David and Edileuza (Edie) Hicks are church planting among the unreached Tonga people of Mozambique, Eastern Africa. They live in the city of Inhambane.
From the time he was five years old, David has had a growing interest in missions. He served as a student missionary in PNG from 1994 to 1996. He went on to study health and pastoral ministry at Weimar College where he graduated in 1998.
Edie immigrated to the USA from Brazil. As a girl, she read a book about Leo and Jessie Halliwell’s mission on the Amazon River. From that time on, she dreamed of being a missionary. Later, while a student at Instituto Adventista Paranaense (a Brazilian academy), she worked three summers as a literature evangelist. Finally, in 2011, while living in Massachusetts, she got her RN license.
After David and Edie heard a presentation by a furloughing AFM missionary in 2012, God moved their hearts to apply for mission service. They labored among the Ama and May River peoples in Papua New Guinea from 2015 to 2019. They then launched a new project among the Tonga people in March 2019.
The Tonga number about 335,000 people and speak two languages: Gitonga (a tribal language) and Portuguese. The Hickses will be focusing on local needs, such as women’s literacy, health and youth activities. Through this work they hope to build interest in Bible studies, prophecy seminars, Pathfinders and Adventist Youth (AY).
