Trip to Moldova

We just had a wonderful time in the country of Moldova.  We went with a fantastic team but only made a video of what Lorena and I were involved in.

You can see the video at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQgkeSt8BZs

A Sign of Good Things to Come!

“You’re late!”  the lady behind the ticket counter said.  We thought arriving two hours early was good enough, but the only seats left on the plane were by the emergency door that would cost us each $100. more or we'd have to sit  separated from each other and be in the middle, in-between people.  Brian likes isle seats, so after we got our boarding passes, he prayed that we'd get better seats without paying another $200. I said they were already assigned, but he said, "God is outside of time!"  I took my seat in-between a mother and her large grown son.  Before take-off however, the son left!  He took one of the $100. seats!  Brian took his seat between an older couple.  Looking incredulously at Brian, they said they were told no one was sitting between them.  Brian offered to exchange seats with one of them so they could be next to each other, but that was not what they wanted either.  Feeling very awkward, Brian prayed silently again for a miracle.  “Lord, will you please open up a better seat for us?”  Then the man next to Brian told the stewardess that his movie jack didn't work.  So she moved him to a $100. seat!  I soon found that my headset jack was also broken, so the stewardess moved me also to a $100. seat!  It gets even better.  The mother who was next to me also left!  We don't know where she went.  So Brian took the entire row where I was and laid down to sleep, while I had one of the most spacious seats on the entire plane, next to the emergency door!!!  Father God not only answered Brian’s prayer for an isle seat, he gave us the most perfect extravagant seats!  We believe this is sign of good things to come!

More Than Survivors

On March 15th, 2019, the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean hit the district of Buzi, Mozambique, where our dear friends and beloved  Pastor Jacob and his wife Cecilia live.  Unaware that the category 3 cyclone was heading their way, they shockingly woke up to knee high water in their bedroom.  Confused, they opened their front door.  A wall of water gushed in, quickly filling their home to waste deep.  Cecilia and Jacob grabbed their children, but nothing else.  All was left behind as the wind and torential floods destroyed their cinder block home, ripping off their tin roof with gusts of 175 mph winds.  "Grab the trees!"  Cecelia and Jacob shouted to their four children as they gripped a child in each of their hands.  The family struggled through rapid currents of ocean water pouring into their village streets, which was quickly rising up to their shoulders.  None of them knew how to swim. Seeing the gravity of the situation, Jacob yelled over the storm to Cecelia, "Do you have faith in God?!"  "Yes!" She screamed back, as the water was now reaching their necks.  They continued in the dark with their children, grabbing any standing tree trunk they could see to stable them as they fought against the current.  "There it is!  Now climb to the roof top!"  Jacob instructed his family as they approached the strong government building in the center of town.  Others they recognized joined them as they too lost their homes with nowhere else to go.  Soon the roof top filled with drenched terrified villagers.  Here they spent the night in the storm with no shelter over their heads.  Rain and wind continued the next day with no food or water in sight. The second rainy day passed, again with no sign of relief. By day three the entire town was under water with just a few tree tops and roofs of a few tall buildings in sight.

"A boat is coming!" a villager exclaimed.  Soon all who were on that rooftop for 3 days without nourishment were rescued to Guara Guara.  There they joined others who were also rescued as well, many from scattered tree tops.

Surrounded by discouraged, desparate new neighbors, Pastor Jacob and Cecelia felt God's compassion and love for their people.  They began sharing the hope of salvation with those in Guara Guara and healing the sick in Jesus' name. By the end of three weeks, the waters receded enough for everyone to return to their villages, but this family now left behind a church of 30 new believers birthed out of this cyclone catastophe!  Today they visit this new church regularly, one of many they have planted in this district of Buzi.  "All things to work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28.  With Jesus we are more than mere survivors!
Picture of them with motorcycle

With washed out roads making bike travel difficult and newly planted churches far away, we saw the need to purchase this motorcycle for Jacob and Cecelia.

About Cecilia and Jacob:
Cecilia is a gifted Bible teacher, regularly conducting women's seminars for Iris Global churches throughout the province of Sofala.
Pastor Jacob and Cecilia pastor their own church and serve as district pastors for Buzi. They also continue to actively plant new churches, and oversee their many established churches.  Pastor Jacob also serves on the commission for the province and teaches seminars as part of our pastoral discipleship team for Central Mozambique.
Below is their church which we built while we were in Mozambique, with the "Church in a Day" project.  The cyclone destoyed this roof, but missionaries there now helped them restore it once again.  Thank you to all who have prayed for Mozambique and donated to her restoration. 

New Prayer Cards

We have new prayer cards.  If you would like one please send us your address.  You can email me at pastorbrianwood@gmail.com

We have our tickets to Thailand!

While all of our seminars and evangelistic outreaches are going great in Mozambique, we strongly feel the Lord leading us to move to Asia.  It may seem like a lot, but our plan is to continue overseeing our teams in Africa and personally conduct pastoral training seminars throughout Southeast Asia.  We also have a desire to minister to the people of Thailand.  We have paid the rent for the first month on a one bedroom flat in Northern Thailand, which is just a half a mile from the language school where we will be attending in September. 

With all of these changes we have several prayer requests. 

Finish paper work and sell our vehicle  

We still have a vehicle in Mozambique that we need to sell.  It’s a long story with corruption in the customs department, but a pastor friend is working on getting us the correct paperwork for the vehicle so we can sell it. This has been going on for quite a while, so please pray this comes to an end and our truck sells!  Our plan is to use the money to get a retirement visa for Thailand, which will require a $25,000.00 deposit in a Thai bank.  After  leaving it in their bank for 3 months, we can use it to live on!  This is by far the easiest way for us to have visas and freedom to minister wherever God leads us.  

Pray for Caleb and Nate

Our boys are attending Shasta College, Nate finishing up his welding certificates and Caleb entering into the EMT and Fire Fighting programs.  They will be living on their own for the first time, staying in our house with a few roommates.  Please pray they would have a strong relationship with the Lord. Also pray they would adjust well to working part time and going to school on their own without their parents around.  Unlike typical young people, Caleb and Nate lived most of their lives in Mozambique and have had to adjust to American life in general, learning things others are raised with and used to.  They are doing well, but we covet your prayers on this new upcoming challenge of their being on their own with their parents living far away in Thailand.  Thank you!

 Memorial

From Lorena:

For those of you that don’t already know, my mom passed away March 22^nd.  Taking care of her these past 18 months has been an unexpected privilege.  Leaving my mom at the end of each furlough was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, thinking I might not ever see her again.  I’m so thankful for this time we had together!  We had a wonderful memorial for her two weeks ago, gathering the entire family from all parts of the world.  We rejoice with her, as she stated many times, “I’m ready to go!”  We are blessed to carry on our family’s legacy, leaving once again for the mission field – to a new country and without children for the first time!

if you would like to support our ministry you can send checks to 

Transforming Lives Ministry

1908 S El Camino Real

San Clemente, CA 92672

Please Pray for Mozambique

See the latest update on the devastation from Cyclone Idai.  Believe it or not, the Cyclone hit Zambezia over a week ago, went out to sea and then returned and hit the province of Sofala in Mozambique.  Please pray for the people, especially in Central Mozambique!  We were able to send one of our pastors who lives in Beira, Sofala funds to buy supplies for himself and other before the Cyclone hit there.  We also send a few hundred dollars to Pastor Zito after the Cyclone hit Zambezia.  Zito's house was completely destroyed.

Pastor Zito and Pastor Joao are two of our seminar teachers.

Go to the following link for a video update.

https://www.facebook.com/erictawnya.weaver/videos/2296578170561688/

Evangelism Mozambique Style

We have a fantastic praise report!  As many of you know, we have been praying that we could find people from the States to carry four video projectors we bought here in America to Mozambique.  Two were taken recently by a wonderful missionary couple to our base in Dondo. They were then transported by bus to two or our seminar teachers, Pastor Mario in Zambezia and Pastor Tanueque in Nampula!  

Pastor Mario, the first to receive a projector, was able to buy local speakers, lights and cords to begin holding nightly evangelistic outreaches during each of his training seminars.  The video projectors already have a micro SD slot where a 16G chip can be inserted which contains the Jesus film in several languages!  The screen is two sheets which have been sewn together and hung on a large bamboo pole.  

Last weekend, Pastor Mario used the projector for the first time. Pictured above, one of these churches brought out their piano, dancing and singing before the movie began.  Mozambicans love music, so this helped attract the huge crowd that gathered in this soccer field.  

After the film, Pastor Mario explained the gospel and invited people to follow Jesus.  Many gave their lives to Him that night.  With the help of 5 local churches invited to this event, these new converts were warmly encouraged to join a fellowship of believers.  

What excites us about this ministry is that it is all done by locals.  No one has a vehicle; only public transportation is used.  There is no expensive generator.  About one dollar is given to a neighbor who has electricity and a long extension cord is run to their house.  

The final two projectors are arriving in Mozambique this week with a visitor that we mailed the projectors to.  Soon all four of our seminar teams will have evangelism equipment, which means the Jesus Film will be shown about 12 times a month in the “bush bush”.  We are thrilled to see the Mozambicans carrying the Gospel out to their own people and discipling them with minimal missionary involvement.  Our goal as missionaries is always to evangelize and disciple a people group to the point where they are equipped and trained well enough to carry on without us.  Our hearts are full of joy as we see this happening more and more in Mozambique.  Our role now is to consistently pray for these teams, continue writing discipleship booklets as needed, cast vision, encourage, and provide minimal funds for their seminars with necessary accountability.  

God is directing us towards Asia once again.  In these next six months we will be preparing to move to northern Thailand.  As Jesus reveals more of His plan to us, we will reveal it to you!  

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  

Much love,

Brian and Lorena