One for the books...

What a day! What a gloriously hilarious day....

So I arrived at the Johannesburg airport at 7:45 this morning. My flight set to leave straight for Pemba at 11:10am. I take my time checking in, paying huge sums of excess baggage fees (oye), enjoying a nice breakfast, treating myself since it’s my last decent meal for a while (or so I think). I get to my gate around 9:40 (boarding is listed to begin at 10:25). My new friend Julie, also on staff for HS16, arrives and we sit and chat at our gate. Times goes by and we mention how we should be boarding by now. We look around, no one has moved, no sign has changed. Still at the right gate. No listed delays. Flight not listed as boarding.... More time goes by and I get a big antsy so I walk around trying to find an agent for our airline. There, of course, is no one to be found. So as we begin to walk from gate to gate asking where we can find a representative of our airline (keeping our gate in sight this entire time, still no activity) someone finally approaches us and informs us we have just missed our flight. 

Excuse me? We are so confused. Did the gate change? No. Did the flight leave out of this gate right here? Yes. When did it leave? Right on time; We opened the doors at 10:25. No, that is not possible, I looked at my watch at 10:29 and wondered aloud why there was no activity. We go back and forth for a while until she tells us to find someone else to talk to.

We are then sent on a goose chase around the airport to find our airline’s supervisor, who shows us no grace and assumes we are lying about having been at our gate because everyone else somehow made this (very sneaky) flight. (although there was one other man who somehow missed this mystery flight alongside us) This goes on for quite a while as we try to explain that it wasn’t our fault. We were where we were asked to be. We waited. We watched. There is no way this flight left without us knowing. Still no mercy. Our tickets have been forfeited. 

At this point I am so sad. I want to be in Pemba. I don’t want to pay another $500 for a 2 1/2 hour flight into Pemba. We are in the Johannesburg airport with no working phone numbers of anyone on this continent. We try emailing our few local contacts to see if there is anything that can be done to help. No response. And then we run out of our 30 minutes of complementary internet. 

So I take a minute. Be still. Listen to the Lord. (Yes it took me this long to get to this point...) But as I am still I am made aware that the last couple hours have consisted of me fighting to get my way to Pemba. I was frustrated. Disappointed. Confused. Sad. Anxious. So I laid all that at His feet and I apologized. I’m sorry for trying to take matters into my own hands. I’m sorry for wanting to be in Pemba more than I wanted to hear what You had to say about the situation. And I was still. And there was peace. And then things (slowly) began coming together. I got in touch with our one South African contact. He advised us to go to another airline and try for tickets later this week. After some hilarious moments back and forth at the ticket counter we were finally able to purchase the tickets. I was reminded that no money is ever my own, it is all a gift from heaven, for His glory. I have no right to lay claim on any of it. 

So then at this point everything is funny to me. Like how we had to go back and forth to the ticket counter because our tickets had to be paid in cash, not American dollars but Rand... So we had to go to the ATM. Which was hesitant to give us money. But then they didn’t have change at the ticket counter. So we had to wander around asking for someone for change for a 50 because we owed them 38R and only had 28R (meaning, we were short less than 2 dollars and no one would help us out!) I spent so much of the afternoon just laughing at our unreal circumstances. I have been in the airport for 9 hours. I have seen every inch of the airport. I have pushed around my tremendously heavy (by my own doing) bags. (Which, by the way, the original airlines had time to find and offload our bags from our flight before letting us know we had missed the plane... so bizarre).

So, all that to say, by the grace of God I am now heading to Pemba Friday morning :) I am going to enjoy a day’s rest in South Africa with Julie. I am going to continue laughing at what happened. And I am going to continue looking expectantly for what He has in store next. 

I am thankful that in all time, places, and circumstances He is sovereign and He is good. I am thankful for His hand of protection and provision. I am thankful for his joy and laughter. I am thankful for the reminder to be still and Listen. I am thankful that even if the plane heads on to Pemba, His presence stays with me.

Hallelujah. What a day.

Thanks for the prayers and the love.

May you be continually blessed by revelations of His goodness towards you in ALL things.

Kelly

The Adventure Continues

It’s 3:30am here in Johannesburg, South Africa and I am lying awake in bed praising God for His goodness and faithfulness. I am overwhelmed by His unchanging love and faithfulness. In just a few short hours He is returning me to a place and a people my heart has so fallen in love with. 

Thank you all for your prayers and devotion over the last months. I have felt the Lord’s hand of protection and provision over me as I have prepared to return to Mozambique. Everything came smoothly and easily- visas, finances, flight arrangements. I am still in awe of the ease of everything. I know it comes as the result of prayers and the decision to abide in Him and allow Him to handle every detail. As we rest in Him He cares for our every need. Thank you God.

I also want to thank each of you for your support and prayers as I had my surgery in March. I should have posted sooner- but everything went wonderfully. It was really easy and all the test results came back negative for cancer. Hallelujah! As I went and visited the doctor just last week he informed me that my thyroid levels were perfectly normal (even though I only have half a thyroid left in my body) and so PRAISE JESUS I don’t have to even take any supplements. God is so good and He cares for our bodies perfectly. Thank you for all the prayers and love sent up on my behalf.

I am so eager and expectant for this next season. I am so honored to be able to continue loving and serving my God in a place that is so dear to my heart. I am looking forward to meeting up with new and old friends tomorrow and in the next days as the rest of the school staff continue to arrive. I am eager to meet the new sisters I will have in my house to love and care for. My heart jumps at the thought of seeing my Mozambican family again. 

As I step back into the Pemba dirt I am so so very thankful for your prayers-

prayers for wisdom as I love on and minister to the new students (297 in counting for this next school)

prayers for my family and my heart as we adjust to being apart again

prayers as I and the other 37 staff finish up all the preparation for the upcoming school- construction of new houses and beds, provision of supplies for each house, preparation in our hearts for all that is in store, openness to hear what the Lord is saying about this next school

Thank you all for your love. I have been overwhelmed, yet again, by everyone’s encouraging words and prayers over the last months. I am so blessed by His body here on earth. I pray you would each know the power of your willingness to be obedient to Him in all that you say and do, and that you would receive all the blessings and benefits of your obedience.

So much love to you all. Many blessings. May the Lord continue to reveal Himself and His heart to each of us. That is my one desire. To know Him more, to hear His voice and to follow wherever it beckons. May we all be strengthened with His power, with His love, and with His joy. 

Kelly

A Much Overdue Update

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.

Merry Pemba Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you are all well. I am so happy to be writing on this beautiful Pemba Christmas Eve. The last days and weeks have been so rich with so many sweet blessings from Jesus.

I just returned from 10 days in the BushBush with my amazing team of Harvest students and Mozambican bible students. It was wonderful. We had the best time- so much fun and laughter and joy. We got to share the Good News of Jesus in several different villages and see so many people decide they want to follow Him. Every person who asked me for prayer was healed by sweet Jesus- headaches, pain in knees, stomach aches, all sorts of pains- touched by the love of our sweet savior. It was so beautiful. Thank you Jesus for your kindness and faithfulness.

The last few days here in Pemba have been packed with Christmas preparation and school clean up. It’s been so fun and so different to have a small team of only about 40 of us remaining Harvest schoolers around. Tonight we had our Christmas Eve celebration with all the Iris kids. We watched as students performed a wonderful nativity play, we sang songs, and we had holy chaos as each child was given a lit candle to hold. It turned into a game of who could blow out everyone else's candle quite quickly. Heidi and I had a good laugh as some students sang Silent Night while everyone was running around yelling and blowing out each others candles. Holy chaos at it’s finest. I love the way things happen here. Tomorrow we will feed about 5,000 people for Christmas day, hallelujah! What a beautiful, hot, busy Christmas!

Thank you for your continued prayers as time wraps up here in Pemba. It’s so strange to be away from home and family for the first time in the Christmas season, but it is very helpful to know I am right where Jesus wants me. Please keep me and my family in your prayers as the holidays continue.

I would also love your prayers as I begin the next step in this journey... I have exciting news to share... on my way home to America I will be making a stop over in India! :) Jesus started speaking to me about making plans to visit India after the school early in my time in Pemba and things are getting all arranged now. Please keep my in your prayers as I go to Joberg in the next week to get my visa and begin the journey. Thank you so much for your love and support. I am so blessed by my family and friends encouraging me as I go.

I can’t wait to share more stories soon about the wonderful work of Jesus. May you each be blessed with joy as you celebrate the birth of our beautiful Jesus. Thank you Lord for coming to this earth to make a way for me to enter into the Father’s arms. Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, love, love,
Kelly

Winding down, winding up :)

Hello beauties,

Wow it has been a long time since I have blogged. I am so very sorry for not keeping you all updated and in the know. Things have been so wildly busy.

School is now over. Wow. It's hard to believe. The first load of students went home today. Everything has been a whirlwind. We celebrated with lots of joy and singing and dancing at graduation yesterday. People were blessed with prayers and covering from Mama Aida, Papa Rolland, Pastor Supresa, Mel Tari and many others. We had a blast going around and blessing the students and commissioning them into their destinies. It's been an amazing honor to be among so many heros of the faith here. I am excited to see these students extend the glory of God into every corner of the earth. Hallelujah! Lord let your kingdom come!

In 2 days I head back into the Bush Bush :) This time for 10 days! Whewy! Leading a team of 30, about 15 Harvest Students & 15 Mozambican Missions students/pastors. We are going to have a blast! So thankful for your prayers for protection, health, and most importantly- the presence of God. May we do nothing apart from Him and His presence. May we listen to the sound of His voice telling us the ways in which to go. May we see his eyes in the eyes of the poor, lonely, lost and forgotten, May we see His spirit break through in love and in power. May we see the miraculous love of God manifest itself in joy. Please pray for energy and strength as I and the students are coming off of some pretty hectic schedules and ready to jump right in!

You all are so beautiful. Thank you for joining me in the adventures and endeavors the Lord sets before me. I cannot wait to sit with each of you and tell stories of what the Lord has done in and around me over the last months. He is beautiful beyond words.

Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. May you each be blessed with His goodness and kindness and mercies anew each day. Love to you!
Kelly

Updates from Outreach

(a post written on tuesday morning but unable to be uploaded til thursday night :) i love pemba)


Hello beautiful ones!

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of the day where you are. Here in Pemba it’s another perfect day- sunny, breezy and hot :) and I am sitting in my hammock enjoying a peaceful, quiet morning before heading to class to hear Heidi speak.

Thank you for your prayers for outreach. It was phenomenal. Absolutely amazing. We loaded up our truck of about 15 Harvest Students & 15 Mozambican Bible School students and rode about 2 1/2 hours away from base to a village to share the love of Jesus. We also brought along Jesus, Father God, and the Holy Spirit so everything ran smoothly :) He led us in exactly how to speak and minister. Our team worked so well together as we set up tents in the King of the Village’s yard. (Just a reminder that we in the Kingdom are all royalty :) We went over to a large field and showed the Jesus Film, danced, preached, gave testimony and prayed for people to receive Jesus and to be healed from all sorts of illnesses.

To be honest the first night was a little difficult for me because as we went into the crowds to pray swarms of kids were coming up & mocking. This is a village that has been visited by Iris before and has a church plant so they knew a little of what to expect. Kids were coming up pretending to need prayer for deaf ears when they really could hear fine. There was just a lot of ridicule coming from the children & it was really making me upset because I hated to see the name of Jesus being mocked. But we prayed for people and we saw God doing miraculous healings then we headed back to camp to sleep after a very long day.

The next morning I woke up and opened the bible to several passages where Jesus is talking about children. Jesus reminded me that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the children. He reminded me how much he loves the children. He reminded me that he said never to hinder a child from coming him. His heart is so beautiful. I repented for my frustrations with the kids from the night before and I asked God to give me new eyes.

So throughout the day of Friday I spent my time helping with the children’s ministry- seeing kids truly enter into worship and prayer and have fun learning about Jesus. We played games and laughed and sang and gave out food. It was beautiful.

That evening as I sat in the dirt about to go up to pray for the sick I sat with two beautiful girls I had met earlier (maybe about 6 & 8 in age). As I sat there they laid their hands on me and began to pray. It was so beautiful. I felt the Lord preparing me to go and minister. So as I went out into the crowd I brought those 2 beautiful princesses with me & had then lay hands on everyone with me & pray with me. And guess what- the Kingdom came! Because it belongs to the children! We saw a woman with a hurt knee be healed, we saw headaches disappear, we saw a woman with pain in her elbow & knee be healed, we saw a man who couldn’t lift his arm because it was in so much pain raise his hand and thank Jesus for his healing! Others on the team saw deaf ears open up, dizziness disappear, we prayed for men to be set free of alcoholism. It was altogether beautiful. I just keep praising and thanking Jesus for letting me be a part of something so incredibly majestic. God is good.

So thank you for your prayers. Thank you for sowing into the kingdom.

I’m working on catching up on rest & enjoying all the goodness He has for me here each day. Each day is so full- full of His love and mercies and kindness and joy. Yesterday I got to treat my family of boys and their mom to a lunch of chicken and fries at Iris’ restaurant. Whew you should have seen their smiles. It was wonderful. We had a great time laughing & fellowshipping. They are a beautiful family. Thank you for your continued prayers for them. Yesterday their Mama and I had a really sweet time in church worshipping and praying & weeping together. I love that God’s Spirit works and moves through us even when we are unable to communicate. He still knows the cries of our hearts and he is able to minister despite and language barriers. Hallelujah.

Ok. I have a million other stories of how wonderfully glorious and faithful Jesus has been but I am going to sign out for now. I pray you each are enjoying the beauty of where you are. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to build relationships with the students here in the school.

Sending you lots and lots of LOVE!
Kelly

Enjoying the Beauty

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