Good Friday and a Sad Story

Today was a day of preparation that ended with our showing the Jesus film in two different locations.  One in a more remote area outside of Maputo and the other in T-3.  While in the states for the conference last summer, we picked up a number of DVDs of the Jesus film, which is a vast improvement quality wise over the VCRs.  Tonight, we played it outside of the T-3 church on the road and had well over 500 people who gathered to watch this movie on the big screen.  I heard many talking about how clear the picture and sound was and people where absolutely drawn into it.   About 150 people responded and entered into the church afterwards to hear the gospel and be offered an opportunity to accept Christ.  We used the Tsonga version of the movie, a version of the heart language in the southern part of Mozambique and there were many comments about how clear the pictures were.  Some of the leaders at T-3 have helped with this equipment a couple of times now and so set-up and take-down went very well. I still fill the car with equipment even though we've reduced the size of components quite a bit. 

The Pastor wanted to use the Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson's movie), which is probably a more accurate depiction of the agony of the cross, but it is also not something that we thought would be good for small children and there are tons of small children at these showings.  In addition, we haven't run down a Portuguese version of this film yet (Portuguese subtitles).  We do have a children's perspective version of the Jesus film that T-3 will be showing to the kids in church on Sunday morning.  

In any case it was a great evening although Ann stayed home - she is coming down with something, so I was only operating at 50 percent tonight.  She was missed - many people came to me worried as they seldom see us separate and many were worried - it has a different meaning in this culture where life is so short and unpredictable, which brings me to a tragedy.

Tomorrow we will be attending a funeral for a young man we knew well named Paulo.  He is in his late twenties and has three kids and a wife named Olga.  They are a lovely couple from our Khongolote church but for the last year, he'd been plagued with different illnesses and just did not seem well.  The official cause of death was Tuberculosis but you usually see TB in people here with very suppressed immune systems usually caused by other disease.  He was a wonderful dancer, song/worship leader and always up-beat.   He was sought after to lead dancing/singing groups at weddings and other celebrations.  This death caught us by surprise and we've received lovely notes from many former missionaries, all who knew Paulo well and who have fond memories of him.   I like best what one of them said, that Paulo was preceding us into heaven, leading the way for all of us.  

I worry about his young family and yet this story is played out all over Mozambique all the time and this helps you understand why the average life expectancy is in the mid-thirties here. 

Very sobering and it points to the absolutely urgency of the task to take the Gospel to the nations.  Paulo knew that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  He knew his redeemer lives but so many others do not know the peace and assurance that comes with this knowledge.

Pray for Olga, the twins and their youngest and that God would continue to provide for them.  There are so many widows here like her.   It just grips my heart. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27