The Boat and the Bush

All aboard!

When our colleagues invited us to go on our first overnight bush trip—by boat—I was cautiously excited. Harvey and I had made several bush trips when we lived in Mozambique before, so we had an idea what to expect: makeshift outdoor bathroom huts, no access to running (or even drinkable) water, bugs, lack of privacy, and questionable food. But traveling by boat would bring new challenges into the mix. When you travel by car, you usually drive right up into the village. But this village was more than a mile away from the shore, so we would have to carry all our belongings and supplies (including tents, water, and bedding) on a winding, narrow trail. Also, before, we didn't have kids. This was the reason I had to temper my "excited" with "cautiously." How would they handle the hike? The crowds of curious Mozambican children? The lack of electronic entertainment? 

I think this is why our colleagues invited us on a one-night adventure for our first time. We could handle anything for twenty-four hours, right? And our colleagues' kids were coming along too, so our kids would have their friends and playmates right there with them—friends who had plenty of bush experience under their belts and could serve as examples and guides.

Loading up

Enjoying the sun and sea

Sisters set sail

A missionary kid adventure!

I'm happy to report that the trip was a success! Our kids hauled tents and water to the village, ate the food they were given (along with a few treats from home to help the medicine go down), and played cheerfully with each other and with the Mozambican children. All of them but Asher also helped the men transport rocks to the site where we were helping the nationals build a well—two trips of at least one mile each way! They even spent the afternoon helping break up rocks to make cement. I hesitate to use the word "rockstars," but (painfully obvious pun intended), I think it certainly applied to them on this trip!

Harvey and I with volunteers Ryan and Valerie
on the hike to the village

Porridge for breakfast

At the well site, with the men breaking up rocks
under the tree in the background

Valerie, Becky, and I at the well site

Meanwhile, Becky (my colleague), Valerie (a volunteer), and I spent time with the women from the village church. We taught them about the importance of prayer and God's Word in their lives, encouraging them to have personal, daily time with the Lord and teach the Word to their children. This can be difficult for these women, because few if any of them can read. We encouraged them to ask their husbands to read the Word to them, listen to audio Bibles (which our colleagues had left with them in the past), make sure to go to church to hear the Word read and preached, and memorize Scripture so they will have it in their hearts. (Since most of these women speak Makhuwa and little to no Portuguese, we had a translator, and the Scripture they hear and learn will be in Makhuwa.)

Praying with the ladies before Bible study

Asher playing with the village kids while I met with the ladies

Teaching the Word to the village ladies

During my time of teaching (from Deuteronomy 6), Asher was sitting next to me and said he needed to go potty. Valerie graciously took him, and I continued to teach. A few minutes later, I noticed all the women were getting distracted and looking over to the right of me. So I glanced over my shoulder and saw Asher, naked from the waist down, standing in our tent while Valerie was trying to clean up his diaper. Becky told me that it was a normal thing for the women to be curious what a little white boy looks like, especially one who has been circumcised (since they don't circumcise their boys until they're older). She said it was probably better to stop the teaching for a moment to go and help Valerie rather than try to keep going while the women were mesmerized by my bare-bottomed boy! So we took a quick break and when he was all clean and dressed, I came back and finished my talk.

We also had the interesting experience of visiting a sick member of the church only to find out that she had been using witchcraft (evident by the cord around her neck). We were planning to go there only to pray with her, but when Becky saw the cord, she and Teresa, our translator, began teaching the woman why she must abandon witchcraft if she follows Christ. The woman agreed to destroy (burn) the witchcraft, but her daughter had bought it for her, so we had to wait for the daughter to arrive to make sure she knew about her mom's decision. (I'm coming to learn that ministry in Mozambique often requires much waiting.) We sat among the drying, sweet-sour-smelling cassava root as we waited at least half an hour for the daughter to arrive. The daughter was not pleased, but she agreed to allow her mother to burn the necklace.

That night we showed the Jesus Film (in Makhuwa). The kids played mafia, and some of us got a decent night of rest in spite of the chilly air.

Showing the Jesus Film. We're grateful to Portland Avenue Baptist Church
for generously providing the equipment (projector, speaker) to show the film!

Jesus Film crowd. The local pastor will follow up with those who were interested.

Happy campers trying new foods:
xima (white, clumpy stuff made from corn flour)
and matapa (boiled greens with vegetables)

On the boat ride back, we saw tuna jumping and a whale breaching in the distance. We also stopped to swim and snorkel at a reef. It was choppy, but the kids enjoyed the water.

So, our first family boat bush trip is in the books! We're thankful to Brian and Becky for inviting us along and being our guides and for the Haynes family for encouraging us and helping us with the kids. And we're thankful for all those here and back home who are keeping us in their prayers—we experienced the fruit of those prayers in the heart of the African bush! #Sparksflydriveandsail