Rios Lage, Roberta Cynthia Vieira

Roberta Cynthia Vieira Rios Lage is an Global Missionary of The United Methodist Church, assigned as speech therapy and training program coordinator at Chicuque Hospital in Mozambique.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in speech therapy health at the Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil. Her most recent employment was at the Belo Horizonte, Brazil, City Hall.

Roberta is a lay member of Igreja Sete Lagoas (Seven Lakes Church), related to the Methodist Church of Brazil.

“I have attended the Methodist Church since I was a teenager,” she said, “and I have always participated with grace and joy. We all carry out our mission with our professional gifts and talents because our work is an expression of service to others. By exercising my profession with serenity and commitment to others, I faithfully follow my mission of serving God with my best. Throughout my journey as a Christian, I have always been taught about the value of sharing and communion.”

For years, Roberta and her husband, Jovanir Lage, felt called to missionary service. They promoted mission in their local church, volunteering their talents and professional gifts. Then they decided to take a leap of faith with their two children, now teenagers.

“We placed ourselves in God’s hands and were willing to undertake this service of learning and exchanging experiences with our brothers and sisters from Africa in Mozambique,” Roberta said. “As a health care professional, I have worked in both the private sector and public service in my country, but now I am willing to contribute with great joy and serenity to the hospital in Chicuque.”

Chicuque is a reference hospital for four districts. Because of its privileged location in the continental side, it has been highly preferred by the population. The hospital lacked a speech therapist due to a shortage of human resources trained in this area. Therefore, placing missionary Roberta in this area is an important step for the health of the communities served by Chicuque Rural Hospital.

Family is Roberta’s foundation.

“It is where I find the strength to face the challenges that life presents to me,” she said. “I got married at age 19. I worked at the hospital in my hometown as a secretary and then as a nursing technician. We both always worked diligently in the local church. When my husband went to São Paulo to study theology, I started my degree in speech therapy. I already had my daughter and then my son came. We have always maintained our involvement in the local church and our work, and our children have always accompanied us to the local church’s programs.

“Our entire family is here in Africa because we understand that mission is family and we support each other, support and collaborate, so we joined forces to face this great challenge. Thank God, we have been here in Africa since January 2024 and have begun our adaptation. We continue with faith and hope in our mission and, above all, the exchange of experiences and the appreciation of knowledge.”

Roberta asserts that mission is the essential element that gives life to Christianity. “It must happen,” she said, “because there are still people who need support, health, help and charity. As long as there are hunger, wars and people in conflict situations, mission will always be necessary.”