Trip to Iapala

Back in November, Kevin took a very exciting trip with the six men that he is training to become TEE monitors. Unfortunately, he didn’t take any photos, so a description will have to suffice.

As part of their training, Kevin wanted to take the guys out to a bush location so that they could teach others what they had learned about the book of Genesis (which was the TEE book they did together in the second part of last year). They wanted to go somewhere where they could have a variety of denominations meeting (enmity between denominations is a big problem here) and really have a group of people eager to hear more about the Bible. They chose Iapala, a location about 150 Kms from Nampula, because no one ever goes out there to encourage the Christians.

Kevin borrowed equipment to show various films while they were out there, and a trailer to put it in, and hooked it all up and pulled out on a Thursday afternoon. He picked up all the guys, and they drove about 3 hours, over a rough dirt track, to Iapala. That night, they slept in a tent together (which the guys really thought was interesting – both the sleeping in a tent and sharing accommodation with a white guy) and the next morning the teachings began. Each of the men had prepared 1 ½ hours worth of teaching, and most of the teachings had about 50 people in attendance. They showed a movie each night, with 300 to 400 attending each night. They showed the History of the Bible, Story of Paul, and the Jesus film.

The church that hosted the event is one that broke away from another major denomination last year, and as a result of this, no one from the other churches wanted to go into their mud-brick building. Yet another example of denominationalism! It was sad to all of the guys to see this, and annoying to Kevin as the heads of those other denominations had promised to send their people. However, the local church did a great job of providing food for Kevin and the guys, and they were provided with three meals a day of cornmeal mush, often topped with beans. Kevin was glad to eat something else when he came back! It was a major sacrifice for those out in the village to provide all of this food, and an example of how hospitable many Mozambicans are, as well as how eager to hear about the Bible.

The only catch in the whole weekend? One of the guys helpfully locked up our truck, not realizing that the keys were inside. The only other set were with me, three hours away in Nampula. A young man with a car in a nearby town was sent to pick up the keys, and unfortunately he saw it as an opportunity to get an entire tank of gas free, instead of just the amount he actually used while driving. It was interesting to see, however, how the guys took on the responsibility for the bad behavior of their countryman. Normally, the white man/foreigner would be expected to cough up all the money requested, no matter how unfair the claim. But the guys told Kevin he didn’t owe anything, and signed a paper promising to pay the young man what he requested. Of course, we did put in quite a bit of the money later rather than see the families of these guys go hungry to pay this amount, but they genuinely desired to handle this themselves.

Kevin returned on Sunday afternoon, tired but happy. The thing had really been a success, and it was a great opportunity for the guys to stretch their teaching muscles, and for Kevin to observe in what areas they needed refinement and encouragement. The believers in Iapala were sincerely grateful for the visit and the teaching, and another step taken in creating an independent TEE program in Nampula province. - C