The Nacala Church

A few Sundays ago at church during the sermon, the pastor stepped down from the pulpit and began asking a question for the congregation. I tried to pay close attention to his Portuguese so I could try to glean what he was asking--Mozambicans are not afraid to put American missionaries on the spot at any time, and I didn't want to embarrass myself in case he called on me. As he finished his question, which he said he wanted one father and one mother in the congregation to answer, his wife, who was sitting on the end of my row, looked over at me, and quietly but insistently said, "Sister Jeni?"

I mumbled a few words, which I'm not sure she understood, but after a father in the congregation stood up and gave his answer before the church, she raised her hand and said in Portuguese for everyone to hear, "Sister Jeni has an answer!" Then all eyes were on me.

Thankfully, I understood more or less what the question was, and I echoed the words that the father had said, adding a couple of my own. I was met with lots of nods and the pastor's affirmation. Phew, crisis averted.

From 2004-2006, Harvey and I were missionaries in Angoche, Mozambique, where there was little evangelical work and no Baptist church. Our job was to sow seeds to plant a church among the people there. Since there was no church for us to attend on Sundays, we had "house church" in our home, just the two of us. And there were no church activities or fellowships for us to participate in. Thus, Harvey didn't preach in Portuguese, we didn't sing Portuguese hymns or choruses, and we didn't pray in Portuguese much at all--we had little need to. Now we live in Nacala, where there is an established Baptist church, and we attend every Sunday and have become involved in the life of the church.

Our girls and Asher with new friends Sandra and Tulia at church

Gracie walking in with the youth choir

Gracie performing with the youth choir

Asher praying in church

I was recently invited to an event called the "tirar bebe," which is a Christian coming-out ceremony for a newborn at the home of her family. It includes reading Scripture, giving advice to the new mother, praying over the baby, and then bringing her out of the house for the first time. After this, there is singing and dancing (with the baby), giving gifts, and eating a meal together. It was a beautiful, meaningful experience for me, one that pushed me out of my comfort zone, as I was expected to share Scripture, pray, and answer questions related to motherhood--all in Portuguese! Oh, and of course I had to take my turn dancing with baby Monica. I did my best, and I pray that God uses the experience to instruct me in the culture and grow me in boldness and confidence in Him to speak into women's lives here.

Rosa, the pastor's wife, holding baby Monica as we prepare to sing

We placed our baby gifts in the center of the circle on the mat.

Giving the ladies a ride back to the church
after the "tirar bebe": we pack 'em in!

Since then we have joined the church in an evangelism outreach, in which we had opportunities to share the Gospel (with language help from church members) in the neighborhood around the church and saw several people confess Christ as Savior and Lord. Harvey also recently led in serving the Lord's Supper at church. His Portuguese wasn't perfect, but everyone ate the bread and drank the juice at the right time, so we considered it a success!

Harvey sharing from 1 Corinthians 11
as he leads the Lord's Supper (Ceia do Senhor)

Hosting a church youth fellowship at our beach

Harvey joining in the youth meeting

We are grateful to be able to be a part of Nacala Baptist Church because of the things we are learning about local church and culture and because of the friendships we are cultivating there. Harvey has especially enjoyed his conversations with Pastor Alberto Carlos (who is also our main language teacher) about pastoral ministry. We are praying God will use this partnership to prepare us for our work with the Baptist church in Pemba and the pastor there.

And next time, when the pastor goes off script and asks an impromptu question, I hope the church calls on Harvey! ;)