some kodak moments in mozambique....

He had a better plan...

Hi everyone, thank the Lord we are back home in Maryland. The last week before ending school we went on a 5 day outreach to the bush-bush. It was incredible! It seems the Lord kept the best for last because we really experienced awesome things! We visited 2 villages. The plan was to encourage the churches, hold children programs and evangelistic efforts. The first village, Napuri, went as planned. Heather might tell you more about the children program. We were able to teach them more about the love of Christ and also pray for the Holy Spirit to fill them up. The guys had a special time with the youth (males) to talk about some issues related to their lifestyle that are not in line with Scripture -- cohabiting and having sex without being married. We sat and just chatted and brought light to these issues with the Word. At the end we prayed together and the Holy Spirit brought conviction on these young men, many fell on their knees asking for forgiveness to the Lord and power from the Holy Spirit to take the right decisions. At the same time the women had a time of encouragement and teaching. We had a sweet time with the Lord. 

Now, on our way to the second village we had a problem: The roads were in very bad shape - bumps, dust, holes, and a lot of mud. 7 hours into our trip and after rebuilding a bridge (that's another story) we get to this random village and a man stopped us telling us that it was impossible for us to continue our journey, the mud was to deep and our truck would not make it.... So I got out the truck and with two mozambican pastors we looked for a place to stay. We talked with some men asking for permission. The grace of God was with us, they said Yes!. 

So, it seemed the Lord had a better plan for us, this village, Niuti, had No church, no born-again believers, no christian background, it had a lot of occult and witchcraft stuff.... in other words, it was perfect soil to plant the seeds of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

This first night (friday) in Niuti we didn't show the Jesus film. Instead we showed some worship videos in their language and then we shared our testimonies. Pastor Jose, our mozambican leader preached. At the end he made an altar call. It was impressive that most of the men wanted this Jesus. Normally women and children walk to the front first, but in this village it was the men the ones repenting for their sin and asking for deliverance of addictions first. Many of them shared what they felt after repenting and accepting Jesus - freedom in their heart, lightness in their shoulders... etc.... Jesus was taking the burden of sin and replacing it with freedom.

The next day (saturday) we played with the children and explained to them the message of the love of Christ. All these children wanted the Savior! It seems so simple, they simply believe... and He comes to be among them! It's wonderful!!

Later that day my friend Levi and I were walking around the village. All of a sudden we hear this drum beat and voices in the distance. We get near and we see a ritual going on. Men dressed like woman and dancing in circles. It was a dance for the dead. An old man recently died and their friends were doing this ritual possibly to honor the dead... My friend was fired up and looks at me, he says "let's preach". I said ok. So he shared and i translated into portuguese and our driver, that was around, translated into makua. We talked about the "Higher Spirit" that rules over all. We tried to convey the message of the gospel into their own terms for better understanding without watering it down. Many gathered around us, old and young. Many raised their hands to Him, and then kneeled before Him. They repented for their ways and wanted this Jesus we preached. 

There were so many new believers and testimonies of the power of God meeting this people. Praise God!! They also wanted a church!! So, on sunday we had our first service of the Arco-Iris Church in Niuti. We gathered under the shadow of a big tree and we celebrated the birth of a new church and the beginning of a new era for the people of this village now that the Kingdom of God has come to them.

This outreach will be forever in my heart. I will never forget the privilege of speaking about the Savior to this people and the openness of their hearts to believe with simplicity of faith. I was part of a revival movement where the dominion of the Kingdom of God is advancing forcefully, and for this I'm deeply grateful. Thank you, Lord! To you be the Glory! May you receive the reward of Your suffering!!

De David - Espanol

Hola familia y amigos!!! Es dificil creer que ya nos quedan tan solo 10 dias aqui en Africa. Es ya tiempo de regresar; tengo por seguro que Heather y yo no somos los mismos de cuando llegamos hace mas de 2 meses. Podria parecer hasta logico que el haber venido aqui cambiara o transformara muchos de los “pobres” con los que nos encontramos a diario. Y si, vimos salvacion, sanidades, milagros, esperanza, etc. Sin embargo, tengo la certeza que el mayor efecto de transformacion ha sido en nosotros. He aprendido de los pobres materialmente, pero que tienen las riquezas del Reino de Dios; de los pastores mozambicanos, que para mi son heroes, que como pioneros llevan la bandera de Cristo Jesus a locaciones remotas, y todo por amor. He sido cambiado por la alegria de mis hermanos y hermanas que cantan con pasion a Dios por horas sin haber comido por dias. He aprendido de hombres y mujeres de Dios que impartieron no solo conocimiento pero vida spiritual, vision, fuego, hambre y sed por mas de El aqui y ahora. He aprendido y he sido afectado por aun mas cosas que todavia estoy procesando….

Una palabra que ha resonado en mi espiritu desde que llegue y que siento un fuerte llamado en mi Corazon es: Transformacion. Aunque suena comun, esta palabra ha hecho eco dentro de mi y no puedo evitar el relacionar el evangelio, discipulado y la iglesia con esta palabra. Para esto vino Jesus, para esto Su Iglesia esta en la tierra. Para eso vivimos. Este es nuestro mandato: Transformacion. (El tiempo es corto para entrar en detalles, pero luego compartire mas).

He escuchado que aquellos que visitan Africa quedan marcados por vida y con el deseo de regresar…. Es cierto, lo he comprobado. El deseo de regresar no es (como si fuera algunas de las razones normales de lugares especiales) por lo sofisticado de los hoteles, o la alta culinaria de los restaurantes, la moderna arquitectura de las ciudades o el ambiente turistico. Es simplemente la belleza en la simpleza de la gente; La libertad que se respire en el aire; el fervor de los creyentes, y la realidad del Reino de Dios en medio de los pobres de espiritu.

Asi como Pablo escribio a los Efesios, es mi oracion tambien que todos lleguemos a la unidad de la fe - que aprendamos de nuestra familia en Africa y crezcamos en lo que ellos han alcanzado y reciprocamente. Hay mas por alcanzar! Sigamos corriendo esta carrera de fe, y como Pablo dijo a los Corintios: Corramos para ganar! No solo para llegar a la meta. Lo unico necesario es decir “Si” al Senor y “Mas de ti, Espiritu Santo”.

Este martes salimos para evangelismo. Esta vez es por 6 dias. Visitaremos 2 aldeas. 3 dias en cada una. Por favor sigan orando por nosotros. Que el Senor siga guardando nuestra salud como hasta ahora, y que vayamos a estas aldeas con aun mas energia fisica, mas amor, y mas de Dios para impartir y sembrar vida en todos aquellos que encontremos.

Pronto les contaremos como nos fue, de seguro tendremos grandes testimonios; tenemos un Dios grandioso y fiel.

Un abrazo a todos.

David

From Heather

Here we are already, the final leg of the school. It has truly flown by. We leave Tuesday for our extended outreach, and return Sunday the 21st. Then we have one day in Pemba (I’m NOT looking forward to saying bye to my kids again L) , then we head home the 23rd! I hope we’re not too jetlagged arriving Christmas Eve, cause I’m so looking forward to Christmas with my family!! It’s weird being displaced from all the hussle and bussle of the Christmas season and sales and shopping. I don’t mind being away from all the materialism that comes along with the holiday. The kids here at Iris just had their Christmas party today, and Mama Heidi visited each kid to individually give them their presents. They all seemed so overjoyed; it means so much to them to get hand-picked gifts from their mom.
So for our outreach I’m SUPER excited…on our weekend outreaches, as I sat in church Sunday morning, I couldn’t help but notice that over 50% of the church was filled with kids. And they joined in for worship, but wandered out, playing with each other during the rest of the service. We had the privilege of doing children’s ministry the day before, but how often do they really get poured into? On a weekly basis where they can be discipled and brought up with a solid foundation in Christ…who is doing this in the villages that we do outreach in? Raising up the next generation? And then we find out that we get to do that for our 6-day outreach! We get to take the “village feeding program” outline that Iris does here in Pemba to these 2 villages. We’ll give resources to the leaders in the church to continue a kids ministry in their village. God totally answered my prayer!
I remember being home the past year and a half, remembering and picturing Pemba and the kids faces, and now I’m here, smelling it, living it. And in just a couple weeks it’ll just be a memory again. I’ll be closing my eyes and picturing Reina and Tiago and Namuna, the beach and my house and my roommates. I’m so thankful for this experience. In a few words, I feel like I’m taking away from these 2 months… a much needed growth in being a leader. God’s stretched me and encouraged me in leading others, particularly in this missions setting. He’s spoken to me more about the dreams and passions in my heart- particularly in seeing sex trafficking ended, and the kids rescued from forced prostitution given hope and restoration. He’s blessed me with being able to continue the relationships I started with kids 2 years ago, and I really have a love for them. I get so proud when Tiago sings a special song in front of church; I envision Amade going to university or becoming a minister; when Reina told me she was getting married my heart leapt! We’re not sure when or if God will let us come back to Pemba, but I’d sure love to at least visit again and keep the contact.
One thing I’ll end with is something that Heidi preaches often but so incredibly real that it just hits your heart and doesn’t let you continue living life as you know it. She was preaching on the Beatitudes. She calls it Jesus’ self-portrait. We’ve never thought of it like that before, but just read it in Matthew 5. He was the one who made himself poor and meek as he came to earth …think about the King of Kings on His throne in heaven choosing to become a baby…breastfeeding, crawling, learning to talk and walk. How much more humble could it have been? He learned a trade, worked a modest job and taught in places He was often not even welcomed at. He calls us to go “lower still.” Not to pursue our own successes and fame, but to find the true blessings that are found in humility. In staying hungry for Him, in desiring a pure heart more than a booming ministry. Do we show mercy, work for peace, rejoice in persecution? Do I even know what persecution really looks like? Heidi shared a story of a pastor in Mozambique – the cousin of Pastor Supresa, an International Director of Iris. He was serving God with his family in their local church and one day some men from another faith came in screaming and threatening him. They said they would silence the church. The pastor boldly stated, “Nothing can silence the church that loves.” He refused to renounce Jesus, and allowed his own blood to be shed so that God’s kingdom would not be silenced. That village soon saw thousands come to the Lord, and even 2 of his murderers repented and now serve God. This is the persecuted church – the martyr’s that are receiving their highest reward in heaven. Am I willing to follow Jesus no matter the cost? Is His name worth more than my very life? Whether it’s in an African village or a 9-5 job in America, what does it look like to be persecuted for His names’ sake, so that the kingdom of heaven will be brought here on earth? I encourage you to read through the Beatitudes and see what God would say to you about it for your own life.
With that I will end and look forward to seeing you in just a couple weeks!! Enjoy Christmas, and please keep us in your prayers during our outreach!

A quick glimpse into the Bush outreach - from David

The ride was quite bumpy, the heat very intense, all of us (foreign students) sang Makua worship songs along with our happy Mozambican bible students for most of the 2.5 hour trip to Napulimuiti, the village we visited last weekend.

This village was literally in the middle of nowhere as we diverted many times from the main roads into fields to follow mud tracks along banana and mango trees.

As we arrive, the children start to run behind the truck with smiles on their faces and very amazed at the unexpected ‘white’ visitors.

I start to feel excitement bubbling within me as I think of the fact that the gospel has reached this semi-remote place and the beautiful name of Jesus is being preached. It’s just incredible to see a church here, not only the building - in this case, the dusty mud hut with a few bamboo pews – but the living body of the living Christ.
It’s dark already when we get out of the truck. We make our way into the local pastor’s hut where we will camp out for the next 2 nights. Men, women and children greet us and stare at us as if waiting for something….. We are part of something much greater than us, still we are united as one, white, black, or mixed (latino like me), carrying the message of the Cross in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Minutes later we set up the projection of the Jesus movie; a few hundreds gather around the truck where we have set the big screen to watch the movie. This is what Heidi Baker rightly calls pre-evangelism, where through the movie people get a glimpse of this Jesus we are talking about. At the end of the movie I had the blessing of “explaining” the movie and bring the message into a personal level. My friend Abdul translated into Makua. To be sincere, it’s kind of chaotic. With the crowd, the translation, the people moving around, children being children, it’s a bit difficult to know that you are connecting with people. Still, after the altar call, people, mostly children and women come forward for prayer. We pray for them for faith to receive Jesus as Saviour and for the Holy Spirit to fill them. After this, we make an invitation for those who are sick. The Jesus movie shows Him healing people, and the same can happen for them. Many with back problems, stomach problems and headaches are healed this night. Who knows about the dozens of others we pray for but that we couldn’t ask right away about their healing because of language limitations… God is faithful to His Word! The book of Acts is still being written all around the world by common people like you and I who simply say “Yes” to Him.

The next day Heather and others of our team lead a children program, teaching mainly about prayer and the love of God. It’s vital for the transformation of this community to bring up children in the knowledge of God. And we are very thankful that we can invest at least this little bit on them, knowing that the seed of the gospel will bring much fruit as they grow up to be the agents God will use to transform their villages.

That night we show the Jesus movie in a village close by. There are a few dozens and many receive Christ as Saviour and many are healed.

I said before this is called pre-evangelism. After we leave, the local believers and pastors will do the work of evangelism in a personal level.

This type of outreach happens every weekend in several villages around this northern area of Mozambique. Praise God!

I’m very thankful to the Lord for allowing me to see revival among the poor. For bringing me here to experience the gospel in new ways, and changing my heart as I see Him work among those He loves and died for.

May He continue to receive the reward of His suffering…. through you and me.

Much love,
David

some thoughts from the mind of heather...

I’ve seen the whole starving African children scene so many times, been to Pemba, cried for them before…but I’m so thankful that God keeps it real for me. He doesn’t just let it be a scene for me. This week I helped at the village feeding program again, helped quiet rambunctious kids, and pass out plate after plate of rice and beans. For some kids, it may be the only meal they eat that day.
This time after the kids were served, I walked around the corner to collect the dirty plates and I was just captured by what was going on. I was just drawn to them, to watch them and meet them, to love on them. They all looked so beautiful to me. I noted how every child sat in a group of about 3 to 6 or so, and they all shared; some put their food together and ate out of the same plate. The culture of the poor is so opposite to our individualized Western culture.
The most humbling thing happened to me during this time. I was kneeling down with different groups of kids, asking them their names and such. I noticed a group of 4 young ones, maybe 3 years old, sitting together sharing a plate of food. I squatted down and smiled, simply wanting to bring them company and put names to the face of another “poor village child.” But then, one by one, each precious, hungry child – out of their own instinct, their natural reaction to someone joining them – scooped up a handful of food and placed it in my hand. I was taken aback and simply said, “Cushukuru” (thank you in Makua). They pointed to the rice, then to their mouths, giving me an indication to eat it. I took one bite, then the tears welled up, broke through the gates of my eyelids, and rolled down my proud ‘Akuhna’ cheeks (‘Akuhna’ is white person in Makua – and is generally yelled at the missions school students by just about every village kid).
When Jesus says to have faith like a child, this is precisely what He means. Who do I think I am, coming here to hand out plates to these poor orphans in my good missionary way? They know what it means to give when they have nothing to give, to give without questioning and preconceived judgments. They taught me what it means to share again. Simple as it sounds, our missions-minded, NGO plans and first world wisdom seemed so unnecessary when I saw the generosity of the poor spring forth so easily.
I wrestle with how to respond to the constant begging and endless needs – we surely can’t solve everyone’s problems everyday. By I finally am starting to really get what Heidi Baker preaches. After simply sitting down with the poor. Stop for the one in front of you – just stop and love them, help them. Love like Jesus did, with selfless love.
Truly, the poor in spirit are blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3
We have so exalted ourselves, our own spirituality, honoring and preferring ourselves over others. We have forgotten that Jesus calls for an opposite spirit than the world – not climbing higher but lowering ourselves in humility, so that He may be lifted high.
I pray that God would bless you to be able to simply share with others, just as those tiny children did to me. They knew I had food, money, all I needed, yet their heart was to welcome me in like family. Oh, how I need faith like a child.
May you be brought ‘lower still’ as you seek God’s face. May He bless you with a spirit that is in constant need of Him. May you see His kingdom here on earth.

Un saludo en Espanol!!!

Hola a todos nuestros amigos de habla Castellana. Un abrazo grande desde esta hermosa y calurosa tierra Mozambicana. Ya llevamos 2 meses aqui y de verdad que hemos sido transformados al ver todo lo que Dios esta haciendo y al experimentar mas de El en medio de este pueblo tan necesitado. Tenemos muchas historias que contar y poco tiempo para escribir... hemos visto a Dios sanar enfermos, dar esperanza al hambriento, alegria a los ninos huerfanos, y visitar al necesitado. La iglesia es imparable cuando le damos libertad al Espiritu Santo para que simplemente haga lo que desea hacer, y que se resume en las palabras de Jesus: El Reino de Dios se ha acercado".
Hemos recibido ensenanzas, imparticion, herramientas espirituales, y mucha bendicion. Que como lo dijo un pastor invitado, es como una caja de herramientas para nuestro futuro en este caminar con Jesus.
Sigan orando por nosotros, cuando haya mas tiempo, les contaremos mas detalles. o sino, traduzcan los blogs en ingles. Hasta una nueva oportunidad. En un mes nos vereremos!! Muchas bendiciones y un abrazo fuerte.
Con amor
David & Heather Moreno