MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Jesus Film Outreach in Kaiya

Kaiya, Mozambique
Saturday, September 26, 2009.
Jesus Film Outreach in Kaiya
We had a chance to do another Jesus Film outreach this weekend. This time we were to travel to a village called, “Kaiya,” that was well off the beaten path. S.I.M. has been working in this village for the past few years and Tim, a missionary with S.I.M., asked if our team would be willing to come and show the Jesus Film in this village. It was a pleasure to come alongside other fellow missionaries and assist in the work they are doing.
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We also did some preaching and testimonies, along with showing the Jesus Film. During the time when Gracia was preaching, the crowd was becoming very belligerent toward the message she was preaching. I went on after her, to preach about creation and God’s plan for them, focusing on His love for them, and they didn’t seem so opposed to the message I gave. We showed the Jesus Film. Then, Victo and Gezani preached a salvation message and gave the opportunity for people to raise their hands to receive Jesus Christ. No one raised there hands and there was more resistance to the gospel. Some of the people from the village even questioned us openly. This is quite a different response than the large group of people who raised their hands to receive Jesus in Guerra, where Jonas was at an outreach last week.

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We had already decided to stay the night in tents. I was a little apprehensive, because of the response, but felt better as Tim said that he has stayed overnight with no problem. We slept through the night, woke up, and did some follow up. I guess in three years there have been 5 or 6 converts, which is awesome. Tim and another Mozambiquan are discipling them. We met with these guys in the morning to pray with them, and worship together. Then the chief of the village came by. He seemed friendly enough, but openly told us that he was not interested at all in the message of Jesus. He said that not only is he closed to this message, but those in his village will also be. This could be why everyone was so opposed to the message. He was even saying that Mohammed is Jesus. So the chief is a confused man. Please pray that God would continue to soften his heart, as well as the heart of those in the village, and that the seeds planted through the teaching, testimonies and Jesus film would take root, and that Tim and S.I.M. would continue to see more fruit in their ministry in Kaiya.

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On a very positive note, Jesse and some of our team walked into the village and led 10 men and 3 children in prayer to ask Jesus Christ into their hearts. Praise the Lord!!! So even though there was no response after the Jesus Film last night, which Jesse says is not the norm, there was fruit the next morning.
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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Scouting Trip from Majiga to Miala

Miala, Mozambique
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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Scouting Trip from Majiga to Miala
Yesterday, Jesse, Victo, Nathaniel, Pedro and I, on three motorcycles, went on our second scouting trip in the last couple of weeks. It is of utmost importance to scout out these villages, marking them on our GPS before we can accomplish what God has placed upon our hearts to do before the rainy season begins. We were able to ride from Assumane through Majiga, which was the last village we made it to last week, all the way to a village called Miala, which is where the paved road all the way to Tanzania joins the back roads. We road 106 kilometers, starting at 7:30 am and were back by 1:00 pm.

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Before the rainy season begins in November, when the roads become impassible because of the mud, God has placed on our hearts to bring to the chiefs of each village we are scouting a gift, and begin relationships with all of them, as the openness of the chief of a village really has an impact on the openness of the others in the village. The gift we are planning to give the chiefs is called a “Proclaimer,” which is a solar powered unit that has the entire New Testament in Yao on it. We must purchase these “Proclaimers” in bulk, Lord willing, when we travel to Malawi to have our visas extended. They look like a little radio. It also has the capability to wind it to give it a charge, as well as plug it in with an adapter. We are going to spend the rainy season, among other things, praying over our spiritual map of the villages, by name, along with the chiefs, as the Word of God in audio form does its’ job; as the chief and other villagers listen to it daily. We believe this to be prophetic. The "Proclaimer" is the seed. The prayers of the saints will be like water during the rainy season, just like the people of the village work on their "machambas" or gardens during this season. Then when we go back to evangelize, using the Jesus film, our hope is that there will be an abundant harvest. Please pray for God’s favor over us in this task.

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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Interceding for the Yao Villages

Mount Redeemed, Mozambique
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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Interceding for the Yao Villages
Spent yesterday resting, praying and fasting. There is a mountain not too far from our home that was once called, “Mount Witchcraft,” but was renamed, “Mount Redeemed” by the staff here on the IRIS base. From this mountain you can see the villages of Assumane, Kazigwa and beyond. Jesse and I were thinking about taking a walk up to the mountain, but I’ve been a little under the weather and weak, so we road motorcycles up the mountain, even though there weren’t good trails. We went up to “Mount Redeemed” to pray over and intercede for the Yao people in all of the Yao villages from Assumane north to the border of Tanzania. It was a powerful time of prayer and God’s presence and power was very evident as we stood in the gap on behalf of the Yao people, asking God to remove blindfolds that Satan has placed upon them, that they may hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus, as He gives us open doors to evangelize and disciple in these villages. It was an intense time of spiritual warfare as we asked the Lord to loosen the grip of the principalities, powers and strongholds of witchcraft and such over the people’s lives. Please join with us in prayer for these thousands of people in hundreds of villages. Prayer changes things! This is a fact!
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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Trip with Peter to the Zambezia Province

Molumbo, Mozambique
Monday, September 21, 2009
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Trip with Peter to the Zambezia ProvinceJust got back last night from a four-day, 450 kilometer journey south to the Zambezia province of Mozambique. Peter Wilcox, a fellow missionary here in Lichinga, is responsible for overseeing IRIS churches and pastors here in the Niassa province, as well as in the very northern part of the Zambezia province. Peter asked if I would join him on this trip south and to give any input I could on helping bring more health to the hundreds of churches over which he is responsible. Of course, I don’t know how much valuable information I was able to give, but at least I could give some input based on my experiences in church planting and pastoring churches in the past. I was happy to go on this trip, and felt that Peter and I were able to develop our relationship with each other more. We were also able on this trip to spend a lot of time with some of the pastors and provincial leaders, as Peter has been investing into them over the past four years. We were also able to see the appointing of leaders over this new region in Zambezia, where there are eight IRIS churches, laying hands on them and commissioning them.

We first drove to pastor Varique’s home in Caumba where we spent the first night, camping in tents. Pastor Varique is the acting provincial pastor, and looks an awful lot like the actor Martin Lawrence, even in his facial expressions, which made me chuckle often. He is an awesome man of God and has done a great job in the province, as well as at the local church he pastors in Cuamba. We also connected with pastor Sylvester, who is responsible for planting around 35 churches in the Cuamba district, and with pastor Lorenzo, the provincial secretary and another local pastor. I love these guys. It was so neat to see them with their Bibles opened up discussing the things of God with each other, as well as asking for Peter’s input on what they were discussing. Peter is doing an amazing job just teaching, instructing and guiding them. They very much look up to him as their pastor; a pastor to the pastors in the Niassa province.
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We drove the next morning to Molumbo, where we again camped in tents. We had many services in the simple, local church building. The Mozambiquan people in this area speak Longwe and Chichewa, rather than Yao. They are much more musical than the Yao, enjoying very much singing praises in their beautiful voices to the Lord, and playing their wonderful indigenous drums and home-made instruments. I was given the opportunity to preach that evening. I spoke on knowing a tree by its’ fruit. They seemed very responsive to the message. Peter and the other pastors spoke throughout our time in the Zambezia province.
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The following day, we continued on in services, where the new district leaders were appointed. We laid hands on them, praying God’s anointing for the tasks which He has called them to. On this journey, I was able to experience real village life, including eating meals of shema, chicken pieces with sauce and beans with our hands, and without forks. I also took a shower in an outdoor shower house surrounded by a tall grass fence that you could see through in places, where I was a little apprehensive as there were many Mozambiquan people nearby, who seemed especially intrigued by our white skin, mine being especially white underneath my clothing. =) The latrines were also very simple. I also drank some water that was pretty sketchy and dirty, that I think is the culprit of the diarrhea I am now having a bout with, though I prayed over it before I drank it.

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We received a very warm welcome at the next church about 12 kilometers further south. We had a nice service there, and were also visited by the village chief who spoke at the service. After the service and before dinner, a crazy man wandered over toward us while we were chewing on some sugar cane near Peter’s truck. We laid hands on him and began to pray for his healing and deliverance. God was definitely working. All of the sudden we were flooded by many others who were seeking physical and spiritual healings. We all prayed over them all in groups of us pastors and missionaries. One man in particular we prayed for had been experiencing pain for quite some time. Peter began to dig a bit more into his past, and come to find out his parents had put witchcraft on him from his youth, which was ties into his physical pain. We had him renounce this witchcraft and break these curses. We then brought his wife over to pray for her as well, as some of their issues were connected to their relationship. They had their little infant girls in their arms. It was then Peter felt prompted in the Spirit to see if any witchcraft had been placed upon the child. Sure enough, tied around the child’s neck was a fetish connected to witchcraft. I would never have known that the Leatherman I bought in the States would be used to cut off witchcraft fetishes from people when I bought it. We had the father cut off the fetish from around his daughter’s neck and did some teaching about such things, showing him that he needed to completely be set apart from the use of witchcraft, as he is a born again believer. Thank you Jesus, for this spontaneous time of healing and deliverance from the power of darkness.

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The last night we spent at the other church to closer to Molumbo. Then we headed back to Lichinga, stopping in various towns along the way. We also stopped in at a church near Mecanhelas to take part of their service that Sunday morning. The pastor there was also responsible for planting many churches in the area. The people were so glad to see us and sang and danced their heart out in our presence. We finally made it back to Lichinga after dark last night. I really had the chance to spend a lot of time alone with the Lord on this trip, and I believe that the Lord really opened my eyes to some things in regards to a strategy in planting churches among the Yao villages, which we’ve been called by God to do. Thank you, Jesus!

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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Jesus Film Outreach in Guerra

Guerra, Mozambique
Saturday, September 19, 2009
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Jesus Film Outreach in Guerra
While my dad was gone in the Zambezia province, south of Lichinga, I went with Jesse and Tanya on a Jesus film outreach to a village called, “Guerra,” meaning, “war” in Portuguese. I believe this was a prophetic sign from God because we were waging war with the devil that night by bringing the people their to Jesus, and receiving Him in their hearts.
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In the village there is a small soccer field, and by one of the goal posts we set up the screen, projection lights and sound equipment right on top of “Faithful,” Jesse and Tanya’s white flat bed truck. Lots of people came that night, and many people gave their hearts to Jesus. More people were added to the Book of Life last night.

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Then some friends of ours from the IRIS base here, Tyren and Nathaniel, did a skit showing how our hearts got changed through Jesus’ blood. [Symbolically] they were dark before and now, they are white and clean from Jesus. After that, they played the Jesus film. I think that many people were touched by the film. It was pretty impacting, especially for those who have never heard about Him before.
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Then, before we left, we handed out some tracts telling them more about what a relationship with Jesus means. And we also had people come up for healing. Many people were impacted, and more will be in the future outreach nights to come.
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Jonas Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Scouting Trip from Assumane to Majiga

Majika, Mozambique
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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Scouting Trip from Assumane to Majiga
Today, seven us from the IRIS base, on four motorcycles, including Jonas and I on our new motorcycle, “Acceleration,” headed out just after 8:00 am to scout out 13 villages from the village of Assumane to Majiga. The trip was over 75 kilometers long over crazy terrain, including a broken bridge made of logs over a river. I found a way to fasten our Garmin GPS with all the map-sets for Africa onto our motorcycle, and marked all of the villages we rode to.

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Some of the villages we rode to and marked are villages that Jesse and Tanya and the other missionaries here have already began and/or established a work, including evangelization through the Jesus film, like Assumane, Kazigwa, Luica, Chigonele and Mikoko. The farthest village that Jesse and Tanya have ever traveled is Ntuili, though they have not yet done any outreach there yet. We went four villages further north than Ntuili today, the last of those villages being Majiga. Please see the map I took from our GPS of all the villages marked. The villages marked by a red square have not ever been exposed to the gospel of Jesus

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The purpose of today’s scouting trip was to find and mark these villages on the GPS, pray for these villages and ask God for a strategy as to how to reach these villages. We are in the process of training leaders who we hope will be able to do follow up discipleship, and even church planting in these villages. But it is so important that indigenous Christ-followers are raised up for this task.

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We prayed in these villages, talked to friends that have already been made and prayed for the sick. We got SO DIRTY on this scouting trip. We didn’t have any major mechanical problems with the bikes and count this scouting trip a success. We have pioneered works in new villages, where they probably have never seen someone with white skin, and definitely have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for us, that God would give us favor in reaching these villages. And please pray for the hearts of those in these villages, that He would prepare them to hear and respond to the gospel. Thank you all so much.
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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Acceleration - Our New Motorcycle

Lichinga, Mozambique
Monday, September 14, 2009
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Acceleration - Our New Motorcycle
Before we ever left the U.S. to Poland, the Lord provided us with a lump sum settlement because of my back injury. We prayed about how to leverage that money. He revealed to us that we were to purchase a vehicle, or vehicles, that would take us across Africa, bringing the gospel of Christ to the unreached peoples. We knew that there would be at least one four-wheel drive vehicle involved in this. But part of our ministry here in Mozambique is traveling to the villages from our mission house to the Tanzania border. Many of these roads are impassible, even with trucks, and only accessible by dirt bikes.

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Jesse and Tanya have two motorcycles that have been and continue to take them to these villages. There is a little tradition they have here of naming their motorcycles; these names often times being prophetic. Their first motorcycle is named, “Transition,” and their second motorcycle is named, “Transformation.” As we prayed about purchasing a motorcycle, the Lord showed us that we were to name our motorcycle, “Acceleration,” as we believe that this bike will accelerate the process of bringing the gospel to the unreached Yao villages.
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After praying about it, we went to town, only to find that nearly all of the better quality 50cc motorcycles had been sold, and the city of Lichinga was almost out of them. Then we tried one other store near the market and found a really awesome 50cc dirt bike that was even a bit better for the roads to the villages, having more clearance and a little more power than Jesse and Tanya’s. We also knew that in order to name it, “Acceleration,” it had to be a little faster than theirs. =)
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For under $1,000.00 I purchased, “Acceleration.” It even came with a helmet. I also went to the office where I needed to purchase a special document and license to operate the vehicle in town. We believe this motorcycle will be an effective tool to bring Jesus to the lost people of the Niassa province here in Mozambique.
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Christian Young

MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - Our First Visits To The Village Of Assumane

Assumane, Mozambique
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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Our First Visits To The Village Of Assumane
One of the ministries God has called us to in Africa, and specifically here in the Niassa province, is to travel to the villages from Lichinga to the Tanzania border, bringing the gospel of Jesus to unreached Yao people, disciple new believers, develop leaders and plant churches.

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The first village on this road, and the village considered the gateway to these other 100+ villages is the village of Assumane. Jesse and Tanya have started a work in this village and have been ministering there for the past two years. The second day we were here we road dirt bikes to Assumane to meet these precious people; Jesse on one bike with Victo on the back; me on the other bike with Jonas on the back. Jesse is really popular in this large village. As soon as the children saw him coming, they all ran out waving and yelling, “JESSE!” The village is lined with mud huts with grass roofs of various shapes and sizes. We met Phinehas, one of the prominent men in the village and someone that Jesse and Tanya led to Christ, as well as his family. We only stayed a short while as it was getting dark.
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The next day, we took “Faithful,” the truck that so people prayed for and gave financially toward over a year ago, with the girls and Tanya as well. This time we prayed for a paralytic man named Howard, who God has begun the healing work in. We also met a lot of the children of the village, who were very intrigued at our white skin and the girls’ hair, because it is different than theirs. We then met the village chief, who is not yet a believer, yet who has given permission to Jesse and Tanya to build a church facility in the village, as well as the land to do so. The girls went back to the house. Then Jesse, Jonas, Victo and I drive back to work on the construction of a latrine for the church to use. We worked some long hot hours in the sun, our hands and clothes covered in red dirt from digging. I had to learn some real tricks at splitting bamboo so that we could construct the walls. Jonas helped tie the bamboo to the posts. We were hoping to finish that day, but ran out of ties and time.

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This church in Assumane is the first church to be planted among these 100+ villages that God has given us. Jesse and Tanya planted this church and have the responsibility of pastoring this church, while they continue to train leaders to take over. We went to the new church in Assumane this Sunday. We piled the sound equipment, benches and grass mats into the back of “Faithful,” and then piled into the truck bed ourselves, heading to Assumane. I practiced guitar with the worship team last night and got to play at the church this morning. There was a huge gathering of over 100 people. The praise and worship was enthusiastic and amazing! The testimonies and preaching was done in Portuguese and Yao, which we have started the process of learning. We got to come forward and share how glad we were that God has called us to Mozambique, not just as visitors, but to be with them week in and week out. This is an amazing people and an amazing place to be.
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Christian Young