Layover in Dumela

Wednesday, July 27th Nathan took the PaulAnn team to the border in the MAN truck and the rest of us stayed behind to break down camp and move to Salani to prepare for the next team form May, Tx and Centerview, North Carolina.  Nathan returned much later than expected and we found out the MAN truck broke down in Dumela.  Praise the Lord he heard a sound and stopped.  Apparently the outer bearing of the on the front right side was "chewed up" and the wheel would have fallen off if they kept driving.  Nathan and Brad managed to get a ride to the border and William and Gabriel came in to help bring the team across the border.  I found this picture on Jake's photos and he titled it Mozambique Taxi. 

We loaded up all the camp supplies and headed to Dumela.  It took two trips to get all the supplies moved from Tchale to Dumela.  Gabriel headed back to South Africa the next morning to get parts for the MAN truck.  We ended up spending 3 nights in Dumela waiting on parts and fixing the MAN truck.  We stayed in the church and we all managed to find things to keep us busy.  We finally made it to Salani on Saturday at 1 pm and we managed to get the whole camp set up before the team arrived on Sunday at 2 pm.  Here are photos from our layover...

PaulAnn team and the "Mozambique Taxi" across the river

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broken wheel bearing

 

We said good-bye to our "big brother" David.  He served here 8 months.

Dianne owns a beauty shop in the States and we got a nice shampoo.

Debbie enjoy a Mozambique Spa day

for 3 days we had an audience

these boys were "helping" Mark fix the bakkie

while waiting for the parts the guys repaired the window

putting it all back together

Debbie and I played with the kids

hanging outside under the church lapa

Tchale Outreach

Well, it is late here and I was almost finished with this post and something happened and it disappeared. So, here I go again but it will mainly be pictures ... what's that phrase "a picture speaks 1,000 words" so here we go ....

We went back into Mozambique on the 15th of July to set up for the PaulAnn team.  We were really excited since this is our sending church.  It was great to spend time with them and serve alongside them in Tchale.  This is the third year PABC has been to Tchale (2009 they camped in Mabuzanne and held ministries there and in Tchale too, 2010 they camped in Tchale and held ministries in Mabuzanne and Tchale and this year they camped and stayed in Tchale.) To get to Tchale we have to cross the Limpopo River and then drive another hour and half or so.  The team was picked up on Sunday the 17th at the border in the MAN truck since the small bus they drove up in is not capable of crossing the river.

deflating the tires before crossing

the guys walk across the river and set reeds out for a path

all lined up and ready to go

Gabriel and Joseph

Benny and Dianne (they are serving with the mission for 3 months)

this is our bakkie

Doug and Debbie

this was the 17th - what a sight for sore eyes!

children's ministry

morning devotions

men's ministry

the kids loved when David played

women's ministry

children's ministry

women's ministry

Saturday Game Day (they had 201 kids)

sack races

the kids LOVED it

balloon races

singing "Making Melodies"

Sunday morning church under the tree.  there is not a church structure.

Samuel, who we all know as Highway, is the local pastor in Tchale.  He accepted the Lord in 2007 and his life has changed completely.  He was one of the village drunks and now his life is a living testimony of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  He shared with us that there are 19 members in the church and that 4 of them (2 being Highway and his wife Emmalina) are willingly and boldly taking a stand against cultural traditions and proclaiming the TRUTH! Please pray for Highway and his wife Emmalina as they continue to witness to the people in Tchale and share the TRUTH of Jesus Christ. 

The team also was involved in drilling a well. We managed to drill a successful well by the river and start one by the clinic (which plans will be made to complete in the future.)  This is not the Limpopo River and I am sorry but I can 't remember the name of it.  It is dry most of the time. The people and the animals have difficulty finding water.  We even had to bury a blue drum in the sand so the water would filter through the sand and fill the drum.  This allowed us to put our pump in and get water for the camp. We praise the Lord that he provided clean water for the people in Tchale and most importantly that the living water was shared with the village of Tchale.  Please read Doug and Debbie Crawford's blog, our newest full time Samaria Mission staff for more pictures and updates on the well.  She did a great job writing about it.

they did holes in the sand to filter the water (see how deep they had to dig)

they let the water filter through the sand and then use a bowl to scoop

then they walk back to their hut

this was the drum we used to get water for camp

Mark and Luke helping at the well

starting to drill

installing the pump

trying out the pump

I am standing in the middle of the riverbed

this is how the animals get water

We saw this donkey walking around.  I went to take the bucket off it's head and set it down.  I took two steps and looked back and saw he put his head back in the bucket.  I went to take it off and this time I turned it upside down.  He eventually made his way to the top of the river bank and drank the runoff from the well.

enjoying the runoff from the well

we had to change the dish water a few times

drilling by the clinic

Thought you might find this funny - we needed to make a phone call to South Africa to take care of a few details.  Mark had to drive to the top of this hill and I had to stand on top of the bakkie and hold the phone up just to get a little signal. 

Brit was practicing a little guitar

Brit and Ashlea

PaulAnn and Samaria Mission team

Saying good-bye and heading back to the border

Burger Bash and More

Just a quick update on things ... We returned from Mozambique two and a half weeks ago and it has been non-stop.  I am planning on sending our newsletter out next week as well as updating our blog with Tchale (PaulAnn team) and the Salani (May/Centerview team) outreaches as well as other things that have been going on in the short time we have been back.  For now I will leave you with pictures from today ... We were in charge of this months Burger Bash at CBC.  It is a great time of fellowship and serving.  Check back next week for more updates.  Thanks for you continued prayers as we continue to live and serve here in South Africa and Mozambique.