Chad and Dara Vanden Bosch serve the Lord in Mozambique, Africa. Their ministry focuses on improving farming strategies, creating and distributing audio Bibles, and providing palliative care.
Mission Organization
Reformed Church in America Global Mission
Grow the global church. Live and love like Jesus would. RCA Global Mission has embraced an important focus as they continue to reach the world for Christ. Each missionary pays particular attention to living harmoniously within diverse cultures, creating cooperation and partnerships, and maintaining a global vision of God's Kingdom while establishing Christ-centered locally sufficient, supported, and sustainable churches.
RCA Global Mission began its missionary focus in the 17th century in North America to the Native Americans, moving internationally by the 19th century when the Scudder family became medical missionaries to India. Other Christians soon followed suit, becoming missionaries to other parts of Asia. The official mission board was established in the mid 19th century and now encompasses countries throughout the world. 1
(For more info see About RCA Global Mission | Reformed Church in America)
Country Spotlight
Mozambique
With a population of nearly 29 million people, Mozambique is situated on the southeast coast of Africa along the Indian Ocean. Although its GDP has experienced extensive growth since the early 2000s, Mozambique continues to be a poor and underdeveloped country with a short life expectancy. Almost half of its population speaks Portuguese, the official language; while native languages such as Makhuwa, Sena, and Swahili are more prominent in rural areas. The Bantu people of Mozambique (native Africans) claim Roman Catholicism as their main religion, while Protestant Christianity, Islam, traditional African religions, and atheism are found within the population as well.
Because of the Zambezi River, Mozambique experiences an array of geographical distinctives: coasts, inland hills, low plateaus, rugged highlands, woodlands, and mountains. A tropical climate with a wet season from October to March and a dry season for the remainder of the year, Mozambique regularly experiences a cyclone (tropical storm) during the wet season. In 2019, two cyclones hit Mozambique in the same wet season – an occurrence that had not happened before in its recorded history. In addition, due to the variety of geographical structures, Mozambique is known for its animal biodiversity. Below are some examples of the 740 bird species, 200 mammal species, and many marine animals that call Mozambique home. 2
Travel and transportation throughout Mozambique are usually possible, though assuredly not easy. Although there is a vast road system connecting major cities and even villages, these roads remain predominantly unpaved (and may become impassible during rainy seasons). Railroads exist, but many are unusable or being rebuilt as they were a target of destruction during many times of political unrest. Unpaved runways allow air transportation, and a few ports allow for sea transportation. Unfortunately, much of the population experiences poor water quality and sanitation services with not much concern for improving the situation.
Even though education is compulsory through the primary level (7th grade), attendance is often not enforced as children must work on the family farm and do not attend school. Enrollment in secondary school (8th-10th grades) requires successful completion of an exam; this requirement reduces the number of students from primary school. Upon completion of secondary school, most students do not enter university, but rather opt to seek employment. Many of these students become teachers, meaning that nearly half of Mozambique's teachers are undereducated. A disparity remains in the literacy rate of the population of Mozambique: 45.4% of females and 73.3% of males are considered literate. 3
Current Ministry Opportunities
While in Mozambique, Chad and Dara's focus has always been "sharing [the] Gospel in the language of the people's hearts." The Vanden Bosch's efforts are currently focused into three main ministries: 4
- Audio Scripture Ministries
- Compassionate Care Ministry
- New Harvest Farm
Because of a low literacy rate throughout Mozambique (and particularly in the rural areas), audio Bibles are the most effective means of distributing the Gospel. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many ministerial changes including closing the Audio Scripture Ministries studio where Chad works to record the entire Bible and produce means of distribution. But God has continued to provide the means necessary for the continuation of His work. During a Facebook live presentation, a generous donor shared plans to ship thousands of audio Bibles to Mozambique. Chad, Dara, and the rest of the team are praying for God's hand of protection over this precious shipment.
The Compassionate Care ministry is able to continue with social distancing and masks, despite COVD-19 restrictions, because all visits are conducted outdoors. This ministry continues to provide palliative care and education about each patient's disease(s) – most often malaria or tuberculosis – to its 23 patients. In addition, information concerning COVID-19 and its spread can be distributed to these patients and their families.
After seeing the extreme farming conditions in Mozambique and the deep concern for continuation of food throughout a season, especially after cyclones and other natural disasters, Chad recognized the need for improved farming skills. By developing New Harvest Farm, Chad is able to use his background, growing up on a farm in Michigan, to reduce malnutrition in Mozambique. Due to the pandemic, staff reduction was necessary; as such, progress at the farm is slowed somewhat. The people of Mozambique have also been impacted by the rising costs of food and there is growing concern for many families about their next meals. To mitigate this concern, New Harvest Farm has begun providing seeds and farming classes so that families are able to provide for themselves. This effort has been quite successful, and families are growing food that they can either eat or sell.
Prayer Requests
God has been richly blessing His work in Mozambique. Please pray that the contents of the Container Project would be used to reach and be a blessing to even more people in the local community. Also pray as another COVID-19 wave comes through Mozambique; pray for God's protection, the hospital staff, and that supplies would not run out. Finally, pray for God's protection for a large shipment of audio Bibles.
Additional Information
For additional information concerning the Vanden Bosch family and their ministry in Mozambique, please visit Hardships Can’t Stop God’s Work on This Farm in Mozambique | Faithward.org and Chad & Dara Vanden Bosch | Reformed Church in America (rca.org)
Footnotes
1. https://www.rca.org/global-mission/about
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique
3. Ibid.
4. Seeing God's Providing Hand in Mozambique (YouTube Video)
Admin
Join the conversation