Well we ventured out of Angoche in our newly “repaired” 4 x 4 heading along the 180km track to Nampula and quickly encountered a problem.

Bridge repair

At one of the river crossings the culvert had failed and instead of road there was a very large hole! Fortunately having inspected alternatives on foot we were able to cross the river in the vehicle and made it up the bank and back onto the road.

The journey takes us through just a few remote towns with long stretches of very little development and no mobile phone signal in between.

Coming into Nampula the engine made a bag of spanners noise and lights came on like a Christmas tree. The oil in the engine had decided that it was better off on the ground rather than in the motor, but fortunately some friends from the SIL Base came and towed us the last few hundred meters to where we were staying overnight.

Jo'burg Botanic Gardens

So we flew down to Jo’burg, stopping at Beira and Maputo on the way and were welcomed by our good friends Graham and Nicola White. They work with an organisation called Oasis based in Cosmo City helping to develop the skills of young people to a point where they can secure employment or further education. We had a lovely time with them, telling our Angoche stories, meeting the staff at Oasis and hitting the nearby shopping centre. A quick meal in the airport with Dave Vann making his way from Swaziland to Kenya brought us a wonderful bag of goodies and some welcome “home news” and it was lovely to see the “young American”. So with super short haircuts, nice toiletries and having sampled cappuccino and latte we made our way back to Mozambique.

Annie and Inacio looking pleased with themselves having re-crossed the river on our way back to Angoche

We arrived back to discover the disease affecting the car was terminal so our friend Inacio collected us in the Nissan pick-up and brought us back home to Angoche. We discovered that Asssane, who works in the house, had done a marvellous job whilst we were away. I had showed him how to re-upholster the dining chairs and he’d also waved the paint brush around the kitchen and the front doors.

We return to a town suffering from famine and sickness but are taking steps to try and alleviate the problems with the help of others so that basic food supplies can be distributed amongst the community. So it’s nice to be home putting in place some of the things we bought in Jo’burg and to receive a warm welcome from our friends here, but we are also faced with continuing challenges and value your continued interest, support and prayers as we follow our Koti Journey.

Julian at Jo'berg botanic gardens (for Hannah!)