From The Field
March-2010
Mozambique
Ministry in the North
Aimee Howarth, Dave and I traveled to the north. This was our 5th time to make this trip since we arrived in Mozambique in March 2007. Our last time north was June 2009. We feel we need to make contact with Juka every 3 months, sometimes he travels here. In June we had so many concerns. You basically know the theoretical goals for ECC or our church multiplication program and you also may be getting a good sense of Africa and while Dave and I were willing to try to implement 'to the letter' the objectives as directed from HQ, we realized early on that several factors will keep MZ beneath the expected curve of ECC. First of all, Palavra Viva is a new denomination that is still developing its organizational chart and constitution. Leaders are few, mature leaders are very few. This year we had to remove 4 Trainer/Pastors for immorality and/or lack of fruit. If the church had been more involved with the selection, these men would not have been selected. But in Africa, there is a tendency to protect the brother. When we traveled this past month, many months had passed since the wayward trainer/pastors were dismissed and things had settled into a new pattern. We went expecting to not find much going on but God pulled back the curtain a bit and let us see that 'with man it is impossible, but with God, All things are possible'.
We headquartered out of Mocuba at the compound of Pr. Antonio Vasco de Gama. We enjoyed our time with Antonio, Maria and the girls-- exchanging meals and conversation. Pr Vasco showed us his new church and caught us up on all of the happenings in Mocuba. He is not just head of the Baptist work there but a community leader and Christian leader. He is a wealth of information. Juka's household has expanded with the addition of Belarmino's family during the Mocuba Ministry Center construction project, so it was better for sanity if we stayed at Vasco's and visited with the Fernandos for Sunday meals. We also were able to host Juka and group at Vasco's for some meals and it all worked out well.
Within our work in the north, we immediately noticed more order out of chaos. The churches had decreased in number, but what was there was strong. Some church planters had dropped out, so now each trainer is training only 5-9 on average but those being trained are serious students, and their maturity is increasing. We revisited some churches and the memberships were more mature. Weekly church services, prayer services, baptisms, new members welcomed weekly is occurring with routine flow and ease. On interview with the trainers that are left [they are almost trained themselves, by Juka--Juka is now finishing up the AT (African Text) training of the trainers and conducting quarterly training of the trainers on Omega and practical things,] we found they have made good progress with their students/church planter pastors in moving through the curriculum.
None of this is on the scale of predicted objectives of ECC but it was real fruit, real growth where there had been no churches there are now churches; where there had been no training, there is regular training. The trip included visiting new work in Quelimane, the training center in Quissico, churches in and around Mocuba, initiating and dedicating the Mocuba Training Center construction project, doing women’s ministries, observing VCP training at Ilhe, teaching, checking on VCP translation work into local dialects in Alto Molócue and Nampula, reviewing plans and expense reports, and generally validating the ECC work. We traveled nearly 3100 miles and were very encouraged by what we saw and are very thankful for Juka’s and the Trainers gracious hospitality.
We visited with the people at Elope Ridge. The Elope church is strong, has a good CP/Pastor. The training shelter has been torn down and the training is now taking place about 2Km further down the road in another church. They have a lot of windows, good light and a very large blackboard. Dinis trains 7 here. He also trains in another location.
Dave interviewed all of the CPs, many we knew, and we could see such growth. The people all assembled at the end of the day with their customary enthusiasm, loading us up with gifts of food, etc.
We also worshipped at a newer church in Erua where the church planter is being trained by Jorge Manuel. The church planter/pastor had a good command of the service and we were very pleased with the enthusiasm and order to the worship. A few days after we returned to Maputo, we received the very sad news that Jorge Manuel had a stroke with paralysis and loss of speech. He was hospitalized, which could not have been easy to get him to the hospital in Mocuba-he lives in a very rural area, and it was determined he had a stroke due to elevated blood pressure. He has improved dramatically and we attribute this to much prayer, he can walk with help and talk a little. He is only about 40 years old and trains about 8 men in Namiripe. Please continue to pray for him. He is also a school teacher at the rural school.
We were able to visit in a brand new church in Macuva where Mario is conducting training at this site. All of the churches mentioned are made of natural materials, built by the church members with their own resources. There is such a desire to have a church and we are trusting God to place Godly men in each church to lead the members in the way of truth.
In Quelimane, we met with Pr. Arcanjo (already attended seminary) who is known by Antonio in Mocuba and has begun to attend Juka's training events and is training about 12 men! He is using the AT, Chronological and Omega.He is an older, mature, father of 9 and Juka is exploring the possibility of taking his independent church into PV. We did not even know we had a church at Quelimane, but God allowed us to see this and see the thread from Dinis, to Antonio, to this man-Arcanjo.
Exciting things are happening in Quissico in the Inhambane province. Even though we pulled our trainers out of this area because of moral failures, Pastor Abel has continued to faithfully travel to this area to train the church planters. While we have lost many, the ones who remain are very strong and committed to the cause of Christ. Our training center is located right in the middle of a large living area with many small houses that are rented to high-school students who have come to this area to finalize their schooling. A ministry to young-people is developing here and that is quite a different dynamic than in our other areas. Pastor Abel along with missionary Aimee Howarth and a traveling companion will be training in this area later this month. This was God’s plan, not ours, and it is exciting to see that in the midst of what seemed like failure, a different and beautiful flower is emerging.
We would like to be able to send new Pastor/Trainers into areas, but there is no one to send at present. Abel and Aimee are training the southern teams in Gaza and Inhambane, Nelio remains in the Maputo area. Juka is training the few from Gurue and Nampula, and that leaves Lito and Mario in Milange area, Dinis in Ilhe and Elope areas, Antonio, Mario and Jorge Manuel in the Mocuba District. We are managing. We know at the end of this cycle we will have fallen short of the original goal, but if the program is stopped at the end of the cycle because of failure to meet goals or lack of funding, we can still praise God because we have about 70-80 very strong churches north of the Zambezi where there were only 3 or 4. This work has taken a toll on us all as we work through obstacles from A to Z and from places you would not expect. W e are changed, hopefully more rounded with less rough edges.
All of this to say, that fruit is there in the north. Frustrations have lessened. There is growth in maturity of the churches and people. The work that was begun is continuing and God is growing the work. The early missionaries planted, we get to water and God makes it grow. I hope this encourages you.
The Mocuba training center construction was initiated and as of this date, the property has been fenced off, the foundations laid, a road into the property established, and two unsuccessful attempts to drill for water were completed. Our work team starts each day in Bible Study and prayer as our construction supervisor is himself a church leader with a heart for evangelism. The project in Mocuba is going to be constructed in stages. This is only the first stage- a well, a 3 room building and a house, latrines, fence around the property. Right off we are going over budget with the cost of the well company. We met a snag when no water was found at 60 meters, but we trust God to provide this need too, He has not failed us. See our blog for photos of the work site: www.adedrickmz.blogspot.com.
The recent flooding of the Zambezi River has caused more cholera outbreaks. Muddy, dirty water from the rains and the release of water from the dams higher up have created a sanitation nightmare. Quilamane is practically a swamp, and people are suffering from Malaria and water borne illnesses. Each year, people return to the low, river areas to squat, build reed homes. And, every year they experience flooding. One source says the people are hoping the government will relocate them and build them a home. If they don't return to the river's edge, then they can't say 'We lost our home'. This is a very enslaving, self defeating way of thinking that is very common here. See the Baptism photos in Mocuba which show the challenge with hygiene and water. During the baptism in the river, people were drawing drinking water from the same location during the baptism and there have been recent outbreaks in the area from cholera.
In this photo, you can see the church people ready for the baptism, but at the same time the things being used to gather this very dirty water.
Ministry Prayer Requests
- Continue to pray about the land situation in Gurué. Even though we
‘won’ in court, we have not yet seen any kind of restitution for
the money we paid for a training center. Dinis assures us that the process continues and it will just take time. - We truly need God’s provision for water at our Mocuba training center
site. There is water all around us but not on our property because of a rock layer far beneath the ground. This week (Thursday) the well-drilling experts are coming to evaluate the problem with special equipment. - There is much unrest in a couple of the marriages of our trainers.
This seems to be a tactic of the enemy that affects so very much. Pray against the cultural acceptance of infidelity. - Continue in prayer for our 30 seminary students in Maputo; future
planter/trainers could come from this dynamic group. In addition, prayer for Pastor Daniel, Xavier, and our director Don Hulsey as they teach this class. Finally, we have two certificate level classes meeting on Saturdays. A few in these Saturday classes have potential to becom Trainers in our VCP work. - Our Christian Micro-Enterprise Development coordinators are
conducting a special training seminar this week in Khongolote. Pray for this class that is being impacted by sporadic heavy rains. - Many of our church planters are satisfied to attend training and
pastor a church but lack the zeal to train others to plant churches. Pray for Juka as he continues to challenge the trainers and church planters on the importance of evangelism and continuing training. Pray that through our training that God’s spirit would move through the hearts of out existing church planters. - Pray for Juka as he continues to train our Trainers – to complete
their education on the courses they are expected to teach. Pray for strength for Him as he is also a cross-cultural worker and facing the same language and cultural differences any missionary would face. - Juka may have to move into a different house because of land-lord
issues. Pray that God would guide him through this process. - Our Maputo trainer, Nelio, is not having much fruit. Pray for him,
us and Abel as we work through possible solutions and perhaps reasons we may not be seeing clearly. - We praise God for our 10 second generation churches. May we be open
to how He grows the work in His ways and may we be open to see His hand at work.
Ann Dedrick
