Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 06:06:02 -0800 (PST)
From: Teresa Seputis <ts@godspeak.org>
Subject: From Teresa In Mozambique

Hello from Mozambique

My interenet access is very limited, so I won't be able to write very often -- this may be my only email from Mozambique. Please do hold me in your prayers. Things are quite difficult here.

Some of it is the conditions here -- weather (hot an humid to the point where you are always drippig wet, where you can't sleep at night and at times you cannot hardly breathe), living conditions are a bit on the primitative side, thre is a malaria epidemic in the compound and many of the missionaries are suffering from it. There are other difficutlies and frustrations that come from the organization. For instance, I had arranged before I came to be teaching 2 hours per day 5 days per week (for two weeks) in the bible college. I taught on Monday and Tuesday, but was only given 1 hour on Tuesday and then classes for Wed through Friday were cancelled. I was told that I might not be given any time in the college the following week to teach. That was very frustrating for me since I came all this way explicitely to teach in the bible college!

However, the Lord has been opening some other doors for me. I have had the opportunity to minister one on one and prophesy to about 4 of the missiosnaries, I have become active in their daily intercession sessions from 6 - 8 AM and I was asked to preach in the main church service last Sunday. Also, I have been working some with the orphan children and going on some of their outreaches.

I went to the boceria (the dump) last Friday, my first full day in the compound. We walked through the garbage and gathered people to invite them to our church service (they have built a church in the dump). The children here (especially the ones from the dump) are so hunger for attention and love that they run up to total strangers, grab their hands, climb into laps and hold their arms up asking to be picked up. These little children are mostly barefoot, walking on broken glass and all sorts of spoiled things in the dump. They will pick up semi-spoiled fruit from the garbage and eat it. They have a very difficult life just to survive. I spent about three hours just loving on them, holding them, etc.

Heidi showed up about 2 1/2 hours into the outreach (she just arrived in Maputo and went straight to the outreach). It was amazing watching her with the people. After the service,I was sent out with a couple of local pastors to do some visitation and ministry are some of the dump homes (many people build their homes right there physically in the dump). When I got back they had left without me and that was pretty scary for a while.. but a truck from the compound arrived later to do some work for the pastor of the church at the dump, so I eventually got home. (I have to confess that I was scared when I got abandoned at the dump.. I had no money, I did not know the phone number for Iris Ministries and I did not speak the language... and YES, it was scary!) But God took care of me.

Heidi was here for less than 24 hours and then had to leave to go to Korea. I did not get to meet her and talk to her, but I did see her minister at the dump and she is truely anointed!

I was expecing to see those wonderful signs and wonders and healings that we hear of -- but those are more in the north where the remote outreaches are. Here the area is fairly well evangelised and the signs/wonders/healings and tangible presense of God are sort of rare. But a good work is going on here in this compound... orphans are being cared for and raised up as godly men/women and some are going to be preachers/evangelists --- there are medical facilities that care for the sick -- there is a bible college where pastors are being trained. It is a good work, but it is mostly every day life and difficult and more of a "grind" than walking in the obvious supernatural. All the same, God's hand is in things with divine coincidences, healings as critically sick children are prayed for, etc.

I will be going to the bush on Friday night and will be returning on Sunday afternoon. That is one of those remote outreaches where they see more manifiestations of God's presence/power. Even there, the miracles are not on "every trip" but they frequently occur. I am looking forward to this trip and I hope to see God glorify His name there .. but even if I don't get to see the big miracles, I will really be greatful for being on the remote outreach to the bush.. this is so remote we will be sleeping in tents, we will be using holes in the ground as toilet paper, there is no running water, etc. Please do hold me in your prayers, this is extremely difficult conditions.. but this is where we are able to reach people for the Lord who have not heard the gospel before.

Tomorrow is Thursday and we will be going to minister in a refuge camp. Teams from Iris go every week. This will be my first trip with them to the refugee camp, but other short term missionaries in the compound say that this is the outreach that effected them the most out of all the various outreaches (prison outreach, street ministry, refugee camp and the dump). I am looking forward to helping bring the Lord's light and love to the people in this refuge camp.

There is so much more I wish I could say but I am running out of internet connect time. So I must go soon. I was very frustrated that I am not getting the opportunities to teach that had been arranged before I left the states to come to Mozambique. But God is opening many other minsitry doors and I am learning as well as ministering.

I will try to share more when I get home. Please continue to hold us in your prayers in Mozambique. Blessigs to you.

- teresa