The beauty of northern Mozambique is stunning. Amid the screams and shrieks of happy children, and the wind rustling through the leaves of mahogany trees, you’ll find Pastor Tozhuto. He’s 39, married, and has an energy level that is infectious. Sharply dressed, with his sunglasses perched on his forehead, Pastor Tozhuto is preaching to two women with all the enthusiasm of a man preaching in front of thousands.
He says there is a reason he preaches loudly. He wants to make a bold statement to all within earshot, “The Gospel is being preached here, and you all need to hear it!” Quickly, it turned out that his message was not in vain. A young man crossed the road, stopped at the meeting point, and asked the leader if he could join.
“Of course,” Pastor Tozhuto welcomed him. “Here’s a booklet for you. Take a seat and join!” The visitor found a place to sit on the dusty ground behind the plastic chairs on which the two ladies—one of them, his wife—were seated.
Pastor Tozhuto lives in a predominately Muslim area, a small village at the outskirts of Nampula City. He explains, “In this area, we have many Muslims. It’s not easy to reach them, not easy at all. Often, when I approach them, they reject me. Some are afraid that their families will cause troubles at home if they accept the Christian faith. How do I deal with that? I just keep going. I know I am doing the right thing, which gives me the boldness to go on with the ministry. I always encourage the members of my Project Philip Bible study groups to carry on. Now, I am seeing that people who first refused to listen are now coming little by little to join us.”
And his Bible study group is growing. One young mother says, “I used to be a Muslim, but when I started to learn from the Bible study booklet, I decided to leave Islam and join the Christian faith. That was a big step.”
Pastor Tozhuto is grateful for the transformations he gets to witness. He sees so many struggling with poverty and loves to see the joy of Christ in others. He beams, “Financially and materially, our life is down, but we are rich because of Christ!”
