The Road Is Hard But the Destination Is Full of Hope

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 6:10-12

Praise the Lord for Kendall's safe journey to and from Zambue, Mozambique this weekend! God was truly before him and behind him the entire trip. Going into this trip, there were many uncertainties and many unknowns. Kendall only knew Harrison Phiri, a pastor in Zambue. Charles Mwanza and Samson Lungu happily joined Kendall for this trip. When they arrived in Zambue, they discovered that this was the associational meeting for the Baptist churches in this portion of Mozambique. 5 of the 6 churches were in attendance. Tongue Baptist Church brought approximately 13 adults and children to the meeting. The phenomenal thing is that they walked 50 kilometers/31 miles to attend this meeting. It took them 12 hours to reach Zambue. As Kendall and I discussed this portion of his trip, we sat back and were ashamed that we complain about driving that far to go to church and for that matter sometimes people won't go to a meeting or to church because of rain! We were humbled and said to each other that we will not ever complain about driving a bad road to get somewhere again.
During the associational meeting, Kendall preached several times and shared Christ and a basic foundation of the Bible and a defintion of sin and its origin in this world. On Saturday afternoon, Kendall baptized 17 and that night showed the Jesus Film and the people were very attentive to see the entire book of Luke unfold right before their very eyes. On Sunday, the 17 people that were baptized joined in sharing the Lord's Supper. Praise the Lord for the 29 people that prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior this weekend! Kendall returned home very tired but incredibly excited at how God moved among the Nsenga of Mozambique. God is opening new doors to several villages on the way to Zambue where there are no churches. The people of Kansenga (it means little Nsenga) stopped Kendall on the road and begged him to come and share with them. This is the next big project in Mozambique! Praise the Lord that the people of northern Mozambique are yearning to hear more about Jesus Christ!
Thank you so much for your love and prayers as Kendall went into Mozambique!

These are the people of Tongue Baptist that walked 50 kilometers over a span of 12 hours to come hear the Gospel.

The two men on the back row in the center: the man in the blue shirt on the left is Samson Lungu and the man on the right with the yellow shirt is Charles Mwanza, these men accompanied Kendall on this trip.
The kitchen where meals were prepared.

Walking to baptism on Saturday.

Kendall with one of the daecons before baptism. The water was low so the people kneeled in order to be baptized!

The first person for Kendall to baptize in Mozambique! Praise the Lord!

The man on the back row, 2nd from the right is Harrison Phiri. He has become a good friend of Kendall's and is a pastor in Zambue and recently graduated from Bible School in Petauke!

The church service on Sunday.

Continue to pray for God's leading in the work that needs to take place in Mozambique. Pray that we would seek God's face and His will for Mozambique, not our own or the people's. Praise the Lord for His continued protection for Kendall and the men that travel with him. God has truly blessed us with a hedge of angels to protect him and our family!