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

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…