Hello beautiful ones!!
I am so sorry it has been so long since my last update. Things have really picked up speed here in Pemba. Since my last update students have arrived, classes are three weeks in, the base has been flooded with children from the village, teams have gone on outreach, and the goodness of God has continued to spread all over :) hallelujah.
Things in Pemba are so wonderful. So very busy and so very wonderful. I have an amazing room full of beautiful women from literally all around the world- Norway, America, Brazil, Estonia (i had to ask where that one was), New Zealand :) Canada, England and Maputu (in southern Mozambique). So cool! In total I am over 2 rooms of 8 girls each. Our 2 newest roommates just arrived this past weekend after traveling up from the Iris base in Maputu. They are beautiful Mozambican women with hearts to love and serve God. It has been so much fun to be around them. We would love your prayers for community and communication because they mostly speak Portuguese & Shangan (the tribal language around Maputu). So far things have been wonderful though. The other girls are so fantastic as well. Thank you for your prayers. They have been such a blessing, loving and encouraging me. It has been really fun to be here & in community. :) :) :)
Classes have been really fun. We have had a couple different missionary speakers give testimony and tell about their hearts. My favorite part so far has just been the worship. So good. The presence of God is so full and sweet here. I am constantly amazed and blessed as God reveals more of Himself to me in worship and then I am even more amazed when I get to go around praying for people and seeing God work in their lives through me. Wow. It has been so crazy amazing to see and feel him use me to touch and bless the students and the other staff. I just love it.
His JOY is so good. Everywhere I go I just get to carry His joy. :) It's so wonderful. Thank you Jesus for your love & joy & presence & the life you have given us!
My time with my boys has been lots of fun. I get to see them most days and we have a good time- going into the village, playing soccer, eating the most fantastic meals ever at their mom's house, trying to stay out of too much trouble :) Every time I see them I just praise Jesus for being so faithful to bring me back here to a place I love so much with people I love so much. In church the other day in worship Fogas came and sat by me & I just began to weep thinking about the goodness of God. I love these kids so very much & God is so very kind to let me see them & love on them. I can remember so many days away from them when all I wanted to do was be able to hug them & love on them & he heard my cries & answered me. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus. So good. And so very faithful. Saying that, I would also love your prayers for how to love and encourage them. Some days are very hard because they are very needy & very broken. it's easy to be seen here as a white missionary who can provide for their every want/need. But I want them to see that Jesus is the real provider and that I am just a vessel. I want to be attentive to His Spirit and when He is leading me to give & what He is leading me to say & how He is leading me to love.
I love our God. He is so good. He is faithful in the big and the small things. He is a provider. He has given us all we ever need. Many people have spoken about the fact that God has given us all we need- His love & power & strength & joy & grace. He gave it all. It has all already been given. We just need revelations of it. We need to see & recognize & call out what he has placed inside of us. thank you God that you have already given me everything I need to be staff here, to love kids here, to minister to students here, to fulfill my destiny, to fulfill my daily tasts, to lead outreaches here, to simply love the people around me, to worship you. It's all in me. Help me to discover more of it within me, more of You within me. :)
I don't know what all to write about. There is just so much. I am thankful for the girls around me in my home. I am thankful for all the students here (265, wow!) who have such hearts to go after God. Worship has been so amazing, surrounded by so many people with hearts to seek God. I am just in awe every day. I am thankful for the beautiful body of Christ here- the Mozambicans and the internationals from all over the world. I am thankful that God is helping me learn the language (vaccani, vaccani- slowly slowly in Makua). I am thankful for the beautiful Indian ocean I get to see everyday. I am thankful for the wonderful staff I get to serve alongside and how much fun we are having together. I am thankful for all of your prayers and encouragement & patience with me in slow communication. I am thankful for good health & good sleep.
You are wonderful, beautiful, precious. Thank you for your prayers. I would love more prayers for continued energy and strength. Everyday is so full- breakfast served at 6:30, class from 8-1, lunch, then afternoons filled with playing with kids or helping serve in some way, dinner, night classes or meetings, and bedtime. All filled with lots of valuable time in between of loving on students & getting to know the people God has surrounded me with here. It's a pretty sweet deal, just a bit tiring some days :) but God is good and His grace is sufficient. I would also love your prayers as I continue to try to learn the language.
AH! And prayers for leading outreach. I will be leading a team out the weekend of October 27. I don't know yet where, but we will head to some area of the bush bush and share the love of Jesus! My team is amazing. About 16 internationals and 15 or so Mozambicans. Please really be covering us in prayer over our time out- from thursday-saturday. We will be sharing the love of Jesus, preaching, praying, seeing God show up in glorious ways, camping in tents, riding on loooong rides on dirt roads, ministering among the poorest of the poor, performing a children's program, seeing so much need, and doing whatever the Spirit leads us into :) It's going to be so good. Please pray that we are able to communicate the love of God clearly & whatever else the Spirit leads you to pray :) thank you thank you thank you. I can't wait to share stories of the miraculous ways God brings more of His children home :) hallelujah!
Ok, it's getting late here in pemba... 9:45 haha so I am going to head to bed. (you can also pray for us all to have grace in this HOT HOT weather :) ) it is hot... all z time.
Thank you all. So much love to each of you. I would love to hear from you whenever you have time- email, facebook, here- whatever. It's always so good to hear how you are and what Jesus is up to where you are.
LOVE!
Kelly
