tanganyika, not exploding, but one of the great lakes in E. Africa. You can read a little more about it in my next blog.

Lots of construction here too, but since labor is cheap, most work is done by hand. Check out the cement pouring crew. Another site had more than what looked like more than 100 men, just on top of the building.

Rainbows all around, Victoria Falls

At the end of our team trip to Zambia, we spent some time at Victoria Falls, debriefing and having meetings in a wonderful and relaxing setting. While I have been to Zambia numerous times, I never really took the time to seriously consider visiting the falls as it is quite out of the way from where I normally travel. First, some interesting facts about the falls. It is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is not the world’s highest waterfall, nor the widest, but claims to be the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It is more than a mile across the face and the water drops 354 feet. The local name for the falls is “the smoke that thunders.” If you see the falls from the back side, and you don’t know it was water, you might think it was just another fire in an African field or bush.


The first morning a group of us set out to visit the falls. As we left the hotel, someone said we should take a rain coat or umbrella as you might get wet. I thought, OK and retrieved an umbrella. As we approached the falls, we saw a place where you could rent rain coats, but we had an umbrella. There is a deep gorge that the water drops into, but the gap across the gorge is not that wide, so we set out on the path to look at the falls from directly across from it. A short way down that path, it began to sprinkle. A little further it began to pour and then blow the water sideways. Lots of good an umbrella did. As we continued, we soon realized that we were going to get soaked no matter what.

Coming to a small bridge, we met a group coming from the other side. As we passed, one woman soaked to the skin and wearing a rain coat shouted above the roaring of the falls, “It is not for the faint of heart.” The stairway itself was a series of small waterfalls, with 2-3 inches of water flowing down the pathway. We continued on across the face of the gorge, only about 200 feet from the falling water. It was amazing. The rain was created by the rising mist (smoke) and the wind was generated by the falling water as it pushed the air out of the gorge. We were in the midst of a tropical rainstorm on a sunny day. The effect around the edges of the falls it that you see rainbows almost everywhere you look, particularly if the sun is behind you.

Fortunately the water and the day were warm, but it still took hours to dry out our clothes. If I had known, I would have worn swimming trunks and a tee shirt with crocs. (Some people did, but not in our group.) Fortunately I had taken a plastic bag to wrap the camera in or it might be in the repair shop by now.

We also climbed down the backside of the gorge to the area called the boiling pot, a half mile long trail that dropped the full 530 feet and was a bit challenging in places. From there we had a good view of the bridge to Zimbabwe where people with money and courage bungee jump into the gorge (not on my bucket list, but fun to watch). This gorge is not very wide, but must be quite deep and the water really moves along. We thought we would be gone maybe an hour, but it ended up being a 3 hour visit overall.

The first part of the trip was a combination of excitement of visitors and boredom of long rides by car. We did take advantage of one day in the car (7 am until 11:30 pm) to have a long and detailed management meeting for the business entity ZambiaWorks. We were mostly done by dark and just watched the brush go by or dozed for five hours. The team was mostly from Chicago, with two WR leaders and a videographer from California thrown into the mix. The videographer missed the first leg of his flight and had to come by himself in a small car the second day. The car had two flats and rolled the last 50 km on the steel rim. He was saying his prayers and telling God to take good care of his family should he not make it back alive. We all got a chuckle out of that, but if it was my first time in the middle of nowhere, I might have felt the same way. He was a great guy and very talented. If you watch CNBC or Fox documentaries, you have probably seen some of his work.

One very unique event that happened on this trip was an audience with a second level chief in Mongu. He hosted us in his “palace” as ZambiaWorks and Hands of Hope, our Chicago partner, had build an 8-classroom school block in one of his villages. We had to follow the traditional customs where men and women used different entrances. The ladies said they had to kneel on a mat before entering. We were allowed to sit in chairs, but the under chiefs sat on reed mats and bowed and clapped to call the chief from his home. He came out with a military guard, a very English hat and some kind of animal tail, wisp, whip or scepter that is his symbol of power. The guard is assigned to protect the tail as if this is stolen by the people, he loses his authority and power.

We had a good conversation with him and talked about the school. He mentioned that he would love to host us in his office and not keep us out in the hot sun, but it was too small and falling down (a subtle hint that we could build him a new one). We also had all our bags with us as we were switching hotels that morning. The guard thought these were gifts and told us we could unload them around back.

The school handover celebration was a big deal and quite political as all the “big” people showed up and had to introduce each other according to seniority/protocol. We had four such introductions to get to the main speaker of the day. There was lots of traditional dancing and some of it quite interesting, but not very edifying. It took the better part of five hours to complete the ceremony. Lesson learned: we won’t do it the same way next time we build a school.
All in all it was a great experience.

Swaziland

A week and a half ago we traveled to Swaziland to help the new Ancient Paths coordinators. AP is just getting started there and it is an exciting time. Barry and Viki have passion and vision and are working hard at getting it going.

Swaziland is quite close to Maputo. It is a small country and it took just three hours to reach the capital city, Mbabane. I love the mountains and the rural feel of Swaziland.

Friday we were free during the day, so we went to visit the farm we've heard so much about. It is very remote. You can either choose to travel 30 kms on a dirt road or 5. We chose 5 although it was the longer way around.

They have homes for orphans with one mother who makes a commitment to raise them to adulthood. It is not a typical orphanage! There are four homes and each is given space for a garden and laying hens. The idea is that each household will raise most of their food. They have a school that is also open to community children. Their website does a good job of describing their program.

Another big side project is moringa. To learn more about moringa, the "miracle tree" click here. They have turned this into a cottage industry by harvesting the leaves, drying and pounding them into a powder and selling it. A small plot of trees planted close together yields enough to buy a ton of corn per month (during the "hotter" weather). Swazi doesn't have much hot weather, at least compared to Moz because of the altitude. They also grow vegetables for sale, have pigs, sell eggs and seedlings. Steve was in his element and our time was too short.

We got back to the seminar where people were touched by God and healed of rejection and abandonment issues, lack of blessing and identity and other woundings. There were some deep, life-changing healings going on that we may not fully understand until eternity, but they are real.

Coming back we were blessed to find fresh produce along the road for half the price that we pay in Maputo - mangos, avocados, garlic, bananas, okra and more. We learned from a neighbor from Mississippi how to cook okra--slice it, dip in cornmeal and fry. Yummy!