A Postcard from Macanga, Mozambique

On the 17th of May, 2012, we arrived in to Mozambique to start the new Redemptorist Mission, involving confreres from the Dublin and Fortaleza Units, write John Bermingham and Brian Holmes on their mission in Mozambique. On the banks of the River Zambezi as it flows through Central Mozambique we find the Province of Tete.  About 220 km distant from the City of Tete, is the District of Macanga, where we have been given the task of establishing the new mission.

Macanga is a District about the size of County Cork, 6,999 km², and the estimated population is 110,000 people, about 40% being Catholic. Due to two different wars, one for Independence from the Portuguese, and a Civil War between different factions, this part of Mozambique has suffered severely. Bridges, roads, schools, hospital, houses, many were destroyed by the violence of the wars. It has not been possible for priests to live there and serve the people for over 40 years. So the Bishop of Tete has invited us to take on this mission, and the local people whom we met when we were here on a previous reconnoitring visit, have been praying day and night that the we would be able to come, live with them and journey with them as they struggle to rebuild up their lives.
At the heart of the District of Macanga is the town of Furancungo, where we live, and scattered over the District are 65 villages with small Christian Communities all of which we have visited. We are being kept busy, getting to know this huge area, grappling with a very different culture and tradition, trying to identify concrete problems and imagine how to tackle them.

We fully realize that these Christians have held on to their faith for years and years, and handed it on to the succeeding generations, and have their own deep experience of Christianity, all with very little support from priests or religious. They have built up a very impressive organization of lay leadership. We must be careful not to undermine these community leaders, nor diminish their ministry. On the contrary we will have to learn a lot from their experience, from their fidelity, their courage and simplicity. As John the Baptist said in another context: They must increase and we must decrease.

And our first task will be to learn their language, Chichewa. Not an easy task, as it is hard to get people that can teach the language to foreigners. While everyone speaks the language, few can read it, and still less still explain to us the different mysteries we come across. At this stage we can say Mass, baptize their children, bless their weddings, and bury their dead. This last is probably the most complicated task, as the death and burial of a person is full of traditional rituals which are carried out faithfully by the community.

When we were just beginning to tackle the District of Macanga, the bishop, a young Mozambican, pleaded with us to also take on the neighbouring area called Vila Mualadze, another extensive district along the borders of Zambia and Malawi. So we have another 67 communities to care for, with the farthest away village about 180km from where we live, about seven hours journey.

So if we are to be effective at all we need a solid vehicle. This is where your generous funding will be used. We are in the process of buying a Ford Ranger, 4WD pick-up. It costs about €17,000 to buy in South Africa, and another €1,000 to import. Missio, a German missionary funding group have given €9,150 towards this vehicle. The balance, €8,850, will be covered by the generous support of all who took part in the Miscellany gathering last year.

We wish to thank you sincerely for such generous support. And we promise to do our best here to bring this mission forward and to keep you informed as we journey forward. God bless all.