Angola Mission Team

In 2006 and 2008, the Angola Team (in its configuration at those times) visited a new church of Christians in Luena, Angola, most of whom recently returned from refugee camps in eastern Zambia. This congregation had a variety of difficulties in trying to gather each Sunday for worship, including the government’s requirement that they affiliate with a registered church denomination. (The registration of new church denominations has been closed since the late 1990s.) A third visit to these Christians had been high on our priority list since we arrived in Angola in July, and we finally found an opportunity in February. A number of the leaders of the group from 2006 and 2008 now worship with a new ICA church plant in Luena (the Angolan church that has invited our team to work alongside them). So with the help of the local ICA church leaders, we organized a week of teaching for the church there. Danny, Nathan, Jordan and I (Robert) set out from Huambo in the Reeses’ and Nathan’s vehicles.

We had heard the roads were bad, and the route was confusing, so we decided to travel in convoy with an experienced taxi driver (also traveling in a Land Cruiser). Our good friend Charles and several of his family traveled with us on their way to the funeral of a family member. We were also joined by our Angolan brother Bamba, who traveled by bus from Luanda in order to join us on the journey. On the evening before we traveled, we drove to Kuito (2 hours east of Huambo) and spent the night in a guestroom at the home of our friend, Marianne, a German Baptist missionary. The following morning, we rose early, had a light breakfast, and arrived at the taxi stop at 7 AM.

We left Kuito at 10 AM (some of the travelers in the taxi arrived late) and arrived in Luena at 11 AM the following day, after a hard journey. About 17 hours were spent traversing the 400 km, including many stops to pull the lead vehicle (our guide) out of the deep mud that covered a long stretch of road. From 10 PM until 4 AM we slept on the side of the road, deciding to rest a few hours. We finally arrived on Tuesday, 12 hours later than we had planned, exhausted and amazed.

The best $10 ever spent - a recover strap

Our host, Pastor Kazenga, gave us the remainder of the day to rest. We were accommodated well, in a rented house with several bedrooms, a large living room, and a small kitchen. We slept and reorganized our teaching plan to fit in the remaining four days of the schedule. Jordan – the strongest of the lot of us – managed the strength to fix supper, as she did each day while the trio of men rested (the three of us all felt a bit ill) or prepared for the next day’s teaching. Angolan friends joined us for many of the meals.

On Wednesday, we visited the provincial head of the Ministry of Culture and the provincial headquarters of Immigration – two obligatory visits on any trip outside of Huambo or Luanda. That afternoon, Danny introduced our topic to the gathered church leaders – about 25 men and women and a dozen young adults (ages 16-25) who sing with the church choir. We would spend the week teaching about the church and challenging the congregation to grow more and more like the New Testament church of Jesus’ first followers. We delivered each lesson in Portuguese and someone translated into Chokwe or Luvale. Our teaching program:

Danny teaches the gathered church leaders

Wed. PM: To whom belongs the church? (Danny)
Thur. AM: The temple of God & the New Testament on church buildings. (Robert)
Thur. PM: What is our identity? (Nathan)
Fri. AM: Who is consecrated? All Christians are set apart to serve. (Danny)
Fri. PM: Every member of the body has a gift to contribute. (Robert)
Sat. AM: Who leads the local church? Study on elders. (Danny)
Sat. PM: Conclusion – Search the Scriptures. (Nathan) & Questions and Answers (Danny and Robert)

On Sunday morning, Charles taught Bible class and Danny preached on “the mission of God.” Sunday afternoon, Jordan met with the women of the church while Danny, Nathan and I met with a smaller group of men to discuss the relationship between our friends from 2006/2008 and the new ICA congregation.

Jordan and two ICA "Mamas"

On Monday, we returned to Huambo with (thankfully!) better weather and dryer roads. The journey lasted just over 10 hours.

The journey was well worth the struggle. We were encouraged by our time with the congregation. Many leaders asked thoughtful questions and wrestled with the Scriptures we shared. They showed genuine interest and desire to understand God’s Word concerning the church. This young congregation has already (before our visit) assisted in the planting of three other churches in the area. We will return to visit these other church plants in June with several leaders from Luanda. The Luena congregation is a vibrant group of believers and we look forward to future visits and opportunities to study God’s Word alongside them.

Click here to see more pictures of the trip.

Day Seven: Return to Our Roots

Our first visit on the seventh day of our trip was the congregation where it all began. The first I.C.A. congregation planted by refugees returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, began just north of Damba in a neighborhood called “Catorze” (meaning “14”). Now the congregation consists of less than 15 adult members, primarily from one family. In the absence of a pastor, a father-son team leads the congregation, Mayala André and Bwaka André. We spent several minutes touring the grounds with these brothers and then set out for the northern border town of Maquela do Zombo.

Pastor Bula from Damba (center) and the two couples that lead the Catorze congregation

Two I.C.A. congregations exist in Maquela. In the early afternoon we arrived at the first. We met Pastor Domingos Tomás and ate lunch. After lunch, Banda had a closed meeting with the local leadership while the rest of us chatted outside. Several of the other delegates began to grow concerned that we would be late for our next scheduled appointment with the Municipal Administrator. It seems that timeliness becomes much more important when visiting someone of high status, though individuals of high status are rarely on time themselves (never, in my experience thus far). Someone entered the building to advise Banda of the time. Banda acknowledged the warning and calmly stated that his purpose was first and foremost the people of God, and that visiting government officials would only come after that purpose was fulfilled. This statement met some alarm among the other delegates who heard the report, but Danny, Nathan, and I quietly admired Banda’s carefully adjusted propriety.

During Banda’s meeting, the “young people” of the congregation (generally speaking, anyone between the ages of 16 and 35) met under a tree outside for a discussion led by Jonas (who we picked up in Damba) and Makiesse (who had just joined us that same day), the director of I.C.A.’s one-year ministry training school (E.T.O.I.C.A.). Jonas and Makiesse stressed the importance of regular Bible study and sincere involvement in the daily life of the church. Makiesse also recruited people for E.T.O.I.C.A. Nathan, Danny and I joined this conversation and shared our own thoughts. We were encouraged by the enthusiasm of these young men and women.

We left for the government offices at an hour when most government officials have gone home for the day (after 3 PM). As we expected, the Assistant Administrator was not present (and the Administrator was on holiday – a theme for the trip) but they directed us to his home. We arrived at a beautiful old-Portuguese mansion and were invited inside to sit in a large living room with ornate furniture and a high ceiling. The Assistant Administrator entered to greet us and apologized for the setting (ironically), then we went through the usual process while seated on plush sofas.

Departing the mansion, we drove to the Ministry of Culture. The official had left for the weekend (it was Friday) and they asked us to come back on Monday. Banda explained that we were returning to Luanda on Monday. They suggested that we return to Luanda after our meeting with Minister of Culture. Banda thanked them for their help. We walked outside and he assured us that we would not extend our trip for this meeting.

We returned relatively early to the church. Nathan, Danny, and I set out in search of fuel for the vehicles, but the only pump in town was out of diesel and gasoline. We deliberated for a few minutes about whether to purchase some of the fuel for sale in 2 liter bottles at an adjacent market stall that was very likely diluted with water. A Portuguese motorist, working for a mining company, saw us at the pump and stopped to meet us. He advised us against using the bottled fuel. We determined that we could make it through the next day’s travel with our jerry can reserve and returned to the church building.

We enjoyed a dinner of the usual fare. Our hosts kept a bucket of cold water full for us in an outdoor room for bathing. After a bit of relaxation, we rolled out our sleeping bags on the straw mats provided and slept.

Day Eight: Into the Wilderness

The day’s agenda included two visits to churches located some distance outside the city in opposite directions. We set out west to reach the first congregation, traversing a much rougher road than others we had traveled thus far on the trip. Two hours later we arrived at a small village, Malele, composed of about two dozen mud brick homes with thatch roofs. The church building stood at the edge of town looking over a steep hill that descended to a river and rose again to form taller hills in the distance. The church members share a plot of land on the closest part of this expanse where they have planted cassava.

The village of Malele

The local Soba, traditional community leaders [think: chief] to whom the Angolan government assigns official titles and responsibilities, attended our assembly. Our visit marked the first time Banda had visited this congregation. After the meeting we explored the land a bit while lunch was prepared. Then we ate together, took a group photo, and piled back into the vehicles.

We drove through Maquela and out to the northeast to reach the congregation in Kimbata, a larger village on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The terrain was rugged and included a river crossing where locals pointed out the safest route through the water. We arrived with much fanfare and met Pastor Kassowa Pedro. About 30 adults and 70 or more children attended the service. After a meal and a photo session, the congregation presented us with a sheep to add to our livestock collection. We began the trip back to Maquela, with the sheep on the roof, and reached the river crossing at dusk. Upon our arrival our hosts in Maquela prepared tea and a light snack for us. We relaxed a bit and retired for the night.

We are thankful for our vehicles!

Day Nine: The Grand Conclusion

Our breakfast on Sunday morning was a special meal that included eggs and sausages (read: little hot dogs) alongside the usual fare. We showered and dressed and had an exuberant combined worship service with both of the congregations from Maquela. Banda delivered the final performance of his Nehemiah 1 sermon and each of us greeted the church with a few words of encouragement. After the service ended, we ate lunch with Pastor Domingos Tomás.Then Banda began teaching his Bible lesson about the tabernacle to a handful of church leaders while the rest of us chatted outside in the shade.

Banda and the pastors from Maquela

After the conclusion of these meetings, we began to load the vehicles and took a few last photographs. We had an uneventful drive back to Damba, where we would spend the night and plan to get an early start the following morning. We arranged to have the original two goats, the newly acquired sheep, a third goat (a gift from the Damba congregation), and the sacks of ground cassava delivered at 5:00 am so that we could load the vehicles early. After a light supper, we slept.

Day Ten: The Delegation Returns

At about 5:15 in the morning, Danny, Nathan and I began loading the vehicles. We put the three goats and the sheep on Danny’s roof rack. Three sacks of ground cassava (weighing at least 70 kg each) went in the back of Nathan’s truck. I carefully packed the other luggage, with a chicken on top, so that everything would fit. We added two church members to our passenger list who needed a ride to Uige, so the first leg of the voyage was a bit crowded. We stopped briefly at the market in Damba so that several people (including Nathan) could buy a small sack of caterpillars to take home. Then we hit the road. We had decided the previous evening not to eat breakfast in Damba, but to eat in the home of Pastor Domingos in Negage – or next stop.

We had a nice breakfast, said goodbye to Domingos, left one goat behind (as his share of the bounty) and drove a bit further to Uige. In Uige, we said goodbye to our extra traveling companions and Pastor Landu, and we left a second goat. Just outside of Uige, we stopped again so that several of our Angolan colleagues could buy bush meat – a special treat, which is difficult to obtain in Luanda. We stopped once more before reaching Luanda at a rural market where Papa N’Dambulula and Papa Luavo bought bananas to bring as a gift for their wives. We arrived at Banda’s home in Luanda just before 6 pm that evening.

We unloaded the luggage and left the third goat and the chicken with Banda for the Luanda delegates to share. The sheep remained with us for the journey back to Huambo. (We later ate this sheep at a meeting in Huambo with Banda and other I.C.A. leaders.) Nathan said goodbye and left to prepare for his trip to the U.S.A. later that week. Danny and I gave rides to Papa N’Dambulula and Papa Luavo on our way to a friend’s home in Luanda, where we would spend the night (and take hot showers!) before driving to Huambo the following day.

Our adventure through Uige province was a great blessing. We believe our visit generated much excitement and will open doors for future ministry. In the immediate present, the great value to our team was the insight into Angola culture. We learned much and deepened our relationships with our travel companions in ways that only such an adventure makes possible.

Click here to see pictures of the whole trip.

This is the long-awaited continuation of our story, begun in this blog post in November. It is an account of our travels with Angolan church leaders to visit the I.C.A. congregations in Uige province.

Click here to see pictures of the whole trip

Day Four: Rural Shift

We left Uige and headed north, passing through Negage and pausing to pick up Pastor Domingos. Once outside of Negage, any signs of urban life disappeared. Crop fields surrounded us on all sides and we encountered many herds of goats or pigs crossing the road.

We stopped first in the small village of Bungo and visited the congregation composed of about 15 adults. Banda delivered his sermon and then invited the members to share their perspective on the health of the congregation in Bungo. Afterward, Banda had a private meeting with the pastor, Manuel Dombas, while the rest of us explored the vast plot of land that the government had given to the church in that community. Papa Luavo – our agricultural specialist – began to dream of what the church could do with a small start-up fund and some teamwork. For the remainder of the trip, we talked often about his ideas for agricultural development among the I.C.A. congregations of Uige. Once Banda and Pastor Dombas concluded their chat, we shared a meal of the usual fare and venison [read: bush meat] – by far the tastiest meat we ate on the trip.

Some of our hosts outside Pastor Dombas's home

We said goodbye and traveled a short distance up the road to the next congregation in Quipanzo Mucanza. A group of about 50 men and women were waiting enthusiastically outside the building, singing loudly to welcome us. We joined them for a lively worship service, culminating in Banda’s sermon once more, and a period of time for the members to share their concerns about the church. We had a meal with Pastor Bernardo and other leaders of the congregation and then rushed off for our final destination, now running several hours behind schedule.

After several hours on the road, we arrived in Damba, which would serve as our base of operations for the next few days. Due to the late hour of our arrival, our planned meeting with the congregation’s leaders was cancelled, but many of the members had remained at the building to greet us. We were all tired from the days’ journey and asked for a light meal so we could retire soon. (They were prepared to offer us another feast, which would have been our third large meal of the day.) We prepared to sleep on the soft dirt floor of the church building, lined with straw mats on which we placed our sleeping bags. The American travelers later agreed that this was the most comfortable bed we had on the trip. As we drifted off to sleep, we realized that the church members were not leaving. They had all brought their own mats and blankets and joined us on the church floor for a large slumber party in our honor.

Day Five: Damba

In the morning, we woke and each delegate carried out his morning ritual. A number of the I.C.A. leaders “run” on most mornings, which for them means that they select two points about three meters apart and jog between them ten times. The rest of us got our exercise by walking about two kilometers to the river for a bath. We returned for our breakfast and then left for our appointments with the Damba pastor, Afonso Bula.

We went directly to the office of the municipal administrator. While we waited outside her office, we encountered a new traveling companion, Jonas, who had traveled from Luanda to meet up with us and replace one of the other delegates who had been unable to come. Jonas added a lively personality to the group. He enjoys travel and had Nathan take a special photo of him at each of the congregations we visited.

Our traveling companion, Jonas

After a short meeting with the municipal administrator (comprised of the usual greetings and formalities), we met also with the local Ministry of Culture official. Then we made a special visit to the local office of the M.P.L.A. (ruling government party) to visit an old colleague of Banda’s, but unfortunately he was no longer stationed in that office. We proceeded to the National Radio station, took the tour, and Banda recorded another brief interview.

On the way back to the church building we paused at the local market. Nathan discovered several women selling handfuls of small caterpillars and asked the nearest I.C.A. delegate if they were sold for eating. That question sealed our fate, and cooked caterpillars featured on our menu later that evening. I walked around the market with Pastor Bula and was impressed by the interactions he had with various venders, whom he obviously knew well. Before leaving the market, Nathan and I each bought apples for $1 apiece in hopes of easing our digestion.

At the church building we worshiped with the Damba congregation, including all the usual components (Banda’s sermon on Nehemiah 1, etc.). They welcomed the delegation warmly and afterwards we all shared a meal. Each American was coaxed into trying one caterpillar. I wish I could say they tasted like chicken … After dinner we had some time to relax and chat before laying out our mats and falling asleep.

Day Six: Barnyard Bounty

The day’s itinerary consisted of visits to four congregations stretched out across the road running east of town. We saw few other vehicles on the road and passed through a number of small settlements with their mud huts set amongst fields of crops.

Our first stop was in one of these villages, Kinkadi, where we met Pastor Pindi António and another enthusiastic group of about 15 believers. They sang and cheered as we pulled up next to the church. We entered the building and Banda led our usual service. After our ceremonial exit of the building (the visitors exit first while the congregation sings, and then stop just outside the door to shake everyone’s hand in procession), a boy emerged from the village leading a goat by a rope. Pastor Pindi presented the goat to us as a gift. As we would pass through this village on our return journey that day, we decided to leave the goat with them until the evening.

Celebrating our arrival

Pastor Pindi joined us for the rest of our visits that day. The next congregation, in Kissaco, had created an arch of branches and flowers at the entrance and exit to the village as part of their welcome to us. Danny drove the Land Cruiser slowly through the arch. The vehicle just managed to clear the portal and we reached our arms outside the windows to steady the braches as we passed through. The congregation received us with enthusiasm. We had a slightly abbreviated version of our program followed by a meal prepared in our honor at the home of Pastor Pedro Kaleia. We departed with nearly as much fanfare as when we arrived.

At the midway point between this village and the next, we stopped at an old fort, high on a hill, to meet with the Community Administrator who oversees the villages in the region. Shortly before we reached the fort, we passed a man driving a motorcycle with a female passenger. As we passed, they turned around to follow us. The passenger was our next appointment, and – as we were running late – she had been on her way home for lunch. She was the Assistant Administrator, Vinda Mavembo, (the Administrator was on holiday) and she received us with the customary greetings. A handful of other lesser officials joined the meeting, as our arrival was likely the most interesting of the week’s events. After introductions and explaining the purpose of our visit, we were off again.

By this point in our day – as with most days – we were running several hours behind schedule. We only briefly stopped at the next church building (in the village of Kula), where we learned that the members had already gone on ahead of us to our fourth and final stop. We piled back into the vehicles and drove to Kangani, where we found all the church members, Pastor Kinyenga (of Kula), and Pastor Fadula (of Kangani) gathered to receive us. After another worship service and a large meal, we gathered again around the cars and said goodbye. The church members presented us with a second goat, a bunch of bananas, and a 50-lb sack of cassava. Danny loaded the goat onto his roof rack, Nathan stuffed the sack of cassava into the back of his car with a few of the extra passengers who were hitching a ride, and we began the return journey.

Danny loads a goat on the roof

The goat did not enjoy the ride. He bleated and kicked with each bump. After just a short distance and a particularly hard bump, the goat’s hind legs broke free of their bonds and swung down to hand directly in front of the rear passenger window. The passengers heard a loud bleat, a thud, and then saw the underbelly of a goat blocking our view of the countryside. I laughed loudly for several minutes. Danny immediately stopped and climbed onto the roof rack to tie the goat more securely. After we were underway again, I explained to the other passengers that events that seem only somewhat unusual to them often strike us as completely beyond our imagination. I had never pictured myself traveling through the Angolan countryside with a goat strapped to the roof. They all laughed with me.

After passing the government fort, we saw the Education Secretary (whom we had met earlier) walking home. We stopped, offered him a ride, and had some interesting conversation about life as a government official in rural areas. We stopped to let him off at his home in the next town. In Kissaco, several passengers remained and we picked up a new family, a second sack of cassava, and a chicken. Danny loaded the goat with the first on the roof and I set the chicken on top of some luggage in the back of the car. The remainder of the trip was a cacophony of bleats, clucks, and my quiet laughter.

goat and chicken

In Kinkadi, we added the second goat and a third sack of cassava. We said goodbye to Pastor Pindi. We arrived back in Damba after dark. The goats were led off to pasture and someone took the sacks of cassava to be ground into powder. We would pick up our bounty again on our way back to Luanda.

Coming tomorrow: Days Seven through Ten, including a visit to the first I.C.A. church in Angola and “gift shopping” for our wives.

Seedtime & Harvest – October 2011

The Igreja de Cristo em Angola (ICA), the church group that has invited us into Angola to work alongside them, welcomed us with a celebration Sunday, July 17th, 2011. All of the ICA congregations in Luanda were represented there. During the service each of the congregations shared a song, we worshipped together, we prayed together, and we shared the Lord’s supper together. Throughout the service the idea of working together in unity was preached, affirmed, and reflected upon. Afterward they shared a meal with us. It is a great blessing to be reunited with so many friends and contacts from our past survey trips, especially now that we are here in Angola long term.

Psalm 133:1 “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

Seedtime & Harvest – June 2011 – click this link to download pdf

Seedtime & Harvest – June 2011

After months of compiling paperwork, sending emails, making phone calls, mailing documents, praying, hoping, and waiting for our visas, we have visas! We praise God for this success that has allowed us to move to Angola.

Friday June 10^th was Portugal Day, a national holiday. Sunday June 12th was a religious holiday that many Portuguese celebrate by staying up all night eating sardines. Each year the church here in Lisbon spends this extended weekend by holding a sort of prayer vigil. This year the prayer meeting lasted through Thursday and Friday nights. For about 36 hours we took turns praying in shifts and praying together as a church. (It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Portugal long enough to have participated in this event twice now.) Among the things that we prayed about was that our team would receive our visas for Angola. Our team intended to arrive in Angola in January, but it seems that neither the Angolan government nor God had the same timing in mind. So we have remained here in Portugal improving our language skills, working with the church, and preparing for our arrival in Angola so we can hit the ground running.

Last night I was exhausted after a long weekend of praying and very little sleep, yet I somehow found myself in downtown Lisbon with friends from church. We were surrounded by thousands of people, the smell of sardines cooking on the grill, and the sound of traditional Fado music blasting. Talk about sensory overload! As I was picking tiny little bones out of my teeth, my teammate Robert called. He said that our friend Júlia from the Consulate in Houston had called on Friday (note: this was during the prayer vigil), but he and his family had been in the Algarve in Southern Portugal so he did not get the message until they returned home late last night. Júlia had called to tell him that all of our visas were ready, except for his, and that his visa would be ready later this week.

With the news from Robert I didn’t really even know what to say. I’m still in a bit of a state of shock and I still smell like sardines. (The smell seems to last forever.) I have been so eager to get to Angola for so long now, but have constantly run into one obstacle after another. Progress has been one baby-step at a time. But now the clock is ticking. I have until a certain date to arrive in Angola or my visa will expire. The door is wide open all of a sudden and I honestly don’t know what to think or how I feel. God is starting a new chapter in my life which is both exciting and frightening at the same time. It also means another chapter in my life is about to close. My time in Portugal has been one of the most blessed times of my life and I will always remember it fondly. On top of that, every time I smell a sardine cooking I will remember how God is faithful and answers prayer.

At the beginning of May, our team had an opportunity to present to another church in the Lisbon area, the Carcavelos Church of Christ, about our plans for Angola and the possibilities of their partnership with us in ministry there. You can read all about our first team presentation in Portuguese (and even watch a video!) to our “home” congregation, the Lisbon Church of Christ, by clicking here.

We visited the Carcavelos church on a Sunday morning and gave our presentation during the Bible class hour for all the adults and youth of the congregation. The presentation itself was similar to the one we did for the Lisbon church — we briefly shared Angola’s story, introduced ourselves, and presented ideas of ways the church could get involved. Afterwards, the church said a prayer over us. We didn’t video this presentation, but here are a few pictures:

Danny started things off by giving an introduction to the situation in Angola:

Then, Rusty and I gave a brief introduction to our team and talked a little bit about what we’ve been doing this last year in Portugal:

Robert asked the church members to think about ways they could use their gifts and talents to get involved in what God is doing in Angola and invited them to sign up to receive our newsletters and other updates. He also fielded a question-and-answer time at the end of the presentation:

Katie talked about World Bible School and encouraged the church to consider helping with this program by being teachers for WBS students in Angola. Since WBS is done largely via correspondence, this is an excellent way for Portuguese-speaking Christians in Portugal to reach out to Portuguese-speaking Angolans! The Lisbon church has already agreed to take some leadership in launching this program, and we hope that the Carcavelos church can partner with them in this effort:

Nathan extended the invitation for church members, especially the youth, to come and visit us in Angola:

Teague requested help in developing and translating materials in Portuguese. She also gave a list of specific ways the church could pray for us:

Jordan concluded by thanking the church for their involvement in missions, for their cooperation with the Lisbon church, and for their willingness to consider how they might partner with us in the work in Angola:

At the end of the church service, they called all of the Angolan members to the stage to pray over us.

We are thankful for the warm welcome we received from the Carcavelos church, and for their prayers and support. We pray that their enthusiasm for what God is doing in Angola will develop into a fruitful partnership that will bless both us and them, and more importantly, the lost in Angola.

On March 27, over one hundred Christians from at least 8 different congregations in Arka nsas gathered together, devoting a time of intense prayer for the people of Angola and the Angola Mission Team. This event was hosted by Little Rock Church (Jordan’s sending congregation) in cooperation with Central Church of Christ (sending congregation of the Meyer family). It was truly a blessed time of learning and focused intercession!

After watching a sideshow (scroll to bottom of this post to view) introducing the Angolan people and our team to the audience, we entered into a time of prayer by singing a song of praise to our great God.

The evening was divided into segments in which a prayer need was introduced and a prayer of intercession was led. Different individuals (friends, members of Jordan’s support team, shepherds, and ministers from the Little Rock area) thoughtfully provoked us to consider our topic of prayer, led us in a group reading of scripture, and then spoke in heart-felt intercession over one of the following prayer needs:

• For Angolans, that their hearts would be prepared to enter the Kingdom of God
• For the team’s outreach efforts in Angola
• For the creation of new and vibrant churches in Angola
• For the team’s growth and ability to nurture spiritual growth in others
• For the team’s international relationships; for the ones we already have in Brazil and Portugal, and for the ones we have yet to form in the Portuguese-speaking world
• For the churches that are joined in this effort to support the kingdom work in Angola; that these people would consciously be of great support, and because of this support be instrumental in the work in Angola.

Another video presented each member of the Angola Mission Team expressing personal prayer needs and concluded with an urgent call to pray for the visa process. Jerry Reed (a shepherd at Little Rock Church) led the intercession for the team’s requests and then Gerald Driskill (the leader of Jordan’s support team) led a special supplication for our visas. Scroll to the bottom of this post to view the video.

We then joined together in a chorus of group intercession. We prayed in groups of two or three over requests found on prayer cards in our seats.  Afterward we placed the cards symbolically on the cross. Mike Harmon (a member of Jordan’s support team) led a closing prayer over the team and all those gathered. Then the group sang a song of prayer.

It was humbling to see so many gathered together who wish to continue praying with us. I was so excited and blessed to be able to be home for this Day of Prayer for Angola, and the whole team was greatly encouraged by the event. There is nothing that strengthens us so much as knowing that we have people at home partnering with us in prayer. My hope is that it was also a time of learning to better intercede both for Angola and the Angola Mission Team.

Thank you to everyone who made the evening possible — those who helped plan, those who recruited people to come, the intercession leaders, and the members of the Little Rock Church who went the extra mile and provided child care and a spread of snacks. Each and every one of these people helped to make this event a truly special and prayerful one.

We would like to invite you to join us in regularly interceding for the Kingdom in Angola. You can use this format if you like, or follow your own. We will be sure to keep our prayer requests up to date on the website. This event will occur again in the Little Rock area in October and we hope that other churches will find time and creative mediums to encourage each other to devote themselves to prayer for the Kingdom of God in Angola and all over the world.

Above: After leading us in John 17:20-23, Billy McLain (a shepherd at Central church of Christ & former missionary to Brazil) prayed for the team’s international relationships with the Portuguese-speaking world.  He had all of us hold our linked hands up in prayer. It was a beautiful moment of unity in petition to our Father.

To view all of the pictures from the event, go to the March 27, 2011 Angola Day of Prayer photo album on the Angola Mission Team Facebook page.