June 2013
“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” - Psalm 93:3
Dear Friends,
W “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of our Lord. Luke 4:18-19
ho do you imitate? Who do you long to be like? Who is your hero, your inspiration? When we look at these people, we likely look to those who are strong in character where we are weak – to those who are succeeding where we only dare dream of attempting – to those who are serving where we have no capacity to serve. And yet, something within them identifies with us – calls out to us – challenges us – give us hope. “Come on! I encourage you! If I can do it, so can you!” And so it is this same hope that makes us see what it is about them that is so special – what do they do that enables them to inherit the promises? Maybe if I implement the same practices, I too, can make a difference in my sphere of influence! Scripture encourages us to
imitate those who are successful in the Faith. To learn from and to act on the lessons they give through example and godly lifestyle. When we think of all that God has provided for us, Victory on Calvary, His precious Word to be kept in our heart and mouth, the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us, heroes of the faith to extol us, what it is that stops us from acting out, stepping forward, and fulfilling our destiny with confidence? Surrender. Sweet, total surrender. More precisely, the lack of it – we are so eager for that touch of the Lord, that evidence of his presence in our lives, that we live more for that moment than for all the moments in between. If we surrender to Jesus, and dedicate all those moments in between to Him, sacrificing them as moments of opportunity to bring Him glory, t h e n those
moments which we long for will become more common as we, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. So let us seize the day that the Lord has put in front of us. He has given us the season we are in, right now, for a purpose, a training ground, a learning curve, another brick in the wall that builds our destiny. Let us not long for that far off destiny, but concentrate on building it right now, through what we are in the midst of, persevere earnestly, with full assurance of hope, faith and patience, never forgetting that it is Christ in us, the hope of Glory, who enables us to do all things. We thank you for your love and support and pray you enjoy our Victory Report this month!
Nampula Wa Yesu
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“These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer... my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.� Isaiah 56:7
tarting with the Nampula Wa Yesu Inauguration and ending with the Vocational Centre Graduation, June has been full of non-stop excitement and plenty to keep us busy! It is such a privilege to be involved in what God is doing throughout Mozambique, and what He continues to do. Inauguration service for Nampula Wa Yesu was a special time and all the team pulled together to make the event so memorable. Pastor Mariano gave a good word and the worship team did a great job. All the people attending were full of joy and celebrating! Our favourite part was when Mai Ellie called on the church to commit to Pastor Armando and Pastor Lurdes, blessing them and supporting them in their pioneering work in Nampula and other churches around Mozambique. They really give so much of themselves to the vision God has placed within the whole of Afrika Wa Yesu, and they set about the work with PASSION and determination! We travelled back to Nacala with Pastor Rick and Pastor Margie, from Faith Faimly Church in Shiloh, Illinois, who had been ministering in Nampula and were stopping in Nacala and Inhaminga on their way down to Chimoio for the Chimoio wa Yesu inauguration! They are a very precious couple and we enjoyed getting to know Pastor Margie. Team meals, jokes and tours around town were part of the fun we shared with them, but we really enjoyed the spiritual encouragement each of them gave during student and team ministry time. Rod and Ellie stayed with us too and it was a very quick two days and we were sad to see them all leave!
Visiting Team...
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he morning they left, the Reetz’ were preparing for a team of six from Dallas, Texas. It’s been a while since there has been a team, so we were all happy to meet them and be a part of their missions experience. They imparted to the Vocational students, encouraging them to stand firm in their convictions in the workplace, or marketplace, and sharing from personal experience ways in which they have made a stand for Jesus at work. It is important for the students to see that it is possible to make a stand and also be successful! Their faith is built. The team was a very pleasant group and the kids loved hanging out with them, and so did we! Thanks, Jeff and Nicky, for hosting this team, and thanks guys for coming!
Twelfth Graduation!
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raduation this term was special – counting back, we realise that this is our twelfth class of graduates and that we’ve handed out certificates to over the last 6 years! We’ve had opportunity to disciple over 150 students from six different provinces! What an honour. The students came in singing a new song to the beat of ‘Waka Waka – This time for Africa’! We changed the words to fit and had fun with it.
Happily, our Zimbabwean friends now living in Nampula, were able to come and share at both the dinner and the graduation ceremony the next day. Joyce gave such a strong admonition regarding the scrip-
It is so precious to learn of students on the field implementing what has been taught in the school - we praise God for His faithfulness!
ture found in Zechariah 4:10, challenging us all not to despise our small beginnings, because the small beginnings are what make way for much greater things in God. They are our training grounds! Clarence also cautioned us to “seek first the kingdom of God”. Being in business is about making a profit. But make sure you are making profit in two areas – firstly, the most important area, is to profit in souls. Secondly, make profit in money, to look after your family and extend the kingdom of God – to ultimately profit in souls some more! You can do both. It was such an encouragement for the students to see a Christian family operating in business with Christ at the centre of their marriage, relationship with children, and their business. We had a lovely time of fellowship with this precious family as they brought their three children with for the weekend, all the kids had a blast together. In the weeks to come Jeosafa will be going out on a follow-up trip to Milange and Magiga. We will also be finalising our Plumbing and Electrics course and preparing for next term’s ‘Business Only’ course, which will host those who already have an income but need instruction on how to manage their work and finances. We are in anticipation of the Annual General Conference time at Inhaminga, the last two weeks of July, which will be an anointed time of impartation and impaction for church members, church leaders, and team members alike. We will also be celebrating Mikayla’s 4th birthday! We look forward to sharing more with you and hope you have been blessed by this letter. Together for His Glory,
Chris and Deborah, Gabriel, Ashira and Mikayla
and all at the Afrika Wa Yesu Vocational Centre
Joyce sharing at the Graduation Banquet, the Official Ceremony followed the next day.