The building is dilapidated, the carpet frayed, many of the once comfortable chairs missing or torn. A pair of bare light bulbs hang suspended from what looks like a clothesline strung across the front of the stage. The electric sockets have long since been ripped out, replaced by a patchwork of cables held together with sticky tape. A curious odour lingers that defies the most determined housewife. And yet this is where every Sunday morning we meet with the living God.

Studio 333 hasn't been used as a cinema for a number of years, but we readily saw its potential as a venue for our English speaking church service. It was spacious, a convenient landmark in the centre of Tete, and it was available for rent. We decided from the very beginning to target English-speakers, there being a surprising number of migrant workers from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Our thinking was to launch a second Portuguese-speaking service once this first meeting was up and running. We paid three months rent up front, with an option to renew, and set out spreading the word among the non-Mozambican communities.

We started holding services in the middle of November and on the whole these have gone remarkably well. Numbers are growing, week on week, and a very definite core group is forming. Then two weeks ago, someone threw a spanner into the works. We were making preparations to launch the Portuguese service when Pastor João went to see the landlord for Studio 333 to confirm that we wished to renew. To our considerable surprise the landlord informed us that he had promised the building to another group and that we would have to vacate. In spite of repeated negotiations, we have been unable to obtain a change of mind. Consequently the launch of the second service has been put on hold until we change premises, and we can only hope there will not be too much confusion in all the handover. But then nobody ever claimed that church planting was easy!

As long term readers of these newsletters will know, one of my greatest passions is for training. It has been said, "The only one thing worse than training your people and have them leave is not training them and have them stay." Our desire is that when the time comes that we as missionaries move on from Tete, the church we leave behind will be strong and knowledgeable, fully equipped to carry out the great commission. At the end of January we moved our monthly training seminar from Samoa, where the majority of our rural congregations are to be found, to Moatize, a small town only 10 miles from Tete. The reason for the move is that the rains have now come in force and several of the rivers near Samoa are in flood and hence impassable. We offered to pay the bus fare for as many of our church leaders from Samoa who were able to travel down, and we also invited churches in the immediate locality. In the event 41 church leaders attended the January seminar which was greatly encouraging.

The Moatize church was also able to show off its brand new latrine, completed only days before the meeting. The men of Moatize have worked extremely hard alongside a local builder. And it was with justifiable pride that Pastor Jolinho extolled the health benefits of a ventilated pit latrine and encouraged other churches to get on board with this project. You can watch a video clip of the construction of the first of these latrines by clicking on the Memorable page of this web site

In order for people to grow in their Christian faith they need to have access to the Bible. Yet there's isn't anywhere in Tete where you can buy a Bible. In the past we have tried selling a small number of Bibles after Sunday services. This has never been very successful and we didn't really know whether people simply couldn't afford the (subsidised) price or if they just weren't that interested in reading the Scriptures. However in recent weeks we have hit upon a very practical solution.  A number of our church members eke out a living by selling goods door-to-door. We approached several of these men and asked if they would like to try selling Bibles, hymnals and study books. The first batch sold like hot cakes and we had persistent demands for more. We found some friends visiting Maputo and asked them to pick up a box of Portuguese Bibles while we ourselves visited Blantyre in Malawi and picked up some materials in Chewa. To our great delight these have also sold well. We allow our Bible vendors to retain 20% of whatever money they receive, so this helps to supplement their income. Moreover they are quickly gaining a reputation as the people to go to if you want to lay your hands on a copy of the Word of God! As you can imagine we're excited about this project and would like to develop it further.

So all in all there are some very exciting things happening. But in the midst of blessing, we have also had to battle through some difficult circumstances. The whole family was plagued with one illness after another over the Christmas break. One of our guards decided to rob us on a Sunday morning while we were out at church. The man was caught and our goods recovered, but the investigation and subsequent trial were emotionally and physically exhausting. And our car broke down while we were on a dirt road - part of the suspension gave way - and it was 24 hours before we could effect a temporary repair and get it to a garage. Thank God, we weren't that far from home at the time. I hardly need to say, please pray for us!
 

Please Pray

Pray that we would be able to secure suitable premises for our church in the centre of Tete Pray for the successful launch of a Portuguese service in the city centre Praise God for the teamwork that saw the latrine in Moatize completed Thank God for the heavy rains and pray for a good harvest throughout this region of Africa Continue to pray for our safety on the roads and for our general health Pray for wisdom as we look to extend the programme of selling the Bible door-to-door Thank God for an excellent turnout for our most recent seminar. Pray that our church leaders would grow in faith and understanding Continue to pray for the home schooling of our boys - for patience, wisdom and creativity for all concerned

I would like to end with a heartfelt thanks. Christmas can be a very lonely time for missionaries: family is far away; the local celebration (if any) of Christmas can be very different from that in the UK; and it may prove very difficult to find suitable Christmas presents for your own children. This year we were overwhelmed by the kindness of several churches that went to the trouble of sending a selection of gifts for our boys. Your love blessed us. Moreover it helped our boys to understand afresh that we do not labour here alone. To all those who emailed, sent cards or picked up the phone, the Lord bless you!

Grace to you

Gregory and Sharon Kane

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Sharon's 'Joke of the Month'

This month there are two short jokes...

"Oil on Fish"

Students at school were asked to write about the harmful effects of oil on fish.

One 11-year old wrote, "When my mum opened a tin of sardines last night it was full of oil and all the sardines were dead."

"Flower Oil"

When I go to a local discount store to get oil and filters for my car, I buy my wife a bouquet of flowers on display near the checkout counter.

During one trip, some women in line behind me were oohing and aahing about a husband getting flowers for his wife. "How often do you do that?" one asked.

Before I could answer, the cashier, more than familiar with my routine, said, "Every three months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first."