World Race

Our friends John Michael and Ashley

The days turn into weeks and the weeks into months, and suddenly you realize you haven't written for a while.  My apologies!

As I started to write this, my dear wife was doing some medical consultation at the door and searching for medicine to help someone.  She pretty much does this in her sleep anymore and has learned the common things here that cause people difficulty.  We brought a fair amount of medical supplies back with us and are going right through them.  She's been doing some on-line nursing things as well to do the requisite training to keep her license current and that has been something she has been enjoying.  She does love the nursing field.

We just returned from a medical trip for a couple of days in South Africa where I got another eye work-up related to the problems last August and a scary high pressure reading a couple of weeks ago and ended up with a clean bill of health for both the eye doctor and our general doctor here, getting some of our prescription meds going again.  On the way back, we got a call from a couple from our home church who were on their way to Mozambique from Cape Town on a bus, and could we host them, and oh by the way, there are 21 of them.  They are participating in a ministry called World Race.  They take a year of their life and travel to 11 countries, working in each one about a month on different ministry assignments.  It actually put a bit of a lift in our step to know we were getting visitors from home!  So, they came in for one afternoon and night and it was our joy to help them find transportation to the north of Mozambique where they were going to work in two different locations.

I took a picture of the license of the bus, just in case!

Ann whipped up a dinner for the 21 young people (something she loves to do) and we had a wonderful time getting to know them.  They are a few months into their journey, having visited China, the Philippines, South Africa, and now Mozambique.  And bright and early in the morning, the bus we arranged actually showed up and off they went with their back-packs to work.  We texted with them on their journey, which took something like 24 hours on what they called "a real African bus".

They told stories of being shook down for money by the border people when they entered Mozambique - that was their first impression, and then while we were arranging for some sort of reasonable transport for them, I made a wrong turn and they got to witness first hand the police corruption, for they took my license and wanted a huge fine.  I admitted fault and knew that the fine was 1000 mtn, but he was insisting on 5000 on the spot.  I had a copy of the law but we were in a hurry and to work your way through this corruption can easily take an hour or two, so I ended up paying 2500 on the spot to get my license back - which of course he wouldn't receipt.  It's the first time since returning I've had to deal with this but it got quite ugly and he was going to keep my license for three months and I wouldn't be able to drive; he kept making different kinds of threats and didn't let up until I finally say that I would just have to leave the country because I couldn't work if I couldn't drive and I would all our workers lose their jobs - is that what you want?  I was willing to pay the fine but he was be corrupt and was damaging his country.  At that, he came to 2500, which in my frustration I paid and went on my way - all right in front of the Mozambique capital building with the flag flying on top.  Then one of the Racers said 'welcome to Mozambique'.  First impressions - you get one chance to make them......  But, I have to admit, I was at fault.....

Anyway, it really was a bright spot to have the racers here and I was able to have some good conversations with several of them, and it is always good to hear how God is working in the lives of His people.

Today we had the joy to participate in a baptism service at one of our churches.  The entire area around the church has been without water for nearly a year and the estimate is the required infrastructure upgrades will be completed by May.  So, the ladies of the church carried water in buckets for nearly a mile to fill a rather large baptismal.  Quite a sacrifice as the people being baptized were from a remote church outside the city and were using the facilities of one of our larger city churches.

I don't think I will ever get used to the length of services (3 hours for this one), but that is one of the big cultural differences I've spoken of before - Americans have watches and Mozambicans have time.  They asked me to speak a word of encouragement at the end, which was my privilege, and a great homework assignment to work with my Portuguese teacher.  

That's probably enough for tonight.  I have many things on my mind to write but need to think them through a bit more before I write them up!

Thank you for standing with us.

We just issued our monthly and quarterly church planting reports and continued to be amazed at what God is doing throughout this beautiful country.  We have just received news that we have our first 4th Generation church planted!

Dave and Ann

May we all be able to say:

  "I have fought the good fight, I have completed the race.  I have kept the faith."  2 Timothy 4:7

The Fun Things We Get To Do

We have quite a list of Mozambican friends we wanted to reconnect with and haven't had the time to do so as of yet.  So today, we set aside the urgent and the foolish, for the important.

We were able to spend some time with Reggie and Melita, a precious couple that just enter into your heart.  Many missionaries have invested in this couple, including the Shacklefords, the Theissens, the Glancys, to mention a few.  This couple married during our last term and they live far north of Maputo, but Reggie commutes by the dangerous mini-buses each day to work in administration at Central Hospital in town-down Maputo - a commute of about 2 hours each way.  On the weekends, he is leading a church near his home; a church they started and that now has about 90 people attending on a given Sunday.   He is a layman, leading a successful church.

We were able to visit with them in their home today and bring greetings and a gift from Mike and Sarah Theissen, which was such a blessing to them.   We looked through their photograph album, and it was clear the importance that all of the above mentioned people were in their lives.  We were greatly encouraged by our time with them and it is always a reminder to me of why we are here: to invest in the lives of Mozambicans who want to reach their nation for Christ.  So often we get distracted by things that just don't matter in the time-line of eternity.

Melita has had some surgery that could impact her ability to have children, which is something they desire. Pray with us that God would do a miracle in their life.  Also, they live in an area that is difficult, with much drug activity, drinking, and the like, and it makes it difficult for them to minister there.  They asked for us to pray for a moving of God's Spirit across their Bairro (neighborhood).  In addition, they are trying to get a small store going in front of their house as there is no nearby store for food and the like.  It is a great dream, and thanks to Gene and Francis, they have this nice container to use as a store; they just need a bit more work on it.  The cover provides protection from the heat and the rain - as the roof of the container isn't all that good.

It's a challenging thing - here is a case where strategic investing in a couple did not build dependency, but they have continued to be self-sufficient in the face of considerable challenges, to serve Christ where they live.  There was great wisdom by those who came before us to invest in this wonderful couple.

We found some new roads today, and several times were very thankful for the 4-wheel drive - used it much today.  Even went over to a small island today north of Maputo by ferry to check out some potential sites for the annual team retreat held each February.  We prefer something close to Maputo if possible.  We held our breath on the ferry, sure that we were way overloaded with six cars and 50 plus people on a boat designed for two cars, but it went well!  The photo shows the one life jacket we could all share 'in-community'.


On the way back, we were able to connect with a young lady from our home church, Sam Peat, who has been working at Arco-Iris orphanage the entire time we were on furlough.  We were so concerned we wouldn't connect with her before she left.  It was  great to spend a little time with a friend from home.  She was friends with a couple of our daughters.

Blessings this day.

Dave and Ann


"But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."  Titus 3:9

Weddings

For the last three weekends, we have had the privilege of participating in wedding services at our T-3 church and the parties that follow afterwards.  It is a great honor to meet with and to pray with these young couples as they begin their covenant relationship together with the very Creator of the Universe.  These events make our days fly by and for me, it takes quite a bit of preparation to have my Portuguese all lined up before the service.  I utilize some of the guards at the place where we live, some of whom are pastors and church leaders, to help me with pronunciation and cadence as well as our language teacher who helps us on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Language, language, language - it can be so frustrating as it really limits your effectiveness, but sometimes I think that is also a part of God's plan.  It keeps us humble.

It also provides a great time for fellowship, relationships, and learning about culture.  As an example, today's wedding was a bit different - the actual wedding had been at another church on Saturday, and it was more of a blessing this day vice a wedding.  But, we realized that it had a completely different feel than the other wedding celebrations we have attended, mostly associated with the OMS founded denomination we work with.  Maybe we are starting to recognize the subtleties of culture a bit better.  It is a long process.

Here are a few photos of some of the recent weddings.

This morning, we took our neighbor's three and 1/2 year old to church with us to give her mom a break.  We love this little girl, and it took us back to our days so long ago of our own precious daughters whom we miss so very deeply.  It was fun to have her with us; but she was running down a hallway and fell and skinned her knee - such drama that I hope doesn't keep us from being able to steal her away again some time in the future!

Much love.

Dave and Ann

"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and Have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:3

 

Ordination Service

Saturday marked an historic day; one in which 4 pastors of our Igreja Evangelica Palavra Viva (IEPV) or Evangelical church of the Living Word, were ordained and another four were licensed for a 3-year term as they work on fulfilling the denominational requirements to be ordained.  I mentioned in my last blog that there had been a lengthy process for choosing these men.

Pastor Vaughn Telfer, OMS regional representative and former missionary to Mozambique came to participate in the proceedings.

It was a wonderful day with people traveling from all over Mozambique to participate in the proceedings.  As each name was called, the people from their local churches cheered - there was an air of both reverence and great joy / celebration.

Missionary Aimee Howarth and IEPV church leader Raul Manhissa were joint MCs of the event.   One of our Mozambican advisors also participated in the event.

It was a privilege to play a small part in this historic day, which is one more step in the growth of this Mozambican Christian denomination.

While Juka Fernando is down, along with Dinis Ramos, we will have a joint Church Multiplication Meeting this week, looking forward to this next budget year and the required planning documents that must e completed.

After the service, there were parties for the new pastors in various locations around the area.  We only had time to make two of the events, which provided a wonderful time for more celebration and of course, wonderful food.

Thank you for standing with us.  A day like today reminds of why we are here - and we pray that God will fill these church leaders in a way that leaves no doubt that it is Him who is leading this church forward; reaching Mozambique for Christ.  We pray He will fill them with a passion for reaching their Nation for Christ.

Much love to all of you.

Dave and Ann

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; while it is said, today if he will hear his voice, harden not your hearts..."  Hebrews 3: 14-15

Upcoming Service and a Shocking Story

No pictures tonight, but I wanted to share a bit from my day.  We are getting ready for a significant event in the life of the Mozambican church founded by the OMS missionaries who came before us.  On Saturday, we will be ordaining the first pastors of this denomination.  Today, I had the privilege of sitting on the review board with two other men, interviewing each of the eight candidates.  It was a beautiful day and as I sat on this board and listened to the stories of these lovely men who have dedicated their lives to Christian service, it often brought tears to my eyes to hear of how God had 'come through' time and time again in their lives.  I have to admit as I sat there, I wondered what qualification did I bring to this panel, other than perhaps my age.  It was a daunting task and responsibility, but I knew each of the candidates well and have seen God at work in their lives and the lives of their families; I think the choices were good. 

The three of us sat on plastic chairs, two chairs stacked together to give us a little more height behind a two narrow tables covered with Mozambican fabric.  The interviewee, entered and sat in his own stacked chairs.  We prayed together, talked some small talk, reviewed the five page application form, asked various questions, which would lead to more questions, followed by more prayer, at which time our board chairman (a Pastor from OMS), would ask us if we accepted the candidate.  Very formal, but very pleasant.

It took me back to my days of sitting on Navy Qualification Boards - a passing thought I had today as I sat on the third floor of our seminary talking with each of these precious men. 

The service is planned for Saturday morning, followed, of course, by food!  I'll try to get some pictures on that day.

Thank you for standing with us.  Today was a good day and we need a good one here and there amongst the chaos to remind us of why we are here. 
The distractions of life here can sometimes be overwhelming.  As an example, there was an electrical problem here last night and instead of 220 volts, we had something like 360 volts - blew out every lightbulb in my house, a few electronic items, our microwave, and we have more to discover.  As I was trouble-shooting things with my electric meter, I actually blew it out - Maybe at that moment I had 220*3 phases; don't know - but it fried my meter.  I haven't checked the piano yet, I'm afraid to!  Fortunately, we had power conditioners on most of our things and we immediately unplugged anything that mattered - this situation went on for hours, and has cost us much in lost electronic things.  The problem was traced to an underground cable that water entered, shorting out the three phase wires and causing all sorts of havoc. 

An aside on the light bulbs - the very first bulbs to go - pop, pop, pop, pop, immediately, were those awful and expensive government-mandated (at least in the States) flourescent bulbs.  The incadescent bulbs held on for a while longer but they also went one by one by one.  So, today, I brought home from the city a sack full of lightbulbs so we'd have light tonight - but no more of those expensive flourescent things that will blow up the next power cycle that is bound to come.
Last night Ann was taking a shower and when she turned the handle, she got the 360 volts (maybe not all of it, but close) standing in water.  I came in to check it out and tried to turn off the water with a dry cloth and I got shocked - not a little, not a buzz like we've had before, but a heart-stopping shock where you can't let go of the handle.  Ann is still sore today from the shock.  It's related to our well pump, the high ion content of our water, and the crazy electrical problems.  Honestly, we are very lucky we weren't electrocuted last night.  I got some insulated pliers and turned the water off.  Water - electricity - don't go together well.  I have the pipe on the other side of the wall heavily grounded, which is probably the only reason we weren't electrocuted.  I suspect it is all related to some fence work done around the substation, but we will never know for sure.  In any case, everyone here has lost equipment.  This is just today's example.

Remember to pray for this weekend's service; and for Juka, Abel, Daniel, Dinis, Belarmino, Carlos, Francisco, and Nelio - that God's guiding hand would be upon them.   Pray for us as well; we are in desperate need of prayer coverage right now as we wressle with some difficult decisions.

Blessings.

Dave

"Here is a trustworking saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer (Pastor), he desires a noble task...[he] must be above reproach."  1 Timothy 3:1,2