New Missionary Arrives

We are pleased to announce that Aimee Howarth has arrived as a new missionary joining our team here in Mozambique. She is coming to do women's ministry and has a real heart to move to northern Mozambique. We joined the Weils to meet her at the airport and unfortunately another Kodak camera has crashed and burned so I have no pictures! No more of that brand....We were all set to get a welcome picture but - no luck.

[late entry - However, I did get a picture when we took her around the next day! (late addition). Aimee is on the left next to Ann and our dear friend Kimberly is on the right in the snoopy shirt. Kimberly is staying with us a week while her parents, who work for another mission and are very close friends, minister in northern Mozambique at a conference.]

Aimee arrived for her two-year assignment with only two duffle bags and a carry on. Oh to be young again!

We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted at the Weils and will take her around with us some tomorrow. She is already asking about how soon she can do a survey trip to the north - as she feels strongly that is where she is to go. It is our hope that we can take her north and introduce her to the work and hopefully enable her move into what God has called her to do as quickly as possible. We are so glad she is here.

She has served here as a teacher at our school in the past, knows Portuguese, and has advanced training relative to missionary work. She has worked hard to prepare for her term here and we are excited to see what God has in store for her. Thank you Lord for this answer to prayer.

"It is good to praise the Lord..." Psalm 92:1

T-3 Preschool

The pre-school at T-3 has grown to it's current government limit of 40 students and we praise God for that increase from the eight or so we started with (earlier blog). However, the re-opening wasn't as complete as we had thought. As it turns out, the preschool was given a provisional license to carry them through to November, at which time they will be re-inspected. There was a list of things that they must do before that date. The list includes: new foam matts with covers for all the kids (the old matts no longer meet the requirements); upgrades to the outdoor kitchen that includes a sink, water line (they carry water now from the front of the church), countertops, and a storage area; a shade area next to the playground area; small chairs and tables; and a few other things. None of this is particular high dollar stuff but it will probably exceed what the pre-school can do between now and November with a limit of 40 students. The pre-school has purchased some of the chairs, but they are worried about the other things.

They haven't formally asked us for help as the culture typically seems to wait until the very last minute (like the day before the inspection) and then tries to give us the problem. But, we were just advised about the provisional license limitations so I feel quite excited that we are now looking ahead and investigating options. That is progress! For example, they have found a relatively cheap place to get the foam matts prepared for about $5 USD each. But, here - $200 (40 X 5) is more than a typical month's salary and quite a large amount. Cement is about $9 USD a sack for the kitchen upgrades and we need 10 or so bags, a sink with block and the like are another couple of hundred dollars. The shade cover will be posts in the ground with a fabric cover over the top - a common structure in this land of intense sun, which can be done for another couple of hundred dollars.

So, progress continues but we continue to need a wee bit more cash to end this project once and for all. The pre-school is paying what they can, but I think we're going to need to come in with several hundred dollars to push them over the top. Got a few dollars burning a hole in your pocket? If we can get the government off our backs, the pre-school is self-sustaining and pays its own way, providing jobs for four people, a wonderful learning environment for the children, and evangelism opportunities for the family. Project 403320

OMS International
Project 403320 (T-3)
PO Box 1648
Monument
CO 80132-1648

Thank you so much to everyone who has already so generously helped us with the T-3 upgrades - the project is not in the red any longer thanks to our wonderfully generous support base. Thank you for helping us reach the nations for Christ. Thanks for making a difference!

Dave & Ann

"Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." Pr 20:11

Church Register - Statistics

One of our administrative tasks is assembling the Mozambique church register for the "Into Africa Project" (see link on the side). Eventually this form will find its way on to the Into-Africa web-site.

The form keeps changing a little but we love the accountability that it brings and how it puts so much information at our fingertips. However, it is also a great encouragement as often we seem to get all bogged down in the problems that come our way and we miss the bigger picture of God's hand moving across this beautiful country - fortunately we serve a Creator who doesn't get bogged down on such things! The form has proven to be a tremendous challege for us getting the information. We linear Western-thinking folks understand forms like this but they are foreign (truly!) here and a real challenge to get filled out and ensure reliable data. And, it compounds with the literacy issues we have in more remote areas, although most people seem to understand numbers! Photo is of a rural church in Zambezia - that's our car in the background.

From our most recent report we have 97 churches that have resulted from the Village Church Planting (VCP) program here in Mozambique. This doesn't include the eight or so other churches we work with around Maptuo that are not included on this report. Most of these 97 churches are small village churches but they represent over 3600 members country wide. That is Good News!

"...Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day!" Ps 96:2

Segunda filha has parted

Our second daughter and her husband were with us for 10 days and it was probably 10 of the fastest days ever in my life. It seemed they had just arrived and then it was time to go. We enjoyed a long fourth-of-July weekend with them (no fireworks - :-( ). I'm not sure they really have any idea of how much they rejuvanated us just being here. It's always such a privilege to show people what God is doing in Mozambique and family is now exception. We always introduced Sarah as our segunda filha, (second daughter) and the name stuck and for the entire visit, her husband David started calling her "segunda filha", and so we started doing it also, and that became her name for 10-days.

On the fourth of July we woke to Sarah and David singing "America the Beautiful" at the top of their lungs, moving on to "Proud to be an American" - they wanted to be sure we knew it was the fourth of July! We laughed together. David is a bit of a cut-up and we truly enjoyed the time of lightness and laughter.

When we took them to the airport to leave, I (Dave) dropped them off out front and they went in to begin the process of wrapping the luggage in plastic, checking in, and the like. I'm double parked out front and go to start the car and turn the key and hear some clicks and nothing happens. I tried it again and again - but nothing. Everything lights up so I'm pretty sure the battery is fine. I round up a few guys to push me off (for a fee of course!) and we get it going and I run to the parking lot, praying, "Lord, we just spent alot of money on repairs for this car, we need a little break here!" I stop in the parking lot and check - still just clicking sounds. I parked in a position to make an easy push start again.

We visited in the airport until the last possible moment and we have many tears as they part but they are truthfully excited to be headed home as they have been away all summer between their ministry time in Lebanon and their time here with us. We all prayed together before they left and David also specifically prayed that the car problem would be minor.

We exited, arranged another push-start, and went home. The drive back I keep rolling through options in my mind - hoping it isn't the starter. When we get back, I open the hood and have Ann try to start it, running down the clicking sound, and finally find a relay that is related to the starter. Ann can only hear me say "try again" as I check different things and to her it looks like I'm just waving my hands over parts of the engine. But, I'm taping these silly relay switches - and voila, I tap one and boom - it starts. We try again, and no start - tap - and it starts. Now that is encouraging. So, it is off to Toyota and we buy the last relay of this type in Mozambique. Thank you Lord! So for 2000 mtn, we're back in business. It's a lot (26 mtn/$) for a little switchy thing, but I'm so thankful to have it fixed and it truly was simple. We are often in places where a push start is out-of-the question because of the deep sand.

Then, we looked at the mountain of administration staring us in the face, and get started. The phone starts ringing, the appointments begin, and we are running at 110% again. It was a nice break that God knew we needed.

They are now safely home with luggage - and we are thankful for that answer to prayer as well.

Have a great week. Thank you for standing with us. It is truly a privilege to represent you here in Mozambique.

Dave & Ann

"You will make your prayer to Him, he will hear you..." Job 22:27 )

Anniversaries and Birthdays

I've been a bit negligent in writing this week. Our daughter Sarah and her husband, David, arrived mid-week for a short visit on their way home from a Summer Project in Beruit Lebanon with Campus Crusade for Christ. What a blessing for us as we miss our daughters so very much. We've had a blessed time although we fear that too many more days like today and we'll have our youngsters completely worn out! But, we've been so busy sharing, talking, and showing them what we do that I've not had much time to write! (and as it is, it's midnight now!)

Earlier in the week, we took an old but well-functioning computer to Khongolote where they had exceeded the capability of their model-T computer they use at the pre-school and for church. In the photos, we'd taken apart the two computers and did some switching around of things and got the information all transfered and everthing working. We do this work during nap-time at the pre-school but sometimes a few wake up a little early and so we get some extra help! So, we upgraded their Model-T to a little bit more modern computer but still an antique!

We have really enjoyed showing David and Sarah around and trying to give them a glimpse of our life here. They have gone to meetings with us, meet with people at their homes, David has played some soccer with local youth and met with others in the roads and pathways. He's such a lovely young man and I enjoy very much how he looks at things and have learned much from him in his short time here. For example, he has left us a DVD set they used in Lebanon to train their team on witnessing to Muslim people. Today, when we met with our Christian Micro-Enterprise Guys, we talked about some of the techniques and they stated that they really don't run into too many in their day-to-day life because they tend to be more upper class here (business owners). That was a surprising comment that I have to think about more. Ann and I have had many opportunities to talk with them through some of our car problems and business dealings and are always seeking out good techniques for sharing our faith in an effective way with our Muslim neighbors and friends.

In Intaka, we got David, our son-in-law, busy helping prepare Shema (see photo of him pounding corn). We were visiting with a dear family that Ann likes to check on as they have some significant health issues. We enjoyed just sitting under the tree at their house talking about life. The dear lady of the house is shown below.

We have enjoyed our morning devotions together with David and Sarah and are absolutely relishing each day. But sometimes those days are quite unpredictable. The last two days have been special - yesterday was our 34th wedding anniversary and we enjoyed spending the day with David and Sarah and that was a wonderful present for us. Today was Ann's birthday and it started with some meetings at our seminary but when we arrived, the lock to the door had failed, and no one could get in the building. So, we tried to find keys to the other door, traveling back to our school to search there, then to the Weils house, where we found our Seminary Director's old keys, which we used to then open the seminary (other doors). Then we dismantled and repaired the lock and so went the morning! Expect the unexpected! I worked with our building custodian on the lock hoping that maybe next time, he can do this himself!

We met with our seminary folks to discuss the last week's progress, the new class in progress, and the plan for the next two weeks. Then, we met with our CMED guys to get updated on the village savings and loan groups and share that ministry with David and Sarah. We then met with some other missionaries, dropping Sarah and Ann off at her ladies bible study group while the two David's did some birthday preparations (nothing like the last minute!). Eventually, we all found our way home to finally have birthday cake. Ann has been smiling alot more lately - so happy to have a daughter with her.

What is especially a joy is how David and Sarah have jumped into ministry here - they are so very easy to have here with us.

Today, we were discussing about how special all of our dear supporters are. We were reviewing some of those special stories of how God used people to so encourage us and meet a need at just that exact moment when we needed it. I don't think a day goes by that we don't offer thanks for the tremendous group of people and churches that we represent here in Mozambique. Thank all of you so very much. I pray that God will richly bless you for your faithfulness to the gospel here. I am working on our quarterly report of church multiplication statistics and when I read all the names of the people across the country who are leading people to Christ, teaching about a Hope that transends all cultures, needs and peoples, I cannot help but be overwhelmed at God's faithfulness. It is such a priviledge to be a part of this program. Clearly, God is moving and will complete the work that He has started. Thank you for being a part of the Great Commission.

PS - we checked today on the insurance claim on the wreck we were in (earlier blog) and they assure us that everything is 'in progress' and we can expect to be called to come get a check soon. Thank you Lord - that if we have to have an accident, the other party has insurance! Wow!

Dave & Ann

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful!" Col. 3:15