A Memorable Mission Trip

We tried to post more pictures last week before our team left for Johannesburg, but blogger was acting up and wouldn’t let us post, so forgive us for the delay!!! We actually went down to South Africa with them for a week and we are now back in Nampula full of wonderful memories of our HBC team!! We already miss you and it is way to quiet around here! So here’s a trip down memory lane from last week.

Last post we showed you pics of our TLW rally and discipleship time. It was awesome to see God work in the lives of the Mozambican youth! On Sunday, we went to a local Baptist church. Each week, every group (women, children, youth, etc.) prepares a time of “special music” We knew that they would ask our group, so we prepared the night before to sing a song in their heart language. We sang Khavolinkana…which means “There’s No One Like Jesus.” The church loved it and sang along with us. They were also very gracious to all of the words we pronounced wrong!! The team loved it and so did the nationals. After church we went to Bamboo, a yummy place to eat just out of Nampula! Tony smoked us out when he cooked hot peppers with his "beef on a hot rock." Everyone thought it was funny until the peppers took their breath away! We were a table of coughing Americans. It was quite the scene! It's now a funny memory! Then we were off to the Sunday Market to buy Mozambique souvenirs. The market is quite an unique cultural experience. There are so many people selling and buying, it can be a little overwhelming. Everyone learned how to bargain for what they wanted!!! After the market, Tony and Roberta taught our marriage class and the rest of the team went prayer walking around Nampula. During the marriage class, the couples were encouraged to strive for a marriage that reflects Jesus and His church. Towards the end of the class, each couple had to TALK to each other about the ways they could reflect Jesus in their marriage. In the Mozambican culture, couples do not talk to each other, so this was a huge break through for them. It was definitely uncomfortable for them to do this, but we have heard a positive response from them. It was such a great day!

Monday, the team was split into 2 groups and rotated between a hospital ministry and a village ministry. At the hospital, the team was able to see the oppression of the people here. There are 2-3 families to a bed and the children are very ill. They were able to play with some of the children and make them smile during a hard time! In the village, the team shared Bible stories from creation to the time of Jesus. Teaching in the village gave the team, “I can’t believe I am in Africa!” realization! The nationals flocked to the story time and 4 people prayed to receive Jesus in their lives!! The majority of our team said that this was their favorite experience!

Tuesday, we had a time of rest and went to the beach to relax! Mozambique has the most beautiful beaches and so we took them to one of our favorite secluded beaches called Chocas Mar. It took about 2 ½ hours to get there. Initially, we were going to go snorkeling, however it was to windy to take a boat out. So we just played in the waves and slept in the sand. It was really needed!

Wednesday and Thursday we spent at the orphanage. The kids welcomed the team with decorations (see first pic on blog) and some songs. The team prepared the cutest crafts for them to make! The kids just loved our team! They loved playing sports, learning about TLW, making crafts, learning Christian songs in English, and dancing! The kids were full of smiles and laughter! It was Roberta’s birthday on Wednesday and the kids surprised her and baked her a cake and threw her a party. This party started with her having to cut and serve the cake…and then everyone danced! It was pretty hilarious to see a bunch of white people shaking their groove thing…the kids loved it though!
Especially when Tony showed his moves with the sprinkler!! Our team also had the challenge of getting a HUGE plate of rice and goat down. When it is really hot, you don’t feel like eating, especially a bunch of rice, but they did a good job! At the end, our team gave each orphan a “goody bag” and it was like Christmas.
They loved everything in their bags! Before they left, Victor gave us a tour and told us the vision God has given him for the orphanage and Dana gave the leaders some first aid training. The team really bonded with the children and I think they wanted to take some of the cute little orphans home with them! It was such a special time and we are really glad we spent 2 days there!!




Friday, we left for South Africa to go on a safari!! We saw lots of animals! We will have to post another blog later to show you some pictures! A highlight of our time was spending some much needed quality time with Kaitlyn and Karissa. It was such a wonderful time and they always kept us laughing! We are so glad that they stayed with us in our house! It felt like we had never been apart! They are such special, beautiful girls! What a blessing they are! It was so much fun to reconnect with our friends and family from HBC. What a blessing the whole HBC team was to us!!! They were a much needed source of encouragement and laughter! God had our team full of unique spiritual gifts that He put into great use while they ministered for Jesus in Mozambique. It was amazing to watch God work through our team! Thanks so much to each of you for coming and thanks to everyone that contributed to their mission expenses!

Thanks for all of your prayers for health, safety, and for God blessing our time with our HBC team. We all saw God work not only in the lives of the Mozambicans, but in us individually as well. We can all walk away from this incredible experience with a new perspective of God and His awesomeness!!!