Prayer letter from Joel and Joanie Troester – Mozambique – October 16, 2012

In life or in death, may God be glorified. Thank you to all who lifted up my trip home, Dad’s final days this side of eternity and for Joanie as she worked so hard here in Mozambique in my absence. Dad had fought the good fight.

The trip was long (Maputo, Addis Ababa ( Ethiopia), Rome, Washington DC, Chicago, Mpls, Hampton, Iowa), but God gave a special opportunity to present the Gospel to an Airlines pilot.

I arrived home on Thursday night. Dad had only been off of dialysis one day and was still doing fairly well. He had suffered several minor strokes and was having difficulties with that. The rest of the family arrived in the next days and we were all able to share with Dad how much we loved him and appreciated him for all that he had done for us. His life and faith were an example and inspiration to everyone. Thirty-six years ago Dad lost his legs in a silo-unloader accident on the farm. It changed all of our lives. Dad never complained. He just kept on going with Mom’s loving help all these years. Together they traveled. During the last 7 years Dad needed to be on dialysis, but even this did not stop them from visiting family and attending weddings.

Dad asked his pastor to preach from Romans 6:23 and ask folks if they knew where they were going when they died and why they thought that they would go to heaven. I can’t think of a better text to speak on, nor better questions to ask.

On the way home I made a quick stop to see Kristin and Sharon in PA and Nathan and Anna in NY.

In my absence Joanie survived the car problems and the rain. She was a great help with Eliana’s foot that had been run over. Eliana is finally home after spending three weeks in the hospital but still has a 1”x3” open wound on her foot. The sanitary conditions here are so poor and the possibility of getting infection so great. The situation has given us more contact with the dad of the family. He is a pretty hard, independent type of guy.

Please pray for the acquisition of land for a church in our neighborhood. We have a request in the hands of a city official who says that everything looks good, but the reality is that it could sit there for months or years unless God moves him to take the initiative to make it happen. He has many other requests on his desk and ours is just one of them. We would like God, and not “coffee money”, to move the hearts of kings.

Thanks for partnering with us here in Mozambique,
Joel and Joanie Troester