Firsts in Mozambique

There have been so many “firsts” in the last three weeks… but near and dear to my heart would be my first flights in Mozambique.  I was able to ride along on two of Kent’s trips last week (Kent is another pilot here who we studied with for six months in Portugal).  The scenery was spectacular and it felt FANTASTIC to be back in a little plane.  My flying may be rusty after over a year out of “the office” but my love for flying is holding stong.  Huge kudos to Grady for staying home with the boys AND doing the laundry so that I could go.  (Don’t feel too sorry for him – he got to fly two days later.)

My ride to the airport showed up at 6:45 and after unlocking the series of 3 padlocks to get out on to the street (our front door locks with a padlock), I hopped in the Land Cruiser for the bumpy ride to the hangar across town.  We preflighted the Cessna 206 (a 6 seater aircraft) and watched the low clouds on the horizon.  As conditions improved, holes in the clouds opened up and they rose to allow us views of the mountains in the distance.  With no/limited weather forecasting, our weather briefing consisted of Kent’s knowledge of the area, the view from the hangar and a phone call to our destination to check their conditions.  Kent made the decision to go, and we were off!

(waterfall enroute)

Our first flight of the day was an empty leg westward to Gurué to pick up a missionary couple there who have been working in Mozambique since 1986.

(approaching Gurue)

While Kent called ops to verify we were on the ground, I was talking with the couple and the guy who drove them to the airstrip.  The driver had never been around a plane, but he was really interested, so I had him hop in the pilot’s seat and attempted to explain the controls and instruments to him in Portuguese… we both had fun even if my aviation vocabulary is a little lacking!  On the return flight to Nampula, the guys sat in front because this missionary loves small planes but almost never has an opportunity to ride.  This offered me a great chance to sit back and soak up the views as well as hear about their work in Moz.

(Gurue airstrip - I think they're cutting grass.  Turn 160 degrees or so from this shot and you'd see the same building as the one used for our blog backdrop.)

They came to Nampula to teach the Bible while the country was still in civil war.  When they arrived, Nampula was full of people from all over Northern Mozambique who had fled the violence to the relative safety of the city.  Food was in short supply, and people feared even going to the edges of town to farm, as often those who did were killed.


Nevertheless, the missionaries said those early years were very fruitful because so many pastors from all over Northern Mozambique were gathered together in the city due to the war.  So they studied the Bible together, and then after the war most returned back to their old villages.  Through that experience this couple saw a need for Bible translation, so when they could they moved to a village for that purpose.  Three weeks ago, the Bible translation they have been working on for over twenty years was submitted for final editing!


These missionaries used MAF to reach the airlines taking them stateside for furlough: 75 minutes in the air instead of a full day of travel time over the bumpy interior roads.  When they return to Moz, we are scheduled to fly them home where the translation corrections will be reviewed and then the Bible published!  Their dream is to go on to create a study Bible to aid pastors and believers when the current project is complete. 

(Nampula International Airport) 

(fields on final into Nampula)

After lunch we flew out to pick up another missionary couple, this time headed in a southerly direction to the coast.  On the outbound leg there were no passengers, which meant we were able to haul a little cargo as a favor.  We returned some iron lawn chairs and a table to their owners in Pebane.  (They’d been loaned out to a couple in Nampula who are moving away now, and would have made for a very full Land Rover trip if going by land).  I was thankful it wasn’t my job to figure out how to fit them in the plane!  Flying felt great, but until we hit the coastline of the Indian Ocean, the views were not that lovely - it was too hazy because of fire season obscuring the horizon. 

Pebane’s airstrip is right on the shoreline, surrounded by miles of sandy fields and palm trees.  It is apparently also one of the worst airstrips for people encroaching on the runway during landing and takeoff.  It is rather unnerving to see people lining both sides of the strip on approach.  Kent was prepped for a go-around if anyone came too close.  After shutdown the plane was swarmed by people, mainly kids.  They were super curious, but at the same time they spooked pretty easily.  Anytime you needed to move anywhere, people had to back out of your way.  We were so busy with unloading the awkward chairs and introducing ourselves to our passengers that I forgot to take pictures L.  Takeoff is a sight for the senses in Pebane – you climb out over the cliff and the Indian Ocean!

This couple has been in SE Africa since 2012 and they were out on a field survey.  They will soon be moving to live among the people they are translating the Bible with.  In a little over an hour, we made the trip that would be a very long and dangerous day by car.  (Travel on the roads in that area is not safe right now due to political unrest).  It was a great trip and they now have an invitation to come play games with us when they’re in Nampula. 

(Several views from final into Nampula)

I am excited to be back in a plane, getting back into the swing of things.  (I am less excited about studying for my upcoming Mozambique aviation exam.)  Please be praying for us as we continue with this transition!  The boys are adjusting well – and we’re finally getting settled.  Pray we can make friendships with our neighbors and others in our community and that Jesus’ love would be evident in our lives. 

(my shirts are still enroute to Moz... so I look a bit silly in Grady's shirt with the sleeves rolled up!)