I feel like I could start all my blog entries with the title “Jesus is Good!” Because He just is.
My first few days in Pemba have been spectacular. Wonderful beyond words. So much goodness has taken place I don’t even know if I can type it all :) I like it this way.
Everything is very much the same, and very different at the same time. It was very strange to be back the first day. I didn’t realize how much my heart recognized all the sights & smells of Mozambique. It was crazy, so much came flooding back.
So i got here on a Saturday afternoon and had a good time meeting some staff & just being reminded how things run here. I have a bit of relearning to do, but is good. I had forgotten how different life was here. It is beautiful and simple, but a very very big shift from the way I am used to living. But thank you Jesus for the joy in it all!
Sunday was amazing. A perfect gift from above. I went to church here on base and in worship I see Mama Afia (the mother of Carlitus, etc) & I just run over to her shedding tears of joy. It was so so wonderful. She told me she was going to walk all the way home (a good 15 minute walk) to her village to tell the boys I was here so they could come see me. A while later she returns, followed not long after by Carlitus. Oh my goodness. He is so grown up. He has gotten so big. I just held him & cried I was so happy to see him. Jesus is so good. Thank you God for beautiful reunions. Later that day Focas & Hasam came to the base to see me & that was wonderful too. A day full of lots of hugs & smiles & laughs & joy. So good to be with them.
Also in church there was a woman who I had just met (honestly I cant even remember her name) & as the church was taking up the offering (during which i had no idea what was going on because the service is only in Makua & Portuguese right now) this beautiful Mozambican woman with a baby strapped around her back comes over & puts a coin in my hand so I can give to the offering. Wow. God your people are beautiful. It was very humbling & very beautiful. Such a gift. Thank you Jesus for how you move and work. The whole service was very moving, just having children all around me at all times, loving on me & worshipping with me. I love this place so much. So much beauty.
Today we spent the morning getting the houses set up for students to come. :) Can’t wait for them to start rolling in a couple weeks. I get the honor & joy of being the House Mom for House of Peace C and I just know its going to be wonderful. I am really excited for all He has in store.
I spent the afternoon at the boys house, ironically without them there. I just hung out with Mama & her daughter, Laucinda (19) and their older brother Papaitus (18) who speaks pretty good English. Most of the time it was just me & people who don’t speak English though so it was a pretty funny time of just sitting in the dirt together. I love this place. In America the whole situation would’ve been so awkward but here it was perfect. Laucinda did my nails after I complimented her black nail polish. It reminded me very much of the time I allowed her to put Mesha in my hair, which made me nervous. Their nail polish is some strange gray substance (reminds me of cement) that she put on with a toothpick, let dry/harden and then wiped off, leaving my nails black. I’m curious to see how long this lasts and what exactly it does to my nails... aye TIA (this is Africa) Sidenote: when she finished my nails Mama took the leftover goop & put it in Papaitus hair as hairdye i guess? So strange. So very strange. But it was a wonderful afternoon.
Tonight we had a cookout with the staff, first time eating a steak in Mozambique, pretty good. Now it is getting late (almost 9:15pm) and I am ready for bed. I hope & pray your all are well. Thanks for reading the long updates. I feel like I could write a million more pages about the goodness of God & all that is happening here but I will save some for later. God is good. I am thankful for each minute here. Thank you for your prayers and love, I can’t express how much they mean to me.
a verse i discovered this morning-
1 Corinthians 8:1- “while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.”
whew. amen Jesus. I pray we are all filled with more of His love each day. I pray we continue to learn how to love where we are and who we are with each day. Thank you for the love you share with me. Blessings and love to each of you!
ps- thank you for all the prayers because all of my luggage made it with me on the plane. First miracle of the trip- check!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Jesus is Good!!
I could list you a million reasons why but I will try to limit it to a few:
the journey has begun!! i am safe in jo-berg. all my flights went smoothly, i slept a little bit on the 15+ hour flight :), i was seated between two amazing women- one from Germany who teaches New Testament studies at Berkley- wow, and one who is from South Africa but living in Chicago (shout out to LORI) with her husband. There were also 3 pastors sitting in the row in front of me & I was reminded that "i am surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" thank you jesus! ok other reasons Jesus is good- got to be sent off by the 3 best roommates in the whole world (no arguments please, i know it is true), i am staying at the cutest little bunk house run by an older couple who are the SWEETEST, the wife is a cancer survivor and told me all about her story- wow, and there are some other cool people staying here from all over- australia, cookeville,tn (haha, small world) and Minnesota and i dont know where else. my cell phone miraculously worked here and i got to talk to mom. i felt completely wrapped up in prayers and love all day long, my heart was so moved every time i thought of all the love & support i have been covered in. thank you all so much. let's see- tomorrow i will be in the Pemba dirt! glory glory hallelujah! i want to go to bed right now so i can wake up, hop on my plane & see all the faces of those i love. :) ok those are a few good reasons to praise Jesus :)
also, as i was in the airport waiting painfully for my first flight for like 2 hours because we got there so early i had some time to read & journal & i wanted to share what God showed me because its really wonderful...
1 Corinthians 1:2-5
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
-that's Paul talking, about he came to teach and preach only through the Holy Spirit, not by his own skills or wisdom. He decided to know nothing but Jesus. Thank you Jesus- that that's all you ask of me. I just have to seek you out, rely on you. You don't ask me to be well-versed or well-spoken. You just ask me to know you & rely on your Spirit. Such a comfort. Even Paul came in weakness- timid and trembling. Whew, what a consolation. thank you God that all the glory is Yours.
prayer requests-
~that my baggage gets all the way to pemba :) haha they said it was checked all the way through so i didnt have to get it tonight but i'm not 100% sure about that... :)
~continued health and energy
~unity and sweet connections with the other staff members as we begin to meet up.
Love to each of you! Can't wait to send you an update from Pemba!!! :)
kelly
the journey has begun!! i am safe in jo-berg. all my flights went smoothly, i slept a little bit on the 15+ hour flight :), i was seated between two amazing women- one from Germany who teaches New Testament studies at Berkley- wow, and one who is from South Africa but living in Chicago (shout out to LORI) with her husband. There were also 3 pastors sitting in the row in front of me & I was reminded that "i am surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" thank you jesus! ok other reasons Jesus is good- got to be sent off by the 3 best roommates in the whole world (no arguments please, i know it is true), i am staying at the cutest little bunk house run by an older couple who are the SWEETEST, the wife is a cancer survivor and told me all about her story- wow, and there are some other cool people staying here from all over- australia, cookeville,tn (haha, small world) and Minnesota and i dont know where else. my cell phone miraculously worked here and i got to talk to mom. i felt completely wrapped up in prayers and love all day long, my heart was so moved every time i thought of all the love & support i have been covered in. thank you all so much. let's see- tomorrow i will be in the Pemba dirt! glory glory hallelujah! i want to go to bed right now so i can wake up, hop on my plane & see all the faces of those i love. :) ok those are a few good reasons to praise Jesus :)
also, as i was in the airport waiting painfully for my first flight for like 2 hours because we got there so early i had some time to read & journal & i wanted to share what God showed me because its really wonderful...
1 Corinthians 1:2-5
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
-that's Paul talking, about he came to teach and preach only through the Holy Spirit, not by his own skills or wisdom. He decided to know nothing but Jesus. Thank you Jesus- that that's all you ask of me. I just have to seek you out, rely on you. You don't ask me to be well-versed or well-spoken. You just ask me to know you & rely on your Spirit. Such a comfort. Even Paul came in weakness- timid and trembling. Whew, what a consolation. thank you God that all the glory is Yours.
prayer requests-
~that my baggage gets all the way to pemba :) haha they said it was checked all the way through so i didnt have to get it tonight but i'm not 100% sure about that... :)
~continued health and energy
~unity and sweet connections with the other staff members as we begin to meet up.
Love to each of you! Can't wait to send you an update from Pemba!!! :)
kelly
Monday, August 22, 2011
Calling All Prayer Warriors!
Precious friends and family,
I hope this finds each of you well. I am writing because I have exciting news to share! I have just been accepted to help staff the next Iris Harvest School of Missions in Mozambique. This means I get the joy and honor and delight of returning to Pemba, Mozambique for the next few months to love on children and see others trained and equipped for taking the Gospel to the nations. I am excited beyond words! Jesus is so good and faithful to bring me back to a place I love so much.
Most of you will remember two summers ago when I attended the Harvest School of Missions and fell even more in love with God and His people. Many of you gave of your resources- prayers, funds, encouragement, and I just wanted to sincerely thank you again. Your gifts are absolutely invaluable. My time in Pemba was a life-changing experience that I hold very dearly in my heart. In Pemba I learned more of the Love of God- tasting and seeing His goodness for myself. I saw Jesus move in power, with signs and wonders. I saw people come into saving knowledge of Jesus. I saw pastors being equipped to teach and share the Word of God. I saw children being taken in, loved, fed and transformed by the glory of God. I saw people worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. And I was invited to join in all of these endeavors! So beautiful.
I am so thankful for this chance to return with a new role. I will be serving as a staff member for the school which means I will be leading teams on outreach into the “bush-bush,” being available for ministry and prayer, being a “house parent” for some of the students in attendance and many other duties involving service and love. I really covet your prayers in this time of stepping into a leadership position. I know Jesus has called me to this place and I trust He will provide and equip me with everything I need. Still, I am asking for your prayers for wisdom, leadership from a place of love, strength, health, endurance, and anything else the Lord places on your heart to pray. Having a leadership role is much different from being a student at the school and so I am sincerely asking that you remember me in your prayers. The focus is not as centered on me, but on the students we are equipping for the work of the Kingdom. Your prayers are valuable and crucial to the work of the Kingdom and I am thankful beyond words for them! I know that I cannot carry out my responsibilities without the strength of Jesus and the power of your prayers.
And now, for some practicalities... I will be leaving on September 15th to begin the journey to Pemba. I ask that you please pray for my travels- safety, luggage making it with me, energy. Also, please pray that everything comes together in time for the trip, particularly my visa. As you can tell time is short between now and when I leave and so I ask that you join with me in trusting Jesus to provide all I need! :) I land in Pemba September 17th and spend my first two weeks there primarily with staff members- setting up, preparing for the students to come. The school begins October 3rd and runs through December 10th. Again, please pray for me as I lead and minister to these students from all over the world and all different stages of life. After the school I will immediately be leading a team of students into the “bush-bush” for a 10 day outreach where we will be traveling to different unreached villages in Mozambique, camping out and sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to Jesus! After that I return to Pemba for Christmas with the children at the Arco Iris Children’s Center! I am so excited for this chance to share Christmas with these beautiful children of God! I will be flying back to the states December 28th and covet your prayers for that time as well.
That was a lot of details, I know. Just wanted to give you all an outline of my time so you will have more of an idea of how to be praying. I also plan on keeping up with the blog that I stared two years ago when I first traveled to Pemba. The web address is http://irisharvest.blogspot.com/ and I will do my best to update frequently with praises and requests and amazing stories of what God is up to!
Also, for those of you who remember my trip two years ago to Pemba you will probably remember the family of boys I basically adopted as brothers- Jere (age 4, went to be with Jesus in heaven in May 2010), Hasam (age 7), Focas (age 12), and Carlitus (age 15). I just wanted to share the amazing news that I will be reuniting with them! Praise Jesus! My heart thrills at the thought of holding them in my arms again and loving on them and seeing the little men of God they are growing into. I also ask for your prayers as I seek to love on them and speak life over them and minister to them and their family. When I was in Pemba before God made it very clear to me that a main reason He brought me there was to love on those boys so I am very excited to be reunited and see what He has been doing in and through them since we were last together.
So, I ask that you join me in praising Jesus for His faithfulness! He is a good, good God and I am so excited to go and serve Him! I thank you immensely for your prayers and your encouragement, love and support. Please feel free to write me while I am preparing and while I am away- kazimmer@samford.edu. I look forward to sharing stories about the goodness and grace of God! Thank you for sowing into the work of the Kingdom. I pray your are blessed and filled with all the love and fullness of God.
Overflowing with love and gratitude,
Kelly Zimmerman
I hope this finds each of you well. I am writing because I have exciting news to share! I have just been accepted to help staff the next Iris Harvest School of Missions in Mozambique. This means I get the joy and honor and delight of returning to Pemba, Mozambique for the next few months to love on children and see others trained and equipped for taking the Gospel to the nations. I am excited beyond words! Jesus is so good and faithful to bring me back to a place I love so much.
Most of you will remember two summers ago when I attended the Harvest School of Missions and fell even more in love with God and His people. Many of you gave of your resources- prayers, funds, encouragement, and I just wanted to sincerely thank you again. Your gifts are absolutely invaluable. My time in Pemba was a life-changing experience that I hold very dearly in my heart. In Pemba I learned more of the Love of God- tasting and seeing His goodness for myself. I saw Jesus move in power, with signs and wonders. I saw people come into saving knowledge of Jesus. I saw pastors being equipped to teach and share the Word of God. I saw children being taken in, loved, fed and transformed by the glory of God. I saw people worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. And I was invited to join in all of these endeavors! So beautiful.
I am so thankful for this chance to return with a new role. I will be serving as a staff member for the school which means I will be leading teams on outreach into the “bush-bush,” being available for ministry and prayer, being a “house parent” for some of the students in attendance and many other duties involving service and love. I really covet your prayers in this time of stepping into a leadership position. I know Jesus has called me to this place and I trust He will provide and equip me with everything I need. Still, I am asking for your prayers for wisdom, leadership from a place of love, strength, health, endurance, and anything else the Lord places on your heart to pray. Having a leadership role is much different from being a student at the school and so I am sincerely asking that you remember me in your prayers. The focus is not as centered on me, but on the students we are equipping for the work of the Kingdom. Your prayers are valuable and crucial to the work of the Kingdom and I am thankful beyond words for them! I know that I cannot carry out my responsibilities without the strength of Jesus and the power of your prayers.
And now, for some practicalities... I will be leaving on September 15th to begin the journey to Pemba. I ask that you please pray for my travels- safety, luggage making it with me, energy. Also, please pray that everything comes together in time for the trip, particularly my visa. As you can tell time is short between now and when I leave and so I ask that you join with me in trusting Jesus to provide all I need! :) I land in Pemba September 17th and spend my first two weeks there primarily with staff members- setting up, preparing for the students to come. The school begins October 3rd and runs through December 10th. Again, please pray for me as I lead and minister to these students from all over the world and all different stages of life. After the school I will immediately be leading a team of students into the “bush-bush” for a 10 day outreach where we will be traveling to different unreached villages in Mozambique, camping out and sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to Jesus! After that I return to Pemba for Christmas with the children at the Arco Iris Children’s Center! I am so excited for this chance to share Christmas with these beautiful children of God! I will be flying back to the states December 28th and covet your prayers for that time as well.
That was a lot of details, I know. Just wanted to give you all an outline of my time so you will have more of an idea of how to be praying. I also plan on keeping up with the blog that I stared two years ago when I first traveled to Pemba. The web address is http://irisharvest.blogspot.com/ and I will do my best to update frequently with praises and requests and amazing stories of what God is up to!
Also, for those of you who remember my trip two years ago to Pemba you will probably remember the family of boys I basically adopted as brothers- Jere (age 4, went to be with Jesus in heaven in May 2010), Hasam (age 7), Focas (age 12), and Carlitus (age 15). I just wanted to share the amazing news that I will be reuniting with them! Praise Jesus! My heart thrills at the thought of holding them in my arms again and loving on them and seeing the little men of God they are growing into. I also ask for your prayers as I seek to love on them and speak life over them and minister to them and their family. When I was in Pemba before God made it very clear to me that a main reason He brought me there was to love on those boys so I am very excited to be reunited and see what He has been doing in and through them since we were last together.
So, I ask that you join me in praising Jesus for His faithfulness! He is a good, good God and I am so excited to go and serve Him! I thank you immensely for your prayers and your encouragement, love and support. Please feel free to write me while I am preparing and while I am away- kazimmer@samford.edu. I look forward to sharing stories about the goodness and grace of God! Thank you for sowing into the work of the Kingdom. I pray your are blessed and filled with all the love and fullness of God.
Overflowing with love and gratitude,
Kelly Zimmerman
Friday, August 14, 2009
Home Again, Home Again
Greetings from Knoxville Tennessee! We are home! After 31 long hours of traveling Chelsey and I made it back safe and sound to our families last night. Thank you so much for all of the prayers. Our travels were great, we made every flight with plenty of time, they all ran smoothly. It was great. God is so good. That is one thing I have learned more this summer. God is so good. He is for us and not against us. And he works all things together for our good. Before we left Pemba, Chelsey and I went to confirm our flights with LAM (the airline we were flying out on) and we were told that our reservations had been cancelled. The airline had given away our seats. Mind you this is 2 days before we are supposed to leave, and they told us there was nothing we could do but show up and the airport and try to get on, or wait 4 more days and leave Sunday. Ha! But instead of freaking out, Chelsey and I just prayed about it and had peace and just knew that we were getting on the plane on Wednesday. God is our provider and he was going to take care of us. So we showed up at the Pemba airport on Wednesday, went up to the desk and came away with our two tickets, no problem. God is so good! So from that point, our travels were completely smooth, minus some sickness along the way, but again, the Lord took care of us and we were able to laugh about the fact that were getting sick in just about every airport we stopped at...
So I realize I haven't blogged in quite a while, there is so much to say. Since my last blog I have graduated from Harvest school, gone on my second bush outreach, had my hair braided by some Mozambican friends (only to end up looking like bob marley and have to immediately take them out, pictures to come), eaten my last bowl of rice and beans for a long time, had tonsilitis, given out about 300 dum dums, taken countless photos, played on the beach, celebrated heidi baker's 50th birthday, and sung lots and lots of Makua songs...
We left Iris Wednesday afternoon, which was hard, but we just keep remembering that we are moving forward into something new and not just leaving something behind. God has so much more in store for the future and I am excited to see what it holds. I am so so thankful for the summer and all the experiences God has given me. He has been so faithful to fill me with so much joy since leaving. Chelsey and I would just sit on the plane and crack jokes about all the hilarious and amazing memories we had made, with children and new friends and each other. I really am just ready to burst and tell you so many stories... most of them having to do with my mozambican brothers, you'll probably be sick of hearing about them within a few days :) Let me see if I can't load a few pictures...
Asam aka Monkey
Focas
Carlitu
The hardest part about leaving was of course saying bye to my boys. The 3 days prior to leaving I had to fight back tears just about any time we were all together. But we had such a sweet, sweet time in our last days. I took them to town and let them each pick out one new outfit, because they had literally worn the same on outfit every day all summer. So they picked out these really cute matching shorts and t-shirts... after much deliberation. They had a great time deciding what to get. But then we came back to Iris and they put on their new clothes and we had a photo shoot, and I'm telling you, they are the most beautiful boys in Pemba. They were so happy and having a blast snapping photos. I will have to find a way to load some on here... Then Focas made a slingshot for Tommy and Carlitu wanted me to take his only other shirt back to the states to give to Tommy. I'm telling you, these boys about broke my heart with their kindness in the last few days. Focas had been given some money by one of the other missionaries and he used it to buy me a beautiful necklace and then he kept wanting to buy me snacks and drinks with what he had left over. It was unreal. With the little that thier family had, in the last days they wanted to pour it all out on me. So beautiful. What an amazing picture of the body of Christ and what it looks like to love.
So on the day we left for the airport, the boys showed up at Iris at 7:30am and we spent the whole day together before I had to leave at 11 to head to the airport. First we sat and talked/cried together. I told them about what a blessing they had been to me and how I know God has a huge calling on each of their lives. They just sat and listened and cried as I shared with them more about how much God loves them as his sons. It was a really precious memory. Then we dedided to stop being sad and go have some fun so we went to the beach for a walk and played around by the pier for a while. Then we headed back to base so I could finish packing my bag and see their mom and littlest brother who had come to say bye to me. So precious. I don't remember how much I've written about their mom or family, but she is so sweet. She's this tiny little woman raising 5 of the rowdiest boys you'll ever meet, along with her daughter and grandaughter who she takes care of and another little boy whose parents passed away and had nowhere else to go. Talk about a full house. But she would always invite me over to their house, a little mud hut in the local village where we would all sit together in the dirt. The boys would have to translate if we wanted to say anything because she mostly just spoke Makua, so we mostly just laughed and watched the boys. She loves to laugh. Anyway, Mama Laucinda came to say goodbye and we all sat by the playground my last few minutes before it was time to go. I got to thank them for all their love and friendship and for what blessings they had been, and then I prayed over the family. We gave our final hugs with lots of tears. It was really beautiful, definitely a time I will never forget.
And now I am back home. It is so strange. In some ways it feels so normal to be back and in other ways it feels so so different. Everything is completely different from life in Africa. I am so thankful for all of your continued prayers and we readjust back into life at home. I really cant put into words how thankful I am for each one of you and every prayer you lifted up this summer. I know my time and experiences would not have been the same without your faithful prayer covering. I am so blessed by each of you. Thank you for your love and support.
Blessings,
Kelly
So I realize I haven't blogged in quite a while, there is so much to say. Since my last blog I have graduated from Harvest school, gone on my second bush outreach, had my hair braided by some Mozambican friends (only to end up looking like bob marley and have to immediately take them out, pictures to come), eaten my last bowl of rice and beans for a long time, had tonsilitis, given out about 300 dum dums, taken countless photos, played on the beach, celebrated heidi baker's 50th birthday, and sung lots and lots of Makua songs...
We left Iris Wednesday afternoon, which was hard, but we just keep remembering that we are moving forward into something new and not just leaving something behind. God has so much more in store for the future and I am excited to see what it holds. I am so so thankful for the summer and all the experiences God has given me. He has been so faithful to fill me with so much joy since leaving. Chelsey and I would just sit on the plane and crack jokes about all the hilarious and amazing memories we had made, with children and new friends and each other. I really am just ready to burst and tell you so many stories... most of them having to do with my mozambican brothers, you'll probably be sick of hearing about them within a few days :) Let me see if I can't load a few pictures...
Asam aka Monkey
Focas 
CarlituThe hardest part about leaving was of course saying bye to my boys. The 3 days prior to leaving I had to fight back tears just about any time we were all together. But we had such a sweet, sweet time in our last days. I took them to town and let them each pick out one new outfit, because they had literally worn the same on outfit every day all summer. So they picked out these really cute matching shorts and t-shirts... after much deliberation. They had a great time deciding what to get. But then we came back to Iris and they put on their new clothes and we had a photo shoot, and I'm telling you, they are the most beautiful boys in Pemba. They were so happy and having a blast snapping photos. I will have to find a way to load some on here... Then Focas made a slingshot for Tommy and Carlitu wanted me to take his only other shirt back to the states to give to Tommy. I'm telling you, these boys about broke my heart with their kindness in the last few days. Focas had been given some money by one of the other missionaries and he used it to buy me a beautiful necklace and then he kept wanting to buy me snacks and drinks with what he had left over. It was unreal. With the little that thier family had, in the last days they wanted to pour it all out on me. So beautiful. What an amazing picture of the body of Christ and what it looks like to love.
So on the day we left for the airport, the boys showed up at Iris at 7:30am and we spent the whole day together before I had to leave at 11 to head to the airport. First we sat and talked/cried together. I told them about what a blessing they had been to me and how I know God has a huge calling on each of their lives. They just sat and listened and cried as I shared with them more about how much God loves them as his sons. It was a really precious memory. Then we dedided to stop being sad and go have some fun so we went to the beach for a walk and played around by the pier for a while. Then we headed back to base so I could finish packing my bag and see their mom and littlest brother who had come to say bye to me. So precious. I don't remember how much I've written about their mom or family, but she is so sweet. She's this tiny little woman raising 5 of the rowdiest boys you'll ever meet, along with her daughter and grandaughter who she takes care of and another little boy whose parents passed away and had nowhere else to go. Talk about a full house. But she would always invite me over to their house, a little mud hut in the local village where we would all sit together in the dirt. The boys would have to translate if we wanted to say anything because she mostly just spoke Makua, so we mostly just laughed and watched the boys. She loves to laugh. Anyway, Mama Laucinda came to say goodbye and we all sat by the playground my last few minutes before it was time to go. I got to thank them for all their love and friendship and for what blessings they had been, and then I prayed over the family. We gave our final hugs with lots of tears. It was really beautiful, definitely a time I will never forget.
And now I am back home. It is so strange. In some ways it feels so normal to be back and in other ways it feels so so different. Everything is completely different from life in Africa. I am so thankful for all of your continued prayers and we readjust back into life at home. I really cant put into words how thankful I am for each one of you and every prayer you lifted up this summer. I know my time and experiences would not have been the same without your faithful prayer covering. I am so blessed by each of you. Thank you for your love and support.
Blessings,
Kelly
Friday, July 24, 2009
Sorry for the delay...
Hey everybody!
I hope you are all doing well. I’m sorry I feel like I haven’t updated this blog in ages. Things have been so busy and the internet is such a hassle sometimes. Sorry if my communication has been lacking. It really is so slow and difficult to use the internet that if usually just frustrates me, just at the thought of it, so I haven’t been very consistent in emailing or blogging. I hope you know I still love and think about you every day.
Things have been great here. The team from Knoxville arrived last Friday & it was such a blessing to see them! So good to see familiar faces, and to have some dark chocolate brought all the way from the states. Hallelujah! The Knoxville team is on outreach right now, along with Chelsey and her team, so you can be sure to be praying for their time in the village, I’m sure it will be incredible.
It’s crazy to think we only have 2 weeks of school left here. We officially graduate 2 weeks from today. Wow. The time has really been flying by. It’s crazy to think I’ve spend 2 months in Mozambique. I do love it here. I feel so comfortable and familiar with the place and people now. It’s incredible.
Jesus is so good. I am learning so much about just resting in the Father’s love and letting Him take care of everything. He has shown me and taught me so much this summer…
Last night we had dinner with our Outreach team, which consists of about 10 Akunas (white people/mission students) and 12 or so of the Mozambican bible students. We had a good spaghetti dinner with pancakes for dessert. Such a treat! It was fun to hang out with the Mozambican men and hear some of their testimonies. It’s crazy the work that Jesus has done in their hearts, bringing them from such broken places into amazing men of God. Then today we were able to go into the villages around the base with our outreach team and pray for the people in the village. We basically just wander around going up to different houses where people are sitting outside and the Mozambican students tell them about Jesus and ask them if they want prayer. Today we prayed for a woman with a terrible toothache and after we prayed she was completely healed! Hallelujah! It was so amazing. It gave me such joy. To see the power and presence of God. The woman’s face lit up & she had a big smile. It was the first time I had seen any of the Mozambicans get excited to be healed. They usually just say they are better, but there is no change in their emotions, so its hard to know if anything really happened. Anyway, so she was healed & she ran over to get a friend of hers who told us she had some heart condition. So we prayed for her & she said she was a little bit better. So we prayed again & then the same thing happened, she lit up, big smile, and told us she was healed! Praise the Lord! It was so amazing. Such a good day. God is so big. He has totally shattered every box I had put Him in before coming to Mozambique. My mind is blown every day by new revelations of Him. I am excited to be coming home soon to share more and more of all the stories of the amazing works He has done, in and through me. So good.
Thank you for your continued prayers. They are so appreciated.
The boys are doing well. It was so neat when the Knoxville team got here and was able to meet the boys they had heard about through my blog and had been praying for. It was funny because the boys were not happy to hear I had friends from America coming because they thought it would mean less time with them, but after the Knoxville team took them out to lunch one day, they decided they were ok. Thank you so much for the prayers for the boys. Some days they wear me out. With requests and with their attitudes and their fighting, but they really give me so much joy. Everyone here tells me every day that they can’t believe I have the patience for them and tells me I have found the worst kids in Pemba. But they really are my joy. If a day goes by that I don’t see them, I feel like I’m missing something. I love my time with them. I love to love on them and receive love from them. A couple weeks ago as we were praying in church, Focas (the middle one) was holding my hand and walking around with me as I prayed over people. Then I just sat down and decided to pray over him and his brothers and I was just overcome with love for him. I just began to cry and cry. He looked at me and just laid down in my lap, letting me cry all over him. It is probably one of my most treasured memories from being here. God just revealed how much he loves those boys and how much he loves me and how much he loves each of His children. It is unreal. He loves so much it hurts. Ah God is so good. So anyway, I cannot wait to share pictures and stories and videos of the boys with you. (they LOVE taking my camera and making videos. Carlitus even made a special one for mom). The 2 older brothers keep asking if they can come home to America with me, they’ve even suggested just hiding in my luggage. I explained that security probably wouldn’t allow it. So funny. Please be praying for our hearts as time here wraps up. I am so thankful that the Lord promises to bring all works to completion, because I know He has started great works in these boys and I am certain that there is a big calling on their lives. It’s definitely going to be a struggle to have to say goodbye.
Thank you for your love and prayers. I am so looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks. I pray that God is doing amazing works in your life wherever you continue to be this summer.
Blessings,
Kelly
I hope you are all doing well. I’m sorry I feel like I haven’t updated this blog in ages. Things have been so busy and the internet is such a hassle sometimes. Sorry if my communication has been lacking. It really is so slow and difficult to use the internet that if usually just frustrates me, just at the thought of it, so I haven’t been very consistent in emailing or blogging. I hope you know I still love and think about you every day.
Things have been great here. The team from Knoxville arrived last Friday & it was such a blessing to see them! So good to see familiar faces, and to have some dark chocolate brought all the way from the states. Hallelujah! The Knoxville team is on outreach right now, along with Chelsey and her team, so you can be sure to be praying for their time in the village, I’m sure it will be incredible.
It’s crazy to think we only have 2 weeks of school left here. We officially graduate 2 weeks from today. Wow. The time has really been flying by. It’s crazy to think I’ve spend 2 months in Mozambique. I do love it here. I feel so comfortable and familiar with the place and people now. It’s incredible.
Jesus is so good. I am learning so much about just resting in the Father’s love and letting Him take care of everything. He has shown me and taught me so much this summer…
Last night we had dinner with our Outreach team, which consists of about 10 Akunas (white people/mission students) and 12 or so of the Mozambican bible students. We had a good spaghetti dinner with pancakes for dessert. Such a treat! It was fun to hang out with the Mozambican men and hear some of their testimonies. It’s crazy the work that Jesus has done in their hearts, bringing them from such broken places into amazing men of God. Then today we were able to go into the villages around the base with our outreach team and pray for the people in the village. We basically just wander around going up to different houses where people are sitting outside and the Mozambican students tell them about Jesus and ask them if they want prayer. Today we prayed for a woman with a terrible toothache and after we prayed she was completely healed! Hallelujah! It was so amazing. It gave me such joy. To see the power and presence of God. The woman’s face lit up & she had a big smile. It was the first time I had seen any of the Mozambicans get excited to be healed. They usually just say they are better, but there is no change in their emotions, so its hard to know if anything really happened. Anyway, so she was healed & she ran over to get a friend of hers who told us she had some heart condition. So we prayed for her & she said she was a little bit better. So we prayed again & then the same thing happened, she lit up, big smile, and told us she was healed! Praise the Lord! It was so amazing. Such a good day. God is so big. He has totally shattered every box I had put Him in before coming to Mozambique. My mind is blown every day by new revelations of Him. I am excited to be coming home soon to share more and more of all the stories of the amazing works He has done, in and through me. So good.
Thank you for your continued prayers. They are so appreciated.
The boys are doing well. It was so neat when the Knoxville team got here and was able to meet the boys they had heard about through my blog and had been praying for. It was funny because the boys were not happy to hear I had friends from America coming because they thought it would mean less time with them, but after the Knoxville team took them out to lunch one day, they decided they were ok. Thank you so much for the prayers for the boys. Some days they wear me out. With requests and with their attitudes and their fighting, but they really give me so much joy. Everyone here tells me every day that they can’t believe I have the patience for them and tells me I have found the worst kids in Pemba. But they really are my joy. If a day goes by that I don’t see them, I feel like I’m missing something. I love my time with them. I love to love on them and receive love from them. A couple weeks ago as we were praying in church, Focas (the middle one) was holding my hand and walking around with me as I prayed over people. Then I just sat down and decided to pray over him and his brothers and I was just overcome with love for him. I just began to cry and cry. He looked at me and just laid down in my lap, letting me cry all over him. It is probably one of my most treasured memories from being here. God just revealed how much he loves those boys and how much he loves me and how much he loves each of His children. It is unreal. He loves so much it hurts. Ah God is so good. So anyway, I cannot wait to share pictures and stories and videos of the boys with you. (they LOVE taking my camera and making videos. Carlitus even made a special one for mom). The 2 older brothers keep asking if they can come home to America with me, they’ve even suggested just hiding in my luggage. I explained that security probably wouldn’t allow it. So funny. Please be praying for our hearts as time here wraps up. I am so thankful that the Lord promises to bring all works to completion, because I know He has started great works in these boys and I am certain that there is a big calling on their lives. It’s definitely going to be a struggle to have to say goodbye.
Thank you for your love and prayers. I am so looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks. I pray that God is doing amazing works in your life wherever you continue to be this summer.
Blessings,
Kelly
Monday, July 13, 2009
the Joy of the Lord is Our Strength
:) Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouragement. Days are flying by. I cant believe more than half my time here has already gone by. SO much has happened and it has just been so glorious! The Lord is teaching me so much and I cannot wait to come home and share the love and stories with each of you.
I hope you are all doing well back home. I am super excited because the team from cedar springs is coming in on friday! hallelujah for familiar faces!
today we had a really good church service with the mozambicans and it was such a joy. i love worship here because it is such a full on experience. we dance and sing & there is such freedom. today one of the older widows pulled me around and we danced and then she led me on stage where we danced with many other kids and women. it was so much fun. i cant wait to share pictures. then there was a really amazing prayer time where the lord hit me again with his love. he is so good. so so good. i am just so thankful to be serving such and amazing god.
thank you for all the love and prayers. sorry for another disjointed blog. i never know how to gather my thoughts on these things and i feel so rushed with the mozambican internet... not to mention my 4 brothers are here with me learning to play pinball and solitaire... oh the joys of modern technology.
i love you all!
kelly
I hope you are all doing well back home. I am super excited because the team from cedar springs is coming in on friday! hallelujah for familiar faces!
today we had a really good church service with the mozambicans and it was such a joy. i love worship here because it is such a full on experience. we dance and sing & there is such freedom. today one of the older widows pulled me around and we danced and then she led me on stage where we danced with many other kids and women. it was so much fun. i cant wait to share pictures. then there was a really amazing prayer time where the lord hit me again with his love. he is so good. so so good. i am just so thankful to be serving such and amazing god.
thank you for all the love and prayers. sorry for another disjointed blog. i never know how to gather my thoughts on these things and i feel so rushed with the mozambican internet... not to mention my 4 brothers are here with me learning to play pinball and solitaire... oh the joys of modern technology.
i love you all!
kelly
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Love. and be loved.
Hello everyone! Happy 4th of July! I hope you all are having a spectacular weekend to celebrate the independence! It's kind of funny to celebrate here amongst several Brits...
I just got back from my first Outreach experience. I spent the past 3 days/2 nights camping out in a village here in Mozambique about 3 hours from us here in Pemba. It was an intense experience. My spirit is so tired. We went through the village praying for people and seeing healings and people come to Jesus. It was really incredible. There were so so many children. It was actually a little overwhelming... especially when I tried to start handing out stickers. But God was good. We showed the "jesus film" each night and watched and prayed and layed hands on people as they gave their lives to jesus. We saw miraculous healings. 2 deaf people regained their hearing. many stomachs and headaches were healed. it was really incredible. the power of god was definitely displayed.
one thing the lord really taught me today is the importance of loving and being loved. we are learning so much here that sometimes me head is just left spinning. sometimes i have to question what i am being taught because it is all so new & some of it is pretty far out there. but god is my teacher and he is good. but i just had a revelation today of the importance of being loved by god and then giving his love away. i think that is all we should be about. i cant do anything without his love. i dont want to learn how to heal or see miracles or do any of the crazy things they talk about hear if i am not doing it for the purpose of love. any encounter i have with him, i want to draw me closer into the heart of my Father, only so i can pour out that love to others. i dont just want some crazy experience that i can relate back to my friends and family who werent there to see it. i want to experience the love of god so that i can share it with others, so i can bring them joy and hope and healing.
some people are a lot easier to love. like the poor. i could sit with them and love on them all day. thats easy for me. but then when i had to pile into a truck with all my team members and i was tired and cramped in, it was harder for me to love them. but thats what i am called to. loving everyone. sometimes i really stuggle with loving those who are closest to me. so i just want to sne out my apologies and ask for your forgiveness when i do a horrible job of representing our Fathers love. I hope to learn more about his love this summer so i can come back and love those around me with a fuller heart. i am so thankful for all of the love you have each poured into me.
so right now i am just praying for more love encounters with the lord. i want to be so full of him and his love that it just oozes out of me and becomes easier and easier to love those around me. i want to see lives and hearts changed for the sake of love. thanks for joining with me in prayer.
thanks for reading. i hope you all are doing well back in the states or wherever you may be. i am so so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement. i'm praying that you all experience some amazing love encounters with the Father. i love you.
kelly
I just got back from my first Outreach experience. I spent the past 3 days/2 nights camping out in a village here in Mozambique about 3 hours from us here in Pemba. It was an intense experience. My spirit is so tired. We went through the village praying for people and seeing healings and people come to Jesus. It was really incredible. There were so so many children. It was actually a little overwhelming... especially when I tried to start handing out stickers. But God was good. We showed the "jesus film" each night and watched and prayed and layed hands on people as they gave their lives to jesus. We saw miraculous healings. 2 deaf people regained their hearing. many stomachs and headaches were healed. it was really incredible. the power of god was definitely displayed.
one thing the lord really taught me today is the importance of loving and being loved. we are learning so much here that sometimes me head is just left spinning. sometimes i have to question what i am being taught because it is all so new & some of it is pretty far out there. but god is my teacher and he is good. but i just had a revelation today of the importance of being loved by god and then giving his love away. i think that is all we should be about. i cant do anything without his love. i dont want to learn how to heal or see miracles or do any of the crazy things they talk about hear if i am not doing it for the purpose of love. any encounter i have with him, i want to draw me closer into the heart of my Father, only so i can pour out that love to others. i dont just want some crazy experience that i can relate back to my friends and family who werent there to see it. i want to experience the love of god so that i can share it with others, so i can bring them joy and hope and healing.
some people are a lot easier to love. like the poor. i could sit with them and love on them all day. thats easy for me. but then when i had to pile into a truck with all my team members and i was tired and cramped in, it was harder for me to love them. but thats what i am called to. loving everyone. sometimes i really stuggle with loving those who are closest to me. so i just want to sne out my apologies and ask for your forgiveness when i do a horrible job of representing our Fathers love. I hope to learn more about his love this summer so i can come back and love those around me with a fuller heart. i am so thankful for all of the love you have each poured into me.
so right now i am just praying for more love encounters with the lord. i want to be so full of him and his love that it just oozes out of me and becomes easier and easier to love those around me. i want to see lives and hearts changed for the sake of love. thanks for joining with me in prayer.
thanks for reading. i hope you all are doing well back in the states or wherever you may be. i am so so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement. i'm praying that you all experience some amazing love encounters with the Father. i love you.
kelly
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