It is always fun for a few women to set out on a road trip in Mozambique. Especially into the bush. It was just after 7 am and we were off. I was glad to be back doing this after 2 years. Elena, Evelyn and I worshipped and shared the goodness of The Lord and lifted our hearts in united prayer as we committed this day to The Lord.
Long trips are great for this.
We turned off the main highway, praying our way through quite a long stretch of recently flooded roads as you never know what holes are under the water; gratefully it was only flooded along the first section of a long maze of patchwork, dirt sideroads that skirted the fresh roadworks. It was much like a game of guessing which road will have a dead end. There were no road work signs or workers to indicate.
After a few setbacks and getting lost for about another hour, we finally arrived at the pastor's home. She guided our car through rough dirt tracks to the nearby tin-roofed church structure, with blue tarps and sticks for walls, standing in a dry dirt field.
This area was the refuge for flood victims and dislodged people as a result of two cyclones that had destroyed their previous homes in a town called Buzi due to high and extensive flooding. The government had offered land here in Guara Guara to the victims of these floods. Some had received funds to build simple homes, others lived still in tents and makeshift fragile dwellings. But all of this just seemed to have given birth to a people who wanted to know more deeply their God.
It was now 11 o'clock and sweltering hot. But as we stepped into those four walls we were met with the faces of expectant women who had been gathered since early morning worshipping, eagerly awaiting us and The Word of God. They had chosen to fast earthly food so they might have more time to eat the spiritual...and eat they did! Drinking it in for hours, choosing to only take 3 min. breaks as we each took turns preaching and ministering in Portuguese with translation into the local dialect, Ndau.
Our hearts filled with joy as we saw many of those gathered respond wholeheartedly to The Word and to The Holy Spirit...opening their heart for transformation, forgiving others, saying "Here I am Lord send me." Weeping and calling on the Lord. Some being mightily delivered. Others receiving apparent revelations of God's glory. It was such a precious time. As only He can, The Lord gave strength and alertness despite the humidity and heat.
They asked us to please stay to share the evening meal with them that they had lovingly prepared consisting of homegrown rice and fish cooked in a delicious tomato, garlic, and onion sauce.
As we chatted I asked my old friend about the solar Bible she had received some years back. With regret, she replied that sadly it was lost in the cyclone. After eating we said our goodbyes as we still had a long drive back to the base and wanted to be past the worst part of the journey before nightfall.
Praises rang in our hearts as we drove home... it had been a good day in The Kingdom.