where the pavement ends

The pavement ends a couple hours drive west from the capital of Cabo Delgado right here in the town of Montepuez.  Our mission team lives here in order to help develop a network of churches among the Makua-Metto people spread out in rural villages throughout this region.  There are few cars or trucks on these roads, so our visits to these villages usually include bringing people we are discipling along with us as well as blessing the sick and their families there with rides to the hospital.   
 
We often end up helping people bring some of their crops to market here in town.  And we are often called upon to transport the bodies of people who have passed away here in the local hospital so they can be buried near their kin. 

Having a reliable vehicle here in Mozambique has allowed us to bless many people. But now that we've been in Africa for close to ten years, our aging truck has had more and more problems.  Between the bad roads and the lack of quality parts available locally, it has become increasingly difficult for each of the families on the team to keep their vehicles up and running.

Driving back home on Tuesday, for example, our truck's radiator started leaking and we had to limp our way to Montepuez driving slowly through a very remote part of the country.  Yesterday, a friend and I took out the radiator, cleaned it and welded shut the hole.  So for now our vehicle is back up and running again, but it's certainly showing its age. 

As I've written elsewhere about our aging truck and how keeping it running has been more of a challenge lately, our friends from the Donelson Church in Nashville and the New Heritage Church in Allen, TX have joined forces to help us raise funds for a new vehicle.  Here is a link to a video they've made showing road conditions in Mozambique and why it is important for us to have a reliable vehicle.

Good quality used vehicles are almost impossible to come by.  And because of a 100% import tax on double cab trucks like the one we use, the cost for a new Toyota truck, comparable to a Tacoma is (gulp) around 47,000 dollars.  If you are interested in helping out with this effort, please make checks out to the "Donelson Church of Christ" with "Mozambique Truck Fund" in the note section and send them to: 2706 Old Lebanon Rd. Nashville, TN 37214. 

Thanks for keeping up with this ministry and keeping us in your prayers.

Grace and Peace,

Alan and Rachel