What is next?

When you think that you actually have things figured out I am reminded I have no clue. I can rest in the fact that God does have a plan for my life and even though I am unsure. T he door was opened up for me to go back to Brasil but this past month things unexpectedly changed and I could not go and now I have been told Brasil is closed at least through the IMB. I am seeking god now to show me what is next b/c I have been told that there are many needs in other areas of the world in which I agree but God has placed Brasil on my heart so it would be disobedience to God just to accept another job somewhere else in this world.

I ask for your prayers for God to show me His will for my life next as I am willing to go anywhere as long as that is what God shows me. If He desires I serve in another part of the world then a big AMEN . I am not moving until the Lord says move. It is good that I have until March to make these decisions.

I can trust God is in complete control of my life and future even when the road seems unsure to me.

Brasil

Season of changes!

As most of you know my three year term in Mozambique will be up and well this three years has been a time of much learning as well as many trials but God has been there to walk beside me and taught me so much through this time. I am not saying that it has been easy but there has been some very hard challenges for me that I just had to follow God without knowing why. I could also ask that question for my whole three years here but I know in Cuamba after the accident Mussa the Muslim who helped me then later on accepted Christ as well as my time here with the Yao people is reason for God placing me here for three years. God has been daily teaching me patience since the day I have arrived along with many other lessons.

As I will leave Mozambique, Africa on August 20th I will not be returning to Mozambique or this part of Africa after my stateside assignment. I have asked to be transferred to Brasil after my stateside term in which many of you know that is where God has given me a passion for. I have a complete peace from God about this decision.

I have also told that a story I sent in will be published in Voices of the Faithful II which will be released in September of this year and my story will appear in the October stories. Beth Moore is the one who is writing this book which is a compiled list of missionaries and what God is doing around the world...

Renewal!

It is that time of the year again I must go renw my DIRE which is my residence card here in Mozambique and I will be very honest too you I really do not look forward to this time of the year! It means I have to present proper documents to religious affairs then I get the honor of going to immigration to of course pay them and give them more paper work to renew my residence card for another year! Usually it is religious affairs who drags their feet in our eyes and takes their own sweet time well that is how we see it. Of course the Religious Affairs office just sees this as normal. I can say I am not the most patient person but one thing for sure my patience has been tried and is still being tried here every day. I can say that the Lord has grown my patience some but there is much more growth in that area needed but I am sure the Lord is not done yet. This year well immigration has been very slow also and well I can say last Friday my patience had been worn thin with them b/c I had been there every day over the last week and each day the same answer. Friday started off with them asking me like five or six times where my reciept was and each time me telling them that the other day their colleague took it to check on my DIRE and I left without it. Up until then that was not even questioned so this frustrated me like big time. They were telling me nothing so I just told them that you have a record that I paid with another reciept as well you have my DIRE which you would have not taken unless I had paid you first. So then they decided to ignore me but well I just sat down and decided I was not leaving until they did something well almost two hours later the woman came out with a copy of my reciept and said your DIRE is not ready yet. I said thank you vy much and that is all I wanted you to say and I could have left much earlier. So I am off to Immigration again today to see if my DIRE is ready or not! The good thing is that I was sitting next to a man who was from Zimbabwe but lived here now but his family was still in Zimbabwe so he was going to see them. He is a follower of Christ so we had a good chat.


This morning after my quite time God used that to open my eyes to a spiritual truth which He is doing in each one of us as followers of Christ but this is speaking directly at me. I only have to renew my residence card yearly but God is at work at renewing my heart daily and how many times must He be frustrated with me b/c I am taking my own sweet time to allow Him to renew my heart. I know many times His patience has been worn thin with me b/c of how slow I am in coming back to Him, then I also read this today Psalm 51 which once again has encouraged me so and that is my prayer for me as well as each and every follower of Jesus Christ!

Unexpected Move!

Sadly in August I left Cuamba b/c we could not in any way meet the expectations the church had for us there plus while I was gone the pastor had spread some lies about me so God saw fit to move me. I am still in the Niassa Province but about 4 hours north of Cuamba now in the provencial capitol (Lichinga) which is at a higher elevation than I thought. I have came here to work with teenagers, college students and young adults in the city. I have been here almost two months now and well I am figuring out some things that this city is much cooler than I am used too and plus it is constantly windy here. All this is due to my higher elevation level the city is at. I have found this city is full of young people with nothing too do but like any teenager, college student and young adult of the world they are not very interested in spiritual things.... PRAY for me to find creative ways to get them interested in spiritual things...

B/c well here while back I had a seizure well now I am not allowed to drive until March but again God is at work through this b/c my goal for these young adults is teach them that the Gospel will spread by foot. They do not need a car, motorcycle or bycycle just too good feet. Africans in general walk everywhere anyways or have a bycycle. PRAY for me to be completely cured of these seizures.


I do not care where you are at in Africa it is always a process and usually a long one. so well you may spend a half of a day in the bank and that is if you push your way through otherwise you will get nothing accomplished. There is not a line but five or six lines for you to pick from going to the same teller. Today I spent three hours in an goverment office just to get a piece of paper back but well patience paid off even though my patience was really, really tried.

PRAY for God to place a passion for His Word in the lives of these teenagers, college students and young adults but also that a desire be placed in their hearts to know their Creator. I have two groups I am storying with so we are still on the creation story but PRAY that God take that story to let them know how special they are to God and He desire s apersonal relationship with them...


Just be patient b/c I am sure that you will hear from "The Jimmy" very soon b/c I am always involved in some sort of an adventure here!

God took a totalled truck to restore a totalled life!

In earlier blogs I have asked prayer for Mussa who was the Muslim guy who put me on the back of his motorcycle after I totalled my truck. I was white and bleeding everywhere but Mussa cared enough to help me. He took me to the hospital and after that I did not see him but a week later he showed up at the house to check on me so I again thanked him for his help. Well little did I know that God would take this accident and form a wonderful relationship with a Muslim, but God ways are not our nor is His way our way. Then I started going out weekly to his house and met his family as well as most the village. Mussa was my best friend outside Cuamba so I looked forward to seeing him each week. After about six months we started studying the Word weekly and each week there were many men who would always show up so I knew God was at work in Mussa which his name by the way in english is Moses. The end of June 2008 well Mussa now Moses as he says accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Pray for Mussa as I have now moved that a Godly person would disciple him and help him grow in Christ. More importantly He now has the Word in His heart language so just pray that Mussa will faitfully read that and the Spirit of God would grow him up as a strong man in Christ!

Have you ever had to pay a theif for your own phone?

While in Nampula I was on a road to the airport and stopped to buy some things for my friend. As I was getting out of my car truck my cell phone fell to the ground. My guard did not lock his door so I reached over locked the door then got out and my phone was gone. I was less than a minute getting out of my truck but well apparently theives are quick on the draw here. Upon informing the guard at the store three workers went after him but I knew the phone was just gone. As I was inside the store one of the workers came in and said we have your phone. I asked them where it was and the worker said the other two workers are holding him. We went there and well there was a good thirty people already around. I asked where is my phone and this theif starting negotiating for my phone b/c he said they had beat him which is normal when a theif is caught. Well when my guard said he robbed me he took offense, go figure so I said to my guard let me handle this. Honestly I wanted to beat him myself or tell the workers to get my phone by force but I knew either way I would end up the bad guy and probably at the police station. My guard finally told me after talking to b/c I am white here well even if I get the police involved I will end up paying him money or p[aying the police money just b/c my skin color.

Now this is totally messed up but in the end and 500.00 MTS later which is about $21 I got my phone back.... I am very Thankful to have it back......

It seems my life is great big adventure and as soon as I finish one adventure I know another advemture is waiting around the corner for me.

My good friend Mussa!

I know many of you had heard me talk about Mussa so much so here is Mussa. He is the one who put me on the back of his bike after my acident and brought me 50 k's to get me help! Mussa is Muslim so just saw him this week and sent some things home with him for Christmas (food). When I get back in Late January I will visit Mussa, his wife and five children in their village. Before he left he was so bothered that he had been to my house but I had never been to his so when I come back that is a must do thing. Pray for Mussa and his family to come into a real encounter with Isa (Jesus Christ) so that they may not only know but believe in Him!