Many were surprised to see an 18-wheel truck amble its way down a deeply rutted dirt road and park beside a clearing where the JESUS film was being shown. In the isolated villages of northwestern Mozambique, known more for the Nhungwe peoples' ancestor worship and practices of witchcraft, vehicles are an uncommon sight.
But that evening, Benaias Tamele, a volunteer serving with Mozambique Cru director Arnold Nzova, and members of a short-term JESUS film mission team looked on with intrigue. Three men on an overnight logging run viewed a few minutes of the film and then exited their rig to join more than 100 locals who had gathered to watch.
At the conclusion of the film, the truckers walked to the front with many who had gathered to pray and begin a relationship with Jesus Christ.
With Benaias interpreting in Portuguese, an American JESUS film team worker explained that those who wanted to learn more about the Christian faith could return tomorrow. Afterward, the 3 men approached Benaias and said, "We can't come. What can we do?"
"We asked if they had accepted Jesus and they said, 'Yes,'" said Benaias. "So for more than 20 minutes we read through the Four Spiritual Laws booklet and asked them more about their decision."
The men were then connected to a local pastor who had received training as part of a project called Operation Caleb Mozambique. Two days prior to the arrival of the film team, Arnold and 2 JESUS film workers had assisted pastors in how to instruct locals who received Christ, and in how to plant new churches in the region.
In all, an estimated 2,640 people watched the JESUS film, with more than 650 people indicating decisions to receive Christ.
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