Pastor Tanueque has massive stroke; refugee relief delayed!

Distribution of food and supplies to the refugees in Mozambique was going well until our beloved leader in Nampula, Pastor Tanueque, had a massive stroke.  (He and his family were essentially the distribution team.) We were heart broken.  Pastor Tanueque is in his seventies but has always been a go getter.  The first pictures we saw of him showed Pastor Tanueque almost completely paralyzed, needing help to sit up. 

Later, we received a video from his son showing how well he was doing (after 4 days).  Tanueque’s left side was still partially paralyzed but he was speaking and eating!  He and his family are very encouraged.  We are amazed and thankful for how fast he is recovering!  Thank you Jesus!  Pastor Taneuque is now getting physical therapy in a private hospital.  Please pray with us for a complete recovery!

You can see this video at https://youtu.be/wQ8iO9mQTm4

Typhoon Relief in the Philippines under way!

We are so blessed the way people have responded to the needs in Mozambique and the Philippines!  We sent $1,000.00 to the Philippines, which was all we had in our account.  Since that time people have given and pledged over a thousand more.  The first funds we will use for immediate relief and future funds we send will be for repairing our two churches that were damaged by the typhoon.  

Helping Mozambican churches open up

Many of our churches in Mozambique remain closed because they cannot afford to meet the government requirements for reopening.  The main obstacle that most churches have is they cannot afford a forehead thermometer.  Thank you to those who knew of this need and helped us buy enough thermometers to give to all the district churches in 7 provinces (55 thermometers).  They are now on their way to opening up!  The churches have been shut down now for 8 months, with strict punishment for disobeying.  Currently, however, we are organizing a 5-day conference with all the district and provincial pastors.  This will take place the beginning of January.  Brian will have his newest discipleship booklet available for the seminar teachers at this time.  Please pray with us for a huge outpouring of the Holy Spirit, refreshment in the Word of God, encouragement and wonderful much needed fellowship between these pastors, and a fruitful time of planning for next year’s seminar schedule. 

Prayer Requests

 PRAYER REQUEST

On November 11, 2020, Typhoon Vamco devastated parts of the Philippines. The Typhoon had sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. It caused 100,000 evacuations, and killed at least six people. Two of our churches were severely damaged as well as the crops and homes of many of our church members. We will be sending out a thousand dollars this week to help and plan to send more in the next couple of weeks. Pastor Ramboyong, who leads the churches in the Philippines wrote, “The church building in Canaman partly collapsed. …the super typhoon caused water flooding both in Magarao and Canaman and most of the church members are in need of food and medicine. Their crops are totally destroyed.” If you would like to help with this need please go to our donate page. 

Donations https://transforminglivesministry.org/services/ 

CLOSED WITHOUT THERMOMETERs

Most of our churches in Mozambique will be closed until they can comply with government Covid-19 regulations.  They have been closed now for 8 months.  Every church needs a non-contact thermometer, bucket, disinfectant soap, and masks in order to open.  Heavy fines and even imprisonment can result from not complying and receiving a document from the government certifying that these items are on hand.  Most of our fellowships cannot afford the $35.00 thermometer, since their average offering is under $10.  Our goal is to buy a thermometer and supplies for as many of our churches as possible, targeting about 100 district churches, which are over the “local” fellowships.  (This amounts to hundreds of churches.) Once these are open, we can resume our discipleship/training seminars in 7 provinces with our 5 Mozambican discipleship teams!  These believers desperately need encouragement and fellowship.  

Sharing the Love of Jesus updated video

 

It has been a crazy few months!  As many of you know we were asked by the Indonesia government to leave the country because of Covid.  It has now been six months and we have a strong desire to be back in Asia but every country is still closed to foreigners!  We are now overseeing our teams in Mozambique remotely from Northern California.  It is amazing how many limitations we have on our lives. Besides all the Covid restrictions, the fires have made it unhealthy for us to go outside. 

 

Things are even crazier in Mozambique!  All of our seminars were canceled at the end of April in Mozambique.  The government has put unreasonable restrictions on the churches, requiring them to buy expensive thermometers and have cleaning stations with disinfectant prior to opening up. Most of our churches are too impoverished to afford these things.  (The thermometers are about $70. there, making it impossible to purchase for the majority of our pastors who are merely subsistence farmers.)

Even worse than Covid and the restrictions is the political situation in the North.  Over 200,000 Mozambicans had to flee for their lives from Islamic State Insurgents! Over a thousand people have been killed.  Kidnappings, murder, and torture are prevalent throughout the northern Province of Cabo Del Gado.  We have therefore put all of our mission's efforts into helping feed and provide essentials to these precious refugees.  Pastor Tanueque and his team are in the process of helping several thousand who have escaped to the Nampula Province, just south of Cabo Del Gado.  If you remember from previous newsletters, he is the Provincial Pastor of Nampula and one of our seminar leaders.  Most of these refugees are not believers but they and the government have been touched by the love and generosity of our churches! Praise God our seminar/discipleship team has seen many come to know Jesus this past year in Nampula, and now these new believers are opening up their homes to these desperate refugees of another faith, language, and tribe!  In our newest video you’ll see a mud house where a family of 15 moves in with a family of 17 and hear their dramatic stories by going to our youtube channel.

This targeted tribe in the north, the Makandi, has typically been very resistant to the gospel.  Church history teaches us, however, that extreme difficulties in life can make people more receptive to the good new of Jesus Christ.  Already in Cabo del Gado we are hearing reports of many salvations among the refugees. Currently we are equipping Pastor Tanueque with New Testaments and the Jesus Film in Makandi.  In the video you’ll also see a Muslim widow, who has lost her children and husband to the insurgents, explain in amazement, “I never knew God would take care of me like this” as she receives food and a few supplies from our team. Please pray with us for abundant provision and open hearts as Pastor Tanueque and his team shares the Gospel of hope and salvation with these traumatized refugees.  

You can see and learn more about what we are doing in Nampula by viewing our videos and blogs listed below.  

Our youtube channel 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNdH15v9sISH74NWPE0ZKtQ?view_as=subscriber

Our new Website http://transforminglivesministry.org

Our blogspot http://brianandlorena.blogspot.com

Donations https://transforminglivesministry.org/services/

Praise Report

Last week Pastor Tanueque sent us pictures of the tires on his older vehicle when he got a flat.  We were shocked.  How was he driving hundreds of miles on such rotten tires?  The Lord is faithful. We mentioned the need to a few friends and received enough to buy six new tires along with a little more food.   

New Website Address

Brian and Lorena's website Address

 https://transforminglivesministry.org

Sharing the Love of Jesus

Over 200,000 refugees have fled Islamic State insurgents in northern Mozambique in an area where we ministered for several years.  Stories of beheadings, kidnapping of women and children, burning, and torture are so heart-breaking!  Fleeing their burning villages, violent murderers and captors,  they arrive hungry with only the clothes on their back.  People are devastated and traumatized, but are being touched by the love of Jesus in a tangible way. In Nampula, the province south of this unrest, church families are taking in as many as they can, Christian and Muslim refugees alike.  This has been a wonderful witness to those in desperate need.  We recently gave food and supplies to 400 families but will now be able to help more than twice as many this month with recent funds that have come in.  Yay!!  

Here is a video with stories of some of the refugees and pictures of our last distribution.  (Because of Covid 19 we are only allowed to distribute to groups of fifty at a time.)  

All of our food distribution has been led by one of our amazing pastors, who uses his dilapidated truck.  He sent us a video of his team changing a flat tire.  We were shocked at how bald ALL his tires were!   Check out the photo below.  By God's hand, he was able to drive 200 km more on this bald spare tire, which already had the threads showing (second picture below)!  Praise the Lord - when we shared these pictures, donations came in to buy six new tires!  The total was about $900.00.  His truck is now ready to distribute to thousands more refugees!