Saying Good-bye to our Church Family in Nampula

On our last Sunday in Nampula Pastor asked if some members of the church could come and say good-bye to us during the week. We were truly expecting maybe about 10 people to stop by and just visit for a few minutes and that would be it. 

Oh no! The announced time was 4pm for people to meet at our house. By 4:00, we had already surpassed the expected 10. If you know anything about this culture you know that it is strange that anyone would be on time, much less early! 

(These pictures are terrible quality, but I thought it was worth it to share them with you.) 

As the minutes passed, the people kept pouring in.

As the people continued to arrive, I kept thinking, 

"All we have prepared are some oranges and a plate of cookies!"

Once most people had arrived we started singing.

Soon, there were about 40 people in our yard/driveway.

(You can see the small plate of cookies, a few boxes of juice, 

and about 10 cups on my make-shift table.)

As we looked around this group that had gathered, we are all saying to ourselves, 

"Why are so many people willing to take a Wednesday afternoon to simply come, 

sit, sing, and tell the missionaries good-bye?" 

After we sang they put our family all together.

Then one-by-one they said the kindest things about our family.

And I thought, "There was so much more that we could have done. 

There is still work left to do. We should have given more of ourselves."

Don't you love our shirts :)
These were golf-shirts that they had made for us with the church's emblem screen printed on them.
Lee said that he felt like a sausage!

I was okay until this young lady hugged me. It was Solange.
She sobbed into my shoulder and I could not hold back the tears.
It was as if she knew how much I loved her. 
Maybe our family were the only ones who believed in her.

 This is Solange (So-lan-gee). She is one of the youth.
This picture is from when a team came to Nampula. Some of you may remember her.
She was so proud of her beautiful blue nails!
Solange has been actively attending our church since before our family arrived in Nampula.
I loved her from the day I met her. There was always a smile on her face. Until recently.
When we arrived back from the states in January, Sunday after Sunday there was no Solange.
We began asking the other youth of her whereabouts and none of them knew.
They said that it had been several months since they had seen her and that they had visited her home multiple times to never find her there. Then finally someone ran into a friend of her's from school. This friend said that her family had forced her to marry a muslim man. We were heart broken. Then one Sunday, half way through the worship service Solange snuck in the back of the church and sat down on a rock. Her head was shaven and down. We weren't even certain that it was her.
After the service she came over and hugged me and wept. I had no words, just that I was so glad to see her face. I asked if she was okay and she said yes. I wanted to know what had happened to her and how it was that she was back in a church, but it wasn't the time or the place. 
I never did get to ask the questions that I wanted answers to.
Our time in Nampula was very short. God knows her story and she knows His.
I pray that He keeps her close and that she stays strong in her faith.

The line continued. From the oldest wrinkled hand to the smallest hands of the children.
They told us of how the hoped God would bless our obedience and they asked us to never forget about them.

This is our little pastor. Joao Martino. The one who is always so small beside my tall husband.
He was gracious with his words. I thought I was ready for the good-byes.
I don't think you can ever be ready!

Then, I read a passages as my prayer for them.
The words of Paul to the church in Philippi.
Lee also thanked them and shared what the church has meant to us.
He also encouraged them to continue the work that they are doing for the gospel.

Before they left, some of the girls wanted their picture taken with Meghan.
The girls asked if we had any Bibles left. I found 3 and  gave them each one. 

The Baptist Church of Cosorre will always hold a special place in our hearts.

And we will continue to pray for them and we ask that you do, too.

Thanks,

Tracy