Today we got to speak at Pastor Cheia’s church. We took a shopa which is basically just a minivan that’s been converted to seat 20 uncomfortably. On this ride, however, there were 25 people including ourselves and our translator, Lovemore. We pray a lot when we have to take a shopa and for obvious reasons.
When we arrived, Pastor Cheia was waiting for us by the road. He led us through the village to his little church. The construction was very simple, bamboo poles with grass woven in between. Here and there were a few empty rice bags and cardboard to fill in holes.
We were warmly welcomed, and they began praise and worship. During the singing a momma hen and her chicks entered the church to dig around in the dirt. After singing, the Pastor encouraged everyone to give a testimony. Most of the testimonies consisted of thanking God and welcoming us. After a few our translator shortened his translation and told us “they said the same thing also.” Then another came forward, and another, to which Lovemore said, “They’re all saying the same thing. I don’t think they understand what a testimony is.”
After everyone was finished giving their testimonies, Pastor Cheia invited us to speak . Our personal testimonies were what we had planned to share with the church that day, so we gave our testimonies individually as did our translator. Feeling we had accomplished what we came for, we sat back down.
Pastor Cheia thanked us for our testimonies, asked everyone to bow their heads in preparation for prayer, then much to our surprise said “After we pray, Brother Jason will deliver the message.”
What? Brother Jason? We looked at each other like a deer in headlights. Jason said, “What do I do? Our testimonies are all we prepared for.” I responded, “We better pray fast.” We began to pray for the Holy Spirit’s help and direction in what to say, and after we prayed Jason told me he felt he should speak about God’s great love for us and our love for God. It was certainly a timely message considering it was the Sunday before Christmas.
As Pastor Cheia closed his prayer, he motioned for Jason and Lovemore to come up to the front. Jason walked up there, Bible in hand, smiled, and began speaking one of the most organized sermons I’ve ever heard him speak. You would have thought he had planned it out for hours in outline form. In that moment we both experienced a whole new level of relationship with the Holy Spirit. Truly all Jason had to do was open his mouth and out came the words. Even the momma hen was in awe. She came back in while Jason was speaking and sat down just a couple of feet away from me.
After church, they brought in a table and chairs and served us a wonderful lunch. We weren’t expecting that. We know now that when you’re invited to speak at a church here, you can expect it to be an all day event complete with lunch.
How thoughtful of these people. They have so little, but they are willing to share all that they have. Yes this is an illustration of Christ’s love, but it’s also part of their culture. Every culture has its good points and bad points, and here in Mozambique, it’s all about relationships and sharing what you have with others.
So many Mozambicans have told us that we have blessed them, but we often feel that it’s we who are being blessed by them. We know we will learn so much here, and we’re so thankful that God has sent us here.
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