food

To all those folks who have and are contributing to the food appeal. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. It is just amazing to see how God is moving the hearts of His people to help other they don't even know.

We are busy buying up maize and are getting it ground to Melie Meal and will in the next few days start distributing to the Churches. It is quite a logistical nightmare but we are happy to be able to help those who are going hungry. Please pray the the actual distribution among the Church members will go smoothly. This is going to be done by the pastors of each Church with their elders and deacons.

Went to Siyabuzana

We, Walter Rosie and myself (Jinx) took a "quick" trip to Siyabuzana to see how the building of our small little "bungalow" is getting on. And the two guys are really getting a move on. Wailosi & Bhikosi are great guys. We have had to leave them to work on their own and are doing a lot of work. Next week on Wednesday we will go out there again with roof sheeting and get that put up. We are hoping that by then much of the outer walls will be prepared for mud plastering and then an outer plaster of cement.

Faithful friends

A special note of recognition from Dawn & I. We know you won't want to be named, but to SD & JB We thank the Lord Jesus for your faithful behind the scenes service to Him. With amazing friends like you who stand in the gap where we are just unable to do what needs to be done.

Amazing!

God is good, even in the middle of difficulties then He really carries one through. We had been having some over heating problems over the last 6 weeks or so. We tried all the small things like changing the thermostat, tied up the viscous fan, removed thermostat. Well with no success at all.
The only thing left was the head cracked or the head gasket blown.

After taking off the head it was only the gasket that was damaged and caused the problem. God is good! it could have been so much more expensive.

Building update

God has really carried us through and sent many folks to help out. The short term-er house is getting very close to finished. The floors is in and the place is plastered inside & out. Septic tank is complete but just needs the lid put on. Lights are in ceilings are in. Now I have to do the fitting of the bathroom and the kitchen. Toilet, basin, shower and kitchen sink with all their plumbing. After that we need to get the place painted.

Our first occupants of the house will be Walter and Rosie who in a bout a week to 10 days time leave Northern Ireland for Kenya for some Africa orientation and then they arrive in Harare on 22 October and we will be there to meet them. We can't wait!

Land Rover problem

We needed to make a trip to SA to see doctors and also to make sure Toni got organised for university next year. Yes our baby is going off to University in 2011. She has been accepted to the University of Pretoria.
On the trip down the Land Rover overheated and I thought that it was just a once off, water was low or something. But on our way back from SA to Mozambique just before leaving SA we started to notice the temperature got very hot every 20-50km. What is normally a 6 hour trip turned into a two day trip.
We have tried everything to get the problem sorted out but the problem is still there. The only thing that is left to look at is the head and or the head gasket. This is a much bigger job than I am used to dealing with. And quite frankly I don't have the time or the resources to deal with it here in Espungabera. Please pray for wisdom.

Feeling better

After a fall which I (Jinx) had while building the new Short term-er house in Espungabera, was feeling quite beat up. Thankfully nothing broken but quite bent though. We recently went to South Africa and I was able to get straightened out and am feeling much better. Still a few aches and pains but much better. Thanks for praying.

Short term house

My head is still spinning. Just a very short time ago there was just a pile of building sand, stone & bricks. 2 Months later there is a small 2 bedroom house standing. Roof on, ceilings in, electrics done, Plastered inside, and almost finished plastered outside. WOW!

It is still going quite hectic here but God is AWESOME! He is doing stuff that we find ourselves running to keep-up. Very soon we will have the final floor put in then the finishing touches can be done. The next few things will just be pictures with captions. so watch this space

Pastor Domingo's house

We are very grateful to everyone who have helped in getting pastor Domingo's house liveable. The whole family just seem to be so much happier. There is still quite a lot of work to be done. In the next few days the floors will be cemented. Then all the plastering will need to be done. But Pastor Domingo said today that once the floor was done then the next thing to do is the ring beam of the church.But we soon hope to have a photo or two of that up on the blog as well.

Stories

Kathy brought a fancy thing with her for teaching 40 Bible stories. In almost whatever language you like. And Ndau is one of them. THAT is WAY COOL.

Kids

What a lot of fun and then Bible stories. How cool is that?

House building progress

Wow! the guys have really got a move on. About a week ago we were just setting out where the doors would go and where the window frames when it got to the time to put them in, where they would go.

Aim conference in Nampula

It was a long trip there and back 3100km. We did enjoy seeing all our friends and fellow AIM'ers. It was a week long and while we enjoyed it our thoughts this year were not entirely on the conference. As many know we have outreach teams come during the June July South African school holidays. So I know I was really keen to see what was going on with the building work.

First day of work

Wow it's great to have a group of young enthusiastic guys and girls. They really got a move on with the building yesterday. We got the foundations dug, the stone packed in and the top concreted. An amazing amount of work in just one day. On Monday we will start to build to get to floor level.

Today we get ourselves packed up and we hope to leave Espungabera for Chibuwe near to Dombe. We are planning to have a picnic lunch along the road. We will be taking Nyarai with us who will be teaching the ladies "Farming God's Way" in the afternoon. We will then set up the Jesus film for the evening. We do ask for you to pray with us for that. Chibuwe Church is a very small Church plant and the leader is a very humble old man. We ask that you pray for Zacharias that he would be able to share the Gospel effectively. There are lots and lots of people around that area.

First team has arrived.

The Lord is good! The first of the outreach teams has arrived. They got here yesterday afternoon at about 4pm. What a fun thing being young! They did the trip from Johannesburg area right through to us in one shot. A few of them were a bit worse for wear but happy to finally get here. They were all in bed by 8pm and I think asleep as well. Probably the first really early night they have had in a long time.

Today we will get the spades into the ground for the first time and start digging the foundations of this new small house. We are expecting to make quite a lot of progress in a very short space of time.

We are also planning to get the girls in the team 3 of them, Carla, Laura & Precious to do some painting at Cecilia's house. We need to get the under coat done. The walls are all still raw cement.

Outreach

This year we will be hosting 3 outreach teams to Espungabera. While we were still on home assignment were quietly telling folks that this year was going to be crazy. IT'S WORSE THAN CRAZY! We have been planning and getting organized and trying to do our normal work at the same time. We knew it was going to be wild but BOY oh BOY. But it's great. We are preparing for new missionaries to join us on the field and to partner with us as we try to disciple and also train the Church leaders.

The outreach teams this year are going to mainly help us with building of a new house. So we can start receiving new missionaries. We are really needing to plant more Churches as the requests are forever coming in,... "When will you start a Church in our area". There is still such a huge area to cover and to get the "real Gospel" or the TRUTH into the hearing of the everyday people of this area. Most live out in the really rural or forest type ares.

Chitsama / Siyabuzana

After the let down a few weeks ago when I had gone out to do the final check with the department of agriculture director and we were turned down. We were quite demoralized and did not want to say too much about our next site that we have been trying to get as the site for Walter and Rosie out in the Chitsama area. We did find a place and last Saturday I went out with the agriculture director and we are going again for the official signing with the local folks and the government officials. We are confident that all will go well.

It seems to be just the place that we were looking for right in the middle of 4 Churches. It has a natural fountain or spring really close by. So we are excited and I'm sure Walter and Rosie will be happy with it as well.

Very busy

Thanks to all who have been praying. We do need your support as it does get difficult at times. A BIG sorry to all who read this site and not much has happened here for a while. I just plain and simple have not had the time to sit down and get the info up here.

Cecilia's house is getting towards finished and we hope that she will soon be able to move in. She is really getting anxious now and so she should. She has been in limbo for over a year now and needs to get into her own place.

9AM Meeting

9am. Dawn, Cecilia and myself are going to the administration offices and we are hoping to meet the new Administrator / Mayor. He was appointed towards the end of last year while we were away on home assignment. He has been away a lot and busy with meetings and functions. And we likewise have also been running around doing all the usual things. Now we finally hope to meet the man and get to know him and also to introduce ourselves and what we are doing here in Espungabera.

Work, work, work!

I'm quite please with the progress we have made with getting Cecilia's house ready for her. The Bathroom is about half-way to complete. The front stair case is busy being built. The floors have all been thrown. The kitchen still needs the cupboards made.
The "carpenter" and I use that loosely had made the first cabinet and I went to pick it up this afternoon. EEEEK! I don't think that there were two bits of wood that matched. Nothing was straight! So we are going to be delayed with kitchen units. I was really hoping that she would be able to move in by mid month but that, it seems is not going to be the case.

Time waits for no man.

Time really does march on. And before you know it you have to get on with something else. Toni has almost been home a month. Just can't believe her holiday is almost over and she needs to be on the plane on Monday 26th from Harare to Nairobi.

We will drive up to Harare on Sunday and leave her at the airport on Monday. We will then go to Chimoio and get a few more things that I need for the work on Cecilia's home. We will get to see Claire at Velo & Glennschella's. Claire was a part of the Bunga TIMO team and a good friend. So after about 2 or more years she has returned to Mozambique in full time ministry.

Funny thing that; There are many more single ladies on the mission field than there are men! Do ladies just trust God more or are men just too fainthearted?

God's Great

Our God is no slow coach! When we were in Beira last weekend the Land Rover's indicators were working just the way they should, blink, blink. Next thing at the next corner I switched the indicator on and there was NO blink, blink. So a quick scout at the fuses etc and I could not find the problem. So we drover all the way back to Espungabera without.

Just this afternoon we had our prayer meeting and my request was that God would show / help me find and fix the problem. Two hours after the prayer meeting EUREKA! He answers prayers and quickley too. Praising God right now!

Church conference

Just recently I (Jinx) was in Beira for the annual Church conference. As was expected some days were much more interesting than others. But there were a few things to make mention of. It was so, so HOT! I don't think I have ever been that hot in Beira. And it was extremely humid not any more than is normal. But when you come from a place like Espungabera to Beira. WOW!

The Church as a whole seem quite happy with the work we are doing and appreciate our efforts. So we were encouraged by them. Another high light was on during the Sunday service when Pastor Domingos was consecrated. Very special seeing him receive the recognition which he really deserves. He is one of those folks who really does care. His life is absolutely dedicated to God. So he is now allowed to weddings and a host of other things. Congratulations Joao.

I was also able to get a lot of material for the completing of the house where Cecilia is going to stay. And she was also donated a few very useful things. It's just good seeing it start to come together for our team.

Praise the Lord getting there

The roof woodwork is now finished and ready to get the roof sheets put on. so we need to go and buy some of those soon. We need 40 more to cover the roof.

Today was GOOD day

We managed to get a 3 year contract signed on a house for Cecilia. It is quite close to our house. It has just recently been built. So we will have to finish a few things. But it is a nice place. The bathroom has nothing in yet as well as the kitchen. Water tanks and pump need to be put in as well.

Septic tank and soak-away need to be built as well. A wall round the propriety needs to be built. and a set of 4 stairs at the front door. Paint inside and out
God is good!

New site

As many know that at the last meeting I had with the man who gave a portion of land to Walter & Rosie in the area of Chitsama, changed his mind at the last stage just before signing. We decided not to force the issue concluding that was not the exact area where God would have Walter & Rosie live. Thanks to everyone who was praying. We have found a new place which is on the boundary between Siyabuzana and Chitsama. It is about equally close to all the churches as the first site. Ministry opportunities are so vast and plentiful. This picture does not do the place justice but we need to get in and clear long grass and weeds.

This was us getting to the new site to have a look. Walter, you may stop drooling now! (He hates Bananas)








The man sitting holding the sleeping child is called "Wiross" (no joking) is the man who has given a portion of his land for Walter & Rosie to build their house and minister from there. Praise God!

Church manse in Espungabera

Today was a hot one in Espungabera and a few of the guys and myself got stuck into the work of putting up the roof trusses and were able to get quite a long way. We are not quite halfway with the woodwork but it was a big part that got done. Tomorrow we hope to get a lot done as well.

14th March Church at Sambanje

Cecilia got into camping in a big way. She really steps up to the plate and gets involved. This was another first for her. She had never been camping. And while we were at the weddings she also got into the festivities.

Church bush wedding. 13th March

Well it is not often that a foreigner is asked to conduct the wedding service. And it was my privilege on 13th March. It was at a place called Bundwa. (for those who think it is typing error, it was not at Bunga.) They told us it was just off the main road. Huh! we drove for about 40 minutes to get to a place where we were to leave the car. Then we were to take a short walk to the house where the wedding was to be held. Short!"" Up the side of what seemed like Kilimanjaro and at least twice as far. But we got there. Dawn and Cecilia carrying wedding cake which Dawn had made.
The number of people,...Wow!

So there I was waiting for the bride to show up. It wasn't as if she had to come from a long way away. about 100m in-fact.

But any way the wedding went ahead.

Bride with vase of plastic flowers and groom & bride's maid and Best man.

It was fantastic to be part of really rural folk's wanting to be married not only by tribal expectations but also in the sight of God.

Tomorrow morning

Pastor Domingos, Edisoni, Cecelia and myself are going to see the possible new site where Walter and Rosie could be stationed. WHY I hear you ask.

Just over a week ago I went to finalize the arrangements for the property which we had secured for Walter & Rosie near the Chitsama Church. At this meeting the man who gave the property decided to change his mind. Domingos, Daniel, Edisoni & myself could have been knocked over by a feather.

But rather than force the situation we concluded that this was the Lord closing the door on this location for a house for Walter & Rosie to be built. It is better that we do things in His will rather than ours. So we asked the two Church leaders in the area, Daniel and Edisoni to please look for another suitable place. Which is in between Chitsama, Siyabuzana, Goi-Goi & Mupengo. Edisoni arrived this morning saying that he had found a place which is on the boundary of Siyabuzana and Chitsama.

So I will go out tomorrow and have a look. Please be praying that this is the place where God wants our new missionaries to be. We will leave at 7am.

By now you know we up and running

Wow! We just got back yesterday from fetching Toni from Harare. She is on her school holidays. It's really good to have her back home again.

We also have our communications back again and we are really happy about that.

We also have had uninterrupted power supply for just over 24 hours. Don't quite know what to do with it all in one shot.

Earnest Prayer request

This is a HUGE appeal for your prayers. As you may know that a new missionary has already arrived in Mozambique. Cecilia who is in Beira at the moment. And then Walter and Rosie who are scheduled to arrive in Espungabera in October this year. And we are trusting that there will still be a few more coming. Then our Ndau team will be at full strength.

As with all new work we will need houses for these missionaries. AIM has a project registered for the donation of funds. Project number is SR-MOZ-152-U and if anyone feels led to donate, please contact Africa Inland Mission, and quote the project number.

In faith we wait to see what God is going to do.

Getting our ducks in a row

Praise the Lord! I have managed to get a small house to rent in Espungabera. This is for Cecilia who is already in Beira. And soon after our arrival in Espungabera at the end of this month she will arrive. This became necessary because we heard that she is very allergic to cats. I have not yet heard what the rent per month will be. But lets pray that it will be reasonable.

PRAYER REQUEST

For the next few months the work load is going to be huge. All our normal activities will be continuing where we left off. But we will have a lot more to do as we prepare for the new missionaries the Lord is sending.

Please pray for time management and loads of energy.

Last leg of Home assignment

We are back in Pietermaritzburg South Africa. This is the last leg of our home assignment before we return to Mozambique. "We can't wait"! This passed weekend we went to St. Olav's Church in Berea in Durban. We enjoyed the visit there and made a number of new friends.

The 16th and 17th we will be at Holy Trinity in Pietermaritzburg. Then on the 24th we will be at Hilton. 25th sees us take off for Pretoria. 27th one last meeting in Krugersdorp. Then off to Musina on the same day. 28th We will leave to Espungabera and most likely sleep over in Zimbabwe and reach home on the 29th.