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A visitor's
view
The Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, put it
well. It's good to gain a fresh perspective on who you are and what
you are trying to do. And that's very much the theme of this month's
update.
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as others
see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us, / And foolish notion."
Last month we had two sets of visitors come to see the work in
Mozambique. The first was a team from our Elim churches in Zimbabwe
who travelled north to speak at our first ever Elim youth
conference. The second group hailed from the Portadown Elim church
in Northern Ireland. As they were returning home, we invited each of
the team members to send by email a few comments on what they had
seen and done. It was fascinating to see what aspects of life had
made the strongest impression. We hope that you have as much fun in
reading the following anecdotes as we had in receiving them.
Vongai Munembe is the daughter
of Pious Munembe, the general overseer of the Elim work in Zimbabwe.
"From the moment we crossed the
border, there were many things different from back home in
Zimbabwe. The first thing I noted was that there were no toilets
in Mozambique. The people use the bushes to answer nature’s
call. It was normal to them but to us it was very difficult.
Fortunately there was a newly erected pit toilet at the venue of
the conference.When
we were going to Samoa we were asked to wear long skirts and not
to put on trousers as the people there are not used to seeing
women in trousers or skirts that expose the knees and tops that
expose the shoulders. It was very difficult because the place
was so hot with temperatures at times going above 40 degrees.
Pastor Kane asked us to draft a
programme for the conference. We drafted the programme taking a
leaf from how we do it in Zimbabwe. We included discussions so
that we could hear from the youths how they operate in
Mozambique. We did teachings on bible studies, fund raising
projects and organising committees as youths. We also included
games so that we could interact, socialize and have fun with the
youths.
At first the people were seeing us
as strangers but as the program went on they started cooperating
by asking questions on what life is like in Zimbabwe and despite
the language barrier we started socializing with them. When we
played games, the girls were very excited. I could tell they had
not enjoyed their girlhood because most of them had babies and
were now mothers."
The visit from the Zimbabweans was very
successful. The youth work there is well developed and our visitors
were able to offer practical guidance on how the youth work in
Mozambique could be further improved. Part of our reason in inviting
the team from Zimbabwe was to give our Mozambican leaders a strong
model of how an independent African church can be organised. Later
this year we will accompany our Mozambican executive to the annual
Elim conference in Zimbabwe, where they will have an opportunity to
speak face-to-face (albeit through interpreters) with their
Zimbabwean counterparts.
Our other purpose in inviting the team
from Zimbabwe was to give our visitors an insight into the
opportunities for missionary work within Mozambique, and this is a
theme discussed by our next contributor. Admire Tembo works
in financial services in Harare. He is chair of the Elim youth work
there:
"Having a feel of missionary work was
a great experience. In those two days we shared the way we
operate and do things in Zimbabwe with our fellow Elim youth
believers in Mozambique. We taught them how to organise
committees, how to develop themselves financially as Christians
through fund raising projects and teaching them how to study and
use the Bible. The response from the youths was overwhelming and
they showed great zeal to have organised bible studies and start
the fund raising projects that we suggested and taught them
about. Language was a barrier in socializing with them but I
would like to thank my fellow brothers in Christ from Malawi,
Ernest and Wilson, who interpreted our English into Chewa so we
could understand each other.
To me, this conference was a
challenge to us as Zimbabwe youths because we have a lot more to
offer others than we actually think. The churches and youths in
Mozambique need our support, not only in prayers but in visits,
in teachings and with all the resources we have - we can be a
blessing to many souls out there. The Kane family needs our
support in bringing light to the people in Mozambique and I
strongly believe Elim Youth Movement in Zimbabwe can start
missionary work in neighbouring countries."
David Burns
is the chair of the
missions committee at Portadown Elim. His team came out to gain a
better understanding of the situation on the ground here in
Mozambique, with a view to partnering with us more closely in the
future.
"You know how pleased I was with all
that was arranged for us. We appreciate the difficulty of
working through two languages and with a people with little
education. Yet it was thrilling to watch them respond to your
teaching on the Saturday seminar. It was encouraging to see them
work out for themselves the pros and cons of projects - and not
simply asking for money. It was a great joy to see how the
leaders are responding to the principle of tithing.
As for memorable highlights, the
showing of the Jesus film with at least (by my count) three
hundred people turning out. And I will never forget travelling
in a very warm 4-wheel drive vehicle for about 11 hours over
roads which disappeared in a sea of tall grass and bush to take
six meetings in the rural churches. Sorry, did I say roads? That
has to be a bit of a joke for I did not see any tarmac for at
least 9 hours travelling. But that is just life working in
Mozambique."
It was a great joy to receive these two
teams and to see their mounting excitement over the work we are
doing here. And just as their eyes were opened to the needs and
difficulties here, so also we were granted a fascinating insight
into those things that we now take for granted. Following the
departure of the Portadown team, I asked Josiah, our thirteen
year old, to write an essay for home school on what struck him as
odd about our visitors. The following is an extract from his essay -
with names deleted for reasons that will become obvious!
When faced with a lizard, frog,
grasshopper, or beetle, people react in different ways. Little
boys would pick it up and inspect it, babies would chew it,
little girls would move away, and mums and dads would ignore it.
The men did not seem to care about these midget animals. One of
the ladies also appeared to ignore them although we could smell
the stench of excessive application of insect repellent. The
other woman applied even more of the chemical; she jumped
whenever she saw a tiny creature, even a harmless one; and she
screeched whenever she felt something that might have just
wriggled. People round here do not care about bugs or lizards,
and to a major degree neither do we. How might people react if
the missionary were preaching in a service and then screamed
because a moth flew in? This team was not coming as missionaries
for a long term but instead to inspect our work. But their
reaction to things that we largely ignore was fascinating
So there you have it, a very unusual
newsletter, but hopefully a fresh and informative insight into our
life and ministry in Mozambique.Grace to you
Gregory and Sharon
Kane
Elim International Missions
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Sharon's Joke of
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* Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire *
A contestant on "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire" had reached
the final plateau. If he answered the next question
correctly, he would win $1,000,000. If he answered
incorrectly, he would pocket only the $32,000 milestone
money.
As he suspected it would be, the million-dollar question
was no pushover: Which of the following species of birds
does not build its own nest, but instead lays its eggs in
the nests of other birds?
Is it:
A) the condor;
B) the buzzard;
C) the cuckoo; or
D) the vulture?
The man was on the spot. He did not know the answer. And
he was doubly on the spot because he had used up his 50/50
Lifeline and his Audience Poll Lifeline. All that remained
was his Phone-a-Friend Lifeline, and the man had hoped
against hope that he would not have to use it because the
only friend that he knew would be at home happened to be an
Elim pastor. But the contestant had no alternative.
He called his friend and gave him the question and the four
choices.
The Elim pastor responded unhesitatingly: "That's easy. The
answer is C: The cuckoo."
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast. He
considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Regis any
answer except the one that his friend had given him. And
considering that his friend was an Elim pastor, it would seem
to be the logical thing to do. On the other hand, his friend
had responded with such confidence, such certitude, that the
contestant could not help but be persuaded. "I need an
answer," said Regis.
"C: The cuckoo."
"Is that your final answer?" asked Regis.
"Yes, that is my final answer."
Two seconds later, Regis said, "I regret to inform you that
the answer is ... absolutely correct. You are now a
millionaire!"
A few days later, the contestant hosted a party for his
family and friends, including the pastor who had helped him
win the million dollars. "Chris, I just do not know how to
thank you," said the contestant. "Because of your knowing
the answer to that final question, I am now a millionaire.
And do you want to know something? It was the assuredness
with which you answered the question that convinced me to go
with your choice. By the way, how did you happen to know the
right answer?"
"Oh, come on!" said the Elim pastor. "Everybody knows that
cuckoos don't build nests. They live in clocks."
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