Baptism at the Beach -- Part 4

After the church service the ladies from the church were busy cooking us lunch. The girls were super hungry because it was already after 1:00 when the service was over. So like a good mom I let them have a snack. I did not want to be overly obvious while eating our yummy snacks, so I put the girls in the truck to eat. The problem with that idea was the windows. The children gathered around the truck and stared at the girls as they ate. The girls hated it! For some reason the children there really freaked the girls out! I guess it was the volume of children and the fact that ALL of those kids stared at Meg, Emma, and Lilly from the moment they got there.

Happy about cookies......

.....not happy about the audience!

Our lunch consisted of rice grown and processed by hand in the village and chicken....you got.....from the village. They cooked it right behind the church building. 

Notice the straw things behind the ladies. Those are the bathrooms. The one on the left is the women's and the one on the right is the men's. Lilly and Emma had to make a visit there during our stay. Meghan and I managed to hold off until we got in the ocean......you know you do it too!!! 

Putting in the rice

Making the chicken and the yummy sauce that was on it.

Making our plates 

Rice and drinks

Chicken and sauce

They ate and ate.....with their hands
(Can you tell how hot it is from their oily faces??)

After lunch our family, Wanne, Sally, Jessica, and the few friends
that came along with us from Quelimane, loaded up the trucks and headed down to the beach!

We all needed to change clothes.... so we made a changing room
There were no people as far as we could see,
but it was still very strange changing behind that thing!!!

This was looking down at the coconut trees.

Lilly and Bionda (My language teacher's daughter)

Meghan and her sister Sally

Me and Wanne
(see Emma in the background searching for treasures)

After we enjoyed the beach we went back to the church. Lee and Meghan stayed behind to help with the showing of "The Jesus Film" and the other girls and I caught a ride back home. It was a very long day and I knew they needed to get into bed because Monday was an early school day

Lee and a little friend he found that afternoon.
(I heard later from Jessica that this is the only little one
that will let a white person hold him.)

The group that gathered for the film!!!

Watching the film with the sunset behind them.

The end of a great day!

It was an awesome day out in the village of Mundimwe. The Lord is doing an amazing work. We heard that this past Sunday.....one week after the baptism....there were 3 new professions of faith! Praise God that the Good News is moving among these people!!!

Tracy

Baptism at the Beach -- Part 3

The walk to the beach was really cool. I think only a fraction of the people that made the journey with us actually come to the church. And only a very small group of them are believers. Most of these people came to see what all the fuss was about. Our prayer is that they would seek the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and find Him and trust in His Son Jesus!

We made it!
No one was on the beach as far as the eye could see
until our group arrived.

God's people....God's creation

All gathered to witness something they have never seen before.

Sweet Emma.....such a trouper!

Meg and her #1 guy.....Daddy

Cute Lilly.....and her braids

The first to be baptized

Many eyes watching

Heading back to the church in their white clothing
as a symbol how they are a new creation.

Back in the church for the service

Tracy

Baptism at the Beach -- Part 2

When we pulled up at the little church there in that coastal village, everyone was waiting on us! I think all of the village children were there and many of the adults. Their assignment......stare at the white children! :)  I am sure that most of them had never seen a white child. Here we were, 3 white children and 7 white adults (and I am white enough to count for 2)!

The girls did not like it at first.
They hid between the trucks until it was time to go into the church.

The adult gathered outside the church.

Just a few of the children

The little church and the over flow area outside.

Already the ladies have started working on our lunch.

We gathered inside of the church.
To give you an idea of the size of the building,
I am sitting with my back against the front wall looking into the congregation.

"Guests" usually sit in a place of honor.
And that is what we did.....we sat in front of the congregation....in chairs...
(I think I caught Lilly off guard.....or she was freaked out....either could be true!)

While we were in the church, the leader of the congregation introduced the baptism candidates and all of the guests and we sang a few songs. He also gave some instructions on the route we would take to the beach. Then, he dismissed us to prepare for our walk and the baptism.

Lee talking with a gentleman that we got to know
while we was in Quelimane for a few days.

I am putting sunscreen on the girls and the children gathered around to watch.

And we are off! 

Lilly, Sally, and Meghan
(I'm not sure what Lilly is pointing at)

Just beyond the edge of the village it opens up to this.....
the remains of a coconut orchard.
The trees in this area have gotten a disease and are dying.

We went through this old Portuguese settlement....really cool!
It is totally in the middle of no-where! 

Getting closer!
We are walking in lines because this is like a dirt road
that is not traveled much and grade is growing in the middle.
The beach is just through those trees up ahead.

The journey to the beach took us about 20 minutes on foot. I wanted to stop all along the way and take it all in. It is so different, yet so much the same as the Carolinas. Beautiful.....


Tracy

Baptism at the Beach -- Part 1

Two years ago a young man was living here in Quelimane. He was Jeremiah Johnson. He was an IMB worker who was part of the team here. Jeremiah and a national pastor worked together traveling on Jeremiah's motorcycle visiting remote villages near the coast of Mozambique. Many of these villages had not had a gospel witness in our lifetime....they were unreached with the gospel. It was Jeremiah's desire to see churches planted in these villages.


One day while traveling on a road between the coast and Quelimane, Jeremiah and his pastor friend had a tragic accident. Jeremiah was killed instantly.


On this side of eternity......Jeremiah never saw the fruit from all of the days he spent visiting with the people in those villages. Last Sunday......we did!


The first set of converts in the village of  Mundimwe were baptized in the Indian ocean....and we got to witness the awesome event!!


We left early in the day and didn't get back until quite late. I took so many pictures and I want to share as many as I can with you. It will take a several blog post.


We traveled out of town on a road that was new to us. Very quickly we were in a different world. Here is what we saw just right outside of Quelimane.

local delivery service

homes

Yes....dark clouds

We met the rain quickly

This was the typical scene out the window for much of the journey

Then everything changed! We stopped at a Baptist Church in a neighboring village to pick up some members of their congregation. They wanted to come to support the new believers and encourage them. We picked up about 20 people. They jumped into the back of our truck and Jessica's and crammed into the Dina's truck as well.

That is their church building in front of the vehicles.

We continued down the road for a couple of miles
then turned onto this path to pick-up a couple more passengers.

Then a strange thing happened......we kept going down the path!!!!
At first it was pretty clear...but the grass beside the truck was up to the windows.

Then the path got a bit less "traveled"

I kept thinking that if Mozambique had some wild animals....we surely would have seen some!
Doesn't this look like where a lion could be hiding?!?

Then we went over the coconut log bridge :)

Then through the river bed bridge :)

And down another path!
No wonder these villages are "unreached with the gospel".....they are difficult to get to!
I kept thinking, "Where are we going?"

Then...we turned off the path and drove right through the village.
The people that we brought from the other village's church were singing
and praising the Lord as loud as they could.

Our whole family loved the drive to Mundimwe! Seeing the sights in our new country never gets old! (Yet...) The girls are fascinated at the things that they are seeing. But....they were not ready for the attention that they received when we arrived at the little village church...

Tracy