There will be a Mercy Air newsletter in the
post in the next few days but I just wanted to tell you about a flight I did
this last week.
I flew a plane load of Australians and South
Africans from the AOG church up to Mongu in western Zambia to visit some of
their missionaries. Mongu lies on the banks of the Zambezi which at present
is a comfortable 500m wide but during the yearly floods can reach up to 70
km across in places and can isolate the whole western side of Zambia for 5-9
months. People in the area in which they work speak 26 different languages,
have a literacy rate of 8% and a life expectancy of 29 which is mainly due
to AIDS having affected about 1 in 3 of the population. Mongu is hot and had
cooled down to a mere 35 deg whilst we were there. Even the water straight
out of the cold tap wasn't cool enough for showering.
Their work is mainly church planting combined
with social upliftment projects - Doctor visits, Primary Health Care, work
with AIDS orphans, agricultural and micro enterprise projects etc. The four
mission families there have planted 45 churches in the last three years with
another 16 being planted from the original plant. They have some amazing
stories to tell. The area they cover is roughly the size of England and
Wales and as there are very few good tar roads they are often travelling by
4x4 or boat in the bush for up to three weeks on their trips. They have
found that when they arrive at a village and ask people if they have heard
of Jesus that the answer if often 'yes'. It turns out that two or three
prominent people in the village have had a dream explaining the Gospel the
night before they arrived and just need the final piece of the jigsaw
putting in place.
They are developing a training centre in Mongu for
church leaders who will sometimes walk for up to a week to get there from
their church. This though saves having to use local transport which would
cost the equivalent of three years wages, one way. Apparently one church
were so keen to get good teaching that they clubbed together and sent three
of their members separately over a three year period.
Because there is practically zero
communication they often have to arrange well in advance for follow up
visits. 'Expect us back in 5-6 months' or 'at the beginning of the rainy
season' for those who don't even have calendars.
It was an immensely interesting trip for me
and I can't wait for the chance to go back again.
On the family side it is Matthew's 21st
birthday today. He will be back home from Uni on Sunday if anyone wants to
send their wishes.
Thanks
PC(M)
Some of the missionaries live
in tents on platforms.
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Fishing
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Travel on the Zambezi. These guys
will paddle for
days to reach a village where they can sell their stuff. |
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A village on the flood plain. |