Trip report – July 2017

Another quick note as a report of what happened on our recent trip to Mozambique (14 to 22 July 2017).

We were concerned about the boxes of books that we wanted to take across the border into Mozambique, because we had heard that the Mozambique government has a serious ‘cash flow’ problem. We were warned that we could expect high import tariffs at the border.  The officials asked where the car was and from a distance waved us through!  Thank you for you prayers.

On Saturday (15 July) Zacarias and I travelled to Macia where we slept at a Bible School where we had to deliver a box of books, to replenish the stocks in their little bookshop.
Over that weekend we were able to do a rough translation into English of a book that Zacarias wants to publish.  It is a manual of what ladies should and could do at their regular meetings.  He feels that they are sadly lacking in that area and need help, but as a man he can’t think as a lady and so he is wanting other ladies to help.  Therefore a need for an English copy!

Sunday morning we worshiped in one of the bigger local churches and had the opportunity to  share our books with them.

On Monday we travelled to Chokwe and beyond where we contacted the local Dorothea Mission.  We also spent some time presenting our books to the three Principals (Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary) of a Christian School.  They expressed much interest as many Seminars and Conferences are held in their school.  We left a complete set of books with them for their library, besides the extra books that they bought for themselves.
We also visited the Rivoni and other mission stations.

Tuesday we travelled to the church just north of Inharrime where we had attended it’s official opening in March 2017.  We slept there for 2 nights and were happy to give them almost 1½ days of teaching. We had planned to go to Inhambane to see a missionary about printing, but he came to Inharrime on business and this saved us a lot of time and travel expense. God arranged this so we could give the church at Inharrime much more teaching.

On our return trip we visited the Wesleyan Bible College, near Xai-xai, where we also met with an Official of an Audio Ministry. The people of Mozambique are not great readers, but they can and do listen.  To have the Bible spoken from a solar powered audio machine is a great blessing, but the Bible does not fill up the recordable space on these machines and the Official had been tasked to find other suitable material to record and load on these machines. He was very pleased with the material that we left with him.  We anticipate that soon Zacarias will be asked to return to read and record some our our books.  Again God’s timing was perfect!

We had the privilege of many more interviews along the way and the list of books to be printed has grown.

Please remember Zacarias as he has a very busy month of August ahead of him.  This weekend (28 to 31 July) will find him attending a Zion Evangelical Ministry in Africa Conference in Durban.  Soon after that he must travel up to Tete in Northern Mozambique for an important and big Church Conference.  Then we both plan to attend a MANI Conference (That is the Movement for African National Initiative in evangelism) in Johannesburg from 21-24 August. But the Sundays, before and after the Conference we plan to attend the Churches in Johannesburg that have supported the Mozambique School of the Bible, to give them a personal report on our work and what God has done.

In between all this Zacarias and I need to hold business type staff meetings so that we can know just where we are going, which is sometimes difficult when we do not see each other very often, but God is in control and we praise Him for all His goodness.

Every blessing,
Hedley and Sandy Stead