oh His LOVE.

Written by Nicola Losik Wednesday, 04 August 2010 04:10

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.

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.