Theological Education . . .

 TEE (or Theological Education by Extension) is widely used because Mozambique is such a large country. Many people cannot afford to go away to seminaries. The cost of travel is high for many church leaders. There are two seminaries or Bible Institutes. One is in Nampula and the other in Beira.  Each has about 15 part-time students. We are in process in the construction of these two seminaries or institutes. James Gibson came for the summer of 2002 as an ISC missionary to start the construction on the Nampula property. We will take small steps in this construction process. We will need volunteer teams to help with the construction over the next couple of years. Maybe God will lead you to pray for this project and possibly join us on a building team.  We will also be doing evangelism, literacy, storying Bible stories, and VBS for children on the property. We want it to be a lighthouse in the community. See the volunteer in action page for this year's team.

Among the Makhuwa there are 150 Baptist congregations, so TEE is the primary means of training church leaders. It is not without its drawbacks. Makhuwa people are largely oral learners. Traditionally what was important to know in life was passed on orally from generation to the next generation.

Larry and Harold Hancock, lst Baptist Montgomery Alabama sharing the gospel on a survey trip to Niassa Province. 

• Pray for us to find the best ways to present teaching materials to our students. 
• Pray for understanding on their part and the ability to put what they learn into practice. 
• Pray for those who study to be diligent and faithful to come to their classes. Many start but drop out for various reasons. 
• Pray that they will value the course enough to make the sacrifice to buy the student books. 
• Pray for safety as Larry drives on rough roads to get to his far away churches. 
• Pray for protection against malaria and other sickness common to Africa. 

February - September 2003, Larry began a relief distribution in Nampula District. Many people lost their houses due to the high winds and high water. It is always impossible to help everyone but Larry and the pastors did 8 distributions. They gave 20 meters of plastic sheeting, bamboo and tree poles to help rebuild their mud houses. In some cases there was not enough to help the number of families that needed help so the Administrator of the are asked for plastic for the roofs of primary schools. This way many would receive the benefit of the help. Thank you Southern Baptist for giving to the hunger/relief fund at the IMB. 

Dianne helped Pastor Arão distribute tin last year with live ammunition destroyed many houses right out side Beira and several were injured and a few died. Please pray for Larry as he finishes this distribution. The next phase will be to help those who will be starving soon as many of the crops were ruined because of so much water. Please pray for wisdom as he decides with the pastors how, when and who to help. 

Translations and Literature . . .

During the month of May 2002 helped Campus Crusade record the Jesus Film in Makhuwa for use with audio cassettes. Praise God we now have these cassettes and they are ready to be distributed across the 3 northern provinces. Pray that many non-Christian will hear this gospel presentation and invite Jesus to be their savior and Lord. Pray that our Christians will use this to evangelize in their neighborhoods and beyond. 

Bibles and Films . . .

Since illiteracy is such a problem in Mozambique, films such as the Jesus Film are widely used to share the gospel with the Makhuwa people. 

Though the Portuguese Bible is widely used, it is also important to have a Makhuwa Bible. The Makhuwa Bible is in the process of being revised. We make Bibles and New Testaments available at a subsidized price. 

• Pray for the completion of the protestant version of the Makhuwa Bible. Pray also for the translators working on the Koti Bible, Makonde, Makhuwa-Imetto, and the Mwani translations. All of these languages are spoken in the Nampula and Cabo Del Gado provinces where we serve. 

Organization of 4 new churches to take place in Nampula Province . .

We praise God for the 7 men that were ordained 2002. Now in 2003 and 2004 they have plans to organize at least 6 missions in to churches. The first one will take place October 19 at Namitil. Pastor Comoco is the pastor of this congregation. Continue to pray for the training that is taking place in these 4 locations. Namita 2, Cossor, Namitil, and Murapaniwa.They have a ll received special training by Larry Randolph, Mike McCoy as well as David Hoffman and Girlam Silva, who also serves as a missionary with the Baptist Convention. They are missionaries with The Baptist Convention of Brazil along with their wives, Sheila and Denise. 

• Pray for these pastors and their wives who lead these congregations.

• Pray also that several more churches will be organized in the coming months.