[de]
Mai
Hi ihr Lieben,
es ist lange her seitdem ich das letzte Mal geschrieben habe, ich weiss …
vieles ist passiert in der Zwischenzeit …
bin wie gesagt von Catandica nach Chimoio umgezogen und hab mich ganz gut eingelebt mitlerweile …
Katja ist hier fuer 3 Monate …
und wir sind viel unterwegs …
Ich war wieder in Simbabwe …
Ende Maerz in Mutare, Rusape, Mashvingo, Kwekwe, Gweru und Bulawayo … viele Heilungen … hab den Ueberblick verloren, aber in Rusape gab es mindestens 20 Blinde (oder fast Blinde), die wieder (besser) sahen, Knie- und Rueckenschmerzen verschwanden, Leute, die nicht mehr gehen konnten tanzten …
In Mashvingo hatten wir ein nette Ueberraschung … hatten extra noch voll getankt, weil wir frueh loswollten, da wir sowohl nach Kwekwe als auch noch Gweru wollten an dem Tag … kamen aber nicht weit, nicht mal nen Kilometer … nach einigem Suchen sahen wir, dass kein Tropfen Benzin im Tank war … das verstanden wir nun ueberhaupt nicht, wir hatten doch voll getankt … schliesslich stellten wir fest, dass jemand den Schlauch, der in den Tank geht durchgeschnitten hatte und das gesamte Benzin geklaut hat … grrr … 2 aus dem Team baten das naechste Auto, das vorbeikam sie in die Stadt, zur naechsten Tankstelle mitzunehmen … 2 Wasserflaschen mit Benzin gefuellt … direkt in die Benzinpumpe … dann an der Tankstelle mehr Benzin … konnten aber trotz allem Bemuehen nur 15 Liter in den Tank kriegen und das reicht einfach nicht fuer eine Entfernung von 400 Kilometern … ich dachte mir, irgendwann muessen wir eh einen neuen Benzinschlauch kaufen, warum nicht gleich … war aber auch als dann die Geschaefte aufmachten in der ganzen Stadt keiner aufzutreiben, weil sich wie wir dann rausfanden wohl irgendwelche Leute auf „Benzinklauen“ spezialisiert hatten und jeder Autofahrer, mit dem wir uns unterhielten das gleiche Problem schon mal hatte … am Ende fanden wir jemanden, der uns was aus Metall „konstruierte“ … so ist mein Benzin nun super sicher und klaut mal so schnell keiner mehr … 🙂
Eine andere interessante Erfahrung war die Grenze von Zimbabwe nach Suedfafrika … ich dachte, ich spinne, sowas habe ich definitiv noch nie gesehen, eine Schlange von ungefaehr 3000 Leuten und normalerweise haetten wir dort 2 Tage verbringen koennen, wenn Gott nicht ein Wunder getan und das Herz eines Polizisten (der mit einem Schlagstock die Leute zuruecktrieb) erweicht haette uns vorzulassen … wir sind extra im Mitternacht in Bulawayo losgefahren um auch rechtzeitig am Flughafen in Johannesburg zu sein, Katja abholen, aber mit 2 Tagen Wartezeit an der Grenze hatte ich halt nicht gerechnet … wenn wir Leuten erzaehlen, dass wir in 1 Stunde und 45 Minuten ueber der Grenze waren glaubt und das keiner, aber mit Gott sind alle Dinge moeglich!!
Eine Nacht in Pretoria, dann nach Nelspruit und 2 Tage im Krueger Nationalpark Tiere anschauen … es war wundervoll … Giraffen, Elefanten, Zebras, Nashoerner, Bueffel, Nielpferde, Loewen … und sogar einen Geparden … :-).
Etwas laenger in Maputo als geplant, war aber auch okay und schliesschlich zurueck nach Hause … 🙂
Dann ueber Ostern nochmal … hatte Einladungen auf 2 Konferenzen zu sprechen … in Mutare und Chipinge, ungeaehr Freakstockgroesse von der Anzahl der Leute her (fuer diejenigen, die Freakstock kennen) – aber o h n e Mikrofon! Gott war da und redete … ich war wahrscheinlich mehr ueberrascht als die Leute dort … 🙂
Momentan komme ich gerade von 10 Tagen Gemeinden im Busch besuchen in Mosambik wieder … zuerst in Chemba (ganz oben im Norden der Provinz Sofala, wo ich vorher gewohnt habe) … viele Befreiungen … dann an naechsten Tag in Sena, Magagade und Caia … uns wurde nicht langweilig zwischendurch 🙂 … bei der letzten Gemeinde mussten wir mehrmals aussteigen, um zu schauen, wie wir moeglicherweise weiterfahren koennen, wo weniger Wasser und der Matsch etwas fester ist … Allradantrieb eingeschaltet … alle ausgestiegen, damit weniger Gewicht im Auto war … in Jesu Namen … und wir bleiben nicht stecken … yes!!
Am naechsten Morgen in Inhaminga, ebenfalls 3 Gottesdienste … war eigentlich so nicht geplant gewesen, aber auch gut … und schliesslich „zurueck“ nach Dondo … ueber den Zustand der Strasse sage ich lieber nichts, ausser dass wir aufgrund der Schlagloecher das Nummernschild hinten verloren (war auseinandergebrochen). Gott sei Dank sahen wir es gerade noch rechtzeitig vor der Polizeikontrolle. Konnten ein Stueck Pappe auftreiben, auf das wir die Autonummer schrieben, irgendwie notduertig befestigten, in der Hoffnung keine Strafe bezahlen zu muessen … . Direkt vor uns ein grosser Bus hinter dem wir uns auch erstmal gut verstecken konnten. Ich betete aber trotzdem lieber mal noch vorsichtshalber. Und genau in dem Moment, als wir an dem Polizisten vorbeimussten klingelte sein Handy, sodass er abgelenkt war und uns nicht anhielt – praise God!
Es war gut meine Freunde in Dondo wiederzusehen und 2 Tage Urlaub zu machen. In der Naehe von Beira gibt es eine kleine Kokusnusspalmeninsel mit langem weissen Sandstrand und so … 🙂
Danach wieder in den Busch, diesmal in die andere Richtung, nach Sueden, nach Machanga und Buzi. Ich war vor ca. 2 Jahren in Machanga gewesen mit einem Team, hatten dort eine von diesen Evangelisationen auf dem Fussballfeld gemacht und anschliessend eine Gemeinde gegruendet, die auch noch existiert (gewachsen ist) und nicht nur dass, die auch schon 2 neue gegruendet haben. Ungefaehr die ganze Nacht Gottesdienst und dann Taufen frueh morgens – 39 Leute. Das Wasser war ausnahmsweise mal nicht ganz so dreckig – Danke, Jesus – im Gegensatz zu Kwekwe (in Zimbabwe), wo wir auch getauft hatten, ungefaehr genauso viele Leute, aber in einer Dreckbruehe, in die ich niemals freiwillig reingehen wuerde, ich meine ausser fuer den Herrn … 🙂
Die Fahrt von Machanga wieder weg war auch ganz interessant, weil ohne Bremsen (um es kurz zu machen es war etwas kaputt gegangen, so dass wir fast die ganze Bremsfluessigkeit verloren). In Muchungwe gab es die dann tatsaechlich zu kaufen, was ich eher in die Kategorie Wunder verbuchen wuerde. War doch besser mit Bremsmoeglichkeit weiterzufahren – bis irgendwann auf einmal die Strasse endete und wir mit einer Faehre den Fluss ueberqueren mussten, was auch kein Problem gewesen waere, wenn die Faehre nicht gerade vor unseren Augen im Wasser stehengeblieben waere und der Motor wieder angegangen waere. So mussten wir dann leider dort uebernachten bis am naechsten Morgen das Problem behoben wurde. Vielleicht ist es ein bisschen schwierig das nachzuvollziehen, aber die groesste Herausforderung war tatsaechlich nicht von einem Krokodil gefressen zu werden. Wir beteten und vertrauten dem Herrn und waren auch alle noch lebendig am naechsten Morgen. Direkt zum Gottesdienst und anschliessend Leitertreffen. Auf dem Rueckweg hatten wir noch nen Platten, war aber nicht weiter schlimm, ausser dass wir ewig brauchten, um die dummen Schrauben aufzukriegen, weil es ausgerechnet der Reifen war, den ich im November in Zimbabwe schon mal verloren hatte und der deshalb andere Schrauben hat als alle anderen Reifen. Nachdem Gott uns einen „Engel“ vorbeischickte war auch alles kein Problem mehr.
Morgen fangen wir wieder mit der Essensverteilung fuer die Waisenkinder an … ich darf als mal wieder Lkw fahren, Mais organisieren …
Bis bald …
will euch ja nicht langweilen …
Gruesse aus Mosambik!
Claudi
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[en]
May
Dear friends,
yes, I am still alive – and well 🙂
living in Chimoio (the capital of the provinceof Manica) and I like it, it’s nice to live in the city for a change, having electricity and water (at least most of the time) … 🙂
no, I didn’t forget you … !!
In Zimbabwe again … 🙂
At the end of march we went back to Zimbabwe … it wasn’t the easiest thing to get going there … my new passport was in Maputo (I had to get a new one ‘cause my old one was full, not even one page left for visa stamps) and the people I had asked to pick it up from the embassy weren’t willing to give it to me for some weird reason … my car was in the garage, in pieces and only by a mircale someone found the spare part I needed in Beira (the mecanic had told me I’d have to order it from South Africa which usually takes at least a week), one of my team members whom I really needed to go with was in the hospital, almost dead (due to whichcraft), my residence permit at the immigration ‘cause I need to change the number of my passport in it … as well as some of things … but I kept saying we are going ‘cause I knew it was God’s time for us to go – and we went! My car was fixed, the person who was in the hospital supernaturally healed, God changed the heart of the person who had my passport and he was willing to give it to someone to send it to me and everything else fell into place just in time. I had already gone, borrowing a friend’s car, buying food and seed for the people in Zimbabwe and food for our team for the trip. I kept on proclaming, we live by faith not by sight …
We had many places to go where people were waiting for us, churches to visit and preach at … . To sum it up it’s been amazing … starting of in Mutare, then Rusape, Mashvingo, Kwekwe, Gweru and finished of in Bulawayo. I have difficulties to put the many things God has done into words. We saw many healings, in Rusape f.ex. there were at least 20 people who could see well again after praying for them, the crippled walked, diffrent pains went away … God was speaking … we were able to baptise (in one of the durtiest rivers I have ever seen, but we do it all for the glory of God, trusting in His protection) …
In Mashvingo we had a „nice” surprise as we were leaving there – or I should better say trying to leave there. We couldn’t even get a mile and the car stopped. Trying to figure out what the problem was we finally discovered there was no fuel in the tank, which we didn’t understand at all ‘cause we had filled up the tank the night before ‘cause we wanted to leave early; also in Zimbabwe it is better to put in fuel when you can get it at one of the gaz stations ‘cause there might not be any the next day. Anyways, some of our team hitched a ride into town to get at least 2 plastic bottles (1.5 liters each) of fuel so we could get to a gaz station. Someone had cut our fuel pipe and taken even the last drop out of our tank. I’ve always wondered how much fuel actually fits in my tank, now I know. At the gaz station we could only get in about 15 liters, despite of trying for about 30 minutes. Then I decided it might be better to get a new fuel pipe ‘cause it was saturday morning and on saturday afternoon or sunday you can’t get anything here. Also 15 liters weren’t enough to drive about 400 kilometers (there was no other gaz station on the road before that) and I’d have to buy a new one anyways one of these days. Easier said then done. It was not possible to get a fuel pipe anywhere in the whole town ‘cause the thiefs there have specialised themselves on stealing fuel out of people’s tanks as we found out then. Every single driver we talked to there has already had the same problem – Halleluja! In the end we found someone who was willing to make us a new fuel pipe out of old metal which worked pretty well. Now I have a really secure fuel pipe, out of thick metal. When I am going back there it won’t be so easy for the thiefs anymore … 🙂
As we were driving down to South Africa we left at midnight in Bulawayo, to be on time at the Johannisburg airport to pick up my german friend Katja who is staying with me for 3 months. We had now idea about the Beitbridge border, Zimbabwe to South Africa. You can easily spend 2 days there. I have passed many borders in my life, but I have never seen a queue like that, not even in Russia. We were guessing about 3000 people in line to get their passports stamped. I could not believe that. I was praying, asking God to make a way where seemed to be no way and as you know God always answers our prayers. I asked God to show me the people whose hearts he would touch to help me. One of these people was a policeman who was driving people back with a stick. I walked up time, started to talk to him, explaining my situation that I had had no idea that it was like that at that border and I really didn’t have time to wait in that queue ‘cause I need to go to the airport to pick up my friend who came to Africa for the first time … and thank God I found favor in his eyes, he let me and our whole team in front …. . There was still another queue inside, in which we might have had to wait for another 3-4 hours. I was telling God that I didn’t have time for that and asked Him to show me who’d be the person I could just walk up to, somewhere in front of the queue to become friends with and get in line there. It worked. We also had good talks about Jesus right there in the queue, waiting to get our passports stamped. To make a long story short we were out of the border in 1 hour and 45 minutes which is an absolute miracle. People here don’t believe me when I tell them, but with God all things are possible.
I picked up my friend, we spent a night in Pretoria with friends, it was nice to be in a real house, bought a radio for my car there – finally I have music in my car at all these long drives – praise God – went on to Nelspruit, also staying with friends, then in the Kruger National Park for 2 days, enjoying to spot all the beautiful animals God has created … we saw a lion walking in front of our car right in the beginning as we went in and another four as we went out, many giraffs, elefants, zebras, rhinos, hippos … and even a chita … thank you Jesus!
We were in Maputo a bit longer as planned, waiting for Katja’s luggage, but it was okay, it was good to see friends again I haven’t see in a long time, catching up with them … then back home to Chimoio …
Over easter I got another invitation to go back there, speaking at 2 diffrent conferences, national conferences of 2 diffrent churches … in Mutare and in Chipinge … what a priviledge … the people there are so hungry for the word of God … God was moving … I think I was more surprised than all the people there … I was also amazed by their hospitality …
2 weeks ago I went visiting some of our churches in the North of the Province of Sofala (where I lived before). Arriving in Caia Pastor Phombo said let’s first go to Chemba … so back in the car, another 3 hour drive, but we made it before dark! We were thinking they knew we were coming but unfortunately the person that was supposed to go there and tell them never went there and the leading pastor there (who is the only person there with a phone) never got any of Pastor Phombo’s text messages ‚cause his phone battery doesn’t work anymore (calling is not really possible ‚cause there isn’t really phone reception there, only on some little hill of about 2 meters and if the one you are calling is not up there at that very moment you don’t get a connection). Anyways, they tried to spread the message as quickly as possible and we had a good time with the church there that night and the next morning – a lot of deliverance! Then went on to Sena where God told me to teach about the gifts of the spirit and of course God poured out afterwards. In the afternoon we were in Magagade where God led me to speak about Elia – God was there! Also there hospitality was amazing! In the evening in Caia … so many people … we celebrated, worshiped and God moved in power even though I was a bit tired by then, the third preaching that day. The challenge was to get to the place where the churches were gathered – the rains had destroyed the road well! We got out of the car twice to see how we could possibly pass those places, where the mud was a bit harder and not too much water. I put in 4 weel driver and declared in the name of Jesus …! Every one else walked to have less weight in the car … and we made it!
The next morning (sunday) early off to Inhaminga and praise God we got there on time for their sunday morning service.
We drove (back) to Dondo, by faith now ‚cause the car made quite few funny noises. This time I didn’t have anyone with me who knows something about cars. The road was bad, so bad that our number plate broke! We only saw it though when we stopped for a „bathroom“ break, just before Balanca where there is a police check point. What to do? We quickly organised some card board, wrote the number on it and found a way to fix it in the back of the car, hoping we wouldn’t have to pay a fine. I was praying for God’s grace to intervene and God did as always … there was a big bus before us so I was hiding right behind and the moment we were passing, the policeman seeing us, someone called him on his cellphone so he was distracted and didn’t stop us – praise God and may God bless the angel who called just at the right the moment!
It was good to see everyone in Dondo. Things are changing there it seems – finally!
Then I went with Katja to Savanne which is a beautiful island with a white sand beach and cocunut palm trees just near Beira to enjoy the beauty of Mosambik and rest a bit … .
Then off to another „trip” … this time to Machanga and Buzi. Machanga is in the far south of Sofala and quite a drive, but it was good to be back there. About 2 years ago I had gone there with a team to plant a church and thank God it was still there, not only that, but it has grown a lot and they had gone to plant 2 other churches. They had asked us to do the baptism … I enjoyed … first I was teaching about baptism and then we baptised 39 people!
We wanted to get to Buzi that night, but there were are few hinderances and/or delays. At first we had to drive without breaks until Muchungwe were I was able to get break fluid – thank God – I was driving a bit slower thank usual ‘cause I could only use lower gears to break, not even the hand break worked – anyways God protected us – then still a long drive to Buzi. Finally at about 10.30 p.m (of course without dinner) we were at the river we had to cross with a ferry (which I hadn’t known before) and we saw the ferry stopping to work in the middle of the water. It took them all night, until the next morning they were able to fix it, so we had to sleep right there, in the car, all nine of us. The biggest challenge was not the cold or the many moscitos, but not to get eaten by a crocodile. Many people there die because of that, but thank God he kept them away from us as we asked … . It was good to be with the church there and meet with the leaders to resolves some things that need to be resolved there … . On the way back we had a flat tire, but not too bad, we saw it on time, just that we had some problems to get the screws of the tire, but with the help of an angel God sent to us we were finally able – praise God!
Anyways, I don’t want to bore you … with my normal life here …
We just started again with food distribution last weekend …
going to Machaze, in the far south of our provice Manica … the road there is bad, full of rocks and wholes, so we prayed & worshiped the whole time we were driving there ‘cause there are many accidents on that road … it was far but worth it … people there are literally starving … when you see their maize you will feel pity for them ‘cause there is hardly anything on it … at some point when we were there the pastor told me that they have been praying every day that I’d come there and bring them food … I had no idea … I’d say God answered their prayers … our (orphan) children and their caregivers were happy that day … 🙂
I love you all,
blessings!
greetings from Mosambik, Claudia
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