Prayer Request

Last week we shared about the recent flooding in the area around Kruger National Park, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe.  It has taken several days to get a hold of people to find out how bad the area in Mozambique where we do ministry had been affected.  Our Mission Pastor, William Vaughan, just sent this update out... 

Mozambique update  30 January 2013:

Our first leadership teaching in Mozambique for the year is to take place next week but we have had unusual high rainfalls which has caused the Limpopo River to flood.  We soon heard of all the areas in Kruger Park that were flooded and many of the roads that have been closed, camps that have been flooded and even some of the bridges in the Park that have been washed away.  The Pafuri Border Post was even reported as being closed and no access to it.  Many places and roads have been affected along the Limpopo even in South Africa.  The most northern tarred road that accesses Kruger through Pafuri gate has even been washed away in sections.  A crocodile breeder along the river reported around 15 000 crocs that got away (who knows we may see more crocs in Mozambique now).  The hardest hit seems to be Chokwe in Mozambique which is further down along the Limpopo River.  Already over 40 people have been reported to have died in these floods.  It was reported that around 150 000 people were evacuated from the Chokwe area.  The only bridge over the Limpopo in Mozambique closest to where we work is at Chokwe, almost 300km down river from Pafuri.  This bridge is inaccessible because of the depth of the water before going across the bridge and the road other side the bridge has been washed away.  As you know most of the villages we work in are along the Limpopo River so we have been concerned about these people that we have come to know and love while ministering the Gospel to them and alongside of them over the years.  

We were able to speak to one of the church leaders in Mozambique, Masango, whose village, Mabuzane, is between the Limpopo and Nuanetsi Rivers.  He told us of the heavy rainfall, that some homes were damaged or totally destroyed and some like his leaked lots of water.  The fields were washed away or under water but he said everybody is fine.  No one was able to even cross the rivers with their boats.  We spoke to another two church leaders yesterday, Albert and Ernest from Xicumbane, who told us that lots of livestock were taken by the floods and their fields are also damaged by the flood waters.  Another problem is that there are no trains coming up from Maputo because of the railroad flooding and damage at Chokwe and therefore even the food that comes by rail to the bigger towns like Mapai and Chicualacuala has left those shops empty.

Having only general information and bits and pieces we needed to find out specifics of other possible travel routes to get to our area of ministry.  We tried to phone the Border Post whose numbers we have, but the lines are dead.  We then tried to get hold of one of the Kruger Park officials we know.  We were given the contact info of the Pafuri Game Ranger who then came back to us telling us that the Pafuri Border Post was flooded just as bad as it was in the 2000 floods and there is major damage to all infrastructure on SA side, no power, no fresh water, no phone lines, roads washed away and the buildings themselves and all in it damaged.  We were told that work has already been started to clear the road to Pafuri and will take at least 2 weeks.  This will then mean, we were told, that only 4x4 vehicles will then be allowed through to Pafuri.  Even though Giriyondo Border Post has been opened we will still not be able to access our area of ministry because of the extensive damage where the roads have been washed away (and these are mostly the dirt roads) and the depth of the water in certain areas.

This means the people in the villages we work in are pretty much cut-off from any relief that could come to them and will take at least 2 weeks before we could even get there to ascertain what is actually needed.  The one Park official has said he will let us know as soon as we can get to Pafuri.

Pray that we will know how to respond to this and that the Lord will provide for whatever is needed that we can help and show the love of Christ through deeds of kindness.  Many people in Mozambique will need to rebuild their lives and we want to respond in a way that they will see and come to know Jesus Christ through this tragedy and that God will be glorified in and through us.  It is quite possible that we will be doing relief work before we may be able to continue with our teaching.  We will daily keep checking on the latest developments so that we can plan accordingly.  We will also keep you informed on latest developments so that you will know how to pray and this may also be an opportunity for you to show Christ to these people in a tangible way in supporting us in these relief efforts.

This video is talking about Chokwe, Mozambique almost 300km down river from Pafuri. This will give you an idea of what it is like right now. Thank you for praying for people affected by the floods.