During our short time here in the States to attend our daughter’s graduation and meetings at OMS headquarters, we have stayed in close contact with our ECC teams in Mozambique through the wonder of text messaging. It is also helpful as it keeps us thinking in Portuguese!
We are finally feeling rested, having really no idea how exhausted we were when we first got back. We knew our pace had been relentless but the toll on our bodies had been greater than we realized. We moved from exhausted to tired and now feel completely rested for which we praise God and those friends and family who have helped us move through this time. We are yearning to return and feeling like it is time and look forward to completing our commitments with OMS and getting back to Mozambique.
One of the routine problems in Mozambique is crime. It is rampant and ever-present and requires constant vigilance. Several of our ECC team personnel have been robbed of all their possessions while attending to church business over the past months with the most recent being yesterday. Our dear friends Paito and wife Maria-Nelsa (with baby Ana) in Nampula were robbed and pretty much everything of value was taken. (Above picture is from January when Paito was licensed as a Pastor. Left to right is Dave, Maria Nelsa, Paito, and Abel) This included a bicycle we had recently purchased to help him with transportation between his seven churches that he has planted in that area. This is also a real burden from a leadership standpoint because how much help do we / can we provide in these situations?
Pray for our ECC country coordinator Juka as he determines a path forward for our friends. Pray that Paito and Maria-Nelsa do not become discouraged in the face of this. Pray for wisdom in how to move forward; for example – do they move, how can they improve security, can their things be found / returned and justice prevail, and how should they respond in the face of the adversity.
We learn in Nehemiah, Chapter 4 when Israel was rebuilding the wall (doing God’s work), that the enemies first ridiculed them. That is usually the first strategy – and the response was to pray and ask for God’s intervention. Next, the ridicule moved to direct threats and the response again was to pray and God revealed the plot and Nehemiah put plans in place, and the Bible uses the phasing that “God had frustrated it [the enemy’s plans]”. Finally, the enemies talked about assembling armies, and again we see a picture of prayer combined with action: guards were posted, and the work was slowed down but not stopped. Half the people were armed with swords and spears and the other half worked. But even the workers were armed, working with a sword in one hand and doing work with the other – but the work of God continued (I think this calculates out to a 75% slowdown). Nehemiah’s instructions were “get back to your post, there is work to be done and God’s timing is not our timing!” (My paraphrase).
That is how we must approach the work, people praying and guarding through prayer the work. And the workers themselves must be vigilant – praying constantly and working. But the work must not stop the prayer and the defense that it provides.
Brings a whole new meaning to ‘working with one hand tied behind your back’!
Pray for protection for our ECC workers, missionaries and churches in Mozambique. Things are destabilizing all around Mozambique and refugees are flooding the country. Needs are huge and people do desperate things in desperate times. The answer remains having a personal relationship with the very Creator of the universe. Pray for the leaders of Mozambique that they would know God, seek His counsel, and make decisions that are wise and support continued spread of the Gospel within this country.
“When our enemies hear that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own post.” Nehemiah 4:15
“Let’s get back to work” (Dave & Ann)
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