My trip to Matundo

This entry is now a week old, and a little on the long side…….

I just returned from an overnight visit to one of our church plants out in the bush. We left early on Saturday morning and about 4+ hours later we arrived.

It’s a very long 4 hours as the roads are quite difficult to maneuver.

But we praise God that the weather was clear and sunny both days. At night the sky was amazing as you are surrounded by total darkness, the stars were like millions of light bulbs you could reach out and touch! Absolutely breathtaking!

As soon as we arrived there was a large welcoming committee, probably 30 people all singing and smiling and waving…so excited to see us!

We unloaded our things into the guest home they had built last year for a wedding at the church.

It’s a large bamboo stick structure, with a straw roof. It has 4 small rooms inside, so the girls in one room, boys in the other, one room for storage and a common area for eating.

The teens got right into their games with the kids, I started helping with meal preparation while the guys set up the tent for the translators.

We were having rice and fish for lunch, and today would be the day that I would learn how to clean and prepare fish. I finally got the hang of it but while I was doing my best, 2 other ladies came over to assist in the process. It took the 3 of us about 40 minutes to clean this tub full of fish.

Over the course of the day, at least a hundred, if not more, ladies, men, and children of all ages showed up.

Shanna and I were to meet with the ladies of the church.

Shanna, the team leader for the group we had taken out, had a message prepared. When we were told we had about 2 hours to fill I was asked to share as well.

 I spoke of God’s faithfulness, and tried to encourage these women who are so very poor. No words could fully explain the degree of poverty to you.

We then asked them to sing for us, we didn’t need to ask twice! When they finally stopped we didn’t have too much more time to fill.

I shared a part of my testimony and spoke of how God has more than filled the void left behind when my husband died. Many of these ladies are widows with so little hope. I pray that I was able to encourage the way the Lord has encouraged me.

I then found myself repeating things I had recently heard, about speaking the name of Jesus out loud, so that the devil has no choice but to flee. Different scriptures were coming to mind, it was totally God using me, I was like watching the whole thing happen, Praise the Lord!

We then asked for prayer requests and Shanna prayed for all the women.

Then I spoke a little about nutrition and hygiene. Trying to explain to them about germs they cannot see that can make them sick. This is a difficult concept for them to understand. I am certain we all would have a hard time with this concept, if we hadn’t been blessed to be living where we live.

It looked like every women in the church was either pregnant or carrying a baby on her back.

By now there were well over 100 children alone, they were everywhere! It seemed appropriate to speak about drinking enough ‘clean’ water, and washing your hands and teaching your children to do this as well.

As it started to get dark they started a fire, not only for the warmth but it was the only source of light as well.

The team ate in the guest house, put on mosquito repellent and warmer clothes and then joined with the Mozambican’s by the fire. We were warm, fed and protected from bites. They sat there in the same clothes, short sleeves, no shoes and very little in their belly. I really struggled with this….

 As I joined them I noticed no one was talking, each were in their own world watching the fire. As I sat there I could see that all eyes were on me. After a bit I asked Simone to ask if they would like to hear a story. There were a few nodding heads but no one spoke, they just watched.

I started by trying to explain the awesomeness of our God and telling them how much He loves us and how He sent His son to die for us. I explained that all God asks of us is to love Him and love one another.

I gave a few examples of how they could love each other and then asked them to remember to always talk with God and He will always listen.

It really was such a sweet time, I still don’t know exactly how it happen, certainly it was unplanned but what a blessing!

I guess I had forgotten how dark it can get when there are NO lights anywhere! The light from the fire illuminated their faces to a degree, but all I could clearly see were their staring eyes as they were fixed on me the entire time I spoke.

 Praise God that His word was spoken and does not come back void.

About 8:30 I headed to bed, leaving the children sitting at the fire. I would be sleeping in the car, to be very honest I wasn’t looking forward to it. I kept telling myself ‘it’s only for one night’.

Several times as I tried to find a comfortable spot, God reminded me of those children huddled around this small fire trying to keep warm. Would they get any sleep tonight? Is tonight any different from every other night for them? I fell asleep asking God to comfort them.

I woke up about an hour later to the sounds of singing and drumming! Many of the people who were planning to be here for church in the morning had arrived tonight.

They were singing praises to God that He had brought us, their special guests, to spend time with them. They were thanking God for answering their prayers! This singing went on until well after midnight, and then they slept right where they were….in the church, on the ground.

While I enjoyed the comfort of the car and had a perfect view of the stars. I also was facing in the right direction to see the sun come up.

When I woke up I could see where others were sleeping outside next to the fire.

 I thought about how stiff and sore I felt from lying on a car seat, while they only had a narrow wooden bench or the ground.

Today was another celebration for the people of Matundo, because we were there to share God’s word with them. First the youth on the team had some children’s program stuff to do, while the ladies prepared the goat we would be having for lunch.

Several of us were headed to a new, small church plant nearby. Unfortunately we never made it as we had a flat tire.

Ultimately to fix this flat tire we needed the help of, not one but two different Mozambican’s who allowed us to borrow their bikes.

While we waited we bought a case of pop and a bag of cookies from one of the men who let us use his bike.

 We greeted practically every person that passed by, asking how they were and thanking God each time. We had several stop to offer suggestions, one man said that we could all simply lift the truck while someone else slips the tire on! That’s exactly how they would do it, gotta love it!

We did finally get the tire on and as it was too late to get to the other church plant we headed back. The children’s programs were completed, having been a huge success, and we could hear the singing as we approached.

Pastor Cory the leader of this team gave the message, it was about being honest with God.  Every so often you would hear one person say ‘amenie’ and then the whole church would respond with ‘amenie’, it was great!

Again more and more singing and dancing.

Finally the service needed to end so we could get ready and get back before dark.

We needed to eat our lunch, inside the guest house, as there was not enough food for everyone. But we gifted the church leader and his wife 75kg of rice and  5 liters of oil and other things. They will prepare food over the next few days so that everyone will get something.

It’s so hard to accept, we are satisfied, our stomachs are full, and everyone else hasn’t eaten today.  I know God knows, and I know we can only do so much…. I wonder, are we doing enough? I find myself asking that question all the time. Are we doing enough?

The goodbye’s were difficult as the church leader and his wife, were truly sad that we had to leave, and they begged that God would bring us back to them soon.

I hugged and thanked some of the women who had been at the bible study yesterday. I also wanted to say goodbye and thank the women who taught me how to cook like a Mozambican in the bush!

As we drove off, the women were all singing and all the children started running behind the cars. They kept this up for quite a ways, singing the whole time. Once we had gotten far enough away, no more kids, no more singing. I was struggling to watch the path as I maneuvered around giant ditches and holes. I realized that I was still smiling!  Praise God!

 Then several minutes later we passed a group of people who had been at church, they all waved and called out to us, it was great!

We drive for over an hour on a narrow dirt path. How narrow you might ask? The people on bikes need to stop and get over into the weeds to let the car pass by.

It was a great trip, the cars made it back home with no further issues, and we got home before dark, Praise the Lord!

Please remember the people of Matundo in your prayers, please!