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S. Africa UBF

December 4, 2012

THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL

Matthew 9:37-38 “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

On Friday, November 2, 2012, Shepherd James, Abia, Theo, and I left at 14:00 from the Bible Centre and started our long journey to Maputo. We safely reached the border around 9:00 p. m., and we arrived in Maputo at about 00:00 and met brother Christiano and his Cousin Mario, who waited to show us possible places to stay overnight. We finally decided on a place, and with loud music from a nearby music festival in the back ground, we finally went to bed at about 02:00 a.m., tired yet thankful for arriving safely.

The next morning we gathered for breakfast after which we immediately made our way to Christiano’s place to meet Cremildo and the other brothers. Based on the poor and neglected surroundings, I did not expect much yet was greatly surprised when upon arrival we found a small room prepared with a big table and chairs eight brothers eagerly waiting for us.  “Wow, God is amazing”, I thought.

After warm greetings and introducing ourselves to each other we sat down and started to study Luke 15. Once again I was surprised by the brothers’ communication skills. All of them were able to speak English, some better than others, however when someone did not understand or wanted to explain his point of view we had three translators--brother Frank, Ches, and Christiano. Their help opened the door for long and meaningful discussions about the word of God. We were greatly surprised by the level of understanding and deep mediation skills the Mozambican brothers showed. I can’t recall that either one of them yawned once or nodded off. Even after two hours they insisted we continue and finish the passage with full participation to the end.   By God’s help we could digest the passage very well and everyone could understand the wonderful love God has for all kinds of sinners.

After our Bible study we ate lunch and had joyful fellowship with the brothers. Once the brothers had left, the four of us went sightseeing with Cremildo and Christiano. On the seaside we saw numerous baby crabs that were working hard with fine sand, and we drank juice from the coconut fruit. There were many people coming up to us to sell us various things like tissues, DVDs, sunglasses, and other artifacts.  Though life in Maputo seems to be normal, the majority of people are very poor.

Afterward we travelled to Eduardo Mondlane University to see where Cremildo stayed. We were happy to visit his room and meet his roommates--seven in total and each with his own mosquito net hanging over his bed. We then went back to the table where the Abraham team met for Bible study on their first missionary journey and prayed all together. Even Christiano prayed--it was another memorable moment. We prayed that God may bless Mozambique and Africa by raising many Bible teachers.

From there we went to have supper at a local restaurant in town. After a refreshing supper we all scattered in different directions as Shepherd Abia worked on his Sunday message for the following day; Shepherd Theo met Cremildo for one to one study on John 3; and Shepherd James and I sat in a cafe talking together about life and ministry. 

The following day after breakfast we headed straight for Christiano’s house to have Sunday worship service with the brothers in the same room we met for group study the day before. Shepherd Theo presided and requested the brothers start the worship service by singing songs of praise in Portuguese. Initially the brothers were a bit shy but once they started to sing they did not want to stop. Their singing prepared our hearts to listen to God’s word. After I prayed a representative prayer Shepherd Abia delivered a graceful message based on Luke 15. He clearly revealed the love of God to all sinners and encouraged the brothers to go to their loving Father.

After the message Cremildo shared what he had learned from the previous day’s Bible studies. I was once again amazed at how graceful our God is. He chose one ordinary man out of millions of people and is busy raising him up as an Abraham of faith and a leader for Mozambican mission. We should continue to pray for him and his right hand man Christiano, to remain faithful to God. Their co-working was beautiful to see.  

There were many highlights for me on this trip but the one thing that stood out was just how amazing God was in preparing everything for us to serve Him. Indeed the brothers in Mozambique are ready to study the Bible yet they have no one to teach them. “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. We should ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38) 

By James Lee, S. Africa