A Day in the Village; A Lifetime in the Heart

The heat has been tremendous the past few weeks. The rains are about to begin. We have been anticipating the arrival of Debra and Sy from Orlando (Debra is from my home church, Christ Church of Orlando).  They emailed us asking if we happen to live anywhere near where they would be traveling to throughout Africa.  As it just so happened, they are actually arriving in Livingstone!  They are coming to Africa for the very first time and it has been a lifelong dream of Debra, a dream since she has been a little girl. I am excited to have the privilege to show them a glimpse of this part of the world and share with her a tiny part of that dream…

We visited a village called Simonga.  The population is about 3,000, a rather large village.  This is the only village in Zambia run by a female Chief.  Her name is Elizabeth; she had won Miss Zambia back in 1970! We had the honor to meet with her on her porch as she educated us about her village and the local customs.  She stands firm in female education requiring all of the village girls to attend school, unlike most villages.  A statue of a woman stands at the entrance of the school to remind the village of this decree.

Her grandson took us on a tour throughout the village so we could see the actual lifestyle of the people of this area.  Everyone greeted us with warm smiles, laughter, and a surprised shout of “makuwa” (white person) as we walked by.  We arrived at the school and met the head teacher who took us into one of the classes.  The children sang Jesus songs for us as Debra and Sy handed out notebooks and pencils.  They rely completely on funding and donations to function at this school so they were all very grateful to receive. We moved on through the  village and the children began to gather.  We gave out sweets to the children who started to mob us in droves.  It was a fantastic day in the village!

Afterwards I drove them past one of the orphanages I work with called Ebenezer. They had brought us a huge suitcase full of things for the children (thank you Debra, Sy, Carolyn, & the lady in Debra’s apartment complex), including about a hundred pair of children’s underwear that is much needed.  I will be delivering all of it to them for Christmas this year.  We are very thankful, it will be joyously received!

It was sad to see them leave our little part of the world. But I rejoice in the miracle it was that the Lord happened to organize for them to visit us, out of all the places in Africa, right here in Livingstone.  They are off now to enjoy the rest of the beautiful continent of Africa and Heiko and I pray they return one day soon.  If not, we trust their lives have been touched, their eyes have been transformed, and most importantly, their hearts have felt the Father’s love through the eyes of every child in the village; for it is that same love that reflects in our hearts and helps us to fulfill each one of our dreams…

 

 

   

Orphan Safari

 

25 orphans.  Two safari trucks.  And me.

Here we are…in the middle of the bush.  Elephants on the left, buffalos on the right.   I am overjoyed about the amazement in the orphans’ faces.  They have lived here all their lives and have never seen big game in the wild.  Their joy and laughter fills my heart.  I am so thankful that God works in so many different ways through me, including this privilege of taking these orphans to experience God’s beautiful creation while embracing His grace.

Our local church here, New Life for all Nations, supports 40 city orphans.   An orphan means that they have either one parent or no parents, due to early death caused by AIDS, Malaria, or some common sickness that went untreated.  There are so many children orphaned they often become burdensome and neglected. 

In Livingstone it is sadly known that neglected orphans sell themselves to anyone willing to give them some food to eat, as little as six years old.  Prostitution is common here; it ibecomes a way of survival.  Abuse is also common for these children as well as being forced into child labor so the relatives caring for them can supply their drinking habit.  It is a harsh reality and when you look at the vastness of such despair you think to yourself how can anyone ever make a difference?
Then comes the answer whispered gently into my ear… only Jesus can!

I had the privilege to be asked by the church to singlehandedly chaperone 25 blessed orphans taken care of by our church, ages 2-15, on a safari through the Livingstone Game Reserve sponsored by our church and a local tour operator called Bushtracks.  They had donated the use of two of their vehicles, two tour drivers and a box of soda for an afternoon safari adventure for these vulnerable children.  This was an exciting day!  The children praised God for all of creation and the angels smiled down upon them as they could be carefree children for a few hours and completely consumed with the vastness of the glory of God.

Disciple the Nations Zambia

Teach them the Way they should go…

 

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” And the Lord commanded us to go into all the earth and teach them the way they should go… Matthew 28:19-20

Here we are Heiko and I, living in the middle of Africa, a dream from childhood now realized by both of us. This place is addictive. Come only once and you will be gloriously ruined forever. You will dream for this place as if all of creation began here and you long to return back to the beginning.

At the same time we are surrounded by poverty, starvation, sickness, disease, hopelessness, ancestral worship of other gods, witchcraft, and multitudes of every form of total deception. It reminds us daily, very boldly, how blessed we are to know the truth and to be set free. To experience this kind of life around us and to sit in the dirt with those in it, is worth more than all the gold in the world. We are honored to hold the key that unlocks all bondages for every person’s prison, every circumstance, and every lie of the enemy. It is our blessed responsibility to give the key to all people that the Lord places in front of us. For Heiko and me they happen to be just outside of our gate. During the week we lead the poverty stricken, hungry, orphaned young men and women who have been held captive by the lies’ of the enemy into our home and we feed them and disciple them in love and in truth.

Right now we have 8 disciples. Aka, is a young man searching for a purpose and hope after an accident that left him paraplegic. His little brother joins us now too. Kefas, is young man living in a shack, with several small siblings, and no clothes but those on his back. John is living with his sister and with a serious drinking problem that is destroying his life. Nasilele, a young man searching desperately for the truth as he raises his 2 year old daughter. There is Cleopatra, the girl that works at the photo copy shop where I print my disciple teachings, she reads every word asking each week for more.  Unike is our house keeper; she is a single mom and daughter to an Episcopal Pastor, on fire for the Lord.  Then there is Peter our gardener, father of 6 and caretaker of his wife, her sister, and the sisters 5 children, and his mother.

Each week they come hungry for the word. Each week they are set free more and more. They’re stories and testimonies minister to us as we minister to them.

Here is Aka’s testimony, may you be blessed!

Aka is our adopted brother and is very special to us. He has found new hope since becoming paraplegic. Daily he comes to our home where we assist him with physical therapy. He designed a standing device which allows blood to circulate into his dead limbs.  He is constantly doing research on the internet at our home for new surgical procedures that may help him walk one day as well as praying for God’s healing to manifest in him.

 
WHO I AM

I am Kapelwa Akatumwa, Zambian born on the 22 of November 1982 from the family of four, two guys and two ladies. We just lived as a family under one shelter for short. This is because my father died, when I was 1year 8months and my grandparents took me from my mum, who died four year later. For this reason I never called any person father, and never had chance to enjoy motherly love. For my sisters and brother, each one was taken by other relatives.

MY EDUCATION

I did my junior and senior secondary under hardships for this my grades were not good to get me a place into university, but managed to go college, and did a certificate in accounting, I would like to finish the accounting course for me to get a better job or if I can have an outer native of keeping myself such as having a employment or running a business. But talking of employment, it’s not that easy because employers would prefer physically able boded persons to disabled person (like me) which is African way. Being a determined person as I am, I would have made it. But as the common saying goes “the dog plan is not the owner’s plan”

In the year 2005 applied to join Zambia police and was accepted. The training was to start month end of December 2005, in the same month I got involved in the road traffic accident in which I suffered series of injuries including spinal cord injury, therefore partial paralysis and now wheelchair based.

AFTER THE ACCIDENT

The accident happened at a place which is away from my home town.  We were four of us in the car and only I had serious injuries, such that I was half dead.  I was taken to the nearby hospital where, I spent 7 days in coma with just a friend taking care of me. We had nothing on us since the local people got away with all our belonging which is a common trend in my country, whenever an accident occurs. After which I was transferred to the bigger hospital. During all this time my relatives did not know what had happened to me or where I was.

It was only the time when I reach at the bigger hospital that I was able to open my eyes, talk and hear. This was the time I was told of what had happened.

From 8^th December 2005, I have been the hospital boy up to beginning September 2007. I was in the hospital for such a long time partly because of the pressure sores and partly because my family members didn’t want to take up on the responsibility of patient (pressure sores) and physically disabled person.

When I come out off the hospital my aunt (my father’s young sister) put me in her servant’s quarters, where I live up to this time. Thanks to her I’m out of the hospital.

LIFE IN THE WHEELCHAIR.

During the time I was in the hospital, my relationship with God was not good at all as I couldn’t understand what I was going through and I realy had many questions, like where is God to let me go through this alone, why did it happened to me and why me only since we where four of us in the that car.

During this time, I never wanted any one to tell me that ‘God loves me, that why he saved me from that accident’.

To me death was going to be better than life in the hospital. This was because:- I can no longer walk, I can’t be independent, as this is the time I was to be highly productive, and  lost most of my friends and  lost the employment opportunity.

MY COMING BACK TO GOD.

All this time many people talked to me about God, but I had made up my mind. But things changed when I met a friend called Heiko, who had time to listen to what had happened to me and then invited me to a live television church program. Then after he told me about the love for God, and two weeks later he took me with him for church service and from then I have been going with him to church with the difficulties of accessing places with the wheelchair, he has been there for me and shows me that, even if I am disabled some people still look at me as a person and I look at him as my real brother.        

 

 

Miracles of Healing

Easter Miracle

Victory! On Easter Sunday Jesus arose from the dead and showed the disciples that He had conquered.  He took upon all sickness, disease, suffering, poverty, and every other bondage, replacing it with complete freedom and eternal life. Later He ascended into heaven and sent His Holy Spirit to dwell inside every believer. This is the Spirit of God that breathed all life into existence. God spoke and created the heavens and the earth with the power of His word. His same Spirit and power lives in us and He even gave us a user manual to guide us along…

With that being said, it astonishes me how the enemy can trick us to believe we are still sick, weak and powerless prey. It happened to me.

Three months ago I was diagnosed with precancerous cells in my cervix along with discovering I had lumps in my breasts. I had even lost 15 pounds unexplainably over the past 6 months. Immediately the enemy went to work in my mind. I became depressed, the “what if” questions wouldn’t stop buzzing in my head, I felt hopeless and scared. It is probably one of the worst moments in a woman’s life to face. And here I was in the middle of Africa facing it.

Medical care in a third world country is not an option one wants for a condition as this. Heiko and I prayed as I went through the daily emotions of the unknown. We researched doctors who wanted to fly me into the nearest country with surgical facilities and cut into me and test what they found and send me on my way in a matter of days. That is just how things are done in this part of the world where care is limited to what is available. You must take what you can get here. With limited health insurance in Africa I was stuck to options here, so all the missionaries in town and my church and family back home began to pray for me.

On Easter Sunday Heiko began to pray for me. I closed my eyes and asked Jesus why this had to happen to me. I suddenly had a vision. I saw Jesus put His hand on my stomach and a beautiful warm light flooded my body. He spoke to me and said, “My daughter your faith has healed you.” I woke up from the vision and could not move. I remember thinking, my faith? I have doubted for two months in despair. Then the Lord reminded me, it was by faith that I received Him and through Him I received His Spirit, the same spirit that breathed life into existence. And within me all sickness was already conquered on the cross. All I need to do is receive what is already given to me, within me and speak the power of the word over me. 
I Am already healed!

That week I was so excited I went around testifying to all the missionaries and friends that I AM healed! I could not wait to go to a doctor for confirmation. Within days I began to feel better and gain some weight. I spoke the power of the truth over myself that I AM healed, Christ did it all! I miraculously stumbled upon a breast surgeon in South Africa who won woman of the year for her contributions to breast cancer awareness and new medical discoveries. She had opened three breast clinics in SA and worked 6 days a week 8am-8pm dedicated to her patients. I phoned her private practice and she said she could get me in. Even more of a miracle, my Insurance approved it! Within one week Heiko and I were on a plane and excited for the good news to come.

It was the best trip ever! South Africa is not known for its safety, but the area we were in was beautiful. The hotel was good, friendly, and in a blocks distance drive to the hospital. The Hospital was better than I had ever imagined for Africa! The care of the doctors was tremendous and compassionate; I wasn’t just another patient taking up time. I told the doctor I was there to confirm the Lord had healed me. She said praise the Lord and did her exam. She scheduled me for 3 doctors, an ultrasound and lab work all in 3 days. Each doctor was wonderful to me and at the end of it all I was diagnosed without any cutting and with NO cancer anywhere!!! Even the cancer cells in my cervix were completely gone!!!

We arrived home like two kids in a candy store. We were so excited to confirm to everyone the too good to be true news! It was like we had a new beginning again and the enemy had been reminded he was already defeated by the beautiful resurrection power of Christ! Praise God for His mighty love and power that lives in us!

May each of you be encouraged to begin claiming what is yours in Christ Jesus. Begin declaring and speaking it over yourself daily until you see it manifest. We have the same spirit living in us that spoke all of creation into existence. We must have faith in the word and speak life and the promises of God over ourselves, especially when the enemy tries to deceive us with despair. We must use this power given to us by our heavenly Father so the enemy can be reminded he has already been defeated and has no power over us anymore. Stand strong fellow warriors of light and speak the living word into being and watch as the Lord prepares the way to your victory…

Hope Multiplied By 15…………………………Window Into Africa 2008!

 Greetings from Zambia!!!

In a time like today people all around the world are faced with the question, “will I still have enough?”…

Can you imagine standing in front of completely empty shelves at the grocery store??

That’s what is happening here right now..

The cost of the remaining food is sky rocketing and there are numerous Zimbabweans lining up at our grocery stores buying out entire shelves of food because they don’t have any food or clean water in their country, just trying to survive.  Meanwhile here all major income sectors, mining, hunting, and tourism have decreased dramatically causing businesses to close daily.  While employed, one employee’s income feeds a total of 15 people in their extended family, now he needs hope multiplied by 15!

 More than ever people need the too-good-to-be-true news of the gospel!  

In times like this we have to keep the eyes of our hearts focused on the finished work of Cross, remembering that we are Christ’s hands and feet that He sent to reach out to those who are in need.    

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’… “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’   Matthew 25:35-36 & 40

We are prayerfully thankful for all of the supporters back in the states who faithfully give offerings to us monthly.  Your faithfulness allows us to continue to spread the gospel here in Zambia and bring hope in a time when it is needed more than ever!

Here is the link to my 2008 Window Into Africa photo gallery. May you be abundantly blessed as you view the lives you helped us to reach in 2008 with your prayers, financial support, and faithfulness: 

Window Into Africa 2008

God Bless,

Heiko & Anita In Africa

 

Season Greetings from Heiko & Anita in Africa!

Merry Christmas from Zambia!

Love,
Heiko & Anita

Angels In Flight
By Heiko Held

I bank the little aircraft, flying once again in a right turn over the mighty Victoria falls.

The power of the falling water below us, rising in a thick cloud of smoke,
crowned by a colourful rainbow..

Sharon, my passenger, overwhelmed by the indescribable beauty, gasps in excitement.

She is an elderly Canadian, dreamt all her life of only once seeing the Victoria falls and now she is flying in this open Mircolight right above her dream…

I smile, and ask her – like I do with all of my passengers:
 ‘Please, try to describe the Falls…’

‘Beautiful, marvellous, pretty, fantastic, wonderful, incredible…’

are the common answers of my passengers, usually followed by a silence – realising –  that these are somehow not the appropriate words to truly describe this glorious beauty…

And then they start wondering how could it be possible… that there is this place,

called the Victoria Falls  – right below us now -  which has a beauty their eyes are perceiving but yet are not able to translate it into appropriate words..?

Smiling, that maybe the reason that we ourselves ranked it as a natural wonder..?

As in the Oxford Dictionary ‘a wonder’ is described as something marvellous with perplexed (!) astonishment..

Perplexed.

Wondering..? well, one man had an appropriate description in his heart already 153 years ago: David Livingstone sailed down the Zambezi river, in a little dugout canoe, landed on the famous island, right on the edge of the Victoria Falls, where he then stated:

‘Scenes so beautiful like this must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight..’

He compared it to something spiritual, something greater, something divine,

something out of heaven.

Had David Livingstone ever seen an angel..? Have you?

What do angels look like… we imagine them beautiful, with a long white dress, and white wings, indescribable?  yet surely beautiful…

What then do  flying angels look like??

More beautiful than the ones on the ground? Must be. Even more beautiful..??

Do they look like rays of white light -
  surrounded by rainbows around the centre of the source of the light..?

What thoughts or feelings rise within us?

Are they… childlike, trusting, knowing, and compassionate…

What do the flying angels look down upon, at what do they gaze upon??

At the same indescribable beauty – right beneath us now!! –

…and what do we feel, looking down like him???

Is it like an elegant delightful and overwhelming feeling of beauty,

dwelling from the inside of us?

A feeling of humble devotion to something greater, something indescribable,

a feeling of contentment, a comfort of just being,

which fills our hearts overflowing with joy and peace – unspeakable and full of glory–

like the love of God.

Once I had a very special passenger: Josef, a blind boy from Soweto in South Africa.

 As we fly over the Falls, he could describe the beauty with words out of his spirit, because he could see with the eyes of his heart… 

 I pray that the eyes of our hearts and understanding being opened to Gods beautiful creation and salvation.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

“Glory to God in the Highest, and peace on earth to all men whom God is well pleased.”  Luke 2:14

How Great Is The Love The Father Has Lavished On Us…1 John 3:1

Heiko Oliver Held & Anita Marie Phelps
Married on 26^th of November, 2008
Livingstone Island, Zambia

 

How do you explain?

How do you describe?

A love that goes from east to west

And runs as deep as it is wide?

 

You know all our hopes.

Lord you know all our fears.

And words can not express the love we feel,

But we long for you…to hear.

 

So listen to our hearts

And hear our spirits sing.

A song of praise

From those you have redeemed.

 

We will use the words we know

To tell you what an awesome God you are.

But words are not enough

To tell you of our love.

So listen to our hearts…

 

If words can fall like rain

From these lips of mine.

If I have a thousand years

I will still run out of time

 

So if You listen to my heart,

Every beat will say,

Thank you for the life,

Thank you for the truth,

Thank you for the way.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 
The Kiss
 By Heiko Oliver Held

My whole world is reduced to one kiss…
I am kissing the bride.

I have only one sense remaining – the glorious feeling – of her lips on mine,

soft, very gentle, yet demanding, hoping.

 

The darkness behind my closed eyes is complete. Only feeling remains. Her body close to mine, her arms around me.

We are holding on to each other tight – very close from the edge where the Zambezi river usually drops with great thunder into the Batoka gorge.

 

We are on Livingstone Island, called so in honour of his name, yet no water surrounding it now in this November.

Eleven days (and 103 years..) later after David Livingstone arrived and spoke his magnificent words:  “.. as beautiful as flying angels, looking into heaven.”

I truly am  - right now in heaven here on earth.

Because my whole world is reduced to: The only sensual feeling of this kiss.

Time fades, nothing else matters. My being, my whole self is reduced to – nothing.

Just then my bride hears Gods voice in her heart, saying “everything!” , and all I feel is her lips gently removing from mine, uttering softly only one word: “everything”.

 

And in my rejoicing heart the eternal equation of life unfolds:

 

Jesus plus my nothing equals everything!

 

 

Wedding Day Video coming soon!

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Taken up to Heaven

Hear the voice of the Father… don’t let anything hold you back…Father… He is calling you…come up here, come up now…my Beloved. (These are the words of a song by Jason Upton…they ushered me in to the presence…)

 

I heard Jesus speak to me, “ Our Father has created you for me.  You must give yourself to me wholeheartedly. As my Bride, the one I love so much.  I am so in love with you, passionately, intimately.  You are my chosen one.  I have chosen you to be my Bride out of all the Princesses.  I have chosen you to be my Bride, My One, My Chosen.  I am so madly in love with you, you are all I can see, and you are the most beautiful.  I am your completeness, your full measure of Love filling you and over pouring, never ending.  You are my delight, my Queen, My one Holy passion that the Father has sealed with a Holy kiss.  You are My Pure Joy… My Reward for My faithfulness on the cross.  My Beloved.  So come up here to me My Bride, My lover of My soul, come up here to me and stand with me before the Father. Be bound to me for eternity as your Husband, your lover, your intimate passion and desire, your true provider, your all and all, your everything, your completeness in the Father.  You are My Beloved.  I have made you beautiful Forever.”

 

Then suddenly He took me up into the Heavens before the throne of the Father…I stood before him in a white flowing gown.  He was in a white fluid shirt and pants.  He wore a golden crown of garland.  He said, “ I have been waiting for you all your life.  I watched you from the beginning in your mother’s womb.  I took you into our secret garden when you were a child and I watched you grow.  I was there with you every second of your life.  You are so beautiful; you have always been so beautiful.  I have been so in love with you as I waited for you to grow.”  He placed a beautiful crown of white flowers intertwined with gold and green garland on my head.  “I have crowned you with beauty and splendor that can never fade.  I have crowned you beautiful… forever.  You have always been beautiful, you could never have been tarnished.”  He gently touched my face as I touched His and He kissed me on the forehead. My eyes gently closed to linger in that moment a little longer, to feel his Holy lips on my forehead.  I fall to my knees and He joins me, never for one second looking away.  “I have waited a long time for this moment,” says Jesus.  “I am with you always, I can never leave you.”  We stood up and He began to dance with me before the Father.  He said, “ I have placed all the desires in your heart in our secret place when you were a child.  I filled you with all of your hope and love.  You have been promised to me from the Father even before you were born.  I have loved you all along.  You are My Holy passion and one desire.  I love you my Beloved.”

 

 

I stood mesmerized before Him with the warmth of the Father looking upon us, filling us, overflowing.  “There have never been ashes, you have been beautiful to me all along.  This is all I could see when I look at you, from the beginning before you were born, through your youth, until now and for eternity.  I have loved you so much that love is all I could ever see in you.  There is nothing you could do or nothing you have already done that could change that, nothing.  Come up here so I can heal all the scars with my love.  I fill them all with my love that is never ending and flowing and pouring onto you whenever you need it.  I am your full measure, your completeness, and your wholeness.  I am right here by your side for all eternity My Beautiful, My Beloved,” says the Lord.  “You can always come up here, I will be anxiously waiting for you.”

“Walk With Me,” says Jesus

Revelation: Key to the Kingdom of Heaven

I was praising and worshiping the Lord early one morning in the prayer hut.  I was all alone basking in the glory of the sun shining through as I looked down over the base and further to the ocean.  The sun reflected onto the water like molten silver.  As I sang praises to the Lord the beauty magnified and it felt like the molten silver turned into a luxurious oil that was suddenly covering my body, filling me with the Love of the Father.  With my hands raised in praise I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Walk with me into the garden.”  In my spirit I could feel the presence of Jesus standing right next to me, His love radiating from Him onto me like the molten love of the sea.

 

We began to walk out of the prayer hut into the garden that was dry and brown.  We walked to a bench and He said to me, “Sit with me here.”  I sat down and tucked my knees into my chest and gently rocked side to side as if Jesus was holding me and rocking me back and forth like a small child.  I spoke to Jesus and asked Him why did everything have to be dead, why couldn’t we just be transported into the Garden of Eden right now?  He replied to me, “We are.  Just focus on all the life in front of you.”  Suddenly I began to notice all the small daisies hiding in the weeds.  The colors began to magnify.  In an instant small butterflies appeared and were fluttering about the flowers.  I had to touch a flower to believe what I was seeing and I reached down and put my finger on a petal and a small butterfly landed on my finger.  Amazed, I began to look all around.  All I could see were the trees and leaves that were alive, the flowers and vines that crawled through the dead grass and weeds, the flowers blooming amongst the thicket.  The colors…they were all magnified like glistening gemstones.  I sat there speechless, mesmerized at the beauty of God’s love like a firework display before my eyes. 

 

Then Jesus spoke to me.  He said, “You can always enter into the Kingdom any time you want to, all you have to do is focus on what is alive in front of you.  Death will always be all around, but if you can seek what is alive with life, then you will begin to witness the Kingdom of Heaven manifest here on earth.”

 

Then He spoke again and said, “Come walk with me.”  I got up and began to walk with Jesus back to the prayer hut where I first heard His voice.  We stood once again overlooking the ocean.  He said, “ This is just a glimpse of how wide and deep the Father’s love really is.  And He created it just for you.  Just focus on what is alive.”  And suddenly I stood there weeping and Jesus voice was gone, but the presence of the Fathers Love filled me to overflowing.

 

It was Sasha and my last day in Pemba.  We sat and began to journal and the Lord revealed to me that He had given me the answer to my second prayer that we had prayed together when we came here.  We had asked the Lord to show us how to access ALL of the Kingdom of Heaven while we were here on earth.  Suddenly the Lord spoke. He said, “Here is a key to the Kingdom of Heaven, you have been given full access with this key.” 

Then Jesus showed me that I must ask Holy Spirit to birth in my spirit Belief, of the unseen.  I must speak and declare the promises of God out over my life as if it were really in front of me.  In time and faith, belief will be become manifest into existence.  The more I focus on life and the light of things instead of death and darkness I will begin to see more and more of the light of the Kingdom and less of the darkness of the world. The Kingdom of Heaven will manifest before my eyes right here on earth.  Or I should say, the veil of this world will fade away and I will see with the true eyes of the Kingdom instead of the blind eyes of this world. I must just Believe and speak it out, declaring it over my life in Faith.

As I journey to my next divine destination I hold on tightly to this key.  The key to experience life in it’s abundance the way the Lord intended from the beginning.  My spirit is excited for the adventure and revelation ahead.  Thank you Lord for your unfailing love for me and never giving up on me.  Thank you that your love surpasses everything in my life and you bring everything to pass in it’s perfect time.  Thank you for such a time as this.  Here am I Lord, I am all yours!

 

 

 

Disciple The Nations (The Final Message)

A Double Portion of God’s Love Poured Out

It is our last night with the young men.  If you count Sasha, Virginia, a UK missionary and myself, then tonight Sasha’s wish of each of us having 12 disciples came to pass.  There were 24 of us this night.   I had miraculously managed to find them all a bible by tonight.  For the first time they all had one with their very own name written in it. 

 

I prayed and worshiped all day.  I wanted tonight to be really special for these guys.  I spent hours of my day baking a chocolate cake and I prepared cola flavored water.  But my heart was saddened.  I did not want this to be the last night.  I wanted to stay here forever and watch these young men continue to be transformed into men of God. 

 

This morning I had a vision of all of the guys singing and dancing.  That is my most favorite thing to experience in Africa.  To dance among the indigenous and listen to the power in their voices worshiping God.  It is a completely uninhibited sound and feeling of worship I have never experienced in America.  I must say this is one of the things that keep my soul longing to be in Africa. 

 

Last night after bible study I had to pull aside some of the problematic troublemakers, rebuke them and encourage them to walk in a righteous path.  I felt bad about it afterward, especially because this was not how I wanted to end my time here.  Then the Lord very sternly reminded me that He disciplines those He loves.  Then I felt peace about it.   My hope now was that they would still come to the final meeting and celebrate with us.

 

They did come and Sasha and I spoke to the group to encourage them all that God had a purpose and a plan for their lives and to never lose hope but keep their eyes set on Jesus; and dream Big.  Then we had prayer and shared the cake I made for them. 

 

We dished it out and there was a small piece left.  We handed the plate to the young man who had been stepping up in leadership.  All of the guys surrounded him and in a matter of seconds the plate that was once covered in a layer of frosting now looked like it had been washed clean.  Sasha and I stood in amazement and laughed.

 

We then all gathered in a circle and started to worship.  The guys took turns leading in song and dance and we all gathered in.  We had so much fun, I did not want it to stop.  I just imagine this is how worship is in Heaven and I could feel the Lord smile down on us from above. 

 

The night was coming to a close and Sasha and I stood in the middle of the circle as the guys prayed over us.  Afterwards we had to say goodbye to the guys.  The young man that was stepping into leadership asked us if we could tell the group he wanted to start assisting with the teaching.  A guy from the UK had arrived a few days earlier and said we could pass the torch off to him while he was here.  So we informed the group they would both be taking over the bible study group.  The guys started to oppose their peer but he stood firm and told me he would teach even if only one showed up.  I was very proud of him and I trust the UK missionary will teach him how to walk in the shoes of a leader through the Holy Spirit.  I can’t wait to find out what happens.

 

As I was about to say my last goodbyes I began to fight back the tears.  In that moment I said to the Lord, “Lord I would give up all my dreams, my desires, my life, joyfully, rejoicing, if only you would let me stay here and show your love to these young men so they can change this nation.”  That was the cry of my heart and I meant it with all my heart, my entire mind, and all my spirit.  I would give everything to stay here with them and pour out God’s love. 

 

Then the Lord spoke to me.  He reminded me that my prayer from before I arrived here was to experience a double portion of His Love.  He said, “This is My double portion, my pure heart, and I am pouring it out and giving it to you, this is what it feels like.  When you can lay down your life willingly with a joyful heart, mind and spirit, for the life of another.  This is my true heart and love and I am imparting it to you.  You will always know whom I have called you to by this outpouring of my love.  You will experience this with each one I send you to reach.  And you will impart my love to them through My Holy Spirit.” 

 

I was completely wrecked.  The pain I felt in my heart to leave these guys that I loved more than my own life…I just don’t have words to express what I felt in that moment, even now.  All I know is that I have been gloriously wrecked.  I am not the same person.  In an instant I am the remains of a person who has seen a glimpse of the Father.  My life will never again be my own.  I give it all to Him to do with as He pleases.  I will go anywhere and do anything He asks of me if only I can experience more of this flesh shattering love.  Everything else seems so meaningless.  Only His love has meaning.  Meaning that those who have had a glimpse of the Father can truly understand.

 

With His pure love the Heavens open up and the supernatural becomes the natural and the world as we know it slowly begins to fade into the landscape.  On earth as it is in Heaven becomes manifest where we can access it through the guidance of Holy Spirit.  My hunger and thirst has just become even more unquenchable.  Thank you Abba Father for your pure love, for drawing near to me as I draw near to you.  For answering my prayer and teaching me that your ways are so much higher than my own.  I will chase after you all the days of my life until I can finally be held in your arms. Nothing else matters more.  Here am I Lord, I am all yours, do with me, as you will.  Amen.

 

Tomorrow is my last day here before I journey to Zambia on my next mission.  I can feel in my spirit something powerful is going to happen tomorrow.  With a very humble heart and extreme anticipation I wait for tomorrow to come…for Holy Spirit to come and to answer my second prayer when I arrived here, that I may have the key to access the Kingdom of Heaven while I am here on earth…in faith I believe He will answer…so in anticipation I wait for tomorrow to come…

A very cool thing happened when we began these studies.

(Here is a passage from Sasha’s journal):

At the end of one of our teachings, we broke off into three small groups to pray.  One of the guys who is quiet and we don’t know too well yet, said that he had seen an Angel and had a message to share with us.  He spoke through a translator and said to Anita: “I saw an Angel stand before you and he looked into my eyes. As I looked into the angel’s eyes, the angel said to me: The Holy Spirit is with these girls.  God has given these white women the teachings in their hands. The angel instructed me that all of us guys should listen to what you have to say because He had given you the words to speak and poured into your hands all the teachings that you would impart to us.  The angel told me that the time is short so it is very important that we listen to all the words that you girls have to say because you will have to leave soon.”

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18).

Disciple The Nations (Part Three)

The Last Supper

It has been three weeks of bible studies.  Nightly the group grows.  Holy Spirit comes with Fire from Heaven and meets us in this place.  The other night Sasha led the study teaching about Communion.  Here is Sasha’s journal entry, enjoy:

 

We had fifteen guys in our discipleship group tonight, and seven visitors.  It’s awesome to see how the other visitors have taken an interest and are joining our Bible Study.  I love that this is such a move of God and it is greater than just Anita and I leading a Bible Study! 

 

Tonight, I taught on Communion from 1 Corinthians 11:23-32.  I talked about the Last Supper and how Jesus talked to his disciples about his sacrifice for us, and how much He loves us.  I also talked about the importance of confessing our sins, and God’s promise that He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:8-10). 

 

Afterward, we asked the guys to go off on their own and spend time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to examine their hearts.  Then they were to repent and receive forgiveness.  Once they were done praying, each guy came and took Communion from us.  It was really powerful.  All the guys took it seriously and prayed quietly.  In our communal prayer time at the end, various guys would take turns leading in prayer, and several of them were slain in the Spirit and one of them got baptized with Holy Spirit laughter! It was awesome. 

 

There were times when I was uncomfortable because the praying would get loud and in my mind somewhat obnoxious, but I was reminded that Holy Spirit was in control and who was I to say how He should manifest in another.  So I just surrendered to Him; I never want to put the Holy Spirit in a box or confine Him because I don’t want to miss out on the fullness of what He wants to do in my life. 

 

The prayer time turned into spontaneous worship, which was wonderful and powerful also.  Holy Spirit, thank You for being faithful in meeting with us.  I am so excited about the work You are doing in each of the guys.  I surrender to You and the will of the Father.  Amen

Disciple The Nations (Part Two)

 

Fire Fall Down

 

 

It’s our fifth discipleship group today and the group has grown to about 12 (I jokingly say to Sasha, we have the 12 disciples, and she replies, we need 12 more because there are two of us.).  I woke up today with an excitement in my spirit.  As I began to worship this morning I knew that I knew the Holy Spirit was about to do something amazing tonight in our group.  I worshiped all day in anticipation.

 

Yesterday our topic was baptism in the Holy Spirit.  We prayed with the young men to receive the Holy Spirit.  (This culture is very interesting.  I have been learning that the Western world gets very excited about miracles, signs and wonders.  While here in Africa when spiritual things happen it is so very matter of fact and it is nothing to get excited about). As we prayed fervently it seemed as though nothing was happening.  We kept praying for a long time until I said to one that I was praying with I would continue to pray for him and he should keep seeking until it happens.  About 5 minutes later this young man walked up to me very calmly and said he needed to tell me that he saw the Holy Spirit like fire underneath the Baobab tree and while we prayed it rushed across the garden and entered him and went into his heart and it felt like the hot burning fire entered his body.  He then very calmly walked away as if nothing happened. 

 

As I began to prepare for the topic of study tonight, Holy Spirit prompted me to teach on servant hood.  What it means to be a true servant of Christ.  I was given the scripture John 13 Jesus washes His disciples feet.   I had a vision as I prayed and saw all the young men washing each other’s feet.  I knew tonight was going to be powerful!

 

There have been many demonic attacks on our group, before during and after each session. Holy Spirit has been teaching me that we must stand in the authority given to us through Christ, this is a spiritual war we fight not an earthly one. So Sasha and I have been taking authority over the prayer hut prior to our sessions and praying in covering and peace and it has made all the difference.  This night there was a strong presence of peace throughout the prayer hut, as if we were somewhere else entirely.

 

Tonight I knew it was such an important night.  We prepared 4 basins of water and I placed them around the circular prayer hut.  I spoke to the guys about true servant hood and explained why Jesus washed His disciples feet and told us to do the same.  I asked them if in remembrance of Him and His command to serve one another if they would like to wash each others feet and to pray for one another while doing it.  At first they were a bit hesitant, a few of the problem guys in the group just sat there with their arms crossed and silent.  Then they all agreed.  I strategically paired them up so that the rivaling guys would wash each other’s feet.  As I assigned them to a basin they sheepishly walked over.  I did not know what to expect but what happened next I will never forget for the rest of my life.

 

The moment the guys put their feet in the water they began to pray fervently for one another.  As the other began to wash the feet, spontaneous prayer and worship broke out from the guys waiting their turn.  (Definitely not the usual goofing off that takes place any quiet chance that arises.)  The prayer was intense, so intense the guys were taking their time washing each other’s feet so they could soak in the presence of the Holy Spirit even longer.   Then the true worship began.  Some of the guys began walking around the prayer hut praying in tongues, praising the Lord, while other’s were slain in the Spirit on the ground hands up in worship.  Others would finish washing their feet and then grab their bibles and with an excitement they began to show whoever was sitting next to them a scripture they just stumbled upon and they intently began to read it together.  While yet others were flat on their faces and could not move. 

 

But the most powerful of all was when the peaceful silence of the prayer hut filled with spontaneous singing that would jump from one of the guys to the next and to the next.  I was filled so much with the presence of the Holy Spirit my legs went week and I fell to the ground laughing and in tears as the voices of these young men echoed like angels in heaven and I am convinced that is exactly what they sounded like. 

 

There was a young man there that the Lord told me we needed to lift up and encourage as a leader.  For the past several studies he had been stepping up and taking the lead with translating, praying for the others and giving messages.  Tonight he had helped me translate and during this whole event he laid hands and prayed for each of the guys as this all went on.  He was the only one who had not had his feet washed.  Holy Spirit prompted me to wash his feet.

 

I knelt down and began to wash his feet and the presence of the Lord was so strong I just started weeping and praying in tongues.  The young man began to be filled with the Holy Spirit and his body just jolted about.  Sasha saw me washing his feet and began to walk towards us to lay hands on him and pray.  She made it to only three feet from him and was slain to the ground in the Spirit.  The Lord showed me he would be the one that would lead these young men when we leave.  That he would equip and raise up his people to reach out into the nation.  

 

As I finished washing his feet and proceeded to walk away, I fell to the ground unable to move.  I couldn’t even speak as I realized I was watching the heavens open up right where we were and the lives of these young men being filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit.  Tears streamed down my face.  One right after the next, being slain in the Spirit, making heavenly melodies with their voices, devouring the word of God, and praying with all their hearts for one another.  It just wouldn’t stop.  It was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed in all my life.

 

This night I was gloriously wrecked.  We all were gloriously wrecked.  And we knew this was only a taste of what was yet to come.  It was just a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven…I hungered for more.  This was the night I began to pray to the Lord for a supernatural hunger and thirst that would be unquenchable, keeping me always longing for more, until the day I will actually see His face.  A new hunger had begun…

 

Disciple The Nations (Part One)

 

My prayer since before I arrived in Pemba was that the Lord would show me His heart and pour out His Love on me, a double portion.  My heart was seeking intimacy with the Lord before I left.  I did not know what to expect at Iris.  My desire was to just get closer into the presence of the Lord. 

My first week here I spent playing with children, worshiping with the Mozambiquans, feeding the village children.  As I drew closer into His presence, Abba Father drew closer to me too.  Holy Spirit taught me how to usher in the presence of the Lord through pure hungered worship.  My roommate Sasha and I pray together and His presence comes, Holy Spirit comes, Jesus comes.  In ways I have never imagined.  Some say there is an open heaven at the base.  I beleive there is a hunger at the base that ushers the presence of the Lord right into the midst of our worship.

It can be overwhelming here.  So much busyness, so many children conditioned to beg, lie and manipulate the visiting missionaries to get things from them.  They have been supplied all their needs at the base abundantly and yet the orphan spirit that consumes Africa still abounds in the minds of these little ones.  It can harden visitors hearts when they arrive and try to love on all these children that really only care if you give them something and when you don’t they have nothing to do with you.  It makes it hard to share the Love of Christ to those who would rather have an ipod.  But in it all Christ is so much bigger than the orphan spirit.

So my first week I spent seeking direction from the Holy Spirit.  I could either be very busy with doing many things with the children I think would be good or I could be guided by Holy Spirit to do the mission I was called here to do.  So I waited for my mission and it arrived. 

The second Sunday as I prayed Holy Spirit told me to go into the village to minister to the local community.  I asked a few of the Village boys that the base uses to translate for the missionaries if they would like to go with Sasha and I to assist us.  

We managed to gather 5 young men to come along.  As we headed into the village Holy Spirit told me to let the young men lead the ministry and Sasha and I should assist them with whatever they needed us to do.  I informed the young guys of this and they were very excited.  Normally they only translate and pray with the missionaries.  Now they were doing the ministry.  They took us to all of their families first to pray with them.  Then I encouraged them to go door to door.  They nervously approached people and began to share with them.  I quickly realized that these guys had no clue what they were doing.  They did not even know the story of Jesus for themselves.  Holy Spirit told me I needed to teach them so I began to show them how to minister from the bible and then I watched as they eagerly wanted to learn more.

That day marked the beginning of my mission at the base.  The Lord showed me I needed to teach and disciple these young men.  They were all saved, water baptised, had a testimony and been conditioned to be prayer warriors, but now it was time they had an intimate encounter with their Father.  

It is very taboo for single women to minister to young men in Africa.  Especially in Mozambique where sexual things are taught to children as young as 4 and encouraged throughout their youth.  It is a very permiscuous society.  I was a bit hesitant when Holy Spirit said we should teach these young men.  It could cause the wrong message to get passed along amongst them and the message of Christ could be missed entirely.  But Holy Spirit told me if I trusted the Lord, He would stand in the gap and communicate the true heart of the Lord.  So in faith I stepped out into the unknown.

Holy Spirit gave me the first bible lesson and kept speaking to me that they would be the ones to lead the study.  All I knew was I needed to be there to organize it.  Sasha and I told the guys that came with us to the village that we would have a bible study for them and their friends if they were interested. 

Monday was our first night, 5pm (or in Africa time 5:41pm).  Eight guys showed up anxious to learn and only two had a bible.  Sasha and I wrote down their names and thus started our mission to get each one of them a bible even though we were told there were none to be purchased in Pemba due to a shortage. 

I spoke about God’s Love for them explaining breifly from creation to revelation.  At the end I gave them an assignment to reach out and love on someone that was hard to love and report back next study what happened.  Holy Spirit reminded me that they needed to lead how the study would go for tomorrow so I asked them all what questions they would like answered about Christianity.  The list began to flood in and so did Holy Spirit.  The hunger had begun…

 

 

THE FOOD MULTIPLIES

 

 

 

The Last Will Be First And The First Will Be Last (Matthew 20:16)

 

Today started out as every day here.  The sounds of children singing in the darkness at 4:30am, the pounding of the metal pot to signal breakfast is ready at 6am, morning prayer and worship at 7-8:30am.  But today something was different.  I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit strong today and could feel that something was taking place in the spirit realm.  I wanted to just go to a quiet place and spend some alone time in prayer, but I needed to take a broom down to the afternoon village feeding. 

 

As I arrived to 200 children sitting in the feeding building waiting not so patiently to be fed, I began to feel in my heart the move of the spirit.  I told them a story and began to dance with them.  Then the feeding began.  Chaos began taking place with the children as usual while they fought their way to the front of the line in fear to be last just in case there would not be enough.  We poured water into their mouths from large water bottles as the children bent their heads back like little birds waiting for a drink.  Then the food was served. 

 

As we got to the last 100 children we realized there would not be enough and we started to ration the food out.  Then there they were, the last 34 children that were trampled and beat on by the previous children remained waiting in a perfectly straight line.  Fear filled their eyes as we all stood looking into the empty pots and plates.  The food was gone, all of it.  All the helpers gathered around the pot and held hands as children watched on with blank faces and somber silence.  We began to pray and ask God to multiply the food, we prayed fervently as tears streamed down my face.  “Feed these children Lord, multiply the food,” we cried out.  But as we opened our eyes the pot remained empty. 

 

I felt defeated but I just kept praying.  One of the staff went to find some more food and managed to get a pot of rice for only 10 children.  I ran to my room with another girl to grab all the bread and biscuits we had.  We ran back to watch as the pot of rice that would only feed 10 had miraculously filled 40 plates to the top.  We tore up the bread and biscuits and added it to the plates of food.  The children looked on with eyes wide open at the feast that was presented before them.  Then one of the missionaries spoke the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 20:16, “The last will be first and the first will be last.”  We handed out all the food and the children ran off with their plates in excitement. 

 

Our ways are not always the Lord’s ways, but when He provides a miracle it is not only humbling, it is a feast from the Heavens, abundantly more than we could have hoped for.  Thank you Lord for your supernatural provision and love. Amen.

Visions in Pemba

Vision: The Battlefield of the Mind

The Lord is pleased with this place.  The Holy Spirit is so strong here.  The moment I close my eyes to pray the presence of the Lord pours out.  Every night I worship with my roommate and the Lord gives us vision, vision from the Heavenlies.  He has spoken to us and said He has unlocked the doors of His storehouse and given access to anything we ask for in Faith and it will be done.   Every day we are anxious for our nightly invitation and visitation with the Lord and overwhelmed that He has chosen us to have access to the Secret Place.  Humbly we sit before Him and call out for His love to pour over us as we pray for the things placed on our heart through Him.  We pray and He comes…

 

The first day I was here the attack began.  The battlefield of my mind saying I am not worthy to be here or to worship to the Lord, I have no purpose, what good am I, I am a stranger in a strange land where I don’t speak the language; then the night attack began, I felt like I was suffocating and could not fall asleep or I would stop breathing; and the dream, the demonic dream too horrible to tell.  In the morning I awoke and went through the day praying for the Lord to draw close, to show His face but He would not come, just silence.  Then my roommate Sasha confided in me that she experienced the same thing. 

 

In that moment the Lord spoke to me.  He reminded me that it is a battle of the spirit and we were under demonic attack.  “I also tell you this: if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.  For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:19-20).  That night it became clear, the Lord had brought us here, ordained this time with Him, to strengthen us, renew us and prepare us for the work ahead and the two of us were commissioned to pray together.   So we prayed over the demonic spirit and attacks and it was gone, in the Name of Jesus.

 

I always find myself praying, “Lord change my mind to be like yours”.  He showed me through the battlefield of my mind I was being transformed.  “This is not a war of flesh but a war of the Spirit realm,” He said.  “I must take you through the flames of battle to recognize and discern the arrows of the enemy from the thoughts of Christ so you may know the Truth and your mind may be transformed through with my word I have placed on your heart.  You must go through the battle but you will stand strong on the pillar of my word and I will strengthen you and protect you always.  You are being built up in me for the war ahead, you must recognize this is a war of the Spirit not of the flesh.”  His words took me to Hezekiahs poem of praise in Isaiah 38:15-16 when Hezekiah stands humbly to the hand of the Lord and praises Him for His discipline that leads to life.

 

I praise your will and discipline Lord God.  Thank you for choosing me to be your warrior, to calling me into the front lines of battle that I may collect and lift up your children to join the war against the enemy and know your all mighty and powerful love.  I praise your Holy Name Abba Father.

Vision: Angel of the Lord to Prepare the Way           

Last night the Lord showed me a battlefield.  He said it is a battle of the Spirit realm that goes on.  We are more in the Spirit realm than in the flesh.  The flesh is meaningless and will fade away.  But the battle is in the Spirit realm.  He showed me the flames and disaster of the wages of this war.  It was so heavy… so heavy.  I was scared with a fear, a fear I have never felt before.  There was a wall that was built up but not high enough to keep the war from me.  The Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that He was interceding on my behalf during the times I sleep and the times my guard is down, but I must strengthen myself for the battle ahead.

 

Suddenly Sasha saw an angel of the Lord come into the room, a massive angel that stood from floor to ceiling and wall to wall.  He placed new armor on Sasha and I.  He gave us new armor, shield and a flaming sword.  The Lord said, “I am preparing you for the battle, I am renewing your weapons and strengthening your Spirit.” 

 

Then He spoke to me and said, “ I am sending you out to collect my Bride, to prepare my Bride for my return.  I will send an angel before you and lead you into the land I have prepared for you and you will gather my Bride.”  He showed me a giant silo and the souls of His children were filling it up quickly while His pure love lit it aglow.  He said He was building up a storehouse of His love to build up an army who will walk in faith to the battle lines and lead the way to the war front.  Then I saw the souls being filled and strengthened with His Spirit and dispersing from the silo into the battlefield.  War, flames and destruction surrounded everywhere and the lights of the souls raged forward in strength. 

 

Every single soul from the earth was there and the Lord spoke again, “ This is when I will return to save my Bride, to collect my Bride.  This is when I will come to save you all and bring you into my secret place.   When they have all been told, when those who have chosen to Believe have all been prepared to join into the battle.  The time is now.  The demonic force will be so strong that they can no longer take one more moment and they all cry out in Faith, “Father save us! Jesus save us!”  This is when I will return to take home my Bride.  I need all of them; I will not leave one behind.  Go and collect my Bride.”

I opened my eyes and the fear of the Lord came over me.  My flesh feared the battle ahead but my Spirit resides in peace.   

 

In strength in my blind Faith alone Lord I will go for you Jesus, Here am I Lord, prepare me and send me into battle.  Thank you for sending me to collect your Bride, I will bring her to you Jesus.  Amen. In strength in my blind Faith alone Lord I will go for you Jesus, Here am I Lord, prepare me and send me into battle.  Thank you for sending me to collect your Bride, I will bring her to you Jesus.  Amen. 

 

 

 

Road Journal: Arriving In Pemba

Greetings from the beautiful country of Mozambique,

 

I arrived at the Mission Base and was welcomed by hundreds of children.  The base camp is situated across the road from the ocean.  The view is breathtaking, but the children are even more beautiful.  There are 250 children here that have been taken in as orphans or rescued from the streets, children that where sick, dying, abused or just left behind.  Only a wall separates us from the local village to where we live so the villager kids integrate with the base kids.  Every day over 1,000 children get fed a hot meal. Over 700 children attend school for free because of donated money to the ministry.  There is a mission school here, housing for all the base children, a dining hall for the base kids and 4 feeding halls for the village kids, a school, mission housing and a medical clinic and offices.  The entire ministry is run on faith donations for they do not actively fund raise.  This place is a living testimony of God’s Love and Miracles.

 

I helped with the feeding today.  The ministry has a saying that with Jesus there is always enough.  I washed hundreds of village children’s hands today so they could eat.  Some of them as small as 3 or 4 years old will carry small plastic bags with them so they can take home half of their plate of food or whatever is left over on anyone’s plate, to help feed their family. I can’t even begin to explain how humbling and heart wrenching of an experience this was when I think that I come from a country where we have well more than enough that we throw away our leftovers.

 

I had my first opportunity to work in the clinic today as well.  I cleaned out my first wound here.  I have been trained in the US as an EMT and only have been able to train and watch.  I have been nervous about treating patients due to the fact that I get nauseous and dizzy at the sight of blood, but the Lord is faithful and we can know it is a miracle when we can do something not by our own strength.  Today as the doctor said the words “ does anyone want to clean out a wound?” I found myself looking around for someone to speak up, but I was it.   As I unwrapped the filthy bandage from the boy’s leg I began to pray, please Lord may it not be infected and full of puss.  And well, it was a large deep tissue burn that looked really bad that I needed to clean out, treat and rewrap.  For an instant I thought to myself I hope I don’t pass out, but before I knew it I was cleaning the wound.  By the time I was finished I was excited to see the next one and the next.  Only the Lord could have given me the strength and excitement to do what I thought I could not do, only the Lord.

 

Today as I worshiped in church 8 children crowded in on my pew to sit with me.  They began to fight with one another as to who would hold my hand.  One little girl from the village wrapped herself around my arm and laid down in my lap and fell asleep while the others grabbed for me to wrap my arms around them, as yet others braided my hair.  These children are starving for love and to be held.  There are just so many of them and I keep praying, “Lord let me love one more, one more and one more.”   I can only continue to pray that the Lord keeps pouring more love into me so that I can love even more, so that I can love the way Christ loves and I can heal with my hands and prayers the way Christ healed.  For today, my second day in Pemba, this is my prayer.

 

 

God Bless you all,

 

Anita In Africa

 

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ROAD JOURNAL 04/01/08

April 1st, 12:24 PM
Conway, NH

Greetings Everyone, 

 

I am going back to Africa!!  I leave on May 1st and I can’t wait!  My destination: Mozambique and Zambia.  I will be traveling to visit Pemba, Mozambique to partner with Iris Ministries, then to another Iris location further south in the country called Zimpeto.  This is such a blessed opportunity for me.  If you are not familiar with Iris Ministries founded by Heidi Baker, then please check out their website under the Blogroll link.  

I will have the opportunity to work with hundreds of children, work in the medical clinics, go on daily outreaches, hospital ministry, street ministry, garbage dump ministry to the children and even some teaching.  I am so very excited that the Lord is sending me to go and be your hands and feet! From there I travel on to Zambia to spend a week at the Overland Missions Base where I will be following up with the ministry I began last summer.  If you would like to know more about their ministry, then please check out their website as well under the Blogroll link.  So many ministry opportunities and divine appointments await…woohoo!

Last month the Lord told me to slow down and sit at His feet for a while.  He showed me that I needed to get to that quite place with Him.  That is not an easy thing to do with so much noise around all the time.  So many daily commitments and responsibilities make it even harder to ‘lay it all down’ and only seek Him.  But I must say, when the Lord tells us to do something he definitely orchestrates it to happen. 

The past month has been a great time of healing and rejuvenation in my life.  A renewed sense of His mighty presence and an energizing of my body, mind and spirit.  I realized that the Lord will take us out into the desert away from all distractions and He will speak intimately to us when we are there.  I believe we all need to get to that place from time to time.  Though it may seem impossible to get to that place, it is definitely possible and much more than just that, it is necessary. 

To hear the Lord speak to us, guide us and direct our feet will take a lot more than only faith and hope.  It will take an active participation to walk in the process.  And that takes focused effort that may mean laying it all down until He directs us to pick it up again.  While trusting that He will restore what was laid down or replace it with something better.  It is a discipline that is good for the soul and one I work on daily.

The bible says, “But then I will win her back once again.  I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.  I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.” Hosea 2:14-15 

I will have limited Internet in Africa and will be posting all of my Road Journals here on this blog under the Pages link until I return to the US.  I have included some of my favorite testimonies of journeys I have been on and the divine appointments, miracles, signs and wonders that I experienced on some of the pages.  I hope you enjoy them; it was you who made them possible.

Love and God Bless,
Anita

NEW “WINDOW INTO AFRICA” PHOTO GALLERY…Enjoy! 

P.S.  I would love for you to post your comments, they are such an encouragement to me!  I will respond to as many as I can.

About Me: Jesus To A Child

November 24, 2004
Orlando, Florida

 

I was 16 when the sickness began.  The doctors thought it was chronic bladder infections.  1-3 times a week, every week of every month for 3 and a half years, I was in and out of a doctors office, lab, pharmacy, or an emergency room.  Until the day I was diagnosed, as having a rare bladder disease that doctors knew little about.   

It was the day the specialist gave me the bad news and my options.  “It will only get worse and worse, I am so very sorry”, the doctor said.  “You have a few options, pain killers for the rest of your life, or one of my nurses can teach you to instill an industrial chemical in your bladder a few times a day that will numb the pain, or we can remove your bladder.  I am so very sorry.  You and your mother should go home and think about it and let me know your decision.”  That was the news he told me.  I was 18 and a half years old.   

I went home that day and the pain began to worsen.  I curled up in a ball on my floor and began to pray.  My family was not very religious.  At that point in my life I could only remember going to Catholic Mass when I was 6 on Easter and Christmas, and I had a baptismal certificate from when I was three years old.  My Mother use to tell me that God hears our prayers and he has angels looking over us to protect us.   

So there I rocked in my little ball in my little space on this earth and I began to pray, “God let me die so the pain will stop”, over and over and over again.  I can remember the moment right before I passed out as if I heard it now, the voice of an angel.  It said, “don’t be afraid, this too will pass”, and I blacked out.  When I awoke the next morning something was different.   I somehow knew that I knew that I knew one day I would not be sick.  It did not matter what the doctors said or what anyone believed, one day I would be healed.  I stopped going to doctors after that and started researching alternative medicine while I held on to every word I heard the angel speak to me. 

It was 12 years from when the sickness started until that very day when I was actually healed.  It was my 27^th birthday and I had just been told, by the man I was madly in love with, that he was dumping me for a “Christian girl”.  He said he had just found Christ and I did not know him myself.  My world began to crumble into rubble of self-pity and anger as I found myself lying on the floor again curled up in a little ball once more.  This time I was angry with God.  “Why did I have to suffer so much pain in my life, why can’t I be happy, why can’t I know you God?”  I began to pray again, this time a different prayer, an angry prayer, “Lord if you are real then prove it!”  I lay on the floor until I heard another voice that said, “Go to church and get baptized”.   

I thought I was losing my mind and I tried to get up and forget about what I heard and move on with my life, but the voice would not stop until the day I found myself walking into a church down the street from my house one Sunday.  That was the first day anyone had ever told me about Christ and that He can heal and take away our pain.  I gave my life to the Lord that day.  The Pastor gave me my first bible and a book on the first week of being a Christian and I went home and began to read.  A few days later I found myself sitting on my floor getting frustrated that the same story would be written over and over, I thought there must be a misprint in this bible.  Then I closed my eyes and began to pray and ask God to be real in my life. 

In that moment I saw Christ stand before me.  Everything was dark around me but Him.  He pointed to His right and a pool of water appeared with the moon shining down on it to light it.  I suddenly saw my ex boyfriend walk onto the water like it was glass.  I looked up at Jesus and asked him what he wanted me to do and He said, “ dance in the light of God.” And he handed me to him and we began to dance.  I began to laugh and suddenly, as loud as thunder, I heard Jesus say to me, “Let Go!”  I got scared, let go and looked down at my feet and began to fall into the water.  Suddenly, Jesus grabbed my hand pulled me up, stood there with me and said, “As long as you believe in me you will never fall.  I promised, this too will pass.”  In that moment I remembered the voice of the angel I heard all those years ago.  It was the same voice.  In that moment my body was completely healed and Jesus began to dance with me in the moonlight.  A moment later He was gone and I was sitting once again on my floor.

 

I have been miraculously healed ever since that day.  I can never deny the Miracles, Signs, Wonders, Power, Grace and Love of Christ.  I am a living testimony and I will testify all the days of my life.  That day marked the beginning of my new life, my  journey and intimate encounters with Christ that have followed ever since…

Big Shoes

July 2007
Sibulo Village, Western Zambia

I drove in an ex German military vehicle for 12 hours to reach a village in the middle of nowhere to whom no one had ever saw a white person before or ever heard of the love of Christ.  When we arrived the villagers ran and hid in their huts from us.  There is an African legend that white men are Satanists and will steal the villagers’ children.  But after three days of intense ministry and sharing the love of Christ, I watched as the entire village gave their lives to Christ and no longer believed in that legend. 

As we were about to leave a woman walked up to me and took me by the hand and walked me to her hut.  She left me by the door as she walked in to get something.  She came out with this blue hair clip.  She apologized for not having anything to give me and she put it in my hair. I was speechless that someone with so little would give me the best thing she had.  She looked at me and asked me to not forget about her and to pray for her.  I wanted to give her something in return but I had nothing with me. Her child was standing in front of me and I noticed she was holding a broken sandal.  I took my sandals off my feet and gave them to the child and watched as she tried her best to walk in them.   

As I looked at her tiny feet in my big sandals the Lord showed me that we are all like that small child.  Christ gives each one of us his sandals to wear on our feet and it is up to us to try to walk in them.  They always seem too big for us to fill but the more we walk in them the more they will begin to fit. 

This journey the Lord has walked with me on has been a true walk of faith and trust with many times when it got hard and I wanted to give up.  But had I not walked in his shoes I would have missed meeting that woman and praying with her and her child and all the other divine appointments the Lord had sent me to reach. 

May I encourage you today to put on Christ’s shoes and walk in them, even if they seem too big for you.  Christ has a plan for each of our lives and he may give us a glimpse of that vision, but it is up to us to take it step by step, growing into his shoes until you reach the final destination. He never said the walk would be easy, but He does promise it will be greater than you ever expected.  Because you never know whom God may send you to reach with His shoes on your feet. 

Don’t Forget About Joe

May 2006
Memphis, Tennessee 

My very first Mission Trip!  I have been praying all year for this moment!  I was destined for missions, created for missions.  All the maps on my walls as a child and feeling like I needed to be somewhere else, not just boring West Allis, Wisconsin.  No I was made for more.  I was created to travel to the ends of the earth to help others!  I have been saved a year and a half now and it all makes sense to me.  Everything!!  Well maybe not everything… 

The itinerary was set, 3 countries, 4 mission organizations, 2 months.  I am destined to find my calling, my ministry.  Seek Diligently.  I won’t let God off the hook on this one until I have the answer to what I am searching for.   

Then it began, the airport in Tampa.  The team was on a different flight from myself and one other girl.  The two of us were to meet the team in Amsterdam for a day of exploration then on to Ghana.  We boarded the plane filled with excitement and then we landed in Memphis to find our connection had been canceled due to a severe rainstorm.   

Could this really be happening?  Thoughts of defeat settled in rapidly.  Everything began to go wrong.  The airline would not book us in a hotel because it was not their fault.   The lady at the counter was completely rude and unhelpful.  If the storm continued we were told the flight to Amsterdam would be canceled the next day as well.  We would miss our connection to Ghana with the team and then we would be left behind.   

We solemnly hailed a cab and went to the nearest, cheapest hotel we could find.  We were ready to give up and decide that this must be God’s sign for us to not go.  Then I called my best friend who quickly put my eyes into perspective.  She began to yell at me in the name of Jesus and tell me that He would not have brought us this far to not send us all the way to Africa.  She reminded me that the trip began the second I got on the plane and if Memphis is where the Lord needs me then Memphis is where I shall sit until it is complete.   

Wow, not the, now…now…it will all be ok, confirmation I was looking for!  At that moment I changed my attitude and perspective and began to pray with my friend for whomever the Lord has for us to reach and witness to would happen and soon.  We repented for being so self-centered and prayed all night.  The morning arrived to a call from the front desk that we would be kicked out of the hotel early due to an overbooking the night before.  “Now what” , I thought, “more bad luck”, it began to creep in again.  Then I decided that if we are going to have a divine appointment then we must be out there to do it.  We had the front desk call for a cab and we sat in the hotel lobby and waited to go to the airport early, there are a lot of people there. 

A brand new white Escalade pulled up and a very large black man in Army clothing walked out and with a serious purpose started to approach us.  Immediately I began to pray and ask God that this is not our cab, over and over.  But it was too late; the man was standing over me and said, “You called for a cab? Get in.”   My friend looked at me with fear in her eyes and I motioned to her abruptly to come on. 

The man smelled like he had just doused himself in an entire bottle of cologne.  There was an open can of beer in a paper bag on the console and I could not help but notice stuffed inside the dash two large bags of what I am guessing was marijuana.  My friend looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights.  I had to think fast.  So I began to talk to him, I began to ramble on actually, about everything in my life.  I began to ask him questions about his life and as this hard man softened up and thought about the questions I was asking, I could see he was really hurting in his life.   

He stopped answering and I got nervous again, and he told us the flights at the airport are all delayed from the storm and we would be stuck sitting there.  He then asked us if we had ever seen Graceland.  As I responded out of nervousness, no, but I would love to see it, my friend kicked me.  He took a detour and drove us past Graceland to see it from afar.  I began to talk to him more and had the chance to dig deeper in his life and share with him that we were missionaries.  He then got quiet and asked me the question, “does God hear our prayers…even the bad ones?”  I said yes, God does and then he changed the subject. 

As we drove up to the drop off at the airport something inside of me could not leave until I prayed with him.  So I asked him if we could pray with him and he paused, tears filled his eyes and he bowed his head and we prayed.  The second we stepped out of the car the rain stopped and the sun started to peer from the clouds.  He got out of the car and ran to unload our baggage.  As I paid him he looked at me with tears swelling up in his eyes and said, “Please don’t forget about Joe. That’s my name, Joe” and he gave us both a huge hug.   

We checked in and the agent was very friendly and upgraded our seat for free.  We arrived in Amsterdam just in time to meet the team and make it on the flight to Ghana. 

I truly learned that Right Now we are on the mission field, it is not a destination but it is wherever the Lord places your feet.  I learned that there are divine appointments every day that we will miss out on if we are not purposefully looking for them.  If we are truly Christians walking to be more like Him then we need to have eyes and hearts like Christ as well.  To follow where He leads us, no matter how uncomfortable or unsafe the place may seem to be.  If He says go, we must go, and trust that his amour of protection will cover us and protect us.  Or you could miss out on your divine appointment to share the love of God with Joe.

God’s Love For All

June 2006
Lake Kariba, Zambia

 

It was just before sundown.  I had been walking through a village going hut-to-hut evangelizing. As I walked about 50 children gathered behind me. I began to sing and get the children involved with shouts of Halleluiah in broken English at the end of each verse.  I was having so much fun with the children I neglected to notice the herd of cattle I was proceeding to walk into.  A small boy jumped in front of me to stop me from getting trampled on and I took a photo.  The suns last rays of the day peered through the trees to highlight the dust being kicked up by the cows.  The world went silent for a brief moment, God’s grandeur consumed my little space in life.  All that echoed was distant laughter of the children, then suddenly like a dream ending, we carried on walking.

As we walked a little girl tugged on my skirt and I stopped. I looked down at her and she wanted to be picked up, she was tired. I picked her up and carried her for about a mile. In that time she had fallen sound asleep in my arms.  

The Lord had spoken to me. He told me that it did not matter who this child was, where she was from, what language she spoke or color of skin she had. He had entrusted her care to me for this brief time. She was my responsibility to pray for and to look after. She had fallen asleep so peacefully it was as if I was her mother, and for that brief mile I was, she saw no difference. She just felt Gods love and peace in my arms.  

God showed me in that moment that we are all Gods children regardless of who we are or where we come from. And He entrusts people into our care even if only for brief moments. To share the love God shares with us. He wants us to love others as He loves us. It is that simple. To connect with others so that Christ can build a bridge from our hearts to theirs that he can walk across.  

So I challenge you today to love those the Lords puts in your path a little more the way that God loves you, even if they cross your path for a brief moment or mile, regardless of who they are. We are all one people, we all hurt from time to time, and when we are hurt we all bleed the same blood that flows through the veins of Christ and back into ours, believers and unbelievers alike. These moments are precious, don’t miss out on your divine appointment with one of God’s children.

  

About “Anita In Africa” Blog

Throughout my missionary journeys I have witnessed many miracles, signs and wonders of God’s Abounding Love for us.  This blog is a chronicle of my journeys (in no particular order) and the divine appointments with others that the Lord has led me to.  These are the testimonies of my faith and witness of God’s Mercy, Grace, Hope and Love.  As I travel this road He consistently reminds me I am never alone, He is always by my side, teaching me, refining me, and leading the way to shape me in an image closer to that of Christ and less of my own flesh.  May these stories bring you closer to the heart of God…