Three tales from Mozambique. Sit back, put your feet up and enjoy ...

An old man's witness:
There was no question in my mind that it was a sacrifice. It moved me deeply and brought with it a deep sense of satisfaction: the sight of a sixty-year-old man, accompanied by his wife, dragging a heavy sack to the front of his church. For this was Jolinho Jossefe, the pastor of our church in Moatize, showing the members of his congregation that he is most definitely someone who practises what he preaches...

The day was Sunday the 24th June. We had declared it to be Dia da Colheita, the Day of the Harvest. For more than a year I have been teaching about tithing, speaking in churches and seminars, even writing study booklets that church leaders can work through and return for marking. I have been saying time and again that tithing is God's recipe for sustainable growth - even in Africa - and that churches must not depend exclusively on external funding. Instead they must learn to honour God with what they have, that the Lord in turn may honour them for their obedience.

At our leaders' seminar in May we handed out a bundle of empty maize sacks to each of our 23 congregations, explaining that a single sack should be distributed to each of the families in their churches. A typical family might expect to harvest between 10 and 30 sacks of maize, so we asked that each household fill their empty sack with maize and bring it into God's house on the Day of the Harvest. The maize would then be collected and used as deemed appropriate by the local congregation. Some could be kept for conferences or special meetings, the rest could be sold - but the underlying principle was that resources be released for God's work.

It's one thing to talk about tithing, it's quite another to make the sacrifice and hand over 10% of your income or harvest. So it was with some considerable apprehension that we waited to see how our churches would respond to the challenge. After preaching in my own church in Tete, I hurried off to Moatize, 45 minutes away by commuter minibus, arriving in time to see the presentation of the tithes. An announcer called out the names of every family on the membership roll of the church. Pastor Jolinho was first and he was ready to set a good example to his congregation. God had blessed his fields and he would bless the Lord God with his tithe of maize. Some people rose to their feet to make excuses, promising to bring in their tithes the week after. But every leader in that church fulfilled their obligation before God and handed over at least one sack of maize. Thus far the church at Moatize has collected in twelve sacks of maize as their first ever tithe of the harvest. We are still waiting to hear how the other churches have responded. Treasurers have been charged to submit reports to their local superintendents as we seek to make church leaders more accountable to their superiors. But what is clear is that the Elim Pentecostal Church of Mozambique is rising to the challenge of breaking free from the poverty mentality that so hinders God's work in this part of Africa.

Let no one go hungry:
Bibles used to be hard to come by in this part of Mozambique. There aren't any Christian bookshops. In fact Tete has only one proper bookshop and that seems to sell only school text books and magazines. Therefore six months ago I started to sell Bibles. Actually, to be entirely accurate, I sell very few Bibles myself. Instead I now have seven of our members who sell Christian literature in their local communities. We recently held our first every vendors' meeting to share ideas and encourage one another.

One man in the rural areas has a roadside stall where he sells plastic crockery and home-made bread. One section of his table has now been set aside for Bibles and hymn books. Felix's stall is beside the main bus stop in his area so there is a constant movement of people. Now the people in that area have an opportunity to buy bread for the stomach and bread for the soul.

Another of my vendors lives in the town of Moatize. Dorca's husband recently abandoned her and she tries to make ends meet by baking small cakes and selling them in her local market. Visitors to her stall can now choose from a selection of cakes, tomatoes, onions or New Testaments, all at an affordable price.

Thomo has been selling door to door, taking orders from people and building up a reputation as a seller of Bibles. He even visits the large markets in Tete and chats to the market stall holders, making friends and encouraging them to take home the Word of God.

One of our evangelists has very recently started selling Bibles. As well as going house to house, Eduardo is visiting other churches in his township, taking orders from the Christian leaders there. I have reached the stage where I am no longer able to let him have everything that he asks for. Instead I have told him that he must wait until August when I visit another city in Mozambique where Bibles are more readily available. His enthusiasm is causing me problems with my stock levels, but I will be the very last person to complain.

I sell Bible in several languages: Portuguese, Chewa, Sena, sometimes even English. The price is subsidised - it is three pounds for a hardback Bible, much cheaper for a New Testament. Study books sell for between 30 and 80 pence. Even in the rural areas people can afford these prices. A litre of cooking oil sells for just under a pound and everyone manages to find the money for such basics. It's just a case of helping people to see that food for their soul is just as important. I allow my vendors to keep 20% of their takings. No one could call it a wage; it's simply my way of saying 'thank you' for serving God in this way. I am quite sure that the Lord's own reward will be far more lavish.

Shut the doors:
Some missionaries love them; others loathe them. But there's no question that short term teams are now an indispensable part of modern missions. After all, some might ask, how much can you really do with a bunch of young people who don't speak the language, don't understand the culture, might not like the food, and may well collapse with exhaustion under the heat of the African sun?

We have just concluded an excellent visit with a team of seven from a group of churches in Northern Ireland. Recognising that the team members have considerable experience in children's work, we suggested that they try and run a Holiday Bible Club on five consecutive afternoons. Permission was sought, interpreters selected, resourced obtained, heads scratched, and the meetings advertised. The main question was would anyone come and if so how many? This was the first time we had held a Holiday Bible Club here and children's work is more or less non-existent in the vast majority of Mozambican churches. When I have organised similar events in Zimbabwe, we have attracted up to 150 children - so I suggested this number to the team, enabling them to obtain sufficient quantities of crayons, take home sheets, stickers etc.

Our first meeting on the Monday drew in 200 children. The team members looked at one another, looked at their limited materials, and wondered what to do. We all knew that there would be even more children the following day. Tuesday saw 300 children. On Thursday I was obliged to shut the doors of the church when we reached 400. On the Friday we kept the doors open for longer to enable as many as possible to watch the fifth and final instalment of our children's video about Jesus. We made it very clear that Friday was the final day of the club but a horde of children still descended upon the church on the Saturday, only to be sent home disappointed.

The challenge for the Elim church in Moatize is to know how to respond to this opportunity for ministry among children. Hitherto the church has not even had a Sunday School, children being expected to sit patiently through the three hour-long service. We have offered to help them with resources and teaching materials, but the greater need is for willing and able volunteers to teach the children. I think that this has been one of the greatest contributions that the team has made. They have imparted vision, showing that the local children are hungry to learn about Jesus, demonstrating practical means of reaching them. That's why I like short term teams - anyone interested for 2008?

We'll write some more about this visit next month. In the meantime you can see some recent photos on the photos section of our web site

Please Pray

Thank God for the excellent example of tithing set by the leaders in Moatize. Pray that all of our members would have the faith and courage to honour and obey God in this area. Pray that all of our churches would learn to give generously that the work of God can go from strength to strength Pray for our seven Bible vendors that God would grant them new opportunities to sell their materials. Pray also for the people who buy these Bibles and booklets that they would grow greatly in their understanding of the Christian faith Thank God for the successful visit of the team from Northern Ireland Pray for the Moatize church as they look at how to develop their children's ministry Thank God that Sharon's knee is much improved. She has been to see a specialist in Blantyre We are making plans to launch a new congregation in a densely populated area of Tete called Matundo. Please pray for Eduardo Sinoia, the evangelist who is heading up this work. We have the finance available to purchase a plot of ground in Matundo but need permission from the council to buy it

Grace to you

Gregory and Sharon Kane

_______________________

Sharon's 'Joke of the Month'

*Peekaboo*

When my wife quit work to take care of our new baby daughter, 
countless hours of peekaboo and other games slowly took their toll. 
One evening she smacked her bare toes on the corner of a dresser and, 
grabbing her foot, sank to the floor. I rushed to her side and asked where it hurt.
She looked at me through tear-filled eyes and managed to moan, 
"It's the piggy that ate roast beef."

*Motivation*

The cowboy walked into the tack shop. 
"How much for a pair of spurs?" he asked the sales clerk.
"Forty dollars."
The cowboy looked in his wallet, thought for a moment, then pulled out a twenty. 
"I'll take one spur."
"What'll you do with just one?" the clerk asked.
The cowboy replied, "I figger if I can get one side of the horse movin', 
the other side'll go too."