Two Weeks To Go Before We Go

With just under two weeks left before the trip the packing is well under way. My wife and I had lunch today with Tim and Connie Sharrock and Bob and Vivian McMillan who will also be on this trip. We discussed more details of the trip. Our project will be to pour the concrete for the gymnasium at the Seminary. Connie says the floor will be 40ft by 90ft. That comes out to 65-70 yards of concrete if I have my math right.  We will be working out in the open so sun protection and lots of water will be essential. The forecast for this week in Maputo calls for partly to mostly sunny weather with highs in the low 90's and lows about 70 with very high humidity. I am guessing the forecast will be very similar for the last two weeks of February while we are there.

Today I watched as people at MV First Church signed up to donate food for the trip. All food donations are due in to Connie Sharrock by Sunday February 6. Then she has the challenge of making it all fit into the exact number of tubs we are allowed to take (one per traveler) and without going over the 50 pound limit per container. 

Please be in prayer this week for the team as we prepare and pray especially for Tim Sharrock. He will be flying to Mozambique this Wednesday (February 2) to distribute thousands of Gideon Bibles in the week or so before our team arrives. I am looking forward to the privilege of helping him distribute Bibles once we arrive as well. With the forecast for a midweek snowstorm here in Central Ohio, pray that he is able to fly out on time Wednesday. Pray for his safety and success and for the other Gideons from the US and South Africa that he will be working with in Maputo in the coming days.

Tim made a similar advance trip with the Gideons before our NCO team arrived in Ghana in March 2009. He got to welcome our team to Ghana right along side the local missionaries. We will look forward to seeing his familiar face in the Maputo Airport after our long journey to get there in couple of weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has checked out the blog so far. With 100 hits already and two weeks left until the trip I think this is going to be a great way for us to stay connected. I look forward to posting pictures and updates from Africa soon. 

Background on the Seminary Where We Will Live and Work

Three weeks exactly until the NCO District W&W Trip.  Team members should be working on getting malaria pills and starting to seriously work through the packing checklist by now. Team members are praying for one another and the project and we covet the prayers of everyone on the district as we ask God to go before us and prepare the way. Please pray for the team and for God's blessing in the construction project, but more importantly pray for God's blessing on the hearts and lives of the students and staff of the Seminary. 

In case you are interested in learning a little about the Seminary where the team will stay and work on this trip, I have copied the information below from the "Nazarene Seminary in Mozambique Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nazarene-Seminary-in-Mozambique-Seminario-Nazareno-em-Mocambique/119611191421111?v=wall

"Seminário Nazareno em Moçambique was founded in 1982 in Maputo as Instituto Bíblico Nazareno by Rev. Simeão Mandlate and Prof. Vicente Mbanze. With few resources, the school was established as a night school with classes held in local churches. Some support was supplied by Rev. Frank Howie, Nazarene mission director for Mozambique ministries and resident in Johannesburg.
In 1989, with the start of rapid growth of the Church of the Nazarene in the northern provinces of Mozambique, the churches of Mozambique requested authorization from the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene to establish Seminário Nazareno em Moçambique as a residential Bible school. The authorization was granted and the first class of students was admitted in February, 1990. Land was obtained from the Maputo City Council and the process of preparing plans for building was begun.
Ground was broken for the first building in June, 1995 under the direction of missionary builder, Rev. Jim Williams. The building consisting of classrooms, offices, restrooms and a large room designated to be a library in the future, was completed and dedicated in late 1997. Construction then proceeded in 1998 of a men's dormitory, largely under the inspiration of Rev. Randy Craker from Kirkland, Washington, USA. Under his leadership and inspiration, the Mozambique Miracle project was launched in early 1999 and continued into 2004. The project consisted of more than 30 teams of volunteers, largely from the U.S. Northwest, who donated funds, time and effort to help construct the campus.
As of the beginning of 2010, 13 buildings have been constructed on the site in the Laulane area of Maputo. More than 350 students have graduated from the Seminary and are active in ministry. Currently Seminário Nazareno em Moçambique is under the direction of Rev. Margarida B. Langa. Dr. David W. Restrick serves as Academic Dean. Seven other faculty members serve a student body of approximately 65 students representing eight of the ten provinces of Mozambique. The seminary also serves as the academic hub for the church's extension education program, Instituto Bíblico Nazareno de África Lusófona (IBNAL), which functions across the country of Mozambique.
In addition to serving the pastoral preparation needs of the Church of the Nazarene in Mozambique, Seminário Nazareno em Moçambique has also trained pastors for the United Baptist Church of Mozambique, the Evangelical Assemblies of God of Mozambique, the Free Methodist Church of Mozambique and the United Methodist Church of Mozambique."

Count Down to Africa

T minus 5 weeks until we leave for Maputo, Mozambique. The NCO team will be helping build a gym at a Nazarene school campus in Maputo. We had our team meeting in December at the home of Tim and Connie Sharrock. We filled out forms and turned in Passports and pictures to be sent off to Washington DC for our travel visas. We drew names for prayer partners and discussed our flight schedule. The travel to get to and from Africa will be an adventre in and of itself. We leave Mount Vernon First Church at 1:30 AM February 12. We fly from Columbus to DC, then on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and finally Maputo at 1:35 PM local time on February 13. Total time in the air...19 hours and 5 minutes. Since we will get to go on safari at the end of the trip we will leave for home on February 28 from Johannesburg, South Africa and fly back to Ethiopia, then on to Rome, then DC and finally Columbus, arriving homeat 2:03 PM on March 1. Total return air time...23 hours and 43 minutes.

I recieved an email message from Dr. David Restrick on Sunday. He will be watching over our team in Maputo. He is the academic dean at Seminario Nazareno em Mozambigue (official language of Mozambique is Portuguese). He assured me we will have WIFI Internet connectivity while on campus where we will live and work. So we should all be able to stay in touch with friends and family on a regular basis during this trip.

Over the next few weeks all the team members should be getting started on malaria pills and packing. Connie reminded us all of the importance of good bug spray since the bugs are pretty bad in this part of Africa. Bug spray with 40% deet is about as important as sun block on this trip. we learned that the hard way in Belize a few years ago. Just ask Connie:-).