Bible Translations and Goat-Eating Pythons

Our very first week in Mozambique, we met a couple working on a Bible Translation project in Milange.  They were in town for a short time and they helped show us around the market in Nampula and allowed me to “interview” them so that I could share about their work in our newsletter.  At that time, they were busy working on the book of Acts, and 1st and 2nd Peter. 

Last week, we had the amazing experience of getting to attend the Takwane Bible Dedication in the city of Mocuba.  The same couple who had devoted almost 20 years to this project, returned to Mozambique to celebrate the completion of the work and see the published copies get into the hands of Takwane speakers who would finally have the Word in their heart language.

Why would we attend such an event?  Our new Caravan allowed us to take several SIL (Wycliffe) missionaries who live in various parts of Northern Mozambique to Mocuba for the dedication.  Dave was one of the pilots, and fortunately for me, there was enough room for me to tag along.

Pilot Dave and Pilot Dave

Mocuba’s airstrip is not used very often, so the airplane drew quite a crowd.  We had to buzz the airstrip several times to clear the people off it before we could land.  Even after landing, the children ran up to the plane, not realizing how dangerous the propeller could be. 

Crowd at the Mocuba Airstrip

 After we arrived, the ladies helped decorate the church, along with the youth from the church, for the dedication to follow the next day.  The next day when we arrived, there was a chorus of women that greeted us in song, creating a festive atmosphere.  During the dedication, there was music and a host of speakers, some who worked on the translation project and some church leaders who were excited to have the Bible available to their congregations.  There were also representatives of government and community leaders that shared in the celebration. 

Celebration in song

At one point a passage was read from the Bible and although I could not understand what was being said, there was a thrill in listening to God’s Word in yet another language.  

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people.  Revelation: 14:6

Reading of the Bible in Takwane

This trip was my second ride in the Caravan.  On my first ride, I tagged along as we took some of our MozMed team to Tupiuto for a meeting.  Unfortunately, the king of the land had died and the funeral was that day, so their meeting got cancelled.  However, they had also planned to go visit the family of one of their former assistants who helped with the medical project.  He had been murdered, and the family was suffering and they were hoping to help.  The reason that he was murdered was because he was an albino.  Without going into much of the specifics of what happened, you can follow the link to this article  (http://www.evanjafrica.org/2016/06/07/witchcraft-murder-and-hunted-people/) to understand why such things might happen in this part of the world.

While the Daves were doing some air work, we drove about 45 minutes down a sand road and then turned off on to a path barely wide enough for a vehicle and drove another 45 minutes.  When we finally arrived, quite a crowd gathered around us.  One of the people I was with told me that I was the main reason for the crowd.  We were remote enough that the children there had probably never seen a white person (I was the only one in the group that afternoon).  We had a meeting with the family, left a bag of rice, grain, and oil, and plans were made on how to help the family.  Then we began the trek back to the airstrip where the Caravan was waiting for us.

Since then, Dave has had several more flights on the Caravan.  While I won’t go into details on all of them, after over-nighting on the island of Vamizi, as they were preparing to leave, they saw a large python killing and preparing to eat a goat.  Whoa!  What else can I say?

Field Trip Day at the Airport - Dave explains what it is like to be a pilot