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Written by Nicola Losik
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Friday, 20 August 2010 16:27 |
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to all our wonderful friends and supporters -
it's our very last blog post, and we just want to try and express the gratitude we have for all of your prayers and support these past six weeks. We arrived back in Minnesota on Monday night (almost early Tuesday morning) and had our last day as a team together on Tuesday, when we debriefed both as a team and individuals and then had our public Question and Answer session, finished off by the final concert at the end of the night. We were so blessed to hear so many stories of God's faithfulness from teams Honduras and Guatemala as well as share what He did in Africa and is continuing to do as we go home and continue to be faithful to what He has called us to.
It seemed like each person on our team was learning something different, yet the same lesson was weaved through each person's experience - dependence on God. Over and over again we learned as team that His love never fails and we are called to and able to trust that if we give our all, our everything, He is faithful to show us where He is leading us to go and will draw us closer to Himself. He really is enough in every way. .and He did so much work in our lives and allowed us to do His work in the lives of people across the world in Mozambique. From Him we were given love to love these people and to share in His joy - we are so, so blessed.
Thank you again, so much, and know that all of your prayers and support were so, so appreciated - and that God is faithful to continue the good work He has begun in us and in you.
In Christ,
Team Mozambique.
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Written by Nicola Losik
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Saturday, 14 August 2010 14:59 |
We just wanted to quickly let you all know that we will be flying out
of Maputo tomorrow morning (Sunday, August 15th) and will be arriving
in Minneapolis, MN on Monday evening. Prayers for safe travel and
sanity in getting through all the airline procedures would be so
appreciated and we'll post one final blog and photos when we return to
the States. Again - we are so, so blessed to have been able to have
this opportunity to come to Mozambique and we thank you so much for
blessing us in your prayers and support. We can't wait to share what
God has done in His faithfulness.
See you soon!
Team Mozambique 2010 |
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Written by Jeff Hau
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Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:57 |
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To all of our faithful friends and supporters:
We are such a privileged group of young individuals to be here in Mozambique right now. We've been talking a lot, lately, as a team, about the fact that every experience that we undergo is an experience that God wants us to walk through to draw us nearer to Him. We have certainly seen evidence of God's work all around us. God is definitely alive and is moving here in the churches. We witness nonbelievers enter the Kingdom almost every single day. And we get to play a small part in all of this. We don't deserve or need to be used, but He uses us anyway. It is such a privilege.
Our contact, Beto, has challenged the local churches in here in Matola, a neighboring city to Maputo (the country's capital), to be more outreach-minded. We have visited many churches who have prepared for our arrival by inviting hundreds of outsiders to come and see us, an American band called CTI. We play music that attracts people to the buildings, present the gospel, and give testimony to what God has done in our personal lives. We have also done a number of "open-air" events (always hosted by a church or partnering ministry) where we play concerts outdoors on stages or in plazas. Like the churches, the music fills the air and people come curiously to listen to our message. One thing sets Mozambique apart from any of the countries we visit (David Lanning - you were right.): These people know how to dance!
The team asks that you all be in prayer for focus over these last few days. The weeks have flown by, but the days sometimes crawl. Please pray that God would keep our attitude and attention focused on the present and the people whom we are serving. Please also keep in your prayers the YFC staff and volunteers. While we are here for a short while, they remain to follow-up with discipling these young people who have come to know Jesus during our visit. Pray that authentic transformation by the Spirit would ensue.
Tomorrow is a day off, and we will be heading to Kruger National Park in South Africa. Hopefully, the animals will be out and about. We begin the 48 hour journey back home this Sunday morning, so we will update once more before we leave. Until then, peace be with you all. As usual, here are the shout-outs:
Mandy: Hello Canada. Mom and Dad: no need to worry. I have been covering myself with bug spray every single day so there haven’t been any new bites. I slept late last night. Are you disappointed in me? J Dad, I used up my first memory card last week. Good thing you told me to bring more! Thanks Dad! Brother: Oh haha I forgot to mention I bought a pair of Miley Cyrus brand jeans for $5 back in Willmar. AHAHAHA. Besides my macbook… best investment ever. Oh, hi mom J This trip has been amazing so far. God has blessed us with so much, whether they be lessons or… good food. Yeyeah! :D
Karen: “Ha kuna who fana na Yesu”...indeed, there’s no one, there’s no one like Jesus! This is one of the 3 new songs that we learned here, and whether we’re singing it on a TV program or at an open-air outreach concert, it’s always a crowd-pleaser and a constant reminder of how universal the Gospel is, as the song is probably one of the most universally known praise songs. The other morning I was pondering the meaning of life…deep, I know, haha ;-) But anyway, I suppose one big thing God’s been teaching me is that the point of life is to know God and make Him and His Gospel known. Here in Mozambique, it’s so much easier to remember that because there are fewer frivolous distractions than back in the States. More on that when I get home. In other news, I prepared a chicken for dinner last week. It started alive and squawking and ended up on my dinner plate. ‘Nuf said. J Life is good. God is faithful. Shalom!
Rachel: HOLA! I can’t believe there’s only a couple of days left! I feel like I’ve been here for months, when it’s only been about a 2 weeks and a half. God is pounding me with all kinds of lessons daily. It’s so apparent that His mighty hand is over our team and our mission. For the past week we’ve been busy doing extremely long concerts, one event went all night till morning. Mozambicans, I’ve been learning, really know how to worship the Lord. Their hearts are so full and I’m learning so much from their lives. Mom and Dad, sister, friends, I miss you, will be seeing you in a bit. We helped paint the YFC building today, and I’m pretty sure I’ve turned a full shade darker, so you might not be able to recognize me at the airport. Hoho J My prayer request is that my eyes continue to stay focused on the mission at hand in the last couple of days that we have here. God is so good!!!!
Eva: Hello to all my family and friends. So it’s my turn to write my SA… I am having such a blast here and the team is quite awesome! I’m laughing a ton here from random moments. We got to paint our house today and we wore these ridiculous overalls taken straight from Super Mario. No joke. Food has been so good and we ate some live chicken last week. (…And no, I did not perform the execution.) Our concerts are really fun and everyone is always dancing. (Yes, to all those at home, I have re-unleashed the black woman within). At the same time, God has taken me to a great place here and given me a sense of peace. More and more, He is showing me that I am inadequate, but that in my “poverty” and foolishness, He can use me for His glory. Jeremiah 9:23-24. Tomorrow, I am going on (cue tune) “African Lion Safari”. I thought we were going to “cougar park”, but apparently it’s Kruger Park so I’ll capture tons of animals for you back home and pack it within my 18 lbs limit carry-on. I miss you and love you all dearly. Alright, Jeff is shouting over my shoulder and being the “dad” he always is. Can’t wait to see you all next week! J
Aaron: Hi everyone, I thank you for all your prayers and support. God has been doing so much in my 2 weeks in Mozambique. He has humbled me and shown me many things that are beyond my own understanding. Also God has provided me much strength, peace, and passion for this trip. I thank you for your prayers and continue to pray for me, my team, and God´s work in Honduras, I mean Mozambique – CHRIS- I mean Aaron
Yale: I can’t believe that we’ve reached the final week in Mozambique! God has been using us in very interesting ways, and I feel so privileged that we had the opportunity to serve here. God has opened my eyes in so many ways, and I’m so excited to see what God has in store for all of us as we return home. I hope that everyone at home is doing well, and are being blessed as well. Please keep us in your prayers for this last stretch, and that we can fully serve with open hearts and not think about the fact that everything is coming to and end very soon! God is so good, and we can’t wait to share all of the stories with you all!
James: Hey everyone! Thanks for all your prayers and support. God is definitely moving here in Mozambique and it’s been great to see how He already has so much in the works here, even before we came. Even more so it’s been such a blessing to be a part of what God is doing! He is so much better than good. Mom, Dad, John, Laurél, I love you. I would also like to send a special shout out to JR and Angie Slater and their family. You guys have always been such an encouragement for me. Lastly, I want to shout out to the youth in Follett and anyone involved with the Wildfire event Saturday. I’m praying for you guys!! Love you all and God bless!
Mark: Hey guys! Mozambique is amazing, and the people here are great. Besides minor health concerns a few days ago, I have been in great health. I can’t wait to see what God will do in the next few weeks, no matter how many people come to our concerts. God is working in his way and it is amazing to see that. I could use prayer for dedication to the work here, and you can also pray for God to put the finishing touches on what he wants to teach me from the trip. Thanks!
Cody: Sup everybody. First off I just want to again say thank you for all the prayer and support I’ve been given both now and leading up to this trip. It has been a huge blessing I can’t thank you enough for it! So just to sum up everything, the past few days have felt rather surreal. I think I’m starting to turn my attention to heading back home and what I’m going to have to do to integrate myself back into American society. Mom, just so you know I have been taking pictures of a great deal of things including the bug bite that I got about a week ago. It’s getting colder here to, I had to use two blankets last night to stay warm. I think this is the last update I’m going to do before we start heading back to the states so to my friends and family let me just say that I’m looking forward to seeing you all again and I think were going out for Mexican food tonight and to Beek, Carl, and Tony I’ll see you en cama mi amigo! I love you all and peace out!!!
Nicola: oh hi, all of you wonderful people, thanks for blessing me so much. Continued prayer is appreciated for this last week, and know that God satisfies in such overwhelming ways every day. Erika, happy birthday sister, I love you – and family – I love you; everyone at the office/now home and 14:21, I love you. .see you all next week! Your hugs and faces have been missed in my life in the past three weeks.
Jeff: To Jon Lee in Florida, Chris Gee in Idaho, Aaron Wong in Uganda, Reed Fagan in Poland, even Will Liverman who will be going to Julliard in the Fall, and any of the other guys in my life that share my love for ridiculous restaurant names and cheap meat – There’s a restaurant down the street from where we live called “Mohammed Express”… and they sell T-bone steaks for $4… That’s all I got to say.
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Written by Nicola Losik
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Wednesday, 04 August 2010 04:10 |
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To everyone reading this: hello from Mozambique!
Last night, we realized, was already the half way point through our trip and a definite time of reflection on what the Lord has done in our lives and the work being done here. We arrived in Maputo on Saturday and have been working with the local YFC here - our days being filled with concerts, learning new songs, learning Portuguese, getting to know the YFC volunteers and lots of fresh baked bread. We have been blessed to seeHis love for us - it’s being renewed and revealed to us in bigger and greater ways every single day. In moments when we feel exhausted and discouraged by our failures, God is always, always faithful to remind us of His strength and power of His grace which clothes us and teaches us to depend on Him even more. Depending on Him draws us closer to Him, making less of ourselves, less of our desires, and opens up our eyes to the needs of others and the ways in which He’s calling us to love Him. Our prayer is that our eyes would be open to the opportunities that are around us everyday and to live our lives in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel.
We played an open air concert as an outreach event last night, and since it gets dark by five PM here, we had a few light bulbs strung above us and got to witness the majesty of God in the huge stars taking over the sky. The power source our transformer was plugged into went completely out after playing music over our main speakers; we hadn’t started playing yet and already it seemed like we might have to pack up and leave. That definitely wasn’t the case. After praying together and coming to the realization that again, God will share what He wants to with His people in His time, whether that meant us playing a concert at that moment or not, we got to spend time talking with our audience and singing traditional African songs with them before the power came back on and we played for an hour and a half, while our audience tripled in size. We were told afterwards that fourteen people came to know Christ that night. Who are we that Christ would use us in any way, let alone do His work? But since He has called us His own and His servants, we are overwhelmed with what He has done for us and how He loves us. As we share what He has done with others, it becomes more and more real and clear in our own lives. God is so, so good. He's teaching us to trust His ways are higher than our own - especially in minstry.
As we start the last week and a half of our tour, we ask that you continue to pray for the ministryhere, outreach events, the hearts of the people and the YFC staff here, as well as health, safety, strength and dependence on our God. That He would give us His eyes and His heart for His work. .we know that without Him we can accomplish nothing.
And finally, shout outs!
James – Hey everybody!! Everything is going really well. It is so awesome to see how God moves and realize that His plan for things always comes through no matter what. I feel so blessed to be a part of what God is doing here in Mozambique. Dad, Mom, John, Laurél, and all my friends and family everywhere, I love you guys. And I’m praying for you all in Follett for your Wildfire event coming up soon! God Bless!
Aaron – Hey everybody, Everything is going really well so far. Keep us in your prayers still though. It’s awesome to see how God has been working over here. Hopefully all is well back home. We miss everyone back home. God bless and thanks for your prayers.
Eva – Hello to my family and friends! I have received the letters and I’m both saddened that I couldn’t be there at the wedding, but I’m so glad to hear from you. We are now in Matola and Maputo and it is such a blessing to take hot showers here. I am definitely eating very well and am being overfed (no hope of dropping any lbs). The worship and dancing here is glorious and it defines having “joy in the Lord”. I’m learning more and more everyday to have complete faith in the Lord. I hope you are all doing well. Miss you and love you. God bless!
Karen—Heyo! The first week out in Xai Xai was so great…so cool to partner with fellow Christians half-way across the world (not to mention we were right by the Indian ocean). God is constantly showing me how big He is and how universal His Gospel is. For the past several days (and for the remainder of our time) we’ve been in Maputo and Matola, which is just outside Maputo. You all know how much I like coffee, and I’ve been so blessed to have hot coffee every morning. Woohoo! And fresh bread everyday, too. Mmmmm, so good! I love seeing the crazy love the people here have, both for God and for us. I certainly have a lot to learn from them. I love you all! Shalom. ;-)
Yale- From hearing about God’s work here in Mozambique to learning how to wash laundry by hand, God has really taught us a lot here. We’ve been busy; we have played long concerts and spent time with the Youth For Christ here. Spending time with brothers and sisters here has been such a blessing and eye-opening experience. Yesterday, we had the privilege of being on Mozambique television! God is opening so many doors for us, and is truly at work here. See you all in 2 weeks (ish)!
Mark- Hey guys, Mozambique is great. We are being treated so well here by our hosts and are doing our best to spread the gospel here in Maputo. It’s been great to see God work through my shortcomings throughout this trip. Thanks for all the prayers! You guys can pray for resolve to finish what we have started here and for the hearts of the people here in Mozambique. Thanks again!
Mandy – Hi family and friends. I miss bubble tea! Ahhh. But this place is really great. I’m getting really fat hehehe. Please keep us in your prayers!
Rachel – God is so good and His presence is so apparent here in Mozambique. God is letting me view the extent of His love for us and for the people here – He continues to provide for us and He makes use of what little we have to offer and is allowing God’s love to be spread throughout this place. His blessings continue to cover us – from fresh loaves of bread every morning to daily hot showers. The YFC family here is so good to us. They’re taking us to all parts of Matola and Maputo to allow the gospel to be heard. It’s so amazing to meet people on the other side of the world who worship and praise the same God in almost all the same ways. It just proves to me even more how big He really is, how omnipresent, how powerful. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Miss and love you all, see you in one and ½ weeks!
Cody - Hey everybody! What to say, oh what to say. Well we moved from Xai Xai into Matola and are currently living in the YFC center there. We’ve played a few concerts and it’s been incredible to see how God is working through the staff and the people here in Mozambique but also just how faithful he is with all the blessings he’s poured out on us. One thing that comes to mind is the hot showers, just a reminder that you never truly appreciate something until it’s gone. Anyway I’m still really enjoying my time here and to all my friends, family, and supporters back home I just want to say that I love and miss you guy’s and I can’t thank you enough for all the support and prayers that you’ve given me. As they say here, “Muito obrigado y bom dia!
Nicola - ". .to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1) (: thank you so much for your prayers - God is doing so much . total surrender brings so much freedom. Matt, Lesley, Rich, Aaron, Jim, Shingy, Rachelle, Eric, Brooke, Gretch, Carrie, Laura - the million encouragement notes have been so amazing, thank you so, so much. Jim - so so incredibly excited for you, my dear friend! Gretch - I can't wait to see how He uses your heart this next year. .two hands Kylie.
Jeff - I get to witness God's movement every single day. It's so exciting. I love the team and the people here. A couple of shout-outs... Mom: I hope your trip to China went well. Dad: I'm praying for the family. Thanks for being so strong. Friends in Wheaton: I can't wait to come visit WCAC in a couple of weekends. San Francisco: I'm coming back! Kristal Bomstad: Pumpkin bars? Gretchen: ... Just because you're awesome. Max: Please define "slightly" inappropriate. Matt, Lesley, Carrie, and family - thanks so much for the encouragment notes. It means so much! Praying for you, Guatemala and Honduras!
The entire team - shout out to the BUN... you know who you are.
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