One Bad Boat Ride

We are definitely back into the swing of things after returning from our training in Malawi. We have been very busy preparing for our church to come here for a mission trip. It has been a lot of work, but we are so excited and so it makes all of the work worth it! We can’t wait for them to come next month! Please pray for us as we plan for the things that we are going to do for that week they are here. Some of the things that we have planned to do are TLW, marriage seminar, sports ministry, orphan ministry, prayer walking, and evangelism in a local village. Please pray that God would glorify Himself during this time and that He would use us to show His mercy and goodness to the Makuwa people of Nampula.

We are still continuing our discipleship program with our TLW team. Although we are encouraged by their commitment to continue to come, the past couple of weeks have been a bit frustrating to us as we have struggled with our different learning styles. We come from a style where you actually have interaction and expression as you are teaching something. But here…we usually get nothing but blank stares and so it makes us think that nothing is getting through. We talked about this with one of our close Mozambican friends and he said that’s normal here and that they are actually listening and learning. We still have our doubts sometimes. We have to constantly remember that God’s Word does not return void and that it will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Please pray that we would continue to be faithful in sharing God’s Word with them and that we would trust the Holy Spirit to teach them and give them understanding of His Word.

We had a day off last week so we decided to drive out to Nacala to visit some other missionaries. While we were there everyone decided that it would be really fun to rent one of these old Mozambican sailboats (see 1st pic) and go out for a ride on the sea. What seemed to be a good/fun idea actually turned out to be an awful one as we were completely nauseous from sea sickness. The boat ride was about 5 hours long, and 4 of those hours we were on the verge of sending our breakfast into the sea! Then it got even worse as we ate hotdogs for lunch and were burping it up for about 12 hours straight! Ummmmmmmmmm! Hungry anyone? What were we thinking? Especially the mystery meat called hot dogs? The next few days we suffered with “sea legs,” nausea, and vertigo. Anyways, to say the least it was a miserable experience and one we don’t ever plan on having again!!!


On a happier note, we had a great experience this week. We were able to visit the main hospital here and see a ministry some Brazilians have started. By the grace of God they have been able to obtain a small room in the pediatrics section of the hospital where parents can take their kids and let them play. The room is definitely a “light” in a “dark” place. The ministry is still in the beginning stages, but it is going to really reach the nations in a compassionate way! While we were there we were able to walk around the pediatric ward. We saw so many heart wrenching things. These kids are so sick with diseases that are just eating away their bodies. It was sad to see. It’s also frustrating. Nampula lacks good medical care and they lack medical staff. So many times people are either forgotten or there aren’t enough hospital personnel. There are beds on the floors, and usually 2-3 kids to one bed. People line the halls with crying children. No one washes their hands, so you can only imagine how many other illnesses are spread during a hospital stay. We are very excited to be able to visit this ministry from time to time and help out. We hope to be able to take our church team there as well; it would be a great experience for them. Please pray that the hospital director will approve them to minister there in September.

We had another “girl party” with some of the older girls from the orphanage. We always have so much fun with them! They are such a blessing to be around. We played “SPOONS” with them. It was hilarious watching them fight for a spoon. It was great time of presents, cookies, games, and celebrating life!

And last but not least, we have some wonderful news about a miracle God worked! God is bringing Jenni's dad back to Nampula to do some ministry with us! We are SO EXCITED for this and can't wait for him to come back! This is such a wonderful gift from God and we feel so blessed to have this second opportunity of having Jenni's dad come visit us in Mozambique.

We thank you for all of your prayers, support, and interest in the ministries God has given us. We love you all!