Mozambique Connection Volunteer in Mission Team

August 2011 VIM Trip to Mozambique Annette Griffith, VIM Co-Team Leader

Photos by Alex Arnold and Annette Griffith

Although I have been to Beira to work on the Bishop’s Parsonage/Conference Center building before, there are always new people, new places and new experiences each time we visit our friends in Mozambique. This year we were able to see Mozambique through the eyes of our two youth Alex Arnold and Sam Gray from my church, the United Methodist Church of Monroe. Quintin Brantley, also from the UMC Monroe, felt a draw to his continent of ancestry – Africa. Enid Watson from the Floral Park UMC on Long Island and John Olszewski from the Warwick UMC, NY are both seasoned Mozambique Volunteers in Mission. John’s focus was to bring the

150 dresses made by his congregation to the poor, while Enid was very interested in seeing the progress of the English School which she helped to establish several years ago. I wanted to see the progress on the Bishop’s Parsonage/Conference Center building, the computer workstation, the scholarship students and the Lichinga Farm project. The entire Team was excited to be going on a safari at Gorongosa National Park. But what you expect to accomplish is only a small part of the experience that you have. God has more surprises in store for you.

Our first blessing was that, for the first time in all our trips, all the luggage made it with us to Beira on Sunday when we arrived. We then proceeded to the apartment that was arranged for us by our friend, Judge Jone, a provincial judge and a fellow United Methodist. Included was a dining area, living room, kitchen, a bathroom with hot showers and four bedrooms. As in the past our meals were prepared by two United Methodist women who volunteered their time to cook for us. These were the most luxurious accommodations we have ever had and we were very grateful. Since the current building project will be completed before our next trip, we will probably be headed for a more remote area in 2013 and not have such fine accommodations when we travel to Mozambique again. After 24 hours of travel including the 16 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg, South Africa, we were tired and enjoyed a good night’s rest. Monday began with a devotion led by Reverend Manuel Sinai, our VIM trip coordinator. Each morning devotions were led by a Mozambican or one of our team members. It was a time of reflection and prayer in which we realized that we have a common bond through our faith. The next stop was to exchange our US dollars for Mozambican Medicais. A small number of US dollar bills turned into a high pile of Medicais. We needed to distribute the funds among team members so that no one person had to carry all the bulky money. Prices are similar to what they

are in the US in some stores, but in the market they are much lower. Needless to say most Mozambicans shop as much as possible in the market. We headed to the Methodist Episcopal office to use the internet to send an email home. The next day we visited the Parsonage building and saw that this project was nearing completion. In the afternoon half the team headed to the beach for a walk along the Indian Ocean, while Alex and I worked together to show Pastor Jacob how to use Microsoft Excel to create a report on the funding of Parsonage building project. Alex was a wonderful teacher and Pastor Jacob was a quick study. By Wednesday we sent the report back to Martha Nelson, our Mozambique Connection Treasurer, and requested that the remainder of the funds needed to complete the five year project be sent to Beira. It was a joy to know that the building will soon be used and we will be on to a new project in 2013. On Wednesday we hoped to work on the building, but that was not to be. Our Volunteer in Mission motto is flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. So we shifted gears and visited a local public high school. It was fun meeting the students and seeing the school facility. Notebooks and blackboards were the main teaching materials along with enthusiastic teachers. Students were

proud to wear uniforms that identified which school they attended. I noticed that this time students were more open and talkative, both with us and with each other. In the past the classes were much more formal with students quietly attentive to the teacher. Students are very grateful to be able to attend school and are focused on their studies. The next day that there was “no work today” on the building project, we took the opportunity for half the team to do some shopping while Jacob and I worked on the report for the computer workstation. Sam was in charge of purchasing items that could be used for fund raising when we returned home, and John needed to purchase flip flops to give to boys when the dresses for girls made by his church members were distributed.

The computer workstation in Beira is a project that began three years ago. An American sponsor agreed to pay for a high speed connection for the church office if computers we brought for a free internet workstation were available to students, clergy and church members. We saw that the computer workstation has increased in usage over the past two years. While we were in the office we observed that at least two people (often three) were using the internet connection for two or three hours at a time with either their own computer or one of those we brought in the past. Because there was no formal documentation on the usage, a sign-in sheet was designed and should now be in use. The six computers we brought this year will supplement, with much faster laptops, those now in use. Our translator, Eurico Gustavo. was also one of the English School teachers. Eurico now attends Africa University on scholarship and is studying theology in preparation to become a pastor. Africa University in Zimbabwe, which is an English speaking country, requires that all students learn English. Eurico soon became a friend of the entire team and a special friend of Sam’s who is now toying with the idea of attending Africa University for a semester in the future. Time will tell! We went to observe Eurico’s English class in Manga, just outside of Beira. The classes are in addition to classes held in public school and give students extra practice. They are also a way to bring the community into the church since students often come to church, sometimes with their families, after attending the English classes. We also observed Daniel Jossefa teaching English classes in the church sponsored school. Both he and Eurico are dedicated teachers. Enid, from our team, brought materials sent by Martha to enhance those used in the classes. The English School is an ongoing project that is funded by Katie and Mark Brunkhorst who as VIMS, along with Enid, saw the need and continue to act on that vision. You might ask why there is such a focus on English in a Portuguese speaking country. One reason is that Mozambique is surrounded by English speaking countries. Another is that English is an important computer internet language, and communication, along with education, is seen as vital to improving the economy of Mozambique. What sold Enid on the idea of an English

school is that the students who we spoke to kept asking for help to learn English. It is nice that they continually want to speak English to us, although we should try harder to learn more Portuguese. Most Mozambicans speak three or more languages – one or more indigenous language, Portuguese and many speak English. They are way ahead of us in their ability to speak other languages. One afternoon was spent with our scholarship students and Pastor Filimao, who coordinates the scholarship program between the Mozambique Connection and the north conference Mozambique church. It was good to hear that one of his goals is to organize those students who benefitted from a scholarship to sponsor a scholarship student of their own. Bishop Nhanala wants all mission projects to eventually be self-sufficient. A very worthy goal. An activity suggested by Mozambique Connection member Phyllis Machledt was to bring kits to make Jacob’s Ladder toys. The plan was to have Mozambican youth sign the toys and sell them

at our Annual Conference as a fund raiser to support projects in Mozambique. We had three Mozambican youth join our two youth in making the toys. Sam and Alex gave them the ones they made and they in turn gave us the ones that Mozambicans made. We took pictures of the Mozambicans and will attach them to the toys. In addition to the fund raising aspect, the activity was a wonderful bonding experience for everyone. Afterward we had lunch together and had a good time sharing stories.

On Sunday we were separated into three groups, each with one of us giving the Sunday message to different churches in the Beira area. I can no longer say that I have never gotten sick in Africa. Although I was slated to give the message in Beira, I was too ill to do so and Quintin stepped in and gave my message on which he elaborated. He did a wonderful job and later actually said that it was one of the highlights of his trip. Alex gave the message in Manga and, as I mentioned in a previous email, was so effective that the Mozambicans hope he becomes a pastor. Enid gave the message in Central and was also very well received. All three groups brought dresses from the Warwick church and flip

flops to distribute at the services. I felt better again in a couple of days and grateful for all the prayers from my African friends, and also grateful that no one else got sick. A visit to a local clinic was the agenda for Monday. It was a joy to see that medical care is greatly improving. The buildings were clean and painted, there were pre and post natal visits by mothers and healthy child visits for new babies. There were more medicines for aids patients and tuberculosis was given important focus. Dentistry is conducted in the hospital,

and although there is still a lot of tooth pulling, there was a dental chair and dental care was available. There were still long lines to see medical personnel but treatment was free and medications were affordable. They have a long way to go but they are moving forward. Sam asked our cooks if it were possible to visit their homes and they agreed to let us come. It was an eye opening experience. Although the new members of our team were struck with the poverty that they saw, the three of

us who had visited the rural areas on previous visits kept thinking of how much less those in the mud huts had. We left to survey the Gondola Training Center on Wednesday. This is one of Bishop Nhanala’s high priorities and probably will be our next project. The Training Center will be for laity and because it is located in the north conference, will bring more focus to development in the north. Many missions have focused on Cambine and other areas in the south where Methodism originated in Mozambique. It was previous Bishop Machado who asked the New York Annual Conference to focus on the north, where Christianity is growing rapidly and where the poverty needs are greater. We have followed that focus for the past 11 years and are happy that Missouri is now also sending teams to the north. The Gondola Training Center has one building of classrooms, one building of short term housing and a parsonage for the director. The kitchen is under construction. A well is needed for the complex and electricity is not yet available, but it is far enough along that there is hope that it will soon be in use. It was near the Training Center

building site that we had the opportunity to visit church members who lived in mud huts. They allowed us to enter their homes where we saw the kind of poverty that reminded us of why we

were here and how much more needs to be done. Rev. Torres, the director of the Gondola Training Center, was our translator and accompanied us to the next leg of our trip – Gorongosa National Park.

John and I had been to Gorongosa before but had not seen any large animals. This time we were not disappointed. We saw two groups of elephants, the second with young ones, and two sleeping lions. Before the civil war Gorongosa Park was a popular tourist destination with many large and small animals. During the war almost all the animals were poached or eaten. It took vision from an American, Greg Carr, to bring the park back to life. His story can be seen on a 15 minute episode of 60 minutes: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4546597n

We also saw many hoofed animals, birds, warthogs, crocodiles and baboons. It was a highlight of the trip and a hope for the tourist trade for Mozambique.

We ended our time in Gondola with a visit to the Gondola United Methodist Church. It is a church in the midst of poverty. The roof is full of holes and it has no electricity. We did see however that the church hosts a well for the surrounding community. The number of wells in Mozambique is increasing and it was a joy to see wells only about a mile apart. These people did not have to make the eight hour trips to the well that we had seen on previous trips. Things are improving in Mozambique. As headlined in the New York Times a few years ago: “Mozambique the Rising Star.” There are still many problems, but there is also hope. The government is on the side of the people. There is improvement in education, health and infrastructure. As I wrote about the projects I inserted names of others who support the mission work throughout the year, but did not travel with us. We six VIMs are really the representatives for the rest of the Mozambique Connection. The Connection is made up of past VIMs, family, friends and others who want to be in mission with our brothers and sisters in Africa. You do not need to be a United Methodist to be a part of the mission, although the mission is sponsored by the United Methodist Church. All are welcome to come, to support a scholarship student in full or in part, or to contribute to any of the other projects. You can also develop a new project that you envision. If you want to hear more, there is a meeting this Saturday, September 10, 2011 at the White Plains New York Annual Conference Center from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. All are welcome. We would also be glad to come to your church or organization and give a presentation. For more information or an application to come with us in 2013 feel free to contact me at: annettegriffith@earthlink.net I hope you do.

Peace be with you, Annette

VIM Team: Sam Gray, Enid Watson, John Olszewski, Annette Griffith, Alex Arnold, Eurico Gustavo, Quintin Brantley