Training Center

I've been trading email with Juka Fernando, our church multiplication coordinator in Mozambique. I wanted to share these current photographs from the recent church planting conference / seminar he did at our Mocuba Training Center. The training included couples the first day and then they branched off into Church Multiplication training with the leaders and the wives went off with Juka's wife for their own special training program. Juka has received alot of good feedback about the training that he tried to focus on common problems and their solutions. Yes, it is true, the same relationship issues within the church occur in Mozambique and Juka is very gifted at helping people work through these issues.

He has rigged up a system to pipe water to the center from a nearby well so they have water right now. They have also hand-dug a well that is providing water for them as well. He promised me photographs of this also so I can understand better what he has done to provide water.

In the above photographs, you can see Pastor Abel with Pastor Nelio and his baby, Doce. You can see some of the neighboring houses in the background with the grass roofs. Next is a photo of one of the training session, using one of our African Text training books - from the cover and the color, I suspect it is the book titled "Talking with God" (a focus on prayer). However, there are other yellow ones as well. Juka's goal was to finish the theological training by extension (TTE) books with all the leadership during this conference. I need to ask him that question - he didn't say he did, which means he probably ran out of time! I know his primary focus was completing more of our OMEGA series, which is focused on church planting techniques. He was also trying to help our trainers with training to do a better job with intentional discipleship and baptism of new believers.

The Trainer's wives are in the next photograph, with Elina (Juka's wife) sitting on the right. The chairs you see are a wicker type chair made locally in Gurue and sold along the side of the road, made by church members for the center in this instance.

You can see the men who attended the conference standing together in the next picture at the door to the training center.

Lastly, we have some of the men fixing temporary window coverings over the center. We ran out of money and were unable to add the glass and the window guards (to prevent break-ins) at the present time. We will do that work as we receive funding for the Mocuba Ministry Center. We went over budget a bit because of the higher cost of materials in central Mozambique and the transportation costs for getting materials from the city to the training center. However, this will all happen in God's timing as we still have a vision to turn this center into a seminary extension site eventually, with dormatories, a church building, more classrooms, etc. It is all planned out - it just takes money! However, we need to walk slowly as in a project like this in Mozambique, too much too fast isn't necessarily a good thing.

It has been such an incredible privilege to have a small part in all of this. To walk the land, pray for God's provision, see His hand move, to plan and execute the construction, and then to see the facility in use. It is truly a God-thing and we are so very thankful to our wonderful team that stands with us so faithfully. God was moved through the hands of so many people to make this training center a reality!

Pray for this work; that it would continue to flourish and expand as our dear church leaders evangelize their own country for Christ. It is a awesome thing to see God's hand at work through so many.

Blessings.

Dave & Ann

"...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." 1 Philippians 1:6

It is His work!