08 Jun Mozambique 2016 – Arriving in Pemba, Week 1
Hey everyone!! We were planning to wait another week to send a newsletter but so much has happened already we couldn’t wait to tell you. If we told you it has been easy so far, that would be a lie, but we have already had some incredible life changing experiences.
We officially arrived in Pemba, Mozambique on Saturday, May 28. Our flights went well until we landed and found that only one of our bags arrived with us and we were missing two of them. When we asked the airline worker to locate the bags, he couldn’t find them, so we headed to base with the rest of the team to check in and get settled. We waited three days until our bags were finally located and arrived in Pemba. Before leaving for Africa, we were really praying for God to help us learn to truly take joy through trials and to fully trust God… little did we know that would be put to the test sooner than later. Those three days were surprisingly nice, we spent a lot of time in prayer, and lived very simply with the little we had to get by on. We spent a lot of time with the little children and local people on base, learning language and just getting to know some of them. There was a young guy who had a soccer injury on his foot from getting stepped on with a cleat when he was barefoot. We weren’t sure if it was broken or out of place or what, but he was waiting to get into the hospital here on base to be checked out. We ended up praying for his foot and it was instantly healed. He was able to move it in a way that he wasn’t able to do before, which meant he didn’t need to go to the hospital after all. All three of us stood there thanking and praising Jesus for what He just did for this young man. It was a great few days full of learning to live simply.What the enemy tried to use to bring us down, God turned around and used the situation to show us how the local people truly live here, having so few possessions but still having the joy of the Lord. God really is the only source for true fulfillment and joy.
We had the opportunity to participate in Mozambique’s National Children’s Day. It’s a national holiday dedicated solely to celebrate the children of the nation. It’s bigger than birthdays and even Christmas here. Iris had over 6,000 children come through the base on Wednesday, June 1. There were children that walked from miles and miles away, lining up at the front gate by sunrise, just to get a meal of rice, beans, chicken, and a soda. Chicken is such a delicacy here so that was a special treat for the children. The base also had music and games to help pass the time while they waited in line for their meals. We had the pleasure of working in the kitchen collecting each child’s plate as they finished their meal and taking the plates to be washed. We were right in the middle of all the chaos and we loved every minute of it. We saw every single child of the day and got to pray over them as they came and went from the dining area. It was such an amazing experience and truly humbling and an honor to get to serve the least of these.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ –Matthew 25:40 NIV
Our first day of class was Thursday and we got to hear a wonderful message about “keys” from Heidi. She spoke about the fact that we are not slaves to God, because slaves do not have keys to enter the intimate rooms. We are sons and daughters. We have been given keys and authority to enter the intimate rooms… being the deep, intimate places of God’s heart and presence. She also said that fruitfulness can only flow out of deep intimacy with God. It was an amazing first day and we can’t wait to see what else God has in store for us in these classes.
After class we went into the village in small groups with some Mozambican pastors in training to just share the love of Jesus and see what the Holy Spirit would have us do. We were able to pray for and minister to multiple people, especially the children. We loved getting to sit in the dirt and play games with them and just love on them. One child in particular had a cast on his entire torso because he had been beaten on by another child. We prayed for him for complete healing. It was really difficult to communicate to see if he felt any better, but we are fully believing he is completely healed and we plan to visit him again sometime this week. Walking through the trash dump where these people live was emotional but we also felt a sense of honor that God would trust us enough to send us here to love on His children. We can truly feel God’s love and compassion for His Mozambique bride and we can honestly say, there’s no place we would rather be in this time!
Diana & Graciana
We have had two church services here, and it’s always a very special event. There are a lot of similarities to the western church but there are also many differences. One difference in particular is many people sit on the floor right by the alter, as close as they can get, during the entire service. The other difference is that the majority of their worship is a massive dance party to the Lord. It’s a blast, but also very exhausting in the African heat (even though this is their winter season). The last difference we have noticed is that the message is translated into 3 languages, English to Portuguese to Makua (the local language).
After church this past Sunday (June 5) they decided to do baptisms at the beach across the street. Heidi and the Iris Global team baptized dozens of people and we were two of them! Before we got married we had a vision of us being baptized together one day, since neither of us have been baptized in water since we’ve been born again. We were able to do it together, side by side, under the african sun, in the Indian Ocean which made the moment even more precious than we could have ever imagined. It was truly a remarkable experience, dying to self and being resurrected in Christ. We have been full of even more joy ever since.
It’s only been a week, and so much has happened already. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our journey and our little lives here in Mozambique. We can’t wait to share more of our upcoming encounters and experiences. We pray that each and every one of you encounter the love of God this week like never before, and that He would show you just how much you truly mean to Him! You’re awesome and we love you!!
Love in Him,
Jillian & Mitchell Stiner
PLEASE PRAY: Jill has been sick with a fever, sore throat, cough, swelling in her legs, and some stomach issues since arriving. She has not let it slow her down and has been able to attend everything. She has been her normal, joyful self despite this attack, but please continue to pray for healing and wholeness for her.
If you have questions or want to chat more please email jillianstiner@gmail.com or message us on Facebook.
No Comments