World Mission Partnership provides small grants to ministers so they can experience the world church during their sabbaticals. This summer, Rev. Stephen Taylor and his wife Linda visited Phakamisa in South Africa (a ministry of Pinetown Methodist Church and, as it happens, one of MCI’s World Development & Relief partners), and Passo a Passo in Mozambique.

Stephen writes:

We arrived early at Phakamisa and joined their morning devotions, which were filled with spontaneous praise, testimonies and a Bible Study in Zulu and English. “Phakamisa” is a Zulu word meaning ‘to lift up’, and their work includes early childhood development, wandering schools, a caregiver programme and AIDS advocacy.

Zethu Kuzwayo, the director of Phakamisa, took us to visit their “wandering schools”, on the outskirts of Durban. The schools are small, just one room with up to 30 children. Such a warm welcome from the teachers and children! We visited one of the community gardens where unemployed people learn to cultivate and grow crops which they can use to feed their families and sell in markets. We also attended the multi-lingual Sunday morning worship in Pinetown Methodist Church, bringing greetings from the Methodist Church in Ireland.

We travelled on to Gondola in central Mozambique where we were hosted by Francis and Ursula Fitzsimons, directors of Passo a Passo (‘Step by Step’) for over 30 years. Francis’ late mother was a member in Dundrum for many years. Knowing my background in engineering, Francis asked me to oversee the plumbing of a new toilet block for the teachers and install cisterns in the extended student block. The toilet block project took up most of my time, but I did get to speak at their Sunday service and to share (through interpreters) at the men’s prison on two occasions and to visit the farm. The prison visits reflect Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 where he says, “I was in prison and you visited me.” These weekly visits by Francis and his team over 30 years are a source of comfort and encouragement to the 70 men who share a small living space. Visiting the experimental farm was also a fascinating experience as they seek to develop and teach more efficient methods of subsistence farming.

 Linda writes:

Looking back on my experience, my thoughts turn to the little children in the wandering schools. As we arrived the children were reciting a poem entitled “I’m glad to be me”, about their uniqueness and how special and precious they are. These little ones were being given education, food and clothes and also, importantly, a poem I pray they will remember all their lives.

In Mozambique my memory will be of sharing in two women’s Bible studies, one in the bush, one in an outdoor classroom. The women always started with praise and giving testimony, not afraid or reluctant to speak out loud what God had done in their lives during the past week. I had the privilege of spending a day in the bush on home visits with the palliative nurse Dara, where love was shown, visits were unhurried, basic medication given and each visit finished with prayer and a promise to be back again. I visited a nutritional baby clinic, a preschool and a special needs clinic. This last clinic especially interested me as my work is with people with disabilities. I was struck by how little equipment and how little space they had. I met with a woman who had travelled a long distance on foot with her daughter for treatment. This child can come to the clinic once a fortnight and can come while her mother is physically able to carry her child on her back wrapped in a “capulana” (shawl). The staff adapted what little they had, did without what they hadn’t and bathed the mother and child in love, acceptance and prayer. I was also involved in handing out school jumpers for winter term (25 degrees!), visiting a young teen who had lost his leg in an accident and did some conversational English with a lovely Christian nurse learning English. This is my little snapshot of a very big experience.

We are very grateful to our Church family in Dundrum Methodist who supported us in prayer and raised money for Phakamisa and Passo a Passo. We were struck by how these two separate ministries had identified similar needs in their communities and responded in very similar ways, always motivated and strengthened by their faith in Jesus and their desire to share the Gospel, not only with words but with actions. We witnessed a spiritual depth in both places. If there is one thing we can bring back to our fellowship it’s the need to pray and depend on God in every situation and to give testimony to all the everyday things that God provides for us.