Drilling the Second Hole

We just got off the phone with Belarmino. They dug down 100 meters on the other end of the property this morning and again hit rock and no water. Yet, not so very far away is another well on the order of 40 meters deep. And within one or two hundred feed of the lower part of the land is a hand-dug well that has water in the wet season, but not always year round. It is a mystery!

The company (Afrodril) has a resident expert on the under-surface water in the area and he will be back from Maputo on Thursday and Belarmino and the drillers will be consulting with him on what our options are. 100 meters is very very deep and past the normal limits of hand pumps although there are solar powered pumps you can install that will handle that distance. So, a bit of a quandry for us to pray through.

Thanks for standing with us. I am surprisingly peaceful about this and would ask that you continue to ask for God's blessing on this need for water at our project site.

Dave & Ann

"Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isa 12:3

Prayer Request

Water came from a rock twice in the Old Testament. The first time (verse below), God told Moses exactly what to do - hit the rock with his staff and the water flowed. In the second case (Numbers 20), Moses got in big trouble for improvising and doing what he had done before (hitting the rock with his staff) instead of precisely what God had told him to do (speak to the rock). God wants our obedience and the "way we've always done it" does not assure it is the best way or the preferred way.

Today, the well-drillers on our land at Mocuba went down 60 meters without hitting water, and hit a fractured rock layer and from their experience at that depth, they stopped. Tomorrow, they will move to the other end of our property, which is the low side, and try again. This is an item for much prayer. While it is a nice piece of property, it isn't all that big. In this photo, we drilled near the temporary metal shed and tomorrow they will be near the house you see in the distance. The pile you see in the middle is a tremendous termite mound - normal for here.

Water is so important to establishing a ministry center. We just assumed we'd hit water because there were wells in the general area that bring good water. I pray I was not moving ahead of God and 'hitting the rock' with what I knew instead of relying on His providence and simply speaking to Him.

We must pray for a good day of drilling tomorrow. Help us Lord for you are the maker of the streams of water that flow beneath the ground.

Dave & Ann

"Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." Ex 17:6

Well

Last Sunday we attended the church at Intaka. This was the first opportunity for us to check out the well that had been repaired and we were surprised that the church had also poured a new concrete floor in the church. There is also some contraversy about the land the church is on. Someone had swatted on one side of the land and a power line was put in over where they had squatted and so they have to move. Well, the municipality's position is that we need to give them the same amount of land on the other side of the property as we can farm under the power line but they can't live there. Heck of a deal. So, the church wants to put up a fence around the property. This is how it works here - you buy land but if someone decides to live on it and you didn't fence it in - it is your tough luck. You see lots of concrete walls (block skimmed with concrete) for this reason. One of the crazy things that you deal with here. So, the church has come to us to see if we'd provide the wire if they provide the posts. The first step is checking out the price - the property is nice - 54 paces by 160 paces - whatever that comes to....let's see, when I marched with the band on the football field, it was eight paces to 5 yards, which is 15 feet, which is......oh my - I need meters.....

Anyway, the property is a lovely peace and the road has been re-done and no their is a powerline along the road that goes to a rather remote clinic. So, in theory, we're positioned well for the future. I would love to build a more substantial structure in this rapidly growing community and it remains a little project I keep mulling about. The reed structure is getting pretty worn and fragile and the termites are doing their thing on the wooden posts. (That's why concrete works so well here! There aren't any concrete termites.....yet!).

We enjoyed the sermon given by one of young men the leader of this church is mentoring. It's a part of the process of training others to train others. He used the story of the owner of a vineyard who gathered workers throughout the day to work in his fields (Matthew 20). In this parable, Jesus starts it by saying 'the kingdom of God is like....' and it immediately follows the parable of the Rich Young ruler - it is a passage very rich to discuss. This young man took it in a very literal sense relative to wages - very interesting in light of the culture context we work in where work is difficult to find and wages are not very good. Afterwards, the leader of the church pulled us aside and indicated that they would need to revisit that passage in the future, which in itself was interesting, but also encouraging - our Saturday classes at the seminary are having a good impact (the leader attends there and is a very devoted man).

I thought you might like to see the updated pictures. It was so incredibly hot - and our air conditioner decided to stop working AGAIN! With the sun beating down on our metal box, and it is already 110 degrees in the shade, I don't want to even guess what it is inside the car! The air conditioning lasted two whole weeks since the last time we fixed it. I went over the system with a fine tooth comb myself Sunday afternoon and found where I think the leak is (two places) and we had it 'fixed' while we were at Language School today. We will see. The fellow who works on it is someone we've become quite fond of - and we're certainly there often enough! He agreed with my diagnosis and did not charge us today, which was a blessing. I'd really like to put some dye in it like they do in the States - but that is one of those 'no-no's' to take on an airplane (pressured freon dye). It's not available here.

It's time to submit our visa paperwork again - we have done the first step and were approved by the Department of Religious Affairs today and tomorrow we will turn in our passports (always a gulp!) and applications to the Immigration people. So that will be an item for prayer. We hope to get them back in about two weeks before we head north again. Don't like to be on longer trips without the passport in case we need to hop the border quickly for some reason. Things change here pretty quickly sometimes.

Blessings.

Dave & Ann

"So the last will be first, and the first last, for many are called, but few chosen." Mat 20:16

Water Projects

I don't think we would ever be able to describe a 'normal' day here as each one is so different and generally so unpredictable. We try to schedule some relatively routine things as we both need some structure in our lives, but even those things seem to be elusive much of the time. One thing I really look forward to is Wednesdays when we work with our Khongolote pre-school leadership. We're getting a good handle on the finances of the pre-school and I hope we are making a little bit of a difference. It is also alot of fun to be with all the kids there. Today while I was working with Carlos, Ann and Kimberly sat under the trees with the ladies talking and making plans for the next church-wide women's meeting. We squeeze all this in during the kid's naptime and it is always fun to sneak a peek at all this stored energy as they sleep! When we leave, that energy is starting to be released!

On the way we stopped at our church at Sao Damasco and we were happy to see the water line finally going in. We have been planning for this for some time and now there is a water tap on the church property that can be used by church members and the community to get water. The church still has some details to work out on managing the water as there is a counter and there will be a bill. In the first photograph we are talking about the job, in the second we see the two water company fellows working on the counter, and in the last photo, you see the small group of children watching our every move. They got some balloons out of the deal.

This good water source will well serve the church and as we've said so many times - it is the fundamental thing needed for good health - clean water. At the end of the day we passed back by and the job was complete and the water in use. Thank you Lord!

Blessings!

Dave & Ann

"...while three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water, less than one percent (0.37% to be exact) of that water is drinkable. Furthermore groundwater, where we place pumps for wells, only accounts for 0.28% of freshwater across the globe. " Global Water Cycle and Supplies - University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire web page

Picoco Well is Complete

Today we finally made it out to Picoco and verified the well is operating. That is great news and while we were there, we watched family after family come and receive the water. Yes, we tasted it and it is good clean water. We will make the final payment on the well tomorrow and we pray it will bless the church and the community and draw people to this quiet and peaceful place. Thank you to all who contributed to this wonderful cause.

On the other side is sad news about our well at Intaka and generally about Intaka in general. We received a call that the well had been stolen at night. We found that hard to believe as it is no small task to unbolt a well, dismantle it, pull the rods, and put it in a truck all within easy earshot of numerous homes of church members. To top it off, there is some sort of strife within the church and the pastor has resigned. This pastor we count as a personal friend and we had talked on the phone about the well and now he isn't taking our calls. We received his resignation letter and we had a special meeting with the denomination leaders about it. The culture would have the denomination issue a letter back inviting him to a meeting with the leadership to discuss his letter. So, more to come, but we believe our long friendship provides the right to drive out and visit with them over this. It has rocked our world a bit as we have spent much time with this church and the Pastor and his family, so we are wanting to very much understand what is happening.

Today, I drove out to Intaka with a visitor from OMS, and confirmed the well was indeed gone, along with some damage to the inner casing that I think is more of a sabotage thing. It's all fixable but experience has taught us that the culture has a way of bringing these kinds of things around. The church and denomination has posted a reward for information leading to..... so we shall see. I talked to some people we know nearby and learned that indeed a car stopped there late one night and that was about all I could get - no one was talking. There is lots of gossip and finger pointing and the police are involved, but we just don't know anything. I drove by very similar wells that are around (although not close) and this seems to be the only one that was affected. We are praying that something good will come of this and I hate to admit it, but I'm praying for God to have His way with the culprits.

So, heartbreak and jubiliation; life here challenges the emotions on a regular basis.

Tomorrow, our long-time and dear friend Karlene returns to the States after three wonderful weeks (at least for us!) with us. This photo is of her today at Picoco. We covered alot of ground with Karlene during her time here and we hope that this trip will help her with the prayer ministry she leads that is so vital to the OMS work in Mozambique. Her leaving will leave a big hole here, for she is really much more family to us than a friend.

People do come and go, for yesterday Lon arrived from OMS headquarters to do some filming and documentary work and so he is also with us and we are enjoying introducing him to the work here.

"Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble." Ps 10:12

Well Photo

One of the fun things we get to do here is visit all of our different churches - it's like being a member of a bunch of churches and we truly love each one of them. Today, we went back out to Picoco to check on the well and visit with this newer church. We had made the arrangements before we knew it was going to be raining hard today, but we managed to make it out just fine. Our normal car is in the shop being repaired after the grueling trip to the north (parts had to be ordered from Japan) and we are renting a mission car from our Christian School in the interim. We ran it through the paces today as we slipped our way through the mud, water, and torrents of water.

The photograph is of the well at Picoco - it's like pulling teeth to finish this thing (no offence, Dr. Fran!) We are still waiting for the top pump assembly and this next week is the third "it'll be done next week" we've heard since getting back from our work in Northern Mozambique. It's a nice base and it has a drain field on the far end for mosquito control.

In the middle of church, the pastor leaned over to me and said "you are going to preach today, right? It's the first time you've visited here in 2009 and so the church wants you to preach." So, I did as God really had put something on my heart - in Portuguese (no English-speakers in this particular church) with the pastor translating to Shanganna because most don't know Portuguese, a condition that is typical in rural Mozambique. I'd speak a little to Ann in the congregation from time to time so she could be finding upcoming words I needed - it takes both of us to equal one whole person here! I use the analogy of she is 1/2 a brain and I'm the other 1/2 - it takes two. Today was no exception. But, I think the Pastor was doing a bit more 'interpreting' vice ' translating' but I don't know enough Shanganna to have a clue! Every time I do this, it just drives me to the dictionary when I get home as I need more words - I keep rearranging the same words and need a bunch of new ones!

I love this church (don't I say it about all of them?) - it is full of people who are joyful in the Lord and when you leave, there is no doubt that you have been in the presence of God. The singing and dancing is especially wonderful although they still laugh with me at my apparent disability - my feet don't seem to move well when I'm singing! (That's two things at the same time - singing and dancing!)

Happy Sunday dear friends.

Dave & Ann
"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Chorus from Ps 118; 24)

Reflections on the Week

Another week has rapidly passed and I've been reflecting on what has all happened this week. So, maybe just a quick summary to help catch you up to date.

We did make a quick trip to South Africa to get the car fixed. I told the Toyota folks about the bad seals, and they did some more inspections and found several other seal problems with the suspension and parts had to be ordered. In addition, they are fixing the damage where I had a close encounter with a tree stump for what seemed like a very reasonable price to me. So, we had to leave our car and can't pick it up until the 10th of March. That's a bit touchy for us as we need the car then for a trip north on the 11th. In addition, we run into visa problems and car export / import problems if the date is extended, which means fines and problems for us. The car folks understand all this and assure us they will be ready on the 10th. I have quite a bit of faith in that garage from our past experiences and am glad we had the work done there vice here in Maputo as it expanded quite a bit and it is much more difficult to get parts here than in South Africa.

We were surprised to be shaken down by the South African police right outside of the town where we were taking the car. They pulled us over (we had two cars - Ann in one and me in the other) and they didn't like our drivers licenses and were determined to find something wrong; they checked every bulb and everything about both vehicles and then finally let us go. We were well under the speed limit so it had nothing to do with that. It was probably my Mozambican plates - they've probably seen their share of Mozambican cars without lights, without windshields, without a door, etc.

In Nelspruit, we stocked up with things we have trouble finding in Mozambique, attended to some minor medical issues, and then headed back across the border. We also got our mail, which is always a blessing and something we look forward to; receiving several notes and letters and even a package!

Then it was back to Mozambique to work on the administration of the field as it was end of the month. There are reports to do, ECC payroll to complete, and just the normal administration that we need to stay on top of.

We were blessed to meet with our Christian Micro-Enterprise Development coordinators for a special performance review and they were really excited about it. We had them work on some forms and then we sat down individually and talked about last year, the coming year (we work by budget year - April to March), objectives, and how they thought they were doing. It was a great time of sharing and insightful for both of us with regard to things we can work on together to improve for next year. Ann took the lead on this and did an absolute masterful job and we all felt really good about it afterwards and look forward to the new year. One challenge for us is keeping the program going after the end of the next fiscal year - we will need to figure out how to raise funds to keep this wonderful program moving forward. If we do it right, eventually we can make it self-sufficient right here in Mozambique. One of our guys is moving to the north for a few months to expand the CMED work in our northern churches and we applaud his dedication and passion for this work that truly does help people.

The water well at Picoco - what a story. Still no well top - next week. (This is the third 'next week'). I'm still sitting on 30% of the price, so I think they will eventually finish it to collect payment. We are looking forward to attending church ther

Yesterday, we sat with the church leadership at our Khongolote church to discuss and strategize with the leadership over some moral failures of a couple of our training personnel. It was a difficult meeting, but a good one, as we explored the issues and strategized for the future. There was great openess and we were able to share our hearts in both directions and came away bonded together in a new and stronger way. It also was good to know that we really did 'understand the story' and weren't lost in language and cultural nuances. It also identified a need that Ann and I need to periodically share the vision and direction of the Church Multiplication Program with the local church leaders. We have done this with our denominational leaders but the local church folks don't really understand at the level they need to as we seek out young men and women to step out to spread the gospel in Mozambique. So, we will continue to share the story. The picture is of us using the chalkboard at the meeting. It was a hot day and the coolest place to meet was outside in the shade (on the veranda of the church).

The pre-school was in session and it was encouraging to see the kids, hear them, and know that this one pre-school is continuing to operate and bless the community. The other one at T-3 is getting closer; the meeting earlier in the week I wrote about previously was delayed (surprise!) but the church continues to move forward and has started a small temporary kitchen that they believe will be accepted and allow them to re-open the school. We inspected the temporary kitchen and what they are doing seems reasonable and verbally the government regulators have said it would be ok, so we will see! One day at a time!

The one picture is of the kids doing physical exercises to a drum beat. It was something to watch - they can move in ways I can only dream of moving! So very cute. In the other picture, their teacher is leading them towards a bathroom break!


After the meeting, we did motorcycle maintenance - changing oil, tightening the chain, inspecting the air filter, etc. Our evangelism coordinator is using the motorcycle to visit our church planting teams and I am trying to train him on how to care for it. So, the photo is of what became a group activity to do maintenance on the motorcycle. It is an inexpensive Chinese bike that is quite simple and I hope holds up for us ok. It's a great mode of transportation here outside of the city. Part of the maintenance was bending some parts back into position from the minor accident on the way to the church where a car cut him off; forced him off the road. Thank you for your prayers for Pastor Abel for he was not hurt!

Yesterday was also an interesting day because there was another threat of riots in the city over the price of diesel fuel by the people who drive the transportation vans (Chappas). It was heating up Thursday and a general strike was planned for Friday, that fortunately didn't materialize but will continue to hang over us next week. The same thing happened last year and we remember well racing through the city on back streets trying to stay ahead of the mobs that were burning tires, breaking windows, flipping cars, and throwing rocks. Things seem calm but as is always the case, it is calm on the surface. That is one of the unseen stressors in our lives that is always perculating right under the surface. Things are never what they seem....

Enough for today; we need to run to a 'coming out party' for the two-year old child of one of our pastors. Monday will mark our two-year anniversary for arrival in Mozambique. Shortly after we arrived, we attended the 'birth party' for the same child and somehow it seems appropriate to be attending a party at the same place two years later - I will have to reflect on that some! For one thing, we aren't hurrying to be there on time as we know it won't start for an hour or two after the stated starting time!

Blessings to you from Mozambique. Thank you for standing with us.

Dave & Ann

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God." I Cor. 5

The well is working!

There are actually many things I could write about this last week. First, it has been a real blessing to have our fourth daughter, Allison, with us. She has spent time here before and just settled right in - no culture shock for her - and she has been a great help to us. Once again, she is helping move! Everytime we have seen her, it seems we are working on a move, in this case, moving Juka, our village church planting coordinator, north to the Mocuba area. There are alot of details to attend to before he leaves and Allison has been a great help. She also has been my right hand in roof repairs, car repairs, home repairs, computer repairs, you name it!

Getting around has been a bit of a challenge of late; heavy rains washed out several of the dirt track roads we normally use, and we've given Allison a real taste of using 4-wheel drive, just to get out of our house to the road! During the peak of the storm, while the electricity was out (normal here - add wind, lose electricity), lightening hit our house on one end, putting a big crack in the house from the eve to the ground, and blasting a small hole in the asbestos panel roof. So, water poured into the house and we scrambled around getting everything moved, being very thankful we were home at the time. We were sitting at the dinner table when it hit, and we thought a bomb had gone off. Fortunately, our computers were not plugged in because of the power fluctuations, and we received no other damage. When the rain stopped, Allison and I spent an afternoon on the roof repairing the panels and fixing other small problems. The fix is easy - there is a special paint you put down, then lay this fiberglass like material (probably asbestos!) over the painted area and the hole, and then paint over the patch material, and instant patch - works great. However, they only had red in stock, and so my 'gray' roof has all these red patches on it! Fine with me - the roof doesn't leak!

We went to our Intaka church Sunday as the well was finally finished and we were pleased to operate it and drink the water. The church is so pleased and many people in the community are using the water. A lady who lives next to the church watches over the pump, and it is locked to prevent vandalism when she is not around. We need to work a bit on a drain field and fixing a better area to stand while you pump, but we now have good clean water for the community and the church - that's a great thing. Many people made these wells possible and we thank you so very much for making a difference here in Mozambique. The one photo shows many of the kids in the church wearing Vacation Bible School t-shirts graciously provided by a church in the States who had a heart for this well project. The kids were especially excited to receive the t-shirts as they are new, not used, and of a quality not often seen here.

On the same day, we delivered a special filter to a family that uses an open well and is plagued by periodic episodes of diarrhea. Ann thinks it is the well water. So, we are experimenting to see how it impacts their health - drinking the specially filtered water. We are so thankful to all our friends in the States who have made this well and the filters possible as we work to improve lives here. Water is such a key, and with the rain and floods of late, the latrines are overflowing and the water in the communities is such a mess.

We are excited to see the growth of this small village church under Ricardo and Olga's leadership. It is making a difference in the community and Ricardo has a vision for the future that is most exciting. Our prayer is that we can begin to work towards replacing the simple reed structure, which is becoming quite worn, with a simple block structure over the next year. We see progress in every avenue at this church, with our micro-enterprise program, a small sewing center, a small farming area, and now the well. In addition, Ann has quite a community health outreach to this area and she always enjoys working with the ladies at this church. They are always glad to see her.

Our well at Picoco - the contractor is back on the job to finish the work this week, for which we are very thankful. Sometimes I have to catch myself because the seemingly simpliest tasks take so very long. This well at Picoco has been a work of love for a very long time - the need there is huge but God has His timing. We are very close and I look forward to sharing the photos with you in a future report!

We have several new churches in a place called Malange in northern Mozambique. Malange is located in a very poor area and the churchesy recently put out a desperate call for assistance with some clothing. Our local Mozambican churches did a drive, and today we picked up about 10 bags of used clothes to send north with Juka - give by people who have little, to be used by people who have even less. I say 'send north with Juka' because he will be moving this week; I feel like my best friend is moving away and to add insult to injury, his daughter is like a grand daughter to me! But, he is answering God's call to oversee our church planting movement in northern Mozambique and we support him 110 percent. We hope to drive north again (after we get the car repaired from the last trip!) in March to visit. Juka will bring a great level of maturity and leadership to our work in northern Mozambique and I don't think this timing is a coincidence. He has been a joy to work with the last two years and I am excited to see what God is going to do through him and his lovely family.

Please continue to pray for our precious team mate - 2-year old Gabriel Thiessen who begins his chemo-therapy this week. Pray for his dear parents as they walk this path with him. Pray them back to Mozambique.

The well in Intaka has the following verses inscribed in the base. I thought they were appropriate for today's blog entry. I pray that this well will be a gathering place where people will hear the gospel; where lives will truly be transformed from the inside-out:

"Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:13-14

Picoco Well - day 3

The well at Picoc is capped and we are now awaiting another group to install the actual pump assembly after preparing the concrete base. In this picture, Pastor Nelio is standing where the concrete base will be added. The well drilling equipment was moved out as we wait for delivery of the actual pump assembly. With the way things work here in Mozambique, it is possible that we won't see the top part assembled until the new year. Things are rapidly closing down here with the Christmas holiday approaching.

This morning (Sunday) we worshipped at our Intaka church. They were celebrating the third-year anniversary of the registration of the denomination and had invited us. I (Dave) was invited to speak and enjoyed the opportunity to talk about how God had a plan from the very beginning of the Bible to send a redeemer for His people. It was a blessing to talk about the Christmas story, of our redeemer coming to earth, teaching us how to live and yet dieing a horrible death on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. But this birth is only the beginning of the story, the power comes through Christ's ressurrection, where death is defeated and Christ stands as the sole intermediatry between fallen man and a holy God. What hope, what joy, what purpose to know that God has a plan for each of us, just as he had a plan for the redemption of all mankind, for those who would accept his free gift through belief in His son. What a story....what hope it brings and what transformed lives we can have through acceptance of this free gift; accessible through repentence and belief on the one whom God sent. And to 'seal the deal' God sends us his Spirit so we can confidently know in our hearts the reality of the story, that even as sinful men, we can confidently approach the very throne of God because we are now sons and daughters of the most high - wow!

The last picture is in the service where many of the congregation were expressing their appreciation for the church and the pastor and his wife for their service to the church this past year.

Afterwards, we had a meal under the cashew tree (it was too hot in the church). Ann did some health checks and we visited with Senhor Jamie, who is 93 and who found it too difficult to come to church this morning with the extreme heat. He is quite frail but loves God and it is always a joy to visit with him. Ann did some medical checks and we returned home late in the afternoon. A wonderful day, but Sunday's usually are...

" All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, "the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means, "God with us." Matt 1:22-23

Picoco Well - day 2

We spend the morning trying to arrange air tickets for a team coming here in January. As those things do here, that took the entire morning but we were successful although we have to go back tomorrow to pick up the tickets. We then confirmed that the materials for our Intaka well had been delivered, but they aren't going to install the pump until January 6. I'd been hoping for a well for Christmas - but at least the materials are in storage at our Khongolote church.

After some errands related to the upcoming conference, we headed back out to Picoco, arrive late in the afternoon to a totally different situation. Today's activities consisted of boring the hole out with a different drill bit and preparing the bore hole for the plastic tubing. What a mess - soupy muddy water running down a former foot path as the hole was opened up and cleaned out. The task today was to get the plastic pipe in the ground. They are estimating two more days with the equipment on site and then they will start the top part of the well. At first our increased cost was a bit of a shock to me, but after watching what is involved, I'm beginning to understand much better - it is an incredible amount of work using lots of specialized equipment. This well will be a little over $7000 when we are done because of the increased scope - about three times what we are spending at Intaka - it all depends on the terrain and the equipment you need.

If you look closely at the one picture that shows more of the scenery (and lots of green from our recent rain! PTL!), you can see a small round mud house with a thatch roof. This is the home of one of the church members and I need to ask her if she is from the north. Those kinds of houses are more characteristic of the houses in northern Mozambique than here in the southern part of the country. She is a sweet lady and did come visit with us a bit today. She is especially looking forward to having the well up and running and may be who we put in charge of the well relative to 'keeping an eye on it'.

As a side note - a reporter showed up today to learn more about this church and organization that would drill a well for the community. The local government officials are very pleased to have this being done for the community. Nelio was the front man for the interview so another opportunity for the church. We greated the group but didn't engage in much of the conversation - we ran out of language real quick with it being the end of the day.

On the way back, we bought three small banana trees to plant in our yard from a man on the side of the road out in the country. Paid about a dollar sixty for each of the three foot trees. They are the small banannas we like so well here and should be producing in a year. Things grow really fast here (and year-around) if they get water. So, we will see what comes of this little project.

Thanks for standing with us so faithfully!

Dave & Ann

PTL, we hit water!!

As you know, we have been trying for a long time to put in a well at our church at Picoco. We started with one group who couldn't dig deep enough because the ground was too hard - they said rock. Fortunately it was a very shallow layer that today's equipment busted right through, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We finally located a person who was interested in doing a well for us. We met him in a parking lot and sat down for coffee at a little shop and talked. He had only been in the country from Portugal for about a month. He had this equipment and had done alot of wells in Portugal and spoke of all the trials and difficulties getting the equipment in through the port into Mozambique (I can only imagine - we had fits getting some text books in for our school). We like him quite well and asked him if we could pray together and he immediately said "oh, I can't, I'm Catholic." That answer surprised us as we have many dear Catholic friends who are most willing to pray with us and we assured him that it was ok and so we prayed for him, his new life in Moambique, his new business and our partnership together. We shook hands on the deal and he went off to work up a quote (after showing us his well rig). We are only his second well and he was disappointed to find out that our OMS was not Organizao Mundo Saude (World Health Organization) as he thought maybe he had struck a vein of gold. But no, a different OMS and certainly not a vein of gold. At the same time, we will certainly give him a good reference among our little network and we pray that God will bless his efforts because he so willingly worked with us.

A couple of days later, we met in the same parking lot and signed a contract and we paid the customary 70% upfront (does that surprise you?....very normal here) and then the rain came. After several days and our check clearing the bank, they started work. The drilling started this morning. We liked our new freind Jose Nunes very much but at the same time, you can't help but think, I'm meeting in a parking lot, doing a contract in a parked car, with a guy who has only been here a month; am I crazy? But we knew that the last two days had been a time of focused prayer by many people in the States, so we trusted that he was truly an answer to prayer and that has turned out to be the case. These things are never 'coincidence'!

We paid for 50 meters and I was praying for water by 40, so we could penetrate to 50 and not have additional cost. God was gracious to answer and we hit water at 40 meters. From the picture, there was no question when we hit water - the rig doesn't use water but rather compressed air to throw up and out the drilled-out material. When the water came, we cheered and clapped and praised God.

They installed 3 meter sections of pipe at a time, re-leveling the equipment each time. The one photo above shows some of the kids watching all the work. This was no small operation - a huge compressor, two big trucks, a special drill rig - by people who really knew what they were doing - it was a pleasure to watch it all and I just love this type of equipment and thoroughly examined all of it to see how it worked, etc. I loved the overall simplicity of it all and have learned to really appreciate that feature of Portguese-influenced engineering. Simplicity and practicality.

The last picture is hard to probably understand without a few words. As the material being exhumed from the dig changed, they put small piles of material to show the different levels. At the bottom were the two different layers of white sand, a rock layer, a different soil, a different soil, a red rock, then clay, three types. It was all interesting and I wished for a geologist to explain it all to me.

I the background of this same picture, you can see the outhouse for the church and the edge of the church on the left. Everything looks very green (for a change) because of the wonderful rains we've had the last week. I think anything could grow here if we just had consistent rain. There were gorgeous small fields of corn just off the road coming up into Picoco that I'm afraid will be all dried up in a few months but they look incredible right now - knee-high by the 19th of December (well, at least in the southern hemisphere!).

They will continue work tomorrow, but now we need to install the plastic bore hole piping, the inner well piping, cap the well, and then begin to work on the top part (hand pump).

We also brought up some window frames for the church and stoped to have some small metal security tabs welded on them and Pastor Nelio is overseeting installation of the frames. Youth for Christ purchased the frames and we're installing them - we're in a partnership with this particular work and are so pleased with how it is all going. God is good.

Tomorrow the other group is supposed to finish the other well at Intaka - we will check on that tomorrow.

Blessings,

Dave & Ann

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38

Well Update

No snazzy picture today but we do have news.  This was a crazy crazy day - we met with one of our church-planter trainers today who is trying to resolve his marriage situation - he has a common-law wife and he is trying to complete the church wedding.  We have been counseling with them and encouraging them to resolve this promptly and they were very successful in getting the bride's family to not require a 'bride-price' which is a big problem here that prevents many people from getting married - so they just live together instead.  So the barrier is removed and they can get married in the church now - great!

Well, we thought so until our meeting today (they called us) when they presented us with a list of things they needed to get married - and wanted our help.  It amounted to $900 worth of food and supplies for the party after the wedding which is a tremendous cultural pressure here (sound familiar?).  The bride's family is pushing for this big party (which amounts to feeding about 300 people in exchange for a lot of presents).  Now in this culture, we should feel great honor that they would present this need to us personally, and we are learning to be gracious in these requests, but in a country where a typical wage is on the order of less than $100 / month, this is a little extravagant.  Without the family blessing, the marriage will probably not happen.  In addition, there was a request for help buying land for the house that is so very important (they are renting a nice house by Mozambican standards right now).    We had planned to contribute a little to the wedding (mainly the documents and things for the wedding itself) but of course not paying for the party!

Cultural and family pressures here are tremendous and put real barriers in front of couples, which probably contributes the the problem with promiscuity here and tremendous HIV problem.  Pray with us as we seek God's wisdom in how to counsel this young couple.   We really do seek to understand the culture better so we can operate within it in a Christian paradigm that is not full of all the western bias that is so deeply imbedded in us.  It takes such discernment and as we continue our daily "read through the bible in a year" devotion that we do year after year, we are seeing God's word in a entirely different light as we understand things better here.  But, oh, we have so much to learn.....

But, I started off this entry thinking about the well at Picoco!  We met with a Portuguese man today who one month ago shipped in some well drilling equipment from Portugal and is trying to start a well-drilling business here.   His name is Jose and we quite enjoyed meeting with him and inspecting his equipment.

In Mozambique, the World Health Organization has the initials "OMS" in portuguese so we are confused with these folks all the time.  It actually works to our advantage quite a bit and has unintentionally given us some 'free passes' to things because we said we were "with OMS" and various assumptions are made.  In this case, the man had gotten very very excited to think he would be quoting a well for the World Health Organization - he thought he'd jumped into the big time and when we gave him our card for OMS International - reaching the nations for Christ, he couldn't help his momentary disappointment. 

Anyway, he has given us a partial quote for the hole (about $4500) through the rock and is obtaining a second quote for the pump assembly.  So, we are encouraged that we are moving forward again and it is no coincidence because we know of several groups in America who have been specifically praying for this well for the last couple of days - and to find this guy trying to start up - it's not coincidence!  

We quite hit it off and talked for quite a while and he helped us with our Portuguese and we learned about some tragedy in his life and were able pray with him.  We see some great potential opportunities here and look forward to what the next couple of days will bring as we finalize our arrangement.    

So progress in response to the prayers of God's people.  Thank you Lord, thank you friends.

Dave & Ann

Ricardo's House

Ricardo and his wife Olga pastor the church at Intaka. They have done a wonderful job of growing and pastoring that small reed church and it is my prayer that someday we will be able to build a more substantial structure there. They have a wonderful vision for the church and what they want to see for the future - I get excited everytime I talk with Ricardo about it and sense his passion.

Ricardo and his family lived in a very small reed house that had all but fallen down. It was leaning over so far that you were never sure if you should enter it. He had saved money, accumulated some block, and with the help of a team visitor, was able to start on his house. We are happy to report that he is out of the reed for this rainy season and in a block house. He has plans someday to put another room out from this view but not now. Yes, that is a well in the front. The small structure to the front of the house is a small store-front where they operate a small sewing business. Ricardo can make a pair of trousers that you would think came from the finest department store in the States. They set an example that we believe so firmly in here - bivocational pastors. Lives changed, one step at a time.

The second photo is of these dear friends of ours with their two precious boys.

The well parts are finally in and we expect to finish the well at Intaka in the next couple of weeks!

Dave & Ann

Well at Picoco

The well at Picoco is underway as of today.  The drillers have encountered rocks that are causing problems but they will continue tomorrow.  We have a series of meetings tomorrow and will probably not make it out to Picoco until the next day.  Pray with us that they will be successful in penetrating the rocky part of the ground into good clear water.  It will really improve conditions in this community.

Today, I gave a presentation of sorts to our team in our weekly meeting to explain about our recent trip north.  I continue to be filled with a sense of urgency about the work and especially in the community of Rieque.  The lady in the back left of this photo is burned into my consciousness.  She is not a stranger - we have held her hands and heard her story.  She is very very sick and I cannot forget her and her community.  My heart's desire is that God will reach from eternity into time and place his healing touch upon this dear lady.  I pray that as a mission and as a church, we can affect lasting change in her small community 100 km outside of Nampula.  Pray for this small community and the considerable challenges it faces.  Pray for our small church as it develops and offers a lasting hope to this community.   There is such opportunity in this area and I pray that God will raise up people with a passion for the lost of Mozambique who will join with us and grab hold of our vision for church planting with accompanying compassionate ministries.  

Blessings to you on this glorius day. 

Dave & Ann

"May my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word."  Psalm 119:169

Well Update

As I write, the well equipment is being moved from Khongolote to Picoco and we should start drilling tomorrow or the next day in this area that is desperate for water. We still don't have the pump assembly but they are going ahead while we wait for the top pieces. So, one more step - quite a process to bring all these things together....The church at Picoco is really excited about this water well and there will definitely be a crowd when things get started! Please continue to pray with us about this well as the soil is rocky and the drilling of this well may not be easy - pray with us that they can slide that auger straight down into pure fresh water!

Sunday, we visited one of our newest church plants quite close to our home actually, maybe 15 minutes by car. Church was held under a tree next to the house of a relative of the church planter. We had about 12 people who came. Afterwards, we gave a ride to one of the men to a funeral service. We went through miles and miles of narrow sand streets that just further demonstrates to us how many people live in this area surrounding Maputo. It is quite deceptive until you really get out into the areas.

Afterwards, we went with Pastor Abel to give some motorcycle familiarization lessons to him so he can begin using a motorcycle we have available for use in our Evangelism and Church Planting program - and yes, I took it for a spin - have always like motorcycles but they don't always like me as I've wrecked a few in my life but God has graciously protected me from my stupidity each time! Motorcycles or scooters are becoming a more and more common way of transportation here and there are a number of Chinese bikes here called "motorbikes in a box" that are assembled here from the parts. They are quite inexpensive and we are seeing them everywhere. The small ones don't require a license and are the ones we see everywhere as the corruption and cost to get a motorcycle license makes getting a license nearly impossible for most people.

While we were at the church service, a man we knew recognized our car and came over to see what we were up to and that provided an opportunity to invite him to join with us. We have these crazy stickers on the side of our car window from a previous owner, and we can't remove them because that is what identifes our vehicle! And it is virtually impossible for us to go around incognito anyway! The prior owner had several kids and the stickers are bonded with the tinting film on the inside of the window so there is no taking them off at this point! They always provide opportunity to talk with kids.

We are preparing for a number of key strategic meetings next week in ECC and the seminary, so it will be a busy week of preparation, planning, and meetings. We are also doing a presentation on our trip north at our team meeting this week to try and explain everything we did and experienced in the north and hopefully cast a vision for the future of the program in the north.

In between the meetings we plan to get out to Picoco and get some photos of the well drilling in progress. So, stay tuned!!!

Dave & Ann

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light." Luke 11:33



"

Wells

While we were traveling in the north, World Hope put in a well at our Intaka church (seen in the background with the sewing center). Right now all you see is a pipe in the ground but they hit good water and we are waiting for the top pieces. The company they get the hand pump apparatus from is currently out of stock. So, we wait aggressively! You kind of get used to that here....

But it is great progress and we look forward to seeing the change this well will have on the church and this small community.

As we traveled in the north, the need for good clean water struck us over and over again. In the more rural areas, people gather water from streams where people bath, streams where the water is dirty, full of debris, and we know a source of disease. Diarrahea is a common ailment, as are stomach ailments - it is no wonder. Good health starts with clean water....

Thanks to all of you who have made this possible. We will keep you informed.

Thank you for standing with us.

Dave & Ann

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols." Exe 36:25

Wells

We just received word that the well-drilling is on again for Monday morning. This is the same morning we leave for the long drive to northern Mozambique. We have delegated the following of the drilling of our two wells to Pastor Ricardo and I'm sure he will do a great job for us while we are gone. I hate to miss the opportunity to show you the 'in-process' photographs but look forward to providing you with the finished product photographs!

We've spent today trying to prepare for the trip north. I have a small box of spare filters, fan belts, radiator stop-leak, tire repair kits, etc. for the simple things that could happen and we'll carry four Jerry-cans of fuel on top as diesel stations can be few and far between!

In a way it is reminiscent of our previous life where we took the kids camping every year. We are taking tents and camping supplies for this trip, it is not a hotel-type trip! We are starting malaria medication tomorrow as we will be out of routine and out at night. Our tent also provides a great protection from mosquitoes. Ann and I are wondering if we are 'too old for this' staying in the bush. We will tell you in a couple of weeks!

Truly we look forward to sharing with the churches in the north and spending time with the leadership there. We pray that God will use us in a way that is honoring to Him.

Dave & Ann

"We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness ...." Exodus 8:27

In this verse, Moses was taking his people on a three-day journey to offer sacrifices and the next thing you know the trip lasts 40 years. mmmm, is this trip we are leaving on like Gilligan's three-hour tour??? ;-)

What Goes Up

What is this picture? Today Juka and I rode the seminary elevator for the first time. One of the prime design criterion of the seminary was that it be handicap-accessible. With a four-story structure, you need an elevator to do this. For our first year here, we called, urged, pleaded, and otherwise begged to get the elevator company to work on it and finish it. Well, finally it is done and Mike Thiessen, our seminary director, is applying for the license to operate it. It worked great - we went to the top and stopped at each floor, and lived to tell. When the permit is granted, we will be making our last payment on the elevator - one more piece of the construction completed. We are so thankful to have this completed. The last remaining thing is purchasing a small piece of adjacent land-locked land that we want to use for parking. This is presently with the government for approval and we continue to pray that this will proceed.

Also, we are delayed on the wells - one of the team drilling members passed away and they are delayed until after the funeral. It is a tragic part of life here.

Monday we leave for a car trip to the north to visit our ECC teams. Today we went around getting supplies together and have a bit more to do tomorrow. It's over 1000 miles one way so it isn't a light trip and the roads aren't the best. We picked up a few spare filters and maintenance parts for the car, just in case. I'm sure we'll have much to report when we return. It is a bit of a survey trip as well as we feel that missionary presence is needed to stand with our churches in the northern provinces. Pray for us as we go and return. It is three-days journey one-way as we don't want to travel after dark.

Dave & Ann

Wells

The well drilling equipment is currently stored at our Khongolote church property and the team is supposed to start drilling tomorrow. It has been quite a long battle to get this work going. We start drilling at Intaka tomorrow and when that is completed, we will move the rig to Picoco and start drilling there. The first day is mostly set up and obtaining the necessary water needed to operate the equipment. This is a dream long in coming and we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who have gotten behind this effort. We will get pictures! What is especially neat are the vacation bible schools who took this on as a project - we look forward to reporting on this and the impact these wells will have on the people and the children of Intaka and Picoco. Pray with us - the soil at Picoco has some rock and the equipment we have may not work real well. We are praying that we'll be able to slide the auger between the rocks, and right into a nice layer of fresh cool water! So, pictures to come! The picture I have uploaded is an example of the type of wells we are putting in.

Yesterday I had a flat tire - noticed it in the driveway. I pumped it back up with an emergency pump I carry and found a nail in the tire. We drove to the tire store this morning and they plugged it for me. It's quite efficient how they do it here. I parked on the sidewalk outside the tire store, they came out and jacked up the car and took the tire/wheel off. The young man then over-inflated the tire and stuck it in a big tank of water and found the nail. He then pulled the nail right out and inserted a plug without ever removing the tire from the wheel. He overinflated again and tested in the water - oops, another nail. Repeated the procedure (no more leaks!) and put it back on the car. The entire process was 15 to 20 minutes and we never had to get out of the car except to pay. It's the second repair I've had at this particular place and it rates way high on my customer satisfaction scale. I'm not surprised at the nails - we drive on dirt / sand roads more than pavement and often through trash and debris. It's a wonder we've only had this problem twice actually - and I think that is because nails are recovered and re-used vice thrown away. A used nail has value here.

We are trying to put together a plan to travel to Nampula this weekend to check on one of our pastor-trainers and visit Antonio in Macuba. The plan is to travel with Melvin and Sharon - we will probably fly as it is about as cheap with the high price of fuel and won't beat our car to death on the two-day grueling drive. We've reserved a missionary conference center area in Nampula for our annual ECC training week (January) and we want to check it out. It will be good also to see Paito, Maria Nelsa and baby Ana.

Today I was reading in devotions, John Chapter 9, about Jesus' healing of the blind man. A great story but I saw it in a different light this morning. A man, blind from birth was healed by the Incarnate God-man. He was a blind beggar, uneducated, and yet, the very creator of the universe healed him and then we watch this 'social outcast' dumb-found the 'intellectuals' and the 'religious' of the time. The healing itself is amazing, but then to watch this man's life miraculously transformed as he finds himself in the courts of the elite, proclaiming that he may not know about all their theology and their political positions, all he knows is, "I was blind and now I see". And the Pharisees call him a disciple of this man Jesus (whom he hasn't seen yet), and we watch the blind man become more and more bold as God's spirit empowers him. After what would seem to be an impossible time for this man being confronted by the elite, he is cast out into the streets again and Jesus then finds him. He recognizes Jesus' voice, sees him for the first time, and we see a beautiful revelation of who Jesus is to the man and his beautiful final response: "and he said, Lord, I believe, And he worshiped him". Indeed, the elite were blind, and the blind could see.

We are to make disciples. That is our calling, and you don't have to be wise, educated, or trained to make disciples. This blind man confounded the best of the best in that society because his faith was real, practical, and personal. And we see the same model working today as people turn their hearts towards Christ in Mozambique in record numbers - we just need to pray to the God of the harvest for workers, for the field is ripe for harvest.

Blessings to you!

Dave & Ann

"Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" He [the formerly blind man] answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, "Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." And he said, Lord, I believe, And he worshiped him.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into this world that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind."" John 9:35-39

Picoco Sunday

We're having a bit of trouble getting photos to upload to our blog - mainly because our Internet speed is just too slow here to accommodate photos very well.  So, unfortunately until we figure it out, we will not be able to post photographs for a while.

Sunday we went out to Picoco for church and did a short video clip that will be used in a DVD being prepared for use at the OMS Northeast Conference.  We only did one-take, which is a concern as in other video's I've done, it always takes many many clips.  I hope it turns out ok - I didn't say all I wanted to say but when you only have 30 seconds to a minute, what can you really say anyway!  We love going to this church which is so full of joy.  This people are very very poor in this area but they worship with a joy that can only come from knowing God.  

Church was great and we had a small time to share with this new congregation and enjoyed introducing Larry and Susan who came along to get the video footage and see where this church was located.   We especially enjoyed two wonderful songs performed by all the children.

When they announced in church that we expected to start drilling a well on September 22, there was a great cheer that w

ent out and the older ladies did their clicking sounds that are common here as a show of appreciation.  It was quite moving and it will make a big impact on life at the church and in the community.

On Monday, we helped Pastor Nelio and his wife move to a small house relatively near the church that will eliminate his three-hour one-way commute that he has been making faithfully for many months now as he has developed this small church and started his training program.  His new house is very very near a large mosque and we pray that this does not prove to be a problem for him.   We also took out quite a bit of clothing that had been gathered by Youth for Christ workers and Nelio will distribute them among the church. 

What a thrill to make a little bit more progress for the Kingdom.   Juka called us yesterday and was overflowing with joy about the work in the north and we look forward to his report.  He returns Friday and our ECC leadership team from the States arrives Saturday as our ECC shepherd turns over his responsibilities to our new ECC shepherd.  It will be a busy week but it is always a pleasure to show off the amazing things God is doing here.

Lastly, we are really being challenged with electrical problems here.  First the power is on and off all the time, enough we had to discard food because of loss of refrigeration.  And when we take a shower, we've had a small tingle from the faucets, which we recently replaced. When the water is flowing, you get a small shock.  We have checked our house and the water heaters and nothing seems to be wrong with them.  However, last night, I got more than a slight jolt in the shower, just a down-right hard shock.  I had to turn the water off with insulated pliers.  Now, I think most of you know that water and electricity don't mix.  I searched around this compound we live on and found a place where an electrical ground rod and been stolen and the ground wire was just hanging.  I fixed this, but got a very strong current going to ground, which doesn't seem right either.  So, we continue to chase this electrical problem but unfortunately, finding a good electrician who really understands is quite a challenge.   So, we will see what tonight's shower brings - one of our African friends had the solution - of course, you simply get some rubber insulated sandals to wear in the shower - that will allow you to live with it - I don't think so!  The photo is of the deadly shower complete with water stains (it is clean, it really is!).  (Late edition - the ground wire fix seemed to resolve the problem! or at least for the past couple of days - I made a late change to add photos!)

Thank you for standing with us!

Dave & Ann