Mozambican Bishop

When we first arrived in the country, we were met by Armindo, who is the Mozambican ‘Volunteers In Mission’ (VIM) coordinator for the United Methodist Church. He had arranged meetings for us with several government officials, and he would also be our driver for most of the next week (except on those occasions where he let me drive: it was fun to get to drive on the left side of the road again!).

After dropping off our bags at the Methodist Guesthouse where we stayed, the first thing we did was drive out to the UM Bishop’s house in the outskirts of the city. The Bishop had recently had foot surgery, so he was at home rather than at the office. It’s hard to explain what it meant for me to meet Bishop João Somane Machado. I don’t toss around the word ‘hero’ lightly, but he is one of my heroes. He played a pivotal role in bringing peace to the country of Mozambique after 15 years of civil warfare between Frelimo (the ruling party) and Renamo (the rebel faction, now the minority political party). The two parties were not willing to come to the table because neither trusted the other after fighting started in 1977. After much work by Bishop Machado and a couple other Christian leaders, including the Catholic Archbishop, they were able to help assure each side that they would be heard and treated fairly if they came to the negotiating table.

After many years of meeting with each of the two parties, the finally brought them to the same table. With the help of a Catholic organization in Italy, they were able to negotiate a peace in 1992 which has lasted to this day. I am fascinated by the role of the church in international peacemaking. Jesus came to reconcile the world to himself and bring peace to his Kingdom, and this bishop played a role in doing that in Mozambique. And I had the opportunity to sit in his home office and talk with him about the possibility of us working in Mozambique. How amazing is that?!?