Pemba Update 3- Bush Bush fun!

Pemba update 3- Bush Bush

What has a flat tire, 15 people packed in the back of a camion for 4 hrs, & 134 Salvations?  My Bush Bush trip to Macomia last weekend.  It was the best experience I've had since being here.  (I think I say that about something every week)

My small group (the team of harvest school students & some of the Mozambican bible students) packed up last Thursday afternoon & headed out for a village called Macomia in Mozambique to love on people & show the Jesus Film to 2 villages for the very first time.  We had a small bus & a camion to get almost 30 of us plus our camping gear & food out to the bush bush.  Let me just say that 6 Flags ain't got nothing on a 4 hr ride in the back of a camion through the bush!  I loved it.  It was some hysterical bonding time for our group as people flew out of their seats with every bump.

We had a little resistance leaving the base but that was just confirmation that great things were in store.  We planned on showing the film that evening to a village but we blew a tire as soon as we left & were 2.5 hrs late getting on the road.  We finally left at 5pm for a 4 hr drive & hoped we would still be able to have our service.  We made it to Macomia around 9pm, set up our tents & got back in the truck to head for the village.  We were exhausted already, but starting a church service at 10pm with a 2 hr movie in it was even more tiring to think about.  We were reminded that we hadn't gone to the bush to have a camping trip.  We went to bring the gospel of Jesus, so we prayed through our exhaustion & asked Father to bring his kingdom down that night on everyone we would encounter.  When we arrived, we found out that just before we got there a woman in the village had gone to the chief & told him "Those Iris people are liars.  They said they were coming to us but they aren't".  Praise The Lord we listened to Him & not our tired bodies & went on to the village.  There were only 4 or 5 people out when we arrived but when we started playing music, out of no where about 40 kids came out to dance with us & the adults followed.  Around 100 kids/adults were there all together.  We danced & laughed, one of our leaders gave a message, we showed the Jesus film in the village's native tongue & around 40 people were saved!  Their hearts were so ripe for the gospel.  They had been waiting for someone to share Jesus with them.  We just showed them an amazing Father God who loved them immensely & they said yes to him...at 1 in the morning!

On a personal note, Thursday was a really rough day for me physically.  I never like to give the Devil attention b/c frankly, he's not worth the energy but I want to share the joy that came out of what was intended for destruction.  I encountered attacks on my physical body Thursday night that I knew were attempts to slow me down from doing what Father sent me to the Bush to do.  When we got into the camion to go to the village on Thursday night, I immediately got hit with a migraine & I don't get those.  (I have a completely new compassion for people who get them now.  They are awful.) I prayed & broke it off in Jesus name,  but it persisted through the service.  When we were called up to pray for people at the end of the service, I then had a huge wave of nausea hit me out of no where.  I was so distracted my the pain in my head & belly that I could barely pray for people.  "Father you know their needs, so come & meet them." was about all I could muster.  Thank goodness it is His power at work in me that ministers & not the technicality of my words.  I found one of my leaders after we finished & had them pray with me.  The migraine got better but the nausea continued till we got back to the camp site.  I went straight to my tent & cried & prayed myself to sleep.  When I woke up Friday morning, it felt like I'd been given a double dose of blessing for every struggle I felt the day before.  The scripture "Sorrows may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning" happened in my body.  I felt absolutely amazing.  I had been given a supernatural measure of joy.  I literally felt like I couldn't contain it; I was overflowing!  Immediately The Holy Spirit brought to mind the scripture "consider it pure joy when you face struggles of many kinds" for the sake of the gospel.  A clearer revelation of this truth got dropped deep into my spirit.  Father redeemed all the discomfort that came from the opposition the day before & gave me supernatural amounts of joy BECAUSE it was for the sake of the gospel.  I would not have been given that joy had I not suffered.  I would have missed out.  I felt so honored & humbled that I would be able to share in that & receive that revelation in a deeper place in my spirit.  All I could do was tell Him what an honor it was to have suffered in a very small way as a direct result of taking his kingdom out.  It was more than worth it. It was a privilege.

As Friday continued, we went door to door in the village loving people, telling them how much Father loved them, & praying with them.  We had a young girl with a very swollen ankle who wanted to receive prayer.  We prayed Fathers love down on her ankle & the pain & swelling immediately went down.  She went from limping to walking, skipping & running with one of our teammates to show how Jesus had touched her.  Because of how Jesus loved on her, she said she wanted to receive him as her savior.  She was saved, & then her mom, aunt & 2 cousins wanted to be saved after seeing what Jesus had done for her.  It was so much fun!  We were all buzzing with joy & laughter.  My group had a total of 8 people come into the family from door to door visits.  Praise God! What a joy it is to be part of bringing the Kingdom & seeing people brought back to their Daddy!

We went on to a new village Friday night to show the Jesus film again & we had even more response at this location.  It was triple the size of the first village and around 70 people were saved!  I've never seen such a hunger in people for Jesus.  They were desperate for hope & love & when they found Jesus, they took hold of Him eagerly.  It was beautiful.

Saturday we did baptisms with the local pastor in a river close to where we set up camp.  20 people were baptized who had recently surrendered to Jesus & invited Him into their heart, including several from our door to door evangelism.  It was an all out celebration!  Everyone piled around the river to watch.  What was a dirty littered pond moments before was transformed into a place where streams of living water gushed forth with every foot that stepped into it in the name of Jesus.  Even little kiddos who were watching got down in the river & started dunking their own heads into the water. It was precious & we took it as a prophetic declaration for them :) One woman who was washing clothes in the river saw what we were doing & when we explained she wanted Jesus too & was baptized.  Revival was spreading like fire in this small area & I can't get over what an absolute honor & joy it was to be a part of.  I kept wanting to pinch myself.  Father's kingdom crashed down on two villages in Macomia last weekend.  People felt the love of their Father, hearts were turned from darkness to light & orphans became sons & daughters at the feet of Jesus.