Safely Here

Sorry for the long delay on updates but our Internet access is very intermittent. I'm writing from my daughter's apartment in Knoxville - we are here for a couple of days and it is always a joy to be right next to the University where Ann and I met. We had a bit of a challenging time getting here because of a rock-slide that has completely closed Interstate 40 between Knoxville and Ashville. That caused us to use an alternate road through beautiful rural Tennessee and it was a wonderful diversion.

We arrived safely back in the US although we did get a big shock in Atlanta when our accepted our luggage from Mozambique. Because of the well-known pilfering of luggage that occurs in Johannesburg, we had our suitcases encased in plastic wrap in Maputo. It doesn't prevent it but it is supposed to help. One of the larger bags got the customs agents attention because it had some cans of a type of tomato / onion mix that our girls love and you can't get in the States, and Ann planned as a surprise for a meal. We had to do a lot of explaining about these cans, but it went well and they were loaded onto the plane.

When the bags came down the ramp in Atlanta in the International Terminal (you pick them up and shift them to domestic), the two larger bags were not only unwrapped, but were opened with stuff flying out onto the conveyor belt. Dratts, what did we lose?

The interesting part is that we had no tape, no scissors, nothing to really repair them with - They were strapped, which I think was the saving grace.

So, we gathered up all of the loose items we could find, wondering how much was in the back room. It appeared the zippers had been forced open and we were able to repair one but the other was completely gone. We found some large plastic bags and jury rigged the straps and plastic around the un-repairable suitcase, and turned it in to domestic, wondering what all we had lost.

In Huntsville, all the bags arrived and when we finally unpacked we were fortunate to have lost only a few gift items. Of course none of it is truly expensive as we are very aware of the risk in Africa and luggage, but it is still disappointing. But, it could have been much worse so we are thankful everything more or less arrived. So that completes our luggage story....

It has been quite an adjustment culturally. The day we arrived in Huntsville, we went to both a Target and a Walmart. One of my jobs was to get tea and coffee. Now, what I'm used to is arriving at the store and being thankful that they even have coffee and tea; but what I found was an entire aisle of coffee and tea - with more choices and prices than I could even possibly process mentally. I just stood there for a while and looked at it all. In the end I narrowed down by price and took what seemed reasonable but it was truly a culture-shock kind of thing.

The other thing that has amazed me is the number of big black Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) with darkened windows. The drive from Huntsville to Columbia through Atlanta seemed like every other vehicle was one of these things. HUGE and moving fast. I wondered if this is the influence of the TV show "24" or other shows and movies where the heros seem to all drive these big things. My daughters say they are status symbols but it was remarkable how many we have seen - inconsistent with a difficult economy. I'm not passing judgement; I drive a big white SUV in Africa (and am daily thankful for it because of the roads we travel). It's just an observation. Or, maybe government agents are very busy in the Southeast US 'saving the world as we know it!' In any case, after our time in Mozambique, the affluence is breathtaking even in a time of economic uncertainty.

And the roads - oh my I had forgotten how wonderful the roads are in America. So wonderful. And, people actually follow the rules - wow. However, what is all of this driving on the wrong side? That continues to be a challenge to us, especially at Intersections. Stay right!

Some dear people are allowing us to use a house near Columbia that is comfortable and we are very much enjoying. We are almost through the jet-lag adjustment and no longer waking up at three in the morning. It has been very much a time of recovery for us and we are gaining some rest that we didn't recognize that we needed. And the joyous time with your dear daughters - there are no words.

We have sat under some amazing teaching since arriving and I'm working through a wonderful book by Dr. Ferguson called "In Christ Alone" that is paralleling our reading through the Bible in a year program that we do for devotions. I highly recommend this simple yet profound book.

This morning, I noticed something interesting in Romans I had not seen before. In the church multiplication program we are working with in Mozambique, our focus is to go into those areas where there are no evangelical churches and where people have not heard the Gospel story. Paul speaks to this as his priority also in Romans, Chapter 16. We have endured significant amounts of criticism about this program for all sorts of various reasons (we humans love to criticize others - we fall into that mode without even thinking about it) - and yet we have seen amazing fruit - growth from 10 or so churches to over 100 country wide - how can this be criticized? Paul says in verse 20:

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation..." He goes on to explain that he hasn't visited some of his older church plants because this is his call and he has even been hindered from coming because of this call. So, he goes on to explain he will stop for a while in Rome on his way to Spain, where they have not heard the Gospel. His mission and call remains certain.

May all of our various Calls remain as certain....

Blessings.

Dave & Ann

"Rather it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."" Romans 16:21

Project Update and a Little on Thanksgiving

We're literally hours away from a quick trip home to visit our daughters in the States. We look forward to seeing our girls but at the same time, there are so many thinigs happening here - there is never a convenient time. We will be centered in South Carolina and don't expect to travel very much beyond arriving in Alabama (Dave's mom and sister), South Carolina (Sarah / Allison), Tennessee (Ann's brother and Lynsey) and then back to Alabama for the return. We need some time away and with our precious family and are looking forward to the break, hoping I remember how to drive on the other side of the road.

With this said, I am not sure how our Internet access will be in the coming weeks so if it seems that we have dropped off the face of the earth, we haven't really. Thank you so very much for standing so faithfully with us.

We have a couple of things coming together here in Mozambique in our absence:

1. Next Tuesday, the fellows are coming to fix the water well at Intaka and Belarmino is tasked with ensuring that the well bolts are welded in place and that there is very good security for the well. We will begin digging a new well in Mocuba next year (Project 407670 - Water for Life)

2. We are doing an upgrade to the church at Mavalene, which has out-grown its current space. The church meets in a lean-two next to Pastor Abel's house. We will extend to metal roof to provide more space out of the rain / sun and extend the wall up against the roof. They have an all-night prayer service on 12/31 and normally people in the area throw things over the wall, such as bottles, which can be dangerous to those in the church. (Project 405770 - Mavalane)

3. Marcos Zito's wedding on December 19. (Project 403960 - Moz. Benevolence)

4. OMS Advisor's meeting on December 4.

5. Juka is doing a training session with the Trainers next week in the Mocuba area before they gravel back to Maputo later in the month (to arrive in time for the wedding). He has some business to settle in Nampula relative to our church planting work there and they will leave from Nampula because they can be assured of a seat on the bus if they start there, rather than catching it in Mocuba. So - an extra days travel to assure yourself of a seat.

(photo of Turkeys with Turkeys!)

Thanksgiving (photo above is Jason, Tristen, and Rachel - our adopted kids.)

In the past, we have had Thanksgiving celebrations where we invited various friends to eat Turkey and cranberry sauce, something not eaten much here. It is a great holiday for cross-cultural sharing and participation but this year was a bit different. We decided with the time-pressures in preparation of departing, we would have a smaller celebration here where we live with the two other missionary families near us. Then, other missionary friends found out about it the next thing we knew we had a ton of people coming. Ann decorated the house with Thanksgiving things and we especially noticed that all the children seemed to especially enjoy seeing (and eating!) all the food. Our open grounds allowed them to run and there were all sorts of games in progress all over the place. It made our hearts sing to see all these children running and laughing all around the house. Just before everyone arrived, we managed to change the oil and serviced Aimee's car and then devote the afternoon and evening to eating the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Three turkey's 'gave their all' and some other turkeys did the carving! ;-)

We ate outside in the shade and generally enjoyed a general break from the routine chaos. We had missionaries from seven different agencies, all joined together for a common cause, to spread the gospel. Especially special was Jason and Rachel (and Tristen) coming down from Xai-Xai to spend two nights with us. We love this couple as if they were our own kids and Ann especially enjoyed cooking with Rachel in preparation for Thanksgiving. Tristen calls us Grandpa and Grandma, and who can resist that? They brought this amazing ham (hard to find in with Moslems owning most of the shops!) that disappeared in nothing flat and was clearly the favorite item on the table!

After a few games, we moved over to the Hulsey's house to enjoy a buffet of deserts and look at Don Hulsey's photographs of his dive trip last weekend swimming with sharks big enough to swallow him in a single gulp. Beautiful photographs and I am always so engaged by his enthusiasm for diving. He says he cannot help but worship God when he sees the beauty and wonder of the life that is teaming underneath the waves of the ocean. The photos are remarkable.

It was such a blessed day and I could not help but give thanks in my mind over and over again. It was a great time of ministry to a wonderful missionary community, all who have dedicated their lives to the cause of Christ. The people in this photograph below represent seven different mission agencies doing work in Mozambique.

"Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth....Enter His gates wth thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name...." Psalm 100

Language Update

This week, we took a series of tests at the Language Institute and our instructor has 'graduated us' to the next level of instruction. We will get our certificates in January when we resume classes at the next level. On Monday and Tuesday, we took our written exam that went on and on and on. On Wednesday, we both had to do oral presentations on a subject of our choosing. Next we each listened to a Portuguese 'story' and were quizzed on our comprehension. We next read different texts and were again quizzed orally on our comprehension.

In the final analysis - we did well on written and comprehension, but our speaking was not so great, although 'passing'. We both have this tendancy to throw in English connective words because we aren't sure which of Portuguese connective words to use - so we use English words (unintentionally) like "to" and "so" more in the sense of "uhhh" that some do in English.

As an aside, we've become quite attached to our instructor but his contract runs out at the end of the year and he is not planning to return. He says it is because his income is inconsistent and completely dependent on student contact hours. No students, then no money. For example, we are not there in December, so he will not receive any pay related to our fees. It makes sense to me, for without students, the institute has no income - but it doesn't to him. And, as we've seen other do, they will 'quit' and put themselves in a worse situation (no job) for what seems to us as crazy reasons. We argued with him that he should continue until he finds another job, not just 'quit' with nothing to do, but that is Western culture talking. We have been starting to talk a little bit more about the things of God, and it would be my prayer we could spend more time with him.

I am convinced language learning will take the rest of our lives and we will never be truly 'fluent' although we will be more or less 'proficient'. The people we work with say they can tell a difference; we hope that is true!

Blessings!

"....Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel - because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world...." Genesis 11:7 - 9

Security Issues

One of the things we need to keep in mind is basic security for living here. There are very real safety concerns for us living here that we cannot be flippant about. Some recent events within the last week that accentuate this:

1. A friend of ours was at a stop light near the airport talking to her husband on the phone with her window down. Before she knew what happened, someone hit her arm, took her phone, and ran. Her husband heard the scream and the pitter-patter of the robber running with the phone before the call was disconnected.

2. Another couple we know and their daughter experienced an attempted hi-jacking at gun point and only their clear thinking allowed them to escape unharmed. This was in South Africa where armed attacks are common and the government response is to post signs that say "high hi-jack area". As they sped away, their daughter, who is also our "adopted" daughter, shouted "isn't our God awesome"! - We are overwhelmed at God's protection of these dear friends of ours.

3. We had a South African missionary visit with us who, against our recommendations, enlisted one of the 'nare-do-wells' at the border to help him through the process of entering Mozambique with a car. We were traveling together from our team retreat and this hired man demanded that he do ours as well and we had a significant confrontation at the border over this. It made us realize how easily things can escalate in South Africa. I wasn't about to give my passport or car documents to this hoodlum. It was clear that he was used to intimidating people to get what he wanted. The fear that this South African expressed was sobering and he commented on how much safer he felt with us in Mozambique than in his native country of South Africa. (photo is taken at the border approaching 'no-man's land' - it is always chaotic at the border - always).

4. In a recent Embassy news note, they provided a link to a world-report was just issued on 180 countries citing a 'corruption index'. New Zealand was the 'least corrupt' country coming in at number 1. The US was around 19 if I remember right, and Mozambique had fallen to somewhere around 160. The bottom of the list was Iraq, Afganistan and the like. So, when you deal with police, government officials, and the like, you have to keep this in mind.

5. The embassy just issued an advisory about the increase in crime over the next month. It states that there has been and will continue to be an increase in crime as people seek to obtain money and goods as here, like in the States, there is much cultural pressure about presents, gifts, and celebration around Christmas and New Years. People receive what is called a 13th month salary here in December and that bonus money means there is more money floating around and thus, more robberies.

6. On a recent 'dark and stormy night', the Generator for the well at Khongolote was stolen with a 'guard' on duty (probably sleeping somewhere). This is common here, when it rains, there are more break-in's and robberies because guards are down (pun not intended - maybe ;-))

7. I've written recently about things disappearing out of our car when it is parked and "guarded" in down. Somehow, they get it opened even when we're all locked-up.

We've become very comfortable living here and we do not go around in fear, feeling comfortable nearly anywhere in and around the city during the day. At night, we are more careful and deliverate in our routes and activities but not foolish. In the rural areas, we feel much safer and it is those places like the border where you must be very very careful. We try to be wise but at the same time if you allow yourself to become fearful, it can become imprisioning. We drive the same backroads all the time, we give rides to people (mostly older folks) and know the people and the children we see on the roads. Over time, you become a part of the landscape and a part of the communty through your presence and this greatly increases your level of comfort and I think your safety. It is when you get off in those areas where you aren't 'known' or recognized that I think your risk factor starts to increase. But in any case, I praise God for his provision and protection of us here; I am sure that when we graduate to heaven, we will be amazed at how time and time again, through the prayers of His people, we (we in the sense of all believers) were spared time and time again. We truly have to trust Him in a very deep and certain way to function cross-culturally where your mere presence can invite trouble because of your perceived affluence.

May our security and confidence rest in Him and Him alone.

"...I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, for God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Newsletter

Our Christmas newsletter is now available through our newsletter link to the left!

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

Updates

We continue to spend much of our time in formal language study. We have completed the first level and have been advised our final exam will be Monday. So, you know what we will be doing this weekend. I will loose one class Thursday as I'm having oil-pressure problems with our Toyota and plan to run it to South Africa Toyota for repair. I ordered a sensor and am praying that is the problem - I've tried all the tricks I know but something is not working quite right. It all started after Toyota Maputo fixed my broken starter - so I'm thinking they hit the sensor and damaged it removing the starter - if so it will be no big deal. I didn't take it to Toyota Maputo because if they have to order a part, it could be months as compared to days in South Africa. The sensor is waiting for me in South Arica. I spent Saturday under the hood fixing some electrical problems, replacing wiring and taking care of a few things but it didn't do anything for the oil pressure problem. The car is old, the temperatures here hot, and electrical wiring breaks and the insulation falls off, causing all sorts of problems.

The water well at Intaka - the fellows who installed it were there on Sunday and promised a quote, proposal, and 'fix date' to me by Friday. Now, they didn't say 'which Friday'...... This has been a long-time coming.

We took two sewing machines from our sewing center at Intaka to the repair shop. The two needing repair are the more exotic machines whereas the simple Singer is jugging away. The person at the shop just shook her head and said "these machines get alot of use don't they?" Yes, indeed they do. So, we are awaiting the call.

We have a wedding dress that we share amongst our churches as they are quite expensive. We just got it back from a wedding in the north and our white dress looks like someone drug it through red dirt. The dry-cleaners (yes we have them here) was doubtful they could do the magic this time but we are hopeful. They said the same thing last time and it came back beautiful. It's been used something like 10 or 15 times, so we really can't complain too much. Our next wedding is December 19 and we promised this dress. There is also one in the north this coming Saturday but they will have to rent something. We need to get a couple more dresses - hopefully at some second-hand shops while we are in the States although we need something more conservative than what you typically see in the States. They can add a little jacket or something to them. Anyone sitting on some old wedding dresses you aren't ever going to use? We can promise they will get used and used and used here. Send us a line.

We had a field retreat in South Africa recently with speakers from OMS - US. It was a weekend of rest and challenge. Great messages although I (Dave) came down with a horrible cold / sore throat thing and spent the better part of one day in bed (doing Portuguese homework). We stayed at a small garden hotel thing outside of Nelspruit and enjoyed the fellowship and time away. Two of the three men who came were good friends of ours, which was a special blessing and the other a very interesting man from South Africa working with Men for Missions International (MFMI) and who had just completed a 5000 km bike ride raising money for Bibles. He also holds several world records in bicycle events and is a little older than me but in incredible shape. I have no excuse..... I greatly enjoyed hearing his stories about competion and about his business endeavors in South Africa and Malyasia. Very interesting and a great testimony - he was saved through a "mighty men" conference in South Africa lead by Angus Buchan; I wrote about the movie "Faith Like Potatoes" which is about Angus Buchan's life. I have heard recently that this movie is now being shown in the States in some venues. The last 'might men' event attracted something like 200,000 men. Pretty incredible.

The message of the retreat centered on Fellowship with God - that is the first thing and we started from the story of Mary and Martha (see below). A message all of us who get 'busy' need to keep hold of...

We bought another load of bibles this week for distribution in our churches and communities. It's always a good thing when we get Bibles out into the hands of people seeking God's direction in their lives.

We have a big baptism event at Picoco on December 4. We will unfortunately miss that special day. We took our MFMI visitors out to Picoco while they were here and happened to catch a training session for those new believers and the Pastor asked me to speak, which gave me great opportunity to launch from the story of Philip and the Eunuch in Acts. Bottom line was to encourage them to follow the Lord in baptism and not worry about a party, a god father or god mother for the event, but rather to simply follow in obedience to the Lord's command. It felt good to do it in Portuguese and have Nelio be able to then translate to Shanghanna. It was a great time and that church is continuing to grow and it thrills my heart to see the steady stream of people getting water at the well. I had some balloons with me that day and blew up balloons and talked with all the kids gathered around the well, inviting them to the church, and challenging them about life in general. Balloons are a great conversation starter here and many kids don't have an idea of how to blow one up. I see all these kids here and just grieve about their tomorrows. The church is slow to reach the youth here and the youth are tomorrow's church and tomorrow's leaders. We adults are but a 'flash-in-the-pan'.

I want to write about the government excess car but it deserves a separate entry. It is another great example of how 'you get what you pay for....'

Blessings.

"And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."" Luke 10:41

CMED Update

Mario, one of our Christian Micro-Enterprise Development (CMED) coordinators has been in Gurue since last August building that program in our churches around the Zambezia province. This wonderful young man has truly responded to God's call on his life as he teaches about God's plan for people's life and as he helps people understand Biblical concepts for handling money. Mario returned to Maputo to deal with personal issues and gave us an update today. We have missed our meetings with him, relying instead on phone-calls.

He told us about six churches he is working with and the challenges and successes he has had. He has two village savings and loan groups going now and is assisting a fellow in Gurue who has six of these groups going, two of which grew into churches. The two new groups have 25 people in one and 18 in the other.

He has had to work through schedule issues because the meetings have to work around planting and harvesting schedules in an agrarian culture. He has had to deal with misunderstandings on forms and unfounded expectations. Let me try to explain.

We have a form we use in our Into-African project where we record the number of people in each of our churches in the north by group. For example, how many men, how many women, how many orphans, how many widows. Well, the churches wanted to know that since we were recording widows and orphans, when was the money coming to build them houses and provide them food. When were the missionaries bringing car-fulls of money to help them? And since he was bringing a Village Savings and Loan program to them, how much were the missionaries putting into it so they could spend it? Sigh.....

Mario is an amazing fellow and he, with Juka, patiently worked through these issues. The turning point was when an old man in the group finally grasped the program and the church planting movement and said, 'you are offering us something much more valuable than money' and after this older man explained it in his way to the people, the rest of the people nodded in assent and the work continued. Our objective is not to build dependency but rather self-sufficiency that will continue in the absence of the car-full of money. (Man I'd like to have one of those!). The hand is always out here; the challenge is putting something in that hand with lasting and life-changing value.

Mario's objective is to have six successful groups that are self-sustaining before he returns in February / March. We are so proud of his dedication and the example he sets for others as he serves God through this program. The sad part is that this program is just about out of money. There is such potential but it is going the way of so many things in this time of economic crisis. Without an influx of funding from somewhere, we will be forced to shut it down on April 1. We need about $12 to 14,000 a year to keep this going, which basically pays salary and expenses for three people who are training in all of our churches along with training materials, savings boxes, and the like. Project 432560.

Maybe it is God's timing and it has run its course. But, somehow I don't think so. We continue to pray for the funding and for a missionary with a passion for working full-time on this program, expanding potentially into projects that would allow the program to self-sustain. Such tremendous potential and such wonderful men to work with.

"Consider the ant...consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer, or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." Pro 6:6-8

Cultural Barriers

This last weekend, we went to a special Baptism service at our T-3 church. People were to come from two of our churches, Machava and Mavalane. There were originally 14 people that were prepared and to come for baptism. In this photo you will see the 4 who actually came.

So, you might ask, what happened to the other 10 people? It's heart-breaking and the same thing we experience with weddings. In this culture, no one 'pays their own way' but rather there seems always to be someone else who pays. The answer is actually in the photograph in a way. Behind each of the people who were baptised, there are people standing behind them who are their 'god father' or 'god mother' for this particular event. Their responsibility is to take spiritual responsibility for the person being baptized, to take a life-long interest in their life from a spiritual perspective, and to pay for the party that is to follow the event, even buying dresses, clothes, paying transportation for guests, or other things related to the day. The 10 people who didn't come didn't have that person and so they didn't get baptized. To put it another way, it's all about the party....sigh.

Another barrier is that these services are dreadfully long (three plus hours) and with the requisite parties, it is an entire day's event, going long into the night. So they aren't scheduled all that often because of the time commitment and if you don't go to the party, or stay long enough when you do go, it is an insult. Then, afterwards is an expectation for receiving the first communion, which is another church service to follow. I like the tradition, but there goes an entire day - and with a limited leadership team in our churches, it becomes a barrier.

We went to one after-baptism event we had been invited to and after a church service at the home and the people receiving first-communion, a big meal was served. We talked at length during and after the meal with many people and when we tried to leave afterwards, we were told that the huge meal we'd just eaten was a 'pre-meal' and that to leave would be an insult. So we waiting and even more food came out. It is a great time, but I find it discouraging that people let a party keep them from getting married or being baptized. And the 'time thing', well that is partly our western time-orientation perspective. We like to say here that 'we have watches and the Mozambicans have time'. Think on this. I'm getting better at this, but still when I look at all we are trying to do, it is hard to watch the hours run away!

I praise God for these four who were baptized and grieve about the other 10 who have finished discipleship classes but felt they had to have a sponsor to pay. A tragic dilution of the importance of baptism.

Pastor Able talked about this in his sermon at the Baptism as his heart was also broken over this. He had no idea until the morning of baptism day when people called to cancel. This is something that is much more prevalent here in the Maputo area and as you move out from the city, it is becomes less and less of an issue. Makes me think of the old TV show "greenacres" where the city people move to the country and take their nonsense city ways with them - hope we don't do that.

Challenges. Why is it that we ('we' in the sense of people from all cultures) "have to have" the things we can least afford?

"Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36)

Answer: "I don't have a Patrinho (Godfather) with deep pockets to throw a party for me, my family, and my friends." someone in Mozambique

Pastorial Training in Mocuba

We've been off-line a bit now mainly because of our crazy schedule. We have had the pleasure of having a team here but it limits what we normally do greatly and so we have to let quite a few things go until after, which includes writing in our blog. The time with the team went very well, which is a testimony to the wonderful job Ann does in the background making all the various arrangements, which were substantial in this case. Juka also did a wonderful job setting things up in Mocuba. A great joint-effort.

This most recent team spent a week in Mocuba doing pastorial training using a book written by an academic who took a sabatical in the middle east visiting sheep-herders and then wrote a book about it to help pastors better understand their roll as the leader (shepherd) of their church (flock). The team used the pictures as story-points to explain biblical references to sheep, shepherding, and the pastorial (sheep-herding) lifestyle and then provide practical application to the pastors and trainers in our northern churches. The team bought a stock of these books (in English) as they are not yet translated into Portuguese so that the seminar attendees could have the pictures, which are beautiful. This is an effective training method in an oral culture and is why our Chronological Bible Story Telling program also works so well, which also starts with pictures that are used to help tell-the-story.

In this photo, you see the attendees with their books. There was quite a discussion at the time of the photo as to which book should be emphasized in the photo - the new English book (that they can't read!) or the Bible. This is an interesting thing to ponder in this country where few even have books and few in rural areas even have Bibles. The team kept saying "show your Bibles not the shepherd book" but we got the shepherd book! The team included experienced Bible trainers who kept emphasizing that this was simply a training tool and the Bible was the real book, but there was a pre-occupation with receiving such a nice book. This is the second time we've seen this since we've been here where a program was brought and there was some confusion between the program itself and the Bible. I don't mean this in a negative way as the programs were great but I think it is a warning for all of us who serve in places where there are few Bibles and little Biblical knowledge. We have to get Bibles into the hands of the people and then teach them what this Book says. It is the living word of God and it transforms lives. And when our training is done, there should be no question which book is the Word of God. Something for us to ponder no matter where we teach.

We have received much positive feedback from the people who went to the training over the past few days and they were very excited that the team came and spend a week teaching them, fellowshipping with them, eating with them, and getting to know them. It always comes down to relationships. We praise God for the dedication of these men who answered God's call to teach church planter-pastors in rural Mozambique.

It was a great blessing.

Dave

"Peter replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life." John 6:68

Funeral

Just this past week, we lost a member of one of the key families from which the OMS work here in Mozambique began. So often in church planting work, as it was in Jesus’ day, it starts with a family, brothers, sisters and the circles of influence spin out from there.

One such family is located in a squatter’s tenement housing areas on the very edges of Maputo. The particular area is spiritually dark and not somewhere we go at night alone. The roads are narrow and many alleyways go through this area where two people cannot easily pass without squeezing against the opposing sides of the alley. It is crowded, litter clogs the street, and open sewers run through the area on their way to drainage ditches leading to the sea. The area is known for its witchcraft to the point, the very name of the area includes the Shanghanna name for 'witch doctor'.

It is in the midst of this place that a place of light goes forth. Up one of those narrow alley-ways is a house where the father and mother were discipled and loved by OMS missionaries who came before us. They were members of the same family where the initial work was started in the T-3 area, and from this family came pastors, pastor’s wives, evangelists, and church leaders. But it has not been without challenge. The husband died suddenly, leaving a widow with young children but the church continued in the home. Many visitors worshipped in this small church that met in a lean-two attached to the house, but later set up in the small yard under metal sheets affixed to eight thin poles that still contain the bark from the trees. Bible studies were held, children’s programs administered, and the church continued for the better part of a decade.

For the last few weeks, Helena (the mother) has not been feeling well. We visited and talked with the family and both Aimee (our OMS colleague) and Ann and I took her to the hospital on separate occasions. After much testing, the doctors here concluded she had acute renal failure with only about 10% kidney function remaining. She got worse and worse and even in the States, the diagnosis would not be good. The doctors changed some medicine and wanted to try it for a month, and then see about dialysis and at Ann’s encouragement, the family was starting the process to obtain government medical assistance through South Africa (when certain treatments are not available in Mozambique but are in South Africa, the government will help pay for treatment in South Africa). This was in anticipation of potentially a transplant operation although we aren’t sure she was truly a candidate for this.

Under the new medicine, she was doing better and went to visit family near here in an area known for natural medicine treatment. Suddenly she took a turn for the worse, and died a couple of days later. We fear she took natural remedies that conflicted with the medicine that was working, and with limited renal function, that would be all it would take. But, God knew and she has moved from time into eternity.

So, today, we attended the funeral. We have been to many since we have been here but probably never one with such a wide-reaching impact. She was known by all in our churches in the Maputo area.

The service in the home started at six in the morning. At the same time, key family members and church leadership went to hospital to retrieve the body and through cell phones, the service and movement of the mourners was carefully coordinated. Our part was to transport the elderly ladies to the cemetery, which was about a 20 minute walk from the home.

It was a beautiful day today and as we approached the large cemetery on the major north-south road in Mozambique, the crowds were breath-taking large. We were directed to parking and in fields across the highway and we slowly walked up a walkway that went over the four-lane highway. On the other side, we passed the flower vendors and made our way through the entry way. There were four gates large enough for a car to pass through that were necessary to handle the pedestrian traffic, although cars were not allowed into the area. A high concrete wall surrounds this huge cemetery and there are large concrete mausoleums and most graves are marked by concrete that covers the grave site – roughly like a lid where the casket was buried, but just concrete with simple designs on top, some crosses, and other designs. There is no grass – just a few weeds because it is so dry. The place seemed nearly full to me relative to gravesites but there were many many different funerals in process.

We met as a group near the front at the designated time and gather around the simple wooden gasket. Two flower arrangements, which remained in their cardboard and plastic wrapping the entire service. I estimated about 250 to 300 people surrounding the gasket and we began the slow walk to the back of the cemetery, singing songs as we walked together behind the hand carried casket. At the gravesite, the casket was placed on a special portable stand. As the sun beat down on us, we sang more songs and Pastor Daniel and Pastor Berto gave words of encouragement.

Bodies are not embalmed here and the smell of death was strong and we were thankful for the slight breeze. The casket was opened and people passed by to pay their last respects, spraying a little perfume or shaking a little baby powder into the casket. For many family members, this was the first time they had seen their mother or sister for some time and there was much demonstrative grief. The mourners moved the casket into the hole as is the custom here and various people took turns covering the casket and making a small raised area of sand above the gasket where flowers were stuck into the sand. Hands were washed over the flowers, wetting the sand and cleaning the hands of the mourners many of whom helped cover the gasket using their hands. We then returned to the house.

One of the family members was especially overcome by both the heat and grief and Ann tried to help with that but it seemed to be a part of the process. Ann was horrified to see them do mouth-to-mouth respiration on a breathing person, filling their stomach with air, knowing that vomiting was around the corner. But she was fanned and comforted, given water, but was unable to walk. We went and got the car and received special permission to drive deep into the cemetery to obtain her and take her back to the house.

We returned to the house to a church service and the small yard and house was overflowing into the alleyway with mourners. Many people spoke but it was all in Shangannha so my Portuguese was not much help. As is the custom, you sing a song before you speak, and I’ve become more bold in this. I had a good translator to help me and I just started singing “oh how he loves you and me” not knowing where it came from. I gave a message that was evangelistic and I hope comforting as there were both churched and unchurched people in this gathering and funerals are certainly a time for people to examine where they stand before an eternal God. We often live like we don’t think it (death) can possibly happen to us; yet none of us get out of this life alive. People need to face into this and know the peace that can only come through a personal relationship with Christ. And in this dear family’s case, there was great hope and peace for Helena knew from where her salvation came.

After the service, a simple but wonderful meal was served and no one went without. We were encouraged because when we first came, we would sit at these affairs and depend upon translators, if available, to help us, but now we can understand and speak although many of the older women did not know Portuguese.

We returned home about three in the afternoon.

I asked about the children who remained and how that works. There were eight children, with several still living at home. In the culture, the house and land will go to the youngest child. The oldest male child will assume guardianship of the family. So, it is likely our friend Jorge will assume leadership in the home but under the authority of his older brother. I was relieved to know that they will not be out in the street as sometimes happens. There will be more difficult days for this family as Helena held it all together relative to caring for the family.

We returned home about 3 in the afternoon to work on our Portuguese homework, in anticipation of our team returning from the north on Monday and a full Sunday ahead of us. Juka and Elina (daughter of Helena) came back for the funeral and we arranged to connect with them next week after a time of mourning. I did get to hold little Milca today at the funeral and it thrilled my heart that she was glad to see me.

The photo is of Helena in happier times; she is holding her grand daughter Milca. Helena will be missed but we will see her again.

Pray for this precious family who have lost both parents now and for the young children who remain behind, orphans but under the care of their older siblings.

Dave & Ann

“And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Co 5:8

New Link - Newsletters

We added a new link to the left of this page adding our most recent newsletters to our blog. This isn't for the weak of heart! If you have slow Internet speeds, wait for your snail mail copy! If your internet speed is blazing, then you can download our newsletters.

Our fall letter was just issued by OMS so it should be arriving in your mailbox soon.

Our Christmas letter is in the approval process and should be out in December.

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

CMED Report

We just received a report from our Christian Micro-Enterprise Development (CMED) coordinator who is in Mocuba training and establishing Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups within our churches. His report was very interesting.

First, there is very poor understanding of the mathematics that you need for tracking and handling the money in the savings program, so he is spending much time with the VSL officers to make sure they can track things. It is very simple math, but many don't understand it in the churches he is working with.

Second, he is trying to overcome an expectation that we would sweep in and give each church a wad of money that they would then use as a group. This is a common struggle here and we are trying so hard to establish self-sustaining programs that would continue in our absence. If your program depends upon foreign dollars to continue, you have to examine carefully the issue of dependency vice independence and whether you are really helping or maybe even hurting the cause of Christ for the long-term. What a difficult road it is to walk....

He reported to us that he has mobilized the members in two churches in places called Naverua and Eta. Both VSL groups are functioning well and gathering funds that they can use for small business initiatives. He is also doing training with two other groups but he is uncertain yet if they will be able to move to the VSL phase. Either way, he is doing valuable and needed training on Christian prinicples for handling money. Part of the struggle with this initiative when you go deep into the rural areas is that the actual money available decreases as you move into a society of trade and barter. I suspect that is why he is finding more success in the areas near to the city.

We were greatly encouraged by Mario's good report and his faithfulness in ministry. Pray for this wonderful man who was willing to move out of his comfort zone for six months, moving to a different language, different culture, to serve the churches there. Pray for his protection and God's leading in His life.

Dave & Ann

"And He [Jesus] said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing."" Luke 22:35

Upcoming Games in South Africa

Last week, we helped two missionary friends host a rather large team in South Africa. We combined it with a trip to check our mail, buy some car parts, and get some prescriptions filled. We ended up crossing the border on a Sunday and it was crazy. The crossing that normally takes about 1/2 hour took about two hours. They had put up a new sign in 'no man's land' that got our attention. There is alot of emphasis on the upcoming games in South Africa for the world cup (soccer) and there is a big scramble for the tourist dollars. This particular sign highlights the danger of trafficing of people. The scramble for work is intense and sometimes people send their children south with the promise of money being sent back, only to find they have send their children or loved ones into horrible situations. We starting to hear more about this horrible practice - there seems to be no end to the inhumanity of man to man (or woman).

One of the highlights of this short trip was when one of the cars we were driving with this team broke down in the middle of lion country. We're in the absolute middle of no-where and the car won't start, won't jump, just won't go. Plus, it was an automatic so we couldn't push start it. We had 16 people on this team and 16 different ideas about how to do this! My friend Jason had a clear head and simply took the battery out of a push-able car (even with the trailer!) and put it in the automatic tranny car, and with some wiring adjustments, we got everything going again. Neither of us had brought a good socket set with us, so it was a bit challenging, but you certainly have to be flexible. But, it turned out well and we didn't have to tow anyone! The team had been in Mozambique helping with a Bible college and it was a great opportunity for us to share what OMS is doing in Mozambique as well. They were a great group of people and we really enjoyed our time together.

We brought a load of Chronological Bible Story Telling books back with us to use in our church multiplication program. At the border, we had to explain what they were for and give some away but because we don't charge for them, the customs agent finally let us bring them in. You never know what you will face at the border. But, we had a few hitch-hikers that came with the boxes and we've been trying to rid the car of roaches ever since. Yuck!

We're facing a new delimna. Our passports expire this coming summer, but our resident visa expires in March. So, if we turn in our passports with our visa applications, Mozambique won't want to give us the one-year visa because our passports will expire before the visa. If we try to get our passports renewed early, the US doesn't like that. So, we're not quite sure how to skin that cat. So, we're making an appointment with the embassy to see what they suggest. My how the time is passing quickly! We look alot older than those 10-year-old photos in our passports!

On Saturday, I met with Belarmino about our upcoming training center construction project in Mocuba. He had just returned and we're working on a plan to start the work after the rainy season - probably in late January / early February now. While we were meeting, we had a diversion to fix some broken pipes at the Khongolote church well. They have a number of area homes plumbed in to the well (they are running a little utility company!) and I thought some of my engineer friends might enjoy this view of the manifold. We would like to move this manifold into a better location that is easier to work on, but those kind of things you do when extra money appears. This is working fine, but what happens is when kids play ball in the church yard, sometimes the ball goes into the hole and they step on things getting the ball back. It was a great day for me - I always enjoy hands-on things and always enjoy time with Belarmino. Now, if I can just figure out why the oil pressure gauge isn't working on the car and which wire goes where (the mechanic who fixed the starter disconnected the oil-pressure sensor and it's a bit of a wiring nightmare!).

Blessings!

"When you find yourself deep in a hole, stop digging!" Anonymous

Things That Get You

We recently received the insurance notification (yes we have car insurance) for our annual premium. It had gone up substantially, we think because of an accident a team member had (all our OMS cars are under the same sub-grouping). So, we knew of another agency in town that another mission agency has used with good luck. It's located smack dab in the middle of the business district in the lower part of the city. We parked on the street near the office and left a few things on the floor in the car and contracted with a couple of the hoodlums who do the parking thing in the city to 'guard the car'. (Well, they aren't all hoodlums, but many are from experience, such as when they get into a fist-fight over who will watch your car). This particular parking area was new for us and I didn't have a previous relationship with any of these folks. We locked the car and went on our way.

When we came back, with a better insurance quote in hand, we paid the hoodlums but I noticed there were about six young men hanging around the back of the car. I didn't think too much about it but at our next stop (CAM School) when I loaded up some old records to burn for our field treasurer, I noticed that someone had been through all the stuff in the back of the car and it was unlocked. I pretty well knew what had happened in town at that point. When I got home, I went through the back and was surprised that everything was accounted for although someone had certainly looked through everything.

However, today we can't find the camera although the case is in Ann's bag. We think back through the events carefully and pin it to that day. The hoodlums must have gone through the car even though it was locked and found the camera hidden away under the front. We must have caught them in the act because they had left things in disarray in the back but appeared to have not taken anything, including medicines in Ann's medicine box. I can't think of another explanation at this point. We could just nail the timing down too well.

We've heard rumors of huge magnets they are using to move the locking mechanism on car doors even if it is locked. We don't have an alarm system on ours (which most of the time is a blessing I might add) and so, we are subject to this problem. I mentioned we'd lost our jack and tools out of the hidden compartment in the back the same day we lost our headlights in front of the Weil's house (inside of 10 minutes) and I couldn't figure out how they got into the back of the car. Something is up on this. Maybe it is the type of lock on the back - but I've got to figure it out.

So, another camera bites the dust. These things really weigh heavily on you - really. You try to do things the right way, to be super careful yet not to the point of paranoia, but in this society stealing is the norm and there is absolutely no guilt if someone can 'get away with it'. Camera's are easily stolen and sold here, like cell phones. Highly targeted. I could probably go find it at the thieves market - a fellow I know did and when he showed them the photos ("see it is my camera"), it didn't matter. (In fact, he went to the police with the guy in tow and the police basically shrugged their shoulders.) We don't like to carry one (a camera) down the street either, so it is an interesting tension.

Maybe we were stupid, but we thought we had it hidden and the car guarded.

It wears on you. I basically paid a guy to steal our camera....

Dave & Ann

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me." Ps 51:10

Mail

Just a short note. Yesterday we received a letter here in Maputo postmarked out of Pittsburgh PA on February 9, 2008. We received it, let's see, that would be about 19 months after it was sent. The envelope is properly addressed with a beautiful 90 cent stamp from the USA and a big sticker that says "United States Postal Service; PAR AVION AIRMAIL". I think it must have ended up in Amelia Earhardt's mail bag, or Gilligan's boat.

It contained Ann's Registered Nurse license renewal form. Opps! However, not to worry, our dear friends who sent it to us had also emailed us so Ann had renewed on-line and we've since received the license - although we did go through some racing heart beats as we checked all this out (do you think we forgot to renew your license!!!). It all turned out ok.

So, if you don't hear from us right away on something, please consider skyping us or emailing us or even coming in person! We're not ignoring you on purpose - heh heh! ;-)

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8

"the mail always gets through...." USPS

Heart Break

We've had a problem brewing for a while now and it recently reached a head when one of our trainer's wife showed up all battered at the house of a friend. The charge was that the husband returned in the wee hours of the morning drunk and in the ensuing argument, he beat her. The police got involved and the entire neighborhood knows about it. Our church leaders sprung into action and the couple received counseling and warnings and after a week in the home of one of our other leaders, they returned to their assigned home (to our chagrin) and it lasted two nights before the same scenario happened again. Drama that maligns the cause of Christ. It is heart-breaking and beyond understanding for someone who teaches others.

The culture here is unbelievably tolerant of things like this. I was discussing it with church leadership here in Maputo, and was basically told that this has been a problem in the past with this individual even before we got here and they thought it had been resolved. And I'm screaming inside "and you thought it was ok to send him with minimal supervision to a new province??? What were you thinking????" Somehow we 'missed that memo' and it is another picture of the tension of being a missionary. Hard as we try to be in the culture, we remain at a certain distance not because we want to but because - we are. I think it would take a lifetime. When leadership falls here, it is not only tolerated but almost expected.

But is that really so different than any other culture? The newspapers the world over are repleat with stories of corruption and moral failure of leadership. People in leadership start thinking they are somehow "different" or "better" than someone else when we know well that the Bible says that all are under sin, 'that no one is righteous, not even one...' (Romans 3:10)

Things like this are so difficult because you expect things to be different in the church, but in reality the church will mirror society to a certain degree because the church is made up of all of us flawed individuals. We've had four other moral failures with people in leadership over the past year. We've also had two cases of gonorrhea recently with married church members who look us in the eye (seeking medical advise) and say "I didn't fool around with anyone in the past two weeks". Well, someone did! God grant me the wisdom to speak the truth in love. And in these cases, it grieves us as if you have gonorrhea, the odds that you also contracted HIV is problably close to certain. It is heart-breaking and it is also simply bewildering.

People are drawn to those transformed through the life-changing power of Christ. It is something people desire, but it also requires a commitment to live holy lives, making those choices that are not always popular in the culture. God gives you the power but it is not something you can fake - though we can try it will only last so long. We must take up our cross daily, pray daily, seek His face daily, for our enemy roams around seeking whom he can devour. It's also probably no accident the verse below starts with the words "be sober, be vigilant."

Father in Heaven, strengthen our dear Mozambican church to seek your face daily for You and You alone are our source of strength as we face the challenges of life in any culture. Strengthen us in Your Calling and help us stand strong in these difficult times. Use us oh Lord for your name's sake. Amen.

Dave & Ann

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8

What does a church look like?

During our time here, we have seen every kind of church you can imagine. We've sat under beautiful cashew trees on matts and logs to worship and teach. We've been in mud churches, fired-brick churches, block churches, rock churches, cement churches, reed churches, canvas churches, and lean-to churches at homes. We've been under grass roofs, metal roofs, asbestos roofs, reed roofs, straw roofs, tile roofs, canvas roofs, and no roofs. In all cases, what was impressive about the church was not the building, the style, or the color but rather the people and how they related to the God of the universe. What was impressive was the prayer, the singing, the preaching, the worship, the giving, and the community of believers working together to share the good news. It truly isn't the building.

This past week, the people of our church at Machava built their church. It is simple reed church on a small piece of land. They ran out of metal roofing material, but temporarily that's ok because it lets light in and the rainey season is not yet upon us. They don't have doors yet, but they will come. This structure will also provide a place for training church planters, who have been meeting under a tree at a church members home. It is a start for which we are thankful and it is our prayer that this humble structure will be the start of something big in this community! It is the people and the lives tranformed by the living God that make the church.

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

"Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?...." Acts 7:46



(Photos demonstrate overall flow of construction with Pastor Abel (with tie) posing with many of the church people in the last one.)

Rick and Crystal are here

One of the delights we have is when friends come to visit. Today, we picked up Rick and Crystal, friends of ours from Idaho, at the airport. They are here to work with Habitat for Humanity and we are thrilled to have them here a few days before their assignment to show them around. We have done alot of talking tonight trying to catch up. Rick and I worked together for many years and I have always counted him as a good friend. It is our joy to show them the work and have them in our home!

As an aside, we broke down and bought a gas-powered generator for our house. Our power outages seem to becoming more and more frequent and they are lasting for longer and longer times. It seemed prudent so we can continue to function with the things we are responsible for and it will pay for itself quickly at the present rate in food we lose in the freezer. The infrastructure is so fragile here. It's not a huge generator but sufficient for lights, electronics, freezer / fridge.

"Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel." Proverbs 27:9

September Update

I haven't written for a while due to our incredibly busy schedule. So many things I could write about, but let me try a 'short' update on a few things.

One of the things that has really tied up our time is resuming Language classes. Being in our third year and still struggling with language,we felt that it was essential for us to resume formal study. Originally, the plan was to spend our first year in language study but that was just impossible because of the situation we found ourselves in. So, we learned "street portuguese" on the fly and desire very much to improve our skills. We have a relatively large vocabulary but our pronounciation is poor and our sentence structure is close to terrible. We signed up at the Language Institute and the class is moving along quickly because we really have a decent base and we're filling in a lot of holes in our knowledge. However, it is every day and with the homework and transportation, it's a five to six hour commitment every day. Our instructor's name is "Junior" and we get along quite well although we do drive him crazy with our American accent. He knows English but is refusing to speak it to us, which is good but can be a bit frustrating when trying to learn the finer points of language! We feel we are making good progress and are committed to 100 hours of instruction between now and December. It's just the two of us in class and we are at the same level of knowledge, so it is working well. We just had our first test (which was a surprise test!) and we will get our grades next week.

We had a wonderful seminary dedication as described in earlier posts, and have named a new seminary director, which we feel releases us from worrying about the seminary and was one of the things that we felt allowed us to resume language study. In this photograph, our OMS International Ministries Director (Randy Spacht - right (who visited with us earlier this week)) is standing with our new director, Don Hulsey (left). Don is our neighbor and has many many years of exprience in Africa and in Mozambique leading Bible Schools. He is steady, experienced, and fluent in Portuguese and the local dialect. We count him and his wife as close friends and are excited to have them partnering with us. He has already had a big impact as he knows the hard questions to ask but even better than just asking the questions, he can follow-up with reasonable solutions. We are absolutely thrilled at this. We've already had great discussions about the future of the seminary program and he brings to the table an incredible grasp of the reality of education and culture in Mozambique. Did I say how thrilled we are? Thank you Lord for this incredible answer to prayer - INCREDIBLE!

Last Saturday, we attended the wedding of one of our Mozambican Advisors' (to OMS) youngest daughter. It was a lovely wedding, probably the nicest of any we've attended here so far. This many, whom we are very fond of, and how has helped us so much since our arrival, is the National Superintendant for his denomination. As such, many people came to the wedding and the following dinner / celebration. We had great coversations and knew so many people at the wedding, which was also a great encouragement to us. We even ran into the "well installation" people and made arrangements for fixing the well at Intaka this November. There was much singing, dancing, and praising God as all celebrated the wedding of this young Pastor and his new wife. The first photo is at the wedding with the bride and groom in the middle with the God Mother and God Father on each side. The second photo is of us standing with our dear friends and parents of the bride.

One of the things that was a little different in the church service was how each of the God Parents spoke for the groom and the bride. So, are you thinking four people? Nope, lots more. There were those who stood with them when they were presented as babies and committed to helping them as they grew to young adults; there we those who stood with them during their baptism and committed to spiritual support; there were those standing with them as married people. (that's 12 people). And, then the God Parents for the God Parents of the bride and groom spoke as they saw this as a great thing that this couple had matured and grown to the point they were helping other couples. Then the grandparents spoke, the parents spoke, and other interested people involved in the lives of the bride and groom. They were eloquent; they were loving; they cared for this new couple and it was clear to me that this young couple had a tremendous support network, all desiring that they succeed as a married couple and as Christians. It was quite touching and a far cry from the fierce independence of my Western US heritage. The culture here brings with it great support, but relational responsibilities that boggle my mind. But, with it comes tremendous hospitality for one another, patience with one another, and a tremendous ability for tolerance as the culture works in the lives of its members. And, weddings that go for hours, if not days as all the relationships unfold and work. It is easy to see how Christianity, the concept of a loving father, and the command to love one another reverberate so quickly within the Mozambican culture.

All week long in the evenings the houses behind us have been full of music and celebration as they prepare for a wedding this weekend. The singing and dancing groups have been practicing. The tarps have been installed in the yards to make shade. It will be a noisy weekend and all day we've been listening to the Eagles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and other western music - LOUD. It will go all night I'm sure for the next three days as wedding celebration continues.

We're working with two more young couples we are trying to encourage through the cultural barriers so they can be married instead of simply living together. This photograph is of a young man with his sister-in-law, wife, and baby. He is in church leadership and very interested in helping us with the church multiplication program but we need to work through this marriage issue first. We have begun routine meetings to counsel with them as they take this new step in their life together. The young man is a hard charger who is always busy, working at the pre-school in T-3, doing construction work, and has been a great worker on nearly all of our OMS-related construction projects. It is such a pleasure to stand with him as he works hard to provide for his family, attends seminary on Saturdays, and serves in the local church. We are very encouraged to see how God is blessing his faithfulness. This couple has been together nearly three years.

In another case, we have a couple wanting our help to get married, but the fellow just isn't willing to help himself but rather is content and almost seems to be desiring some sort of a dependency relationship, which isn't good for anyone. He has actually almost been blackmailing us to help him finance his wedding - demanding in a sense, which is quite sad and heartbreaking for us. We have given him many leads on employment, but he doesn't act on them. So, we try to teach about God's design for marriage, but our experience in life says that this marriage is a train wreck waiting to happen. However, we tend to second-guess ourselves because we bring so much cultural bias / baggage - but we don't think so in this case. We want to encourage this couple but at the same time, we have so many reservations that they just aren't even close to ready for marriage. Pray with us.

Blessings to you!

Dave & Ann

"Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people." Psalm 3:8

Short Cuts

This note is especially for my four precious pearls! You know how your dad likes to take short-cuts – and is always looking for a new way to get somewhere? Well, it’s been especially fun here to find new short cuts (and be a bit confused for a couple of hours afterwards – like “where am I?”), especially during the days of confusion after coming from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. You know, just like the time I took a short cut home from the airport in Pittsburgh and we ended up in West Virginia! However, my internal compass has finally reset and I do finally know what direction is north, south, etc., so the being lost phenomena has decreased considerably.

Today we took Aimee out to meet our head OMS advisor, who works at the Nazarene College outside of Maputo. We drove in to town to pick her up and then headed out to the college to show her the ropes, introduce her, and also show her the nearby Baptist College where the director’s wife has a literacy program she is doing with the wives of students who come from remote areas of Mozambique. (Aimee has a great interest in literacy programs as her focus is women’s ministries). We toured both schools and met the various people at the schools, hopefully opening future partnership doors for Aimee. However, we knew we had to be back for our language class at 1300. It had taken us about an hour to get to the school because of some construction and traffic issues, and as we were leaving, one of our Nazarene friends mentioned he could be at CAM School (our missionary school) in about 20 minutes. I said “no way” and he explained his short-cut. He told me they had just completed a paved road that went straight to the coast and that we were only about 5 km from the coast. I had to scratch my head, thinking that it was possible – and I knew some of the area between the school and the coast – so, he gave some directions and with 45 minutes until class, we left the second school, with me a little panicked to think it was even possible to make class on time. So, we headed down the sand roads, second right, third left past the wall with eucalyptus trees and vines with fruit hanging over the wall, and onto a new paved road, and boom, we were at the coast and in a few minutes, dropped of Aimee at her house, and made it to class with five-minutes to spare. He also told me about another one I’ll try another day! I felt like I’d gone through some sort of time warp or something. Thank you Lord!

And then, after all that, our Instructor said, “what are you doing here? You have class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, not today” Oops – we mis-communicated that somewhere along the way. We readjusted for next week, but he was busy today - so after all that – no class.

On the way home, we stopped at the body shop to see if our car was ready (we’re using a rental and wanting to dump it as fast as possible!). I talked to the guy who took the car into the shop (it’s quite large – lots of wrecks here every single day!), and reminded him about the car. He looks at me and scratches his head and looks out at the shop and says “I’ll call you by the end of the day”. Not a good sign – where is the car…..Of course he didn’t call at the end of the day so we’ll stop by tomorrow and at this point I’ll have to insist on seeing the car! Gulp!

Our Advisor today told an interesting story to our new missionary. He advised caution as she moves forward. He pointed to a picture on the wall and spoke of a lady from Gaza province, who had been to the United States for a conference. When she came back, she spoke to the school there and said that she had never understood Americans. Her view was that they came here and acted peculiar and arrogant, always trying to push their culture and ideas on everyone. However, now that she had seen the houses they lived in, where they slept, how they ate, where they worked, and how they lived, and she finally understood what the missionaries here had given up to come live to Mozambique. She said she could have never understood without seeing what she’d seen because if you’ve only lived in one place, how could you possibly know what it was like somewhere else. She finally understood that it would take have to take a call from God for someone to leave America to come live here. So, our advisor then cautioned us to recognize that in ministering to those in the villages, and especially to the older of society, that there is absolutely no way they can understand where you have come from and your frame of reference. However, you are here, and you can, through asking questions and participating in culture can, over a long time, begin to understand and to be understood. However, the cultural gap is very large and will likely always be large. He said that God has called us as we are – we should not try to be someone we are not or could never be. We are giving the most important thing we can – ourselves. We discussed this some more as honestly, none of us felt that the cost of the things she had mentioned (the houses, cars, food, and the like) were things that we ever thought about as ‘giving up’ as we gained so much in other ways. The true sacrifice was not being with our precious pearls and we are so thankful that even in the last three years, we really have been able to visit with you, that you’ve been able to come here, and that we could talk on the phone - so more than we ever imagined would be possible and truly a blessing.

As another example, he talked about the Shanghanna word for human. The word actually refers to a Shanghanna person as a human and it doesn’t apply to other people. Other people would be Americans, Makua, Chinese, Lomwe, Mexican, etc., but you wouldn’t apply the ‘human’ term to them. This is a cultural phenomena that explains a lot about the southern culture of Mozambique and some of the conflict we’ve seen between southern and northern people groups. For example, if you act inappropriately relative to the Shanghanna culture, it is relatively tolerated because, well, you aren’t ‘human’. So, if you come in and try to say “you need to clean up how you handle your water because it makes you sick,” they might listen to you until you leave out of respect for visitors, but then go back to the old way because, after all, how do you know? You aren’t ‘human’. You must take the time to develop the relationship, and it is best to work with an intermediary, such as someone in the culture who has been educated and has an understanding of what you are trying to do. However, this person is critical to your success and must be chosen very carefully and very prayerfully, for your ministry to succeed. Wise counsel from a wise man.

I have pondered this counsel all day and have reflected on how we used to live in the States and how in our ignorance, we couldn’t really begin to fathom life outside of America because that was the only reality we knew. I wonder if culturally as a nation, we are also looking beyond our borders and starting to assume others ‘aren’t human’. It’s something we’ve seen through history, the dehumanizing of people groups, and is it a subtle trick of the enemy. But, I’m getting off-track.

We weren’t the world travelers that you guys were!, and even after a few short and carefully orchestrated trips here, we couldn’t possibly understand the living conditions and culture here in Mozambique until we lived it and experienced it. And even now in our third year, I recognize that it would take a life-time to fully have the understanding we desire and the language we need to move fully into community. But in the meantime, we need to try and be all things to all people so that some might learn the truth. There are no short-cuts for this work.

Blessings to my precious pearls. I love each of you dearly and thank you for your steadfastness, your faith, your love, and your gracious patience with your missionary parents. Our absence does not diminish our deep and abiding love for each of you. Not a single day goes by that you are not on our minds and deep within our hearts.

PS - I thought you might enjoy the photo of us with Juka (and me trying to smile. ;-))

Dad

“To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” 1 Cor 9:22-23 (Paul’s advice to all of us).