Yesterday, Hilary and I traveled to Tete for the day to take care of some business there. It was a mad race under difficult circumstances but God blessed every step of our journey and we arrived home exhausted but with all our objectives accomplished. The day was seven hours of driving and six hours of running around in Tete. I have described many times how hot it is there so I won’t do it again. One missionary, Katie Nalls, famously described the heat in Tete as “being blasted by an enormous hair dryer except the hot air is mixed with dust.”
One of my standard jokes about hell goes like this:
A devil is taking a man on a tour of hell so he can decide in which room of torment he wants to spend eternity. After peering through the window into various scenes of agony and torture he is shown one room in which everyone is sitting chest deep in cow manure sipping tea. He says to to the devil, “Well, this seems like the best one.” So he’s shown into the room and the door slams. Then the devil in charge of the room shouts, “Break’s over. Back on your heads.”
Tete is like that. It is a really tough place to live. The climate is hostile. The housing prices are similar to Tokyo, Japan. Race relations are pretty easygoing but people are very independent-minded so getting them to work together or volunteer on a project are difficult tasks.
During our visit to Tete, I crossed paths with some pretty amazing missionaries. I was filled with admiration for these folks who are plugging away there year after year and I was also feeling slightly guilty for leaving Tete for our current cushy assignment. By the way, in 2011 we’re planning to get even “cushier” with a two-year study program in Durban South Africa that just happens to be on the beach.
Here are some missionaries that are working in Tete and doing a lot to bring the translated Scriptures to Nyungwe-speaking people:
Jon with the Mennonites: I only met him briefly in a cafe but he’s an Oregonian and a young adventurous engineer putting in sand wells in arid regions. I didn’t completely understand what this means but it has something to do with trapping underground water in dry river beds and then planting gardens on top of it. In addition, he has been taking printouts of the Gospel of John into places in Tete where we’ve never even been before.
Peter and Lavendar Kalimambondo: These Zambian missionaries were in Tete before we arrived and they are still there doing pastoral training, evangelism and women’s ministry.
Gregory and Sharon Kane: These Elim missionaries from the UK are involved in an amazing spectrum of activities including distributing Nyungwe Scripture on Sabers mp3 players. Their boys and ours love to play together. Sharon’s trip to the bush is a crazy tale.
Chris and Katie Nalls: Baptist missionaries from the US with a cute little girl and lots of enthusiasm and expertise. Chris’ bike trip into the bush is terrific reading (and Katie is a talented writer).
Mikael and Jeni Bister: Our long-time friends and co-workers are providing crucial support to the Nyungwe Bible translation and literacy efforts. I was inspired hearing Mikael’s enthusiastic stories about translating Ephesians. Jeni is an entertaining blogger. Read this humorous and poignant story: Can it get any worse?
I hope you’ll read some of their stories. But even if you don’t, say a prayer for these missionaries who are working in such challenging circumstances.
