I fell in love with Mozambique almost a year ago. Only a few short hours from our base in South Africa, Maputo is both a beautiful and terrible city. As soon as you cross the border, the poverty slaps you in the face. It’s much more blatant here than in South Africa where the poor and needy have been moved to communities outside of the cities. Still, I find the people more open and friendly, and the strange Afro-Latin feel of the country is amazingly appealing. It’s a place of noise and confusion and while I don’t generally consider myself a city girl, I find life and energy in the streets of Maputo.
Two weeks ago, we rented a taxi from SA into Mozambique to a small town right outside of Maputo. When we arrived at the church we were staying at it was to find out that the one person who knew we were coming was on his way back from Swaziland and hadn’t left keys or instructions with anyone. Since moving to Africa, I’ve learned to hold plans loosely and always be ready to adjust. This first night determined how the rest of our time in Mozambique went. The next day we found out that no real plans had been made for our stay. Ministry time hadn’t been set up and we were basically on our own. I believe with all my heart God was in this as we were able to make new contacts and had the freedom to explore the city and have random encounters with strangers. We did do some manual labor and had the chance to visit a rural community outside of Maputo, which was amazing, but for the most part our time in Mozambique was spent getting to know one another better and learning to listen to God everyday for what He had in store for us.
Tomorrow we leave for Uganda and I’m excited and nervous at the same time. The YWAM base we are staying at borders the shore of Lake Victoria and how cool is that?? Also, my brother Derek is leading a team in northern Uganda and Sudan right now and I am praying for the chance to meet up with him.
Please keep our team in your prayers. There are so many unknowns about this trip, but I believe in God’s faithfulness and I know He has us in His hands.
