Maxixe, Mozambique 14 May 1994 Dear friends: Veronica Mazive is a special friend of mine. Her husbandChadreque is the pastor of the Congregational Church at Morrumbene, a small town north of Maxixe. In 1992, Chadreque and Veronica came every week for English lessons and stayed overnight with us. In 1993, Veronica came to the Bible School in order to become better equipped to lead women's groups in the church. In March, 1994, we travelled to Zimbabwe together to see work being done for and by women in our churches there. Veronica goes home to Morrumbene each weekend and one weekend she invited me to accompany her. We left Balaza Friday noon, walking the 2 kilometers to the National Road #1. Both of us had a small bag of personal belongings but in addition Veronica carried a 25 kilogram bag of maize on her head. We waited by the road for about an hour before a "taxi" - in this instance a small pick-up truck - stopped to pick us up. It was already quite loaded with people and their things: a bookshelf, and bags of maize, onions and coconuts. We passed small villages and markets. We saw many people walking along the road. We passed groves of coconut and cashew trees with cassava planted between. We crossed three rivers and occasionally caught glimpses of Inhambane Bay in the distance. The Mazives live in a densely populated settlement of dislocated families about one kilometer from the center of Morrumbene. Their home consists of 4 small reed houses, with roofs of palm fronds. The houses are well built and attractive. The yard is swept clean and there ar well-tended flower beds. The household consists of Chadreque, Veronica and four of their six children. Laura (22) manages the household while Veronica is away at school. Herminio (18) is apprenticed to a carpenter. Quinita (11), a 5th grader, is a slim attractive girl who cheerfully helps her mother and older sister with tasks like fetching water from the well nearly a kilometer from home. Almeida (8) is a 2nd grader. I was warmly welcomed. Almeida, who had visited me at Balaza several times, was especially happy to see me and quickly brought a chair for me to sit in a shady spot in the yard. Herminio told me that I would use his house and he showed me the chairs and stool that he had made. The neighbors were surprised to see a white stranger but came to greet me. Laura put a bucket of hot water, a new bar of soap and the family's best towel in the reed bathhouse and invited me to bathe. After that treat, Laura served tea with bread and hot crisp fried fish. Veronica took me for a walk to see their church building. The Morrumbene Church, like most of our churches, is built of poles, reeds and palm branches. It is attractive but not very durable. As we walked along we greeted dozens of people. We passed empty houses and Veronica explained that people ar returning to the places from which they fled during the war. THE Mazives will move to a better place, as soon as Chadreque has completed the houses he is building for them. We called on several people who were ill and prayed with them. At one home I was given a welcoming gift of eggs. Saturday morning I woke to the sound of the sweep, sweep, sweep of the yard being swept clean and the chop, chop, chop of firewood being cut for the day's cooking. Having visited me many times, Veronica knows that I like an early morning cup of coffee, so, at 5 a.m., with a gentle knock on the door, she brought me a steaming cup of coffee. We left Morrumbene and went to Tinga Tinga on foot and by rowboat. We were poled through the mangroves and we saw flocks of flamingos. Veronica met with some women of the Tinga Tinga Congregational Church. She helped them to prepare for their participation in the annual regional meeting of Xirilo (the uniformed women's organization). We stayed the night in the home of Agostinho and Amelia Muriane. Agostinho is a lay leader of the Tinga Tinga church, a student at the Zakewu Likumbe Bible School, a skilled mason, and the owner of two small fishing boats. Amelia served fresh shrimp for supper caught from Agostinho's boats in Morrumbene bay. Sunday morning, Veronica led the service in the Tinga Tinga Church. She admitted some new members of Xirilo. They were dressed in their uniforms and acknowledged by the congregation. I preached the sermon on the theme of the Xirilo conference: "Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink." Sunday afternoon we returned to Morrumbene by boat. We walked from the boat landing to the Mazive's home, stopping to admire Veronica's cassava fields along the way. Chadreque had returned from Barane where he had been teaching and preaching about stewardship. We spent the evening talking together. Chadreque said how much it meant to them to have me visit and I tried to tell him what a privilege it was for me to do so. I remembered the saying that you shouldn't judge a person until you have walked a distance in her moccasins. I didn't walk in Veronica's moccasins nor did I carry her 25 kilogram bag of maize on my head. But I understand her better and value her more for having walked beside her for a few days. Yours faithfully, Carol C. Gilley Return to index page