Tropical Storm Hits Mozambique

Greetings again from a hot and humid Mozambique. We know that most of you who read and follow our blog live in the Northern Hemisphere and, as your winter drags on, might find yourselves slightly envious of our summer heat. But it’s not all glorious sunshine here. There had been no sign of the rains (which normally start in November) and everyone has been waiting with bated breath for a break in the sweltering heat and some cooling water for their crops. That is until last weekend.



Today's satelite image of the storm (NASA from wunderground.com)

Over the weekend, we had our first experience of a tropical cyclone as a category 4 storm, nicknamed ‘Funso’ hit the Mozambican coast. Associated Press say that at least 10 people in Mozambique have been killed, and thousands of people have been driven from their homes. Many crops and homes have been destroyed and roads and bridges are now impassible. Winds have gusted well over 150kph. Here in Beira we’re still cut off from the capital city, Maputo. Today’s ‘Diario de Moçambique’ newspaper reports that 12,000 are currently homeless.

As the storm skipped past us further out to sea on Sunday night (we were up trying to comfort Isaac as thunder crashed overhead) it was little more than an inconvenient sleepless night. Please pray for our partners, the Convenção Baptista de Moçambique who are currently planning how best to help those who have been left homeless and cropless just the other side of the nearby River Pungue.

A Post Christmas Blog Post

Christmas, Southern Hemisphere style!

Besides the odd street hawker with a few bits of tacky tinsel and the odd plastic Christmas tree in the super market, the usual build up to Christmas we’re used to just doesn’t exist in Mozambique. There were a few manic days of shopping and we heard reports of ‘Shoprite’ being so overrun that people were opening packets and eating food off the shelves but with Naomi stuck for three days in the clinic we even managed to miss that! Food prices did go up but there was none of the usual manic advertising or cheesy renditions of ‘It’s Chriiiistmas!’ we’re so familiar with.

We had decided that to avoid too much homesickness we would get together for the Christmas period with our friends and BMS colleagues Brad and Ruth Biddulph  who are based in Zimbabwe (click here to find their blog). After Naomi left the clinic we agreed that a night away from Beira was definitely in order, so on Christmas Eve we packed up a few bits and headed off to the local beach resort of Rio Savane where we booked to stay for one night. Although none of us felt particularly Christmassy, Ruth and I sang cheesy Christmas songs as we bumped down the dirt road in an attempt to invoke a sense of the season… I think we managed to invoke several headaches instead.

We were staying in a basic thatched ‘cabana’ which consisted of low walls, a thatched roof, a cement floor, a little mosquito netting and a BBQ outside. Shortly after arrival Geoff set about our first ‘braai’ of holiday season: sausages, burgers and fresh pineapple. It was all eaten with a minimum of bread to ensure there was plenty of stomach space for more meat! All fed and watered we headed off to the beach where we found some shade and set about tackling the enormous waves in the warm sea or playing in the sand with the children. The hours flew past and before we knew it, it was time for more food. Tucking into prawns at the restaurant with no mince pies in sight, we watched the sun set behind a palm tree vista as we slapped on the insect repellent. After the kids were tucked into their mosquito tents we sat outside and played games in the balmy heat under a star-filled sky.

Thinking it might be an early start, we decided to turn in and crawling into our tents (Geoff and I sharing with a child each) we discovered that inside these nice cosy tents it was pretty warm and I think I can safely say we all sweated more than we slept! The advantage of this was that we all saw the Christmas Day sunrise, although through some fairly groggy, grumpy eyes.



After stockings had been opened and a breakfast of bread and fresh lychees consumed, we were off to the beach again. This time the waves were not so big and the children had a great time running in and out of the sea and playing in the shallow pools which were as warm as a bath. As soon as the children (and possibly Brad and Ruth) went for a nap in the shade, Geoff and I set off up the beach to a fishing village to haggle for some fish we had just watched being brought in. We realised that this rundown ramshackle hamlet with its simple thatched houses was much closer to the reality of Jesus’ birth than the over-stylised, halo-clad, oxen filled nativity images we see so often.

Soon it was time for our turkey (meaning the fish and prawns we’d just got from the fishermen cooked on the fire) and then back to Beira to Skype family. It was strange to be sitting in the sticky heat of our flat watching our families having the type of Christmas day we’re so familiar with, but it was great to feel just a small part of that world. As the children opened their presents from grandparents the day started to feel more familiar...