Maxixe, Mozambique November 1995 Dear Friends, Greetings! 1995 has been a good year for us. We were gladdened by a visit from Jon and Michelle in January. We were saddened by the death of my father, Guy H. Cannon, in February. Five students, Orlando and Lucinda Mazive; Bernardo and Adelia Chimate; and Marcelina Cuamba will finish the 4 year bible school course at the end of November. Their friends and relatives will be joining us here in Maxixe for a graduation ceremony and feast. Then this group of students will move with their families to Maputo where they have been assigned to work in three Congregational churches there. In a recent English class, some of my students cut photos from Maputo newspapers and put together two picture books: 1. "Mozambique Has Many Problems" Poverty, hunger, lack of food, lack of water, lack of clothes, lack of schools, street children, disabled people, crime, corruption, and inflation, are the English captions they wrote by the pictures in the first book. 2. "Mozambique Is Working To Solve Its Problems" People are working very hard, landmines are being removed, roads are being repaired, wells are being dug, new schools are being built, fields are being cleared and plowed, are some of the captions they wrote by the pictures in the second book. Life in Mozambique is full of problems. There is a continuous struggle between life and death. There is a precarious balance between hope and despair. The Gospel promises righteous governance by a defenseless infant, well-being with no resources, joy in suffering, greatness from humble serving, and life won through death. These are promises which we need to hear again and again. Last year we celebrated Christmas in Mozambique. Veronica Mazive invited us to Morrumbene to participate in the special Christmas program she had organized with the children of the Hebron Congregational Church. Veronica is one of our Bible School students and the wife of a pastor. The children sang Christmas songs. Pastor Chadreque Mazive led a special worship service and reminded the children of the Christmas story. Outside, in the shade of the cashew and mango trees, the children reenacted the Christmas drama. A very pregnant looking Maria and Josefa made a long hard journey. They stopped along the way to rest and to eat the provisions (fruit, grated cassava and peanuts) which they had brought for the journey, just as Mozambicans commonly do. The census takers were well organized and convincing in their role. The actors were still remembering the way their parents had registered to vote in 1994 and that provided the model for the census of Caesar Augustus. A sheet- wrapped angel with a paper star dangling from a bamboo pole led the wise men to the place where Jesus was born. There they presented their gifts and gave honor to the King born in a stable. The circumstances of Christ's birth somehow makes it good that so many of us in Mozambique worship Christ in reed and pole churches and honor him in poverty. Brilliant red flamboyant trees and green mangoes dangling like Christmas ornaments remind us that Christmas is coming. Sunday School children are preparing Christmas dramas again. As they reenact Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem we think about weary people, refugees, homeless children, trudging the roads and streets of our troubled world. As we celebrate the coming of the Christ Child we will celebrate the beautiful children of Mozambique and other lands who are to our world a source of hope. As the drama unfolds on the sand in front of the church or on the big stage of the planet we will anticipate some surprises: stars, angels, heavenly music and wise men; or rulers who kneel before children. Lawrence joins me in wishing you Peace and Joy, Carol C. Gilley Return to index page