Greetings from Redlands, California. Sorry it took us so long to write a summary of our mission trip to Mozambique but here it is! Our time in Montepuez, Mozambique, Africa went by quickly! We had an amazing two weeks there among a different culture, language, & people. There is no way that we could justly summarize our two weeks into a newsletter of sorts, but we’ll try to include some of our experiences so that you can share in our mission trip with us.
We left from Los Angeles & arrived in Pemba, Mozambique via London & Johannesburg South Africa. After two days of travel, & three flights (10, 11, & 2 • hours long), we were very glad to be on the ground for a while; however, it was awesome to feel so much encouragement & God’s presence throughout our journey. All along our travels to Africa we met others who were going on mission trips or were Christians themselves. Then during our last layover we literally “came across” this American couple who happened to be traveling to Montepuez as well. This was amazing in itself; however, after starting a conversation with them we found out that they too were visiting the same Makua Team of three missionary families that we were visiting! They were relatives of one of the families. We flew into Pemba with them; being in another country, literally halfway around the world, it’s always pleasant to come across something familiar.
Then began our stay with the Smith family: Jeremy & Martha with their boys Luke (6 yrs), Andrew (4 yrs) & Joshua (1 • yrs). Our first night we stayed at the Bush Camp in Pemba where accommodations included very open dwellings with running water & flush toilets! The Bush Camp also was located on the bay side of the Indian Ocean which was very beautiful! After initial conversations, eating dinner, & a campfire that night, we headed off to bed to the sound of “bush babies” (little monkeys that literally cry like the sound of a baby). We were so exhausted that we scarcely noticed. Praise the Lord for sleep! The next day we picked up three more visitors from the Pemba airport: Bruce & Beth (Jeremy’s parents) who used to live in Redlands & Brian who is from a supporting church in Arkansas. Then we headed off on a 2 • hour drive on the paved road to the city of Montepuez. The Smiths have lived in Montepuez for the past several years. We stayed, along with the other three visitors, in their guesthouse that the Smiths built just last year.
The next 13 days flew by: Robert stayed quite busy with traveling around to villages Jeremy has been working with. Allison stayed busy working with Martha – seeing first hand what life as a wife in the mission field is like. Trust us, Jeremy & Martha are both very busy people who have amazing hearts for the Lord. We were both completely blessed to get to stay with them & be a part of their lives for two whole weeks.
On Monday we had the opportunity to help mud a church. The bamboo walls were set; we mixed dirt with water from the next well into mud & then put the mud in between bamboo walls. We now know the right mud consistency – not too dry & not too runny – to mud a building. Since these houses are simply built with mud they do not last very long. The lifetime of a building is estimated to be between 3 – 5 years. When it falls apart, you just build a new one right next to it.
On Tuesday Robert went with Jeremy, Bruce, & Brian to one of the villages to attend a Train & Multiply Bible study. These Bible studies target specific needs that the leaders of the churches identify. They can range from very basic questions about God & Christ to evangelism to maintaining churches & everything in-between. Then they went to another village where he witnessed evangelism first hand. Granted they spoke Makua so Robert didn’t understand what they were talking about, but at last he understood why simply coming & being present is an encouragement to the work in Mozambique. Several times Mozambican speakers pointed to the American visitors to show that Jesus & God is not something they themselves made up but that He is real.
On Thursday afternoons Allison joined Martha & Beth at a women’s Bible study in Montepuez. The meetings are filled with fellowship, singing, studying the Bible, & eating food, more specifically something called xima (pronounced sheema). Xima, their main food staple, is ground up corn cooked down in water to form a playdough-like consistency. This is served with a “side dish” which for us was beans. You take a clump of xema, roll it into a ball, make an indention with your thumb, scoop the side dish, & eat. Other local foods we were able to enjoy out in the villages included casaba root, which has a potato consistency, & rice with chicken (free roaming chickens!). All foods are usually eaten with the right hand, as the left hand is culturally assumed to be unclean.
Now don’t be deceived! We ate a few times out in the villages when invited for a meal, but generally we ate very well at the Smith’s including curry, chicken tacos, homemade bread, fresh papaya, quiche & many other delicious items. Martha is an amazing cook & because of where they live she has to make most things from scratch! Preparing meals together was always fun.
Sunday we went to church in Opachu, a village 45 minutes drive away from Montepuez on a dirt road (remember there is only one paved road). Any time you drive someplace, because vehicles are so rare, you give people rides which is a ministry in itself. Jeremy dropped us off at the church. He then went to some neighboring villages to pick up more people. Once he returned the leaders of the church made the decision to have baptisms before the service so that those being baptized could partake in the communion. Jeremy drove us to the nearest pond – not even knee deep during the dry season, dropped us of, drove back to the village & picked up more people to bring back. It is amazing how many people you can fit in a small truck. At the water hole we were able to witness four people being baptized into Christ: two wives of leaders in the church & two other men. We sang & prayed together & then went back to the village.
The church service was a lot of fun. In church the men sit on the left side on chairs, benches, & upside down baskets while the women & children sit on the right side on mats. The singing was amazing! We were able to record some, which we’d love to share with you sometime! The man facilitating the service informed Bruce that he would be speaking prior to the offering. It was encouraging to see people give what they can. One man was not able to give money so he offered two ears of corn instead. Robert was also informed – like Bruce during
the service – that he would be preaching that day. There is a first for everything in life. He preached about Matthew 6: do not worry, God will provide. Jeremy translated into Makua for us.
After the church service ended, Jeremy drove some people back to their villages while we stayed. We were invited to two meals that afternoon, so when Jeremy returned we had xima at one church member’s home & then rice with chicken at another’s home. Note here that eating at someone’s home is never in someone’s home. Culturally it is very rare to enter someone’s home in Mozambique. Instead people have visiting areas outside their home, under a tree or a thatched roof. We eventually returned to Montepuez around 5:30 in the evening that day, having left at 7:30 in the morning.
On Thursday, the day before leaving Montepuez, we built a Lorena stove for Palpina, a member of the church in Montepuez. Briefly, a Lorena stove is a super beneficial “appliance” for Mozambicans. It is made out of their clay-like dirt, sand, water, straw, banana stalks, & a few small rocks – all easily available in Mozambique. First, the stove helps them conserve their limited resources. Second, it helps them cook food quicker & more efficiently. Lastly, it helps save children from being severely burned by open fires.
Friday was our last full day in Mozambique. We drove back to Pemba where Bruce & Beth flew out in the afternoon. After sending off our dear friends back to Alabama we went to a bungalow right on the Indian Ocean where we stayed for the night. It felt surreal that only two hours away from Montepuez, where we spent the last two weeks, was this beach resort- what a special treat.
Then it was time for us to leave as well. It was an amazing experience to have come & witness the Lord’s work in this remote place & share in this work with the Makua Team & the Smith family. And we didn’t even get a chance to write about snakes, termites, pregnant women, driving on dirt roads, hiking, witch doctors, sacred trees, spirit homes, peanuts, soccer, visiting people, & all kinds of other stories that we have from this journey.
We pray that this letter finds you well. If you have any questions about our trip, or want to see more pictures or hear some music, please let us know. We’d love to share a little bit of what God’s doing in Mozambique with you!
In Him,
Robert & Allison
Dear Robert and Allison,
I just recently began sponsoring a child in Mozambique. Approxamatily 3 hours north of Biera, near the town of Gorongosa. I have been doing a some research of the country and mission trips there. I am having a hard time with it. How did you get started? I do not plan on doing anythig about it for a couple of years of so, but would like to at least put together some ideas for a trip. Did you go through your church, or with a mission team of some sort?
thank you for any information you could give.
Would it also be possible to stay in contact for future question?
Thanks you,
Kirsten Hawkins
Hi Kirsten,
When we went to Mozambique we visited missionaries that live there. The missionaries are sponsored in part by our church. It looks like the region you would be traveling to is in central Mozambique which I have to admit I don’t know much about (if it is much different to northern Mozambique or not). The mission team that we visited is called the Makua team (www.makuateam.org) – Makua because the local language and tribe is called Makua. Having seen the area – especially the smaller towns and villages – I would definitely suggest making some contact with people there (i.e. missionaries) prior to traveling. In the larger cities (we flew through Jo-burg to Pemba) there are some hotels but even medium sized cities like Montepuez didn’t seem to have much for tourism like hotels and the like. Also transportation is an issue – you definitely would want a truck of some sort. Where we were at even major roads could be dirt roads.
If you need more local knowledge I would suggest getting in contact with the Makua team. Let me know if you have other questions.
In Him,
Robert Berger