Book Recommendation

I don't recommend a lot of books on the blog, even though I tend to read quite a number of different ones.  One of the better ones recently that I recommend is "Bad Religion" by Ross Douthat.  It is more or less a history of 'religion' in the United States since about World War II, although it reaches back quite a bit.  It is current and ties a lot of things together in a thoughtful way.

Personally, to me, it reads a lot like my life....yup, did that, and that, went to those, attended those, yup - watched that, as I would kind of shake my head at some of my foolishness.

The subtitle is 'a nation of heretics' or something like that so if you are easily offended or so entrenched in what you think, maybe you won't like it - because not too many come off unscathed.  But if you wonder about Penn State, you wonder about the increasing division in the country, you wonder about the decline of America, or maybe you are one of those who sees the parallels between America and pre-exhilic Israel - this book will give you some things to think about.

Fundamentally it is a call back to orthodoxy - or at least that is what I got out of it and that has been kind of in our hearts through this 'dark night of the soul' we have been going through.

Maybe I could start a line of jokes:  "If you think that you have all the answers - then you might be a heretic" - Sounds like the old 'you might be a red neck' jokes.

Anyways, it's a great read that emphasizes the mysteries of the faith:

"What defines orthodoxy from heresy....is a commitment to mystery and paradox...."  Maybe that will 'wet your whistle' along with the quote below that I was surprised to see in a church bulletin last Sunday.

It's available on your ibook / kindle, etc. for a very reasonable price.

Blessings.

Dave

"Thus orthodox Christians insist that Jesus was divine and human all at once, that the Absolute is somehow Three as well as One, that God is omnipotent and omniscient and yet nonetheless leaves us free to choose between good and evil.  They propose that the world is corrupted by original sin and yet somehow also essentially good, with the stamp of its Creator visible on every start and sinew.  They assert that the God of the Old Testament, jealous and punitive, is somehow identical to the New Testament's God of love and mercy.  They claim that this same God sets impossible moral standards and yet forgives every sin.  They insist that faith alone will save us, yet faith without works is dead.  And they propose a vision of holiness that finds room in God's kingdom for all the extremes of human life - fecund families and single-minded celibates, politicians and monastics, queens as well as beggars, soldiers and pacifists alike."  Ross Douthat, Bad Religion

Reflections on Graduation

Xaiver at special brunch for students
receiving doctorates

Bakke Graduate University 2012 Commencement reflections:

Things I heard at the ceremonies where my friend Xavier received his doctorate (Doctor of Transformational Leadership):

What is your city?

Go love and serve your city in the name of Christ.  (the charge each doctoral graduate received).

Theology is the science of being blessedly loved for eternity.

I am from, Holland, Ethiopia, Philippines, Myanmar, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, California, India, Pittsburgh, Liberia, Hong Kong, Sierre Leone, Washington, Florida....(there were more!)

My dissertation was the Theology of Work and the Alleviation of Poverty in Mozambique.

Service in progress

Work came before the curse, work is not a curse.  The word for 'work' is often translated 'worship'.  Whatever our work, we need to do it well for God as it is a way of serving Him and worshiping Him.

We were created to work.

Christians are embracing their humanity in new ways as God did through Christ.

Xavier being hooded - my camera chose this
time to freeze up on me.

Evangelical Christians try to climb a ladder to God but they need to learn to go down the ladder as He did and find peace in that journey.

We need to love every church because God loves every church.

The CRU Global Church Planting Program through a global alliance plans to plant 5 million churches by 2020.

People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

A pair of Docs

Homes are shattered throughout the world.  Leadership begins in the home through Christ and extends into the community.

There are 10 million overseas workers from the Philippines.

As graduates you need to:

1.  Love the God of Jesus and continue to mine the scriptures as you go forward.
2.  Love your family and friends in a fresh way.
3.  Love God's mission and His church.
4.  Improvise.  Love God's projects in history but improvise into the future.

We need to improvise missionally:

1.  The world will always be changing and we are today in a new context; we are in a post-secular, post colonial world.  We to learn to live in these new contexts.
2.  'ONLY live your life in a manner worth of the gospel of Christ...' Live in this manner so that there is  NEW context for the world to see.
3.  We need to know God and see him in the missionary context (He sent Jesus to us).  We need to love this missionary God and follow him into pain and suffering.  
4.  We need to live the new Gospel, which is simply stated:  "Jesus is Lord".  A lord has a reign and is a king we should follow into the cities.
5.  We need to remember that the church was always intended to be mission and we need to improvise missionally so He gets all the credit, to God BE the Glory.

We need to learn to simply 'be'; to be in His presence.  Everything else flows out of this, and thus, Him.

Dave and Dr. Massingue

Congratulations Dr. Massingue and vai com Deus amigo caro.

Blessings

Dave

The completed table where each graduate (Masters
and Doctorate graduates) lighted their candle from
the staff's three candles

"Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  1 Philippians 2:9

"Take my will and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine.  Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne."  (Hymn, Take my Life)

What is YOUR city?

This is the balcony of the church where the graduates
went after the service and together sang to the
audience.  It was beautiful.

Worth Reading - Vanderbilt discriminatory non-discriminatory policy

As many of our friends know, one of our daughters and sons-in-law work with CRU at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, raising and mentoring future Christian leaders.  You may not know that they have been embroiled for some time in a new policy established at Vanderbilt that I tend to describe as the discriminatory non-discriminatory policy.  I have followed it through video feeds of meetings, articles, and it has the potential to be one of those land-mark kind of issues.

The issue is even being discussed at State-government levels here in Tennessee as folks begin to understand how it discriminates against faith-based organizations.

I was greatly moved this morning reading this write-up that explains CRU's decision to not agree with the policy, despite the difficulties it will cause for them.  It is a great devotion and clearly articulates the Christian message - lives transformed through Christ.  It's not an intellectual assent to Christ, but a radical transformation from the inside-out.

Here is the link.

http://cruatvanderbilt.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/so-why-are-we-as-cru-at-vanderbilt-continuing-to-have-faith-based-leadership-requirements/

I will write more in the coming days as I have good news on the expansion of the church planting work of Mozambique into two new areas - one of them a goal we established over four years ago that is coming to fruition.  I am awaiting promised pictures.  One of these areas is a difficult work where a different kind of discrimination occurs.   We so take for granted the precious freedom we have to worship in America.

Strength through hardships, persecutions and difficulties....

Blessings this day.

May we be 'real' today....whatever that might mean in your context.  The world notices.

Dave and Ann

or as the apostle Paul says:

"That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

OMS Conference / Meetings & Ann's Birthday

We’ve been quiet with regard to the blog the last few weeks.   We recently returned to our idillic cabin in the woods after meetings at our mission headquarters.  I feel that I owe some sort of synopsis.  But before that, some updates:

• We continue to be on-track for leaving the States on August 6.  This was a bit later than we wanted but at the same time, it is largely a function of full planes this time of year.  
• We have sent our passports to the Mozambique Embassy to obtain the requisite visas we need to enter the country.  
• Our International Driver’s licenses just came in the mail with a three-year expiration date instead of the one-year you get with Triple A.  This links to our driver’s license expiration date, which makes more sense.
• We have been diligently packing up the few belongings we have in preparation of leaving the cabin.
• Ann is looking forward to attending the Women of the Harvest conference with her dear friend Jeannie in Denver.
• We are both looking forward to the ‘short’ airplane ride to Denver and Idaho to visit friends and family before departing.  It is all happening too fast!

Today is Ann’s birthday and yesterday was our anniversary - I’m not saying how many years, but it passes quickly.  Ann’s brother drove over yesterday to be with her on her birthday and was rather amazed at our place.  He wasn’t so sure about our five mile gravel driveway as he has had back surgery recently and is unable to turn his head to back up and wondered what he’d do if he met someone on the road!  But we didn’t.  We enjoyed talking and he had brought an article about Rob Bell’s recent book and wondered what we thought about it.  Ann’s brother is very well read and always interesting to talk to about most any subject.  

The meetings at OMS.  Well, not a lot to say actually.  The business part was a continuation, more or less, of the last couple of year’s meetings as the organization struggles with how to best function with a number of sending countries (Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, US, South Africa, Columbia, Philippines, South Korea) being empowered and independent yet all linked to an International organization.  (By sending countries, I am referring to countries that are currently sending missionaries under the OMS banner or OMS-related churches - OMS uses a slightly different definition that deals with the number of missionaries being send out)  Adding to the challenges are the self-sufficient OMS started churches that are now wanting their “place at the table” so-to-speak and wanting to send missionaries across the globe, either as their own missionaries or as a part of OMS.  Exciting problems and challenges to have, but also not easily addressed in such a strongly cross-cultural environment.  And then, in any given field, you may have missionaries from a number of dramatically different cultures serving in an even different culture; and additionally each sending country has different money accountability requirements, life-style expectations, medical expectations, and even worship expectations.  It gets very interesting and we must be full of grace, humility, acceptance, and  peace to deal with the very fluid dynamics - almost chaos theory!  So, we voted on some things, worked as a group on some recommendations for the board, and will see what comes of it all.   It is my prayer that God will move in wisdom in the hearts of leadership and the various board members as they lead OMS into the future in these uncertain times (but then again, aren’t all times really ‘uncertain times’?)  We truly need His presence in our lives, as individuals, as missionaries, as a mission organization, and as a nation truly.  We need to pray more and seek His face more.

When we weren’t in the business meetings, we received training on working cross-culturally.  The training was based on a great book I’ve written about previously and the training was done very well.  They call the teaching style “adult interactive learning” or some such nomenclature.  I’m not a big fan of the style as it takes a veeeeerrrrrryyyyyyyy loooooonnnnngggggg time to deliver a wee bit of information, but it is the current teaching rage I understand.  (Yup, just give me dat der slate and piece of chalk and a one-room school-house with a school-marm, now that’s teaching the way it was meant to be!  I’m sure that’s in the Bible somewhere....;-))  The interactive adult learning may be effective statistically, because it is certainly easy to remember a wee bit of information that is given over days and days in a various numbers of ways, but efficient? - don’t think so. The bruises on my head from banging it on the table are nearly healed..... However, I have to admit that we have used the technique with success in Mozambique, where group learning is highly valued, group dynamics are important and oral learning is key.  But for me as the Western student, I’d rather read the book, look at the chart, write a paper, take a written test, talk about how we apply the material in a practical way.  Do I sound like a visual learner to you?   Is that why I write too many words on the blog?  Is my cultural bias showing?  How about your own cultural bias?  This cross cultural stuff is hard, isn’t it?!

After the meetings, we moved into a several day conference which included more training on what is commonly called the doctrine of ‘holiness’.  I’d like to use a different term perhaps, because the word seems to invoke in people a whole host of preconceptions or misconceptions (more cross-cultural bias!) but we enjoyed the study and were privileged  to sit under the well-known and respected Asbury Seminary professor, Dr. John Oswalt.  He gave us much to ponder as we weave our way through the deep truths of the Bible.  While the gospel message itself is really quite simple, the Bible can also be as deep as the intellect desires to search and Dr. Oswalt’s teaching was deep, thought-provoking, and I thought quite strong.  I see such similarity in this doctrine with other teachings we've sat under; it just seems people use different terms and different experiences to try and explain an infinite and loving God's presence in our wee-little lives.  It is a journey, walking in the presence of Jesus, in the good times, in the bad times, but always with the peace that only He can bring.

The highlight for both of us was a session with Beth Coppedge, who is the daughter of Dennis Kinlaw, is the founder of Titus Women, and is a renowned and gifted speaker with a sweet spirit.  She took the teaching of Dr. Oswald and put a practical and real face to what he was teaching.  Ann has met her in times past and was overjoyed to get reacquainted with her.

We also enjoyed a time of fellowship with former missionaries to Mozambique and a couple serving in Africa with the Every Community for Christ church planting program.  We shared what was happening in Mozambique (although our information is becoming somewhat dated!), and enjoyed hearing about what is happening in other countries in Africa.  

Some fun statistics put together by fellow OMS missionary Valetta Crumley, that I thought I’d share with you: 

By our Lord’s grace many of the OMS goals for 2010 were exceeded and the OMS goals for 2011 are amazing.  We believe the Lord wants to do great things.  Please join us as we encourage many to pray more, give more and do more.  The harvest is truly ready.

Pray for:

            403,000 to make a decision to follow Jesus in 2011

            130,000 to be enrolled in follow-up programs

            125,000 to be baptized

              21,000 worshipping groups to be established

              12,000 new churches to be established

               27,000 LEADERS IN TRAINING

          1,750,000 attending services

You may ask, how can such a small missionary staff (OMS) propose such amazing goals? It is because the Lord called OMS to disciple and train multiplying disciple-makers.  Today OMS joins with 13,736 cross-culture co-workers in 53 nations.  Every day 275 people are baptized.  Last year 4,116 new churches were established.

Well put Valetta. Teaching National’s to evangelize their own countries - 2 Timothy 2:2

God Bless.  God with us - Immanuel.

Dave & Ann

Jesus-style greatness:  “...  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:43-45 

Cross Cultural Ministry

While at OMS, we received a book that we are finding absolutely incredible.    The title is "Cross Cultural Partnerships, Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission" by Mary T. Lederleitner.  It takes up where "African Friends and Money Matters" left off.  It is new (2010), it is current, and it is relevant to how we live as well as how we relate cross culturally, whether it be here (for there are many sub-cultures we operate in wherever you live) as well as for those in other countries.

At the risk of being a little vulnerable, Ann and I went through tremendous culture shock and continue to wrestle with this phenomena of working in what we call Majority World cultures.  We have done some things well and some things very badly and we continue to learn every day.  However, we find the book to also be a challenge as to how we see the world around us and even better yet, how we respond to it.

The last 10 years or so we have been learning, and today's events in Japan really bring home the fact that the American culture is not the predominate culture in the world.  We Americans come from a very individualistic culture where it is about the individual.  There are other countries like this, but I'll leave that for others to debate.   The majority of the world is more collectivistic.  That is why we don't see looting in Japan when people are in great crisis, for example.  In the collective / community cultures, the community is more important than the individual.

Thus the great tension.

Ann and I have gone through great culture shock just going from middle-class America and work cultures that were very precise with clearly defined lines of authority and responsibility to a missionary culture where things are very undefined and imprecise.   I have always associated responsibility with authority - for how can you be responsible for something if you have no authority to do anything about it?  The mission world doesn't work that way and honestly, that culture shock has been greater than the shock of moving from America's individualistic culture to Mozambique's collectivistic culture.  I really think this is a significant subject that deserves a book that can help Finishers (second career people who go into missionary work later in life) understand and navigate this dramatic change.  Maybe I need to do that, but I'm still working through it and that last chapter isn't yet clear in my mind.  But this book on Cross-Cultural partnerships to me is a big part of working out that last chapter.

When I read this book and reflect upon our first term in Mozambique, it is sobering.  It helps to explain why we felt the way we did, react the way we did, and personalize things the way we did.  By the end of the term, we felt like we'd come full circle and as we read this thought-provoking book, I think it will help us in the coming term.

I believe with all my heart that each of these cultures (recognizing that we are broad-brushing things in a major way here to only 'two' general cultures) are biblically neutral.  The Bible speaks to both, warns both about the issues each has to deal with, and points us to relationship with Christ.  No one should ever say one way (culture) is better than the other for both have tremendous virtue as well as tremendous opportunities for sin.

At the root of this is something that really spoke to us, called "negative attribution".   We all have a lifetime of experiences that dictate how we will respond to things we experience.   However, our response may or may not be logical actually based upon our experiences, although we are most certainly sure that they are!  (Where is Dr. Spock (Star Trek) when you need him?).    So, when we experience something "new",  we have three choices as to how we respond:

1.  You think it is right.
2.  You think it is wrong.
3.  You think it is different (neutral).

The bad news is that generally, we don't take a neutral position and we often will ascribe some negative attribute to whatever it is, and over time we subconsciously build cases against (you pick the topic) that may or may not make any sense at all.  (Thus the need for people you can talk to openly and help process these kinds of things without judgement!).    This results in great conflict over time and people entrenching into their "I'm right" kind of thinking regardless of whether it makes any sense or not.

This can be applied in individual relationships, business relationships, family relationships, and cross cultural relationships.

We need to take a deep breath and NOT seek to quickly to ascribe value to things that are different.  It is not something humans do easily and but for the grace of God, go I.

And what is underneath all of this?  The books says, "Control."  We all want to control our lives, our situation, and others.  I have experienced it and am guilty of that as well.   If the ongoing catastrophe in Japan has taught us nothing else, it has taught us that we have very little control and we need to release that control to the God who cares for us each individually and collectively.  He is the God of all cultures and situations and it seems to me we need more than one life-time to figure it out, which is probably why He offers us eternity through faith in Jesus!

There is so much more in this book that speaks so strongly to what we have experienced in our first term and that I pray we can apply in our second.    I think it even challenges the fundamental basis of some of the programs we execute across the world with good intention but flawed process.   I personally think it should be required reading for every missionary, every homeland support person, and everyone with even a passing interest in missions, because as in all of these things, it comes down to how we respond personally.  Not just read it, but maybe even write a book report on what it means to me and how I need to improve the way I live before a holy God!  It just rings true.

Have a great day!  He is full of Grace and Mercy!

Dave & Ann

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"  Luke 6:41

Wedding

I have written a couple of things, but then never quite got to posting them and now they are on the other computer in another town in this transient life we are living. We've only been in the states for two weeks and haven't stopped moving yet.

We just finished the wedding weekend and my youngest daughter is now a Smith. It was a beautiful Christ-centered affair and we had dear friends from all over the country come to celebrate this wedding with us. We had people from Pittsburgh, Mozambique via Colorado, Mozambique via Chicago, [former missionaries to Mozambique] Alabama, Idaho, Tennessee, Georgia, all sorts of places. The wedding was outside at a nearby farm and absolutely lovely. The rains came in the day before and cooled things down a bit and the wedding day was beautiful and much cooler although still a bit toasty.

Tomorrow at zero dark thirty I take my oldest to the airport so she can return home. We have especially enjoyed

some 'alone time' with her today - it has been a long time. I really miss spending time with my precious girls. She is on the right in the above picture.

In the above, precious daughter Lynsey on left, me, Allison (bride), Byron, beautiful Ann, and precious Krista. Daughter 3 of 4 (Sarah) is in Nashville and we just got the call - a baby is coming this week, so we are on our way to Nashville right after our next transitional workshop session on Wednesday. So, the first grand baby will be here very soon (she is being induced on Thursday).

I didn't cry too much at the wedding - As with my other Son's-in-law, when you just really like them, you don't have a problem with the wedding. We're very fond of Byron and they are a good match for each other. I did fine until I walked Allison to the altar to pass her to Byron and have to admit that I shed a few tears at that point. Allison was so beautiful and your life passes by your eyes in a moment as you see your baby daughter now a beautiful bride - it is quite moving.

Our sessions with Godspeed Ministries have been very helpful to us as we re-enter this culture. It is hard to explain to someone how 'shocking' it is to re-enter our home culture after being in a developing country for four years. I really should try and write more about it and after we finish with our debriefing sessions - I will try to do that a little later.

The wedding provided a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with dear friends from Pittsburgh and with distant family that we haven't seen for quite some time. But, it is also a time when we are spread pretty thin so we never get to spend the one-on-one time we would like to have with our friends in the wedding environment. It really made us look forward to being with our friends again in a few more weeks.

Thank you for standing with us so faithfully!

Dave (& Ann)

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united (some versions use the word "cleave" which I like a lot better) to his wife and they will become one flesh." Gen 2:24

Weddings are a wonderful celebration in any culture!

Couples

One of the things we really enjoy doing is meeting with young couples who are trying to get through the cultural hurtles so they can marry. We typically have them over for dinner and a Bible study and then have follow-up meetings. In some cases we know them both very well in others, we might only know one of them. We have gotten quite comfortable in this roll and have worked up a kind of lesson series that we do. The Bible has much to say about marriage and relationships and we enjoy this roll. I guess that is an advantage of our age, no one can argue with the fact that we have been married a long time and that we still love each other very deeply.

It is a such a joy, and yet such a responsibility as often times we fly in the face of culture when it comes to marriage. The Bible is clear and marriage is a covenant before God; it is to be taken seriously in any culture. We try to prepare our young friends as it doesn't solve all your problems (to get married) as we have discovered some think here. For example, what does it mean for the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her? What does it mean when it says that the wife should submit to her husband? We also ask them things like "how many kids would you like" and "what dreams to you have" and often they are very surprised to see how each other answer, and what great discussion starters. We ask questions about family, jobs, money, and all that jazz for these marriage problems are common to all cultures, they just manifest themselves differently. And at the heart of it all is putting the other first....

God created this relationship (marriage) and when it is working right, there is nothing sweeter; it is truly a blessed gift from God.

We thought you might enjoy this photo of our dear friends Carlos and Tina. Pray for them as they prepare for their upcoming wedding.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

Puzzles

One of the traditions that sort of evolved in our house was working puzzles over the Christmas holidays. I don't remember when it started but as long as I can remember, we have set up a table during the holidays with a new 1000 piece minimum puzzle to work on. Everyone would work on it some and the harder it was, the more we liked it. It was a kind of mindless activity but at the same time a great thing for goal-oriented people!

So, when we returned to Mozambique and with the increasingly stringent luggage requirements, we brought back some children's puzzles to give as gifts to some of our 'grandchildren'. They are the 25 piece variety and didn't weigh much!

We have given away quite a few but it has been extremely interesting. The children have never seen anything like it and so it overwhelms them at first as we work together. The adults end up working the puzzles but because they have never seen them before, we have been extremely surprised at how hard they are for people to do; extremely surprised. Little things that just don't seem to connect - yes there is a picture on the box to help you, yes each piece can be placed four different ways, there are shape cues, there are color cues, straight edges, corner pieces. We went through this several times but it wasn't easy. I think about this and the difficulty we see with math and science here and some of the abstract thought required in those disciplines. It could be related to that lost generation I have talked about in the past not having the opportunities they needed when they were young because of war, hunger, displacement, and the like. Or, it could just be having not ever seen one before. Like the first time I saw one of those rubics cubes or whatever they are called.

So, as I have thought about this, we went to language class today and it was horrible. Our teacher got very fustrated with us, pounding his hands on the table a few times and speaking quite strongly about our not remembering things well, not spending enough time studying (which is true - we have been buried with administrivia and unplanned groups since we've returned) so we are right back where we were, not being able to continue language - extremely fustrating.

But, I digress, my point is that we come from a culture where you write things down, you use computers with spell check, day-timers, watches, calendars, alarm clocks, and reliable mail systems. Here, it is all oral - and everyone remembers everything - tell people once or twice and people remember. We want to look it up, make a list, check a dictionary. Our professor was very angry with us today, fustrated, and looking at us - WHY CAN'T THEY WORK THE PUZZLE?

It depends on they type of puzzle, doesn't it? Or maybe whether you are watching someone work a puzzle you are already familiar with or maybe trying to work one you've never seen. Isn't life like this and isn't it easy to make unfounded judgements?

I am so glad we serve a God who knows how all the pieces fit together. I certainly don't know how the pieces fit!

"For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." 1 John 3:20

Youth and the Grace by which we stand

Sometimes I am just striken by certain events and photographs. I am especially touched and concerned about the youth of this country. They represent the future of Mozambique and they are being pulled so many directions. The family influence is so great and the vestiges of traditional religious practices (witchcraft, curses, and the like) is all around us. In addition, the corruption and general acceptance of stealing, whether it be from your employer, the government, or your neighbor, is just beyond understanding. Things change slowly but the youth remain the key and our churches continue to struggle with having viable youth programs, reaching young people for Christ; training them to understand God's plan for their lives. Today I am praying for the youth in our churches. We have a young fellow at Khongolote named Abel who is so precious and loves the Lord so much. They even call him little pastor. I must get a picture of him to share - he is an example of a bright future in a land that doesn't always seem to cherish or even hope for bright futures. Our hope must be in God.

Have a wonderful Sunday. We have started the CD series from our home church on Galatians and it is meshing so closely to what we have been reading and studying already; the message that God is affirming in our lives. The Gospel is simple and we must accept it deep in our hearts. We are saved by Grace and can add nothing to it; and what we do we do out of love for the God who has paid the price already for our sins; past, present, and future. These is no room to doubt so great a salavation; so great a gift. And whenever we try to add something to it, we get in trouble and as humans we fall into that trap so easily.

There is a great Keith Green song that speaks to this: "...but nothing lasts, except the Grace of God, by which I stand....." My soul sings it out whenever I hear about this marvelous Grace, this amazing gift of God...

Happy Sunday,

Dave & Ann

"....we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2

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

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

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

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).

Another Grandchild

One of our Village Church Planting program Trainers, Nelio, just had a beautiful baby girl. They have named her Dolce (means 'sweet') Nelio. She was a bit overdue but everything has worked out well. It is their first child. We have been involved in this dear family's life for quite some time, participating in their move to a new house, their official wedding, and standing with them in their new church plant. It was a wonderous priviledge sit with them and share in this joyful time of celebration.

But with this comes an interesting question. They asked us to be the Padrinho and Madrinha of this precious child (Godfather / Godmother). In this culture this is a tremendous honor that brings with it great responsibility. It is a life-time commitment where you agree to help with the child, make sure the child is receiving good care, throw parties for the child at the 30-day point when she is introduced to the community, at the 2-year point when continued life is more certain, and other specific times in the child's life. You are to ensure to the detail of when to start feeding the child food vice milk-only, when it is potty-trained, help with school costs, etc. You are expected to be a significant player in the child's life essentially for your life.

We have dodged this before because we think it causes various problems. For one, we probably won't be here in Mozambique for the life of the child, for example. Also, we do not have the cultural knowledge or sensitivity needed for such an important role. We would make the child "different" from the very beginning. We talked with our cultural counselor (Juka) and he agreed that it would be best that we not take that role. So, we need today to go have that discussion with Nelio and Zenia, backing out graciously even though in our hearts we would like to do this. It's hard to explain fully to our dear Western perspective friends - this role is extremely important here and is not one of a title only. We also discussed this with another close friend who said the same thing. Both of these men serve in this role for a number of children and know our hearts well - both advising "no". For example, during times of furlough, important things could happen in the life of the child and our not being present would be a great affront, even though there is a good reason.

We didn't talk about this (or at least not enough that I remember!) in our cross-cultural training although I suspect there is a connection across many non-western cultures. Most missionaries we know (but not all) do not serve in this role for many of the same reasons. We've read several books about things like this since being here and there is as wide a various of opinions as there are opinions. As a general rule, if the person/author has not lived for extended periods (decades) in another culture and fully engaged in the work in some fashion, I don't put too much credence in what they are trying to sell as the longer we live here, the more I understand what I really don't understand. It would take a life-time, truly, and our western "solve the most complex world problem in one-hour" mentality really hinders what we can do in relationships. I only say this because I am probably one of the worst of the worst for wanting quick resolution based on expert opinion, and charging ahead full speed.

We must learn to wait quietly on the Lord as we continue ahead gently, step by step.

Thank you Lord for this precious new life. May Dolce grow to know you and walk in Your paths and fulfill Your plan for her life.

"The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

After the Funeral

Olga has called us this week a number of times. Her husband died (see my earlier blog about Paulo's funeral) and she is left with a set of twins and a baby. She called us asking for money for transferring the children to a new school near her mother's where she is now living. We asked why she wasn't living in her house in Khongolote, and she said that Paulo's family wouldn't allow it and she was afraid to live there. We asked her if she had approached the church and she said "no" and we encouraged that. She was reluctant to do so.

So, we talked with the church leadership to find out more about Olga's situation because we can so easily "get it wrong" with the language and cultural nuances. Today, I sat with the church leadership to talk about what they do for orphans and widows and then specifically what they think about Olga's situation as her needs will be ongoing. The story I received was not very pretty.

On the evening of the funeral, Paulo's family told Olga she must leave with the children as the house they lived in was in the name of the family and they had paid some of the money to build it so she must move. In addition, they told her that they had been to their witch doctor and put a curse on her so that if she returned to the house, she would be killed. It became ugly and she left with the three children to live with her mother in Xipamanine, a dark-slum area near Maputo. Apparently there is some bad blood between Olga and her in-laws and I knew that the marriage was a bit rocky from time to time, but it would seem the family has a different view.

Paulo worked some for a large aluminum smelter here occassionally and had accumulated a few benefits and the equivalent of some social security money for the children. However, the death certificate issued by the government was delivered to the house and Paulo's family holds it and won't let Olga use it to obtain her meager benefits from the government. The church leaders are trying to meet with the family to work out a solution but to date haven't had much luck because his family is not Christian and they are heavily into the 'dark arts' as I like to call them.

Under Mozambican law, it is my understanding that the house is supposed to go to the wife and children and that if we can get Olga to go to one of two agencies with the government, she may be able to get some help. However, there is a kind of reluctant fear that prevents many from approaching the government on these kind of issues (probably for good reason!). But, first she needs the death certificate.

So, she is basically out-in-the cold (figuratively - you've never in the 'cold' in Mozambique), living miles from her home and church and feeling totally alone. The church is trying to encourage her along but the relationship is difficult and now geologically distant.

The leadership encouraged us to help her through this first crisis and they would speak with the family and figure out what to do with the next crisis that will most certainly come if she doesn't return to her home. It's a complex and mirey mess of broken relationships, greed, and spiritual darkness. Please pray for Olga and the kids and the church leadership as they work through this mess. Pray for us as we meet with Olga this week to provide a little help and encouragement.

May God be honored in all that we do in this situation and I pray that God will protect these precious children who had a godly father taken at such a young age. Their horrified and downcast faces will be forever etched in my memory when they first saw their father's face in a casket. Come to their aid dear Lord and may we be your hands and feet.

Dave & Ann

Another Funeral

Saturday morning, I left early to attend Paulo’s funeral in Khongolote. Ann is having a bout with the flu and so I was flying solo. I was told that I needed to be there by 0900 at the cemetery but it took longer to unload the Jesus film equipment than I expected, so I ended up leaving 15 minutes before hand for a 20 to 30 minute trip. But, I’ve learned not to be too nervous because things seldom start on time here.

(The photo is of Ann, Paulo, Olga, and David just a few short months ago.)

Scattered clouds filled the sky, making the temperature pleasant and with a nice breeze, mosquitoes are much less of a problem. I drove the sand roads to Khongolote, needing to use 4-wheel drive twice to get through a couple of areas of deep sand. At the cemetery, I pulled over and parked and saw many many people I knew from across the Palvra Viva Churches. There were a few trees around the cemetery and under the shade of each tree many people had gathered, waiting for the funeral car to arrive. We all greeted one another and as each new person arrived, the same process resumed. Good to see you, how are you doing, how’s the family. Of course, everyone wanted to know where Ann was, as she is the better conversationalist and they know I’m at half-brain without her.

The Chappas all were loading and unloading in front of the cemetery as people came and went. People were generally dressed in their finest and the colors made a beautiful sight on this most pleasant of days. But, the tone was somber as Paulo was loved by all. He was one of the first young people OMS missionaries worked with when the Mozambique field was first opened in Mozambique and he was merely 16 at the time. He was a key person in a number of new church plants and as a result, people arrived from all the Palvra Viva churches in the Maputo area. I counted over 400 people at one point and stopped counting as they kept coming.

Finally the small station wagon hearse arrived at 1015 to a full ground with people still arriving. The plan was the graveside service at 0900, the church service at 1000, and then afterwards visitation with the family at the house of Paulo and Olga. The hand-made wooden casket was unloaded and placed on a rusty metal table under the largest tree in the cemetery. The people gathered around in the shade of the magnificent tree. Various people lead song after song praising God in the beautiful Shanganna language. Nothing held back, nothing bashful as people sang out.

Pastor Lucas with help from our dear friend Belarmino read scripture and brought a message of hope and thanksgiving for a life ‘lived well’. We rejoiced in the fact that his eternity was secure and that God had indeed prepared a place for him.

The casket was opened by turning some hand bolts attached to screws that went through the casket top to bottom. The lid was pulled back so just his face and shoulders showed. Peaceful in death, absent in spirit. The family immediately began wailing, especially the women as their grief welled up inside of them. One older woman passed out as other ladies came to her aid. Paulo’s twin boys immediately started wailing when they saw their loving father in the casket; I’m sure not understanding this cruel blow to their lives. Carlos, one of the Khongolote church leaders, picked them up, holding them close as he is family to them and has worked with them in church and the pre-school. He comforted them until their crying subsided.

More singing as the funeral directors opened a small spray bottle of perfume and opened a new container of Johnson’s baby powder. The ladies of the family approached the casket and said their good-byes, spraying perfume and shaking baby powder around the inside of the casket. Gradually a line of sorts formed as each person walked by the open casket, receiving either the perfume or the baby powder from the person in front of them, spraying gently or shaking the powder as each person took their turn. Beautiful songs continued during this long anointing-type process. Upon completion, the funeral director arranged the casket interior, and gently wiping the excess liquid from Paulo’s serene face. The lid was attached and the casket carried to the nearby pre-dug hole, singing continuing and the crowd parting before the men carrying Paulo.

At the grave, the casket was about a six inches longer than the hole, so the crowd continued singing, waiting and watching patiently as men from the church lengthened the hole. Together with no words, the men lowered the casket by hand into the hole and then climbed out, taking the hand of people near the opening. Pastor Lucas and Belarmino read more scripture and then people took turns putting a handful or a shovel-ful of sand into the open grave. This continued until the hole was filled in and a nice raised place fashioned above freshly filled grave. One older lady gathered every piece of root, grass, or impurity in the dirt as it was filled in so that only the best went into the grave.

Almost out of nowhere flowers appeared and were passed through the crowd. Beautiful spring flowers of every color and style. Pastor Lucas preached on the symbolism of the flowers representing new life in heaven and the hope we all have in Christ. Each person stuck their flower or greenery into the sand above the grave and when it was complete, a
Five-gallon jug of water was used to sprinkle the flowers and sand above the grave, and all those who had used their hands to fill in the grave rinsed their hands above the grave. When it was complete, it was beautiful – a patch of fresh greenery in this cemetery full of relatively fresh graves in this land where the average life expectancy is the mid-thirties.

We were then invited to the house of Paulo and Olga for a service by the family. It was about two miles away and people began walking or taking chappas in that direction. I filled my car with people and we went to the church to pick up benches for the house. We piled the top of the car about 10 feet high with wooden benches and proceeded to the house. We gathered around the house where blue tarps had been arranged to provide shade for the people.

The benches were assembled and grass mats were laid out and it seemed that all 400 to 500 people came to the house. The singing continued and I said in the middle of the crowd next the on of Abel’s sons. The service, singing, testimonies, and preaching were all in Shanganna so my understanding was quite limited. I knew many of the songs and joined in on those I knew, wishing I had the language. The preaching was light with much laughter interspersed as people celebrated the live of Paulo. Others began speaking about his life with eloquence and passion. One woman essentially preached a sermon pointing out that Paulo was young, his death unplanned, but his reward eternal, asking where is your heart? What if it was you; where is your assurance? The family requested assistance with food and lodging for family and an offering was taken up with everyone sharing what they could.

So about four and ½ hours later, the services ended and the people dispersed. Pastor Abel rode with me as we passed back a different way, stopping to visit some people associated with a recent church plant in Machava. We talked much about the funeral on the way down the dusty dirt track. What happens to Olga now and the three kids? How will they make their may as Paulo always seemed to find a job here and a job there? It strikes at your heart but we know that God will provide in that gentle loving way that He does. This story is played out over and over again in this country as diseases such as cholera, HIV, and Malaria scorch the people. May we not lose our compassion nor our drive to reach the lost.

“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.” Ps 68:5