About Us
The story of Tagaraga
Our association is the result of God’s personal story with me – Sina (staff member on the ground) and this story is closely connected to “Youth with a Mission” (Jovens com uma Missao, JOCUM) Quelimane in Mozambique.
As a full-time volunteer with “Youth with a Mission, YWAM) from Perth in Australia, I traveled for the first time in 2016 with a group of health workers for a mission assignment to Quelimane in Mozambique. There I met the JOCUM base leader Justino who hosted our team. During these three weeks, God gave me a burning passion for the locals of the island Inhassunge. He placed a deep love in my heart linked with the question: “God, what do you want to do here?”
Whilst there, I laid awake at night and saw in my mind’s eye
...a hospital welcoming all, specialized according to the local challenges, and equipped with a high medical standard.
…Staff after God’s hearts, competent, respectful, prayerful, and seeking God’s direction.
…A place where all-encompassing healing of people takes place.
What kind of name would such a hospital have? – Mercy! Mercy for the people of Carungo – or as they say in their tongue “Tagaraga”! The seed was sown. The questions continued: What would be needed for each local to have long-term access to health care? Several milestones would be necessary …
…Paved streets across the island
…Transportation for the sick and injured by land. air and sea
…Mobile clinics for the partially inaccessible villages in their local language.
…Comprehensive information and education on relevant health issues
…Access to fresh drinking water, fair priced and nutricious food
…Access to bibles in their own language
…Knowledge and awareness of the living God who had not forgotten this people, and on and on and on…!
I told Justino what was going on in my head and my heart and he shared his side of the story: “Our team from JOCUM Quelimane has been on Inhassunge for nearly 10 years and has started several house churches. Almost every one of these house churches has emerged, because we transported someone to the hospital and took care of the local people when no one else did. They all asked why we did this, and we told them of God’s mercy and compassion. They began to believe and began to tell others of what they had experienced. All current house church leaders each have their own story but with almost each one of them, the story began with an act of mercy. We have been praying for five years for someone with medical experience who would be willing to work together with us. If you really want to come back, then you are the answer to our prayers.”
The full story is a long one, but in a nutshell: I returned to Mozambique, and now work on the JOCUM Quelimane mission base helping to bring to life this exact vision that God placed in my heart all those years ago. Each project is a small step along the way to this goal. To finance this vision and to get more people excited about it and to invest in it, I founded the non-profit association “Tagaraga – Mercy Ministries Mozambique e.V.” with friends in Germany in 2018. Tagaraga is not Youth with a Misson, but our stories are inseparably connected in Mozambique, and we share the same vision.
Who are we?
We are people who love God and follow Jesus Christ. We believe that the bible is truth, and that God wants to have a vibrant relationship with us personally that is relevant to today. Building His kingdom begins in the here and now and involves each and everyone of us. Change is possible through God’s supernatural intervention, and through our actions even when it seems utterly hopeless. Together we have the vision to make a long term all-encompassing positive difference in the lives of others – and we see ourselves as partners in God’s plan, to build His kingdom where it's not yet present or lived out.
We believe that God uses people to achieve His goals on the earth…
… to save lives medically and spiritually
… to heal people physically and emotionally
… to improve the quality of life
and above all, to offer hope and love where they have been lost.
What do we do?
Thanks to prayerful people, multipliers and financial doners in Germany and worldwide, with Sina and the other volunteers of JOCUM on the ground we tackle various needs on several levels simultaneously through…
… practical development aid such as building water wells, creating gardens and fields, etc.
… expansion and maintenance of the JOCUM mission base in Quelimane
… teaching projects in the area of basic healthcare
… mobile medical and dental outreaches in Inhassunge and the neighbouring regions
… seminars for staff and locals on Christian discipleship and missions
… support for existing house churches through training and evangelism
… distribution of bibles in the local languages
And all these projects are maintained through obtaining the following
…equipment, vehicles, and tools
… medication, medical equipment and materials
…teaching and training material
…accommodation and food
It’s all about love
God’s love became visible in His flesh embodied son Jesus Christ, who died for us all and rose again. Our faith in Him has changed us and continues to do so – and through us it will change many more peoples’ lives! One life at a time, whole families, villages, regions, and a whole nation – not just in Mozambique. With the almighty living God and by the power of the Holy Spirit everything is possible.
Our love is the answer to His love. Honoring God through everything we do and allowing Him to use us wherever He has put us has become the real purpose of our lives. Not because we have to, but because we follow the invitation of His love.
