A year ago, during Annual Conference 2016, family and friends of the Louisiana Annual Conference watched David and Elizabeth McCormick become recognized as new missionaries of The United Methodist Church.

Earlier in the year, the McCormicks, along with 27 others,  were commissioned in Portland, Oregon during the denomination’s 2016 General Conference.

The McCormicks have moved to Mozambique with their daughters Eva and Annie. The husband and wife team — who are members of Grace Community United Methodist Church in Shreveport — have been assigned to Mozambique at the Chicuque Rural Hospital.

Below is an update from the McCormick's.
 

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Settling In

June 19, 2017, marked ten months in our placement site of Mozambique.  It is hard to believe ten months have passed since we arrived and continued this amazing and at times crazy call in our lives. We can honestly say our time here has been carried and inspired by God.  That is not to say it has been easy, but God’s presence is evident as we find our new normal.  

Elizabeth and I have also felt the blessings and love from our friends, family, supporters, and those whose connection to Mozambique runs deep and spans decades.  

In this, we give thanks to God and to each of your who carry us as partners in mission.

Pan American Conference
 

We feel as if we are hitting our stride, our Portuguese is coming along, we are making connections and highly anticipating some visits from Elizabeth’s Parents.  Our jobs are morphing and becoming defined. We are finding our family time more relaxed.  

We recently moved to a new house, a church-owned home by the beach. We are happy there.  We have a dog named Yebo the Cute (Yebo is the local language for “Hello” and Eva contributed “The Cute”). The girls love playing in the back yard and we feel a sense of peace falling over us.  

Please keep us and the people of Mozambique in your thoughts and prayers. Also, send us your prayer requests so we may be in prayer for you. Community is not defined by distance but by connection. “And by the love of the Spirit to join together with me in your prayers to God…”

Although we still have challenges, we are comforted by God’s grace and support in our lives here. In April we were invited to attend a conference dedicated to health, agriculture and sanitation in Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was a wonderful opportunity to receive training and collaboration with our partners in mission.  

This week-long training event energized our commitment to health care and opened our eyes to the vast amount of potential in the Mozambican Health System. Additionally, we were blessed in seeing some friends from our missionary training.  Friends, like Clevy (pictured above) from Cuba who is serving in Angola as a Doctor, Pastor, and Mother to an orphanage.  

Her story is an amazing one to hear, and we were overjoyed to spend some time with her again.  It was our first trip back to Johannesburg in seven years and we were able to catch up with old friends in Christ Frances and Gordon (pictured below) and meet their new son…who played so well with Eva, Annie, and David!

In our new environment and under the stresses of our jobs, we are learning how important it is for us to take the time to renew and rest.  We had this opportunity in South Africa. To see our interpretation and need of a Sabbath develop in this context has been a spiritual practice of its own.  What does your Sabbath look like and how does it feed your soul? 

You can follow the McCormick's via their web site: www.mccormicksinafrica.com