Update from Mozambique

Church women's gathering

At the end of my last prayer letter, I mentioned that our church was going to be hosting the 3-monthly gathering of the women's groups from Baptist churches in the area. This took place towards the end of March, and it was a real joy to be part of the preparations and serving on the day.

These gatherings are usually a day long, with lunch at the end. There are two meditations on God's word, and time to pray with someone from a different church. Lots of singing and dancing – both in general, and also each church does a presentation of songs with dance steps.

One of the meditations is always led by someone from the host church. Another lady had been asked to lead it, but I was asked to prepare in case she couldn't – on the day, she had conjunctivitis and so I ended up leading. The theme with the women's group at the moment is Strong Women in Times of Crisis.

We looked at the story in the Old Testament of a widow during a drought who was preparing to use the final bits of flour and oil that she had to cook a last meal for her and her son before they died. The prophet Elijah had been told by God that a widow would feed him, and so asked the widow to use part of the flour and oil she had left to make him a small cake first, and then use the rest for herself and her son. He said that, if she did so, there would always be some flour and oil in her containers until the end of the drought. The widow did so, and miraculously there was sufficient flour and oil to feed all of them for the remainder of the drought (if you would like to read the story yourself, it's in 1 Kings 17). We talked about how we should always look to God in difficult times, and how He can help in miraculous and unexpected ways.

Women's lives here can be tough even without specific crises, and so I hope some of the reflections will help in day-to-day life as well.

Current health issues in Mozambique

Some of you may have heard about the boat that sank earlier this month off the coast of Mozambique, killing around 100 people. They were trying to escape a certain district due to a panic caused by false information about the ongoing cholera outbreak. There have been over 15,000 cases of cholera registered throughout the country since October last year, and 32 deaths.

There is also conjunctivitis going round at the moment. I personally have not had it, but I know people from church/colleagues/expat friends who have. Some people have been using homemade remedies to try and cure it, and sadly some have lost their sight due to these remedies.

These health situations illustrate just how dangerous a lack of good information/spreading of false information can be here.

Please pray

For the women's groups in the different churches in the area, that they would be a source of mutual encouragement to each other and open spaces for people exploring the faith.

For the teaching opportunities I have in church, both in the main church and in the women's group, but also for those times when I can just help out as part of the church.

Against the spread of misinformation about health issues, and for health professionals working in Mozambique.

Thank you for all your support and prayers for Mozambique and our work here.

Love Jane