Sunday, November 4th

Today was a glorious day! The entire team split up, going to 7 different churches to preach in the Tete area. Western Christianity had influenced much of Africa, and people come out in their Sunday best. The African woman looked beautiful in thier traditional dresses, and the men more ties (and some suits). This, of course, meant that we were to do the same. Tete is one of the hottest areas in Mozambique, and today was not any different. The temperature read 109 degrees...YES...109 degrees! As you can imagine, the churches were HOT! Some had dirt floors, no air ventilation...HOT! But, the HOLY SPIRIT was all over the place so we could not complain! Also, many of the Pastors in Africa PREACH! When i say preach, i mean they are enthusiastic, passionate, wiping the sweat from their face PREACHING! So of course, we all preached the same way, giving it all we had! Although we did really communicate with the Senior Pastors about the messages we would share, the Holy Spirit made sure it was what that particular church needed. For example, Nick and Moses were able to preach at a church that was focusing on Children´s Ministry that week. Moses has his own childrens ministy in Angonia, and is also very passionate about children. So, they were able to give an inspiring message about the Children of God`s kingdom, then they taught a Sunday School class for the children. It is our prayer that many other churches follow this churches example of Childrens ministry, because they are currently one of the only churches in the area offering these servies. Jay and Gift were able to preach about the Power of The Holy Spirit...this is exactly what the Pastor wanted them to speak on, but they did not communicate before hand. The rest of the stories about Sunday morning are just as powerful!

We all talked about our experiences afterwards and one theme continued to come up. HUMBLED. The pastors, elders, and church congregation treated us and served as if we were the President of the USA. They would not let us carry our bags, let us sit in the the best chair, and some even collected an offering for us. Just think...some of the poorest people in the world giving us rich americans money...it reminds us of the story in the bible when the poor, old woman tithed all that she had, even though it was a few pennies. We could not give any of the money back b/c it would have been disrespectful, so we gave an offering to the churches that we attended. They were ever so grateful!

Speaking of humbled...the African team are the most servant, thoughtful, kind, genuine people we have ever met! They are always making sure we are doing ok and our stay is pleasant. Thier servant hearts and love for God is something that the Lord will continue to show people as they are an amazing example for all of the people here. Also, they have a great sense of humor! They are always trying to joke with us or trick us with funny little lies about the country or area!

After church, we had some more time to rest before our trip to Angonia (this is also Vila Ulounge, where the Missions Base is located). It was about a four hour drive from Tete, and we broke down a few times...in the middle of nowhere...and road was very bumpy...but, God took care of us and somehow we arrived safely!

Now, we will hold a Seminar and some Crusades in this area, as well as do some Childrens Ministry. God is showing us some amazing things and we are blessed by the ways he is using us!

Here is some more random info:

-A cookie or cracker is called a biscuit
-We were blessed with running water in Songo...but not in Tete or Angonia...so we used a bucket of water to bathe...and we have to put disinfectant in the water
-sometimes there are little stones in the rice
-most everyone likes to put hot sauce and garlic on everything (the garlic looks exactly like the hot sauce, not the kind we are used to)
-although there is electricity at the Missions Base, they still like to cook with a fire

Prayer requests:

-Please pray for Alex, our keyboard player. He has been up and down with a sickness, and we think it might be Malaria.
-Please pray for Jay, as he is feeling a little weak. We think it might be heat exhaustion from Tete.
-Please pray for the continuing work of the Holy Spirit on this country. These people are hungry and open to the power of God!
-Please pray for our continued health, energy, and enthusiam and that we can continue to preach the good news with clarity and passion!
-Please pray for Moses and his Childrens Ministry and that God will expand the ministry all over the country of Mozambique!