back to Nacala

I haven't been much present in this blog... but now I'm back to Mozambique after spending two months in Brazil, resting and ministering in different churches. So now I hope to post more often here.

About March...

The beginning of the month it was quite unusual for me. When I arrived at Nacala, the students had already arrived and classes had already started. Though I felt part of what was going on, it was very weird to not have been involved in all the little details of the preparation. It took me a few days to start flowing with what was going on, but I could see that ultimately it was very good that I delayed. Because I wasn’t here, the teachers were pushed to do everything they had learned before. Of course everyone else in the team had to help, but I feel the teachers were able to apply what they had been trained for last year. It gives me confidence that more and more I won’t have much to do here! Weird, hugh?!
Spiritual Formation week was awesome! Pastor Armando’s visit brought us new energy, excitement and moved each of us to move in a new anointing. Personally it has been the most rejoicing term we’ve had. After the first day of teaching, we came up to the classroom in the evening ready to pray and for each one to leave certain that they are saved by Jesus’ blood and their faith in Him. We prayed for the students and as they repeated a prayer with me, I opened my eyes and could see a visible change in their faces. As they spoke those words of faith, their countenance was lifted and big smiles came up! Wow, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! As we finished praying JOY came into the classroom, and songs of praised were shouted. We sang and danced for a long time! No one felt exhausted, because the body couldn’t even say anything with such a release in our spirits. It is funny, as they are set free, and faith comes into them, I feel the same renewing in my spirit, though I’ve had that experience many years ago. Can you believe it has been more than 14 years!
Each night after that, almost the same thing happened over and over. They brought their burdens and doubts, the Word released faith into them, JOY sprang up and we all rejoiced praising God.
The Holy Spirit night was very special! After ministering to some students, I just stopped in one side of the classroom and just allowed myself to be a bit selfish for Him… to desire Him to touch me in a new way again! And He did… it was very precious to be filled again, even as many of them were being filled for the first time.
From then, classes have been establishing the Word in the students’ minds, so that they may continue living the life Jesus gave them already.
As most of you know, Marcelino have left the teacher training program to go back and study. It was a surprise, and I felt a bit sad, but I bless his life and pray he will continue in His ways. Valentim has been a blessing to us. He knows the Word and teaches it with clarity and without mistakes. He is developing in teaching skills and for sure will continue growing as he uses the gifts God has already given him. We are looking for more graduates with gift in teaching and calling to work with AWY. Leonardo is in Nampula serving the AWY church with pastor Armando and under his supervision. If everything goes right he will start being trained as a teacher next year.
Spiritually I’ve been feeling more strong, confident and with continuity than ever in my life. What it means is that I’ve been more dependent on His strength than mine, and because of that, I’m not going to run dry.
At home we are very happy to have Cassale with us. She is a real blessing and brings extra joy to our days. We have a lot of fun together at the same time that we allow God to use us to help guide and train her for Him.

Freedom of Obeying

Freedom comes when we love God above everything else. Have you ever disobeyed the Holy Spirit? It is terrible the feeling that comes when you do that.
When you have felt that, because you love God and when you are separated from Him you suffer, you never want to feel that again.
That's a vaccine. No matter how much it may hurt to give up, to obey God, it is nothing compared to the horrible feeling of disobeying Him.
We need to learn to differenciate this from religiosity. And when we know the difference to be radically obedient. THis is how we can be guided by the Spirit.
When we are guided by Him, we know Him more.

BREATH OF LIFE

by Nicky Reetz

“The baby was born and is not breathing well,” pronounced Susana after receiving a phone call from Zita the leader of the Muzuane Home Group. We responded to the “call” and went to the home of Issa, our AWYesu fisherman and his very young wife Aschura.
“I just found out how to get to their home by car just this past week and I am so thankful for such a time as this” was Su’s comment upon driving to their home within minutes of the call.
We were ushered into the small mud hut to be shown their new born son wrapped in a cloth lying motionless and silent on the rope-woven bed. There was no life in this little one denoted by his fine blue/black lips and his body cold. But there was no doubt or conversation about what to do next. The response to the leading of the Holy Spirit was to scoop the little one into our arms and commence to pray. To pray for more than two hours for the breath of life to return to his lifeless body. Lord you raised Lazarus from the dead. The widow’s son was brought back to life as the prophet Elijah prayed. We poured out our faith from every cell of our body and our confidence always focusing on Jesus in the midst of intense prayer and tears.
This was not a time of ordinary prayer, but a time to persevere, press in and to go somewhere in Him and in faith we had not been. Where two or more are gathered, He is there. The anointing of unity was there as one of us would pray then the other would press in. Prayers were shouted and prayers were sung. Scriptures were quoted. He was physically breathed upon.

Time passed and the home soon became dark as the day’s light turned to night. A small oil lamp was lit and the prayers continued without any hesitance. Women joined us in the small room and quietly prayed while others of the family who are Muslim sat and watched.
“I feel a pulse?” Su hopefully whispered. “No, it is the pulse from our own hands.” Massaging his feet and little hands, we saw how large this baby truly was. The mother is only 15 years old and this was her first child. Yes, she should have gone to the hospital, but didn’t, so forward we persevered in faith that her son would be brought to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayers went up in forceful waves and others crying out in a whisper. The mother sat in the opposite room, watching in a state of being numb to the magnitude of what was happening as the family sat by her side.

When do you stop praying? When do you know it is time? The Holy Spirit was directing us all the way to the moment when I gently laid my hand upon Su’s arm, we gazed into each other’s eyes and we knew it was time. “We have never buried anyone with a Christian ceremony what do we do?” We are walking with these people someplace in their salvation, they have never gone before and just as a child all they want to do is to please Jesus. Every word that we speak must be from the Word of God because it is Truth, not an idea. “You can wash the little one and wrap him in a cloth. We will be here tomorrow to perform the funeral.”

The family of God responded with His magnificence. Pastor Armando Jo, the Head of the AWYesu Church Planting vision, was here to impart into the AWYesu Ambassadors the vision and the “how to” plant healthy AWYesu churches. The theme was, “we are going where no one has gone before” just as Joshua did when he led the people across the Jordan River. What that means is that, AWYesu will plant churches upon the Word of God, not upon religious traditions. We will plant African churches, not American, Brazilian, Romanian or any other foreign culture. Jesus’ culture is our foundation.

Just at sun up the Ambassadors went to the cemetery to dig the grave. Arriving at the home, the little one had been washed with a brand new bar of soap and wrapped in a cloth. We sat with the women in the home as the men sat outside. In Africa, when a baby dies, it is the women who are in the home and prepare the body and the men remain outside. Yet as prayers inside the home went up, we could hear the men on the grass mats outside agreeing as their comforting and strong voices filled the air. When it was time to walk to the cemetery, the men stepped up to help. Where is the hope in such a dark time? Only in Jesus. It is only because of Him we can have hope and look to the future. The spirit of the little one is with Jesus and one day we will all be joined with Him. Right now is the pain of the physical separation.

Personally this took me somewhere in Him I have not gone before. To a depth of faith and pouring out of belief that at this moment, I feel completely spent for Him with a stronger faith than before. Yes, the baby was not raised from the dead, but who am I to doubt our mighty God who controls the universe. I shall walk and believe in what I do not see with the knowledge that to be directed by the voice of the Holy Spirit and obedient to his leading will always lead to the goodness of God.

As a family, the AWYesu students, Ambassadors and team returned to minister to the family group and to answer their questions. “What do we wear during this time? The Muslims where a cloth wrapped upon their heads that recognizes that a child has died. The Catholics dress in black. What should we do?” Susana simply answered, “No where in the Word of God does it say to dress a certain way when there is a death in the family.” “OK! If the Bible doesn’t say anything about it, then we won’t do what the others do.” Truth brings enlightenment and direction of how to go where you have not gone before.

Deborah Maas joined me to teach the women in the home group on basic health care after a baby is born and what to do to plan for future children. As she spoke, the women listened intently and received her guidance as truth. “Remember, this is not your fault. The enemy will want to fill your mind with lies, but just think about the goodness of God.”

Sunday morning’s church service was a day of celebration of life. The baby died four days ago and the Muzuane Home Group’s mourning was turned to joy as they focused on the hope of living a resurrected life here on earth, with the promise of a continued resurrected life being lived out with Jesus. We rejoice together that with faith we see the goodness of God, His majesty, His greatness and most of all His love. The service was full of testimonies of God’s goodness and how a church family is there to help no matter what the circumstances. “Neighbors who are Muslims asked if we had to pay the people to come and pay for them to pray.” “Our neighbors knew the baby had died, yet no one came to help us. Only the family in the church came. We are so very grateful.”

We declare Muzuane home group as a light unto the world. It is a city (church family) that cannot be hidden. They have not put the light of Jesus under a bowl. Instead they put it on the its stand (the proper place in their hearts) and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Mathew 5:14-15)

my walk continues...

September was a fairly calm month. At the end of last one we had the Rob Carman Conference and it was better than I had expected. I enjoyed the time with the team. Though I have met and talked with the Carmans quite a few times in different places, this was the time I was able to get to know them better and enjoy their company. The meetings were great and I have written you about that already!

After the Conference I spent more time at the school, teaching more than last semester. I enjoyed having more time to teach on Communion, Fasting and Giving. Specially the two first ones are subjects very important to me and the Word spoke first to me and then to the students. We had a wonderful time fasting together, and remembering Jesus in Communion. We need to do those things more often I realize, because they draw our attention back to what is really important, Him!

Apart from teaching and being with the students, I’ve organized our little school library, cataloguing all the books, worked a bit on the school notes and studied a lot. I’ve been in a reading mode that doesn’t come very often, so I have to make good use of the seasons when they come. When I’m like that I can read, read, read and just want to read more. Whereas normally it is hard for my brain and body to stop for a long time just reading. Usually I can only read if I’m doing something else at the same time (like watching some of the classes… then I can keep my brain entertained with listening to them and reading)! Kkk… I know I’m kind of weird!

I also started meeting once a week with the ladies at Nacoto. We’ve been talking about health and relationship with God. I hope to encourage them to go beyond “church going” into a meaningful relationship with God. I realize many of them are still very involved with traditional things, and that explains why so many times they are sick, sad, and poor. I’ve been challenged to think that people are result of the Word they hear. Our lives are a clear expression of the revelation we have of Jesus, so if our lives are not reflecting Jesus it is because we haven’t been seeing him, receiving the revelation of who His is.

I feel very weak in my own strength in changing anything, but I know that as I depend on Him, and obey the stirring of the Holy Spirit in me, He is the one who will change anything.

So I’m determined to depend on Him. For myself and for the others He put me in contact with.

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Thought I dropped a few lines to tell you about the conferece while it’s still fresh!

The Conference is over and it left me with a good feeling.

A word that really stuck in my mind was what Pastor Armando spoke in one of the afternoons.

He spoke about Acts 3, and how the church in Africa has been through the years like that beggar at the gate of the temple, not going into the temple where God’s presence was, because he was crippled. And what cripples the African church is the attitude of looking for alms and financial help from foreigners. He spoke about the importance of the missionary work, but delivered a prophetic call that it is time for the Mozambican church to hear: “Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I do have a give you! In the Name of Jesus, get up and walk!” Noticing that those words alonde didn’t bring the healing. Peter stretched out his right hand and helped the crippled get up! This healing brought the cripple guy into the temple, and everyone glorified God realizing that this was the same man who had been a beggar for so long.
He challenged the pastors to take out the old mentality and get up and walk! The time is coming when they should be the ones giving offering to the missionaries as a thanksgiving for their work.

None of us, missionaries, would ever have had the same effect he had even if we said the same words! I cried most of the preaching, and once again came that feeling: I don’t want to leave Mozambique until I see the prophecy fulfilled! I want to be part of that right extended hand that brings the healing!

Though this was the high point for me, all the other words were SO wonderful! What I love about Dr. Carman’s teaching is that he, step by step, demolishes wrong concepts that form wrong thinking, that results in wrong behavior. Ps. Brandon, who came with them, goes in that same direction. I was challenged in things I already knew but I hadn’t heard in a long time, therefore weren’t as strong in my mind and behavior as before!

But I pray each person that participated won’t forget what they heard… with all those stories and punches, I think they won’t!

AUGUST

Nacala, August 27th, 2008

Dear Team,

During this month I was reading some of the Words I had received from the Lord in the beginning of this year during my time alone with Him, through prophecies during a prayer time at the Youth Conference in Brazil, and through the Word preached. One of these messages was that God wanted to strengthen our “emotional cord”, our internal emotional strength. He was preparing us for the future He had planned for us, so that we could face the adversities and not be shaken.

I believe this month was one that if He hadn’t strengthened me, I would have popped! And still I know that this is only the preparations for more to come in the future. He has promised us that in this life we would face tribulations, but yet, we need not to fear, for He who lives in us has conquered the World, and finished the job!

BEGINNING OF CLASSES

On the 10th we received most of the students we expected, and after a few of them were sent home during registration, we are now with 44 students in our campus: 30 at the Discipleship School (4 of them are women) and 14 at the Vocational Center (full class).
Most of them come from Afrika Wa Yesu churches, and it is exciting to see how the investment the ambassadors have done in their lives truly makes a huge difference even on the first days of school.
With all the excitement of their arrival and registration came quite a few very unusual situations that we had to deal with, one by one. Two students who were told by a former student that they didn’t need to bring their clothes because the school had EVERYTHING! (Where did he get that from? – He had to go back to pick their clothes, since it was his fault!) A lady student who wanted money to buy milk for her three month baby, who she would leave home the whole day while she’d be here in school and go back to only in the evenings! (Oh, no, please go back, take care of you kid, come back in the future! ) And so on... I was even thinking about writing a book with all the situations we are faced with during registration for a Bible School in Mozambique. I’m sure we would collect many, many stories.