Our flight down to Maputo was about two hours…the same trip
by car would have been three days! After
our last adventurous road trip full of car problems, we decided we could get by
without a car in Maputo for a month. We arrived on November 1st and took
a taxi to Casa Koinonia, “the Oasis for Missionaries”. The house is run by two sisters, Evangeline
and Juanita, who have served faithfully in Mozambique since before the war
(both wars actually). One really
interesting thing about staying at “Oasis” is the number of interesting people
that come through. We have met people
from South Africa, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, England, Canada, the United
States, and of course Mozambique… all who serve in some kind of mission
capacity in Mozambique. What is amazing
is how so many of them have a common acquaintance or are connected in one way
or another. The folks that speak
Portuguese were great (and very patient) to practice on while we ate meals
together. When we weren’t busy at school
or doing homework, we have tried to make ourselves useful by helping in the
kitchen, setting tables, or helping Evangeline with computer work.
The school was great and has been giving us the language structure
we were hoping for. We have rotated
between 4 different instructors who have challenged us and helped us grow. It has been the first time since Dave and I
have been married that he has mistakenly been called Jill multiple times since
“Gil” is apparently a nickname for the masculine name Gilberto! One unexpected surprise was another couple,
from England, also staying at Oasis and also attending Portuguese classes at the same school. They
will be living in Nampula as well so we will be able to continue the friendship
after school is over.
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| Large Statue of Samora Machel |
Maputo, being the capital city of Mozambique and very close
to South Africa, is very different than Nampula. The roads are much better and there are more modern
buildings and shops. Each day we walked
about 15 minutes to school and we made it a habit to go on a walk around
town as well. Each day was a new
opportunity to practice Portuguese… it might be the police wanting to check our
documents, a man who washes cars wanting to talk to Americans, or an artist
trying to sell his work. We walked
to the Jardim de Namorados (Park of Lovers) to sit and study, order
a coke, and enjoy the view of the Indian Ocean.
There was also an artist’s park nearby where local artists sell their
work often while working on their next master piece. Several times we walked closer to the town
center where you can see a giant statue of Samora Machel, the 1st
president of Mozambique and a hero to most Mozambicans. One day we ventured out to find
the American Embassy so we could register our trip. It was fun to get to see our Stars and
Stripes flying high, but unfortunately they told us to register on-line and we
didn’t get to go in.
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| A view of the Indian Ocean and Maputo |
On one particular day, the government raised the chapa rate
(public transportation) and many people protested the rate increase. Because there was some violence
in the city the last time they raised the rates, many people chose not to ride chapas
that day. One of the guards at Oasis
walked for three hours to get to work because he was afraid to take a chapa. Fortunately, the tension was short-lived and
everything was back to normal the next day.
When we made our road trip down to South Africa back in July,
one of the custom agents at the border crossing was interested in the work MAF
does and told Dave he was a pastor here in Maputo. He wanted us to come stay with him and
attend his church on our way back from South Africa, but it didn’t work
out. Since we were in town, Dave
contacted him to see if his church was within walking distance of where we
were staying. He told us he would have someone
from the church pick us up to give us a ride.
As we rode along with Gisela and Kito, we realized we were actually
going to a small town outside of the city.
The church was set up under a tent, but had a sound system, keyboard,
and a praise team. The music and
preaching was in Portuguese and Xichangana (the local dialect in this part of
Mozambique). Afterwards, the pastor,
Pastor Linder, and his wife took us to lunch and then droves us all the way
back to Maputo with an invitation to come back the next week. We are hoping that MAF will be able to fly
him and several of his colleagues to show the Jesus Film when they come to the
Northern part of Mozambique in January.
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| After lunch with Pastor Linder (Jim S…this pic is for you since a picture of Jill in a skirt is so rare!) |
Because they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Mozambique, we
had an interesting time explaining the traditions of the holiday to our
language instructors (the first time we ever had to go to school on Thanksgiving
day!). Because Evangeline and Juanita
are Americans, they planned a special dinner.
We had chicken instead of turkey and a squash pie (seasoned just like a
pumpkin pie!). Instead of cranberry
sauce, they picked some tart berries from the garden and made a sauce. At dinner, we had people representing five
different countries and giving thanks!
Maybe it wasn’t completely traditional, but we still came together and gave
thanks to God for His many blessings!
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| The table set for Thanksgiving: Our new British friends Ian and Cheryl, and Evangeline and Juanita |
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| Still not sure what kind of berry this was, but it made a nice sauce |
