For three weeks in November and December of 2009 I served in Vilankulos, Mozambique, one of several ministry locations I visited while on the World Race. I had only been there for a few days when I felt in my heart that God would bring me back to that place. Now I am preparing to return and serve there for one year. My team worked with Pastor Jaco Rudolph and his family- a South African who has been serving in Mozambique for a couple of years with an organization called Jesus for Africa. Our ministry was multi-faceted and flexible including prayer walks, visiting the hospital, the prison, and people in their homes, sharing the gospel and praying with them. On Sundays our team would lead church services for the local Mozambicans. During our final week in Vilankulos we experienced an amazing time of celebration as several believers were baptized in the Indian Ocean less than a mile from the church. In Mozambique I’ll be serving in these ways, and my desire is to extend God’s love to the women in that community.
While I was in Mozambique, one of the most exciting things was the prison ministry. Over 100 people, from every corner of the prison, prayed to receive Christ when the gospel was presented to them. I didn’t see them turn to Christ (only eight from our group were allowed to visit the prison each week) but I came the following week and to quote my journal entry, “this place is more alive than most churches I’ve been to”.
What strikes me most about spirituality in Africa is the intense hunger for God in spite of many demonic strongholds that are still intact. It’s a battlefield that has held dark strongholds for centuries but light is quickly conquering the darkness. It’s an intense and exciting place to be! Many people are turning to Jesus yet there are few resources and few leaders to guide them into maturity. Not that I have all the answers, quite the contrary: I often feel insignificant, questioning what I have to offer. However, I know that God has told me to go and I am confident that God empowers me and will work through me to draw people to know Him better.
My goal is to leave at the end of June and stay there for one year. I will be working with Jesus for Africa, which is a recognized organization in Mozambique and South Africa, but not in the USA. So I am also partnering with a non-profit called beLOVE Inc. Check it out online at, www.beloveinc.org In order to serve in Mozambique for one year, I need to raise a total of $11,000 ($5000 for visas, travel expenses, etc + $500/mo.) for the year as I step out in faith to the calling God has placed on my life. If you would be willing, please prayerfully consider making a tax deductible donation by mailing a check to beLOVE Inc with my name on the memo line. Please join with me as I help bring His kingdom from heaven down to earth. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I’d love to hear from you.
God Bless.
Leigh Leckman
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