The wind is rustling over both Nacala and Inhaminga campuses as the tribes gather for a six month God encounter. Expectation is high as prayer and worship rise up, a sacrifice of sweet fragrance to our God. Some of our churches in different provinces catch the overflow and teach the same curriculum during night classes, as not all are able to journey to our Bible Schools. Such a hunger for the Word of God exists in Mozambique!
Personally we have made some incredible journeys this month, covering thousands of kilometers even though February is actually a taboo travel month due to the weather and road conditions. Sometimes things just have to be done, and do them we did.
We have great joy in sharing with you some of our dreams come true. Selling our plane just over a year ago was a momentous decision for us. We filled the hole in our hearts with a dream to upgrade from roof-top tent to a camper van. The process has taken more than a year and finally we journeyed to Maputo to collect our brand new IVECO 4X4 van.
Actually it’s a truck. It’s a beast, a beautiful beast that immediately proved itself a conqueror on the Mozambique roads.
The quote to have the camper kitted out was astronomical so we will build it ourselves with help from friends and family.
Thus starts the next phase of our ministry. Re-tyre-ment instead of retirement sounds good to us. There are villages to reach, mountains to climb, rivers to cross, good news to tell, souls to win, sick to heal and demons to expel.
We pray our news blesses and encourages you as you read excerpts from various Team members. We are a diverse ministry, blessed with dynamic leaders of different giftings, each making impact in multiple areas. Impossible to tell all, but a joy to tell what we can.
Thank you for your continued prayers, friendship and support. Your responses lift us up and strengthen us on our journey, we love to hear from you!
Rod & Ellie
...and all at Afrika Wa Yesu.
BUZI GUARAGUARA
Aaron and Patricia - Buzi is an area known for its famous traditional healers, and witchdoctors. There are areas difficult to access that need to be touched by the gospel.
In 2019 when Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Buzi district was one of the hardest hit places. Villages were totally flooded, there was great destruction and loss of life. There were many miracles also as some saved themselves and one another, clinging for days in trees, waiting for the waters to subside. Once we could get there, we visited Buzi to find and encourage people, taking some bibles and clothes for children. Today, a large part of the population of the village of Buzi lives in a higher area called Guara Guara. The population has multiplied and a new road has been built.
PLANTING A CHURCH in the midst of Witchdoctors, Blood Sacrifices, and Deadly Snakes
Pastor Mariano - Our journey to Buzi was a great success. Though Buzi has been on my heart a long time I had never been there, but we have a certain graduate there, Pastor João, who came to Bible School in the year 2000. He was from another church but maintained contact with us and has sent several other students from Buzi to be trained.
Pastor João together with some other pastors received us with much joy. They begged us to plant an Afrika Wa Yesu church there. “We all need teaching, we need encouragement. Please come and show the Jesus movie and hold a teaching seminar here.” they said. “We are ready to welcome Afrika Wa Yesu to establish here, we know you teach the true doctrine and we the churches need strengthening.”
Buzi is a place of many challenges as the majority of people lost everything in the floods. Witchcraft is heavy and very strong in the area. We purchased a piece of land, the construction of a pole and thatch church was completed in a few days and Buzi Wa Yesu was born.
Our new church plot, nothing but thick bush. Even though it was raining, people rallied round and said: “We will help you clean and prepare this land and we will help you put up a shelter for meetings”
We found bowls of witchcraft 'medicines' and fetishes that a local withcdoctor had been using. All this was part of the clean up.
Today we killed four snakes while working. One was a big snake called Chipiri (puff adder). Suddenly there was a puff/hiss at a woman’s feet. She turned and saw a snake with head raised in the attack position. She raised the hoe and cut the deadly snake in half.
Four baby snakes were inside that Puff Adder.
We bought poles, stakes and nails and drew the outline of the church 13 meters long and 8 meters wide.
Then we bought grass to make a thatch roof for shade as it is very hot.
Our temporary building completed! We believe the time will come when we are able to build with brick and put on a good roof.
This storekeeper repented publicly saying that he wanted to follow Jesus totally and would no longer sell alcohol and tobacco as it was harmful to people and caused destruction in families. He brought out the items, pouring out the alcohol, setting fire to tobacco as well as to different colours of wool from which people make witchcraft bracelets. Abrão and his family continue in church with us.
At night we showed the Jesus Movie, so many people came and accepted Jesus. Pastors from other churches testify that their churches are receiving new members from having been converted through watching this powerful story of Jesus.
We moved through the markets, talking to people and found them very hungry to hear about Jesus. We saw some notable conversions, it was a wonderful time. We call this time “Our Buzi Miracle” for surely, we saw God move powerfully.
We held a two day seminar for leaders from various churches.The first day we talked about the responsibility of the Parents within the Family. We also taught about the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We saw a tremendous Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
After these meetings the pastors and leaders of the churches in Buzi asked that if possible, Afrika Wa Yesu should expand as soon as possible because the region is being taken over by Muslims and most of the pastors do not know how to deal with this phenomenon, losing members through free food distribution. They also told us of the purpose of this road continuing Muenhe Mukuro who is considered the great healer of the Muslims from centuries ago, the place where all the Islamic ceremonies are performed together with a lot of witchcraft.
This put a great urgency in our hearts. We sent a group of five to continue the second phase and then the third phase was in sending Pastor Carlos from Beira and some church members from Inhaminga to stay a month with our new church to help establish them. We also have a graduate from Chimoio who moved there and is serving as full time leader of the church.
The “Heart of Man” gospel chart is a wonderful way to share the gospel and teach Bible at the same time.
Follow up,Rod & Ellie: This month, we visited the new church plant at Buzi GuaraGuara where all government administration will be moved to. There is a beautiful, wide, newly paved road seemingly leading nowhere, then happening on the site sprawling with mud huts of displaced people. This road built by the Muslims has a purpose.
FOUR NEW MOSQUEShave sprung up where there is yet no town. It transpires that these four mosques wailing from the four corners of the settlement are the primary reason that the pastors are so keen to have Afrika Wa Yesu plant a church. So often a new church is viewed with suspicion as competition, but no, they are begging us to come, “We need your help! The Muslims are giving free food to all the people so they are converting to Islam.”
Pastor Mariano from the beginning made it very clear that when we plant a church it is not to give free food or clothes to win converts as these are not true converts and will quickly run to where the next bag of rice is given. They agreed, they understood this, but still need teaching.
THIS MAGNIFICENT NEW ROAD CONTINUES TO NOVA SOFALA, a tiny but significant historical place where very few people go. On asking the local people about this, they responded, "It's the Muslims, we are told they are building a 'Second Mecca' that will be accessible to Africa. That’s why they are building the road through Buzi all the way there.” The picture becomes clearer as does our purpose in answering the call of “Come over into Buzi and help us.”
The road will accommodate massive pilgrimages from all over Africa, passing through Buzi.
Brief history of Nova Sofala thanks to Mr. Google: Sofala’s harbour was the oldest harbour in Southern Africa. It was visited by Arabs beginning of 915 in order to trade gold from the hinterland. Persian Muslims settled there in 1020, and during the 14th and 15th centuries, Sofala was an important Southern outpost of the Islamic sultinate of Kilwa.
Nova Sofala hosts an ancient Islamic burial site as well as a famously revered tomb of “Muenhe Mukuru” (local language) who is said to have been a prophet sent by Mahommad.
When I (Ellie) was a child, we visited Sofala a couple of times on camping holidays. I clearly remember us as kids entering the tomb, a small building with the coffin covered with old tapestries to see what was inside. It was kind of spooky to us kids. That was about sixty years ago! It no longer looks the same due to weather erosion but a new memorial has been erected. We have not yet been back there ourselves but hope to in the future.
Our own ride on the new road was however a very brief one kilometre as we came in from the South on a horrific road on which Ellie slipped in the mud and badly hurt her back.
WE HAVE RE-TYRED... as mentioned in our cover letter
We drove over one thousand kilometres from Maputo toBuzi, stopping overnight to sleep on a camp mattress in the back.
A new road has been made from Muxungue to Buzi, only one and a half hours, we were told. Well, unbeknown to us, the road has been totally destroyed due to all the heavy trucks using the nice new dirt road as the N1 (National Highway) is so bad. The one and a half hours turned into a six hour disaster.
This truck was stuck without hope, right up to the axles.
Help comes along in the form of Rodney, new truck and winch,never short of an opportunity to help some unfortunate people stuck in the mud up to the axles. Disaster comes as Ellie falls in the mud and severely hurts her back.
After my fall... several more hours on this road.
Finally we arrived and were welcomed by pots of food on the fire...
...and happy people.
I still managed to preach while hanging onto a pole. After all, we did not come all this way to return without giving what we came for!
We left in the morning and once we reached the Inhaminga road which is worse than ever, I could no longer sit and bounced for six hours on my back till we had to stop for the night. The following morning after another five hours we arrived home. Home sweet home was never sweeter. We stopped just before Inhaminga so Rod could help me sit in the chair as there is no way I was going to arrive on my back to a glorious student celebration! Two weeks later I am still walking like an old lady but the fog of pain has become less thick and I manage to minister for an hour each morning. Dear friends, if you think I sound sorry for myself you are quite right. However, as it is written: “In all these things we are more than conquerers through Him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
Thank you for your prayers. We believe to soon be back on the road again soon.
The students praying blessing on our new vehicle, safe journeys and many victories as we visit the churches.
