Hello friends and family! Lots of love and blessings and joy to each of you as you continue to journey with me... It has been a long while since I have written and I feel like I have a million things to update on, but I will do my best to be both thorough and concise :)
I am back in Knoxville. :) Hallelujah. Jesus is really good and He invited me to move back here while I was still in Mozambique. I was hesitant at first to want to follow because I love Birmingham and my beautiful brothers and sisters there. But I am learning that obedience is the greatest joy. As I follow Him, I see that He is already with me, closer than ever, and there is nowhere I would rather be that right beside Him. Thank you God for your presence in my life.
Since being home God has gifted me with the most amazing job I could ever dream of having. I get to work with precious 3rd grade students as their teacher in an after school program at my church here in Knoxville. I ooze with joy whenever I even think about my students and my time with them. I am thankful that Jesus continues to remind me that the Kingdom belongs to the children. I love getting to play, laugh, sing, dance, swing, run, pray, read the Word, and learn alongside these beautiful treasures of the King. Please keep us in your prayers as I continue seeking God and his strategies in speaking Life and Truth and Love into their hearts and minds.
God's timing is perfect in everything. This job truly is one of His miracles of provision. I started within weeks of being home and my semester with my kids will end in mid-May, which is perfect, because Jesus (and Iris) have invited me back to Mozambique to be a part of staffing two more of the Harvest Schools of Missions :) Praise Him!
(big big smiles on my face) I cannot believe how good Jesus is in gifting me with more time in a place I love so much. I will be returning to Mozambique at the end of May to staff another 2 Harvest Schools in Pemba. I am so excited and blessed I can hardly stand myself :) Another beautiful gift of Jesus- after the first school, so in Mid-August, I will be leading a team of graduated students on an outreach to India! Yes, India. Because God is good and faithful. I am so blessed to be partnering with my amazing brother, Lyle Phillips, and his ministry Mercy29. If you aren't familiar with him and his ministry, I can't encourage you enough to check it out. They rescue children. They see the broken made whole. They set captives free. The love with abandon. It is truly and miraculously beautiful and I an in awe of the opportunity Jesus has given me to join with them in this season. Please pray for me and other staff and students as we prepare our hearts, minds, and all else to serve Him in another season in Pemba. Pray as I arrange flights, visas, and all the other details that come with traveling :)
I am so thankful for those of you who join in my story by reading this blog and partnering with me in prayer. I have another update and prayer request to share with you as you continue to walk with me :) Just before I left for Mozambique last September I went in for a regular physical exam in which the doctor found a mass on my thyroid. After having an ultrasound, he requested that I have it biopsied so that we could find out what it was and how it should be treated. There wasn't time between discovering the mass and my flight to Mozambique so I left for Pemba knowing that Jesus held me in His hands and called me to serve Him in Mozambique in that season. Since being home I have had the biopsy and based on what they discovered the doctors have decided that I need to have surgery in order to remove the left half of my thyroid. With surgery they will be able to tell what kind of cells are growing and whether the second half has to be removed.(it won't be, in Jesus' name :) So, all of that to say, I am going into surgery on the morning of March 29th. I am beyond thankful for your prayers as Jesus continues to heal and take authority over my body. I know that I am called to serve Him in the nations and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. I know that His plans and purposes for me are good. I know that He is healer. I know that He provides and cares for me. So I am thankful for all of you who join with me in walking in healing and peace.
Thank you for your continued love and prayers and support. You are so very beautiful. Every day I am overwhelmed with the body of believers Jesus has surrounded me with. I can't praise Him enough. In many nations and cities and states I have the most beautiful, powerful, Sons and Daughters of God standing with me in battling for the Kingdom. We are blessed. And highly favored. :)
The most powerful gift you can give me is your prayers. ( I also really love words of encouragement :) )And I also want to invite you, as you pray, to seek the Holy Spirit about whether He prompts you to financially sew into what He is doing in the nations. I am always blessed and amazed at how Jesus continuously, faithfully provides a way in whatever He calls me to. If you feel prompted to give please email me at kazimmer@samford.edu so I can give you more information.
I know in many ways this update was brief; it definitely does not capture all the Jesus is up to in and around me. I would love to share more with anyone who has time to listen :) Please accept the invitation to call, email, facebook message me, (or any other form of social media I may have forgotten) if there is anything more I can share about. I am also eager to hear your stories of what Jesus is up to in your lives!
Thanks for Listening. Much Love.
Kelly
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Remain at work in us this day and always. Let us be attentive to your stirrings and movements on this earth. All glory and honor and praise to Your Holy Name.
