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Meet the Equip Moz leadership team!
L-R: Jon, Carla, Alex, Flavio, Nora, Flavia, Celina, and Lucas
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Back to the Vision
Every once in a while we need to pause on the external projects and look internally to see if our team is healthy and our policies are bringing life. After spending most of 2021 in the States, we were thrilled to get back to Mozambique in January of this year. However, after being back a few months it became clear that a couple of members of the team had lost the original vision and the results were not good. It has been a difficult few months here at Equip Mozambique as we fight with the fallout, with a lot of staff changes and restructuring. However, most of the original team are still with us, and they are moving forward with confidence and resilience and finding even better ways of bringing Systems of Shalom to Mozambique.
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"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new."
-Socrates
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Pruning for Greater Fruitfulness
We felt like God gave us John 15:1-2 as some key verses for the year, where Jesus talks about Himself being the vine while we are the branches. He says that the Father is like a gardener who sometimes has to prune branches back, which of course is a painful process, but results in greater fruitfulness. Whew, little did we know just how much pruning we needed! Jon consistently says that he can hear God far more clearly when He is giving us a new task, a new project, or a new opportunity... but it is VERY hard to hear God's quiet leading when He is telling us to STOP a task, hand off a project or even let it die, or pass up on an opportunity. That's pruning. It hurt at the time, but it gave room for beautiful new fruit that would never have happened if we had not made space in our frantic schedules. Here are some of the chances to produce "fruit that remains" that cropped up recently:
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Ideas worth Sharing
Jon was invited to give a TEDx Talk! He spoke about innovation and how to take old ideas and make something new that solves a real problem. We believe Mozambique has many potential innovators who just need to be emboldened to unleash their creativity in solving the prevalent and systemic problems of their nation. His talk was very well received, and we hope it inspires many!
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International Partners
In August, Jon was invited to participate in a conference in Germany led by GIZ, the German Development Agency. It was about using innovative technology to help improve the lives of rural African people, and it was a great opportunity to network with other like-minded people in the development sphere. GIZ funded FAMS, our agricultural networking system, and we have many new opportunities to continue working with them moving forward.
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It has been a long time since we've had visitors, but we finally had a couple able to come! They have been such a joy and blessing to host. Below you can read some of their impressions of Equip Mozambique and life here!
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Meet our visitors, Rooke and AJ!
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"Hi, our names are Rooke and AJ Young! We met Jon and Carla last year while they were stuck in Rolla and they were kind enough to host us for a whole month in MOZ. Rooke and I are very interested in pursuing missions, specifically business as missions, so it was such an amazing learning experience to see firsthand how Jon and Carla run Equip Mozambique and do life as missionaries. Rooke works in cybersecurity and I work in graphic design and video editing, so we were really excited to meet the tech team and see how they operate. It was awesome to see the passion and eagerness to learn that is so present on their staff. Rooke spent a lot of time with Edson, walking through their systems and checking for vulnerabilities in security. And I, AJ, really enjoyed talking with Paulo about the UI design process, his workflow and how his faith impacts his work. We heard many, many stories about how lives have been changed by the skills and the character that Jon and Carla have been able to teach and instill in their employees. And the projects they have had the opportunity to work on are truly meaningful in the community, helping to empower Mozambicans. It’s cool how much harmony you can see between the mission, the workers and the final product.
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When Jon and Carla explain their vision, it sounds so simple, but we can tell that this model and these relationships have taken years and years of experience to create. And Jon and Carla are not lacking in challenges to overcome to make this goal happen. But what they have been able to build by trusting God in every step is truly inspiring.
It has been so sweet to experience everyday life with the family too. Rooke and I are expecting our first baby in January, so the parenting questions have been abundant as well. Kyran, Jariel and Alizah continually blow us away with their hard work, enthusiasm and ability to adapt in so many situations and cultures. We are so grateful for our time here and all the wisdom we’ve been able to glean from the Reinagels."
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Check out the visitor page on our website if you are interested in coming to see what God is doing in Mozambique!
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Praise Reports
- For the refreshed vision and greater unity in the team
- For a wonderful visit from Rooke and AJ
Prayer Requests
- We are looking to hire some new team members in key positions soon, so please pray that the right people will apply and that we will discern which ones are truly called to bring transformation to their nation
- Please pray for our new leadership team to thrive and operate in wisdom and humility in all that they do
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