Valentine's Day in Mozambique

Bob bending rebar

Carlos (left) supervising Juan, Don and Tim tying rebar

Connie serving water to Mike

Maputo on final approach

Monday morning in Mozambique I woke up to my alarm and fumbled through the mosquito net to turn it off, pleasantly surprised that I had gotten a good long night’s sleep after two previously sleepless nights. That was the recurring story at breakfast. Not completely over the jet lag but well rested we enjoyed the morning breeze as we ate breakfast and Connie shared a devotion with us.

Some of you back home probably would like to know who is on the team. So here is a brief descripton:

W&W Coordinator/Project Superintendent: David Restrick (from Ohio), and his wife Rhoda from England

Team Worksite Forman: Carlos Bauza from Argentina. He is here for this project with his wife and three daughters

NCO Team Coordinators: Tim and Connie Sharrock, members of Mount Vernon First Church.

Mikel Norris, retired pastor, former pastor of MV First

Don Beecher, from Ashland Church of the Nazarene

Nancy Ritterbach, from Fremont  Church

Juan and Eva Vega, from Bedford Church of the Nazarene. Juan is originally from Puerto Rico and Eva is from Mexico.

Bob and Vivian McMillan, from MV First.

Kevin Hughes, from MV First

At 8AM we headed out to meet with Carlos Bauza to report to work. We quickly learned that job instructions would typically be needed in at least three languages. Our boss Carlos speaks Spanish, Portuguese and English. The workers from Mozambique speak Portuguese. Juan and Eva speak Spanish and English. The rest of us just wait for the English translation to come out.

The building plan calls for 14 columns to support the future roof of the gym/multipurpose building, a ring beam to support future walls all the way around, then a concrete floor inside this roughly 40 by 90 foot area. We are waiting for an excavator to come and grade the site, but since the operator has not shown up for over a week since he was supposed to do the job, Carlos has hired seminary students to clear the land and level the site by hand. The soil here is a reddish/brown sand that does not retain moisture and it does not compact so it is relatively easy to move with shovels.

Our team spent the day working in the shade or “shadow” as Carlos says it. In the shadow of a large tree we cut, bent and tied rebar that will be used to reinforce the 14 columns and the ring beam around the building. Though it was very warm, the breeze was perfect and so long as we paced ourselves it was very pleasant. We built the rebar frames for all 14 columns and five 20 foot sections of the ring beam reinforcement. It was a successful day on the worksite. Soon, maybe tomorrow, we have to dig the 14 big holes for the columns. 

Connie and her crew had a successful day of setting up the kitchen, doing laundry, and preparing great meals including a Valentine’s Day banquet attended by 20 people including our team, the Restricks, the Bauza family, a Youth With a Mission student from Slovenia and a visiting couple from Illinois. According to Connie, grocery prices are high, except for some local things like fresh fruit. Yesterday Carlos bought pineapples at a road side market for about 20 cents a piece.

The team is doing well and making great new friends quickly here on campus. There are always local people around including seminary students, their spouses and children, plus the 480 11^th and 12^th graders who attend school here every day. This is a vibrant thriving ministry of the Church of the Nazarene. We are fortunate to be able to play a small part in helping enhance the faciities for the student God brings through the campus gates.