Pemba Center: Village of Joy News

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One year since Cyclone Kenneth

Written by Melissa Shehan

It’s been one year since Cyclone Kenneth devastated parts of Northern Mozambique. One year since everything changed for many little fishing villages along the coast.  Since then, Iris Global has been regularly providing aid with food, clothing, and other supplies to about 12 different villages affected most by the cyclone.  They brought the hope of Jesus to people who previously wanted nothing to do with Christianity and saw God begin to open the door in miraculous ways.

But with the area becoming more and more dangerous and violent, the way aid is given has changed several times.  For the Mwani people in these quiet villages, the nightmare never stopped.  Now many have fled from their homes and come further South for safety, leaving everything behind.

As Iris has shifted to giving aid and sharing the gospel with refugee’s fleeing from danger, they have encountered some of the same people they met in the villages a year ago. The people are clearly in shock and numb. They need more than just food, they need hope and the giver of life to come and breathe on them and to fill them with everything He is.

At this time, aid is currently on hold due to Covid-19 and the restrictions it places on large gatherings.  We are looking into options to still try and help these people and believe God will continue reaching them through every crisis. 

Psalm 10:17-18 “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”