The Beginnings
Last week Harvey came home after a busy day of ministry and said something to the effect of, "Today was a productive day. I actually feel like a missionary."
It seems ironic to say that after more than a year in Mozambique, we are finally beginning our ministry. As you probably know, we spent ten months in another city learning Portuguese, which was a necessary first step. We moved to Pemba in mid-February, but the first few weeks were spent settling in and setting up our house, and then we were gone almost all of April for meetings and vacation in South Africa.
As soon as we returned, Harvey was asked to help with disaster relief after Cyclone Kenneth hit Pemba and the surrounding area. Next we had to renew our work permits, which took a few days of collecting documents and dealing with immigration. We thank the Lord that this process went about as quickly as possible once we turned in our documents and paid.
(Side note: You know you're a missionary/expat when you're playing make-believe with your three-year-old and you ask him, "Where are we going today?" and he says, "I think we're going to immigration," ha!)
The following week, we were able to begin to focus on the work we came here to do. Harvey set up a meeting with our two local church leaders to plan a weekly ministry schedule. He had already met and had discussions with them previously, so we knew they shared our vision of church planting in Pemba, but Harvey was pleased that they were also on board with the schedule he had in mind after much thought and prayer.
Last Sunday I was able to meet with the ladies in our mission church to discuss women's ministry and starting a women's Bible study. They also seemed excited for these opportunities.
So here is an overview of our plans. Harvey will lead three English clubs each week, two at our local mission church and one at the mother church in town. The English clubs are open to anyone in the church or community who wants to practice English through conversation with a native speaker. We see the clubs as a tool for the church to reach the community. Our hope is that they will draw into the church people who might not otherwise go. Just in the first week, there have been eight to nine people per session, most of whom were not already part of the church! (In the first session Harvey taught them to play Uno, and the students loved it, especially when they got to play a skip card.) Harvey will also be involved in teaching Bible studies and leading evangelism and leadership trainings throughout the week, as well as preaching and teaching Sunday School once or twice a month.
In a few weeks, I will be hosting a women's tea, which will be an opportunity for the women of the church and me to get to know one another. In addition, in June we will begin a weekly women's Bible study at the mission church. I will teach, but I told the ladies that I'd love for some of them to teach as well. I want to share my knowledge and insight with them, but I also want to learn from their wisdom, and I want to train and empower them through the Holy Spirit to lead.
These plans are an answer to prayer, and we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to implementing them. These are the beginnings of our ministry in Pemba, and we thank the Lord that this time has come. We know that some of these plans will likely fail, but we have to start somewhere, and we trust that some of them will bear fruit beyond what we expect or hope for. We also want to share these verses in gratitude with those of you who keep up with us through this blog and who faithfully pray for us:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1: 3-6
We don't have many ministry pics from Pemba yet, but here are a few pics of other things we've been up to during the past month:
Judah was invited to an Easter party and egg hunt (which had been postponed due to the cyclone). She found lots of chocolate for all of us!
Packing flour and rice to send to Cyclone Kenneth victims
It seems ironic to say that after more than a year in Mozambique, we are finally beginning our ministry. As you probably know, we spent ten months in another city learning Portuguese, which was a necessary first step. We moved to Pemba in mid-February, but the first few weeks were spent settling in and setting up our house, and then we were gone almost all of April for meetings and vacation in South Africa.
As soon as we returned, Harvey was asked to help with disaster relief after Cyclone Kenneth hit Pemba and the surrounding area. Next we had to renew our work permits, which took a few days of collecting documents and dealing with immigration. We thank the Lord that this process went about as quickly as possible once we turned in our documents and paid.
(Side note: You know you're a missionary/expat when you're playing make-believe with your three-year-old and you ask him, "Where are we going today?" and he says, "I think we're going to immigration," ha!)
The following week, we were able to begin to focus on the work we came here to do. Harvey set up a meeting with our two local church leaders to plan a weekly ministry schedule. He had already met and had discussions with them previously, so we knew they shared our vision of church planting in Pemba, but Harvey was pleased that they were also on board with the schedule he had in mind after much thought and prayer.
Last Sunday I was able to meet with the ladies in our mission church to discuss women's ministry and starting a women's Bible study. They also seemed excited for these opportunities.
So here is an overview of our plans. Harvey will lead three English clubs each week, two at our local mission church and one at the mother church in town. The English clubs are open to anyone in the church or community who wants to practice English through conversation with a native speaker. We see the clubs as a tool for the church to reach the community. Our hope is that they will draw into the church people who might not otherwise go. Just in the first week, there have been eight to nine people per session, most of whom were not already part of the church! (In the first session Harvey taught them to play Uno, and the students loved it, especially when they got to play a skip card.) Harvey will also be involved in teaching Bible studies and leading evangelism and leadership trainings throughout the week, as well as preaching and teaching Sunday School once or twice a month.
In a few weeks, I will be hosting a women's tea, which will be an opportunity for the women of the church and me to get to know one another. In addition, in June we will begin a weekly women's Bible study at the mission church. I will teach, but I told the ladies that I'd love for some of them to teach as well. I want to share my knowledge and insight with them, but I also want to learn from their wisdom, and I want to train and empower them through the Holy Spirit to lead.
These plans are an answer to prayer, and we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to implementing them. These are the beginnings of our ministry in Pemba, and we thank the Lord that this time has come. We know that some of these plans will likely fail, but we have to start somewhere, and we trust that some of them will bear fruit beyond what we expect or hope for. We also want to share these verses in gratitude with those of you who keep up with us through this blog and who faithfully pray for us:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1: 3-6
We don't have many ministry pics from Pemba yet, but here are a few pics of other things we've been up to during the past month:
Judah was invited to an Easter party and egg hunt (which had been postponed due to the cyclone). She found lots of chocolate for all of us!
Mother's Day lunch at Nautilus restaurant on the beach
Ben's school basketball team (with the younger team)
Asher playing outside church with friends
Judah's creativity on display: Barbie lounge chair made from sock packaging cardboard, clothes made from balloons
At a women's fellowship with other missionaries on a friend's rooftop deck
Gracie's debut performance at open mic night at a local restaurant (she was asked to return to the stage for an encore!)
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