Profile: Ezequiel Nhantumbo
Ezequiel Nhantumbo's most powerful evangelism tool is clean water.
"They developed this vision that has become a true story of faith, love, hope, and inspiration."
 When Ezequiel Nhantumbo was a little boy, Jesus Christ came to him in a dream with a message: “Go and serve and be an instrument of my kingdom.”
Today, Ezequiel saves lives in his homeland serving as a bridge between United Methodist churches in Mozambique and United Methodist churches in Missouri through a program called the Mozambique Initiative.
It is his mission to make sure the United Methodists in Mozambique know they are loved and cared for by churches in Missouri. One of the tasks he performs daily is translating and delivering letters from Missouri to Mozambique and from Mozambique to Missouri.
Ezy, as he is known to his friends, can get to any United Methodist Church in Mozambique—whether there is a road going there or not. “I can make a path where there is no path,” he says, explaining how he travels to the more than 300 churches in the rugged countryside of his homeland.
 Many of the churches he visits are in remote areas. There is no church building—congregations gather under “tree tops”—and pastors don’t have adequate shelters.
One of the worst problems most of the people face is lack of access to sanitary water, especially during times of drought.
“Once I was driving toward a remote congregation and there was a pothole in the road where the water had concentrated. As I turned, the edge of my tire just dipped into the water,” he remembers. Ten people waiting beside the pothole suddenly lost their precious water source.
“Now the community is enjoying safe water, and because of the water we have an increase in the membership of that church.”
“I felt so bad,” he says. “The water was red, red in color from the mud.” He gathered all their containers and drove many miles to fetch clean water from a well.
When he told the story to a church in Missouri, they were horrified and raised funds to build a well for the people. “Now the community is enjoying safe water, and because of the water we have an increase in the membership of that church.”
 Ezequiel has many similar stories of life-changing events that have happened because of the relationships he has helped establish between the two countries.
Born into a United Methodist family in Chicuque Rural Hospital, he was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to attend United Methodist-related Africa University in neighboring Zimbabwe. He was one of the first Mozambiquians to graduate from the university.
“I am thankful for being a United Methodist,” he says. “I am thankful for my parents, my wife and children but most of all I am thankful to God.
“I am really glad to be one of those angels that are disseminating the word of God here in Mozambique.”
The following people contributed to this Profile:
Audio story by Mike Hickcox; print story by Kathy Gilbert.
UMC.org Profiles are produced by Pam Price, 615-742-5405.
Ezequiel's spiritual gifts
- Servanthood
- Interpretation
- Tongues
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