A Baby and a Graduate

My dear friend Tina blessed me with the honor of choosing a name for her new baby.

Josue, which means - God is salvation.

Laura, here with her grandparents from Brazil, and her sister and friend, just graduated from Christian Academy in Mozambique!

Laura will be going to the USA to start an internship at One Mission Society.

Would you pray for baby Josue and for graduate Laura?

"I don't think age matters so much as people think. Parts of me are still 12 and I think other parts were already 50 when I was 12." 
C.S. Lewis

Giving Thanks

After several of my dear Mozambican brothers and sisters lost loved ones recently, I thank God for the opportunity to share with a woman about God's love for all of us in Jesus Christ.

Fatima, whom I have been working with on literacy for several years, has been starting to read and understand the Women of the Bible studies. Recently a lady from another church, whom Fatima had shared with, approached me to ask if she could do the Bible studies with the women in her church!

I give thanks for being able to work alongside the national leaders of the Living Word Evangelical Church as they work toward becoming a vibrant, self-sustaining, self-governing, indigenous church.

I give thanks for the ladies who participated in the Women with Purpose meeting in Matchovana...what an encouragement to this newer church! 

I give thanks for the young ladies from the youth group who came out to prepare lunch for the women's group, what a blessing to see this unity and support.

 Crossing over the Limpopo River on the way to Inhambane. 

I give thanks for the construction license for the ministry house, and for the successful trip that Melvin and Nelio made to Inhambane to meet with the construction leader. Lord willing, construction will begin in June.

 I give special thanks to God for the support of my prayer and financial partners that enable me to serve here.

"Nothing matters but that which is eternal." 

Amy Carmichael

Nampula

Ilha de Mocambique - Island of Mozambique, Nampula

The historic fort on the island.

Ilha de Mocambique was once the capitol of Mozambique.

I traveled with Paulo and Fernanda, to do a children's ministry for colleagues who serve in this area.

A lovely headless picture of Fernanda and I 

(which Paulo took on purpose)

Singing with the Children

 

With our super cool musicians.

On our way back to Maputo, we visited one of the national churches we partner with...

This area that was hit hard by the recent flooding in northern Mozambique.

Pastor Dinis is the supervisor in the northern provinces, and he accompanied us on our visit. 

I shared a word of encouragement with the church about how God never leaves nor forsakes those who follow Him. 

(The local language here is Makua, so the leader translated my Portuguese to Makua.)

Brother Paulo shared about the importance of unity in the church body.

The church blessed us with a thanks offering of peanuts, cassava, and sugar cane.

 Sister Fernanda and I thanking God with the women.

The floods had devastated their area, so they've have begun to build a new church structure.

Would you remember these people in prayer.

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven't spent the night with a mosquito" 

(African Proverb)

Working in Partnership with the Local Church

For this past year it has been a privilege to work in partnership with the national leadership of the local church, Igreja Evangelica Palavra Viva (Living Word Evangelical Church).

We have been working hard in the areas of leadership training, discipleship, organization, and administration of the church.  

Cutting the 1 year celebration cake (made by Fernanda) 

Nelio, Juka, Aimee, Belarmino, Daniel (Abel was away on a trip and Paulo was taking the picture.

One of the results of focusing on leadership training was the 3 day Preaching School for pastors and leaders of women's, youth, and evangelism ministries, as well as leaders of the church preschools.

Ministry leaders praying together. 

The goal is to build upon what we've learned with 2 more trainings this year.

I realize that pictures have smiling faces and of course this is a sign of joy in all that God is doing here. At the same time there are always many challenges and I don't have pictures to show all the difficult things that go hand in hand with the victories. 

With that said, I praise God and I appreciate and depend upon prayer as I seek to serve Christ here in Mozambique! 

Women with a Purpose

On the most recent trip to Inhambane, I took 4 ladies from 4 different churches in Maputo who participate in our "Women with a Purpose" ministry.

Like bringing water to those who are thirsty, we went with the purpose of bringing the love of Christ to all those whom we met. 

Marta, carrying water for the family we stayed with.

"The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom." 

Isaiah 35:1

In front of the house we stayed in - 

Eugenia, Vitoria, Aimee, Vivi, Marta

We helped sweep the grounds in the mornings.

We worked with Ermelinda in her field.

While there, Ermelinda's daughters prepared dinners of pumpkin leaf curry and bitter greens called kakana, all of which was harvested from her field.

Harvesting corn (which we ate after being grilled over the fire).

Ermelinda, chopping wood for cooking fires.

"If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire." 

George Monbiot

Everybody has a part in taking care of the little ones.

At church on Sunday, the 4 special visitors were introduced.

They received a warm reception from the local church group.

Vitoria led the service.

Marta read the opening Bible verses

Vivi led the praise and worship using the xikitsi instrument, which is filled with seeds and shaken back and forth.

Eugenia shared the message about sin and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Afterwards she asked if anyone needed prayer, and several people came forward to be prayed for with tears in their eyes.

Due to a donation, we were able to present the church with Bibles and hymnals, which Tomas and Ermelinda received with great joy.

After the church service, we ate boiled cassava (harvested from Ermelinda's field), and we took a long walk through the village to visit different families.

A well.

 Wooden boards serve as "washing machines" for clothes.

Vivi, with a mushroom to be used for a curry.

On our walk I saw some of the whitest and brightest mushrooms I've ever seen.

Marta pumps at the new village well so that Eugenia and Vivi can have a drink.

 

"Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs."

Isaiah 35:6, 7