When the Land Rover overheats in the boonies of Africa, Hilary and the kids go in search of water.
Our Land Rover overheated unexpectedly on our return journey from Nampula. When you leave Nampula, you embark on a 600-kilometer journey in no-man’s land with only two sizeable towns. (Back in 2006 we had a series of tire blowouts on this stretch of road including a collapsed jack.) While I was opening up the engine I had the comforting voices of two different mechanics helping me on my cell phone. Notice the cell phone tower in the background. Hilary and the kids went off in search of water and were helped by a lady who gracefully carried the water out of a steep gully while Hilary got out of breath just scrambling up the incline.
Another thing to notice is the nice smooth road here, which is probably why I overheated the engine. “How fast were you going?” asked Brad on the phone. “About 120,” I sheepishly replied. “And how old is the vehicle?” “Ten years old.” So it sounds like my days of flying in the turbocharged Landie might be over. Thankfully no major damage was done to the engine, although the piston rings, turbo, water pump and more are all showing signs of age. If only the whole road was as smooth as what you see here. About half is paved now, but there is a solid 300 kilometers of bone-jarring broken pavement and potholes to navigate between Alto Molocue and Milange where we stayed with our friends the Shrums.
Another incident on this trip involved a “carta” that we were asked to pick up for a Mozambican friend in Mocuba. We managed to find the place where the letter was and it had grown into one suitcase, two 50 kg sacks of corn and a 25 kg sack of rice. I was not in the least surprised. Mozambicans are masters of understatement. Years ago I agreed to take a mother and baby to the hospital only to discover that the father, several siblings, suitcases and a live chicken were included in the statement “mother and baby.” The addition of all this grain on my roof was complicated by the facts that the sacks kept bursting open and it rained in torrents in Milange. I spent a lot of time tying, wrapping and securing those sacks. Our friends Artur and Eliza were happy to receive the food, so I shouldn’t complain.
Our purpose in making the long drive to Nampula was so that I could coordinate the production of a CD-ROM containing publications for all the languages our organization has worked on over the last twenty years. It was my first time to coordinate such a complex project, and it went really well only because I had a lot of gracious and talented people working with me to turn my crazy ideas into reality.
Prototype and final product of the CD that contains more than a hundred publications in a dozen Mozambican languages.
These CDs will be distributed to key government, development and church organizations in Mozambique. They are unique in containing literacy, development, Scripture and linguistic materials for more than a dozen languages. All this information will soon be available on a website, as well.
A few other recent and upcoming activities:
- Recording Scripture in Nyungwe and Sena.
- Teaching three courses at the Bible college.
- Finishing the translation of John and 1 Timothy in Nyungwe.
- Exploring ways to get Scripture radio programs started in four provinces.
Thanks for your prayer and support. It’s a privilege to partner with you in serving the people of Mozambique.
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