The dream became a reality!!!

Friday, March 17, 2017 will be remembered as the day of joy and celebration for the United Methodist Church in Mozambique, when hundreds mingled at “KaMukhambe, Bodini” (Cambine Boarding Mission), to witness the inauguration of the first Methodist Higher Education Institution. The dream that became true after 126 years of Methodism in the country, where church leaders have been preaching through acts of service and words.

The United Methodist Church in Mozambique has since then been involved in teachings in religion, health and education. A dozen primary and secondary schools, Seminaries and hospitals were erected throughout the country, and have nurtured thousands of people and equipped them with moral and ethical values to serve and develop the country.

The Governor of Inhambane Province, Daniel Tchapo was the guest of honor who among other dignitaries officiated the opening of the University. Tchapo cut the ribbon sided by Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala, the retired Bishop Joao Somane Machado, guests from the Methodist University of Angola, the University Board members and the crowd comprising of District Superintendents, Pastors, lay people, Mission students and Morrumbene district population.

A beautiful choir from Cambine Seminary students presented songs of praise for the occasion.  Invited to use the podium, Bishop Nhanala thanked God for this blessing and highlighted that the Methodist Church has been for many years a partner in the area of Education. She pointed out that there are lessons to learn from effects of cyclone and other humanitarian challenges including poverty, and therefore, Cambine will be the center of production and development of attitudes and dissemination of knowledge to confront all challenges of humankind.

The Methodist University is aspiring for emancipation and self-determination of students, aiming for excellency in education and health sector. Nhanala pointed out that Cambine has nurtured church, society and government leaders, one of which helped in the struggle for the liberation of the country and considered the architect of national unity- Dr. Eduardo Mondlane.

She warned University students and staff to excel well in all aspects of their academic exposure, and training should be focused in areas of ethics, moral and cultural values. In her closing remarks, Bishop Nhanala mentioned that the University should serve all, irrespective of race, orientation and religion; achieving knowledge beyond limits of research.

The Governor of Inhambane Province, Daniel Tchapo’ speech in his turn pointed Cambine as a center of knowledge, religion and ethics and that there is no doubt this University will be different from other institutions in many ways. He highlighted that like many prospering Universities created by Christians, this Institution will be unique. He called for professionalism in both staff and students, and that both should plant good attitudes, behavior and represent true change agents. The Governor added that it is high time we need to recover moral and ethical values the country has already lost particularly for the youth group. We are harvesting what we planted- he said, and the University should embrace this cause, introducing to the students board, scientific, technical, and religious knowledge. In his closing remarks, the Governor advised University authorities to introduce a debate on secular education for the benefit of the State and the society and that students trained at this University must have a seal of the uniqueness in excellency, promptness and high quality education from a Methodist University.

“The UMUM- Participating in the Education of Citizenship”
A public lecture was delivered by Rev Dr Jamisse Taimo, a Methodist born in Cambine. Jamisse sang “Hi Katekile” (we are blessed) song, giving thanks to God for a reality come true from a long journey in the thinking, hard-working moments for the establishment of the University. This is the University we want- he said, and outlined the openness of this institution where various issues of the country will be dealt about. He invited students for “dissertation” on issues of interest for country’s social, cultural and economic development. Jamisse quoted scholars who stated that “freedom of one ends where freedom of another one starts”, reinforcing the need for students to deliver their knowledge in the service of other human kind. He indicated some aspects of citizenship and referred to the challenges, where staff and students are asked to constantly develop competences, as an item which is part of the vision and mission of the United Methodist Church in Mozambique; students capable of mobilizing, activating and knowing how to do things and to support others in order to solve day-to-day problems.

Jamisse went deep by requiring that research be developed by both students and lecturers to help them know how to better serve communities in areas of administration, communication, health, to name but a few.  Students are called to listen and respect other peoples’ ideas; pass-on-the-gift of knowledge to communities alike; lecturers that introduce dialogue as reference with their students even outside classes.

Jamisse finally told the crowd and student community that learning and teaching process will need participation of all including parents, and through this interaction the Methodist University will be in mutual process of strengthening education of citizenship and participating together in country’s social and economic development.  

The UMUM will offer opportunities for training national students complementing the existing capacities of public and private education; will struggle for excellency through deliberate system of quality control of delivered services and products; will capitalize valences of the United Methodist Church in social sciences and humanities; and contribute for global effort in the struggle against poverty through social equity policies in access of learning and training.

Nearly 70 students have given birth to this University and are enrolled in the following faculties: Social Sciences and Humanities; Sciences of Education; Sciences of Administration and Management; Religious Sciences and Computer Engineering and Technologies. Classes have already commenced this past Monday, March 20, and the initial classes were delivered by Dr Azevedo Nhantumbo and Rev Dr Julio Vilanculos.

There are still challenges in the restoration of infrastructures in the Mission and also in equipping the library and laboratory; in the edification of more classrooms and establishment of halls of residences for students and staff. Prayers and support needed!
 
 
March, 2017

The last two day have been filled with joy. Yesterday (Saturday) we started our day in Cambine. We toured new buildings and structures then learned about the progress of the Methodist University at Cambine. Next month (February), they will be open for business when classes begin on February 27th. We also had a short visit with the seminary students who introduced themselves by class and expressed gratitude for our visit and sponsorships of their studies.

Quickly, we visited the Carolyn Belshe Orphanage for about 45 minutes. It was wonderful to see children who mean so much to us. Maria Lina, Emanuel, Nelson, Dercia, and so many others have gotten bigger since my last visit here in 2015.

Our last order of the day was to visit Panga UMC, where we are doing something new and exciting. Panga’s church members have to walk 14-15 kilometers (8-9 miles) for clean water. We’re drilling a well but then also will be creating a sustainability project with the well by pumping water to people’s homes. The problem we have to overcome? How do you do this without electricity? We found solar panel system that should overcome this problem.

The Panga community sang, led us in dance, provided us lunch, and we observed work from the solar panel crew. The super cool thing is that the owner of the solar panel pump company is the son of the current pastor appointed at the Panga church.

Sunday of course is church day! We attended Bispo Penicela UMC – a new church start that was spun-off of Belem UMC, covenant partner to Savannah UMC. Worship began at 8AM and ended at 11:15AM. For perspective, they worship in a local material chapel (thatched), and outdoors at 7:45AM it was 85 degrees with a heat index of 97. It was likely more than 100 heat index in the thatched chapel with no windows.

Church is always an eye-opener. Very liturgical, we sang and instead of a sermon, the delegate to Annual Conference presented a report. Those of you who know me also know that I rave about the offering. Our offering lasted about 20 minutes total and collected a total of $157 USD, but the average local church offerings were less than $2. Our guest offering equaled more than $110 USD. $38 was collected by those who are tithing by about 10 people who came to the front. I really like the idea of publically showcasing your commitment to tithing – but I know it wouldn’t work in our culture for many reasons. I am fascinated by the generosity of those who have so little money.

This afternoon (Sunday), we are going to be partaking in the Sabbath by going to Tofo beach. I’ll sign-off to post this. It’s been a joy-filled few days that really can’t be put into words. Yesterday and today brings back wonderful memories and being around friends, worshipping in a joyful way under incredible rough conditions, and providing water to a community that spends countless hours walking to fetch clean water.
 
Our time (except for Beth) is more than half-over. Tomorrow, we head back to Maputo with a pit-stop by dropping off Bibles/Hymnals for Pembe UMC (courtesy of St. Luke’s UMC in KC). 

Until next time, enjoy your Sabbath. Our scripture from church here was Joshua 1: 7-9. Everything Bispo Penicela UMC is doing is to be strong and courageous in their faith sharing the faith.
Boa Tarde.

​Incredible Worship
Our brothers and sisters here know how to worship. Our service started at 8:17 as we were waiting for the Governor of Inhambane province to arrive. It lasted until 12:40. You are reading that correctly. 4 hours, 23 minutes. I refer to a Springsteen concert in similar times. Sorry, I digress.

I’ve covered many of the worship elements in past blogs, so I’ll only address different or new things. The offering lasted approximately 40 minutes, each district singing and dancing their offering down the main aisle. The offering collected totaled more than $3,400 USD – which is such a blessing and a wonderful thing. There are more than 400 attendees all together.

Worship featured a choir from the Inhambane province churches, was led by the Massinga district superintendent, who is just a treat to be around. He’s enthusiastic and a little bit of a clown, while being a class-act guy that is led by the Spirit and he ensures others respond to the Spirit working, too.
We spent about 30 minutes reading the highlight decisions from the annual conference which varied from resolutions on doing work with those in poverty and battling HIV or malaria to increasing pastoral salaries by 10% next year for theologically trained pastors. Districts were split into additional districts as they continue to grow.

The district governor was the highlight. He’s a young guy (under 40 years old) and would be very much like our Governors in Missouri – the leader of an entire province (state). Daniel Francisco Tchapo. When it was his turn to greet the Annual Conference, we were already about 2 ½ hours into the service. He said he didn’t know what to say, wouldn’t take much time or use his scripted comments. Then, he proceeded to tell us that during our worship that he was moved and called to Joshua 1:1-6 (be sure to look this up).

Governor Tchapo insisted that during Bishop Nhanala and his first meeting that we (Mozambican church) pray for him and the decisions he makes. We think he’s from an Assembly of God background. He proceeded to preach from what was clearly his heart, unscripted, with a main message of keep making disciples. He is taller than most Mozambicans (and Americans) and stands a tall probably 6’6”. It was such a moving speech that Bishop Nhanala said she did not feel the need to preach! It was super cool!

I spoke briefly as Bishop Nhanala introduced me as a representative from Missouri who was visiting Mozambique. We played Bishop Farr’s greeting with success (Portuguese subtitles) Others highlighted were the new missionaries at Chicuque Rural Hospital both from the USA and across the world.

Then, the craziness began! Appointments. They are not ever 100% firm in Mozambique and pastors can be moved during the year. However, most appointment changes take place during Annual Conference. The catch here is that the pastors do NOT know they are moving until it is announced verbally. Verbal appointments are firm and sometimes reflect pastors who are not moving and some who are.

Some exciting news is that Naftal Massela (VIM coordinator) will serve a church (which has been a goal of his) in addition to his duties. He’ll serve a local church and work to grow it. Naftal Guambe (sustainability project coordinator) also received a dual appointment – serving a church. This pastoral process is of course very different than ours. Bishop Nhanala indicated that some things they expect and others they don’t expect entering annual conference. She proceeded to say that DS of Gaza district Xavier Naftal Guambe will be retiring. He was then appointed as the chief evangelist for the annual conference. As names were read, I tried to follow along with my partner church to at least see if they were moved or staying the same. It was difficult to follow with specifics coming in the next several weeks.

After leaving we went to Ezy’s brother’s house who had slaughtered the goat that was given to me by Mangumo UMC. We had goat in the soup and with the chima and rice. Dessert was a wonderful mixture of mango and papaya (sweet flavors for these American taste-buds who was having withdrawls from the sugar-filled diets and foods in America). We bought a pineapple on the way from Cambine and included it. It was amazing.

Even though I am full, as I write this, I’m waiting on tiger prawns (large shrimp) from the hotel. I will regret it if I don’t have one last fill.

The journey home begins tomorrow with a 11:45AM (local time, 3:45AM CST) flight from Inhambane to Johannesburg. It’s always a wonderful time in Mozambique, albeit exhausting. The constant 12-hour days, 5 hours night sleep while never recovering from jet-lag isn’t easy. But it’s one that must be done. There’s a story to tell here. Nothing is like home, this place is such a special place.

I’ll leave you with a random thought that was on my list. I didn’t get to it sooner, but it has to do with the evangelization methods of the church and people here. Never talk about 3 things: politics, religion, and money. In Mozambique, talking about religion is a part of the culture and who they are. They invite people, they tell people about their relationship with Christ. They aren’t ashamed. We can learn so much from the church in these regards. Christianity in America (because of our siloes) does a horrible job of inviting people. When was the last time you invited someone to church? (For me? Yikes. I’m embarrassed to admit how long this truly has been…).

I’m hopeful for the church here. God is good. All of the Time. And All the time, God is good. Thank you for following me on this journey. I’m so thankful for each of your support, prayers, and for taking the time to read.
​
See you in Missouri. Boa Noite.

Well Day!

What a day it was. I now have a much better grasp of how wells are dug, the processes, and even more passion for it. I can share the stories so much better. I'm thankful for that.

We met the drillers at 7AM at the well of Marima local church. Yesterday, they dug to nearly their full depth of 90 meters (270 feet) but they saved one last drill bit (3 meters long) for us to observe. This area is full of layers of soft and hard rock and it could be heard from the drill bit. I learned about the different types of sentiment that are collected every 6 meters and kept meticulous track of. After the drilling pieces are removed, the PVC pipes begin going in one by one, manually.

After the pipes are screwed together, the cleaning process begins and coarse sand is slowly put in. This acts as a sand filter on top of the deepness of the well to ensure the cleanliness remains. After this is settled, pressurized hose cleans the well and is the videos that you’ve seen on our MI Facebook page.

As soon as this compressor turned on – the people came to get water! This was the most amazing thing. More than 20 people were in line waiting to catch the water as it was cleaned! Words truly can’t capture the excitement, joy, and how fast the people came from hearing the compressor – almost as if they knew or maybe saw that water was flying out of the well.

During the drilling process, the leader of this crew is a South African man named Deon who spoke English and it was great. He also had stories of seeing people use potholes in the road to fetch water that he told unprompted from Ezy’s story that was his experience at Mangumo’s well. Are there any takers on using that water to even boil and cook with? I would not.

How did this well begin? Well, the local man who owned it gave it to the church. Their thatched hut serves as a local church of a larger congregation and worships on average about 75 people. Near the chapel there is an open air well that is 20 meters deep and this well is replacing it. It’s completely moving to in one viewpoint be standing at the old open well, see the chapel, and see the new well which people were fetching water from. The man who donated it, Joao, is a founder of the local church in 1995 and is a young 72 years-old with 16 children, 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

We were at the well from about 6:45AM to 2PM. We then went to a newly completed well that had just been finished within the last few days. The church members met us there and brought buckets to fill. MI made signs that you’ve seen in previous pictures – but our drillers, Isidro, have created a wonderful plaque space and in-set the plaque in the concrete. To conclude our visit at this well, the local church gave thanks and prayed over it in a circle.

After visiting this well, we had a late lunch with Isidro. It was super cool to visit with him to hear, and see him take pride in his work, ask for any criticisms/improvements humbly, and explain that it means a lot to him to continue to see wells working long-term. After returning to the hotel, I met with Alfiado Zunguza with GBGM to catch up on a shared missionary idea, the Commission on a Path Forward, and other items.

I ask of you today is to be thankful for clean water. Take a minute and think about how much water you use. Toilet flushes. Showers. Brushing Teeth. Water? Tea? Soda? Water is a gift and one that we take for granted and should be so much more thankful for. As I stood outside in the 95 degree heat today and watched Mozambicans work tirelessly to ensure safe water for others, I didn’t witness them consume any. Perhaps they did. I saw their water -- they had some. In the meantime, I consumed 32 ounces of water during the time at the drillings site and still didn’t feel hydrated.

 My trip is winding down very quickly and so my random observations tradition that I started with my first trip will begin tomorrow. I’ll lead with the observations (writing it tonight) and then with tomorrow’s activities. We rejoin the Annual Conference tomorrow. I have tomorrow and Sunday, the journey home begins on Monday.

Boa Noite.

It’s December 8 already? Word from home is that it’s pretty chilly back home? It was another hot day here. Right at 90 degrees with a heat index of 96. It seems like just yesterday that we had those temperatures in Missouri but it’s easy for me to say that….when I’m 9,000 miles from home.

This morning we took care of issues with our tires. We had a screw in one and another leak in another. $4 to fix the tire and we were on our way to Cambine by 9:30AM.

Upon arrival at the Annual Conference, the Bishop was giving her report and preparing the committees for their work. They will continue their work this afternoon. I spent the morning with the financial guys, confirming our MI donation amounts. We had a good discussion on the need of having healthy fund balances in Mozambique is due to submitting funds on a quarterly basis from Missouri.

At noon, we met with Julio Vilanculos, director of the Cambine Mission Station. We discussed the status and how our partnership with sponsoring seminary students is going. During this 4th quarter, due to not having a change in their MZN (local currency) to USD conversion since 2012. With massive inflation – I agreed to update the conversion to MZN to current USD conversion. This was met with open arms and benefits our students directly.

We also discussed the future growth of the United Methodist University at Cambine that is working through approval processes with the government. Possible partnering with Missouri and/or other conferences includes sponsorships of theology students (who are not seminary students pursuing ordination) and housing infrastructure needs for other degree programs.

I had wonderful conversations with Naftal Guambe, who is the microfinance project coordinator but also an ordained pastor. We discussed the political culture and climate of the USA. This isn’t the first conversation. Our brothers and sisters here (the rest of the world included) care deeply about the USA and our stability. Our conversation varied from how our government works with our separation of powers (aka how much domestic vs. international power does President-elect Trump have) to discussing what happens if and when China’s economic and political power is larger than the USA. Fascinating conversation for this political junkie.

After leaving Cambine, we headed to Maxixe. We ran a few errands and I got fitted for a tunic – a Mozambican shirt. As I visit churches, I only have one shirt – which is insufficient! So, my measurements were taken and I picked a few capulanas to get these made. I’m thrilled for this.
We concluded our day by spending it with David and Elizabeth McCormick and their family (along with guest David Scott from GBGM). They are the new hospital directors at Chicuque. It was wonderful to spend the evening with them and I look forward to working closely with them to increase our partnership together. Over the years, many teams have been blessed by their time at Chicuque including me (my first trip helped dig the trench for the wall back in 2006!).

This evening, I’m reflecting on the work of the Chicuque Rural Hospital and all health workers of Mozambique, specifically Luke 8:43-48. Conditions, availability (I learned there are only 68 pediatricians in the entire country, and the median age of Mozambique is 15 years old), and lack of specialties (eye care) make me thankful for the health care workers who are providing a faith for patients that I can only hope is a tiny bit like the woman that touched Jesus.
Tomorrow is an early day – we will be leaving the hotel at 6AM to make it to the drilling location in time. It will be fun day! Boa Noite!

PS: I said I would list the agenda for today’s annual conference session. Instead, I’ll post the whole document when I get home. A few notes: they were behind schedule by 3 ½ hours at lunch time, which was finally served at 3:30PM. I heard that the conference meetings continued until 1AM this morning. Dedication to the church and the direction – God is good. And the people at Annual Conference are prayerfully learning from the past and planning for the next quadrennium.

PPS: No pictures today. I’m going to bed as early as possible tonight. Thanks to everyone for reading and praying for me during this wonderful journey!