The Story Begins

Meet Hercilio! Early on this trip to Mozambique, I gave him my camera to enjoy for the time we were there.  He is a member of Team Pfuka,a group of young Mozambicans who devote a year of their lives to evangelism through sports, music/dance, and witnessing.  The Pfuka Team attended the Crossroads business training and traveled with us to the bush. 
Almost all of the pictures I brought home are taken from his point of view.  It has been fascinating for me to look at the photos he took.  It is very cool to see what attracted his eye. Thank you, Hercilio, for this gift.
Processing this recent journey into Mozambique is difficult because I arrived home on Monday to discover that my mother is quite ill.  Needless to say, that required all my focus and attention this week.  She is doing well right now and for that, I am deeply grateful.
This was my fifth trip to Mozambique, and through these journeys, God has been teaching me to trust him at a level that has been challenging and stretching.  It was a great blessing to find myself able to enjoy Mozambique and all it has to offer, in spite of plenty of challenges and circumstances that were potentially stressful.
It will take a while to process all that transpired there, but there are three major highlights that spring to my mind:

• Feeling the prayers of those praying and fasting for us while we were preparing and working in Mozambique.
• Watching God dissolve every barrier the enemy put up to accomplishing the purposes he put on our hearts.
• Being present for the planting of a new church in Ziahle ~ it was like nothing I have ever experience before spiritually.

Over these next few months, I will tell the stories of our time there and the amazing work of God in Mozambique.  

So it begins!  Tomorrow this team will leave for Mozambique.  Some things have changed since my last post (November!).  We are still doing the business training in Xai-Xai and the rest of the team will be at Hope House training the orphans in life skills like mechanics and bead making.  We have wonderful things to take with us:  volleyball equipment donated by Dicks, knit bears and hats made by Eager Hands for Mozambique, medical supplies donated by Global Links, and a DVD player with some DVDs donated by Crossroaders.  We truly are blessed to be a blessing to others, and it moves me that so many have participated in this trip!  What a gift God gives us in each other~
Our second week in Mozambique should be really interesting.  We will travel to the bush to a remote church/school Les and Mark have established and park our vehicle; then we will walk.  Partnering with two Mozambican teams trained in evangelism, we will travel on foot with a donkey and cart to carry our generator and heavy supplies to spend four days in two villages where there are no roads and share the gospel as we serve the villagers in practical way.  At night, we will show films (Light of Life- Genesis to the birth of Jesus and the Jesus film).  We plan to pray with those in need and just be open to whatever the Holy Spirit has for us there.
The time has come.  All the planning and preparing and praying that has gone into this trip is about to bear fruit. I can't wait to see what God does with this moment in time in the Kingdom.
Kanimambo Xikwembo Xamatemba ~Thank you powerful God!
"The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  
John 3:8