Back to Africa

The March itinerary for our Mozambique trip is complete and plane tickets are now purchased!  Carol (my predecessor) and I will be traveling together in Mozambique for almost 3 weeks as part of my job training.  The plan is for me to see as many of the major projects on the ground there as possible and meet our colleagues who work on the Mozambique side.  She will essentially be publicly "passing the torch" while teaching me everything I can manage to soak up about the work that the Mozambique Initiative (MI) is doing.  This trip will be absolutely critical for me in continuing the work being done there and strategically looking toward the next chapter of the MI.  I am overwhelmed and completely excited.

Here's a rough sketch of our travel plans and a snap shot of some of the amazing things that the United Methodist Church (UMC) is doing in Mozambique:

• Leave the US in mid March - travel for 2 days to Africa (one can only hope for a pit stop in Dakar).
• Maputo - On my birthday, I am scheduled to meet the Bishop of Mozambique in the capitol city.  She is the first and only female bishop in the entire continent in Africa.  I cannot wait to shake this woman's hand.  What a birthday present!
• Inhassaro - meet with churches there about sustainability projects and safe water goals.
• Vilanculos - visit the Hanhane Women's Shelter and the new well that was put in place for these women.  I am perhaps most excited about visiting this site (see: feminary).
• Cambine - here we will visit the Cambine Seminary as well as the Carolyn Belshe Orphanage (CBO).  The CBO, funded by the MI, has recently started an egg production project, which both feeds the children living there (providing much needed protein) and draws profit to meet additional logistical needs. Amazing.
• Chicuque - visit with the local UMC church and see the Sahane well.  We will also visit the Chicuque Rural Hospital, a 200-bed health care facility started and sustained by the UMC in this rural, fishing village.
• Back to Maputo - meet with government officials and conference leaders, complete paperwork and financial records, worship with Maputo UMC.
• Beira and Chimoio - visit the Gondola Training Center, which is a center currently being built for education and training of future church leaders.  It is also the site of a new, clean water well.

I will try to blog about as much of this as possible while I am there.  I imagine that while in Maputo, there should be a decent connection to the internet, but this may not be the case in these more remote villages.  I'll do my best.  Please pray/send good vibes as we prepare for this trip. 

To donate to the MI or to any of these projects specifically, please see our website.