We made it to Mozambique!! We’re in Chinhacanine. It’s a rural village in southern Mozambique where there’s no street lights and therefore an AMAZING view of the stars each night.
We’re set up in our tents in the yard of Rivoni Ministries’ headquarters under a huge tree. We love our little campsite so far, despite of the chickens that wake us up at five in the morning and the neighbor kids who stand on the other side of the fence and watch these seven strange white people throughout the day.
Rivoni Ministries is focused on teaching the word of God to the Shangaan people in southern Mozambique. Local leaders are trained so that they can disciple people in their own communities. Evangelical Christianity is relatively new to Mozambique. As Christianity spreads throughout Africa, there has been a growing need for a deeper understanding of God’s Word. Oftentimes the local witchdoctors switch from their traditional role to become the local pastor of the church, claiming that they are now filled with good spirits instead of bad ones. However, these churches that bear the name of Jesus actually have little to do with Him or the Gospel. At several of the churches we’ve visited, we’ve heard that it’s common to find people who go to church every Sunday but practice witchcraft during the week.
Pastor Carlos, our contact for the month, has an incredible heart for his homeland. There are so many issues that the African nations face, Mozambique included, that the world has been trying to solve with human solutions. Carlos reminded us the other day that God promised that He would heal our land if His people would humble themselves and pray and seek His face, turning from their wicked ways (2 Chron 7:14). As a result, he has given his life to preaching and living out the gospel and teaching others to do the same.
This month, we’ll get to visit several classes the area that are part of Rivoni ministries as well as local churches and pastors. So far this week, we’ve gotten to attend classes that meet in local churches, under huge shade trees, and here at the mission. We’re heading to the African bush next week where Rivoni has started doing outreach and has some bible teaching classes started. We heard that we’ll be going to the real Africa!! (aka no electricity) We’re all excited.
