The following is an excerpt from a recent letter sent from ASM missionary Chad V. during an audio Bible distribution trip in the African country of Mozambique.
In this type of ministry it seems that we work to plant a lot of seeds, but many times do not get to see the fruit of the harvest. Every once and a while the Lord gives us a little glimpse of the "big picture" and it is one one of those glimpses that I want to share with you.
Let me set the stage for you. About a year ago, when Sergio and I were planning our first distribution trip here in Mozambique, we met a pastor working in the most northern province of Mozambique who begged us to
visit his area with this project. He shared with us how his area was remote, mostly muslim, mostly illiterate and thoroughly lacking in materials for church growth. After hearing his passionate plea we couldn't help but add that location to our list of distribution areas. Last March we visited this area and, after an amazing warm welcome, distributed about 40 audio Bibles in Swahili, which is widely spoken in that area. Since last March we had heard little bits and pieces of stories of how the Lord was really working in that area. This year we made it a priority to visit this location again and we were once more enthusiastically received. This year we brought 100 audio Bibles, but after seeing the incredible hunger for God's Word there, we added another 70. Once people heard that these audio Bibles were available they were coming all hours of the night to make sure that they got their player. We even had someone walk from a village and arrive at 3:00 in the morning knocking on the door looking for a player...it was truly amazing. On our third day of distributions we went out to a new church located on a dirt 2-track about 10km out in the bush. It was this little church that was our glimpse of God's greatness!
The story goes like this. One of the players we distributed last year made it into the hands of a believer from one of the few local churches. Back in June this man was walking down this dirt road out to his garden and was listening to God's Word as he walked. While he was walking he passed a young man who became curious about this little "radio" this man was listening to. He stopped the man and asked lots of questions about what it was and how he had come to receive it. After listening to the audio Bible for a while and hearing many new and amazing things, the young man begged the believer to let him borrow the player. The believer could not deny him and, after explaining where he could find the local pastor administrating the Bible listening project, he left the player with him. Well, God's Word does not return void, and after a short period of time this man showed up at the pastors house asking many questions. In the end this
young man accepted Christ as his savior and more than that, asked the question as to why there was no church yet in his area. Together these two men went to the local authorities and inquired as to whether they could be allowed to build a church. Surprisingly, since these types of requests are often denied, they were granted permission to start a church and even given a piece of land. Since June, this church has grown from a single believer and an audio Bible, to now having 42 brand new and enthusiastic believers!!! Isn't it amazing to see what the Lord can do through one tiny little audio Bible!! I am just so excited to see the amazing things the Lord will do with these 800 audio Bibles we are currently distributing!
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