Why Mozambique ?
Most Yawo people of Northern Mozambique identify as Muslim , and while they respect Jesus as a prophet , they don ’ t know Jesus as He presents Himself in the Bible .
Cam serves in Mozambique .
Building on Geoff Maddock ’ s exploration of the biblical basis of mission ( pages 11- 12 ), Cam explores why he and Kath ’ s answer to ‘ where ?’ is Mozambique .
The chance that a Yawo person will encounter Jesus as He is found in the Bible , in their context , is very low . There is very little access to Bibles , literacy rates are low and there are only a handful of Yawo followers of Jesus in the Yawo population .
My friend Rachid spent his life farming and seeking God through his Muslim faith . His life story contains hard work and dislocation due to living through two wars .
He started noticing me as I rode my motorbike past his house and became curious . One day he stopped me and asked me who I was and why I was here in Mozambique .
This was the start of our friendship and soon we were meeting every week to share Bible stories and talk about life . We met in his home , out at his farm or as we visited people in the area .
Through relationship , opportunities opened up to share who Jesus is and the freedom that comes with knowing Him .
After learning who Jesus is , Rachid decided that he wanted to follow the Jesus path . He saw through God ’ s Word that Jesus is the doorway to being in relationship with God .
Would Rachid have ever discovered Jesus if we didn ’ t encounter each other in the Mozambican bush ? I can ’ t say for sure . Maybe God would have worked out another story . But what is apparent , is that God had a plan when He called us , an Australian family , to Mozambique . The plan involved Rachid hearing the stories of the Bible in a way and language he could understand .
This unlikely friendship between an Aussie and Yawo man resulted in Rachid being introduced to Jesus despite being part of a community where very few know Him .
The story of Yawo people encountering Jesus is only just beginning . There is continuing need for Jesus followers to be here so that many more may discover what following Jesus means for them . Could God be prompting you ?
RESONATE ISSUE 37 | PAGE 13