NORTHERN KWAZULU-NATAL & MOZAMBIQUE MISSION TRIP – MAY 2011

Posted on: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2013 5:33 AM

The weather was cold and wet. It had been raining, on and off, for the last 24 hours. So, when Vernon arrived at 04:00 in the afternoon we did not hesitate to get the truck and trailer packed with the commodities which we were planning to take with us to Mozambique. This break in the weather may not last for too long.

The list of gifts included:  small Hammond organ and Bibles for the church at Ponto Do Oura, three large bags of clothes for the congregation at Shugela; and 500 family meals, vegetable garden and building tools, six large bags of clothes, pastors bicycle, and 40 pairs of sandals for the congregation at Mudade.

In addition, we packed our first consignment of vegetable seeds for the Family Food Garden initiative which Macedonian Ministries is launching. These will be distributed freely by our pastors in the poorest regions of Mozambique, as a care program for the alleviation of poverty among the poorest of poor. Vernon [Director of Humanitarian Agricultural Ministries] will be heading up this initiative.

The packing complete, it was dark and growing colder. The hot dinner of meat and vegetables was most welcome – maybe the last for a few days. We enjoyed fellowship around the dinner table and then decided on some last personal packing and early to bed.

Vernon had us up at 05:00. After prayer we were on the road by 05.30. Stopped in Durban to collect Mark, and then it was off to our fist appointment.

Our first stop was Empangeni, to meet with Seelan Singh. He was present at a Mission Service at which I preached recently. At the close, he was constrained by the Holy Spirit to seek me out and convey the following message: “Pastor Trevor, The Lord has asked me to donate one of my tractors to Macedonian Ministries for its Agricultural Ministry. It will be ready in about a month’s time and I want you to know that it comes with a two-furrow mould-board plough.” Hallelujah – thank you Jesus!

We met with Seelan at 08.00 and he took us to see the tractors which he rebuilds in one of his businesses. We were overwhelmed at this provision brought about by the working of the Spirit of God. In joyful unity of purpose we joined hands in prayer, committed this ministry to God, asked for His abounding blessing on all we were endeavouring to pursue in the interests of the Eternal Kingdom, and then it was a parting of our ways as we headed for our next appointment at Ovambo, about two hours away.

It was my turn to drive; our destination was over bad roads and “in the sticks”. Shugela, a most rural community of Zulu people whom government is helping to establish as emergent sugarcane farmers alongside the Pongola River; almost on the border of Swaziland. We had Pastor Tulani Ndlovo [Pastor of Jozini Baptist Church] join us as we passed through Jozini. He is planting a church among this community of Zulu people at Shugela. We are here to inspect the newly completed church building.

We’re very impressed, excellent workmanship, but the builder still needs a little more cement to finish some plastering – a day or two and he will be through. The congregation are already using the building and ministry is progressing. Hallelujah – thank you Jesus!

We hastily contract business with Mr. Ngwenja [Crocodile], who has a huge endearing smile and is the most gentleman like businessman – it is such a joy to work with a Christian brother like this. Then we load the “left over roofing iron” [will be used on another project], give four large bags of clothing to the leaders of the congregation, join together in prayers of praise and thanksgiving, and suddenly it is time to once again say goodbye. Always harder to take leave of one’s brothers and sisters, than to say hello. But this is the nature of this kind of mission trip; we hope it will not be too long before we see each other again.

Now we head for the Mozambique border gate at Farazela, some three hours away. No doubt we are each praying silent prayers for God to grant us safety in travel, easy access across the border into Mozambique, protection from dangers and malaria, AND His great anointing on the ministry of encouragement which we long to exercise among the pastors in the Maputo Province of Mozambique.

As we arrive at the border we are gratified by the lack of activity. It’s obviously a quieter moment. People are friendly, relaxed, and even welcoming of us into their country. This is a new experience, maybe some recent training is people’s skills, maybe just the calmness of a less stressful day at the office, maybe God coming up for us in answer to our prayers. We do not care to find out the reasons, but rather enjoy the pleasure of being processed through immigration and customs in the most pleasant manner. And, as we drive off into the sandy tracks, some very deep, WE give God all the Glory for ultimately it is He who superintends our every move. Thank you, Jesus, for a most pleasant crossing from South Africa into Mozambique. The only attempt to profit from us was the request of the customs official who made it plain that we would not be progressing, until she had received her free Bible.

Well, at the end of the day we can live with this, after all this is what we are here for: to share the word of God with others. “Dear Lord, please inspire her to read that Bible, AND not sell it!” I find myself silently praying.

Leaving the border gate, brought its own challenges; sand, sand, and more ploughed up sand. The tracks were bad, but we did okay and after 30 minutes arrived at the Ponta Do Oura Baptist Church, where we were to deliver the organ. The pastor and his family were pleased to see us. It has been a while since I last visited here. After a time of catching up on news, the organ and bibles unloaded, we made plans for an early start the next morning. It is agreed that we leave the pastors house at 05:00.

The three of us then leave and head for the village to arrange for some accommodation. We decide on a small rustic beach cottage. Inexpensive, the doors do not lock, and the water is rusty brown, but it has four neat beds and appears reasonable clean. It’s already dark, the temperature is dropping in keeping with the cold snap, we’re tired after a long day, so we eat what remains of our packed meals from home, grab a quick shower and spend some time in preparation and The Word before “hitting the sack”.

04:30 comes just a little too soon for some of us, but it’s a beautiful morning. Still dark, a little warmer than yesterday, breathless, and not a cloud in the sky. I feel in my heart that this going to be a “good one”. Breakfast of cereal and hot coffee, check that we have all our essentials like passports, drivers licenses, vehicle registration papers, and we head out for Maputo. Our aim is to be back by tonight, something we haven’t achieved before. Pastor Ernesto is ready, we’re on our way. The first challenge is to get through the very bad sand tracks which last for about 35 kilometres.

It does not turn out as bad as we expected, for we arrive at Mudade just after 07:00. Only once, did we have to dig ourselves out of the sand. Pastor Fulanno and his family, who live in the bush with zero infra structure, are delighted to see us. Most times they live from hand to mouth. There biggest challenge each day is having to find food to eat and water to drink. Both are in short supply and only obtainable at a considerable distance from their home. At night the challenge is to escape the malaria carrying mosquitoes which thrive in this region.

Our hearts are warmed by the display of abounding joy shown by the family as we unload the cargo, most of which is for them. Some will be for the church members and the community. Lots of food, bags of clothing, the 40 pairs of sandals, tools for gardening and construction and of course the bicycle for pastor [he wears a bike out per year].

This a quick visit, we must move on to Maputo. We plan to pop in on way back to Ponta.

It doesn’t take too long to reach the Maputo ocean inlet. It’s only 42 kilometres away and the gravel road is good. But, on arrival it’s the congestion at the ferry point which slows us down. We have to cross the inlet. The city of Maputo is on the other side and travel around by road is over 100 kilometres.

After 40 minutes of unloading and loading the 12 vehicles and hundreds of people we are finally on the boat. The ferry ride is only 20 minutes, soon we are on the streets of Maputo heading for the inner city where we hope to consult with different businessmen about possible future partnerships relating to recourses needed for mission. It did not take us long to find out that this part of our trip was going to a resounding failure. We were unable to establish any trustworthy foundation for future co-operation. Everything seemed to be clouded in uncertainty. We quickly came to the conclusion that God was leading us in another direction. It is sweet relief to live under the superintendence of the head of the Church. Thank you, Jesus, for always coming up for us.

Mission accomplished in Maputo, we soon made our back across the inlet and headed for Mudade. Here we were met with the most pleasant surprise. All of Pastor Fulano’s family are at home and busy preparing a midday meal for us. How nice is that. God’s children are so special. Being brothers and sisters in Christ surpasses anything this world can offer. Mission is the most blessed and rewarding ministry imaginable. Thank you, Jesus.

While final preparations are being made for the meal, Vernon, spends time teaching Pastor Fulano how to plan a Family Vegetable Garden and walks him through the variety of seeds which he will leave behind for the congregation and community. This is a new initiative which we are hoping will help alleviate hunger and give credibility to the Church as it seeks to care for the Community. We also inspected the 520 cement blocks which Fulano had made for the new church building we are planning. They were of an excellent quality. We were able to pass on sufficient money for him to make another 1500. He also received enough money to buy the roof for a bedroom which he has added to their home, enabling sons and daughters to now have separate rooms.

It is not too long before we are called to sit down for lunch. The children bring us water in a basin to wash our hands and a towel with which to dry them off. WOW, this is what Jesus taught His disciples to do!

Then the meal is served. It’s a bowel full of boiled cassava [from the family’s garden] to eat, and a jug of water to drink. The cassava is delicious and filled a huge hole in our stomachs. As we sat and ate together, my heart was tugged again and again as I realised that we were eating the MOST lavish meal this family could afford to give us, and that they may, today, have insufficient food for themselves. That’s hospitality, and kindness AND Faith – just like Jesus displayed it and taught it to His followers.

Conversation around the table covered a variety of interesting subjects. The most unusual was a story that emerged when I asked why a mango tree in the garden had been burnt from the ground up. Pastor explained that a huge snake had taken up residence in and around their home. He was forced to have a controlled fire break burn around his home [that’s how the mango got burnt] in an effort to drive the snake away. Everything else had failed. He did not wish to kill it and in any case, he was too afraid to try. The snake had been there for days. Sometimes sleeping in the church, sometimes in the garden. It was feeding off his chickens, once eating a mother hen and her chicks for a single meal.

We soon realised that he was describing the life of a real African Python. “How long was the snake?” someone asked. He showed us by pointing out the distance from his outside kitchen to where we were seated. The consensus; it must have been at least four metres. You can imagine the discussion that followed.

Well, all good and blessed times like these come to an end. It was already past our intended time for departure. We prayed together; for God’s great ongoing blessing on the Pastoral Family and their ministry, for their good health where malaria abounds, for bountiful rain and for our safe journey home.

As usual goodbyes have their own sadness. “When will you come again?” we were asked. All of us were silent, because we could not answer that question. Of course, we would like to be back in a “jiffy”. This is family, and family enjoy being together. We left joyously, and with a deep sense of appreciation to the Lord for the richness which He brings to bear on those in His family who live in unity and harmony with each other.

As we drove away through the trees waving to each other, I thought of THE SNAKE, still probably very alive and possibly not too far away. “I wished for the God of providence to take good care of pastor Fulano and his family!” I did not have the freedom to tell pastor Fulano that these snakes have the potential of a “homing pigeon”. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Our journey to Ponta Do Oura , and the next day back to South Africa, was with the blessing of the Lord. We rejoiced together in the privilege we had of once again been able to be the facilitators of so much that is “going on” in Mission.

Please join us in thanksgiving to God for all that HE is doing to extent His Eternal Kingdom.

Please pray with us that every opportunity WILL be grasped to take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Please share with us in these blessings by praying and giving of your time, energies and resources.

Some of the needs which God may wish you to provide are:

1.     Finance to complete the Mudade Church.

2.     Finance to help pastor Fulano complete his home.

3.     Help with the Food Garden Ministry.

4.     A trailer for the transport of our tractor.

5.     Short Term Team to minister at Shugela.

6.     Materials to put a ceiling in Pastor Ndlova’s home.

7.     Bibles for the people of Mozambique and Zululand.

Trevor Eayrs
June 2011