Our New Home In Lichinga Mozambique

The Lord continues to amaze us by opening the door to our new home in Lichinga, Mozambique. Lichinga is on the top of a beautiful mountain with grassy landscapes, pine trees, warm days and cool nights that can drop into the 40s during the winter months. We all draw our drinking and bathing water from a well, and use candles for lights at night.

Our first month here, we’ll have the joy of living in a very small cinder block house with 10 other people – the base leaders, Peter and Debbie Wilcox, who have 6 children and another couple who graduated from the missions school with us. While here, we serve under the leadership of the Wilcox’s. There are also over 10 Malawian children, some who lost both father and mother, being cared for at this Iris center. Our center is one of few in Niassa that can legally care for orphaned children, and the government is delighted that we’ll be able to take in some. Currently, a house is being built to care for 18 new girls.

As missionaries, my wife and I have an awesome opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ to nations. We have a heart to minister in the villages (preaching, teaching, serving, loving), to see hearts turn to Jesus Christ and people become true worshippers of God. We are NOT here to “crusade” (force our own ideas, American culture or lifestyle, etc) or “colonize”, but to be used by God to help bring people to a place where they can fulfill their God intended purpose and improve the lives of their own villages and country.

There is a treasure in Lichinga that many don’t recognize – the children. While in missions school, the Lord gave my wife and I a penetrating love for the children of Mozambique. We are going to minister to many children in Lichinga including those who are physically and sexually abused through weeks of an initiation practice done in the bush. We’ve seen what the Lord can do, and continue to pray that adults as well as the children involved in this practice may encounter Jesus so they can be healed of scars, know His salvation, and be restored as productive and loving members of their local communities.

My family and I are doing well. Tiffany began homeschooling Amerel and Isaiah during the day. We are still learning Portuguese and a few words of the local language. Tyren is helping with the construction of the new girls’ dorm, and walking to a local village called Asumani to minister to children with two other missionaries.