Hello to all! It has been a time of blessed ministry here in Mozambique over the last three weeks and have done wonderful things for the people here by God's power and grace. This blog is a summery of sorts for what the LORD has allowed me to do since I arrived here and the immpressions that I have taken in and grown in while being here.
My ministry location for Mozambiuqe was an orphange called Jacob's Well, in a village called Mafambisee, where a blind man named Peter ran a shelter and child school whose size was approximaitly 60 children. It was such a mutual blessing to work with these children, they were always happy and ready to play and amazinly ready to learn as well. At times single classes would last well over an hour and the children were so responsive and willing to learn that it made teaching them really fun.
We were able to teach them so much as well. Teaching them bible stories, children bible songs, basic english, that they soaked in like a sponge, as well as, "technical drawing" (Peter's term) where we would have art sessions to teach the children how to draw shapes, about themselves and convey to them how beautiful they are made in God's image and how much Jesus loves them. It was really memorable in that the song I first recommended we sing to the children was "this little light of mine"–was the one that as we were literally saying our final goodbye to and as we were walking away for the last time the children wanted to sing it together again..in english! I feel confindent that they are still singing it.
While also at Jacob's Well we regualary in the afternoon would go on prayer walks and visits, where we would walk MILES to a local hospital and to church families homes to pray for them and help them with much needed assistance. I know in doing this we were such a huge encourgament for the local church in Mafambisee. The hospital visits, walking in to sickbeds were women were in pain and men were wasting away from maleria, AIDS, and other diseases that they did not have medicine for was profoundly humbling. It made me realize how gracious God has been to me and has forced me not to worry about things that I used to think important, but really are very petty.
I was able to speak to multiple people about their walk with the LORD, what they were going through, what was troubling them the most. What they were studing right now in God's word as well as just getting to know them on a personal level. I found all of them very devoted to our LORD and they were all very hungry for his word. I know at times I can uncessingly talk about bible stories and cool bible facts and at times it can be information overload, but for those that I would get an hour or two to spend time with. We would talk parables, commandments, and stories nonstop. And all of us would come away edified and encouraged. Those that I talked to I found to be very spirittual and have very faithful prayer lives. Also for all of them, when they were taught the grace and power of our Savior were fully baptized.
I also want to give a special thanks to Ernest and Cleo Lomax for giving me two small travel bibles to distribute to those that need them!! I found studying with the two men that I gave bibles to was one of the most fruitful ways that I was able to encourage the young men at the orphanges we worked at. Getting my hands on more bibles in the ministries we travel to will be a top priority for me in the months to come!
Also during our first Sunday morning in Dondo, I was asked to lead the service at the local church. It was such a breathtaking expierence. Worship was intense, heartfelt, and candid. The people, all of them, were passionate to be their. They sang LOUDLY, proclaimed HALLELUJAH AND AMEN constanty, and listened intently to the lesson that we gave to them. It was a joyful experience to be with God's people. The lesson that I chose to give was of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness for 40 years and how his people would continuelly complain and at times give up on God when things got hard, but everytime God was with them and would rescue them from their deprivations. And I finished with reading the great commandment found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. And what was really cool was that while I would speak the story to the people, my squad mates would act out every scene I focused on. Whether it was the Israelites running from the Egyptian army, people complaining for lack of water, people dying because of deadly serpants in the camp, or shouting praises because God helped them, the message God gave me was backed up by an Oscar winning performance that had the congregation watching and listening intenty with three ovations!! throughout the lesson. I felt very blessed to be apart of it.
My team of seven was able to be a blessing to the leaders at the Dondo orhanage on the days we would remain at camp and not go to our regular ministry at Jacob's Well. We would help with the cooking, cleaning up fallen mangos. (fresh mangos were eeevvverywhere here) and painting rooms, as well as helping raise roof trusses for a building under construction.
One of the families that we would walk around and pray for in Mafambisee was greatly in need. An elderly couple who was raising and housing two grandchildren, except that the grandfather was completely blind from cataracts or something similiar to it, and was very crippled to the point that he had a very difficult time even walking, while the grandmother was crippled in one of her knees so that she had to walk while using a water jug to balance her body. The childern who were around 5 and 8 years old would then in turn help to take care of the grandparents, and would daily walk to get gallons of water for the household to live on. My teammate Sarah, has a video of the familie that I hope we can show all of you soon!!! But on our last day in Mozambique, my team of 7 was able to round up all the personal money that we had and go to the local market and by them 20 kg of rice and 5kg or beans along with salt so that they would have food for the near future. It was such a humbing expierence to help this family. They love God, go to church, and are helped by their faith family, but if you could see Mafambisee, the villagers surrounding them are not mcuh better off materially than they were. While we were doing these things for them, Peter reminded my and Sarah that, we should always do more than well wish and prayer if we can, but to really help those in need by helping them with what they need the most! He told us what the book of James had to say about helping the needy and I can say that I was taught alot of life changing things that day while working with Peter and my teammates. My brother Andy and me also helped to weed out their small garden of corn so that they can hopefully harvest some corn in the coming weeks.
As it is difficult to write about all the love and fellowship our team has shown in the last three weeks I hope this blog gives you and idea about what I have been doing here in Dondo and Mafambisee. I just want to say thanks again to everyone who has been apart of me arriving here in Africa and has supported me and prayed for me while doing ministry. I KNOW that your prayers have aided me and blessed me and I just want to say that you are in my prayers as well. May God contiue to bless you and keep you! I hope to have more blogs soon!
Brother in Christ,
Matthew
My brother and friend Brad. He really knows how to lead worship and get our squad praising our Father.
The sign outside John's house at Kedesh. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Rafael. A young man who really knows alot about Christ and being a disciple. We were able to study together multiple times.
