Mozambique is called “Terra de Boa Gente,” Portuguese for “The Land of Good People.” Anybody who goes to Mozambique will find friendliness, according to Onei and Dorlim, our ministry partners there, “Mozambique is like Gleanings,” Onei said. “You go there and you don’t want to leave. The people are very warm, and it’s a beautiful country. The landscape has some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. People love the tropical climate and the food, which is a mixture of Portuguese, Indian, and local cuisine. However, Mozambique is a poor country overall, with a great difference between the rich and the poor. In the capital, Maputo, resources are present. As you move north, the level of poverty increases. Provinces in the north are more rural, less developed. Access to drinkable water is a big challenge. People need to walk far to the place where they get water.”
MULTIPLE CHALLENGES IN THE NORTH
The north of Mozambique faces multiple challenges, including terrorist groups and natural disasters. “Terrorist groups are still active in the north of Mozambique, ongoing,” Onei said. “On top of that we keep on having cyclones that have been hitting that same region repeatedly. People have moved to camps due to terrorism and cyclones, and they are considered internally displaced people. They are not in a position where they can access everything they need. Flooded regions cause displacement, but people will move back after the flood, and then the cycle repeats when there is another flood.”
FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS
Onei and Dorlim, who were studying medicine in the US in 2020 and who stayed at Gleanings with their kids during that season, are now the bridge, the middle people, to connect, coordinate, and arrange shipments of food from Gleanings to their country. The first shipment to Mozambique was in 2023. Now a second container has arrived, and food is currently being distributed to people in dire need. “Our second container of food is being distributed right now,” Onei said. “Our support is focused on the region of Cabo Delgado. In Cabo Delgado, the ministry team is focusing on eight communities, selected by the missionaries there who have a good understanding of the needs. The intent is always to go to those who are the worst off; 1,400 families will be receiving the food within those eight communities. We are also concerned with the province just to the south, Nampula. That province has the port of entry, and it was hit by worse natural disasters—hurricanes destroyed a bridge there, and the food was stuck there for three weeks. Our hearts are heavy for what is happening in Nampula. We want to have another container dedicated to that region. We need to first have the necessary structure on the ground to be ready for a container there.”
SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THE FOOD
“The people are Muslim,” Onei said. “The food from Gleanings is a new way to show them that we, their Christian neighbors, care. Above all, it’s caring. The food has enabled the connection for the people to also help them in ways beyond the food, and get them to a place where they can work and care for themselves. Missionaries visit the communities ahead of distributing the food, in order to demonstrate how to prepare the food. Then on the day when they distribute, they first share the gospel and then distribute. They speak to the crowd but also in smaller groups sit with the men, the leadership of those communities. They use a gospel resource called From Creation to Christ.”
GOD’S GIFT OF NUTRITION SAVES CHILDREN’S LIVES
One boy’s life was saved recently. He is Jay from Mecufi, which was hit by a particularly bad cyclone in February 2025. “He is two-and-a-half but he looks like he’s one,” the missionary said. “He was so malnourished that he had not yet taken his first steps. He also struggles with a type of hernia. Now, after a few months of proper nutrition, he is walking.” Jay’s family will be receiving Gleanings soup mix in this current distribution. Praise God!
A WIDOW SAVED BY CHRIST
“A woman lost her daughters and husband in terrorist attacks. Her girls were abducted, and the dad was trying to find them and got very sick and then he died—also from heartache. She was left alone with her other young son. She received food, and the gospel was shared with her. She began to visit the ministry and participate in training. She learned how to sew, and now she started her own business sewing school uniforms. She makes a living out of that. The impact of this is immense for her. It started with soup mix. Now she is able to sustain herself and her son. She came to Christ, and she is really a part of the ministry family now.”
PRAYER REQUESTS
We need more food. Two containers per year would be great. We also want to pray for the situation with terrorism in the north. Pray that the ministries there will have what they need to make a difference in the lives of the people.