2. In Monapo with Muhammad.

A second experience I like to tell about began one hot November morning. There was an unexpected "visitor" at the house; actually, we found him lying in the back of the pickup truck. He was a slender boy of about 11 years of age. His name was Muhammad, and he looked quite sick. Muhammad is one of a band of young boys who live on the streets in the town of Monapo. They sleep under the straw roof of one of the kiosks on the Church property and beg for food in the market. When they dont get enough by begging, they grab and run. Muhammad had come in search of one of the SVD, his "missionary friend," whom he had met a few weeks earlier. He asked for some water and some medicine. He was given a dose of malaria medicine, expecting that that would solve the problem. But by evening, the boy was still sick and lethargic. As things turned out a trip to a clinic in a neighboring town brought a better understanding of the real problem. Muhammad was’nt suffering from malaria; his problem was acute hunger. A day or so later Muhammad had recovered enough to resume his life, passing the day as a beggar and thief and passing the night with his band of friends sleeping on the church property.

Old treasure. This experience also has its store of old treasure. Surely, the quiet desperation in the eyes of this young boy are well known to missionaries of every generation. The specific details vary a bit from time to time and place to place. In this case, Muhammad has an older sister with big problems of her own, so she was unable to offer help. Muhammad was born of two different clans, neither of which was able or willing to offer him a home. And so as a last resort he turned to the missionaries. When people need help, they come to ask the Church and the Church tries to respond. Such seeking and finding is an old treasure indeed.

New treasure. There is also some new treasure in this situation. Missionaries in Mozambique are more certain that it is not enough to simply take care of people with the funds of outside donors. They know that solutions based on local resources are more likely to be lasting. The SVD Team is trying to bring the problem of the homeless youth of Monapo to the community and search with them for answers. While there is certainly tremendous need in Mozambique, there is just as certainly enough food in the market to keep boys from becoming thieves.