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Yes, I know it’s not Tuesday…  This coming week our home church – College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana – is putting on an event called Bike for Africa.  Our student ministries pastors came up with the idea to lead a creative, “in country” mission trip of sorts – educating this next generation about serving their community and the world and learning more about other cultures that our church is partnering with.  They will be biking from Marion to Noblesville and, in so doing, raising finances to buy bicycles for pastors in northern Mozambique.  They’ll also be learning more about Mozambican culture through taking part in a traditional Mozambican meal (I’ll post some pictures as I get them).  So here’s the question this week – how much does a bicycle cost in Mozambique?  And the follow-up to this one – how much does the average Mozambican earn in one month if they have a job that pays minimum wage?  These questions together will help us get a fuller picture of the impact that this simple, yet dynamic event will have.  Looking forward to hearing your ideas…

Wow, this is long overdue.  So these planes and helicopters that dot the weeds on the very outskirts of the Maputo Airport – well they intersect with American history; particularly the Cold War.  As some of you may realize, after gaining its independence from Portuguese colonial rule, Mozambique’s government was aligned with communism and the Soviet Union.  During the Cold War, both the USA and the USSR wanted to show each other their vast “firepower.”  The story goes that the Soviets shipped some of their air fleet to Mozambique so that the American satellites would see these aircraft and think that the USSR had a large presence even in southern Africa.  While it does look impressive from satellite images, the fact of the matter is that most (if not all) of these aircraft could even fly – they are just “shells” of their former self.  (As I’m typing this I’m thinking that this story could preach – from a distance we look like we have it all together, but upon closer inspection we are hollow and don’t truly have the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives even though from all outwards appearance we do all the rights things, know all the words to the songs/hymns, etc.)  One final thought on this Tuesday trivia – this is a great reminder why we should use the terms “developing world” country instead of “third world country” – during the Cold War many in America began to utilize the terms “first world” for those countries aligned with capitalism, “second world” for those aligned with communism, and “third world” for those countries (usually the very impoverished) who were not aligned with either.  Over time the term “third world” began to simply be used for any poor country (whatever “poor” meant was defined by whoever was labeling the aforementioned country) – the problem is that many countries labeled “third world” (like Mozambique) may actually be “second world” countries and, even more, its quite diminutive to label countries “third world” (travel to some you think are “third world” and ask the people there what the think about the term) – “developing world” is much better and reminds us that all countries (even the poorest of the poor) are moving forward and developing (many overcoming immense obstacles along the way) or the term “majority world” is another positive term to use (because the fact of the matter is the “majority” [close to two-thirds] of the world’s nations and population live in “developing world” or “majority world” countries).

Hint #1 – These planes haven’t flown in well over a decade.
Hint #2 – In fact, most think they didn’t even fly into Mozambique (hmm…that’s interesting).
Hint #3 – This fleet actually has something to do with our own American history.

When driving through Maputo – the capital of Mozambique – you can’t help but notice that on the side of the main road in the bushes are some very large aircraft – both planes and helicopters.  As driving on the main road makes it difficult to get a good picture, I used Google maps/satellite to give you all a few aerial pictures of what we’re seeing on the ground.  The question this week is what do you think these planes are or were for?  As I have internet access (we’re heading today to South Africa to pick up a mission team) I’ll post a hint or two to help direct your thoughts.  Remember these planes are somewhat in the middle of the city and from ground level are now almost hidden by tall weeds/grass/foliage.

1. Roughly the same
Nothing really.  Perhaps in an upcoming Tuesday Trivia we’ll have some other products that are the same so we’ll keep the category around for future use.

2.  More expensive in Mozambique
SpeedStick Deodorant is $7.75 and even finding it is near impossible.  We looked in every shop in Xai Xai and couldn’t find a stick of antiperspirant/deodorant save for this one store that carried a few Speed Sticks (not my choice back home but I’ll take what I can get if this is the only option).  They have spray deodorants which in my humble opinion do about as much as carrying around a can of Lysol and spraying it at people – in other words, it doesn’t help you in the sweating/smelling category at all, just tries to “mask” your smell.  But in this climate I need deodorant so we bought the Speed Stick.  We’ve found its also hard to find it in Swaziland and South Africa – I guess the spray stuff is definitely the norm.
Lay’s Potato Chips are $2.53.  This is the gas station size that was 99 cents but I think my dad (who works for Lay’s) says that size recently went up in price to $1.19 or something like that but still that’s half the price of what it costs in Mozambique.  You cannot buy anything bigger than the gas-station size here and while at first we thought that was a bad thing we realize now that it’s a good thing – with such high humidity you can’t keep chips from going stale with a “chip clip” on the bag – the only solution is to eat the whole bag at once when its opened.  By the way, they have unique flavors of Lay’s -
A six-pack of Coca-Cola is $4.00.  But this one is kind of the trick question of the bunch because a single can is only 67 cents.  The six pack is more expensive than the States but the single can is less expensive (I think cans of coke now sell at 75 cents in vending machines).  The point to realize here is buying in bulk for a cheaper price doesn’t really exist in Mozambique.  Sure you can buy the bigger bag of flour but it is the same price as buying 4 smaller bags of flour that equal the same amount as the larger – you can buy the bigger bag of rice, but its the same price as buying 4 smaller bags that equal the amount of the larger – you can buy a 24 pack of Coca-Cola but it would be the same price as buying 24 individual cans.  While at first this seemed confusing and even counter-intuitive I realized that I think like an American – buy in bulk, store in bulk, plan way ahead, and do a good bit of what my friend Jim Vermilya calls “spaving” (spending to save – ie: buying lots of what you don’t really need simply because its a better price).  Well in a developing world country there aren’t any of these values – when you’re thinking only about the next meal and perhaps the next day, you’re not thinking of two days or a week down the road at all – so buying in bulk doesn’t make a lot of sense.
1 Liter of Boxed/Shelf Milk is $2.10.  Fairly inexpensive in our book but still more pricey than milk in the States as you’d get 4 times more milk in our gallon jugs at the supermarket.  However this isn’t powdered milk (it’s actual “liquid” milk) and Isaac loves it (we’ve heard of some children who don’t like the “shelf milk” because the process to allow it to keep on the shelf for so long means heating the milk to an extremely high temperature and the taste can be a bit different – but Isaac may even like this milk more than the milk in the States).

3. Less expensive in Mozambique
Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo is only $1.06.  We were shocked thinking we’d either not be able to find baby shampoo here or have to pay too much so were prepared to use our own shampoo on Isaac and then we actually looked at the price.
NesCafe Instant Decaf Coffee is $5.93 and I think in the States its usually around $8.00 give or take for the same size.  As you’re probably already aware, coffee here is instant coffee – there aren’t a lot of places to buy ground coffee for a coffeepot.  But Lyndy and I both like the Nescafe instant coffee you can get here – Lyndy used to always have to have cream in her coffee in the States but likes this kind black with no cream or sugar.

4.  Can’t even find in Mozambique
Index cards.  We looked all over and thought about bringing more ourselves (for flash cards for learning languages) but thought they’d be easy to come by.  We ended finding some in Swaziland after we were told it would be difficult to even find them there – but we did find them for $3.15 – so more expensive than the States and not even in Mozambique.
Storebrand Diapers are $18.50 which is close to what you’d pay in the States but you can’t buy the off-brand in Mozambique as Pick-N-Pay the store that sells them only exists in Swaziland and South Africa.  You can buy Huggies and Pampers here in Mozambique (depending if they have any in stock and what kind) but they are somewhere around $25 or more (for 45 or so diapers) and we found the off-brand kind from South Africa worked better anyways so we stocked up.  Pray for us as we’ll begin the potty-training next month so we won’t have to be buying many more diapers – with God’s help.

Here are eight “everyday” products one might buy both in Africa and also in the States.  For each product decide whether the cost we pay in Mozambique is: 1. Roughly the same, 2. More expensive, 3.  Less expensive, or 4.  You can’t even find that product in Mozambique (ie: you brought the pictured product with you in your suitcase or bought it in South Africa or Swaziland).  The products are:  Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo, a six-pack of Coca-Cola, 1 liter of whole milk, men’s deodorant/antiperspirant, a pack of diapers (the store brand), a package of Lay’s potato chips (125 g bag – ie: the gas station size), 100 index/flash cards, and a jar of decaffeinated instant coffee.

That’s right – I stood exactly where President Jimmy Carter did.  (In the States we hang a picture on the wall when a famous person eats at a restaurant, in Africa we hang a gold plaque in the bathroom…go figure! – to all our College Church friends, perhaps we should start doing it the African way and any time we have a special individual come to the church we can hang a plaque for them…just saying…)

Where am I standing in this picture (taken while in Africa)?

When I originally wrote this question we thought it was a pretty straightforward question and answer but with a bit of research (both through locally asking the Mozambicans in the area we’re currently living their opinion on the topic and also looking at research various organizations have done nationally [UNICEF, WHO, World Vision, etc]) we realized this was a bit of a complicated Tuesday Trivia question.  In an effort to apologize for this, this week’s Tuesday Trivia is a very fun and simple one (we promise you’ll like it).  On to last week’s question concerning cell phones, water, electricity, and a 12 grade education…

Here are some highlights you may find interesting:
1.  Cell phones – cell phones are by far the easiest, cheapest, and most accessible to all that live in Mozambique.  If you didn’t realize this, cell phones have come to the developing world in a HUGE way – there are very few parts of the world that are untouched by this phenomenon.  Just think, in Mozambique there are only 80,000 telephone lines in use for a population of 20 million – that means until cell phones “hit the market” less than .004% of the population had access to telecommunications.  In the past five years, cellular phone use has gone up 436% – and now 1 in 3 individuals have a cell phone with cellular service (while this still may not seem that large realize that one half of the population is under 18 years old [in other words many of those without cell phones are babies or toddlers]).  Cell phones can be purchased cheap – I can buy a nicer phone than I ever had in the States for around $10 USD and cell service is pre-paid so even for 30 cents you can make plenty of calls within the country.  As one Mozambican I asked put it when I talked about the list, “Cell phones are our largest felt need on that whole list – to be able to communicate means everything to us.”  Strange that if you asked a typical Mozambican which they really feel they “need” most on this list – most would put “cell phone” first.  One final curiosity – even in areas without electricity people have cell phones and service – they simply go to the nearest place with electricity that usually charges a nominal fee to plug into a power strip and power up their phone.  Also if you were wondering we personally also get our internet through our cell phone but currently only around 620,000 of the total population are internet users.

Here’s where the list gets dicey and you’ll see why:
Electricity – the majority of the country lives without electricity and even when you have access to power lines it can be extremely difficult to get.  One Wesleyan church planter/pastor who lives near us has been trying for months and filling out all kinds of paperwork and forms and still is unable to get electricity to his home.  When you do have electricity wired to your home – it, like most things in Mozambique – is pre-paid.  So unless you pay, you can’t get it and when your funds run out, your electricity automatically turns out.  Tough even for us to get used to – if you’re not careful your electricity shuts down in the middle of trying to cook a meal.   For those electrical engineers and smart people out there, here’s something unique – for every 1 kilowatt of electricity that Mozambique uses, the USA uses well over 400 (the USA is the largest consumer of electricity in the world).

Water – now we’re in super-dicey territory as I didn’t really mention whether I meant access to any water source, access to a clean water source, or water actually running in one’s home.  I’ll try to be quick – water running inside one’s home is pretty much reserved for the ex-pats (missionaries, business people, aid workers, etc) and the very wealthy in the population.  The rest of the population (even those in the upper middle and upper class) draw water from a well/bore hole or some other natural source.   Many of the bore holes and natural sources give access to unclean/unsafe drinking water.  UNICEF states that 55 children die DAILY in Mozambique due to unsafe drinking water that causes illnesses/diarrhea and goes on to say that only 26 percent of the entire Mozambican population have access to clean water (however we’ve heard from other sources the current percentage that have access to clean water is somewhere around 40%).  But few that have access to clean water have less than a 15 minute walk to get it – with 25 percent of the population having to walk over 60 minutes (one way) to get to the nearest fresh water source.  Even with wells being drilled all the time, sometimes their upkeep is not done effectively and so a perfectly good bore hole has a broken pump and so is useless to the locals (this is the case near where we live where there are 3 wells for the different villages surrounding Praia de Xai Xai but only 1 is currently working).

12^th grade education – also a difficult answer.  Any of the population over 30 had their schooling interrupted by the intense civil war that ravaged Mozambique [leaving 1 million dead and another 5 million displaced].  The current generation has much more access to schooling but it is still extremely difficult to get to the 12^th grade.  Even in primary school only about 50% that start grade 1 make it out of the primary grades (grade 5).  Primary school (through age 12) is “free” – but certain fees still apply (uniform, matriculation, etc) and so many impoverished families with multiple children cannot afford to send all their children to school (plus the household work [for instance walking over an hour to fetch water] means children don’t have time to go to school).  Only about 7 percent make it to secondary education.  However, people in Mozambique truly value education (and this is a contrast to other places we’ve been) and many adults (aged 30 although up to 50+) are still pursuing their schooling.  We know of one pastor around 40 years old who goes every evening to school and he’s currently in the 10^th grade and wants one day to go through 12^th.  An interesting sidebar to all the primary school educators out there how’s this for a ratio of teacher-to-student – in Mozambique the ratio is 1:62 (our family prays often for the teachers at Francis Slocum in Marion b/c we know that many days it may feel like that is the ratio [we hope the true ratio isn’t near that] – may God mightily bless you as you continue to holistically teach those in the Francis Slocum neighborhood!).

So needless to say, this answer was difficult to say the least; to make it simple, if you put cell phone as the easiest to get, you got the question correct no matter what order you put the other items in.  Before you start feeling bad/discouraged/etc about this post, remember that God is at work and He is transforming people, families, communities, and this whole nation – the Kingdom is breaking in and  things are improving in leaps and bounds.  Agencies like World Vision, Samaritans Purse, and our very own World Hope are making a huge difference in reaching out holistically to the population.  Continue to pray that God will continue to use us and others to make an all-encompassing impact – not only for eternity, but also for the here-and-now!  And remember, this week’s Tuesday Trivia is simple and fun (wow, what a change!)