Fifth Generation Church!

Four times a year, we issue a listing of all the church plants in Mozambique, who their leaders are, the approximate membership, and other statistics relative to the churches.  This report was just issued today and I am very pleased to report that we have our first FIFTH generation church.

This means, a church, that planted a church, that planted a church, that planted a church, that planted a church.  Those are expanding circles of influence impacting multiple communities and families with the Gospel.  In church planting, we talk about instilling "church planting DNA" into the churches, so it continues from one church to the next - that this gospel will branch out from one place to another to another.

I was so blessed to see this - and thank God for how His Spirit is moving across beautiful Mozambique through the dedication of wonderful men like Pastors Juka and Abel.  May God guide and protect them as they do so much to change lives for eternity.  Pray for this new church in a place called Chirrute.

This made my day!   We serve an amazing God.  

See the attached pictures of a baptisms in a Nevogorro yesterday.  Pastor Juka, my dear friend, is in the tie.


Dave & Ann


"For the LORD is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation."  Ps 100:5

Celebrating Graduations in Mocuba

In previous postings, I have written about the evangelism and church planting program we were privileged to participate in during our time in Mozambique.  The program consists of a four-year structured program where church leaders were trained.  These young men and women start churches in their communities and at the conclusion of their training, can be ordained as pastors in their denomination, assuming they have a good testimony and meet the other requirements outlined in the New Testament.

Juka, our church planting program coordinator sent us the wonderful photos of the graduation ceremonies in Mocuba.  Denominational leaders made the long journey from Maputo to participate in the special event.

We received the photographs with joy at this milestone in the church planting program in Mozambique, but also with heavy sadness because we were not there to share in the joy of the event that culminates what we were working on the past years.  Yet at the same time, they are doing a great job and it remains clear that our time there has concluded.  What a privilege it has been - truly.

You will notice that the meeting is under a temporary structure built from the roofing material that was blown off of the training center in the recent cyclones that passed through Mozambique.

 As it is the tradition in Mozambique, the graduates received a special shirt / covering identifying them as the graduates and they also received Bibles and books to celebrate the day.

The graduates were honored by sitting at the front of the assembly.

One of our most prolific church trainer / planters, Dinis, is shown in the white shirt at the front of the assembly in a couple of the photos as he was a key participant in the event.  Dinis was one of the leaders ordained in a special service last fall in Maputo that we had the privilege of participating in.

In this photo, Juka Fernando is on the right and next to him is denominational leader Daniel Maduel, who also teaches in the seminary in Maputo, and who made the long journey to participate in the wonderful event.  Daniel was the keynote speaker.

In this photograph, Juka Fernando and his wife Elina are passing out the gifts and certificates.

As you can see, our precious church leaders did a marvelous job of hosting and setting up this event.  We are so very proud of them.

With much love,

Dave & Ann

 "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."  2 Timothy 2:1-3

"...guard what has been entrusted to your care...."  1 Timothy 6:20


Father God, bless them, guard them, and keep them as they serve you in Mozambique.  Amen

A New Year

We are one week into the new year, rejoicing in what God has done in this past year. We are currently in South Carolina, traveling and sharing what God is doing in Mozambique. This past week we had the privilege to share in a church outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The pastor of this church and his family are dear friends to us, dating back to when we lived in Charleston with our young family all those years ago. We are very thankful for this spontaneous opportunity and it is the first time ever we ran out of prayer cards! More will go in the mail today! This was a very special time for us and a wonderful encouragement to us.

We continue to travel much, making the most of every opportunity to share what God is doing in our lives and in Mozambique. We just issued our year-end report for the church planting / multiplication program we work in and to encourage you, I’ll provide some basic statistics from that report for Calendar year 2010:

15 new churches planted

3379 decisions for Christ

At the current time there are over 890 people in structured discipleship training and 260 leaders being groomed in the Village Church Planting Program. These are statistics in the rural areas of Mozambique and do not include the seminary and larger established churches in the Maputo (capital city) area. We praise God for each of these decisions, for each of these new churches, and pray he will grow the leadership and the congregations as they learn to walk with Christ. What a privilege it is to have a small part in this work.

It is our prayer that the existing church base will grow in spiritual maturity and understanding and that there will be a renewed passion for evangelism and church planting with a concurrent emphasis to disciple those who are new in their faith.

As we think about this next year, we see that we have much that must be done before we return to Mozambique. Some specific prayer requests:

1. We have an intense travel schedule over the coming months and need travel mercies and His presence as we go from place to place.
2. We are a bit overwhelmed thinking about the logistics of returning to Mozambique. We need to move out of the cabin, prepare a small shipment to send back to Mozambique, decide what city it is best to fly out of (driven by the shipment), and what to do with this car we bought when we returned to the States. We are scattered between four states and would like to centralize our things back in Pittsburgh, where we have a few things in storage. We need to get this all clear in our minds so we can purchase our return tickets.
3. We are beginning to sense a different direction when we return as we have prayed about this next term. We still would be doing church planting / multiplication, but we are sensing a bit different personal focus this next term. This may involve moving into a more rural environment but we are waiting on Him.
4. The thought of leaving our children again weighs heavily on us. This has been a higher cost than we ever anticipated and grips us deep in our souls.
5. We simply want to be obedient to the Call on our lives and walk confidently in that Call. It is such a privilege to be a part of the church planting movement in Mozambique.
6. We pray that we would be used of God to make a difference. We have learned that this comes by being obedient day-by-day, where-ever God has us at the moment.
7. Our National church leadership is key to the continued spread of the Gospel in Mozambique. Pray that they would remain faithful and obedient to God's call on their lives.

Blessings in this New Year!

The photo is Dave with precious grandson Caleb.

Dave & Ann

Christmas Greetings

We just submitted the church registry, or listing of all the churches, their leadership, the numbers associated with each church (attendence, members, baptisms, etc.) and as always these reports are quite exciting. Even in the relative slow hot months in Mozambique, we saw additional churches planted, for which we praise God.

This photograph is outside our Mocuba Training Center, where Juka, our country church-multiplication coordinator conducted a week-long training seminar with our trainers and church planters. The women also got together for their own time of study, prayer and training, as hosted by Juka's dear wife. The reports we have received about the training have been very good although the Trainers are a bit discourage as attendence has been down laterly because of the demands on the subsistence farms - there has been quite a bit of rain and the crops have needed tending. It is an important part of community life in rural Mozambique. We are so thankful for this commited team of people reaching their country for Christ.

We will be receiving our year end reports in the coming few weeks and I look forward to summarizing them for you.

We enjoyed our time with family for the holiday and pray you did as well. This photo was taken on Christmas Day at Allison's and Byron's house.

Blessings to you.

Dave & Ann

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." Ps 142:10

Third Generation Church

Since my last entry, we have issued two church planting reports in conjunction with our friends in Mozambique. We continue to be amazed at what God is doing in Mozambique with our fledgling OMS-founded denomination. We now have 125 churches as compared to the 10 when we arrived four years ago – not anything we did – we were the planting and watering department, it was God who did the increase. I am convinced that God works through very ordinary people so there can be no doubt that only He deserves the credit.

One of the reports we issue is what is called a “church register”. It lists by name each church planter/pastor and the church or churches that he has planted with some basic information about those churches. This last report contained two very significant things that thrilled us:

1. We have a new training center outside the city of Quelimane (the meaning of which is "kill a man" because of the low-land and high incidence of Malaria!). We had visited the pastor of a church in that area who wanted to partner with us and had already begun to teach our program. He has fully engaged with us and is now fully participating. That is wonderful. He is older, experienced, and trained, which is God’s provision, that is clear. I will try to include a photograph if our Internet speed will let us upload. His name is Arcanjo. He and his church planter/pastors are responsible for starting five churches. This photo is at Arcanjo's church, he is the man on the right and his wife and youngest child is to his right.

2. In addition, we have our first ‘third-generation’ church. What is that? Well, our Trainers that teach at our training centers have as many as 20 people who they are training. When one of those 20 starts a church that would be the first generation church. That Pastor (of the first generation church) is expected to be mentoring and training his own group of people, some of which would start a church, and that would be a second generation church. And if we are all doing our jobs right, then the leader of the second generation church will in-turn work with another group of people, some of which would start a church – that would be a third generation church. The idea is that we have a self-sustaining program that continues on and on, with people teaching what they know, but everything stemming from the formal training program at the Training Center. In some countries in Africa where OMS uses this program, we have 7^th generation churches, perhaps higher now. Sound familiar, mmmmm, let’s see, there was Jesus, and 12 disciples, then there were the 70, a three-year program, and then there is Paul and his journeys, mmmmmmm.

Our first 3^rd generation church is in a place called Tatala, stemming off from our Training Center near Elope, where Dinis Ramos is our trainer. God is blessing Dinis as he teaches at two different centers. You might remember that a few months ago, he took some of his church planter/pastors and they did an extensive evangelism campaign using the Jesus film, where over 1000 people made decisions for Christ. I suspect this church is more fruit from that campaign. Pray for Dinis, for where there is great success, there is great opposition and resistance as well. It is not easy for him. Dinis is in the back row of this photograph of some of his planter/pastors (stripe shirt). The other photo is the outside of the same training center.

We begin our first ‘road tour’ tomorrow where we will be traveling and sharing, speaking, preaching, and teaching about the marvelous things that God is doing in Mozambique. Pray with us for traveling mercies and that we can represent the Field and our Lord well. This kind of life-style does not come easy for us as we continue to grow in understanding of what ‘Trusting God’ really means. But, we have a great story to tell – but those of you who read our blog – you already know the stories!

Dave & Ann

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, Amazing Love, now flowing down

From hands and feet, that were nailed to the tree, As grace flows down and covers me.

It covers me…..”

Song by David Bell, Luie Giglio and Rod Padgett

First Wedding; Mocuba Training Center

Sometimes we just get so excited about things we can hardly stand it.

We just sent in our monthly church planting report, and we were thrilled to see that 2 new churches, 62 baptisms, 217 decisions for Christ, and over 800 in structured discipleship training. This is great news. But some other things really excited us in a few emails we’ve received the last couple of days.

One is that we just had our first wedding at the Mocuba Training Center; that just thrills us to no end to see how this facility is being used for our OMS-founded denomination. And, the wedding dress is one of the ones sent by some of our dear supporters. There is something so very special about the love shown across the miles from the churches in the States to the churches in Mozambique. And then, Antonio and Theresa are the Patrinho and Madrinha (Godfather and Godmother – very important cultural role in Mozambique) and Juka officiated. We still could use an influx of cash to finish off some things at the center – I think that is always the case!

And on the 14^th of August, our trainer in Ilhe, Dinis Ramos officiated a wedding there as well.

I am also including a precious picture of Milca, Juka’s daughter carrying water for the garden at the training center – you can see the center in the background and the small house. Juka will move there eventually. In addition, this other picture shows the water well that is the solution to water needs at the center in the short-term; a hand-dug well. There was not sufficient flow to support a pump type well.

I am also including a photo of Juka and Milca planting a tree - I had always cast a vision that the center would be like the SIL center in Nampula - that someday there would be big trees to cast shade and provide a respite from the heat and a peaceful place to study and learn about God. I almost cried when I saw the picture as I miss them so much.

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

“Do not let you hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1

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!

Mocuba Training Center Update

We thought you might enjoy seeing the most recent photos of the Training Center in Mocuba. We still don't have the windows installed but they are very very close. The center will be used for a 10-day conference starting the first week of August, so the pressure is on to finish everything.

In this first photo, you see the training center on the right, with the small temporary structure used to house tools

and materials during construction, and the house in the back where people will be able to stay. The other photos are from different views.

W

e are very pleased to have this work completed. It gives us a great focal point for the church and we look forward to continuing the vision to eventually move on to the second phase as we build our residential seminary extension site. In this photo, you see Pastor Antonio walking across the ground. The major north - south road in Mozambique is just this side of the trees you see in the distance.

God has blessed this work and answered your

prayers - no injuries, no major problems. We still don't have water and need to resolve that before expanding further. We do have a good well within walking distance so the water can be hauled to the facility for use, which is consistent with the local culture. You can see some of the nearby house roofs (grass) in the distance.

In this last photo, you see my close Mozambican friend and colleague, Juka, fixing the fence with a nice shot of the center behind him before adding doors and finishing the outside with a skim coat of cement. What is so

cool is that we can continue to communicate by text messaging and email while we are stateside! It is a far cry from the days of sailing ships and letters!

The formatting of this post is a bit off for some reason and I can't seem to fix it. Sorry about that!

We are stateside as of last Friday. Our plans for vehicle and temporary storage of our shipment fell through, forcing us to purchase a used vehicle. It is a story itself of God's provision as I was praying about what can we do and I picked up the paper, randomly opened it and an ad caught my eye, which led to a dealer, and some wonderful men who helped us work through the details. You should try it sometime - buy a car with an out-of-state drivers license, no permanent address, working overseas with an 'employer' in another state, and what stateside address we have (our daughter) had been changed a month ago to an even different state from an even different state. Ok, now, think about getting a loan for this same couple, who by the way, had no insurance and one of them has an expired driver's license (of course from another state). So, then go get car insurance, then car tags.....you get the picture. It is less stressful in Mozambique!

But, God was merciful and it all worked out although I have until early September to figure out about that first payment! What a life we are living as compared - no Lord, I'm not asking to go back to Egypt - anyway, I don't like leeks! (you'll have to look up the verses!)

So then, we had to quickly move our shipment from Mozambique (that came in with out any problems and we are hats off to the US customs people who were tremendously helpful to us and helped us get everything squared away on this end. A great office in Huntsville. So, we rented a u-haul truck and took it to knoxville where we can share a storage unit with daughter three before eventually getting some of it back up to Pittsburgh. If it sounds crazy, you are right. We did squeeze in a day trip to Nashville to see our pregnant daughter Sarah and her husband David. I don't think that baby can stay in very much longer! The way back to Huntsville was interesting because we got into this massive back-up from an accident where the Interstate was closed. But that worked out also with some alternate routing and driving skills I learned in Mozambique!

So, goes the report on our first 4 days!

We are in South Carolina now for a time of transition, de-briefing, and wedding!

Much love,

Dave & Ann

Machava

On Saturday night, Pastor Abel called me asking if I would go to our new church in Machava with him and bring the message. We had not been to that particular church for a while and so we agreed and fortunately, I had something rolling around in my head that I could work on - so much for sleep that night!

We were a few minutes late, because we had to wait on a train that had parked on the track blocking the road as people loaded on. We were a ways out of the city and the train was headed to the South African border, where people will exit, walk across the border control station, and get on another train in South Africa. Then the train comes back to Maputo. In the mornings, the train is filled to overflowing as it heads into the city.

We arrived about 0845 and the service had just started. The church is in a small reed structure and it was filled to overflowing. The worship time went for quite some time, which we have gotten used to, and the time for a message came about 2 hours later. I did get another opportunity to give a lesson to the kids, which was fun. It involved candles, matches, and fire in a reed church with two four-year olds holding lighted candles, but I never said I wasn't willing to take risks! Pastor Abel helped translate my Portuguese to Shanghanna, which is always a great help - most of our churches are in at least two languages, which means the Pastor's sermon takes at least twice as long!

We were very pleased to see the order that has come to this church as God works in the lives of the people there. One lady did not come this morning and after the service, we all headed to her house for a time of praise, song, and prayer, which is something I like about the culture here.

After I spoke, they decided to have a time where people could comment on the sermon, and so there was this discussion time that followed. This doesn't happen all the time, but we do see it in some of our churches. Members will stand up and talk about what they understood about the sermon and how God is challenging them with it. People here can always stand up and give a small talk with no bashfulness at all. It also is a reflection of the culture, where if church goes one hour or four hours, everyone has time.

We were very encouraged to see the growth through the leadership training Nelio is doing with the leaders in this small church and the constant mentoring by Pastor Abel. We are hoping to put some small benches in the church before we go, to help with the seating. Some people bring their own plastic chair, others a matt, so there is a mix of chairs/matts, standing. The singing was a special blessing and we are going to miss the Shanghanna hymns while we are back in the States.

In the one photo, what looks like a hole in the ceiling is actually a clear fiberglass sheet that makes a great skylight and helps out greatly for those of us who don't see as good as we used to!

Blessings.

Dave & Ann

" For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)...." Eph 5:8,9

Update

We've received a number of requests to know about the water situation in Mocuba. Two weeks ago, we drilled in two locations on the property and hit rock at 60 meters but no water, even though there is water at 40 meters all around us. Go figure... We reported that the expert for the well drilling company was due back and would visit the site on Thursday; well TIA (this is Africa) and Thursday could mean any thursday, or a day near thursday, or just what we wanted to hear.....so, the latest is that he is due tomorrow. We are still praying for resolution. The project is progressing well and we are bringing water in from the closest well to mix concrete and mortar.

While we were traveling in the north, we visited several new churches that are also being used as training centers that I should mention and that I think I promised to mention in an early blog entry. As we were headed to Nampula from Mocuba, we offered a ride to one of our trainers who was headed to a training session at a church in a place called Erua. It was about an hour north of Mocuba on a horrible road and the turn-off was no more than a path through some tall weeds. We drove back up this path with me sweating about how we would start the car (push starting because the starter was acting up) out of there. We arrived at a small church where we were able to visit with the church members and planters. When we drive into these places, just the presence of our car draws attention and many visitors come to see what is happening. We listened to their stories and asked questions about the training they were receiving. Aimee brought a special Bible study to the group and after a nice visit, we had to move on. It was early in what was to be a wonderful and full day. In appreciation, they brought us some produce and cane to take with us, including some lovely avocados. I just love the avocados here and here in Mozambique they make a dessert with sugar, a touch of lemon, and mushed avocados that is to die for! I can't recall the name for it but you would love it. (side note - I had to correct the spelling of avocados because I'm thinking food but writing about Avogadro's number - is that some sort of brain thing?)

Mmmmmm, I must be hungry.

We sat on small benches made from home-made mud bricks. The sun trickled through the openings and I had to pinch myself and the absolute privilege to even be there. Afterwards, I gave one of our volleyballs to the kids in the church and we played a bit in the open area in front of the church but our time was short. They wanted to feed us, but we had many stops before arriving in Nampula late that evening. We were invited back for church on Sunday, but again it was not possible this time; another village area drilled into my heart.

Lord grow them in knowledge and power. Empower Mario as he teaches them your word and for each of the church planters he is meeting with us. May the truth of your Word take hold in this community. Meet the many needs in ways that make it clear it is Your provision.

On the way back from Nampula, we thought we were stopping at the Elope center, where we have visited many times before. We had dropped the trainer off at the road on our way to Nampula as he had a weekend of training to give and we would stop on our way back through. We we made the turn that I knew well, we arrived at the Elope center to find that the church was still there but the family we knew had moved to be closer to their farm, which was a great disappointment to me personally as I really enjoyed talking with one of the sons of this family who was a hard worker and worship leader at the church. But, someone is waiting at the church - the training center has been torn down and moved down the ridge. He points us on down the path and down we go across narrow little bridges on a road that hasn't seen a car for a very long time. People are waving at us and at a few "Y's" in the road, a church member is waiting to point us the right direction. we wind along this windy mountain path, finally arriving at the center at Naritete. We know Dinis the trainer well and sit in the back of the center and participate in the training. We are introduced to the church planters and hear their testimonies. We are introduced and then spend some time talking to various individuals.

I was amazed at the tremendous growing season they have had, everything was so green and lush - a great harvest was being brought in for which everyone was so thankful. Much different than last year! As the day wound down, we needed to go to be out to the main road and well on our way back to Mocuba before night. In appreciation they brought food, a chicken, casava, corn meal, as appreciation for our visit and we all sang together. I always am uncomfortable taking these gifts, but culturally we honor the giver by accepting the gift. I pray God will return their generosity 10-fold.

Juka started to tie the chicken to the top of the car, but the ladies were not happy with this as the chicken needed to live to stay fresh for dinner later. We found a plastic bag, tied the feet, and it stayed inside the car. And, we were asked to squeeze a mom and her sick baby into the car with us and our load, making it work. Turns out the mom was a distant relative of Antonio in Mocuba who wanted a ride to his house.

So, off we go, but now I'm going up some steep rocky inclines where 4-wheel drive is essential. We crawl out to the main highway and I offer a prayer of thanksgiving that we didn't blow a tire or break something on the rocks. The kids remember me bringing a soccer ball before, but we're out and it breaks my heart. We will bring more next time; that is all we can do.

The generosity of the people is beyond compare. The joy of the Lord is their strength and it was an honor to be with and worship God with our dear brothers and sisters.

As we left, Ann and Aimee had this discussion about how they felt like God was just showing us with great pleasure, "this is my church that I have grown and it pleases me." What an amazing feeling to for just an instant see a small glimpse of God's pleasure and love for His people. I am so glad His grace covers me.

What about you? He is always so close, waiting on us to lay all our stuff down and simply do what he told his disciples, "follow me..."

Blessings,

Dave & Ann

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Co 12:9

Church in Quelimane

As a part of our checking on our churches in Northern Mozambique, we visited selected new churches and sat down with the leadership of these churches and attended those that we could. While in Quelimane, we connected with the pastor, Pr. Arcanjo, we were to meet and after loading his bicycle on top of our car, we headed back out of town. Just out-side of Quelimane, we turned off more or less elevated road down into a swampy type area, finding our way through narrow muddy roads to a place where we left the car. We then walked single-file through tall trees, tall sugar cane and grass, across small wooden foot bridges, finding our way to a church. We sat in the church with this Pastor who has been leading the church for a number of years. We met most of his nine children, some of whom were suffering from Malaria.

On the floor at the front of the church were some of the training materials we had sent up on the bus over this past year. This pastor is putting these books (Chronological Bible Story Telling, Omega Church Manuals and Theology books along with Bibles) to very good use and we are overjoyed to see how God connected a willing servant with these books. This man knows Pastor Antonio and through him, he began attending our ECC training seminars in the Mocuba area. He then latched on to the church multiplication training method and is now training his own group of church planter/pastors in the Quelimane area. Several have started small churches in the area as well although we were unable to visit any of them.

This pastor has attended seminary, has many years of experience, and would like to join with our Mozambique denomination. We asked lots of hard questions and felt quite good that this man was using our ECC materials to do church planting and training in this new area for us. So, we will continue to pray for this man, his church, and that God would bless his ministry as we stand beside him. Our Mozambican denomination will stand with him for a year before accepting his church into the Evangelical Church of the Living Word (IEPV) fold. I think this is another case of God putting the pieces together and we praise God for this new work that He found, not us.

It is so incredibly exciting to see how God connects all the dots in His work.

A bright spot in a spiritually dark area!

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." Php 1:6

Dedication of Mocuba Training Center Project

We have returned to Maputo after two wonderful weeks in northern Mozambique. Aimee Howarth traveled with us and it was a special time for us to get to know each other and share our common passion for the wonderful people of Mozambique. We returned worn-out, sun-burned, bed-bug bitten, mosquito bitten, caterpillar bitten, and probably parasite infested but greatly encouraged at what He is doing in our OMS-related churches in northern Mozambique. What a priviledge all of us to be able to participate in such a things - truly. Thank you making it all possible and being such a vital part!

There is too much to write about in one entry and I am even considering writing a more technical paper based on our last years here as I have formed some rather strong opinions about the church multiplication work we are engaged in. We approached the work completely open with absolutely no pre-conceptions but after four years of working with it, we have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and we feel we have a good understanding of the situation here in Mozambique. At the deck-plate level, there is quite a culture clash that develops between the result-oriented Western demand for forms, numbers, statistics, and a culture where these things are simply not important and even offensive and where at the basis of everything is relationships. Both worlds have to be satisfied, but the world-view conflict is significant. But once again, I digress.

It is hard to determine how best to describe this trip. It was made simply to validate our church multiplication program results and check with / interview our church trainers and their student pastor planters. We wanted to help with issues and problems but especially to challenge and encourage these dedicated church leaders. But, there were also a number of side agendas as well. I’ll divide these into a few subcategories.

Travel

Praise-the-Lord that we had no real significant car problems. The roads north of Xai-Xai are the worst of the entire trip and much much worse than 9 months ago, even though a Chinese-lead consortium has been working on it the entire time. It seems they simply push dirt from one side of the road to the other with no real results. With our four-wheel drive, we were able to crawl over piles, through mud, around over-turned semi trucks and stuck semis and buses, dodge construction equipmen, but it was quite wearing. We did lose air conditioning for the trip back and we were push-starting the car (beating the solenoid with a hammer to get the starter to engage only works so long!). But, when Aimee and Ann would start pushing, others would usually join in! We also never shut the engine off for fuel stops, or other stops, and when we did have to stop, we tried to be at the top of some sort of incline. We felt God’s presence on the entire trip. We drove up in two long days, and the last leg on the second day was very nerve-racking as it was very dark, there are no lights or electricity where we were driving, so it is VERY dark; and when a car or motorcycle approached us, it made it very difficult to see pedestrians, carts, animals, and the like walking on the side of the road or in the road. Fortunately, there is very little traffic at night! This was also the first trip where we didn’t have one or more flat tires and smash the car on a tree or rock in the bush somewhere!

The bridge over the Zambezi River was complete and that shorten the second day by a couple of hours and what an incredible view from the top of the bridge as we went over this magnificent river that was at flood stage because of tremendous rains inland. It would have been impassable by ferry this trip. They charged us a small toll that was the same as the old ferry; I have no complaints! It really is a vast vast improvement.

We were loaded heavy both directions. We took a generator for the construction project in Mocuba along with bibles and training materials so the back was completely full – no visibility except by side mirrors. Extra tires and rims were on top and the backseat was loaded as well except for where Aimee sat. On the way back, we brought books, a crate, and a suitcase back for missionary friends in Nampula who are getting ready to go on furlough dropping their things off in Xai-Xai for storage. So, we were just as loaded and heavy coming back.

For my guy friends, we averaged nearly 16 miles per gallon, which isn’t bad for a big and old four-wheel drive loaded to the gills with things stacked on top! We traveled a little under 5000 km, which is about 3100 miles. One kid in Mocuba threw a big brick at us and disappeared into the nearby bush, putting a big dent in the side near the roof – just missing our window. Kind of sad – we’d been visiting the church of a pastor we know from another denomination. He was embarrassed as it was right in front of his church! In one parking location where we stayed a night, we came out to have someone spray-painting yellow within about five feet of the car – so we have a nice over-spray tint one side. I hope I can get it off when I try to clear it up this afternoon. Reminded me of a time when I worked at a shipyard in Charleston, SC when they were painting cranes and covered my white car with and over-spray of blue paint!

Dedication of Training Center Project

It is very difficult to categorize any single highlight of this trip as more special than any other as there were so many special things. We did spent time with Belarmino and the Training Center construction site. We laid out the foundations of the structures and agreed on the general lay-out of the land. There continues to be challenges with access to the land and while we were in Mocuba, there were a number of meetings with local officials, who want this project, but must very carefully work with the people who are growing crops on the road-right-of-way that leads to our land. So, progress is being made and after the harvest is made, the bull dozer will open the current path-way to the land. The workers are using wheel-barrows to move block, cement, and the like down footpaths until this is resolved. Belarmino’s view is “no problem, I’m paying them either way.” It is the cost of the materials that is the most significant cost of the project. (Note, the silver structure is a temporary place to secure our tools and materials as the project begins. On one side will be a temporary area of shade for the workers - you must get out of the sun to rest, eat, and the like.

We held a dedication service at the land, digging the first shovel-fulls of dirt and the first corner of the training center. All of us participated as we prayed together for Gods’ blessing on this project in total, that the workers would be safe and that we would see much spiritual fruit from this project. We felt that this was a very important first step – I would be fearful to proceed absent of dedicating the land, the project, and the vision of the project to the Lord. We want to stay in foot-step with where He is leading the project.

Things you get involved with can be surprising. On one side of our land, there are many banana trees that are producing abundantly. A man has been harvesting these bananas for many years although he has no claim on the land. He is demanding payment (significant) for the loss of his banana plants that are really just wild plants. We will work something out on this but it is a process that has too just take time. We might let him continue to harvest for example, or reach some other arrangement but it is a part of the process. In Mozambique, as I have mentioned before, you never own the land, only the improvements on the land – it is a subtle but important difference in how you approach things here.

So, today, we are transferring 50% of the cost of a new well on the training center land (a simple pump-type well) which will be used by the training center and the community. We have a quote of about $7200 for this well from a company called Afrodril. We met with them and although I didn’t get the best ‘vibes’ from them at first but they did seem to know their business well and we were able to negotiate a reduced price, having started at about $11,000. They at first thought OMS was the World Health Organization (Organizão de Mundo Saude), which definitely doesn’t work in our favor in this case! But recognizing we were a church organization, with very limited resources, they were willing to negotiate a better price for us. We are still short about 3000 dollars for this well (comes from separate funding) and could use a little boost in our Mozambique Water for Life project account (#407670); OMS, PO Box 1648; Monument, CO 80132-1648 (put ‘#407670 – Moz wells’ on the memo line). Every little bit helps!

Clean water is key to health - there were cholera outbreaks very near to where we were visiting on this trip.

Blessings – more to follow.

Dave & Ann

“The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.” De 29:12