We had another great day today. The day started off with us sharing the lessons that we prepared with the children at the Ark of Salvation primary school. We were split into two teams with on team teaching the 4th graders about the Fruit of the Spirit and the other team teaching the 5th and 6th graders about hearing God's voice. After the first set of lessons, we gathered all of the kids into the auditorium and taught them the Deep Deep song with a few brave kids volunteerint to respond. Then Eli gave a short message about how each child is unique and God has called us to step into our unique callings. We brought a few hundred small lego sets, and it was an adventure trying to help each kid build a lego set for the first time. It was an good opportunity for each person on the team to spend some time and bond with the kids from the school. We also brought some asian snacks for the kids and staff to try, and it was pretty fun seeing some of their reactions to the new flavors. We are thankful that they are open to trying new things, even ones that they didnt like.
After the school, we started the long drive to the farm. Some members of the team remember the horror stories of past teams having to travel in long van rides with the heater blasting on bumpy, windy, dirt roads. Our trip definitely did not live up to the horror, but we could all see how being in other conditions would have been miserable. On the way to the farm, we visited Pastor Armando's church. We were greeted by many of the leaders of the church, and we got a time to pray with them. They said it was really encouraging to have us with them, and we felt very honored to be able to spend time with and bless the leaders. Pastor Armando has a big vision for his church and the other 4 churches that he is helping to lead. It has been great to see how some of the extent of Apostle Moiana's influence and how he has led leaders who also lead leaders.
After the time with Pastor Armando and his church, we finally made it to the farm. It took us about 2 hours to cover approximately 30 miles because it was such a long and winding road. If you like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, you would love this trip! Once we got out of the car, we were again greeted with singing and dancing. We have really felt honored and blessed with the receptions that we have gotten at the places we have visited. The farm is AMAZING. There are pineapple plants as far as the eye can see. Our church has helped with some of the seed money for the farm, including helping to build a well and it was great to see how Apostle Moiana has used the small amount of funding to multiply it. On the car ride over, Pastor Barry kept asking Pastor Daniel questions about the farm, and Daniel would tell him that he wants him to see it and not just hear about it. So when Pastor Barry stepped out of the van and saw how much Apostle Moiana had expanded the farm since the last time he was there, he was astonished. Apostle Moiana was continually offering his thanks to Pastor Barry and our team (and our church) for how generous the contributions have been and how blessed he feels to partner with and be family with us. He kept saying that this is also Pastor Barry's home, and if Pastor Barry wanted to come build a house for himself on the farm, he has space for him to do so. You could just see in his face how proud he was to show Pastor Barry and the team what he has been able to do with the money the church has given, and how proud he is to call us family. Apostle Moiana also challenged the sons with the task of working hard for God's Kingdom like he has, he showed them the farm and then said it was their turn to work and build something. After a tour and trying some of the delicious, some have even said best they've ever had, pineapple, we were able to have another family meal togethe with the Moiana extended family and heard Apostle Moiana share about some of the things he has been going through, and things that are on his heart. God has really chosen a great man and a great family for our church to partner with in Mozambique! As it started to get dark, we made the long trip back to Casa Koinonia following a pickup truck filled with Moiana cousins in the truck bed. Definitely something we would never see in California.
