Pemba!!

This is my first official Africa blog post! Yay! I can't believe it has been two and a half weeks since I ventured off on this crazy journey.

I cried the whole way through security as my amazing best friend saw me off. I was all of a sudden all alone, all by myself getting on 3 different planes for the next two days heading to a place I have never ever dreamed of myself going to for reasons I still did not know! Hah All I knew was that Father was asking me to go. This was the only word I was going on for the previous two months, Father saying " just come away", "trust me and just go"- with no answers about why. It is so hard for me to dive into newness without any vision, without any purpose or reason. I cried myself to sleep almost every night before going, people asked me " are you excited?!" "Africa, Africa!!" And I would smile but inside I was terrified. Haha I had no idea what Father was up to and the not knowing was terrifying- it always is isn't it?

I sang the same song for two days on my way here. I sang " you make me brave, you make me brave, you call me out upon the shore into the waves." I would wonder why I was so terrified, what devastation could possibly come upon me in this place that was terrifying me so much? Father would sing back to me as I watched out the window looking into the clouds " I take you up, you soar with me on eagles wings, your safe with me, your safe with me." 

Here was this little girl, boarding plane to plane, with no clue at all, relying fully on the word "just go."

I came to Iris base here in Pemba to 350 other "students" just like me from all over the world (350 of us chosen from 900- I am 1 out of 4 or 5 Canadians) who are coming alongside Iris Ministries this summer. We are ending week two here at Iris of my 10 weeks of being here. Time is flying already! Days go by so fast here as we have class Monday through Thursday from 8am until 1pm. During our classes we are taught by Heidi and Rolland Baker as well as many other amazing Pastors and missionaries who pour into us and love on us.  After classes we have the option of doing outreaches in the village communities around the base, helping on site staff with the many different ministries going on here or taking the afternoon to get more teaching from what we call "back porch sessions" from some of the long term missionaries. Fridays are our practical missions days and each of us will be put into teams that help out the same Iris base ministry every week. I have signed up for discipling in the children's program on base, house building in the villages around Iris and women's ministry where we will be setting up a place in the market to beautify some women from the village and build relationships.  Iris pours into so many lives and has so many different serving opportunities- they are mentoring and discipling pastors and worship leaders, they are discipling school age children in their village kids program, they have feeding programs everyday and feed every child that comes on base for a meal, they have a farm where they grow maringa and other specialties that produce the food given daily, they have hospitality ministry, business ministry working with momma's to help them start their own businesses, brothals ministries, medical care, prison ministry, and so many others. This Friday I will be told what ministry they are putting my little hands to work in. :) 

I have never met so many laid down lovers for Jesus in one place. It has been so fun getting to know so many friends who will be doing mighty things for the kingdom representing 41 nations in total! 

In the midst of so many opportunities to pour out and serve and do all of that, I have found that the first two weeks stretching on in into the rest of my time here, even in the midst of everything Father will have me do here, the main reasons I am here is to rest, to learn and to receive. I have already experienced so much shift in my heart, so much break through in a lot of places I was in bondage, Jesus has just been setting me free and just releasing new revelation, new vision and new love in my heart. I felt like a huge desert longing for water and I knew it was about that time that He wanted to refresh my dry and desperate lands, dig new wells and fill old stale ones to overflowing. Jesus is alive here in Pemba- every child adopted here at Iris has seen Jesus face to face and walks in Jesus, one with Jesus and alive in Jesus.  One of the first few nights I was brought to my knees by a little boy who prayed into me at a service and prophesied into the exact areas into my heart that needed a new touch by Jesus. Jesus has been ministering to me by the least likely here in Pemba- I have been being wrecked by His presence, His beauty and His longing for me the past few weeks and I am not afraid anymore. Father has told me that the main reason He has brought me here to Pemba is to kiss me then kill me. I feel like my spirit already knew that coming here and that's why I was terrified. At the beginning when I had not experienced a fresh taste of his heart in a long time, in such a dry and barren place, it was. As I have been here though, I have felt the touch of His kisses, a new and fresh real life experience of His beautiful face and the actual tangible love of His warm embrace and my spirit says "I will do anything for what I have tasted, YOU are the only thing I want,  kill everything of myself that's left, I want more of you and less of me, so take me, kiss me and kill me!"

So yes, Father has brought me here to Pemba to kill me, and I am just so darn excited!! 

It's beautiful here. Their winter is pretty darn hot. I have already had children rubbing off the dirty gross peeling skin from my previously sunburnt shoulders as they jump on me for piggy backs. I have had only water bottle showers in two weeks since we have had no running water, my pink toenail polish at the end of every day is always brown and my blonde hair is thrown up in a dirty bun morning day and night, I almost chipped my tooth a few mornings ago from a rock I found in my breadroll and the other day I actually cried at the thought of a hotdog with mustard. Lord Jesus have mercy for me, I have a lot of "killing" to go. ;) 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the rest of this adventure with me! Bless you friends!