Read the update below from Trustee Berry Long on the current work of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Mozambique:
“We are grateful for The Outreach Foundation’s partnership with our Holistic Evangelism Project and the support of Sebber Banda and Rev. Carlos Faquione. Sebber and Carlos are doing a wonderful job of leading our project, and I thank the Lord for the talents and dedication of these amazing servant leaders.
Read MoreI am excited to share with you an update on our Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique. The year started with a bang. Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall in Mozambique in late February and then returned for a second landfall in March. Tete Province (an interior province) was spared the tremendous rainfall that coastal areas received, but crop preparation and planting were delayed, and village life was disrupted. We are grateful the damage and flooding were not as bad as we feared.
Read MoreOutreach trustee Berry Long recently shared good news from Sebber Banda, Project Director of the Holistic Evangelism in Tete Province partnership:
I want to share with you a message and photos from Sebber about a government celebration and opening for the women's shelter and staff kitchen that have been added at the Madzimaera Clinic.
Read MoreDear friends of Tete Province,
I want to share with you some of the exciting things that are unfolding in Tete Province in 2022. In spite of COVID restrictions, a shortage of skilled workers, raging inflation, and more rain than normal, we are experiencing a banner year. We are on track to drill 20 wells this year, with locations in both Tete Province (15) and neighboring Malawi (5). The need for clean water seems overwhelming, but we are truly making a difference. This will be a new yearly record for wells drilled by us.
Read MoreSebber Banda serves as Project Director for the Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique. Her work has transformed the health of thousands of people through programs such as lay leadership training, drilling wells, and constructing new churches in Tete Province. We recently received this exciting news from Sebber and Outreach trustee Berry Long:
Today, was a big day at Madzimaera!! It marked the groundbreaking for a shelter at the clinic for women to use after arrival before having their babies.
Read MoreDear friends of Tete Province,
I have been asked about the state of our Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique as our work winds down for this year and we prepare for the new year. In spite of the challenges from COVID-19, 2021 has been a busy and productive year, and 2022 is full of promise.
Sebber's family and Carlos and his family are healthy and doing well. Please pray for their continued safety and health. We praise the Lord for these dedicated servant leaders!
We celebrated the formal opening by the government of our new clinic in the village of Madzimaera. This much-needed clinic is very busy and is making a vital impact on the health of the many surrounding villages.
Read MoreOutreach trustee Berry Long recently shared the following update on the Holistic Evangelism in Tete Province, Mozambique partnership:
I want to give you an update on our Holistic Evangelism in Tete Province project. Project Director Sebber Banda is doing well. She lives in Blantyre, Malawi about an hour and a half from Tete Province, Mozambique. She moved to Blantyre years ago when her children were small so that they would go to school in an English-speaking country instead of Portuguese-speaking Mozambique. Her son Adam is at home doing online college classes. He had been in college in China but moved back home when the COVID-19 virus began to spread. Her daughter Nancy was accepted at a college in Lusaka, Zambia and Sebber just returned home from taking Nancy to college and getting her set up. They are excited that Nancy can begin her college studies, but they worry about the new wave of COVID cases in Lusaka. Please pray for Nancy and her friends to stay well.
Read MoreDear friends of Tete Province,
I am overjoyed to report that our health clinic in Tete Province has been officially opened! I received word from Sebber. She was there in person and was able to get some photos. Sebber is wearing a blue coat, and the Head District Commissioner in Tete Province is in red. Sebber said, " Clinic finally opened. We give all the Glory to God Almighty."
The new health clinic is in the rural village of Madzimaera. We have built a school and a church in this village and drilled a well. This clinic is about an hour's drive by vehicle to the nearest hospital in the border town of Zobue. Transportation to the hospital would be a formidable problem for the villagers who live around this clinic.
Read MoreDear friends of Tete Province,
Our Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique was challenged and stretched in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. We completed about one-third of our lay leadership training and dug 5 new wells before the border was closed in late March and activities in Tete Province were strictly limited. As the coronavirus started to spread in Africa, our project director Sebber Banda and project assistant Carlos Faquione turned their focus to educating the church congregations on mitigation practices like social distancing, hand washing, masks, and limited-size gatherings. Carlos, who is a pastor and lives in Tete Province, was able to work with our Mozambican Presbyterian church pastors to reinforce these safe practices from March through October when the borders were reopened.
Read MoreI write this letter on behalf of the CCAP Blantyre Synod, to express our vote of thanks and gratitude for the five boreholes that have been done in different Presbyteries…
The Outreach Foundation recently received a gracious letter from Rev. Dr. Billy Gana, General Secretary of the Central Church of Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod in Mozambique, Africa. Please click HERE to view the letter in its entirety.
Read MoreDear friends of Tete Province,
I want to share a brief update on our work in Tete Province. Coronavirus cases seem to be rising in Tete Province after a slow start. Sebber reports that the borders are closed except for large trucks bringing in food and supplies. Our work is on hold until the situation improves and the borders open.
Until the coronavirus appeared in Tete Province in late March or early April, we had been very busy. We finished construction that started in 2019 on a church at Amphande and teacher housing at Khanga. Sebber and Carlos led five leadership training seminars and arranged for COVID awareness drama performances. We were given a list of final "punch out " items by the government in January for the new clinic in the village of Madzimaera. We completed the list and were waiting for the grand opening ceremony to be scheduled. Unfortunately, just prior to the border closing, we were given another shortlist of new items deemed necessary by the government. We have not been able to address these minor items since the lockdown was instituted. As you can imagine, Sebber, Carlos, and the villagers are very frustrated at being so close to an opening but unable to address these final items. Please pray that we will be able to get back to work soon and open this much-needed clinic.
Read MoreNote from Outreach: We are receiving frequent updates from global partners on how they are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outreach trustee Berry Long shared the following news of partners in Tete Province:
Dear friends of Tete Province,
I want to give you an update on our Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique. The government of Mozambique has instituted social distancing and mitigation efforts to try and prevent widespread COVID-19 infection. At this point, there are very few reported cases in the country, but there has been very little testing. I am happy to report that Sebber and her family are well.
Read MoreDear friends and supporters of Tete Province,
Our trip to Tete Province, sponsored by The Outreach Foundation was great. Our thirteen-member team included fellow Trustee Tom McDow and his daughter Anne and granddaughter Julie, Outreach Foundation Associate Director Marilyn Borst, seven members of North Lake Presbyterian Church, and my wife Elizabeth and me. We gathered in NYC on Monday June 3 and departed for Africa the next day. After flying most of Tuesday and Wednesday, we met Sebber in Blantyre, Malawi. We enjoyed a delightful lunch at her home and unpacked the medical supplies donated by our home congregations.
Read MoreDear friends and supporters of Tete Province,
We had a wonderful trip to Tete Province. Our six-person team sponsored by The Outreach Foundation departed on Monday, June 11. After three flights, we arrived in Blantyre, Malawi on Wednesday, June 13. We were met at the airport by Nedson and his daughter, Esther. We enjoyed a lunch at Nedson’s home prepared by his wife Sarah. After unpacking the medical supplies donated by our home congregations, we drove about three hours to the Malawi town of Ntcheu near the Mozambique border in the northeast portion of Tete Province. On Thursday we had a full day of visiting remote congregations in the Angonia District of Tete Province – places we had never visited. We were welcomed warmly with singing and dancing. We saw newly constructed church buildings at Melenyangu and Mtangowatsanja.
Read MoreDear friends and supporters of Tete Province,
This was the eleventh time I traveled to Tete Province, and it may very well be the most memorable! The nine person team, sponsored by The Outreach Foundation, included my wife Elizabeth and fellow Trustee Tom McDow. We arrived at the Tete Province border on Thursday, June 8 with Rev. Nedson Zulu and Sebber Banda and project assistant Rev. Carlos Faquionne. Over the next four busy days, we visited with pastors and church leaders at wells, churches, and schools and witnessed a drama performance on preventing malaria and cholera. These events alone would have made a very successful mission trip. But we also experienced the dedication of the long- awaited Leadership Training Center (LTC).
We arrived at the LTC in the village of Tchessa, near Zobue, on Saturday afternoon and helped Nedson, Sebber, and Carlos attend to some last minute details for the dedication and worship on Sunday. Choirs from all over Tete Province started arriving about 5 p.m. on Saturday. They had come early to sing and praise God for the dedication of the LTC.
Read MoreDear Tete Province friends and partners,
Some of you have asked how the work has been progressing in Tete Province this year and I want to provide an update. Nedson, Sarah, Sebber and their families are well. Nedson and Sebber have been busy conducting leadership training seminars and overseeing some important construction projects.
Read MoreThe new Leadership Training Center continues to take shape in the village of Tchessa in Tete Province, Mozambique. The concrete floor for the dormitory/reception area/bathroom facilities is nearly complete, and work on the walls will soon start. A church that will double as the classroom has been rebuilt. A well has been dug. A kitchen/dining area has been constructed. Praise God for this remarkable progress!
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Dear Friends of Tete Province,
My wife Elizabeth, current Chairman of the Board of The Outreach Foundation Tom McDow, and I returned Thursday from leading a trip to Tete Province, Mozambique sponsored by The Outreach Foundation. Our team of nine came from Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia. We were joined by Nedson Zulu and Sebber Banda once we arrived in Blantyre, Malawi.
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