“You are my father, I have no one else to turn to…”

We returned to the mission farm on Thursday after being away for a few weeks having the annual inspection done on the mission aircraft. We were blessed by Tim and Barb Heubner who took a week out of their schedule to help us with the annual inspection this year. Tim and Barb were serving MAF in Angola and were on their way back to Canada, so the timing was perfect for them and certainly for us. We praise God for His awesome timing as well as all our friends at Mercy Air who made this another blessed experience. I have made it clear to many of them that if they were not there, it is likely we would not be here. Their presence there has made our presence here in the bush survivable.

After flying to Maputo (about a 50 minute flight) for the Department of Civil Aviation inspection there (which turned out to be a successful inspection), I returned to Nelspruit to load up and pick up Lynn and we flew home. As we climbed out after departure at Vilanculos on the coast, we admired the turquoise sea with boats and islands which quickly faded into the distance.

As we enjoyed a sandwich together, I suddenly felt an overwhelming burning in my throat and began to cough. After landing in Chimoio this continued and since I have struggled with a terrible flue that has really knocked my legs out! Ironically we returned just in time for a week of training with the monitors of our extension training program, and a flu at this point is really something one does not need. But I think we have learned one thing in life and that is that if it is worth doing, it is worth doing regardless of the challenges that WILL be thrown at you! Our resolve will always be challenged, and perseverance is the only thing that brings victory.

(Leaders in one of the sessions.)

As I met with the first group of leaders that arrived, I asked how they were all doing. The first response was that “it is very likely some of us will starve to death this year…and I will be one of the first!” I was somewhat taken back by the forwardness, but after more discussion, it became clear that the desperate situation we have been facing in our area is just the tip of the iceberg.

Enjoying a meal during one of the intensive seminars.

Today as I was doing some final preparation for tomorrow’s classes, the bell rang. Anyone who has visited us knows what this means…the bell is our constant companion calling us to respond to needs almost all hours of the day. Due to the evening hour, I was somewhat surprised, but I set aside the work and went out to see who was calling. It happened to be our guard accompanied by the elderly local chief of our area. Regulo Araujo Mpungo who is the “king” of our area as well as being the traditional local leader had borrowed a bicycle and managed to ride the few kilometers to our home.

His words challenged me, “You are my father, I have no one else to turn to…” as he shared the fact that he was now desperate for food and had no other alternative but to come and see us at the mission. We have helped before, but being the “king” means a certain amount of self-respect. He described his home situation and the fact that besides himself, he was now caring for 4 orphaned family members and he simply had nothing to feed any of them. He went on to share that he has already heard of two women who have died of starvation in our immediate area…and we have a work for food program to help the most desperate!


Although our food stocks are already stretched to breaking point, I assured him we would assess the situation and send what we could in the morning. I then took the time to remind him that we too can only depend on God in life, and even now with the falling Canadian dollar and the local Mozambique currency retaining unusual strength, we are living one day to the next depending on His gracious provision. We then prayed together and the “king” hobbled off pushing his borrowed bicycle!