We were invited by one of our ministry partners to take a team up to Mozambique to minister in the vacinity of the holiday town of Vilanculos. Our host is innitiating a missive scale farming project in the Mozambique interior, this project meant the involvement of many villages in the area that have otherwise been untouched by commercial development and economic opportunity of this magnitude. Our job was thus to come alongside the farmers, as they put together there arrangements with the villagers and bring the good news of God's unconditional love and grace to the people of the isolated Mozambique interior.
It was a great challenge just getting to the villages, it was a full days drive in sand and bush, with 4 x 4 vehicles, to get to the first village from Vilanculos. Afterwhich, our team of ten kicked on to a new village everyday. We were totaly self-sufficient, having enough food, water and fuel to last us for five days in the bush. There was no running water, no electricity and no mobile phone reception, just us, the bush and the people God wanted us to minister to.
Our goal was clear and our approach simple: We wanted to start identifying potential leaders in the villages, who would fit the criteria to be trained further in the gospel and make a long-term impact in their own village. We did this by means of showing the Jesus Film in the local language of Tsonga, then preaching, praying and ministering to the villagers - crusade style. The Jesus Film was a hit and many people were healed, delivered and prospered through the ministering of God's love and grace.
We were also able to identify a few individuals who showed the potential of being willing to be trained and equipped. The most exciting of which turned out to be our interpreter, Joao, who bought whole-heartedly into the message that we shared and who's life was radically different by the time we left.
Litteraly hundreds of people commited their hearts to Jesus in the villages we ministerd at, they need to be discipled though. Our trip to Mozambique was never just going to be a once-off, we are going back to disciple these people and eventually raise up the local leaders to continue what God started there.
Praise God for His faithfulness, He is true to His word, that He wants no man to perish, but all to come to salvation. It is with this promise that we can continue making disciples of the nations and people-groups of this world, until there is no-one left to reach!
