Jessica and Chelsea Berryman are living in Maputo, Mozambique, with their parents, Glenn and Kris, who are setting up an English as a Second Language program with the help of OMS International, an evangelical, interdenominational faith mission based in Greenwood.

In October, the girls shared their first impressions of Mozambique and the adjustments they have made since moving from Greenwood in August.

Jessica and Chelsea attend the Christian Academy in Mozambique, a small K-12 school (enrollment 44) that offers a U.S.-based education primarily to missionary kids and children of foreigners.

The girls are learning Portuguese, the official language of Mozambique, and have made friends with youth from a variety of countries, including Brazil, Congo, Rwanda, South Africa and India.

Chelsea Glancy is one of their friends. Like the Berrymans, the Glancys are OMS missionaries. Originally from Salem, Ore., they have been in the southern African country since July 2004.

Mozambique is a poor country. After 500 years as a Portuguese colony, it became independent in 1975. Soon after a Marxist government was installed, it did away with Christmas, among other vestiges of Portuguese rule.

A civil war that continued until 1992 decimated the population and infrastructure. Now peaceful, the country is trying to rebuild, and Christmas, now called Day of the Family, is making a comeback, thanks in part to the country's substantial Christian population.

The Berrymans hope their work will help the country become more self-sufficient. They keep an online diary at www.hopeinafrica.com.