Kees & Sarah Tanis

Dear reader,

God is faithful and that was the theme of the Celebration last week; the Passover. 3400 years ago God heard the cry of the Hebrew people to set them free from slavery under the Egyptians. Moses was called to lead the people and with a mighty hand God brought deliverance. At the last night He told them to slaughter a lamb without defect and to put the blood on the doorpost as the angel of death would passover the households covered by blood over the door. They ate the meal of unleavened bread and lamb and the next morning they were delivered and left for the promised land.

1400 years later Jesus died on the cross as our sacrifical lamb and his blood delivered us from sin and brings us into eternal life. Another 2000 years and all over the world we still celebrate the Passover as God told them never to forget what He had done for us all. With this in mind the Discipleship School took communion, many were baptised and celebrated the Passover meal. A celebration most significant for us who have experienced His deliverance so we ate it again the next day with our family and friends. (see photos above)

After the week of Celebration, the School went on outreach to four different locations in the nation. This is in addition to the work going on in Mission-Gorongosa, where the teams are starting to bear fruit. Villages are being saved, baptised and discipled and at the centre they have started building a main church, for all of them to come together, funded by themselves.

Local outreaches take place on Fridays, the prison, a place of darkness where 120 men are locked up together in a small room with little food or drink in a sweltering heat. We bring personal ministry; prayer and a Bible study and feed them by the end of the morning. (see picture below)

The disabled people get a similar time of ministry, all as personal as possible to let them know we love them and they too get a lunch by the end of the morning. The Handicapped-Project is a slow process but the favor of the Goverment is with us; we are free to build according to our wishes and of course we want it to be as funcional as possible to run a full time program for the development of the disabled. Many are locked up, hidden in shacks as there is an embarassment over being disabled. Last month a little boy was brought in, a Downsyndrome who was abondonned by his mother who lives on the street, so what would you do?…

On a family level we experiencing a joyful time with Farai being at home for end of term. She has proved herself by doing so well at school and coping with the homesickness which is her biggest problem. She moved from a Dutch system to an English system but had an average of 75% so we are all very satisfied.

We’re having many visitors coming and going which is a joy around our table, to meet up with old friends and meeting new ones, missionaries passing through.

And since time flies by, we would love to meet many of you too. Life is short and fast but we must enjoy and appreciate the moment. Let us know what’s up on your side of the world, thank you to all who pray for us and support our work, we all need one another. The orphanage to the outreaches to the Discipleship School all costs money, We are commited to continue the work in His Kingdom here in Mozambique but we are in desperate need for finances and ask you to prayerfully consider becoming our partners. Go to our website or email us on how you can donate tax free into the Trust ‘Mosaic Mozambique’ ,we appreciate your support!

 Much love and blessings from all of us, Kees and Sarah Tanis

Dear reader,
Time flies as we are already in February, this letter is a little different with lots of pictures in our theme “Mozambique Mosaic” of which you can read a little futher on.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, a real “family” time of joy and peace and lots of happiness, serving many meals and entertaining many people but then the year started. First we had Farai’s farewell, leaving Moz for South Africa to go to a girls boarding school in Pretoria. As we are six weeks along the line we can tell you’that she is doing well and settling in. She misses us and we miss her but it’s all part of the process of life for her to develop into the woman God wants her to be. She will visit us in April end of term and Kees will see her at the beginning of March as he will be in SA for a few days.

After all the boys of our centre were back to primary and secondary school, the Discipleship School started with 40 new students who are to discover who God is, who they are and what He has for them. For one year they will be with us to study, pray and to do a lot of outreach. It isn’t easy for the students to come to the school as persecution comes; parents, friends, spouses wonder why they go to a Bibleschool, what is there to gain, how are they going to support their families and so some do leave in the first weeks. This is the result of poverty but more the spiritual battle over lives have began. Pray for them that they will fulfill this year which will make a difference for the rest their lives. Last week we had Dawid du Plessis with us to teach for a week and as well as this he put up a water tank for our house, he has been a blessing to our ministry and our family- they have become guardians to Farai in South Africa while she is in school. At weekends they pick her up to spend some time away from school, which she loves.

Last year we already spoke about the changes coming to our ministry and so we have set up the Trust ‘Mozambique Mosaic’ to raise funds for all our work and ministry. One of the projects we’ve taken on are the handicapped people. They are the most rejected of this society but precious in His eyes and so we would like to build a centre for them in Gondola where we can run a development program to teach them reading and writing, life skills and art. We are talking to government at the moment about the building and the place etc which looks very promising. Of course we will keep you updated on            ‘the handicapped project’.

For this year we plan to work around the Gorongosa Mountain range as deep in those mountains are villagers who never come out and have never heard the Gospel. So all year round we are sending out teams of Mozambican missionaries (students from previous discipleship schools) to walk for days, stay with the people, living with the people, to pray and to share the Good News. We work in co-operation with a pastor who leads the way into those inhospitable places. We foreigners would have given up just trying to live under very primitive circumstances but Mozambicans are tough and haven’t got the barriers that we have, even the dialect they speak is understood by them. So we will keep you updated on this adventure as it is our goal to reach the unreached! Please pray for this work!

On a personal note our lives have changed again, Bronwen Williams is no longer with us. But the Lord has blessed us with Jaqcueline Valkenburg who with her family lives at Maforga and comes to teach Reuben every day. Sarah has more time for the little boys and for ministry among the widows in the village. The hunger season has arrived and many come to the door for help, but we would like to do more than give out food etc. Somehow they need to be given new vision as many are prostitutes because of poverty and need other means to build and sustain their lives.
Anyway, this so far is what’s been going on in our lives, for more information go to www.keesandsarah.com as it keeps being updated. We would love to have a cup of coffee or tea with you, to hear your stories. Email us, send us your news and even your prayer requests as this feeds our prayer motor! Keep praying for us too, we could do with more people…
Much love from all of us in Mozambique,

 Blessings, Kees and Sarah

Dear reader,
2011 started with a bang and finished with a bang!  We had a terrible storm last week; were hit by lightning again and were for days without electricity, even the water pump and our generator (the back up) failed. In 1 Corinthians 1 it says that hardships bring us close to the Lord and so we take Paul’s advice and cry to the Lord for help to come and He does as He is faithful.

The year in between has been amazing: ministering in 13 villages, the two bible schools being so strong for the Lord and good developement in the orphanage; we’re back in unity, living as a family but this year has been a struggle with some rebellious boys who in the end had to leave. Now we’re having our December holiday, working on the fields, preparing a Christmas musical and we’ll make Christmas dinner for over 200 people…. Stress? No way, we love Christmas here and it really closes the end of the year well.

Back in Europe we came to the conclusion to become a Trust or Stichting as our work has grown so much and we won’t be able to finance it. “Mozaiek Mozambiek”; from many broken pieces we create a beautiful work of art. Matthew 25 says it all: “I was a stranger and you took me in, I was hungry and you fed me, I was in prison and you visited me”. This next to the Great Commission, to go out in all the world to bring the Good News of our Saviour, who came to set us free from sin and bring us back into the original plan of God! Healing, restoration, salvation, transformation, all words describing the work of this newly formed Trust, bringing hope and a future to people who live in despair of death.

Plans for 2012 are to visit and transform many more villages as a full time ministry team of Mozambican missionaries will be working all year round through the nation. Of course the discipleship school and leadership school will be running again. We would like to build a care centre for the disabled people of Gondola and will be fundraising for this, next to building up to 35 houses for widows and orphans in the village close by. In orphan care we would like to bring changes but this is still in the beginning stages; it comes down to trying to keep the orphans in the village we monitor and support instead of having them live with us in the centre. Of course Prayer Village will be operating fully and we would like a serious group of people from outside joining us to pray for the unsaved we are reaching out to. Please respond to this if it is you. We will keep you informed of specific prayer needs from the teams. Salvation is the greatest work of all, getting people into eternity!

This and lots more will be going on next year! We need more co-workers which is a prayerpoint as Bronwen Williams has left us after a year of wonderful service, we will miss her so much. Like our Farai who will be starting boarding school in Pretoria soon and only be at home during the holidays.

And we ourselves? Loneliness, disappointments, joy and happy moments, all the ingredients of the process of life we are experiencing but we can truly say: God is faithful and He has never left us nor forsaken us! We hope to finish the race and come Home hearing His voice saying: “Well done good and faithful servants”

Happy Christmas to you all, Love, Kees and Sarah, Farai and Reuben. xxxx

Dear reader,

Looking back over the last few months we can be grateful for all the Lord has done, in this letter a few high lights. We have worked in many villages with the Schools of Ministry, teaching the leaders, praying for every household, blowing the shofar and redeeming the land to exchange the curses for blessings: What has been achieved in the spiritual realm will then be manifested in the natural!

We made a special day for the disabled people, the most rejected in this society (on our wedding anniversary) We brought them to our centre and spent the day together with lots of ministry, games, a lunch and gifts for all of them, they had a day never to forget, and so did we! (see above)

Every first weekend of the month we had nights of prayer in prayer village with the Schools of Ministry and plus others, attending prayer and worship for Mozambique, it was powerful and life transforming for many of us, believing God working on our behalf as He promised “ask me anything in my name” and “ask of me the nations as your inheritance” and He is faithful and able to fullfil any promise!

The last weeks we have been working hard towards a final conference and graduation night for the students of the Discipleship School
and the Pastors and Leaderships Training School. Dawid Duplessis and Harry Griesel from “Christ for Every Nation” brought a team with a guest speaker from Sierra Leone, Pastor Thomas who has planted thousands of churches in North Africa. They ministered the message of the Gospel, step by step to make it easy for the attendants to use it in their churches and in their villages.

 We had powerful times of prayer and worship and the last night was Graduation of the students of the schools of ministry with hundreds attending! We believe many were touched and equipped and have gone back to their villages with a clear message as the Gospel needs to go forth!

Pastor Thomas is still with us doing a seminar with our ministry leaders who will go out together to the Gorongosa mountains on outreach to plant new churches. Please pray for fruit to come forth, much fruit! Last week was the gathering of this year’s harvest and we can be grateful for all God has done this year!

On a personal note we are doing well, Bronwen Williams, Farai’s teacher is working hard on the study visa requirements for Farai. For us a time of reality is coming, soon she will be flying out to Pretoria, South Africa, attending St Mary’s girl’s highschool. We know it is the right thing to do but we will miss her so much. We hope to go to Pemba at the beginning of December for a little family holiday, then on our return we will be working on our yearly Christmas play with the boys and girls from the orphanage.

A big thank you to all of you who have been involved in whatever way, we need your prayer and support as we cannot do it by ourselves! If you could have been with us this last week of conference and graduation you could have seen the harvest of this year of which you are part; the Kingdom of God is advancing in Mozambique, thank you and many blessings in return,

Love from Kees and Sarah, Farai and Reuben

                                                    fun in the discipleship school

Dear reader,

Time just flies by and I seem to repeat myself again and again, Jesus is coming back soon and therefore we have to reach as many people as we can! So we send out teams almost every weekend to different locations and every other weekend we have all night prayer meetings in prayer village. Every place we go to we divide in areas and strategically visit house to house to bring Good News. Those not willing to listen we ‘take back’ to prayer village to be taken through in prayer. Jesus said : “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me” so Jesus is The Way and this is our message. But He also said “I will give you the Holy Spirit to be with you and to be in you” So the Holy Spirit is with us to touch lives, as it is His desire for all to come to the Father. John 3v16 “God so loved the world so that He gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him will be saved and have eternal life” His Love goes out to reach people and send out an invitation of Love to be welcomed in the Kingdom of God. But we are his hands, feet and mouth to go out in to all the world and reach people to bring them in!

                                      prayer for the villages of our focus…

Last months we had many visitors: the Mozambican childrens’ parlement came with a the Mozambican television from Maputo. We had an American team staying for two weeks, Sarah and Justin Moline and their organisation “the Father’s Heart” ;they worked with Carlos Guia’s organisation Homebase Care ‘Rubatane’ in the villages around us. Then we had the administrator’s husband with his organisation coming to encourage us and so we were told we were an example of youth care for the nation! End of June Kees went to SA for a Churchplant conference followed by a week visiting his parents in Holland. Pray for Kees’ dad as he has a rare disease and is in and out of hospital. While away a team from SA, lead by Rudo Ellis came to help in the boys’ centre and in the School which was such a blessing! Thank you guys for all support and supplies you brought! Having visitors blesses us and we love it, so feel welcome to come any time!

 and more prayer in the prayer house as it should never stop                                                  ‘prayer changes everything’

On a personal note we have been struggling with malaria and it has weaken our physical state, please pray for a total cleansing and healing of the malaria parasite. From the last team from SA, 9 of the 11 people got it back home and 3 had to be hospitalised! Farai has finished her primary school and is now preparing to go to boarding school in SA. Her teacher Bronwen has done an amazing job and will be on holiday for the month of August. Reuben will continue in 7^th grade Dutch and so if someone knows a dutch teacher who likes a challenge…..Furthermore last month a baby girl has been born on the Maforga team, Sarah and Daniel (from the US) had their firstchild, Hannah Grace!

   Reuben and the boys reveived new footballs from the team from US

And so we move on toward the last part of the year with a big conference coming up in November for all new converts from the cellgroups and for the students of the Churchplant School and Discipleship School. But first in August we will have a seminar for all the disabled people in Gondola, believing God to move and bring healing and restoration! We continue working hard, using every opportunity to reach people with His Love, even in places like the prison and among the disabled where despair seems to rule, His love will never fail!

Many blessings and much love from all of us, Kees and Sarah, Farai and Reuben

ps for all your prayer requests send a text to: 

                   the prayer line at prayervillage 00258 82455991