In addition to growing responsibilities in their respective leadership roles at the Pemba Base—that of Associate Director for Don and Long-Term Placement for Elizabeth—the Kantels have found ourselves increasingly focused on facilitating medical ministry and outreach in the region and on model development projects in the nearby village of Mieze.

In terms of medical ministry, Elizabeth is helping co-ordinate the roles of three doctors who are planning to develop community health education programs and medical outreaches targeting ‘bush’ communities. She has also been working with a US medical foundation which is providing funding to buy and equip a mobile medical unit to travel to villages in this remote northern region. Don recently met with Mozambique’s Minister of Health in Maputo to help facilitate necessary licensing and registration for our medical facilities and personnel.

Don has also been heading a project to build two model orphan-homes for 32 orphaned children in the village of Mieze, about 20 minutes’ drive from the Pemba Base. Iris Ministries Canada has been funding food distribution to orphans and vulnerable children at Mieze for several months, and has more recently funded the provision of running potable water and electricity to the location of the Iris church building and orphan-homes. Availability of these resources for the first time has created great excitement in the village—and the evident leadership role of the church in this Muslim village of 6,000 is resulting in explosive church growth. (The accompanying picture shows prayers of thanksgiving for the new water taps, offered by hundreds of villagers gathered in the pouring rain.)

[Water at Mieze - a gift of life]