Tuesday, April 3, 2018

1000 kilometers... 1000 Cokes Week

This week was a week of driving. That is the normal for me, but thankfully the destination this week wasn't the normal airport, post office and bank runs. This week I finally hit my mission long goal of making it to Marromeu.

Long week, long email:

Marromeu: It's a mission branch in the Sofala province, same province of Beira where there are two stakes. Marromeu however is about 7 hours away by car or a full days train ride. I had passed by a ´Marromeu 112km´ sign on the way to Nampula which re-sparked my drive (ha, pun, I still can make those) to go there. Thankfully the branch was in need of a visit. There are hundreds of registered members in Marromeu, like tons, but only about 140 active members. Its been over 2 years without a visit from leadership or missionaries, that is super hard on a branch----so VISIT!

We (President/Sister Senna, Elder Da Rosa and I) headed up to Beira on Wednesday night to get a rental car (great idea), very white and every clean. We spent the day prepping, wrapping up all our stuff in thick plastic and getting snacks (yes, lots of Coke). We left Thursday morning nice and early at 5am

We spent the first 37 km on a nice highway, then came the ´Turn right and continue for 180 km´.... There isn't a road to the right, just a dirt path, let it begin. After 180 km of very bumpy, very muddy and shaking up trip we made it back to that ´Marromeu 112km´ sign.... Then ´Turn Right, 114km´... More mud, more bumping up and down, more Coke.

The last 80 or so kilometers is when things got super cool. We entered into the forest, full tree coverage. Every missionary that comes here wants ´real Africa´, well we found it. We passed well over a 100 monkies along the way just chilling in the road, wolves, deer, pheasant like birds (Okay, I might have run one over), and all other types of wildlife. It was just Africa.

Once we arrived in Marromeu we missed the chapel on our first pass but ended up finding it by showing our name tags to people and people recognizing it from the ´big version of your name tag on that one building´. We got to the chapel, an actual chapel. The chapel is big and nice, tons of space... And the missionaries house is in the parking lot! How nice is that. A senior couple years ago built it, not sure who, but if you´re reading this somehow, well done.

The members in Marromeu are super excited to have missionaires back, and they showed it. The branch has 8 duplas of branch missionaires who have been teaching people... We showed up to 6 people 100% ready, fully taught and just needing baptisimal interviews. We reviewed everything, did the interviews and had a great baptisimal service on Saturday. It was awesome.

Marromeu is pretty spread out and lacking the ´comfort´ of Maputo. There isn't any type of super market or really even a restaurant. Its just rural Mozambique. Pretty much everyone works at ´a compania´ a sugar company... And what a city. This is going to be sweet.

Elder Da Rosa was called as the branch´s second counsler and I was called as the branch financial secretary (and I thought I would escape that title by the end of my mission). What does that mean? We will be reopening the Marromeu branch for missionary work. I am pumped. So so so much work to do. 2 months to do our absolute best. 2 years is a long time without help or a guiding (or correcting) hand. We have a lot to do there.

We are currently in Nampula though. Why? We are going to visit a group in Luaha (about 70 members). They are 400 km from Nampula, no water, no energy just living off the land. So, camping! We will head out there on Thursday, then next Friday head back to our beloved Marromeu, this time by train, never again by car.

Why never again by car? Well, the return trip was hard on the car.... I did my best to be careful, but the road won. The photos and videos on my Google Drive explain it better than I can. Suffice it to stay we got stuck at one point, 100% stuck, buried in mud. No help for who knows how far, no cell service and 11 people we rounded up could not push or pull us out. After we had all said our frantic prayers for help, President Senna prayed. Once he lifted his head, what comes around the corner? A beefy 4x4 truck with a nice thick chain to pull us out. Unlike any Mozambican I have ever met, he showed up, helped, gave me tips on upcoming mud pits and then just left without asking for money.... That NEVER happens here.... We have decided he was one of the 3 Nephites.

Well, this is stupid long already, but its been an awesome week. Lots was done, lots planned and lots of work to come!

Love you all!

Elder Howell

PS: Going to Marromeu will be the true test of if I am addicted to internet, electricity or Coke (the internet doesn't really work well, the electricity is faulty and the Coke often doesn't have carbonation.... aka not worth drinking)







1 comment:

  1. Thanks, for sharing the information, it’s very informative post!


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