Canada & Mozambique

This update is from Gary Moore, GCI’s national director in Canada.

Ordinations in Vancouver

Recently I had the privilege of attending services in the Surrey, Vancouver, British Columbia church. It was a special day with Jerry Lucky and Johannes Breytenbach ordained as elders, and Louise Jeansonne and Dan Holiove commissioned as deaconess/deacon (called “ministry leaders” in the US). These individuals with spouses are pictured here, from left to right: Juliette Breytenbach, Johannes Breytenbach, Louise Jeansonne, Dan Holiove, Sue Lucky and Jerry Lucky. They will add to the committed group of existing leaders in the congregation and provide a great team working with pastor Craig Minke as they lead the church into greater participation in the mission of Jesus Christ to the world.

Missions work; Mozambique Easter conference

I’m pleased to report that GCI Canada’s International Mission Fund and congregational donations sent $77,000 outside our borders for mission work last year. This has accomplished much good, and it is great to see this level of generosity within our fellowship. We recently provided financial support for the annual Easter conference in Mozambique. Here is Tim Maguire’s report:

Accompanied by Dawie Maree, I returned mid-week from my travels up into Mozambique. Even though the roads are long and in poor condition and living conditions extremely basic, I somehow return rejuvenated after seeing the joy that these people have from embracing Christ. My words are inadequate for describing the experience, and I wish you could all come along so that you could see and feel it for yourselves, as 11 Polokwane members did this year, hiring a taxi and spending two days of the conference with our Mozambique brothers and sisters. This year there were about 750 people in attendance at our headquarters in Morrumbala. The Easter conference is for our Mozambique pastors (about 100 in total) but others just arrive, drawn by a thirst for knowledge of him and fellowship.

This year’s theme was “Who is Christ.” When I arrived I discovered after talking to some of the leaders that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have had a fairly strong influence within some areas and some of the understanding of who Christ is was distorted.

It is a surreal feeling, being surrounded by mud and grass huts, no plumbed water or electricity (though they had managed to hire a diesel powered generator), eating basic food cooked over open fires, yet having access to vast online resources due to mobile internet. I was immediately able to go online, search our international GCI website for relevant articles, translate them into Portuguese (using Google translate), print them on a small laser-jet printer we had purchased for them (which is usually operated by a battery and power inverter fed from a solar panel, also bought by GCI South Africa) and distribute them to all the pastors to study further. What a privilege it is to participate where the Holy Spirit is working!

Thanks to funding from GCI Canada, I was able have a tow-bar put on my car to take a trailer with me on this trip. It was loaded with clothes donated by members and congregations, as well as food, Bibles and “Talking Bibles,” GCI t-shirts for our pastors and fivewater purifying units, which were installed in and around Morrumbala. That the trailer had two blow-outs on the way and we had only one spare wheel is a story for another day! The final day of the conference concluded with a moving Communion service.

Prayer request: Unfortunately, when Tim returned from Mozambique, he fell ill with malaria. After several days of high fever and sickness, he is returning to health. Please pray for his complete recovery, and for our members in Mozambique who face this dangerous disease on a regular basis without even the benefit of pain killers. Malaria is the most common cause of death in the region.