Sunday, June 19th, was a beautiful day in Dondo, Mozambique! We were invited by our good friend, Nelson, (who is also like a son to us) to speak at the church he attends. Nelson is another young man who grew up in the orphanage of the missions base we had directed for a time in 2010. The walk was 1.25 miles round trip and thankfully not in the rain like the previous Sunday. As we got closer to the church, I began to feel Holy Spirit’s presence quite strongly. We were early; only 1 or 2 others were there at the time.
The funniest thing happened while we were waiting for others to arrive! There was a toddler, maybe 18 months to two years old who was walking outside near the church. I smiled and waved. She shrieked like she had seen the most terrifying thing in her life and took off running the other direction yelling for her mother. We all had a good belly laugh after that one!
When the worship service began, Holy Spirit’s presence was so strong that at times it was difficult to remain upright. He was making His presence known among others there as well. The fervent, sincere worship was refreshing. For the first time since we arrived in May, He gave me a word of knowledge. It was for a lady I didn’t know, and I gave it to her toward the end of the service. I could see her passionately worshipping throughout the service. It moved me to tears. It’s like I could feel God’s love for her. The word was well received and moved her greatly. What an honor to serve the King of Kings!
Jason shared about the importance of Christ being the foundation of our spiritual house, and Nelson interpreted. Afterwards two gentlemen came forward to accept Christ as their Savior. There is nothing more fulfilling in this world than to help lead the lost to the One who loves them more than anyone else ever can! Jason called the church to come and greet their new brothers-in-Christ, so everyone came up to greet them and shake their hands.
How we wish our American churches would do this! So often the call to salvation is treated like a solemn, private, almost shameful event where no one knows who just came into the Kingdom. Why not celebrate it for the occasion that it is and welcome our new brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ into their church family with introductions and open arms?
Our Mozambican brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ often want to learn a lot from Americans, but so many times it is we who need to learn from them. Relationships are the center of everything here. That’s how life should be everywhere. When we first started this ministry, the Lord kept impressing on Jason to focus on building relationships. Relationships are the heart of discipleship and the heart of the Gospel. It is relationship with the Father that leads to a saving faith.
You can watch Jason's sermon from that morning here:
