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Worth Every Step
“There are no buses that go to the Nhabanda village,” says Godfrey Bhodyera, National Director of Every Home for Christ Mozambique. “We must use boats with small engines attached. These boats pose a great risk of capsizing. They also do not have toilets, so travelers use a bucket system, which puts them at risk of contracting cholera and other infections. Traveling in these boats is worse than staying for one hundred years in a prison.”
The location Godfrey’s team was traveling to is not only remote, it is also grueling to access. The plan was for a team consisting of a Nhabanda pastor, two EHC workers, a few interns and a local tour guide to load up a motor-powered boat and journey on the Indian Ocean. After enduring the treacherous boat ride, the team had to hike for another eight hours through dangerous terrain. This meant that, before a single home was reached, before a single word was preached, the team was seasick, aching and exhausted.
They did not receive a warm welcome for all of their efforts. People in this village were just trying to survive.
“The area is marginalized, and people drink stagnant water from shallow wells without boiling it,” Godfrey says. “There is a high number of malaria cases in the area, but there are no health centers close by. Consulting witch doctors, ancestral worship and appeasing spirits of the dead are common practices for the Nhabanda people. Alcohol, drug abuse and prostitution are also a part of life in the village.”
One of the Christ Groups recently formed in Nhabanda gathers to study God’s Word.
Godfrey goes on to explain how these hardships made the area hostile to the EHC team: “There is great resistance from community leaders to the Gospel, which they believe is cancerous to their traditions and cultural beliefs. The team could also be killed, because there are always clashes between government forces and the rebels in Nhabanda.”
What Godfrey describes is an unimaginable journey, like something from the diaries of David Livingstone. It’s natural to wonder whether the team was paralyzed by fear. But Godfrey dismisses the notion.
“Every Home for Christ is a ministry characterized by dangerous journeys,” he says. “The team members know their responsibilities and the nature of the calling on them. They knew they were going to be safe, because they were doing the work of the owner of the universe.”
After the team members recovered from their journey, they began to go home to home, sharing the truth. They talked face to face with many hurting people, saying, “It doesn’t matter how alone you feel, God still sees you and cares about you.”
Our worker is overjoyed as he baptizes a new believer from this outreach.
Not everyone was willing to listen. One man who was particularly resistant was João Poiana.
“João was a well-known and feared witch doctor who lived most of his life practicing acts of darkness,” Godfrey says. “People from Nhabanda were afraid of him.”
But João had grown sick and isolated, and he wondered why his powers couldn’t heal him. When he shared these doubts with the EHC team members who visited his home, they told João about Jesus — but João was reluctant to respond or pray during their visit.
Later, however, to everyone’s shock, the self-proclaimed witch doctor actually showed up at church. After listening to the sermon, João talked with the team, and then he prayed to give his life to Jesus.
“João vowed to continue in prayer and wants to be part of the new Christ Group,” Godfrey says. “From the day he gave himself to Christ, João says he is feeling completely different.” The impact of João’s decision was felt across the village.
“Having such a person denounce his own works and elevate the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is not only a success story but also a major blow to the kingdom of darkness,” Godfrey says. “The repentance of a witch doctor brought the repentance of a multitude.”
A Mozambican woman who used to practice witchcraft hears the Gospel and chooses to follow Christ. To confirm her decision, she cuts off her charms and throws them in a fire with the other trappings of her former life.
This is exactly what the team experienced. The team members who worked so hard and had risked their lives to travel to this remote location were now seeing a revival.
“The village was changed,” Godfrey says. “Many abandoned their old ways of living and sought to find the truth in the Word of God. Polygamists, drunkards and many others who were enslaved by bad habits were among the 187 people who responded to the Gospel. A total of 12 people were baptized and are now engaged in three newly created Christ Groups where they are being nurtured.”
The story of our pioneer missionaries’ journey to the village of Nhabanda is inspiring, and Godfrey hopes it encourages others to have hope. Homes are being reached. Transformation is happening. Our workers’ trip was worth every step.
“Seeing pioneer missionaries taking such risks brings me great encouragement and hope that Mozambique will quickly stretch her hands out to the Lord,” Godfrey says. “It also affirms that the Holy Spirit is moving and strengthening His workers so that they have the bravery to reach such dangerous places with the Gospel.”
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