April 4, 2005 | Pemba Report
What can I say? I have been all over the world in the past five years. I have had the privilege of seeing great moves of God in Paraguay, Brazil, Thailand, Colombia and the list goes on. I can honestly say I have never seen anything like what I am seeing here in Mozambique. Before I go into what is going on in Musy's and my life, I wanted to thank everyone that has come behind us in getting us here. You have truly blessed our lives, and we will never be the same because of it. We will take everything that we are going to receive here and take it all over the world.
I arrived two weeks earlier than Musy. This gave me some time to get our house in order. Heidi built a new building that houses four families. She built the last house in the group for Musy and I. I had been praying for a bedroom with our own bathroom, and we got so much more. The day I got here, the paint in our new kitchen was drying. A kitchen is a huge blessing; this means that we don¬¼t have to share with other families (which is the norm here). We have a bedroom that fits us perfectly, and a front and back porch along with a small yard. I told Heidi that our house is a palace built by kings, she just laughed and apologized for the crooked walls.
I came with a global team. We had a great time, and they all got the full Mozambique experience. They worked so hard picking up trash, painting and ministering. It is always a blessing to see the team members as, one by one, they are getting broken for the poor. For some it is the first day, and for others it is as they are on the plane heading back to the USA.
Finally after two weeks, Musy arrived, and she has been here for a few days. We spent most of yesterday getting our house in order. There is construction going on all around us. We are getting our porch closed in to make it another room for us to spread out a little more. Musy has jumped in full steam. As I am writing she is helping out with hospitality. Pemba is becoming a hot spot and there are so many teams wanting to come here and see what God is doing.
I sat down with Heidi over lunch before Musy arrived and we talked about what she wanted us to do while we were here. Heidi asked me what I wanted to do. I started to tell her I just wanted to serve, and she stopped me mid-sentence. "Don¬¼t tell me you want to do any of that washing toilets stuff, just tell me where your heart is," she said. I had to stop and think for a second because she took the exact words I was going to say out of my mouth.
During my silence she jumped in and told me why she felt the Lord brought Musy and I to Mozambique. After about fifteen minutes of lots of tears and some talking, she told me that she wants us to focus on evangelism during our time here. So there you have it. We will be focusing on outreaches and power evangelism. I am looking forward to getting involved. Iris is giving us a time to settle in right now and get our house in order. So for the next few days we will be taking it easy.
PRAYER REQUESTS
TRUCK - I am looking to purchase a truck. Buying a vehicle here is nothing like getting one in the USA. Most all of what I am looking at is used and imported from Japan. From my conversation with Heidi and from what I have seen here, owning a vehicle is crucial. Please pray that the Lord directs us to an amazing truck that will meet all of our needs. Hopefully I am going to fly to Maputo within the next two weeks, find a truck and make the five-day drive up north.
TRANSITION - Making the shift is hard; Musy and I have been moving around a lot lately and no matter how much we know God is in the midst of it, it is still hard at times. Please pray for Grace during this transition time. We love you guys! Thank you for your prayers. I can't explain the feeling of knowing there are so many behind us.
Love, Will and Musy