10 Day Mission to Mozambique

On the 1^st of April 2011 Every Nation Pretoria, sent two teams out on a 10 day mission. One to Lesotho and another to Mozambique. I had the privilege of being apart of the team that travelled up to Mozambique. We were eleven team members who spent 10 days serving, teaching and building relationships at Maforga Christian Mission station close to Chimoio, in the central part of Mozambique. Maforga is run by several missionaries, who run a boys’ and girls’ orphanage, a discipleship training school, a prayer house and minister among the widows, prisoners and rejected. (For more detailed information on the visit the website of one of the missionary couples Kees and Sarah Tanis: http://www.keesandsarah.com/)

Our main objective was to serve the missionaries and people at Maforga, in whichever manner was necessary. This led to us being invited to teach at the Maforga discipleship training schoolled by Kees Tania, which consists of thirty-five very passionate and committed local Mozambican students. We spent four days teaching them about the heart and purpose of discipleship, establishing them in the five basic foundations of our faith, which they could use to disciple the people they reach out too. We used the ‘discovery bible study’ method, otherwise known as SPECK, to take them through the relevant scriptures. The strength behind SPECK is that you teach disciples to discover the principals directly from the Bible themselves, as well as equip them with a method that can easily be done with others. One of the most rewarding moments of the mission was observing the students, whom we'd been teaching the previous three days, teaching a group of the village leaders the foundations using SPECK. It was a significant moment for our whole team, when we realized the necessity of equipping local leaders with practical tools (SPECK being one example) so that when we leave they can continue to reach out, disciple and build and raise leaders within their own community.

Due to the generosity of several members of our Pretoria congregation we not only taught and built relationships at the Mission Station but could help out and practically see to some of their needs too. This included inserting a bore hole pump at the Rupatana Project, feeding 600 orphans, sponsoring full soccer gear for the boys team, washing the feet and pampering the woman from the Bible School, doing various evening activites and crafts with the girl orphans and handing out 62 packets of multiple seeds to volunteers at a local village. As well as financially contributing to a few of the mission station’s other needs. In a community such as this, the effort of seeing to some of their practical needs is really deeply appreciated. Thank you to those of you who helped with donations and sponsorships, it truly went a long way and was deeply appreciated by those on the receiving end.

As a team we’d also like to thank our spiritual family and partners who prayed for the mission and for the team while we were away. There are so many testimonies of answered prayer that leave us so grateful! The fruit of the prayers were visible in our safe travelling, smooth flow of logistics, well received teaching, special and great team dynamics and favour found in the people we met and friendships we made - all glory to our Father in Heaven who truly see’s to our every need.

The mission over all was a life-changing experience and significant in terms of giving us a broader and more global perspective of how discipleship can be applied within Africa, and more rural contexts. There’s still plenty of work ahead, and defiantly a lot to learn and continually refine, but we were encouraged that there truly is hope for transformation in Africa. God’s call for us is to simply follow Him and fish for men, this Truth crosses all cultural barriers. God showed us clearly that the call to discipleship is urgent and the harvest field is truly ripe.

I challenge you, to join us on our next mission trip, where ever it may be; Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Nelspruit or your block of flats… are you willing to go and when you go will you go giving from the abundance of what God has given you. Not just materially but from the wealth of our discipleship and personal testimonies too. Secondly when you go, be prepared to learn more from the people you will meet, more than you would ever be able to give.