Hawaii to Home

Sweet journey back to Kona, many tears of joy were shed. The Comm Trans class 2010-2011 reunited for a  hectic week story after story of amazing things that God did through us and in us during our outreach phase all over the world.

It came time for team Mozambique to share and oh how my faith was raised just listening to my friends and I share... it sounded incredible to think of all God had done..so here is a summary of our teams highlights not to mention all that he did in my heart personally.

-  Only 2nd day with IRIS in Mozambique we went on 1st bush outreach. The first evening with Heidi and Roland there was lots of opposition to hearing about Jesus but we met with many who wanted to know more about Jesus and receive prayer. The 2nd night saw us acting out a skit (which was incredible in itself) one of the guys in the group did the call to invite those who wanted to know Jesus, wanted prayer for healing to come forward. Many flooded forward. It was intense and chaotic to minister to all those in front of us  but incredible, many people were touched and there were testimony's given
- Food was multiplied, on outreach there was not enough food to feed all those in the village and so one of the team along with IRIS Mozambican missionaries prayed over the pot a number of times whilst serving and there was enough for everybody.
- Madelina a beautiful baby 3 years old, malnourished smaller than a one year old, orphaned and with a learning disability arrived to IRIS the same time as we did and needed some special attention to help her to eat which our team could offer. We saw her gain weight, increased ability to use her arms and legs and we could pour love into her every day. Through her there was such blessing.
- The clinic I was part of saw some miraculous healing. The wounds, the limited treatments I could offer and the conditions environment/nutrition/language barrier are not conducive to good healing. I saw things heal supernaturally fast..I did the possible, God did the impossible. Also I would sometimes panic that certain dressings would run out at the beginning at I would cut little pieces off at a time and somehow there was always enough.
- The prison was a place full of joy and hope.. not what you would expect but Jesus had radically transformed these men and women's hearts and they were light in spirit. The last day I was there 40 men who had only arrived the day before gave their lives to Jesus. It was such a special moment. I witnessed their countenance change as they realised no matter what they had done to be in prison  that Jesus had lifted the burden from them and they were free!! TRUE FREEDOM. This is good news.
- 3rd Bush outreach we met a man Lorenzo. At the beginning of the evening he was drunk and hurling abuse at the team and at the Jesus film being shown, he even pushed one of the Mozambican women who tried to calm him. Two of the guys  started to talk to him and they ate with him and over the evening he calmed down. We were all praying all night that he would sober but God did more than that! At the end they called anyone up who wanted to receive Jesus in their hearts and before they had finished Lorenzo was their calm and peaceful inviting God in! He has since been along each week to the church at IRIS and he is SOBER! and now connected with the family their.
- Two village boys captured my heart, they have desires to be pastors, and they impacted me greatly . I got to spend time with them, pray and share meals with them. They loved to be loved and it taught me so much about simple discipleship. It was hard to say goodbye.

Our lives will never be the same again, I am so grateful that God took me there. It had many challenges but so many glorious riches.  You truly find Jesus amongst the poor.

The key things that God has showed me and I want to continue to walk in during this next season wherever he leads me:
- Walking continually in thankfulness and gratitude
- Total submission and reliance on God, he is our only true source of satisfaction
- Having eyes to see the glory in all things, choosing to see them
- Love in action
- Perseverance = perfecting faith and maturity
                        = becoming more like Christ
                        = Lacking nothing
- Intimacy unto fruitfulness

Being more in love with God each day as I seek him..

Was it worth it?    YES EVERY SECOND

I am so grateful to everybody who has supported me and poured into me over the last few months.  Its been an incredible journey and I feel just the beginning of even greater things to come. My heart and passion is see people free especially women and girls.

I don't know specifically what that looks like but a prophetic word for me is that it will be a time of PEACE and PROVIDENCE. Sounds good to me.

The end .......for now

Final few weeks.....moving glory to glory

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever- increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit.  2 Corinthians 3 - 18

The last few weeks were such a sweet time, finally getting settled into Mozambique life...I feel like I pressed in and got the prize. I found Joy in the simple pleasure of loving the Lord and living out of that contentment. Suddenly the things that felt hard fell away and everything was much easier

God is so faithful and I despite some resistance taught at the bible school. I felt unequipped to but God said it would be good for me....... he led me to teach on the Lord's prayer and how this encapsulates his heart for humanity. I spent time in prayer and God gave me so much revelation I knew the words were his and not mine. I usually get so nervous when speaking in a group but God totally honoured my obedience to him in stepping out in faith to teach this group of pastors. I had no nerves and spoke with a new confidence. I really feel that if God calls me to speak in front of any audience I could do it. It definitely broke some fear in me that needed to go!!!! So good.

My heart has grown to love the people and the culture, I look around and I ask myself what would it look like to have full restoration here. Would they still live in shacks, I think it would and it certainly would not look like western culture. The beautiful culture of community and family would remain and living simply and sharing all you have brings you close to his heart. I feel that having always had plenty I have been ruined somewhat from grasping what these people know innately for having little. They are all about relationship and time has no meaning if you are focused on people. Oh how I love this. The land would prosper and provide the rest of the world!!! The spirit of poverty would be broken and they would live out the riches they were always supposed to and already have....community, simplicity, love.
.We had so much fun in our last week having parties, baking cakes (with cake mix by the bucket load kindly  flown in by Teresa's parents), saying so many goodbyes. I have made good friends here in Mozambique and feel that the IRIS family have really given us more than we have given. The final evening went with a bang with the best holy spirit party with Ywam,  a group from Bethel church and the IRIS team and some of the children, the joy of the Lord was with us and it was the best night ..... I laughed so much my stomach hurt!!!!

Oh my heart......... oouch!

Perseverance

Wow the time has really flown by and there is only three weeks left of ministry. The time here has been incredible with many high points.

I have really settled into life here. There has been so much joy to be found in serving this community that have very little of anything.  How quickly I am used to the medical clinics:  the primitive environment and challenging ways of working to fully embracing it and seeing how it changes lives. I am seeing the same few people each week and despite the language barrier relationships are being built.  Bridget whom I work with says its perfect timing that I should be here now to treat the ones coming with hand injuries or infections. I am learning so much. A lady with a severe infection came and we literally had to cut her skin to release the infection, I know at home I would have been operated on instead but praise God she is also doing well.   

The children are becoming family and we get to see them daily. Little Madelina who is 3 but severely malnourished has been responding well to love and attention. She also has a learning disability maybe due to malaria although we are not sure. I met with another missionary who is an occupational therapist too and we have implemented a rehabilitation program for her and this week she started to eat herself using her hands, which are really uncoordinated. It was amazing to see this, we all got covered in food but it was an amazing achievement. She is such a beautiful girl and brings so much joy.  When we to the baby house I think we receive as much as they do. They are hungry for love and attention and are satisfied with so little.  In

I am seeing God in so many things big and small. Just being able to walk alongside those suffering, give some one water when they need it, or when a 4 year old girl asks you to pray for her eyes because she knows the love of the father to pray for her to be healed. Today I with some others baptized some of the men at the bible school here, what a privilege and honor it was, to see them committing their lives to the lord. It was fun in the sea here in Pemba, we were nearly knocked over by the waves!!

Daily giving up the comforts of life to fully rely on God has been so worthwhile but extremely hard initially.  If I am honest the initial shock of living here has been hard to deal with. Our accommodation still better than many in Mozambique but still really basic ……tough, the bathrooms were flooded with water for a week, which was gross but also then rife with mosquitoes. When it rains the water comes through the ceiling and sand/mud is everywhere, nothing is clean. We live on rice and beans, which has been hard on our bodies. We are so used to the comforts of home and when they are gone all that is left is God. We can choose to be glad with any suffering, as Christ suffered. We are to share in it or choose to miserable and count the days until you have that comfort back again. I have had my moments when I have moaned but I have pressed in and persevered against what my flesh cries out for and through it I have found God is sufficient even when there is no other comfort to rely on. I think this is so why those who have very little but know the love of God have all they need and can seem joyful. Wow what a lesson, I am learning that without out perseverance we cannot become closer to being Christ like! I have deepened my reliance on God, going to him first for all things.

I am excited for the next few weeks here as I feel I am through the main challenges and now I can rest and enjoy it all the more. 

Finally we reach Mozambique

We had an epic 2 day bus journey from Maputo to Pemba which stretched us all but we were totally sustained by the lord. The music was so loud pretty much all the way and only playing about 5 songs. We never knew when the bus would stop, and the toilet stops were at the side of the road. We unlike the locals who just jumped off and went wanted to search for a bit of bush but by time we did that the drier would honk the horn and so we would have to run back super fast!! It is funny now.  We al got swollen feet and often had to share our seats or floor space with extra passengers. It could have been 5 days so we were really grateful. We made some friends along the way and Matt met a guy who he has now connected with the church here.

First few weeks here have awesome we have been so welcomed by Heidi, Roland and the team. We are not remotely like the visiting missionaries but very much part of the team.  Our first day we had a spirit filled worship session with our new family so so good. The first words that Heidi said to us were in the sprit “Shaka-baba” before hugging us all and welcoming each one of us individually. 

We hit the ground running after a day of being here we packed up and headed to the “bush bush” for a two day outreach.  These villages are so remote they are mud shacks and a hole in he ground for a toilet.  We did not wash for two days and we were completely covered with mud and dirt. We drove for about two hours to a remote village and set up a big screen to show them the “Jesus film” which is dubbed in the indigenous language Makua. Then Heidi evangelizes to the crowd, we all gave a testimony of why we had come to Mozambique and then she invited people forward for healing. It was chaotic as it is pitch black except the screen. We cannot communicate with people easily and so we pray in the spirit and just love these people, there were definitely people receiving healing and meeting the Lord, many just come to mock by asking for prayer reporting miraculous healing in gesture and then laughing with each other but hey they still got prayer.  I believe one was a witch doctor who mocked me but hey for the gospel we were not deterred as so many were experiencing amazing encounters with the lord.

The next day was really special as we shared breakfast and worship time with the local pastors. They are so amazing in their faith we were all humbled. They are under IRIS but may only get visited once a year and some still early in their walk with the Lord. They run a bible school at the base annually where they can get teaching but otherwise they are leading churches with minial support but their faith is evident.  We then spent time with the children in their church worshipping doing dramas and playing games. We then walked around the village evangelizing and praying for people.

The next evening we did a drama to the crowd then Matt did the call. Loads of people came forward for prayer it was amazing. A man who was deaf was healed. Hallelujah.

On the way home we were taken into another remote village to a lady who was demon possessed according. She was manifesting with these loud noises deep from her belly and was unable to stop. It looked so exhausting. She confessed to knowing Jesus and wanting to be free. She was free from torment when she had been to church but every time she was at home it reoccurred and was getting worse. We were invited to pray for her it was an emotional time and intense. After an hour she said that she saw two lights and but that she was fearful of both.  Also that she was not letting go of something  …… it was hard that she was still in fear of letting go. It was hard not to see her free at times the noises moved from her stomach to her throat like the demon was being forced out. There is only one light that was Jesus, and the enemy was confusing her and keeping her in fear. We took her away from this village and to a Christian home who could look after her and continue to pray for her.

The time since then we have all been involved in various ministries, there are so many opportunities here. They are doing so much in the community. There is mercy ministry that is food distribution and supporting widows to work on the base. There is ministry to the men’s and women’s prisons, community outreach, medical clinics and milk programs for babies.

Of course there is ministry for children/of all ages live that live here, discipleship, activities. They have a primary school here that offers free education for 5-16 which is amazing for the local community.

I have been involved with caring for a malnourished baby with Kath, who is 3 years old but is the size of a one year old. She also has some learning disabilities. It has been so amazing to be able to pour love into her and the small progress that she has brought such joy. There is glory in every day.

The boys are working in the kitchen and gardening as well as other things due the heavy lifting which is really humbling them.

I have been helping an amazing missionary Bridget with medical clinics my role initially was to pray for people once she has seen and treated them, which was great. Since then people with hand trauma, wounds, etc have piled in so I have been literally hands on treating them. It has been great to be a part of this and good to still have this passion for healthcare and hand therapy. The challenges are; minimal equipment, hygiene and resources. There were not enough gloves so I was rubbing alcohol and having to reuse gloves, which was so hard for me to do but in the face of reality that they have little access the health care there was nothing else for me to do. The flies are intense as they swarm all around you when you are trying to clean wounds on a wooden bench in an open walled church. The heat is also a challenge, I thought I used to sweat at work in the warm NHS hospitals but this is nothing. I am so grateful for all that I have and the life I was born into. These people walk for miles even with Malaria to receive treatment, which breaks me.  They persevere.

I swear that there has been supernatural healings when we have seen people again, one boy whose hands looked severely burned and infected and in and the mother couldn’t tell us what had happened he had hundreds of flies on him so we treated the infection and dressed his hands. His mum had travelled well over two hours because she heard that people who come to the clinic get healed.  A week later he was healed. I was astonished. He was so good he never cried even though he had pain, just sucked on a lolly we had given him whilst we treated. It’s such a privilege to serve this community. The last time he was treated he could hold his own lolly:  good outcome measure.

The other main things I have been involved in is the pre-school which is fun, 12 lively 3-5 year olds. I love them already. I support them in their learning and then play games which I love especially like as I don’t have a clue most of the time what is being said as it is all in Portuguese.

Once a week we have been heading to a mixed remand jail, which has been amazing. We worship with about 40 inmates and the presence of God is there. Its pretty rough and we just sit in the dirt with them all no security or guards.  We then give testimony and a teaching then invite the Holy Spirit. God is so faithful to these people. We don’t know their stories yet but God has mercy for them and desires their hearts. When we prayed for the women they were really touched it was quite emotional.

As well as direct ministry we have been supporting the team here with other projects that need many hands to get things done. We measured a 100 or so children for school uniforms as they offer free primary education here, this was crazy disorganized as we couldn’t communicate but we got there even if it took a few extra days. They have been so thankful that we are here and even though it does not seem like ministry. It is all Gods work and we know that blessing the staff here is Gods heart and so we see it all as important. Heidi spent some time with us as a team sharing with us her heart for Mozambique and the visions she has had over the years that have bought her to this place. She and Roland have experienced hardships and persecution and that the gospel is not about being comfortable but being intimate with him and from there flows love but that joy and suffering go together.  If we have not persevered then we cannot fully know Joy. Also that perseverance leads us closer to Jesus and to perfection. Our aim should not be to coast avoiding difficulties but to embrace life full in the face and be as perfect as we can before God in heaven and ensure we are helping those around us to do the same.

Always start with loving the one in front of u and always giving something to those that ask. It sounds easy but when there are hundreds of children around you and they are all climbing on you and wanting you or something from you it has been vital to be in his all sustaining presence to not feel overwhelmed. If you don’t then you have nothing to give!!! We need to be filled with his love to love. I am learning this, saying daily to the lord in my brokenness meet me and help me to see heaven here. 

Warfare

Our time here continues to be amazing, daily people are coming to the Lord or moving closer. They have such an understanding of the spritual realms and power it is totally a shift from trying to get people to even look to GOd!!! 

I love proclaiming who Jesus is and speaking truth and life to people, then power of simply loving them sees things change. This is all because of Jesus in us, and not by our own power.  We pray for people in the streets and in their homes. One lady even came up to us in the street because she had heard about us wanted to be free from additction, thats Gospel, people always came to Jesus or the disciples as they heard of great signs and wonders and them seeking truth and freedom!

However the warfare is intense and satan has attacked our teams, many have had sickness and diarrhea two of the guys who had drug addictions seemed to have succombed again to it which is sad. One is on my team and he has been on fire evangilising and making friends in the township he is transforming lives with the power of the Gospel and being the kingdom of God: Satan is bothered for sure. He is so integral to our team dynamic. I know God will use this for his glory!! When we call on the name of jesus the enemy has to flee, but we need to know where we are being attacked. It can be subtle ...... with food, sleep or the more obvious. 

I am having an amazing time in my walk with the Lord and everyday seeking intimacy with him, we so need to know his love.  No wonder I used to feel frazzled. The intimacy with God is key, seek him with all u have. As we see more of him we want to understand him and know him more. We will never have enough of God or understand him fully but discovering and dwelling in his love is an ever increasing circle. 

I just need more of JEsus. God has really been speaking through scriptures which is just so exciting to me as this is the way I will really cement my knowledge and understanding of the word when he speaks  into my everyday with it holds meaning and value. He brings revelation upon revelation.  Its really wonderful. 

I leave for Maputo tomorrow and as we travel I felt the GOd give me a picture of the land, that he has prepared the soil for us and we are to sow seeds as we go. That he will honor what we sow and spring up shoots that will become Oaks of Righteousness for a display his splendor. Isaiah 61..... he will give the people a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. So I am excited about this journey. It will be tough on a bus for 5 days and we have not been able to book anything ahead of time so please pray that we have favor. I also felt the Lord say that praise must be in our souls as well as our mouths as we travel as the people hear us they will also rejoice, its not enough just to say words but be complaining in our hearts. Psalm  34 v1-2.

Bless you all. 

Cape town - Masiphumalele S

The lord has really blessed our time here in Masi. We live just outside the township in a huge house with 25 adults and 4 children, its crazy, loud and alot of fun. 


Everyday we head into the township. The population  is about 40,000 which is considered a small one. Poverty is evident here, most houses are made of wood frame, corrugated iron roof. There are also some government built flats and some brick houses. There is an  area called the wetlands which has a river that sewage runs into and this area is packed tight with many houses. We have seen how the fire devastated a large proportion of this area and there has been some from our team helping to rebuild the shacks. It is really tough this reality that your house can burn down at any moment. There seems to be acceptance about this situation amongst the people, they loose everything they own and have to start again. I cannot comprehend how this must feel.


The community here have welcomed us in such a way that humbles me. They really live out true community looking out for one another and stopping to say hi and ask how u are even us who clearly stick out as visitors there are no white people in Masi. We have to be with a local when we walk too. Generally we are accepted but they have known muggings so they make this a rule.


There are a team that lead the children's ministry, they do education as well as sports, games, acting out bible stories etc. Also some guys have assisted local services with adult education. Also we have teams helping in the creches and at the clinic then other teams doing street ministry which is what I have been doing. We move around at a slow pace with intention of stopping to talk to people which takes a bit of adjustment from me as we are so used to walking   at a pace that says I have to be  somewhere! Spirituality is very much a part of life here, they all profess to know Jesus but there is a conflict as many also are serving other Gods/idols by being involved in witchcraft and ancestral worship.  People are really open to prayer and discussion about who Jesus is which has been blessed. After only two weeks we have people to call in on to visit, pray for and friends to greet as we walk around. Poor Health is a real issue here as a high number have HIV and AIDS, TB is secondary to this so we often meet people in this desperate situation and are able to love them and express that they are not to walk in shame. 


Family is also an area under attack in Masi with few marriages existing, so many children have absent fathers and many half siblings.  I have learned that there is a complicated near on impossible dowry system so many men cannot marry because of this which is so sad. 




So much has happened since we arrived, everyday there are people coming to know the lord, being set free from things that have bound them and healing taking place. I will share this one particular story with you... It is the most profound ministry experience I have ever witnessed. God totally brought it about naturally out of this lady's raw desire for Jesus. We were just instruments of truth and for the holy spirit and it has built my faith and showed me the power of God over evil.

We were walking the streets we bumped into three sisters, Irene, Sylvia, and Veronica. We walked into their home and Irene began preaching to us about God! it turns out that she is a passionate lover of Jesus but as we got into deeper conversations about God, Veronica stood up said, "I am a Sangoma and I believe in Jesus," and left the house. I had no idea what a Sangoma was, but found out after that a Sangoma was a witch doctor. 


The next day we went back to their house to find just Veronica sitting on the couch as Irene was cooking lunch. for a while we were just hanging out, the children did an African dance for us which was so fun. We began talking about God and this time Veronica didn't leave, but began to passionately ask questions. She asked questions that would never be asked in the western world, questions that took me off guard. She wanted to know if all creatures under the ocean were evil because sharks attacked people and the sea was dark and mysterious. We responded by saying only God can create things and so all water creatures were good. Then she said that a strange man said that he was Jesus and would prove it by calling all the whales out to a certain area of the ocean the next day. She said that what he said would happen came true. She was very confused because she didn't know what to believe in anymore. She claimed that she believed in Jesus, but obeyed her ancestors and believed they had power, she said she thought she had two souls one good and one evil. She said that she knew a man who had died after being hit by a car, but saw him walking into a store a couple days later. she asked us, "did the man really die?" she said that babies would die, but their moms would be haunted by their cries at night. She wanted to know if the babies hadn't really died, but were being kept by the devil, only taken out to haunt their mothers. Now pretty worked up, she told us about how her ancestors came to her in her dreams and told her she had to do certain things if she didn't want to die. She said that they sometimes also gave her answers and directions, ones that turned out to be true. She said that sometimes they would haunt her in her dreams telling her they were going to kill her that night. At those moments she would cry out to Jesus and wake up to find herself alive. She was so confused because deep down she knew that Jesus was the one who saved her, but she believed her ancestors had power and was afraid to anger them. She burst out crying in frustration and confusion. We ran to her side to comfort her and immediately asked her if we could pray for her. She said that she was done with being confused and wanted to choose Jesus. She accepted Jesus into her heart. We then asked Jesus to break off all the witch craft off of her that it would no longer hold her. It was really emotional as she renounced witchcraft and now knowing the true source of power is Jesus.


We then said could we pray for her baby as we did we felt that he had been handed over to witchcraft. He had anklets and bracelets on that she believed protected him and they could not just be pulled off as we continued to pray we knew they had to come off to break the tie with witchcraft. It was a defining moment as she allowed us to cut them off him. She said that if he didn't wear the sangoma bracelets he cried when they went to sangoma ceremonies because their ancestors would haunt him but she believed us when we told her that only Jesus could protect her baby and protect her in her dreams. We were all in tears as he was set free. She was literally different after.


We returned on Monday to find that she and her baby had slept soundly Friday night and all weekend! Her face was full of peace and joy. She lit up when we handed her a bible dedicated just to her and told us that she saw the words genesis 27 in a dream months ago when she was pregnant. God had been preparing her for us even before we had ever met her. This passage about Esau's blessing given to Jacob was connected to the blessings God meant for veronica and how it would not be stolen from her. She understood what we were saying and what the bible was saying on such a deep level that I was surprised she had never owned a bible before. We prayed for her and the blessings that were meant for her, including being a healer. That as a Songoma she liked to do things to make sick people well although she now realised that she had been using the powers of darkness but she could now use this gift of healing, her original design from God for his glory. We have visited a few times since then and done bible discovery with her and we all have had revelation!


SOOOOO GOOOOD to have been part of this. There were 5 of us there that day and God used each of us to play a part in Veronica's transformation. This past 2 weeks has been incredible we have met, prayed, ministered to so many people. God has been so gracious to use us here.  The people do not have much materially but they understand the spiritual warfare that goes on around us all so well,the also appreciate the simplicity of love and community. They are so open to love that I have been undone. My walk with God sometimes is me still trying to grasp how much he loves me when all he says is receive my love. They know it!


So excited for the next weeks ahead..off to Mozambique in 4 days....