On our way back from Mocuba at 5:30 the morning we were driving with 4 vehicles. In front were one pick up with 4 people with lights on bright. All the cars drove more or less in the middle of the road because of bicycles on the left. The first pick up saw the big 30 ton road works truck standing in the road on the last moment and swerve around it just in time. The back of the truck was full of mud and therefore there were no reflectors or any warning signs in the road. The driver were sleeping in front in the cab. They immediately warned the other vehicles on the radio system. The second car were a Toyota minibus with 9 people. They were singing and therefore did not hear the warning. The driver did not see anything the first thing that they recognised was the bang. The left side of the vehicle struck the truck at about 90 km an hour. It took away the whole left side of the car and then the car went around the truck and came to a halt in a field of pineapples. We were in the third vehicle and saw the sparks as it happened. When I reached the car the driver were already running and shouting for help. The left side of the minibus were totally taken away. Firstly I discovered the two persons who died, will not go in detail. The driver and four others were already out of the vehicle and we tried to calm them down. The pastor who sat in front left were unconscious with head injuries. Some of the ladies tried to comfort him. The other injured was the wife of the driver, an 65 year old lady Beryl, who complained about pain in the leg and hip. As the message got through to the people in RSA the people start phoning and I tried to coordinate the process. Some Mozambicans stopped and informed the local authorities. We talked to insurers embassy etc. We took the two bodies from the car and covered them. Some Mozambicans came and helped us to take the lady out of the car and lay her down on a mattress. It was a problem to get the pastor out, because his legs got stuck. Some Mozambicans tried to brake open the door, but with no success. Then a crane passed by and stopped, we lifted the car and tried to bend open the front end of the minibus. The minibus hanged in the air before we managed to get the pastor out. At that time the local ambulance arrived. It was an open pick-up. We put a mattress in an loaded the two injured people on it and they went to Quelimane hospital. The embassy helped to contact the doctor there. The pastor's insurance send a medical plane to pick him up and he was flown out the same day. The ladies family organized with their congregation another plane to flow her out the next day. The congregation also send another small aircraft to fly out the rest of the people who was in the minibus accept the driver that was held up by the police. An missionary from Mocuba came to help and helped to transport the members to Quelimane. Another missionary helped to accomodate them. I stayed with the driver at the police. We pitched tents over the road at a Mozambican pub. The police took their time and the process took a lot of time. After a while the process went very slowly with the court. The administrator of the district helped us to take the driver one night to Quelimane. The rest of the time we camped and were helped by local people. At the end the judge were ill and we had to wait more. The accident took place the Tuesday and we were free to go the Monday night. We had to pay bail of R 4000. The same night we drove of and drop the driver in Beira to fly out the next day. Then drove down to South-Africa and were the last of the group to leave Mozambique.
On Monday morning somebody from the group sponsored me an air ticket to fly to Johannesburg to attend the two funerals on Monday and Wednesday and will be back in Cape Town by Thursday evening.
Thanks for your prayers and involvement.
The outreach itself were very good. I do not have time to explain everything, but through service the group demonstrated Christ to Mozambique in such a way that it is part of a transformation process. The Mozambican church spent 4 days at church day and night to pray for the team. I learned a lot and have a lot to share to future outreach groups on how to reach out more effectively.