When God Does More

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine – Eph. 3:20

My two weeks in Mozambique this past July can be summed up with the words, “God does more.” He often does more than all we ask or even imagine. And this is what he did – and is doing – in Mozambique. 

Below is a brief-as-possible recap of my trip:

A little background:

• This was my third trip to Mozambique and I went with my friend Doug who is the associate pastor at my church, Life Covenant. This was Doug’s first trip to Moz.

• Our ministry, Life for Mozambique, began about 10 years ago under the direction of local Mozambican leaders John and Maria Jone, Americans Alex and Melanie Viana, and Life Covenant Church. We have two orphanages and nearly 100 churches. In 2015, the Vianas, along with their twin sons Josh and Joey, moved to Mozambique.

• One of the prominent tasks for this trip was to film as much digital footage as possible for the purpose of creating a promotional video for the ministry.

Dinner on the Indian Ocean

• After 42 hours of travel that included a lengthy layover in Qatar, Doug and I arrived in Beira, Mozambique on Saturday July 21 in time for rest and a lovely dinner on the shores of the Indian Ocean.

Sunday – July 22

Alex, Doug, our translator Zito, and I visited two rural churches outside of Beira. We captured a lot of video of these churches doing worship. We also saw how they are using the audio bibles that were recently delivered by Life Covenant’s Pastor, Tim Morey. Many people in these rural churches cannot read, let alone afford their own bible, so being able to hear the Word of God spoken in their heart language has been transformative.

Monday – July 23

The Vianas, Doug, and I traveled to the town of Chimoio to visit our second orphanage, the Melanie Center 2. Our tasks for the day included touring the center, filming the school that is housed there, leading the children in games, and collecting letters from the children to bring to their sponsors back home. Once our duties were completed, including showing off the drone we brought to get aerial footage of the two orphanages, Alex shared that he had a surprise for us …

More background: 

The Melanie Center 2

• The Melanie Center 2 is smaller than our first orphanage in Beira. It is in a more urban area, surrounded by existing infrastructure. Thus, there is no room for growth. Additionally, the MC2 has a burgeoning school program that is providing much-needed educational support to an overcrowded local school system. Possibly expanding our school program in the future is an option, but more land would be necessary (Thankfully, we have received a large donation for the purpose of buying new land in Chimoio).

Now for the surprise … Our leaders in Chimoio have located a very nice piece of property outside the city limits at a very affordable price! We were able to visit it and get aerial footage of the land. Our team is praying about buying this land and discussing what the best plan is for both it and the existing Melanie Center 2.  One option would be to gradually build a new orphanage on the land and turn the current center into a school. I’ll keep you posted.

God certainly is doing more than we expected in Chimoio.

Tuesday -- July 24

We drove five hours north to the city of Songo to prepare for a two-day evangelism conference. John, Maria, and a handful of our top pastors were already there, inviting people from the area to attend the conference.

A little more background: 

• A lifetime ago, John and Maria planted a church in Songo . After four years of ministry, they had a congregation of 25 people. John’s oldest son Anderson now lives in Songo, along with his family, and he works at the local hydroelectric plant. Anderson and his wife Lana also run a cute little restaurant and lodge, which is where we stayed and held the conference. Additionally, the area around Songo is a very dark place spiritually. It is riddled with witchcraft, ancestral worship, and is home to many Zionist churches that practice a hybrid faith that mixes witchcraft and elements of Christianity. Several of these Zionist “pastors” were invited to our conference.

Wednesday – July 25

Conference in Congo

The conference kicked off with approximately 80 people in attendance. Doug preached while I filmed and help prepare lunch. Several Zionist church pastors and members arrived and stayed for lunch. Everybody in attendance received a huge plate of food and it was really fun for me to be able to serve a heaping plate of beans and rice to adults and kids who might not get that much food in a week’s time.

Thursday – July 26

The day started by Anderson telling John that if a church were to be planted in Songo, he would provide its pastor with a job. This is huge for two reasons: we don’t pay our pastors and jobs are hard to come by. The conference session mirrored the first day, except that the crowd nearly doubled. That’s the power of a hearty meal. Doug and John both preached the gospel and three men received Christ.

The Community Leaders

After lunch, a meeting was called to greet some new converts. I thought it was going to be with the three men who came to faith earlier. Instead, we met with four older men who had also received Christ that day. Three of these men were Community Leaders. In this role, these men oversee life in their villages. They serve as mayor, judge, police chief, and real estate agent. One of the men had even more authority, sort of like a governor in the region. In the meeting, they said they wanted a church. We said we could do that. We asked for land, enough for a future orphanage. They said, “No problem.” We asked for a home for the pastor. They said, “Ok.” 

So, in the course of a few hours an unnamed pastor was given a job and a home; and a future church and a potential orphanage was birthed. 

On the following Sunday, the head leader guy called John and said that 10 people had gathered under a tree for an impromptu church service. He then asked John to send them a pastor. A few weeks later, that number had tripled -- thirty people in a church that doesn’t yet have a building or a pastor. 

God certainly is doing more than we expected in Songo.

Friday – July 27

We drove 11 hours back home to Beira and then rested.

Saturday – July 28

Doug Working the Drone

With the end of our trip drawing near, we needed to do a lot of filming of the Melanie Center 1 in Beira. We also had three important interviews to conduct. We went out to the MC1 and met some friends of the Vianas from Josh and Joey’s school who were leading the children through an art project. We filmed the whole MC, including the surrounding community. This was my third visit to the MC and I was blown away by what I saw. It has more than doubled in size so that it is now more like a campus than just an orphanage. And everything there is incredibly well-built, professional (by Moz standards) and legitimate. We brought out the drone and Doug looked like the Pied Piper as throngs of children followed behind him as he maneuvered it around the community. 

Sunday -- July 29

We worshipped in the new church building that was completed last summer. Again, I was blown away by how much was going on. Before the main service, there were numerous bible studies and youth groups meeting all over the campus. Doug, and I were able to visit each of these groups and provide a word of greeting and encouragement from the two visiting Americans. After church, we interviewed a young high-school-aged boy who has been living at the MC for about seven years named Manuelino. Also that night, we interviewed John and Maria about the origins and their vision for the ministry.

Monday – July 30

The Sewing School in Action

This was a jam-packed, whirlwind of a day. We started by interviewing Alex and Melanie for the video. Then we went out to the MC, which was as active as an Amazon distribution center. We saw our vocational sewing school in action. We watched some of the MC children learning math and an adult literacy class for local women. When that class was finished, the room became a classroom for about 50 kids studying Portuguese. We observed our woodworking expert and future pastor Campeira building in his chicken coop turned workroom. Then we helped distribute giant sacks of rice to a group of local woman. The government provided the rice. They give it to us because they know we’ll disperse it honestly.

God is doing exceedingly more than what we expected at the Melanie Center 1. 

Tuesday – July 31

Departure day and the start of a 38-hour trek home through Johannesburg and Qatar. 

Before this trip, one of my top priorities for going to Mozambique was to be a blessing to the Vianas. I think it’s critically important to their work that they received annual visitors from home. But, after this trip I discovered just what a privilege it is to bring back the stories of what God is doing in Mozambique to the friends and supporters here at home. It’s an honor to carry these stories in my heart and to report on the specific and tangible ways how God is doing immeasurably more in Mozambique.