“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” - Psalm 95:6
Sep/Oct 2013
Dear Friends,
I “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
nteresting... the Portuguese word for ‘worship’ is ‘adorar’. To adore. To regard with deep and often rapturous love. To pay divine honour to; worship. We adore beautiful new babies as they grant us a smile. We adore our soul mates as we gaze into their eyes. We adore our Saviour as we meditate on his love for us, and his promises towards us. We adore Him simply for Who he is... unconditionaly, wholeheartedly, overwhelmingly, without holding anything back and without expecting anything in return – we adore him as He remains our most magnificent obsession. Oh come let us adore Him... Christ, the King. That fast-paced time of year rapidly approaches, where man seeks ever more to adore self above adoring their King and Maker - let’s hold Him in that place of awe and reverence in our hearts – until the adoration seeps out of your spirit
and soaks into your soul, and the balm of Gilead covers all your fears and doubts as you remain faithfully, wholly, His.
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s we’ve been walking through our practical courses the past few weeks, we walk with awareness that our work is an act of worship from our hands and hearts to the throne of God. The attitude of our heart as we work will determine how much of His glory is reflected in the job we do. The attitude with which we sow affects the harvest which we will reap. If we allow ourselves to trust in the promises He has set before us, to rely completely on Him, to find our identity only in Him, then we release within ourselves the ability to serve Him wholeheartedly, to do all our work as unto God, and not unto men, releasing the Kingdom of Heaven through our acts of work and worship.
D.I.Y. Breakthrough!
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Chris terrorising the students again... they love it!
hree months are over already - as we write to you we are in the midst of preparing the graduation ceremony for the DIY class, which is made up mostly of ministry members. The vision behind this class is to enable the ministry to keep running in excellence practically as well as spiritually, as many small things are left unattended to simply because there is no knowledge of HOW to fix them. Truthfully, many times there is a lack of understanding as to WHY we should fix things and carry on in excellence and to a high standard. We have attempted to answer both these questions in the DIY course which has equipped team members and church leaders with practical computer skills, basic plumbing, electrics, repairs, and painting skills. It is marvelous to look at the fruit that is being produced and see how God’s plan for us is NEVER to maintain or sustain a certain level, but is always for us to improve, from glory to glory, for things to keep getting better and better and for us to learn more and more as we have abundant life in Jesus. Josias António Inácio: “I have been so blessed during my time here. All the teachers impacted me greatly in spirit, soul and body. My spirit was awakened, my soul was filled and my body was given work through the practical and theoretical classes. I am not leaving empty; I am carrying change for Mozambuque and especially Inhaminga. Thank you very much for your dedication, time and patience. Now we have work for our hands.”
Pastor with a Paintbrush! Mariano already has a ‘honey-do’ list from his wife waiting for him at home...
Jossue José Jemu: “First I want to thank God for all that He did for me, I really liked the course. My best parts were computer classes, painting and Farming God’s Way. Everything that has happened I felt the same way. All the teaching counted greatly towards my growth, as well as the community in general. I liked very much your company, serving together every day, and I am thankful that we will share the same heart forever.”
It’s not quite done yet... but there will be fresh new pictures in the next newsletter! Watch this space!
Mussa Bacar: “What really make a change for me, day after day, was learning to see the gap/opportunity and fill it; every day I have opportunities set before me, and I need to open my eyes to them and not just look at them, but do something to fill them. Farming God’s way was also a very exciting topic for me, and I am now looking forward to having my own field and make changes in the community. My thanks are never enough to God for all I got here but what and how I am doing things from now on will describe how grateful I am to God and you as well. ”
Carpentry Continues...
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own at the Carpentry Centre a hive of activity has been producing tool boxes, windows, and now chairs. Each student has made their own toolbox to carry home the tools they have been invested with, and Pedro continues to work well with the students. This is his first term as a carpentry instructor, and with a bit more practice he will learn how to truly bring the best out of each student, discipling them in the spirit of excellence. We are so pleased he has responded well to the instruction and his new place within the Afrika Wa Yesu Team. Preparations are underway for the graduation ceremony of both classes - and although the DIY students will go home, the carpenters still have another month to go, yet they will still share the same ceremony. This is easier logistically since so many of our team will be travelling by the time the end of November comes along!
Atumane Paulino Assane: “Since I came here God has changed my life so much through SOZO. I learned many things through the English and Farming classes, and how to make a table, chair, tool box, oilstone box and more. I thank God for looking after me, no pain touched me here, I thank you for the tools I received, and know that God will bless everyone who gave us the materials in Jesus’ name. Thank you.” Torismo Xavier Mónca : “I thought I came to the Vocational Centre to learn how make something from wood for myself. In truth, there was physical change here, but also spiritual change! I thought that the devotions stopped in Inhaminga but it was not so. Here too we have devotions daily and this is very good. For me too it was very good that the mission had a lot of patience, I thank you for your patience because if you didn’t we would not learn anything. When I go back to my district they will say with certainty that God exists! They will say, “Torismo knows God, he went to study and today he pays his tithes, he looks after his family and himself. He is blessed of God. He has been raised up, and this is what happens to people who study the Bible. This is my testmony of things that have touched my heart. Baptista Eugidio Baptista: “This time has been so good for me. I didn’t think that I could come here to Nacala, but now my testimony is big because I am getting more wisdom because of this time. I want to thank the people who are here, helping with teaching. My life is being transformed. I am very happy because I am here. I know that this time has been very challenging but it has been a good time. I am very happy for the Holy Spirit who gave me wisdom to make things. I want to say thank you very much to God and to the team for the teaching I have received here.”
Farming God’s Way
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t the beginning of the month Deborah took a field trip to Ripale, an area outside of Nampula where a training facility called Ebenezer Agri-College has opened, teaching Farming God’s Way. She went with Alvaro and Mariano, and a great time was had by all as we met the leaders of the school and were shown around the fields. The apprentices and agricultural teacher even demonstrated the basic principles of Farming God’s way by showing us how to put in a Well-Watered Garden. It was wonderful to hear the heart of the vision that this organisation has for the poorest of the poor, teaching farming practices that encourage good stewardship of the land God has given us while also producing an optimal harvest.
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t is our passion that the churches throughout Mozambique will grasp a hold of these concepts, enabling the people to live a full abundant life while also extending the Kingdom of God. Upon returning, Deborah started teaching the FGW principles in night classes with all the students. The response has been remarkable. All the students are attentive and fascinated with the idea of ‘not leaning on our own understanding’, which speaks to the old ways of farming that we’ve learnt from the generations before, and instead acknowledging God in all our ways, so that He can direct our paths. They have been full of questions and it has been very encouraging to be able to impart this vision to them. To read more about Farming God’s Way and the principles and methods they promote, visit their website at www.farming-gods-way.org.
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huge, heartfelt ‘thank you’ goes out to all who have been so supportive of the Vocational Centre and our vision. Your prayers and encouragement are very important to us and we are blessed to be in contact with you.
Together for His Glory, Chris and Deborah, Gabriel, Ashira and Mikayla and all at the Afrika Wa Yesu Vocational Centre
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