ENC Team in Mozambique

Dear far-away family and friends,

Finally, a moment to collect thoughts and pass along a brief description
of our latest adventures. The days fly by, and we tumble into bed tired
and happy, only to awaken with the birds and start again.

On Wednesday morning we walked around the campus of the
seminary, our home away from home. The buildings are all new and
modern, with a nicely organized library, a large and airy chapel, and
lush gardens behind the married student apartments. The new beds
arrived this morning for the married students (replacing their grass
mats), so the sheets we brought along will be used right away. We got
here just in time! In the afternoon, we accompanied Dr. Restrick to the
airport to greet some church officials who had flown in to preside over
a series of District Assemblies (for non-Nazarenes, this is the
equivalent of a diocesan meeting, presided over by a bishop --or
District Superintendent -- and a top level leader -- a General
Superintendent.) While waiting to greet General Superintendent Bond,
we noticed a sign, which read as follows:
ATTENTION
IS PROHIBITED
Dear Passenger: For your own safety, do not accept any parcel's,
letters or other object before Departure. Bec use you may carry to
aircraft prohibited articles, dangerous goods, or even a bomb.


Thursday began VERY early -- everyone up by 3:30am for a 5am
departure, followed by a 4 hour van trip north to the District Assembly
at Chibuto. When we arrived, they served us breakfast at tables set up
under trees and delivered on lovely dishes. The assembly was marked
by enthusiastic and devout attention to the work of the church, with
pastors giving reports of good work happening all around. Old women,
young mothers with babes in arms, men of every age, all gathered
together to report on the miracles they had experienced during the
previous year. As honored guests, we were introduced and given
seats of honor at the front of the church. In return, we sang them a
song, "To God Be the Glory," with the first verse and chorus in English
and the second in a local tribal language called Shangaan. The
participants were delighted with our efforts, smiling and clapping and
offering loud "Amen"s. After the meeting ended, we were seated at the
places of honor for a dinner, shook hands with all the kids -- who were
tickled pink to have visitors all the way from America -- and headed
home. We made a stop at a pristine beach in Xai Xai. The sand was
white and fine, the water deep blue and the offshore coral reef
provided spectacular breakers. We all had the chance to play in the
Indian Ocean -- a first for me, at least! We crossed the Limpopo River
on the drive home, and even managed to remember a few lines of a
Kipling poem about the river.

Today was another District Assembly, this one in Maputo and only 20
minutes away, at the largest Nazarene church in Africa (in
membership, at least) and pastored by a powerhouse of a preacher --
and a delightful woman, too! Much of the business meeting was the
same in format and similar in content. We were blessed both days
with translators who helped us to understand the mixture of Shangaan
and Portuguese spoken by the participants.

As we have travelled, we have seen all modes of transport, from
women with baskets and buckets balanced atop their heads, to carts
pulled by teams of oxen, to cars and vans.. We travelled past
traditional reed huts with thatched roofs, and past modern cement
homes that look much like those in Florida. In all conditions, we saw
lots of Coca Cola and cell phones! The days continue to dawn at 80
degrees and climb into the 90s, but breezes at night (both natural and
man-made) help with comfortable sleeping.

That's all for now; dinner is ready, laundry is being done and beds
beckon. We love you all, and wish you could experience these
marvelous days with us!
Mary Lou and the