Tete Province Trip Blog Day 1

Adapted from Outreach Foundation Trustee Berry Long’s 2024 Trip Report

Our trip to Tete Province, sponsored by The Outreach Foundation, was great. Our four-member team included fellow Trustee Tom McDow, Outreach Foundation Executive Director Mark Mueller, and my wife Elizabeth and me. We gathered in Washington, DC, on Monday, June 10, and departed for Africa the next day. After flying most of Tuesday and Wednesday, we met Sebber Banda in Blantyre, Malawi. After a joyful reunion at the airport, we drove to the Malawi border near Mozambique, stopping on the way to see several wells we had drilled. We finally arrived in Tete Province on Thursday morning. We met up with Carlos Faquione and the pastor of the Zobue church district, Rev. Valentim Manuel. We had a meeting with the District Commissioner for the Zobue area, who thanked us on behalf of the government for the wells, schools, churches, teacher houses, and the clinic that had been built in the past few years. Then on to a visit with the Zobue church. The church members greeted us warmly, dancing, singing, and showing us hospitality. Our hearts were full as we left them.

Next, we visited the two schools we built last year in Zobue. First, we saw the Zobue Secondary School and then we visited the Zobue Primary School. The teachers were very appreciative of the new schools. In the same area, we visited a well drilled in 2020 and one drilled last year. The gift of clean water is such a blessing.

We also visited a new church construction site in the nearby village of Pista. The 70 members are currently worshipping under a grass roof supported by poles. They are providing their sweat equity by clearing the site for the new church, making the bricks, and collecting the sand and stones needed for the foundation. They also purchased the land for $900 from the local chief. Construction will start very soon. Then, we traveled to the nearby village of Tchessa, where we would stay at the Leadership Training Center (LTC) during our time in Tete Province. Our first day was very full and rewarding.