The Pastor's Wife

Beach baptism day

Ilda was baptized in 2019, shortly after our family moved to Pemba. We stood on the shore of Pemba Bay and watched as the pastor guided her under the water and back up. Ilda had grown up in the Catholic church, but it never really meant anything to her, so eventually she stopped going. A few years ago, her brother invited her to go the the Baptist church, and she agreed. There she heard the Gospel preached, and the Spirit touched her heart and led her to receive and follow Jesus. She began attending baptism classes led by the pastor of the Baptist church. Through those classes, Ilda got to know the pastor, Acácio, whose wife had died a few years earlier. The Lord brought the two of them together; they became engaged, and they were married in November 2019.

Ilda and Acácio on their wedding day,
in the church ceremony

Ilda and Acácio with his son and daughter,
after the civil ceremony

Now Ilda is the pastor's wife—the only Baptist pastor's wife in Pemba. Because of her role as pastor's wife, women from the local church look to her for leadership and example. But she has been a believer for only a year or two, and so far, it appears that, apart from the baptism class, no one has walked alongside her to disciple her. Some of the most basic and familiar stories of the Bible are new to her, and she doesn't yet know the books of the Bible or where to find them. In addition, Ilda never completed school and as a result has limited literacy. Many of the women in the church are more educated and literate than she is, so it would be difficult for her to teach them or be in a position of leadership over them.

In addition, the truth is that, like Ilda, most of the women in the church have not grown up in the church and therefore do not have a solid understanding of the Scriptures and how their truths apply to life, how to live out their faith. It's easy for me to take for granted the years and years of education in the church and in my home that I received as a child and teenager. These women do not have that to draw upon; their faith is immature, not necessarily for lack of effort but for lack of opportunity. So at this point, although ideally Ilda would be discipled by another Mozambican woman, a believer who is more mature in the faith, there just aren't many around who are equipped to do that.

With some of the ladies from the church,
including Ilda, third from left

This is where I come in—where, by God's grace, I have something to offer. I can pour into Ilda and women like her, give them an opportunity to grow and mature in their faith through my teaching and my example—an opportunity they might not have if I weren't here. My hope is that over time, as I disciple Ilda and others, they will grow and mature and then pour into others who pour into others so that I am no longer needed. In missionary-speak, we call this "reproduction" (a concept Paul describes in 2 Timothy 2:2).

When I look back on my two and a half years in Mozambique, I would say that so far I have not been successful in this type of reproduction. This is due to various reasons, some of which are my fault and some of which are not, and I won't go into those here. But I'm not giving up. In fact, I see an opportunity with Ilda, a potential to reproduce myself (a former pastor's wife) in her, though it won't be easy.

Toward the beginning of this year, I had planned to begin meeting with Ilda weekly to lead her through a study for pastors' wives. We made a plan to meet, but she had to cancel our first meeting, and then, well ... COVID. We stopped all church gatherings for a while, including discipleship groups. But recently restrictions have loosened and churches have opened, and I felt comfortable inviting Ilda to meet with me again. So about a month ago, we began our study together.

Ilda has expressed a desire in her heart to learn and grow in her faith in order to be able to teach and lead other women. The obstacles are her lack of education, lack of spiritual formation, and her health, which has recently been fragile. So in spite of our mutual desire to study together and equip her for ministry, we have met together only twice in the past five weeks. And I know that her health issues could continue to  make meeting together regularly a challenge.

But it is worth the trouble and worth the wait. Pemba needs women like Ilda who will work to equip themselves to lead and train other women. I truly believe that if she can become a leader, any woman can, and if anyone has the power to overcome the obstacles she is facing, it is our powerful, good, and loving God! 

So I will continue praying for Ilda and for God to give us more opportunities to meet together. I will pray for wisdom to know how to disciple her effectively, which might necessitate lessons in literacy in addition to Bible study. I will pray for a divine intervention to help her improve in reading and writing and give her confidence to lead. I will pray that we make progress together so that Ilda is equipped to begin leading and discipling other women by the time I leave for our stateside assignment next April or May. I would love it if you would join me in these prayers for her.

In 2 Corinthians 3:4–5, Paul writes of his ability to do the work of ministry to which God has called him: "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant." May this be my testimony, and may my legacy be the same testimony in the life of Ilda, my fellow pastor's wife, and many after her.

Pastor Acácio and Ilda with the volunteer team
from Quail Springs Baptist Church, February 2020