"The children didn’t know what to think. They had obediently filed out of church and gone to their classroom for Sunday School. But where was their normal teacher? And why were these foreigners standing at the front? After all, none of the children had ever spoken with them. In fact when they first came to the church a few months ago, they couldn’t even speak Portuguese, could they?
But after a couple of songs, a really funny game, a dramatic retelling of a Bible story, a hands-on activity and a time of prayer … maybe, just maybe, these curious foreigners weren’t so bad after all. But when ever did they learn to speak Portuguese?"

Yes, Sharon and I have now taught our first Sunday School lesson in Portuguese. It was a lot of fun but completely exhausting. Indeed February was very much a month for children’s work. As well as teaching a Sunday School class (in English this time) at the International Church, I also ran an afternoon’s training seminar for the Sunday School teachers in that church. Sixteen people turned up which in itself is a testimony to the good reputation we have been able to establish here in Maputo.

February is also birthday month in our house. As a very special treat we took Daniel to the beach at Bilene, a couple of hours drive along the coast. He has now turned nine while Josiah has reached the lofty heights of twelve. Sharon’s birthday is also in February but for chronological reasons she doesn’t qualify for one this year. In any case Josiah and Daniel were both quite unwell so the celebration we had planned for her had to be deferred.
 
And now for some great news. After months of red tape we have finally submitted our residence application to the Immigration office in Tete. This entire process has proved to be fraught with difficulties and frustrations. But by God’s grace and the help of some very kind people, our application is at last being officially considered. We will hear the outcome in three months time.

We have one more month of language study to go before we fly back to the UK for our church conferences. Immediately afterwards we aim to make our long anticipated move to Tete. Our language studies are going well as evidenced by our successful Sunday School class. Indeed if you would like to see what Portuguese looks like you can visit the 'Memorable' page on our website where you will find the script that I used for the Sunday School lesson. Of course we continue to make mistakes, to misunderstand people and be misunderstood, and this is the theme of this month’s cartoon. Early on in our study of Portuguese, Sharon intended to pray that God would open her spiritual ears to understand the Scriptures; instead she appealed that her flock of sheep be chopped in pieces. Needless to say my gaffes have been even worse.

So let us end with a truly earth-shattering tale. Last week the residents of Maputo were awakened in the middle of the night by some very strange goings on. Televisions fell off stands and were smashed; people in high-rise buildings apartments complained that the building itself was swaying from side to side. National radio reported that an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale had struck Mozambique and people were warned to spend the night in the city parks as a sensible precaution. We on the other hand slept through the entire affair.
 

Please Pray

Thank God that our residence application has been accepted and that everything came together in the end Praise God for the opportunities Gregory has had to teach. Pray that further opportunities would be given to us, especially in Portuguese Please do pray for our health. Gregory has enjoyed excellent health since we mentioned this request last month. However all four of our boys  have been really quite unwell Praise God that emotionally we have been more positive. We still ask that you pray for grace to cope with the heat and the struggles of daily life, particularly as the temperature is now in the mid-30s Continue to pray for progress in our language study. We need to stay focussed on it as our time in Maputo comes to an end Pray for Gregory for greater ease in following spoken Portuguese Pray for all the preparation we must make with regard to moving to Tete. Pray especially that we would find accommodation

Grace to you

Gregory and Sharon Kane

_______________________

Sharon's 'Joke of the Month'

*Smoking Kills*

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add
emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Three worms were placed into separate jars.

1. The first worm was put into a jar of alcohol.
2. The second worm was put into a jar of cigarette smoke.
3. The third worm was put into a jar of good, clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the minister reported the
following results:

1. The first worm in alcohol - DEAD.
2. The second worm in cigarette smoke - DEAD.
3. The third worm in good, clean soil - ALIVE.

So the minister asked the congregation, "What can you learn
from this demonstration?"

A little old woman in the back quickly raised her hand and
said, "As long as you drink or smoke, you won't have worms!"