October 30, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
We are home safe and sound after almost three weeks in Mozambique. With only three members on the Volunteer in Mission team this year, it was a different kind of trip than when we travel with a larger group — but successful none the less. With fewer members we were able to attend to details that would have be too time consuming to address when other VIMs would be waiting for our attention.
Since we last wrote, after our visit to Lichinga, we had three more days in Beira before beginning the long journey home.
On Sunday we all worshiped together in the Dondo Church. The new church building is not complete but useable with walls, a roof, and barred windows. The neighborhood looked much improved, in part because of the establishment of a second cement factory in the area which caused the competition to lower cement prices. Many of the houses are now sided with cement. Dondo will also soon receive treated city water which will make a large impact on the health of the people.
On Sunday afternoon Martha and I went to the church office to work on the computers now using a high speed connection. We were represented by John at two stewardship celebration parties — one for Central Church and the other for the Beira Church. At one of our previous evening meditations John had shared with us the stories he told at the Sunday service in the Biera Church the week before. John spoke of his work in Cambini several years earlier. While working with future masons and one of the carpenters in Cambini, the carpenter died. John helped the carpenter's son construct a coffin for his father which was a very moving experience for John and so became part of John's story in Mozambique. At one of the stewardship parties, a young man came up to John and asked him if he remembered him. John said he was sorry but that he did not. The young man then related to John that he was the son of the carpenter for whom John had helped build the coffin for his father. Anyone who knows John can picture the tears on his face when he heard the words of this young man.
The next two days were spent wrapping up details of some of the projects on which we were are working in both Beira and Lichinga.
We visited the English school two more times and prepared a report for Mark and Katie Brunkhorst, the primary sponsors of this program. By sharing this report with Rev. Filimao Vilanculo, the North Conference Director of Education, we not only documented what we saw but demonstrated that we not only ask them to report on progress but also write reports ourselves.
Using one of the laptops we brought, we helped Rev. Jacob Jenhuro learn to use Excel by guiding him through writing the report of how funds were spent on the Episcopal building so that the remainder of the funds available could be sent to the Beira North Conference office.
The last of the drawings and questionnaires of the art exchange project were collected. Although the level of the work is not what we are used to in the United States, that has art programs taught by certified art teachers and is rich with art materials, the scenes of Africa and what is important to our Mozambican friends brought joy to me and all who saw them. We will be sharing some of them on the New York Annual Conference mission website soon.
On Tuesday we went on a shopping trip to price the components for the computer workstation to be housed in the church office. Many church members are already using the wireless connection at the office and with at least three computers available for general use, we hope to design a program where Mozambicans can not only communicate through email but learn to use programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This year the program will begin as a pilot that we would like to improve over time. The high speed connection has already made a huge impact on the ease of using the internet.
Having time to talk to Pastor Filimao about the future of the scholarship program was most productive. He will help students realize that we need to be able to tell the story of our brothers and sisters when searching for sponsors for scholarships. The importance of seeing transcripts of student grades and communication between students and sponsors was also emphasized. The high speed internet connection will help facilitate those goals. This year Pastor Filimao will be extending the range of locations of students who will submit applications to include other provinces such as Lichinga and Tete. A worthy goal but more sponsors will be needed to fulfill the goal.
The day we left was election day in Mozambique. It was an exciting time to witness democracy in action. For more information on the election see the Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125659426766308983.html
Our last few hours in Beira were spent taking pictures with our hosts for the week, Judge Jone and his wife Paula. It was a joy to stay in the home of one of our friends instead of a hotel. We soon became part of the family. Long talks with Jone's nephew, Leonildo, gave us insight into the medical conditions in Mozambique. In a couple of years Leonildo will be a licensed physician and, as required of all beginning doctors, spend two years in rural areas before determining where he will establish his practice. On our next trip we hope to have too large a group to stay with Jone and will instead stay in the completed Episcopal Residence/Guest House/Conference Center!
We waited in the airport for about an hour, sharing stories and good byes before boarding the plane to South Africa on Wednesday. We are glad to be back home with our friends and family in the United States and glad to be getting back to our American projects and jobs. We are also ready to continue the work throughout the year necessary to have another life-changing experience in Mozambique, but as we left we could feel that a part of our hearts, as always, remain with our brothers and sisters in Mozambique.
Peace be with you,
Annette