Dear Friends of Encounters Network,

Below is an email that was recently sent from Joel Staab, who's ministry Wing & a Prayer is an affiliate of Encounters Network. Uncle Joelie, as he is often called, has been a friend of ours for quite some time, living with us off and on for the past 5 years. Joel has spent many years on the mission field in Eastern Europe, and now serves in Mozambique with Rolland and Heidi Baker of Iris Ministries. Joel is a great man of God and we are blessed that he is a part of our lives.

In this light, we wanted you to be aware of a great opportunity to sow into Joel Staab and his ministry. Joel's contact information is listed at the bottom of his mail.

Blessings to each of you,

James W. and Michal Ann Goll

Tales from the


Mozambique Ozone


Wing & a Prayer Ministries:

604 Ballington Dr. | Franklin, TN 37064

Greetings and blessings to all!  Please forgive me, as I am rather tardy in putting this together and sending it off to you.  A few have been wondering what is going on and yes, a lot, only I don’t know how much I will be able to write, or it would be a book this time and I doubt that many would want to download that much.

When I left Pemba in February, we were facing a possible, serious famine here in Mozambique.  It hadn’t rained in months; rainfall levels were at the worst in over fifty years and by that time there already was famine, drought, and people dying by starvation in parts of this country.  The intercessory prayer team that came in February led by Michal Ann Goll had felt that the Lord had given them an assignment to pray for rain, among other things.  It started to rain within a day after they came and began to pray, which was about the time the rainy season ends here.  It seemed hopeless, but yes, God; He responds when His people pray.  By the time I arrived back here in April as I flew into Nampula, the city about a five-hour drive south of Pemba, all about the airport was tall, green, three-foot-high grass.

I had hope, but Nampula often gets more rain.  Only after arriving at the airport in Pemba, I was laughing, almost weeping, as the same lush, green vibrancy was here, even a bit of rainwater on the runway from that morning.  Everywhere I looked in the ride back to the base it was green, and outside the center there was tall corn, beans, a regular crop as yes, the Lord had done it again.  It continued to rain the whole time I was gone and for weeks after I arrived.  What a wonderful blessing to see and now share, as many of you were also praying for that rain.

Rain has a down side, too, as mosquitoes thrive and the malaria outbreak has been fierce.  Hardly any drugs were available as a result.  What cost $1.50 at the local hospital before I left, we had to buy in South Africa for over $30.00.  Many here have had malaria, and about a week after I got here, I joined them once more, as that is the reality.  As long as we can get the Quortem we do fine, but even now, months later, we have several hard cases among us with those on the team with malaria.

But it is not the malaria alone; it has been a major struggle in many ways and we really do covet your prayers.  A few weeks ago the government had decided we were a potential danger to them.  Not because we had done anything to provoke it, but this is a country where stability will only come with time.  There is so much history for bloodshed and political unrest.  As a result, the fact we can influence so many makes them wary of us.  And because there were two pastors who were active in the opposing political party who, without our knowledge, were trying to influence the area, the president of this country actually told his security chief to investigate us.  A front-page article then appeared in the local newspaper, saying we were against the president’s political party, which in most places means little; here it means a great deal.  So we found ourselves being blacklisted, with real potential that we would be forced to leave this country.  The investigation found we were not involved, but still they were going to print a follow-up article saying we were not to be trusted.

There was also a problem with greed, as there were some in the local government that wanted our land.  Again, it is something that has happened here to Iris before, as the government had confiscated some of our property before.  Heidi and some of the leaders repeatedly went in to try to talk to the local politicians, the editor, and anyone else who could help us, but they would not see them.  She and two others actually snuck in to the upper floors of the political headquarters and there cornered the main leader of the president’s political party who had the article written and talked to him for an hour and a half.  The end result was that he believed her and the follow-up article was not printed against us, but an apology was given instead.  We still have to deal with the two men who got us into trouble and it has also led to other problems.

Again, this is a very hard situation that needs your prayers.  Heidi and many of the Mozambique leadership team that comes from the south of the country are now being threatened with their lives.  They are receiving death threats almost daily, texted to their cell phones.  It is political and it deals with long standing tribal hatreds; it is about jealousy and envy and it is also something very serious.  Here, when people are outspoken and active, it at times means they are targeted for death.  This is not something small except by the Lord's help, and this kind of trouble and persecution has a reason.  At this point in time here in Mozambique we are estimating, and it is a real conservative estimate, that about ten thousand people are getting saved each week through our extended ministry alone.

We have ten provinces and we have active work going on in all ten; it is no stretch to figure each produces a thousand salvations a week.  We see bonafide miracles each week at almost every village outreach, and for some reason it has been mostly the deaf and dumb being instantly healed, including many who were born deaf and dumb. When the villagers see someone they know healed, speaking and hearing, it isn’t hard to convince them that the power of Jesus‘ resurrection is real.  But it isn’t just what we do here - all the churches are going after evangelism.  We have one couple that goes around this area into the bush-bush, visiting our churches to see what their needs are.  Invariably, they go to what they think is one church and find they have planted five more.  We have four bases where we have Bible schools. we have 200 pastors being prepared at the one here, in which I teach among other things.  But with such church growth, these few schools aren't enough.  They are three-year Bible schools and we try to train them with as much as we can give them. I wish we had more but it is about as fast as we can run.

Oh, I must mention Lordes, pronounced lor-desh or Laurie.  She was a whole three-pound bundle of joy when she came to us a couple of weeks ago.  The tiniest baby I had ever held and I hold her a lot.  She is a preemie I would guess, except she may be the result of a malnourished mother who died.  She’s gained a pound and a half so she is still tiny with delicate features, but a beauty.  Her big Papa Joelie is a proud papa, but again, keep this one in prayer too.

We do other works as I have mentioned. We work with the widows and poor, a huge problem in this country.  We now have four elementary schools that we have built and for which we supply teachers.  At the one here I teach English (and act as a temporary principal one day a week). It is wild and crazy at times as most of the kids have never had any schooling; and the discipline is, well, it isn’t like anything most of us know. 

As for me, it is hard as I haven’t said half of what we are trying to deal with.  We had a pastor’s revolt, a rebellion not long ago because one of our teachers offended some, so all of them almost rioted, or did to a degree.  We had our teachers all revolt this week because we docked their wages.  Hey, they leave early, literally fall asleep in the classrooms, don’t show up, all kinds of crazy things no one would put up with and so we tried to deal with it; and the end result, they all revolted when they didn’t get full pay.  It will just take time as we will not give in, but again the system here is, well, not like anywhere else.  And then, we recently had one of our main pastors and leaders stumble in at three in the morning last weekend, out of his mind, and I mean that.  All we can gather from him is that he remembers being in a village and that a man with a giant black snake was there; well, it was witchcraft, but Ibrahim is still not in his right mind yet.  

I guess I need to wrap this up.  On a lighter side, it is winter here and cooler, all the way down to the seventies.  I still swim each morning, walk on the beautiful beach and have my time with our Heavenly Papa.  I pick up some really incredible seashells, both on the beach and snorkeling.  We almost have running water here at our base, so maybe in the near future we will have flushing toilets and cold showers.  Yes Lord, let it be! 

I am praying strongly about the work we have in the Sudan. It is a much more violent and dangerous place, but with needs as big or bigger than here and without many laborers there working in those fields.  We have a small center in Khartoum with about forty orphans.  My heart, though, is in the south where all the bloodshed and violence has been.  I may go there with a few others to scout it out this fall; that is the plan, so again please pray for me about this.  I am also praying about spending part of the winter ministering in Europe, so I can use prayer for that.

Sorry this is so long.  Hey, if you are on my email list and don’t care to be, let me know.  We do have better online access, so I should be able to answer more emails.  Again, thanks to all of you who support me and this work here in prayer and finances.  I would again appeal to those who can about more support, if you haven’t given and if the Lord speaks to your heart.  I know so many ask; every time you turn around it seems someone is and here it’s the same.  But we are doing so much here and not enough is coming in - I am talking about Iris Ministries itself.  You can go to the website and find out more but it is a real need as we had to stop construction here within the last couple of weeks because we had no money to buy even sacks of cement.  I will try to write more often, as there is more to say even now, though I probably stretched some you as it is.  But I do add love and blessings.  I am studying Portuguese four times a week, so maybe I can write in it next time . . . 

papa joelie, also known as Baboo and Joe Banana

Financial support address: Wing & a Prayer; 604 Ballington Drive, Franklin, Tn. 37064; Mozambique address: c/o Ministerios Arco-Iris, P.O. 275 Pemba, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique; Email: unclejoelie@earthlink.net 

Women on the Frontlines 2006

Coming to The Greater Cincinnati, OH Area

Men are welcome (come at your own risk...)!

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Women on the Frontlines 2006

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