The McDaniel Migration: Sunday in the Bush

Last Sunday, we had a wonderful day out of town visiting 2 village churches. It has a been a while since we have made a trip out of town for Sunday services because the girls have not had good experiences in the past and it has been hard for them. What a difference we saw in them on this day! God is so good to help them begin to like this place and these people!!

Lee and I were excited to be going to Pastor Orlando's church. He is a great husband, pastor, and Godly example for others. When I went out of town a few weeks back for the women's conference Orlando went with us. He was very attentive to us women and very kind. Actually, he is very similar to Lee in many ways....and this is not the way most Mozambican men act. So, it is great to see these qualities in a leader here. Normally Lee would be going out on a Sunday without us, but Orlando's wife specifically asked for our whole family to come. (I am so sad that I did not get a picture of their family while we were there. They have 8 children and a couple of grandchildren.)

Not very far out of town we saw a funeral procession.

When we got up closer we saw that it was a baby that had passed away.

After around 1 1/2 hours of driving on the good road,
we turned onto this dirt road.
Lee is putting the car into 4-wheel drive because of the very thick sand.
(Wherever we go, we take a national pastor with us to help of navigate
the roads, the people, and the culture. It is a great time to learn from these nice men.)

Soon the road looked like this.

After another 45 minutes of driving on the sand/dirt road we arrived at Pastor Orlando's church.
Quickly the girls started playing frisbees with the kids.
(Sheldon jumped right in!!)

The kids really enjoyed it.

And the girls did, too!

Pastor Orlando also took us for a tour of the village school next to the church.

It was exactly what you would expect at a village school.

Many faces....

...all precious!

Checking out the school room

When we arrived back at the church we found lunch getting started.
Our chicken was still alive....now that's fresh!

The pastor's son is warming the drum with fire to give it better sound.

Emma and some of the kids looking on.

Then, we went into the church for the service to start. We sang some songs, Lee read a Psalm and then it was time for the sermon. Pastor Orlando looked at me and asked me if I could take the children outside and teach them. Uhhhh....what do you say to that? We are commanded in scripture to be prepared in season and out of season. Well this is definitely the out-of-season time of my life, but I still should have been prepared. But, I wasn't. We hadn't brought a coloring page, or crayons, or a visual aid, or even a Bible storybook to read in Portuguese. Quickly we gathered the children under the mango tree and Meghan started leading them in songs...while I thought about how to pull this off.

This is a song we sing about how we walk with Jesus,
sit down with Jesus, sleep with Jesus and get up with Jesus!

After many songs, I decided to tell the story of Noah. I felt like I knew more of the vocabulary for this story than any other story. My Portuguese was not great, but I made it through!!! (And the kids really listened...maybe they were just trying to understand me!!) Then, we pulled out the face paint and painted a heart on all of their hands telling them that God's loves them. Success!!!! Praise God!!!!

When we went back inside the church, I was asked to give my testimony. (This I was prepared for!)
Basically my testimony tells how when I was a child I went to church and learned about Jesus and stories from the Bible, but that I had to make a personal decision to make Jesus my Lord.
Going to church was not enough.
God used those words to bring 5 young adults and youth to Himself that day.
Here they are in front of the church confessing Jesus!!
After being here for months, not feeling like I am doing much for the Kingdom,
it was a huge blessing for the Lord to use me on this day!

Next was the Lord's Supper.

Orange flavored Kool-aid-like stuff and pieces of bread

This precious one is Pastor Orlando's daughter. She is 3 or 4 years old.
For the last 30 minutes of the service she wanted to be on his lap or hanging onto his leg.
This is something you don't see in this culture much.
Father's are not very nurturing and children don't usually want to be right with them like this.

After church while lunch was being prepared we took this opportunity to paint fingernails.

Sheldon found a baby to hold!

Having the children make funny faces....

After we had lunch (the standard rice and chicken in a thick, broth-like sauce) we had another assignment.

A wonderful friend of ours is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Groesbeck, TX. During their VBS this summer, they took up an special offering for the specific purpose of helping in our ministry here in Mozambique.

Since then, it was brought to our attention that a well is needed in a small village near Pastor Orlando. And, God has led us to build a well there. So, while we were close by we went to see the well site and meet the leader of the church and his congregation.

Getting there was not easy. We traveled about 45 minutes further down this sand/dirt road.

Along the way there was a large tree in the road.
We had to make a new road through the bushes to get around it.

As we went, the road got narrower and narrower...

...until it wasn't much more than a path.
But, we kept going...

....until we got to this little church.

They took us into the church for some songs and prayer and Lee said a few words.
Then, we went to see the well site.

Congregation following behind

Here they are all together.

Lee wanted to see where they are currently getting water.
Here they are walking through the high grass to get to it.

What they do if they don't have a well or a river to get water from
is dig a large hole until they get to the water table and the hole begins to fill with water.