Our team had the opportunity to travel with Felito to the towns of Inhambane and Chibuto for a couple of days. We were going to visit a new church plant and their current project, which they are currently in the process of building.
We awoke on Tuesday at 3:30am to begin our travel to the coastal town of Inhambane which was about six hours away. Now, we weren’t just traveling in your typical van or suburban for this amount of time. We all piled into the back of a mid-sized flat-bed truck with all of our stuff. We had a total of 10 people and a baby in that small space. Needless to say it was a tight squeeze! By the time we arrived in Inhambane, we had been traveling for 10 ½ hours and were sunburnt to the core.
Our truck
While in Inhambane, we camped in a small village that had no running water or electricity. We were there with Felito to see some land that was donated to start a church in the village. We had some small services and we walked around to the houses inviting them and telling them about the new church. We also prayed for the village and some people who were not feeling well. It was exciting to see how God is starting something big in this small area of Mozambique.
The village
View from my tent in Inhambane
We also had some fun climbing some palm trees and visiting the Indian Ocean.
I didn’t reach the top 🙁
After two days and one night spent in Inhambane, we spent the night right outside of the village at a woman’s house. We pitched our tents at around 10pm and we then had to be ready to go again the next day at 4am.
Early the next morning we began what was supposed to be a 3 hour drive to Chibuto. Well, by the time we actually arrived it was a total of 9 hours, lol. What added the extra time is something special that God had appointed for us all. About an hour into our drive, Felito stopped at a small town to get some bread for breakfast. He was also meeting an old man who was now a pastor that he saw come to the Lord about 10 years ago. After the old man and Felito talked briefly, we all prayed for him. As we all piled in the truck to leave, a woman came up and asked if we could pray for her. We all piled out of the truck and prayed for her. Before we knew it, there was a large group of people surrounding us wanting prayer. So, right there in front of a small store we prayed for people for about 2 hours! We saw a man who had gone to witch doctors for healing with no luck but was then healed by the power of Jesus. We saw Muslims want to know more of Jesus among countless other miracles.
Probably one of the coolest things to come out of our spontaneous prayer session was that one man decided to give some of his land to us for a church. After finishing prayer, we drove into the jungle for about 45 minutes with him so that he could show us the land and so that we could meet his family. So, prayer for one man turned into a new church plant in a village that is in need of a place for communal worship. God is so amazing!!
I took one photo of us praying for people and it happend to be of the guy that gave us the church land. Crazy!
I know that it is a different culture and it is hard to believe a situation like this could happen in the states, but let’s not let that keep us from being bold and letting God work through any situation. Who knows, maybe a simple prayer for someone could turn out to have an even greater impact. An eternal impact.
After seeing the new land for a church, we continued on to Chibuto where we saw the land that Felito and Anna have for their “Africa on Fire� compound. It is there that there will be an orphanage, church, trade schools, and housing for missionaries. It is an incredible plan but there is still much work to be done. Please pray for the funding needed to finish the project as I know that God has amazing plans for it.
The church in Chibuto
We pitched our tents one last time that night and then left at 5am the next morning to return to the house in Maputo. So, after four days of no showers, little sleep, being sunburnt and rained on and tons of travel in a cramped truck, we arrived back home. I wouldn’t trade those days for anything. Seeing how God is working (and working in normal, everyday people) is something encouraging and leaves me wanting more.
Praise be to God!
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.â€� – Matthew 6:10
