Hello to you all who long for Jesus' coming!

Photos: You may remember our internet had been worse than dial-up. Now we have a faster connection so we've uploaded our pictures from July on out. Click here or on the link in the right margin of the site to see the pics. Hurray!

Discouragement and Prayer: Whew! It has been dry and hot. Many missionaries leave the HOT northern area during December to retreat to cooler climates. The combination of everything can be discouraging. Last week, Melissa and I especially felt a dark cloud hanging over us. It seemed so thick I began to wonder if part of it was of demonic origin. After asking our sons and daughters in the U.S. for prayer, the very next morning we were breathing fresh air again! Thank you Jesus! In addition, the Lord also blessed us with an unexpected rain and a few cooler days! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Health Seminar: This month I (Daniel) attended a two day ANAMED training for how Mozambicans without access to clinics or hospitals can treat various common illnesses here with medicines they can make from tree leaves, roots, etc... Some are very effective. It opened my eyes to what kind of training we want to provide the people here via the church planters. Pat Maddux (my Mom) is working primarily in the area of growing the key plants they'll need to treat themselves.

Melissa's work at home: Speaking of health, our daugther Chloe has encouraged us to have more veggies and fruit in our diet so Melissa has been making regular visits to the outdoor market where they are much cheaper than at the "supermarket" in town. Also, yogurt is expensive here but needed for a good digestive system since there are so many stomach infecting microbes around. Melissa and Esther just made their first home-made batch today so I can't wait to try it out. Melissa is hostessing a large gathering here for Thanksgiving and coordinating a Christmas service for the international English speaking Sunday night church. Esther and I will be joining in the fun and learning our parts to the Christmas hymns.

Trainer's Flip Chart: Our Amazing God has blessed me to have completed the translation of a 46 page Farming God's Way trainer's flip chart. It's full of excellently drawn pictures contrasting typical African practices to God's wisdom in farming along with several other pages that I added on worm banks and Bible verses on stewardship. Mike, the main trainer here from Zimbabwe with 30 years farming experience, and I are reviewing it and adding other necessary subject material such as how to do vegetable gardening for better nutrition. Lord willing it will be ready to print by the end of January or sooner.

Wonderful Truth: I discovered some incredible verses on this subject while reading the Bible the other morning. Isaiah 28:23-29, shows that _everything_ done in agriculture (or any other field for that matter) that is actually working, is so only because GOD has taught man the best way - "For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him... This also comes from the LORD of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom."

Touching People: We also hope to translate it into Makua. Gito, our translator, after correcting the Portuguese, wrote me a special note thanking me for this work and expressing the dire need for these things to be taught. He is SOOO excited to see God's ways touching this people, casting out the spiritual darkness, and relieving the poverty.

Antonio, the faithful evangelist: While attending a city-wide meeting of Church of Christ pastors, Antonio had a conversation with a fellow church planter. The fellow lamented that all the people in the church he helped start still went to the grave-sites to perform rituals to the ancestors - offering prayers, food, clothing, ect. Antonio showed him the dialogue questions we've written to accompany the Bible stories, especially the one dealing with this topic that goes to the heart of their culture. The man asked Antonio where in the world did he get those!? Antonio explained the vision God is giving us. The fellow then pleaded with Antonio to go back there and straighten things out for him. Antonio said, "No, you started it, so you're the one that needs to do this. I have other places God is calling me to."

UPCOMING TRIP TO CHURCHES IN THE BUSH!

Please especially be in prayer for this. Thanksgiving weekend we are headed to an area where several years ago God lit a spark with the stories of the Bible. The fifth church is now being planted and they'll be have a large baptism of new believers. We plan on showing them the Makua version of the video 'God's Story', review how their farming is going, and launch the 1st phase of a discipleship for the young churches using the dialogue questions that have been translated in MAKUA! for each key story. Praise God with us for this. Also be praying for the young convert's growth in the grace of the Lord and abundant rains for their crops.

Grace and peace,

Daniel and Melissa & Esther

Isaiah 46:10 - God's purpose will stand and He will do all that He pleases.