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Rod & Ellie's June Update
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AUGUST UPDATE

Hello Friends!

If you are anything like Rodney, (or most men I know) you do not like to be overtaken by anything! In fact, that does not apply only to men, but to a lot of us women too. I am remembering how we as a young married couple chose to own a BSA650 (BIG motor cycle) rather than a car. I (Ellie) proudly rode 18 miles and back to my workplace in the ‘Nyanga mountains of Zimbabwe every day. On mountain road of hills and valleys, the speed bug got me and ‘to overtake and not to be overtaken!’ became my motto. Life has a way of laughing back at us, and in spite of many a fast ride even now, we spend much of our time going oh so slow on horrendous roads where we are frequently overtaken by old battered bicycles and sometimes even pedestrians!  

To me, the definition of the word ‘overtake’ was realized in an incident with our dog Rambo (may he RIP). Rambo was a Bull Mastiff cross Rhodesian Ridgeback whose exuberance frequently overtook him completely. One day I was carrying two pizzas in the garden, one balanced in each hand. The aroma reached the nostrils of Rambo and unbeknown to me, he gathered up his muscular legs and thundering up from behind me was upon me before I could turn and see what was coming. His eager hot breath and slavering mouth followed by the weight of his body totally overtook me. I was flattened against the grass, pizzas flying through the air. I had been overtaken by Rambo (that’s not why he is now resting in peace, Rambo died some years later). Albeit, I know what it means to be overtaken. This year, we are experiencing a mighty overtaking of a different sort. It is the greatest kind of overtaking that can happen. Rambo pales into significance as we are being overtaken by the blessings of the Lord!

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” ~ Deuteronomy 28:28

We are in a place of acceleration. Overtaken in accelerated anointing, worship, power, growth and pure accelerated joy in the Holy Ghost! Yes, there are trials and difficulties too, but: we refuse to be overtaken by anything that comes against us, we overtake it instead!

"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the tender grapes him that sows seed, the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. Amos 9:13

Wow, blessing upon blessing! The crop is so huge, by the time it is off the field it is time to plant again. The abundance of grapes is so great, they are barely harvested before the new ones appear. There is an overflow, an overtaking of grace, blessing, anointing and Holy Spirit power. New wine melts all over the place. We have been overtaken with testimonies and good news, so much so, we have had little time to write and share them.

To all who are joined with us in any way in this adventure for Jesus in Mozambique, thank you for your partnership, friendship, prayers and financial giving that make it all possible. Thank you to those who sow richly into our lives through teaching materials, impartation, coming to minister with us, joining us on the field. Thank you to those who invite us to speak, minister in different places in different lands. It is a great honour to be a carrier of the Good News, to tell of the great things God is doing.

We love you, we value you highly, 
Rod & Ellie
and all at Afrika Wa Yesu

CHURCHES BLESS US

WITH FOOD FOR THE BIBLE SCHOOL!

We are encouraged and deeply moved to be receiving more than 40 X 50 kg sacks of maize from the tiny bush churches surrounding the Inhaminga region. For the first time in years they have a bumper harvest and as a sign of appreciation for our help during a time of famine, they are bringing their gifts. This is a big breakthrough for a nation that is so often on the hand-outs list. It’s not that we need the food, but it’s about the fact that they need to give. Africans are by nature very generous, hard working people. The richest continent in the world should not be living in famine, war and poverty. Afrika, Levanta Afrika! (Africa Arise!)

INHAMINGA GRADUATION

Unforgettable Term, Unforgettable Time. Congratulations Pastor Mariano, Teachers and Team for a great work done. The electric atmosphere at graduation was evidence of the supernatural work done in the lives of the students.  

Apostle Shammah Apwam sent to us by Apostle Guillermo Maldonado taught at the school for several days before graduation. It was an incredible time with all key members and pastors of AWYesu present. We all became students and took a tremendous leap forward in faith, Word and action through the rich teachings we received. Shammah visited us in Nacala in May, now it was the turn for our Central Members to be shifted into another realm. The Word preceded by throne room worship led by our own AWYesu worship leaders was phenomenal. Here in the heart of Mozambique, separated and set apart unto God, we met with the King of Kings, worshipped the Lord of Lords. All Glory and Power and Dominion be unto Him forevermore! Where is the world would we rather be? This is the richest place, all of us together in one accord.

Overtaken by the Holy Spirit: It's been an incredible school year. 
As always, AWYesu Kids had their own conference in the mornings. These kids are serious about God and their prayers carry the faith and power of little children.

More than 70 students (including our night school class) proudly received their diplomas. We have very few girls in Bible School, but those who come are making a difference in every place they go.  

Rod and Pastor Mariano light the torch to be passed on to each student.

The great commissioning go light up the world. We all gather around a common fire outside and place our torches in to make one great fire of unity. We will stand together, help one another as we each in our specific area and within our specific calling fulfil the Great Commission till Christ Jesus our Lord returns. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Cast out demons, heal the sick…..”

 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

A Bit of Fun........ MOUSEHUNT!

NOT TO BE OVERTAKEN BY MICE IN INHAMINGA, WE WENT ON A RAMPAGE!

This is the biggest mouse invasion we have ever seen. They run and jump and play shamelessly on the road, in the storehouses, fields and all over campus. Our house does not have window panes in all the windows, just mosquito gauze. The mice eat through the mosquito gauze and create entrance points for their endless trafficking. They nest in our sofa and eat our duvets, our blankets and our pillows and our clothes are full of holes! Reminds me of the poem many of us older folk learned in school:  

RATS! - The Pied Piper of Hamelin

They fought the dogs and killed the cats

And bit the babies in the cradles

And ate the cheeses out of the vats

And licked the soup from the cooks’ own ladles

At least these are mice not rats. The Mozambican people (as well as some of our foreign team) love to eat them. I did too when I was little, but now that I am grown up…. no! Each night the students were catching and killing 80 to 100 or more, roasting them and eating them. The market stalls are full of mice for sale, as many as you can carry in your bucket. Still they multiply and eat the harvest off the fields as well as anything else they set their eyes on, including electrical cables and components. It’s a plague. We chase them, we beat them with sticks, swipe them, catch them in traps, by any and all means….how long do these plagues last? However long, we shall outlast them!

NEVER flush a dead mouse down the toilet!

Rod: “I found the biggest, deadest, juiciest, smelliest mouse under the couch!”
Ellie: “Oh NO! What did you do with it?”
The discourse commences…..“I flushed it down the loo.”
~ “You can do that? It won’t come up again?”

~ “No way. I did have to flush quite a few times ‘cos it was floating it was so bloated, but it eventually went down.”

Though we did not see the mouse again the smell in the bathroom came and went and kept coming again with greater intensity. The smell went from overpowering to nothing to more overpowering.

~ “Rodney, that thing must be stuck in the ‘S’ bend or something. Please do something!”
~ “No way, there is not even a smell. You’re imagining it”

It seemed that every time Rod went to check, there was indeed no smell, but any time I, or my witnesses Chris or Deborah, went near the door, the smell rolled out. I started burning fragrant oils in the bathroom which Rod declared was the problem and reason for the smell. By now our arguments over the smell or absence of it were turning into a serious domestic dispute, especially as we were receiving a guest speaker for our conference who would be using that particular bathroom.

After several days of torment in my so called imagination, vindication showed itself. Rod went to the bathroom as this time he could smell something and guess what?! The mouse had come to the surface of it’s up and down journeys along the pipe. More terrible, more bloated than ever. Indescribable!

~ “Ha! I told you so! I told you I told you I TOLD you!”

I ran to get a plastic bag and said; “Put your hand in this bag, take hold of your mouse and flip the bag inside out with the mouse in it and carry it out, far, far, very far away!”

So these are some of the little trials of the mission field. Pray for us beloved.

Team Fun Day: Going places on the back of Big Foot – A Team that Plays Together Stays Together. We love you, AWYESU TEAM!  

Last year team conference was in Nacala. Our two bible school bases could not be more different from the other. Nacala overlooks the bay, is near to shops, medical care, restaurants. Beautiful beach resorts are easily accessible. For team fun we went snorkling, paddle boarding, canoeing, visited magnificent beaches and also the historical sites of Ilha de Mocambique. We had FUN!
      Inhaminga is a tiny tumble-down village surrounded by bush, bush, and more bush. The roads are long and hard even if you don’t go far. Medical care is preferably by-passed. There is one small restaurant serving chicken and rice or rice and chicken. There is also a market full of mice in buckets.
      After very intense and glorious days of conference, we took one day of team fun. All Team (except those with small children who went in cars), piled into the back of Big Foot, our DAF military truck. It is rough and tough and does the rock and roll. Our destination was Catapu, a natural forest where there are also wild animals. We were going on a one day safari. It took us twice as long as it should to get there and three times as long to get back due to people being stuck on the road and blocking the way ahead of us. Rod and the guys had fun pulling everyone out and getting them on the road again. Nothing is impossible for Big Foot. Our safari trip was nothing more than everyone getting caught on thorn branches growing low over the road, Big Foot was too high! We saw a few fleeting hooves flying over the long grass and bush and cannot honestly say we saw any animals. Still, our intrepid team laughed and ducked the thorns as much as possible. Once back they said, "Wow, that was fun!" No wonder we love them so much. Not a word of complaint, just screams of laughter. We were well rewarded by a magnificent and abundant meal served by Ant and Pat White. They are an amazing Zimbabwean couple and if you travel North towards the Zambezi river they are about 40 kilometres before Caia on the right side of the road. There are a lot of animals to see but the grass this time of the year is still too high. Bird watchers come from all over to see the rare birds that inhabit Catapu. 
       So, we have graduated our students, what now? Conference after conference for pastors, women, youth and children, in both Inhaminga and Nacala and in the outlying provinces. We scatter across the nation to do follow up on our alumni, encourage our 150 churches and build up the leadership. Afrika wa Yesu exists to win souls, make disciples, train leaders, plant churches who in turn win souls, make disciples, train leaders, plant churches who in turn win souls, train leaders…..send them to the Bible Schools, heal the sick, cast out demons and bring deliverance to the captives. Till Jesus comes!
We love you, AWYESU TEAM! 

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