stories from the field #7: Pemba

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So this is Pemba. (The clip is not the best of quality, but there are thousands of hut-like houses littered across this landscape.) Pemba is situated on the southeastern coast of Africa, in northern Mozambique, right on the Indian Ocean, sweet!! It is estimated that 50,000(?) people live in Pemba, but to come up with an accurate number is literally impossible. The two main religions in northern Mozambique are Islam and witchcraft, it is a much more pure form of witchcraft than our waterdowned version of it though; in Africa, it has power. I spent last summer in Pemba working with Iris Ministries. Iris has a children's center there as well as a Bible school for pastors, and just last year they inagurated a missions school as well. Life can be difficult in Pemba. Electricity is scarce, toilets are outdoor, running water is almost non-existent, people don't have enough to eat, malaria and AIDS run rampant; and few people around the globe do anything to help. I pray that this would change, and that the secular world would put the needed resources, finances, and manpower into helping these people who are so in need of that help. Anyway, go to a Pemba, get out of your comfort zone, spend some time with a child that has never been truly valued. In the end, it will truly be worth it.