MOZAMBIQUE UPDATE

Family, we have finally found time and a connection to update our blog.   As always we will try keep you updated as soon as time allows.

Here is the breakdown.

It was about a 6 hour journey to Mozambique from South Africa.  We woke up at 4:30am, left South Africa at 8:40am and arrived in Mozambique at 1:00pm.

Upon arrival to Mozambique, we were taken to a guesthouse that is going to be our home for the next month while we finish Phase 1 of Portuguese language study.  Every week, there are new faces that come into the guesthouse and this gives us an opportunity to practice our Portuguese and make friends.  As you can imagine, we are still trying to adjust to the heat, the bumpy roads, mosquitoes, and living life in a foreign country.  The first night here, Kat got bitten by bed bugs and has welts all over her arm, we sleep with the little guys every night but they don’t seem to like the taste of Tim’s blood.  Out of all of us, we ask you to pray for Caden the most.  He is having the hardest time adjusting and doesn’t know what’s best for him.  He seems to be improving everyday and we took him to a Dutch doctor who said his ears are fine.

WHATS IT LIKE:  As you can imagine, we stand out!  We try to take walks everyday through the city as the cars and motorbikes rush by us and Caden says, “BIKE”.  There are lots of potholes in the roads and a ton of traffic dodging the giant holes.  Its hot all day hear, yet cools off by 3:30pm with a nice breeze.  You can find people selling fruit on the streets as well as cell phone air time.  There are lots of tiny stores that sell random stuff that are called barakas.  We have not seen much outside the city but will in time.  You bathe in your own sweat hear, its hilarious and something you just need to get used to.  Cold showers are the most refreshing thing for us and after we put Caden down to sleep we enjoy talking with the other people in the guesthouse.  We teach them how to speak English and they teach us how to speak Portuguese.  We are up at 5:30am most days and start our morning with Caden playing in our room while we try and wake up. 

It is amazing how much of a testimony your very life can have in a country where you stand out.  How do we handle stress?  How do we treat our kids?  How do we respect the people?  How do we dress?  Do we have Christ’s love in our eyes?  These are the things that people notice and the things we need to consider daily in order to be profitable in ministry.  The other night, Tim went for a walk with his Mozambique friend.  As he was getting his lessons in culture and language, a person asking for money came up to him.  Tims Mozambique friend said, “This is your first test, your job starts now”.   Tim was able to pray for this man to get food everyday as well as rely on God for his daily needs, both spirititual and physical.  Pray for this man, that he may find a Mozambique friend who can lead him and explain to him all about Gods grace and forgiveness.

WHAT ARE THINGS GOING TO BE LIKE:  We are currently in the process of finding an apartment to rent in town.  On Wednesday our first phase of CLA (Culture and Language Aquistion) starts.  We will have two language sessions from 8am-12pm.  During this time, Caden will be looked after by a Mozambique lady who is very nice.  In the afternoon we will be giving an opportunity to review language with a language helper.  After the first 100 hours of class time we will then be responsible to learn Portuguese using tools that our organization gave us during our training.  Portuguese is vital to learn because it gives us the ability to partner with members of the church in Mozambique, in reaching remote people groups.

PRAY-

1. Caden to adjust to life here
2. Tim and Kat to adjust as well
3. Very fast language learning ability
4. Lives to be testimonies to shop owners as well as people we meet everyday
5. Health- that we wont contract malaria or get sick. 
6. To find an apartment for a reasonable price soon.
7. Focus and direction for the specific ministry God has for us in Mozambique
8. Decide on the best time to look for a vehicle

As always, we wouldn’t be able to be here without your prayers and support.  It is not easy to adjust here, so be praying.  Thank you so much for everything, Love the Warners

  So we have some interesting news as well as some huge prayer requests.

SOUTH AFRICA SO FAR: We have had a very profitable 2 week layover in South Africa.  We were able to touch base with family as well as friends.  We made some connections with an awesome church on the coast.  They are very mission minded and also excited about the work that NTM does.  What makes this connection so unique is the fact that they have been praying about opportunities to serve in Mozambique.  Within a short time, we hope to have some members from this church come on up to visit us, bringing supplies as well as serving there God and helping us out. 

It was also a blessing to attend their church service and share with their pastor about the work NTM does.  We are anticipating God working in a huge way through this connection, in reaching the world and sharing His love.

CADEN’S STATUS:  Caden has been sick for the entire time in South Africa, although being in great spirits and enjoying every moment of this trip.  We decided to take him to the doctor to check him out.  After being checked out we found out that he has a chest cough as well as fluid on the ears.  He picked up this cold in S.D. before we came to Africa and it was made worse by travel.  With this said, the doctor has told us to postpone our travel plans to Mozambique by 4 days in order for the antibiotics to work.  The very positive news is that we will still make the deadline for when our language study classes begin but will not have very much time in Mozambique to adjust to life before the rush of language study and ministry begins.

HOW ARE WE FEELING? At first when we found out we’d need to postpone, we had mixed feelings. We are excited to get going and reach Moz, but this trip has also been busy and we are relieved to have a little extra down time as a family before the big transition.  We are feeling refreshed and rested just from the extra day so far, and are thanking God for always working things out for the best.

WHERE WILL WE LIVE? We will be moving into a guess house until phase 1 of our Portuguese study is complete.  This will be six or seven weeks.  We will be hosted by a Mozambique family.  They will be helping us adjust as well as answering all questions we have.  Our bonding with this family will enable us to love and appreciate Mozambique culture.

SOOOOOOO…..

COULD YOU PLEASE PRAY FOR…

1.  Caden’s health to improve before our flight on the 19th
2. Our hearts to be continually open to God’s leading
3. Our language study to be very profitable and that we may learn fast
4. Our host family to adjust to hosting Americans, and that we may be good witnesses as well as make lasting friendships with them
5. The connection we made with a church in S.A to be used by God

As Always, we couldn’t be here without you! God is continually teaching and testing and growing us and we feel privileged to be his own.  What an awesome God we serve! 

HIGHLIGHTS OF S.A.

All of the Africans are magnetically drawn to Caden, and he’s such a flirt. If we are eating out we usually can eat while they carry him around the restaurant or café.  This helps us eat without Caden throwing the salt and pepper on the floor, lol. 

MUGG’n’BEAN- Yummy coffee and delicious food.  We are convinced that all is well in the world as long as we have  good coffee.

Practicing our Zulu with the Africans…apparently we have terrible accents

Swimming in the Indian Ocean

Brushing our teeth with the foreign toothpaste from the airport that might just be ICY HOT in disguise

Thunderstorms

Reading THE SHACK

Spending time with family…and of course…all the braais (BBQs)

Our Partner Jerry (he has helped us out a lot with Caden and has also made great connections in South Africa, for future ministry)

Church Service on Sunday where we were introduced to the congregation and then sent off.  The crazy thing:  they met us the Sunday we arrived and welcomed us.  Praise God

THE BEAUTY OF NESTING (PART 1) by Kat

Since we moved out of our apartment this last November, we have felt as if we were floating from one place to the next, living out of bags, sharing kitchens and bathrooms and a bedroom with Caden. Our hosts have all been incredible and we have no complains, but a girl can’t help the itch to nest. All day I look at the places we stay, getting inspired from shops like Poetry (S.A.’s version of Anthropologie) about how I dream to make my home. Even throughout our training, we were never in one place for more than a year at a time (with the exception of Missouri) and became accustomed to moving, i.e. living without a lot of stuff. It does great things to my soul when I picture the time coming shortly when I can actually and somewhat finally settle in our own place. Just one more transition to go. Starting over is fun and exciting, and this time we’re going African. Don’t worry, you are all invited to stay.

Hi friends and family,

So we are officially here in Africa and fortunately we have internet access so we will send out an update now and one when we arrive in Mozambique.

The flight was really long, but we got through it and we are thankful for your prayers.  We flew for 10 hours to Frankfurt Germany, had a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt, and then a 10 hour stretch onto South Africa.  Loooooong.    Please keep praying for Caden because he has a lot of congestion and cried for over an hour last night.

We are so excited to get to Mozambique and will be there on the 15^th.  We are making final preparations in South Africa and have met up with our partner Jerry.  We will meet another partner on the 15^th when we all catch our flight to Mozambique. 

Upon arrival to Mozambique we will try and update you.

We love you all and really appreciate all your prayers.  Please continue to pray for us because we have many transitions ahead.

Once again we are so blessed and appreciate your partnership with us on this journey.

First impressions for Tim:  After checking five bags and carrying five hand luggage bags onto the plane I was ready for a 10 hour message.  It was cool to be able to have my awesome wife along with me on this journey.  She was a huge encouragement when we had to find our way through Frankfurt.  On the first ride we had a women next to us roll her eyes when she saw Caden, and when we asked if she didn’t like babies, she replied “Well, not for 10 hours.”  It was challenging to exemplify Christs love in this situation.  When we arrived in South Africa, memories were flooding my mind and I felt so comfortable to be in my country.  I immediately got stuck into my favorite bag of chips that my sister bought me.  As we took a nap and tried to recover from our jet lag, I heard a bird that I have not heard in 7 years, a grey Lourie, A.K.A the go away bird.  It was amazing.  Google search this bird when you get a moment.  We are now some what rested and I cant wait to arrive at our new home in Mozambique. 

First perspectives for Kat: 

It surprised me how collected and ready I felt the morning we left…all I could do was think forward. Thankfully, this optimism and excitement carried me through both 10 hour flights and the 12 hour layover. When we touched down, it was like coming home. Nothing has felt this right before. It’s like when you are on a long run and it’s beautiful outside and your favorite song is on your ipod, and you get to the that burst of energy that carries you up the hill. Now I am at the top looking out at the broad new horizon and I can’t wait to keep going. This is so crazy and fun. I have to say a special shout out to our absolutely amazing friends for being so rad and thoughtful!! We love you all and can’t wait to share this adventure with you. Welcome to our journey!

Love the Warners

IT IS NOW THE TIME TO DEPART

We leave in 24 hours and we cannot even explain to you how many emotions we feel.  What a year it has been. At times it has been really exhausting.

 We are really not doing marketing but rather are ambassadors for our King, going out letting the world know, what our King has done and will do. 

“How precious are the feet of those who bring good news”

We are thankful to all of you for you support, prayers and encouragement.  As soon as we have a way to do another update we will do it. 

PL E A S E P R AY

• For a safe journey, God to go before us.
• For Caden to withstand the long journey
• A profitble time in South Africa
• A good adjustment to Mozambique
• Ministry opportunities to arise

You may not hear for us in a while but we will do the best to get an update out and let you all know we arrived at our final destination.

Yes it is true, we leave for Mozambique in approximately 7 days. We are sad to leave our friends and family behind but truly know that God goes before us.
The creator of the universe is our comfort and strength.

Please pray for us as you know this is a big transition and all three of us are currently fighting of a throat and sinus infection.

The way God comforted us today is by Hebrews chapter 11. All those in the faith hall of fame trusted God for everything. It is our goal and ambition to trust our Lord in everything.

NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

We are still currently trying to raise our funds to a sustainable level, thank you to those who are partnering with us.
We are packing four bags and a couple carry-ons. Its gonna be a fun challenge, stay posted for pictures of us packing.
We will be sent off by Generation church on the 27th. You are welcome to come.
Its currently in the 90’s in Mozambique, so were gonna sweat.
Our first 100 hours of Portuguese study in a class setting has been arranged for us when we get to Moz.
We are now saving as much money as we can to purchase a vehicle within the next 6 months+

We love you all and will be in touch. Enjoy this video of Caden

We feel blessed to have made it to the 3 week mark of our preparations.  There is not much news from the Warner’s but we know that you are all thinking about us and praying for us as we make this huge transition.

We are saying our good byes as the 22 days we have left slowly disappears. 

This last Sunday we were sent off by Church of the Hills in San Elijo.  This coming Sunday the 13th we will be sent off by Daybreak Church in La Costa.  The following Sunday the 27Th, we will be sent off by Generation Church in Oceanside. 

Come catch us at any of these future locations to say farewells.  We are packing, tying up loose ends, cramming last minute Portuguese, finalizing last minute paperwork, buying supplies, and meeting with people. 

Although we are not at our 100% financial recommended support level, we are trusting, by faith that God will continue to raise up monthly partners for our ministry.   We are at around 60% and will go in faith.  If you have considered partnering with us, please continue to pray about your decision and visit http://www.ntm.org/wp/tim_warner/give/

——-Here are much needed prayer requests, please partner with us through prayer——–

1.  For our hearts to be prepared for the journey ahead

2.  For Caden to handle the stress of moving to Africa, and the 90+ degree heat.

3.  For God to prepare a village for us to work in long term.

4.  For culture shock as we arrive in Mozambique.

5.  For our financial support to increase to cover expenses ongoing and initial.

6. For the last 22 days to be spent in the Word preparing.

7. That we can see all those we need to see and say goodbye.

8.  Our marriage to be strong and founded by Christ and His love.

You are all in our hearts as we depart.  Please, please keep us in your prayers and be the hands that keep us held up.

Love the Warner’s

Right now I am sitting outside in Chico, Texas.

I cannot even describe how relaxing it feels. So quiet. So peaceful. Beautiful day.

 Needless to say, we needed this.

 Tim and I came down here to visit friends from training and their family. This is the third time we have had the privilege to stay with them, but I’d have to say this has been the best trip yet. We are staying in a house with 4 other NTM couples, and 4 other kids (besides Caden). Our hosts and awesome friends, the Stokers, went through all the training with us and have recently had to change gears as God is planting them here instead of Indonesia  for the next few years. Getting together with them and our other friends has been amazing. Awesome God-centered and challenging conversations, encouraging fellowship as we lift each other up in all our different situations, and serious fun just doing nothing and hanging out! Our friend Kendra put it well when she said that even though she gets sad sometimes that all our friends from training are so far apart, at least we have those friendships in the first place. I think we all are just realizing what a gift that time was to grow together, and how priceless true friends and fellowship really are. So for the last few days of our trip, we are going to do nothing but soak it up and enjoy it all. Pictures to follow. Happy Thanksgiving!

 “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Jesus to his disciples, Mark 6:30-32

We have just made it possible to show your support in a brand new way! Now, you can buy Kat’s last CD online as a way to contribute to our ministry! You get some new tunes and make a difference at the same time!

Click Here To Purchase

Almost a year ago we graduated from the New Tribes Missionary Training.  The waiting to head over seas has been years and years.  The waiting for tribal people to here a Creators Talk of hope and reconciliation, justice and salvation, over 15 years.  Many tribal people have been waiting for this liberating message for over 15 years. Why God?

The article below is huge part of why we desire to serve in Africa.  Be encouraged to know that all over the world NTM is sending out Missionaries to the unreached.  Yet the harvest is plentiful and the laborers few.  When certain things come up causing us to lose focus on the task, we get encouraged by the passage below to keep moving forward to be apart of this great commission.

“We want to hear this creators Talk.  We want it so much that we are waiting for the time that you, along with the Bible teachers, will bring it to us.  When the time comes that you are ready to tell us of the Creators message, just send us word and we will come.  We will gather everybody from our area.  We will all hike the trails all the way down to where you are and we will live in your area for as long as two (moons) months.  We will do this all just so we can hear the Creator’s message.  If you would rather hike to our territory and tell us in our own houses, we will wait for you here.  When you come, we will provide everything you need, including food, so that you can live among us.  We will provide for you so that you can stay and we can finally hear this big message.  We want to hear this message, and even now we wait for the day you can teach it to us”–EKAPITAA, unreached tribe in Indonesia.

Sometimes we can easily be burdened by the tasks or thoughts of learning Portuguese, raising financial support, being away from friends and family for years, and even sickness.  When we hear of  fellow missionaries fighting the good fight and putting there lives on the line for tribal people all around the world, we are encouraged.  And as the Lord says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

Our prayer requests-

1.  Continue to pray for our health and strength as we prepare with only 47 days left.

2.  Worship keeps our minds focused.  Pray for time with our Lord to be held firm.

3.  Our continued financial support.  We are still looking for ministry partners monthly.

4. Last minute prep and stress to be dealt with appropriatly

Wow, today we are doing something that’s really making this Africa move sink in, as it should.  Today we are putting in our final 30 days notice to our landlord.  That means that by December 1st we will be out of our apartment and will be temporary staying with our in-laws.  

 So here is what’s going on with the Warners:

We have only got 57 days left before our family packs up 4 suitcases and moves our entire lives to Africa.  That is not a lot of time and so we have committed to having our checklist done by December 1st so that we can see and say goodbye to anyone who wants a hug from the Warners.

 For the last week and a half our entire family has had the flu and so that’s why we haven’t seen anyone.  The good news is that God has been teaching us a lot through being sick.  He has slowed us down and is trying to teach us to be content in any situation.  He is trying to teach us to be servants rather than be served.  Most importantly He is teaching us that without Him, WE WILL FAIL IN AFRICA.

On November the 15th at 7:00am we are selling all our stuff and the things we cant take with us.  We are having a garage sale at Generation Church. The address is 1106 Whaley street, Oceanside CA, 92054.  Come buy our stuff.

 Our Portuguese study has been very slow over the last month so here are the prayer requests from us:

1.  Pray that all our paperwork will be processed and done very soon so we can devote all our time to meeting with people and Portuguese.

2.  Pray for our hearts to be encouraged as we have only 57 days left.

3.  We are not at our financial recommendation yet.  Pray for ministry partners  and our support to increase.

4. Pray for our continued health and for our partner Jerry who is raising his support and getting ready to leave in 57 days as well.

Keep informed and email us if you want to see us before we leave.