Mozambique Trip Update

I know that I said that I would update on Sunday, however, in Mozambique, the internet is less than predictable.  Obviously, we made it to Maxixe safely, and we are all settled in.
Sunday, we spent the day between two house churches that are newly established.  Each was unique and it was really exciting to hear Christ proclaimed in a language that I cannot understand.  Although our language barriers were extensive, we were welcomed with open arms and a loving spirit.  The second church we visited (Elizabeth’s village) was a lot of fun.  Scott calls them the “Dancing Church.”  This was seen to be completely true when we showed up and found nearly 30 people dancing and singing their hearts out.  When it was time to go, the village presented our team with a gift of rice to bring back to Houston.  Seeing this really made me think about the sacrifice that even this must have been.  They dwell in woven grass huts and they are giving us rice…  it was astounding and made me think about the woman in Mark 12 that gave two small coins and it was all that she had….  Even though this offering was small, Jesus was pleased.  It was not the dollar value that pleased Jesus…  It was the heart behind it.  These amazing people demonstrated that they have truly Christ like hearts.

We kicked off our camp yesterday with a bang.  The students that we have are AMAZING!  They are some of the most fun loving, sweet and compassionate people I have ever met.  It is one of the coolest things to sit and watch them playing and laughing with a vitality that is rarely seen among our culture.  I believe that part of this is due to their lack of mind numbing things like Blackberries, iPhones, Wii, Playstation, and satellite television…  It does not matter what the students have at their disposal… they will make a game out of it.  As I left the campgrounds to type this, I watched some of the students playing a “volleyball-esque” game with a little bouncy ball (and they were having a BLAST!)

We have divided the students into four teams, each led by some of our team.  We have the Green Team (Vuvuzela Verde), Red Team (Red Hots), Blue Team (Blu*), Orange Team (Orangers).  Each team has come up with a chant and a song.  These will come in very handy when our competitive games begin.  We have all designed t-shirts that we will wear throughout the duration of the camp.  This was a BIG hit last year, and it has proven to be just as popular this year.  Each t-shirt is a work in progress, and it is not unusual to see the students add to their shirts multiple times each day.

Pray for our time with the students.  We have MANY opportunities to talk with the students, but sometimes the language barrier makes it intimidating to strike up a conversation about the LORD.  Pray that our team will overcome language barriers with the help of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus will be magnified as we fade into the background.

We are here for HIM…  it is HIS name and HIS renown that we are here to proclaim.  Pray that hearts will be softened to HIS message and that some will be chosen to be called son’s and daughters of GOD MOST HIGH!!!

I look forward to sharing some more stories of what the LORD has been doing, but I am not going to put a day on it!!    I will update whenever I am able.

in HIM,

matt