Our mission is to DISCOVER Mozambicans who want to change their nation,
PARTNER with them in their vision, and
EMPOWER them to reach their full potential
First of all, many thanks to those who prayed for us and contributed financially over the past few months as we worked to pick up the pieces of our lives and ministry following the cyclone/hurricane in March. Read on to see what has happened since then.
After the Storm - Travels and Relief Work
With our house destroyed and the threats of disease and crime greatly increased following the disaster, we decided the best course of action was to get me (Carla) and the kids out of the country for a while. Jon stayed back for the first month to help our workers recover, assist relief organizations like UNICEF, the Red Cross, and Samaritan's Purse and set up a new app called AIDai which connected the incoming aid with the people who needed it most. He was able to join us later, so we were together for a while. It was a good time of reconnecting with friends, family, and partners both old and new!
It was good to be able to speak at several of our partner churches and share what we were going through. Grace Church in Rolla MO recorded the Sunday that we were with them, and you can watch the video on YouTube.
New Home
Praise God for our new house! We are nearly settled and able to focus on helping everyone else recover as well. As a bonus, it even has a decent guest house in the back yard, so let us know if you want to come see us sometime!
Rebuilding Churches
One of the ways we have been assisting with the reconstruction process is through helping our partner churches with matching grants for putting on new roofs. It has been a blessing to be able to double the efforts of eleven churches who have raised funds within their own congregations, and they have been very grateful for the help. However, there are still many churches that are asking for similar help, but our funds for this project have run out.
Rehabilitating Farms
A staggering 1.7 million acres of farmland were flooded and destroyed in the cyclone, and unfortunately it happened right before harvest time. Without quick help at rehabilitating the land and replanting, the whole region could face a major famine this year. A European mission organization called Word in Deed took initiative to raise funds to help in this endeavor, and they reached out to Equip Mozambique to establish a partnership so we can help them find the right communities to work in. They sent two delegates from the Netherlands to come see us and assess the situation firsthand, and they stayed with us for a week. We are excited to move forward with this project and help the farms start again.
Praise Reports:
For a safe and fruitful trip to the States
For a new house that meets all our needs
For the eleven churches that have been able to rebuild with their grant funds from Equip Mozambique
For the opportunity to help farms restart
Prayer Requests:
For funds to come in for many other churches that need help
For success in the farm rehabilitation process
For the continued reconstruction in the rest of Beira and the whole region that was effected by the cyclone.
Thanks for reading, please remember us in your prayers!
Imagine living with almost nothing.
And then you lose the "almost".
When Disaster Strikes
Mozambique was already a impoverished country full of struggling people. Over half of the population lives on less than $2 per day, reside in ramshackle run-down housing, and barely manage to clothe their families and put food on the table.
So when a disaster like Cyclone Idai strikes, it is truly devastating.
Unfortunately, the devastation did not stop when the winds died down and the rain ceased. The country now faces threats of the diseases cholera, malaria, and typhoid. Thousands of acres of farmland were washed away, leaving the region without its primary food sources for at least a year until they can replant. In short, it will take a long, long time for Mozambique to recover.
Cyclone Idai Relief:
Our part in saving lives and rebuilding a region
Helping Where We Can
Right after Cyclone Idai hit Beira, when we were still without cell signal to tell the outside world that we had survived, our industrious board of directors coordinated with other ministries to bring a shipment of food and generators from neighboring Zambia. The washed-out road was bridged over just in time to allow the truck through to us. It was such a blessing to receive them and the help that they brought! We were able to distribute it to our workers and sewing school ladies, keeping several families afloat at a very difficult time.
Putting Our Talents to Use
As foreign aid began pouring in from all over the world, it became apparent early on that the relief organizations required help finding the places of greatest need, and that the neediest people often had trouble locating help. People who lost their houses didn't know what places were offering shelter. Food distributions were unpredictable in timing and location. Makeshift clinics would pop up their tents in one location today, and move on to somewhere else tomorrow.
So Jon and the Equip Moz programming team burned the midnight oil and developed an app to address this need! "Aid" + "Idai" = AIDai, providing the best way to find current information about all the relief efforts in the region! Click here or on the picture below to watch a video of Jon explaining how it works. It was a great experience to collaborate with globally recognized organizations like the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, Translators without Borders, and the Red Cross to provide helpful information to make their efforts more effective.
The app already has over 1,700 downloads and is growing daily, helping people find the assistance and resources they need!
Strategic Connections
One of Equip Mozambique's biggest priorities of has long been to unite the Body of Christ to be more effective at advancing the Kingdom of God in Mozambique. We have encouraged pastors and their congregations to work together on numerous issues and provided many opportunities for them to collaborate. Now this united front is becoming extremely advantageous as our city moves forward in relief and rebuilding efforts. We called a meeting with many of our partner churches to help and solutions for the whole city, rather than thinking only of our immediate communities. Not long ago, these church leaders would never have worked together, but now after years of fostering connections on projects like the EM library and media training, it is becoming second nature to tackle the struggles facing Beira together.
Reconstruction Efforts
We have friends who run a cement factory in the area, and we have worked with them to secure discounts for churches that were leveled in the storm. Jon is also trying to import roofing materials from South Africa, as the high demand made the local prices skyrocket.
Community Health Education
With the outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, it is important to educate people about how they are spread and how to avoid catching them. A medical student named Antonio is interning with our tech team to help create the medical app, and he is offering training to members of the community to stop the spread of these diseases.
Praise Reports:
That we are able to work with many organizations to assist the relief efforts.
That our aid app is able to help people find the assistance they need!
That even though cholera spread rapidly, people received treatment quickly and there were very few deaths from it.
Prayer Requests:
Jon is en route to the States to join the family for several weeks of their stay. Please pray he has a safe and restful trip.
Please pray that the reconstruction of Beira and surrounding areas will be free from corruption and greed and that the people in greatest need will be served quickly.
Pray that the damaged farms will be able to replant and have bumper crops to avoid a famine later on in the year.
Pray that more people find out about the AIDai app so they can use it to discover the help they need.
Thanks for reading, please remember us in your prayers!
