Mozambique
‘What if it were me?’
MONTEPUEZ, Mozambique — A Church of Christ in this southern…
SPOTLIGHT: Just another week in Mozambique
Alan Howell spent a recent Saturday sitting on his front porch with church leaders as they quoted Titus to each other.
Howell and his wife, Rachel, serve on a mission team in Montepuez, Mozambique. The Donelson Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn., sponsors the couple.
The Howells hosted a get-together for 10 Mozambican church leaders from six villages. The leaders ate rice and goat meat and talked about the apostle Paul’s letter to Titus, which discusses requirements for church elders.
“These men committed to memorize the book of Titus together — most … in Portuguese but some using Makua-Metto or Swahili,” Alan Howell said.
The missionary described the meeting in a recent blog post detailing a week in his family’s life. He also wrote about treks to rural villages — to meet with young congregations and visit the ill.
He dealt with a few unexpected problems during the week. A guard dog owned by the team chewed through a bamboo fence and ate a neighbor’s duck. Alan Howell and a guard who works for the team met with the neighbor and negotiated compensation. The conversation turned to spiritual matters.
“She asked us why the churches we worship with don’t require payment and a huge meal for burial services,” he said. “We talked about how the book of James says that true religion is to care for orphans and widows in their distress … .
“Walking back … the guard and I talked about how amazing God is — that he can turn something bad and inconvenient, like a dog eating a neighbor’s duck, into an open door for someone to see the Kingdom of God come near.”
READ THE POST at www.howellsinmoz.blogspot.com.
Howell and his wife, Rachel, serve on a mission team in Montepuez, Mozambique. The Donelson Church of Christ in Nashville, Tenn., sponsors the couple.
The Howells hosted a get-together for 10 Mozambican church leaders from six villages. The leaders ate rice and goat meat and talked about the apostle Paul’s letter to Titus, which discusses requirements for church elders.
“These men committed to memorize the book of Titus together — most … in Portuguese but some using Makua-Metto or Swahili,” Alan Howell said.
The missionary described the meeting in a recent blog post detailing a week in his family’s life. He also wrote about treks to rural villages — to meet with young congregations and visit the ill.
He dealt with a few unexpected problems during the week. A guard dog owned by the team chewed through a bamboo fence and ate a neighbor’s duck. Alan Howell and a guard who works for the team met with the neighbor and negotiated compensation. The conversation turned to spiritual matters.
“She asked us why the churches we worship with don’t require payment and a huge meal for burial services,” he said. “We talked about how the book of James says that true religion is to care for orphans and widows in their distress … .
“Walking back … the guard and I talked about how amazing God is — that he can turn something bad and inconvenient, like a dog eating a neighbor’s duck, into an open door for someone to see the Kingdom of God come near.”
READ THE POST at www.howellsinmoz.blogspot.com.
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