Almost Home!

Traveling the globe with these brothers and doing ministry together over the past 10 days has been an absolute privilege. Each member brought a unique skill set to our team that the Lord used to bring his Gospel forth in Mocimboa. Ron, the master mechanic himself facilitated a fantastic outboard clinic for the local mechanics and fishermen. He was also able to share multiple times at the end of the clinic each day and one of the guys who attended made a profession to follow the Lord. Kyler, spent a majority of his time discipling a local believer who will possibly lead the budding church in Mocimboa. I can’t think of a better person to learn under than Kyler. He was also able to lead all our teaching times on the porch, which was my favorite part of the trip. Coach Rhodes, could run a sports clinic in his sleep. Many times, we had over 80 kids attending our clinic in the evenings and things ran like a well-oiled machine thanks to coach’s leadership. However, the best part of the clinic was the one on one time Coach had with the other coaches and the Gospel presentations/conversations that took place at the end of each night. Brian Harrell, the jack of all trades on our trip, is a Gospel sharing machine. Many times, I would find him slipping away to share or pray under a shade tree as others shared. His meekness, humility, and boldness is something I long to imitate in my own life.

Thank you all for your prayers this week. The lord did amazing things through our team which is attributed to his faithfulness and your prayers. Please continue to pray for the Shelton’s and the Smith’s as they are on the front lines in Moicmboa each day sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We have one more flight left and should arrive in Charlotte around 3:00pm. 

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 

Many times, this week our team has discussed the overwhelming lostness here in Mocimboa. Yesterday afternoon our team walked through the fish market. We were a sight to see for sure. Seven white guys all together, we stuck out like a sore thumb. As we walked through the crowds I could not help, but think about the overwhelming need for co-laborers here. 

The Lord is doing something special through the Smith's and Shelton's. They have counted the cost and found Christ worthy to serve here in Mocimboa​. I would ask that you pray earnestly for them, but maybe after reading about our time this week the Lord has called you to be sent out. I know that our prayer would be that all of us see people the way Christ sees them, with compassion for their spiritual condition. This compassion should then compel us to Gospel centered action and mission. 

*We make the five-hour drive to Pemba in the morning with both families. Please pray for a safe drive and flight as we make our way back home.  

Final Day of Mission

Today, we finished up our final mission projects. We wrapped up our outboard motor clinic with a day on the water. The guys loved it. For many of them this was their first time ever driving a boat. Once we got back to shore there was an impromptu motor carrying contest between Ronaldo and a guy in our class. The picture speaks for itself. 125lb motor and 120lb local, I’ll let you decide who did it better? Still very impressive on both their parts. We met on the porch again for a final time with the Jamati (Family). A few of the guys who we met through our clinics also joined us. It was a great time together, processing through Luke 15:1-8. We ended the night with our final sports clinic. The concrete had set up nicely and the 50 or so students received instruction on how to use the new apparatus. They loved it! Lastly, we ended with a film (Facing the Giants) and a Gospel presentation by Jason. 15 or so students responded to the Gospel for the first time. Pray that these students would truly walk with the Lord and genuinely understand the Gospel. Pray that the Gospel would take root in their heart and not be choked out (Luke 8). This morning we are resting for a bit and recharging before we head back to the states.

The Cost of Discipleship

Today was another full day of ministry, but for me personally the highlight of the day was our time on the porch with the new believers and those who are seeking. Pastor Kyler taught on the cost of following Christ, from Luke 14:25-33. Which is a very heavy text, but one that must be taught and explained in the Church. I must commend Jason and Anthony for their faithful discipleship of the believers here in Mocimboa. This is no fortune cookie discipleship program. It is rich with knowledge, yet not short on application. It's the real deal from the ground up. We have seen a few folks make professions to follow Christ this week and a few others that are interested in learning more. Please pray for them as well as the unbelievers here in Mocimboa. 

Today was amazing! Our team is absolutely spent physically, but it was a great day. We let the guys open up the outboard motor and they were thrilled. Three guys stayed behind to hear Ron and Anthony share after class. One of them asked for a Bible, which we will give him tomorrow. In the afternoon we installed the pull up/dip apparatus we finished building yesterday. This evening the floodgates opened up at our sports clinic. There were kids everywhere!!! Please be praying for tomorrow night and Friday as hopefully we will share with a large group of students each night. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Yesterday was a very busy day to say the least. So thankful for my team and their heart for people. These guys are selfless in every sense of the word and have a work ethic like none other. We started the day with outboard motor repair, where we had many of the same faces show back up and a few new guys as well. We demonstrated the basic oil change methods on outboards and shared the Gospel. We then finished wielding the pull up and dip apparatus for the school​ and built a few outboard stands to give away at the end of our clinic. Later in the evening we ended with our sports clinic. The Lord sent a great number of students and coaches to participate and hear the Gospel. Coach Rhodes did a fabulous job of leading as always. Incredibly thankful for Brian Harrell, Jason Smith, and Anthony Shelton for translating and allowing us to help partner with them here in Mocimboa. Continue to pray for our team and the guys coming to the outboard clinic and sports clinic.

Discipleship on the Porch

Yesterday afternoon, pastor Kyler taught a few of the Local Believers here in Mocimboa. Our time together was sweet and refreshing. The cost of discipleship here is high. Many of these brothers and sisters face significant persecution for following Isa (Jesus). They have been ostracized from their families and friends for their profession to follow Christ. We ended the night with a sports clinic, that led to multiple Gospel presentations and conversations. Coach Rhodes was in his element. I would ask that you pray for these sweet brothers and sisters and more opportunities to share.

Outboard Motor Clinic Day 2

We had a beautiful place to teach our outboard motor clinic this morning. The Lord brought 13 locals to participate, all of which were very engaged in all parts of our teaching. Ron King did a fantastic job teaching and sharing the Gospel. At 2:00 our time, pastor Kyler will be teaching a few of the local believers encouraging them to model servant leadership within their community. These few believers will hopefully be the first church to gather in Mocimboa. This evening, our team will lead a basketball clinic with the local high school. Please continue to pray for us as you go throughout the day.

Day 1 in Mocimboa

We made it to Port Town (Mocimboa) with no problems. We had a great lunch and unpacked some goodies for the local missionaries. It was better than Christmas morning.  Then we started our construction project which is fabricating a pull up and dip apparatus for the local school. Yes, that is a picture of Pastor Kyler using an angle grinder! Tomorrow we will start our outboard motor clinic and sports camp. Pray that the Gospel would go forth and Christ would be honored. 

Drive to Port Town

Our team is doing very well after some much needed rest. Spent the morning preparing for our drive up to Port Town. Pleae pray for safe travel as we make the 5 hour trip.

Pemba

We have arrived!!! We made it through immigration and customs with no problems. Loaded up the truck and trailer with all our gear for a tight ride to Pemba Magic. The short guy ended up in the trunk! (Hence the video angle.) Tomorrow morning we will start our 5 hour journey to Port Town, where we will minister over the next 10 days.

Breakfast in South Africa

From snow to sun...we have arrived in South Africa. Hearty breakfast with the boys and one more flight to go! Pray for a smooth transition through customs and immigration.

Here We Go

We are up and running early this morning. We loaded up and left the church around 4:30am. Thank you to Richard Garlick for driving us! Glad to have The missionary himself (Casey Norkett), his beautiful daughter Layla, Kevin Chaney, and David Braswell joining us for prayer. Please pray we make our 10:40 flight out of JFK as our earlier flight from Charlotte has been delayed an hour.

Dinner, Fellowship, and Packing

This evening our team and their families gathered for dinner at "The" Chicken King across from the church (We missed Kyler and his bride). Between the 4 families present, there were 13 children, yes....13. Many of them are very young, which made things a bit interesting to say the least. Looking down the table I was reminded of the sacrifice our wives are making so that the Gospel can go forth. They may not jump on a plane Friday, but they will keep things afloat back home and pick up a lot of slack. Please pray for Becky, Cassie, Crystal, Lauren, and Elizabeth in the days ahead as the fill the role of both mom and dad. Ask the Lord to give them an extra measure of His patience, strength, and grace while we are gone.

"From The Field" IMB Update Mozambique

I came across this post from the IMB this morning and thought I would share. Please pray that our team would strengthen and encourage local believers to be bold with the Gospel despite the persecution they will face. (1 Timothy 1:6-10) 

Pre-Trip Planning and Prayer Requests

It doesn't look like much, but this is a very and I mean very rough outline of our sports clinics each night. Coach Jim Rhodes and Brian Harrell are working very hard to keep the Gospel at the center of everything that we do. I would ask that you begin praying now for the students and coaches that will attend our clinics. Ask that the Lord would soften their hearts to his truth and that our team would be able to present the Gospel clearly and effectively.

Additional Prayer Requests 

• Safe travel on Friday March 10th-11th. 
• Health for our team members
• Ministry platforms to be useful and effective for local fisherman, coaches, and students. 
• Boldness with the Gospel  
• Above all else, that Christ would move among the unreached people of the Mozambican shoreline where we will be ministering.