Uneventful flight to Addis where people had more hand luggage than the plane
could take.
After a coffee and a short wait in Addis we flew on to Lilongwe (another 3.5
hours).
Danie met us and we set off. Got to cover approx 400 km on Malawi's main
road still today. The countryside is typically African, red soil and green
foliage.
Lots of activity goes on by the side of the road. Passed "heaven bound
funeral parlour" which caused a laugh.
We give thanks that we have met up with Danie so well and we pray for the
lives of the people walking precariously close to the trucks.
More tomorrow.
Tuesday 30 November 2010
Monday 29 November 2010
Flying Tonight
We are flying tonight, the wait is over.
This morning an email update came in from the people who run the Dutch end of Bernadette's charity. They visited Mocuba recently and wrote a nice summary of what's happening (in Dutch). In their story they explain that Bernadette has invested in a "Ambulance Bicycle" so that sick patients can cover the 6 km to the hospital more quickly. For those of you who can't imagine what a bicycle ambulance looks like I attach a photo below. It looks very comfortable although I am concerned that I can not find a blue light or a siren anywhere on the vehicle. Maybe something we can work on while we are there.
We had a great send-off at church yesterday. Lots of people turned up for the service and the minister made the four of us come forward to receive a blessing for our journey. Then we finished the service with the hymn "I the Lord of Sea and Sky" which seems to have been written for people embarking on a mission. Everyone shook our hands . . .as if we are emigrating for good . . . We are planning to return in two weeks, armed with stories, experiences and insights. How we will find the time to tell them all ? . .
We are thankful for all the support and good wishes we have received from so many people. We will naturally be thinking of our families and friends while we are away.
We pray that upon our return the people here will be touched by our stories and that we can open a window of compassion to link the people of Marlow with the people of Mozambique.
Ben McIlwaine has kindly agreed to keep the blog going during our trip. We will be sending Ben updates when we can and he will post these here. Thank you Ben!
God bless.
Martin.
- Arlene called to see if we are packing yet - 'cause we are . . .
- George called, lost his e-ticket - so Libby printed a new one . . .
- Then George called again - found the orginal ticket . . . ;-)
This morning an email update came in from the people who run the Dutch end of Bernadette's charity. They visited Mocuba recently and wrote a nice summary of what's happening (in Dutch). In their story they explain that Bernadette has invested in a "Ambulance Bicycle" so that sick patients can cover the 6 km to the hospital more quickly. For those of you who can't imagine what a bicycle ambulance looks like I attach a photo below. It looks very comfortable although I am concerned that I can not find a blue light or a siren anywhere on the vehicle. Maybe something we can work on while we are there.
We had a great send-off at church yesterday. Lots of people turned up for the service and the minister made the four of us come forward to receive a blessing for our journey. Then we finished the service with the hymn "I the Lord of Sea and Sky" which seems to have been written for people embarking on a mission. Everyone shook our hands . . .as if we are emigrating for good . . . We are planning to return in two weeks, armed with stories, experiences and insights. How we will find the time to tell them all ? . .
We are thankful for all the support and good wishes we have received from so many people. We will naturally be thinking of our families and friends while we are away.
We pray that upon our return the people here will be touched by our stories and that we can open a window of compassion to link the people of Marlow with the people of Mozambique.
Ben McIlwaine has kindly agreed to keep the blog going during our trip. We will be sending Ben updates when we can and he will post these here. Thank you Ben!
God bless.
Martin.
Friday 26 November 2010
Final team meeting before we leave
Tonight we met at our house for two hours. Nicki brought a huge amount of medical supplies which we are taking. George has been able to buy several Portuguese bibles, some of them printed with the English text side by side.
Libby had put out all the piles of toys and craft things and it seems we have mountains of stuff to take. Let's hope it all fits in our bags. The photo below shows a small fraction of our gifts.
We also talked more about the experiences Libby and Arlene had when they went 3 years ago. Some things were quite funny (rat stories always make me laugh) while others were thought provoking. The news from Tete bible college this week is that we will be helping catalogue their English library - among other things.
We finished our meeting with prayers.
We are thankful that our plans are coming together so well and that we have been able to find so many Portuguese bibles when initially it looked so hopeless.
We pray we may work well as a team and listen well to our friends in Mozambique and bring them hope.
Libby had put out all the piles of toys and craft things and it seems we have mountains of stuff to take. Let's hope it all fits in our bags. The photo below shows a small fraction of our gifts.
We also talked more about the experiences Libby and Arlene had when they went 3 years ago. Some things were quite funny (rat stories always make me laugh) while others were thought provoking. The news from Tete bible college this week is that we will be helping catalogue their English library - among other things.
We finished our meeting with prayers.
We are thankful that our plans are coming together so well and that we have been able to find so many Portuguese bibles when initially it looked so hopeless.
We pray we may work well as a team and listen well to our friends in Mozambique and bring them hope.
Sunday 21 November 2010
Just one more week to go!
Our preparatons are at a point where most things are in hand now.
Passport, visa, tickets - check.
Injections, malarone, water purification tablets - check.
Torches, mosquito nets, water bottles - check.
Plasticine, dolls with hair, small scissors - check.
Jesus loves you frisbees - check.
O Novo Testamento - check.
This obviously includes the books ob Mateus, Marcos, Lucas and Joao and ends with Apocalipse. It seems that at least the names of the Portuguese New Testament might be managable even if the full text definitely isn't.
Libby spoke to Bernadette (Mocuba) on Thursday. She said she has lots of work lined up for us but didn't specify exactly what that might be. She is in the process of building a new dining room for the children and said we can help her with this. We will obviously help in any way that we can.
Everyone we have contacted is genuinely pleased that we are coming back and looking forward to our visit. We will certainly give them our full attention and work with them, listen to their problems and projects and do as much as we can with them and for them.
From the beginning of the mission on November 29 to December 11 a prayer meeting will be held at 8pm at church every night. Everyone is welcome to join these prayer meetings.
We thank the Lord that all our preparations for this mission have gone so well.
We pray that the mission may be successful in touching many people, sharing God's love and discerning how else we can help our friends in the future.
Passport, visa, tickets - check.
Injections, malarone, water purification tablets - check.
Torches, mosquito nets, water bottles - check.
Plasticine, dolls with hair, small scissors - check.
Jesus loves you frisbees - check.
O Novo Testamento - check.
This obviously includes the books ob Mateus, Marcos, Lucas and Joao and ends with Apocalipse. It seems that at least the names of the Portuguese New Testament might be managable even if the full text definitely isn't.
Libby spoke to Bernadette (Mocuba) on Thursday. She said she has lots of work lined up for us but didn't specify exactly what that might be. She is in the process of building a new dining room for the children and said we can help her with this. We will obviously help in any way that we can.
Everyone we have contacted is genuinely pleased that we are coming back and looking forward to our visit. We will certainly give them our full attention and work with them, listen to their problems and projects and do as much as we can with them and for them.
From the beginning of the mission on November 29 to December 11 a prayer meeting will be held at 8pm at church every night. Everyone is welcome to join these prayer meetings.
We thank the Lord that all our preparations for this mission have gone so well.
We pray that the mission may be successful in touching many people, sharing God's love and discerning how else we can help our friends in the future.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
"Take plenty of earplugs - you will need them !"
This cryptic advice came from Duncan (Arlene's husband) earlier this week and I wasn't sure why he said this. Was he hinting at George's capacity to snore like a Scottish Country Dancer or even at Nicky's non-stop verbal sharing ability? Surely he can't have meant me because to this date I have woken up from my own snoring . . .
But then I remembered that the living conditions on our trip will be very basic. Nowhere do we sleep on the ground or in mud huts but the accomodation will certainly be spartan rather than sumptuous. The only place we actually know from the previous trip (three years ago) is Bernadette's mission station in Mocuba. At the time Libby and Arlene had brought their tent with them and were pleasantly suprised that some people from an American charity had just finished building a house for Bernadette and Bernadette had just moved from her caravan into this proper building. Libby and Arlene never unpacked their tent and moved right in as well.
One of the most memorable stories about Bernadette's house has to do with rats. So if you are squeamish about rats - look away now and come back to this blog tomorrow. Apparently the rats used to live in the lining of Bernadette's caravan and by moving about at night they often kept the sole occupant awake. When Bernadette moved into her house three years ago, the rats quickly figured out that this was a much nicer place to live - and they also moved in. The rooms in the house have tall dividing walls but none of them reach the ceiling (like we are used to in England) and so the rats go walkies on the dividing walls at night. Their forageing results in a constant background rustling in various parts of the building - UNTIL one of the blighters gets stuck on the gluey trapping paper which is fixed to the tops of the walls. Then the rustling turns into a squealing which goes on for some time.
So I think I have figured out why Duncan said "Take plenty of earplugs" and I'll make sure I don't forget them.
Monday 15 November 2010
Danie takes care of it . . . .
We always knew that we would not be able to plan and execute this trip without a good deal of help from someone who knows their way around Mozambique. We are very fortunate that Pastor Danie Murray, who is a mission enabler for the South African Reformed Church, has agreed to be our planner / driver / contact maker / translator and protector during this trip.
Danie will meet us at Lilongwe airport and stay with us throughout the entire two week journey. His long standing knowledge of local customs, needs and people is helping us make all the right connections. As a result we don't worry about transport because he is driving, don't think where we get our food because he has already planned this, don't lose sleep over where we might sleep because everything is arranged and don't do any cold-calling on local pastors and congregations because he has already contacted them for us. And so we look forward to meeting old friends and new over this two week period with Danie being our guide and guardian angel.
Today we received the final itinerary from Danie and it is becoming clear that we will be very busy. We will be spending most of our time in Mocuba and Tete and we will do excursions from these bases. You (the readers) will all soon be able to read about names and places like: Milange, Eksteen, Mocuba, Teixeira, Magodane, Anamed, Bernadette, Ualize, Mussi, Espanhor, Vila Ulongue and others.
We hope to renew old friendships, see how their work is progressing and help them in any way we can. In some places our help will be of physical nature (Bernadette has already mentioned that she has lots of jobs that need doing before she closes the orphanage for Christmas), in other places we will be teaching or preaching and in others we will be listening to their concerns and project needs. We also hope to make new friends in the places where we visit new projects and congregations. All of this will make our experience very intense and very real. I am beginning to see this journey as a transformational experience for our team as we are hosted by Pastor Danie and guided by our Lord.
Dreaming of Mozambique - but signing off for today.
Sunday 14 November 2010
Remembrance Sunday, Nov 14
Today we had our final mission meeting after the church service. All four of us were there, George, Nicky, Libby and I. Being only two weeks away from flying out and having dealt with most of the formalities means that our attention is shifting to other practical questions.
We went through the itinerary once more, which looks busy. Pastor Danie will be driving us long distances on unmade roads to get from Lilongwe to Mocuba and then to Tete. We will also be crossing in and out of Malawi several times - border crossings and getting passports stamped could delay us quite a bit. Although each day is planned now, we know that we must be flexible and be guided by the locals, the circumstances and the Will of our Lord.
We also discussed if we should take the annual funds for Bernadette's field treatment medications in cash but decided that we should give the banking system one more chance to prove itself . . . . .
Another flurry of emails were sent out yesterday by Libby and me to Pastors Danie, Teixeira and Samuel and also to Bernadette, confirming some additional details of our plans.
I bought some orange frisbees on the internet yesterday. We have used them before in Ethiopia and in Mozambique. They are lightweight to carry and great fun to play with. The ones I ordered have the words "Smile ;-) Jesus loves you" printed on them and we hope that this will be a fun way of spreading the Lord's name.
The four of us are entering into a state of quite some excitement now. I'm sure we will all be thinking about the mission ahead of us every day this week. Arlene mentioned that some of the congregations we are visiting will be expecting us to lead a church service - now that should be an amazing experience, especially considering that their services can easily last 3 hours!!!
We are all preparing to speak about the Wordless Book, the Ten Commandments and the Christmas story. The ladies are no doubt going to be more resourceful than the guys in getting their audience to pay attention and they will be working with the women and children. George and I are slightly nervous about the prospect of working with the men and we are not quite sure how to connect with them if we can't talk about cars, bikes, football, computers or politics. Obvious, I hear you say, just talk about religion! . . . . .Good point.
We went through the itinerary once more, which looks busy. Pastor Danie will be driving us long distances on unmade roads to get from Lilongwe to Mocuba and then to Tete. We will also be crossing in and out of Malawi several times - border crossings and getting passports stamped could delay us quite a bit. Although each day is planned now, we know that we must be flexible and be guided by the locals, the circumstances and the Will of our Lord.
We also discussed if we should take the annual funds for Bernadette's field treatment medications in cash but decided that we should give the banking system one more chance to prove itself . . . . .
Another flurry of emails were sent out yesterday by Libby and me to Pastors Danie, Teixeira and Samuel and also to Bernadette, confirming some additional details of our plans.
I bought some orange frisbees on the internet yesterday. We have used them before in Ethiopia and in Mozambique. They are lightweight to carry and great fun to play with. The ones I ordered have the words "Smile ;-) Jesus loves you" printed on them and we hope that this will be a fun way of spreading the Lord's name.
The four of us are entering into a state of quite some excitement now. I'm sure we will all be thinking about the mission ahead of us every day this week. Arlene mentioned that some of the congregations we are visiting will be expecting us to lead a church service - now that should be an amazing experience, especially considering that their services can easily last 3 hours!!!
We are all preparing to speak about the Wordless Book, the Ten Commandments and the Christmas story. The ladies are no doubt going to be more resourceful than the guys in getting their audience to pay attention and they will be working with the women and children. George and I are slightly nervous about the prospect of working with the men and we are not quite sure how to connect with them if we can't talk about cars, bikes, football, computers or politics. Obvious, I hear you say, just talk about religion! . . . . .Good point.
Saturday 13 November 2010
Two weeks before we fly!
Here we go again. Three years after organising our first trip to Mozambique we are now just two weeks away from flying out again.
Last time Libby and Arlene went, together with four people from the Strand Church in Cape Town, SA. That trip was the first long-range mission we ever attempted.
It was a complete success then. Libby and Arlene travelled around Mocuba and visited many different Christian congregations in the area. They met local ministers and aid workers who we will visit again this year.
Although we have been keen to do a repeat visit we were unable to organize one in 2009. And now, right at the end of 2010 we have managed to set it all up.
We have sent emails, made phone calls, arranged flights, got injections, wrote packing lists and have had several preparation meetings to prayerfully consider what we should do in the two weeks we spend in the country.
Who is going? What will we be doing? Who will we be meeting?
All will be revealed in the next few weeks.
Last time Libby and Arlene went, together with four people from the Strand Church in Cape Town, SA. That trip was the first long-range mission we ever attempted.
It was a complete success then. Libby and Arlene travelled around Mocuba and visited many different Christian congregations in the area. They met local ministers and aid workers who we will visit again this year.
Although we have been keen to do a repeat visit we were unable to organize one in 2009. And now, right at the end of 2010 we have managed to set it all up.
We have sent emails, made phone calls, arranged flights, got injections, wrote packing lists and have had several preparation meetings to prayerfully consider what we should do in the two weeks we spend in the country.
Who is going? What will we be doing? Who will we be meeting?
All will be revealed in the next few weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)