Mozambique

We have been in Mozambique about three weeks now. When we arrived we spent about 10 days at the Guest House. It's really nice and is above the New Tribes Office so we were by all the missionaries that are preparing to go into the villages.

We have really been welcomed by all the NTM Missionaries here and really feel at home. I was impressed, off the bat by DJ, the team leader, when I met him in Florida last year and was invited to come. We have had alot of fun with others here too: Pete and Charity Rogers have been great. They are such hostpitable people. Pete loves Computer games so we have had some fun playing games at night also. Corlaee is having fun seeing people she grew up with and went to Bible School with. She is really getting her fill of girl time which she has missed since we have been traveling. Everyone is about our age but they all have 2-4 kids already!


Portuguese is really fun here too because it's just close enough to Spanish that I (Jason) can usually understand, and Coralee gets a lot too. They even understand me about half of the time when I am using my Spanish.

We've actually been somewhat of a help to them I believe in the office too. Coralee has been working on lots of projects: Inventory and typing up a huge Field Plan chart into Excel. I've been busy doing what I've been doing everywhere in Africa so far: Fixing the Computers and the Network. It's been really fun!

Last week we went to a Village to see what the Missionaries are actually doing with the people. It's really amazing. New Tribes wants to make sure that the church that is established is really well grounded and that the believers are solid and strong.


First they all have 2-4 years of Bible/Mission Training. Then they have 1 year of the National Language, Portuguese here. Then they have another 6 months in the city before going to a village. Finally once they get into the village they spend the first few years just learning the local language. The goal is to Translate the Bible and teach the people in the Local Language, in the Heart Language.


What's really exciting about this situation is that they are working in an unreached people group. The group is 90% Muslim but it's considered tainted by Animism, Folk Islam is what they call it. Well what they did was really creative. When they first came they told the people that they wanted to translate the Scriptures into their language. When they were asked if it would be the Quaran they said two things:
1.)The Quaran should remain in Arabic according to Islam.
2.)Then they said that the Torah, Zabur (Psalms) & Ingil (Gospel), the Bible to us, are accepted by everyone, Catholics, Protestents, Muslims, Mormons, etc. They understood this and so the people were excited to get the Scriptures in their language and welcomed them to come and teach them as well.


Although it's 90% Muslim they don't have alot of depth because the Services are all in Arabic and no one understands it. It's like the Catholic Masses in Latin but there is no other option. Right now the missionary that is there is learning the language. He is becoming friends with all the Imams, Mosque Leaders, and they consider him an Imam as well. Imam just means Religous teacher. He even goes with them to the Mosque, dresses like them and even fasts during Ramadan. When they ask him if he is a Muslim he expalins that he is only doing this for them but he already has so many points with God he doesn't need to do those things. He won't actually start teaching them until he has mastered the local language.

Well I'm super excited about this type of work and Coralee and I feel like God is calling us to work with NTM here. I have always wanted to work in a Muslim context and with this type of training and tools I believe that these Muslims can actually be reached! It is really exciting and we are applying to New Tribes Training school for the fall of 2007. We are hoping that they take my Masters of Ministry in lieu of the Bible program and will let us go straight into the one year training program in England.


It's a few year process to get back here and start working in a village. We would have to finish the training, raise our support, learn the national language in Portugal or Brazil for a year and then come! So we could use your prayers as we begin this process. I can't belive that we are actually going to go with NTM. I have always been hesitant because everyone in Coralee's family is with them and I wanted to do something with Muslims working in an unreached people group. I never knew that they did anything like this. This just started a few years ago and it seems like it just fits everything that we want to do.

Oh, the last amazing thing about this is that they are planning on eventually equiping the Mozambique church to reach their own unreached people groups. They want to train and equip the local city dwelling Mozambique Christians to finish the task. They want to be able to hand off this work to them in 20 years and let them do it and go home!


Not only are they parterning with the local churches and and missionaries that are here but they are working with SIL (Wycliff) to do a good portion the Bible Translation for these unreached people groups when there is a SIL missionary available.

We are going to take a leap of faith and go for it. We really feel that this is exactly what God has been leading us to do and we are applying to the NTM Training in the Fall. Well we have alot to do and to work on now that we are heading in this direction. It's so great to finally be going in a direction so that we can actaully make plans and go for it! Please keep us in your prayers!