The Mission of God

How to summarize these 20-day mission in Mozambique, Africa?

It is not easy to be calm or satisfied after seeing such need, and our resources being so limited. We know that we have reached this continent, and that that is not easy at all, due to the requirements to obtain a visa to enter this country, as well as the money needed to get to this place (God has provided everything thanks to his great love and mercy). I said above, we are not “satisfied” because we wanted to do more things for the children, to buy clothes for them, give food to the hungry and do many other things in light of the needs in front of us every day.

There is great need, but the spiritual hunger is greater. We have witnessed here how those who have received the Gospel walk hundreds of kilometers to listen and learn from the Word of God, under much persecution, hiding in the darkness, sitting on the damp ground. Many times, their clothes are worse than dragged and they have not eaten all day, but they are hoping to learn about God. Many of them cannot read or write, but their ears are open to receive the glorious Christ who loved them and gave his life for them.

Seeing their split feet, their scant clothes, and many of them with fever or bad headaches because of malaria, and not complaining, but asking to learn more and more about God, we think of our countries, and how we take for granted the spiritual and material blessings that God has given us.

We have seen really shocking images. For example, a young father with AIDS, very thin and with an injured leg, is receiving a visit from the doctor and nurse. During the visit, he receives the news that his young wife also has AIDS. She is warned against nursing their little girl to avoid her getting AIDS as well, but how can she heed that advice and let her child die of starvation? There is no option of life for them.

We medidate and pray, Oh God help us help them.

Going through these experiences, we think of so many people who have so much money, big companies or churches or people without any need in this world–How to reach them, touch their hearts and show them the children cooking ants and alone with no one to help them, support them, love them? How to make them aware and invite them to contribute to the Yao people?

I say, O God, in what kind of world do we live? When your Word says that we must love our neighbor as ourselves, do we really know that neighbour about whom the Bible talks? O dear brother, beloved sister, if we do fulfil the work of the good Samaritan and we are not the ones lying beside the road, then who are we? Are you perhaps the Levite, the priest or even the attacker?

Everywhere we go we have found people along the way, lying, wounded, marked, sick. We have wanted to help but we don’t have any more things to give. If we could educate the children, buy them shoes or books. I can only give them balloons. They get scared at first but when we leave, we see lots of children with so much happiness in their faces, they have forgotten about their hunger for the moment.

And, what about the need for biblical material? If only we could buy audio Bibles, (since many cannot read) tiny solar stereos containing the complete Bible in Portuguese and Yao. One of them would be enough to evangelize an entire village.

Or what about having enough money to go back and give Bible studies, preparing disciples so that they can go and preach even farther.

Lord, help us.

I asked Mustafa at Itepela, (who is a Christian brother for many years, and who works much for the Lord), if they would receive me again if I came back, and he said to me: “You are already a part of this family, so you better ask yourself if it would be good that you never came to see your family again,” Oh what a response! May God help us to move forward.

We are begging God constantly about our health. We did not want to say much about this, but Elias who suffered malaria, went through very difficult moments. Thanks to God today he took the test again and it was negative. This big trial is over for now. I have suffered this too, and it is the most difficult process I have had to go through in my life.

Please pray for us.

Lichinga

Gave gave us the opportunity to visit Lichinga once more. This time, all the missionaries from Itepela were there, and we stayed at the YWAM headquarters.

We were invited to attend the meeting with the brethren in that place. Brother Pedro came to find us and it was very beautiful to meet this group of faithful believers, gathering in a home. God gave me the opportunity to preach and it was very pleasing to witness the immediate response to serve Christ by recent converts.

We went out the next day to the school in Cecavi, Mitava. It was beautiful to see those children, each of them filled with beautiful smiles and great enthusiasm to be there. The Manager is Jennifer, a missionary from the United States who lives in Lichinga and is in charge of some 30 children, each one of them come from families with much need and also some of them are orphans.

We were invited to share God’s Word with brother Antonio, a faithful servant of Christ who is planting a new Church in Mitava, was wonderful that night, we rejoice with what God is doing in these men of God that they have decided to come to Christ. Antonio and his wife Candida have been missionaries for 2 years to the Muslims in Mitava. Their mission is to preach there, establish a church, raise a leader and leave towards another village to preach the gospel and do the same.

We visited with Diniz and Balbina. Diniz is the director of YWAM in Lichinga. Thank God, we got to visit his home and share of the blessings of God.

I also met Jan, a missionary from South Africa, who invited me to lunch with him the next day. It was so nice to meet him, his wife Bonnie and their children. They have been working in Mozambique several years and his desire is to also see with his eyes the harvest of souls saved for the glory of God. I also met Anika, a missionary from the Netherlands and who is currently the one that has been in the area for the longest time. She arrived in 1994 to work planting new churches in that place.

We said goodbye to Lichinga during a beautiful meeting where all of them came together to pray for our trip to Maputo and at the same time to invite me to return to assist in the work of the work of God there.

Maputo

We are in Maputo, we arrived at the home of Marcelo, and Luana. Marcelo is a pastor from Brazil and with his wife he is planting churches in Maputo. We have agreed to help him build a metal structure roof to shelter 200 children who are learning the Word of God.

It has been difficult to fulfil all our plans because the place where they are working has very poor access, the materials are expensive, we have few resources, it is very hot, electricity is nos stable, etc.

I am writing at the end of our first day of work. I am very tired and my left arm is a little affected by welding and sunstroke. We have also met Tony and Mariana, a Brazilian couple who is helping Marcelo in his Ministry.

We all have had beautiful, blessed days of praising and blessing our God for the great opportunity to serve together our brothers in Maputo. What a beautiful fellowship even without knowing each other but we are united by the same purpose. God is showing how glorious it is to work together and in harmony, with the same heart. We had left Itepela and Lichinga so sad because we left our brothers with whom we are united now, but when we arrived in Maputo there were many more brethren to meet, and with them the same union has come to happen.

And what now? Why did God allow us to see this great need? These are the questions I ask myself. My desire is to do so much more for each and everyone in my memory who are seeking the way to advance and proclaim the Gospel message. They see themselves very limited, living each day with different diseases, hunger, difficulties and persecutions, but trying that all that will not impede others to know of God. The Yao were an unreached people group, but I can say now that God is preparing a beautiful remnant of men and women who praise Him in spirit and in truth there.

We praise God for this and we thank Messiah Missions, who along with other brethren made our trip to Mozambique possible.

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36

Akunungu ampe umpile
Azante
Pastor David Fuentes

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