Hey Guys!

It’s August 10th and as we sit down to finally write our second newsletter the kids are outside playing, in the mud.. and we’re starting to reflect how it has been a very full on, exciting, challenging last month or so!

We have been renovating the home that we will be living in, it has been.. intense and hilarious! We started work just before Chris & Jenn headed to the States, and it’s been an adventure ever since! Haha!

It’s been a wonderful learning experience, both in terms of culture, leadership and an even deeper immersion in language.

The house needed an entirely new electrical and water system, in the rainy season also the water would enter the house through the walls so there’s also been a lot of masonry repairs! Having this work carried out in Mozambique has been.. exciting!

The other day the plumber finally finished the water system, switched on the kitchen tap and water came flooding out of a drain in the wall. Perfect! ‘Back on Monday!’ Haha!

Alongside the challenges of renovation in a developing country we have had the privilege of spending time sitting with these guys, getting to know them. Its no exaggeration to say some have become really good friends to our family! Every conversation in simple Portuguese, our language has been forced grow!

The kids are really flying! Loving school, loving Mozambican culture, navigating the cross cultural challenges with grace and a great sense of humour! They are always off on an another adventure on the land where we live. There are dreams for a tree house and a lizard tank!
Solly celebrated his 7th birthday in July, and Nai will celebrate her 9th birthday this month, blessed by their hearts taking each change in their stride. Our kids are incredible, resilient and full of joy! They’re our greatest treasure and we’re so proud of them.

We’ve also had a steady stream of ministry opportunities! We were invited as a family to a relatively new church in Nicantavala, Nacala. This is one of the slums in the local town, the kids really impressed us. Some of the more abject poverty we’ve seen to date, the kids were laughing as they hopped over sewage in the street on the way to service, excited to get to church!

We had the privilege of sharing a few words here, and were humbled to be given a gift of dishes, that this church who has nothing, saved up to give us.

In this service there was a muslim lady who kept having dreams of a church. These dreams kept happening, so she turned up. After hearing the sermon she gave her heart to Jesus and was radically filled with the Holy Spirit during a time of prayer. Jesus truly reveals himself to the humble and lowly in heart.

Ben also had the honour of being invited to preach for the end of a six month Bible school in a local missions base, called Afrika Wa Yesu. These guys are friends of Iris and very much share the same DNA. Their worship was truly beautiful, we have so much to learn from them.

Their ministry was founded by Rob & Ellie Hein, who were some of the first missionaries into Mozambique after the civil war ended, back packing across the border in the 90s. They told us stories of their first home in a village in the South, where there were around fifteen landmines in their back garden. It was a honour to share a meal together, their simple raw faith in Jesus is inspiring.

The ministry here at Iris Nacala continues to expand, with reports weekly of new areas in the district and beyond that would like a church. It’s hard for our team to get our heads and hearts around!

It’s humbling to be living here witnessing this. A few years ago this district was deemed unreachable by missiological boards of study. The Joshua project reported a 0.02% christian population, and now.. the Lord is revealing Himself in a myriad of different ways.

Beautiful times of prayer and worship at the Iris base in Nacala. Our week always starts here, at the feet of Jesus as a church family.

Language class continues to be hilarious and stretching!

Here’s a photo of our friend Manuel! He is awesome, and a fiery preacher! He also has an incredible dress sense.. haha!

We love you guys, thank you for your prayers and support. We need it haha!

And we’re so thrilled to be here, it is challenging, but it is filled with joy!

Prayer points:

We are still waiting to hear back on our visas, as with all things governmental here, it takes a long time! We are hoping the issue will be resolved in Nampula, otherwise we will need to fly to the capital, Maputo, to visit the immigration office there, which isn’t cheap! We heard from our contact at the embassy in the UK last week that it has been resolved, so we will wait to see!

John & Melissa and their new baby Titus arrive back from the US this week, they’ve been part of the team here for a couple of years and were in Pemba before this, it will be great to have them here with us, pray for them as they settle back, and adjust to missionary life with a little one!

Please continue to pray for Chris & Jenn and family, who are currently in the states, Chris’ health still isn’t great, and no doctors seem to be able to put a finger on it! Prayer for them amidst their busy schedule and wisdom with his health.

Love from us five,

Ben & Tash