Dreams becoming reality.

What a great time it is to be alive! Testimonies of the goodness of God flood our conversations and the experience of His goodness fills our lives! God is moving through the lives of a beautiful team. The following includes some of our stories. Enjoy!

DREAMS BECOMING REALITY

A dream come true -After five years of prayer and planning, November 4th marked the date of a beautiful dedication ceremony. The first cornerstones were laid on the grounds of Arco-Iris’s first hospital! Annelie Basson, director of our Pemba medical staff and visionary behind this project, gathered with hundreds to worship, pray and declare prophetic promises from the Lord over these grounds.

Phase one of the hospital will open by June as an outpatient consultation unit. This will consist of eight rooms, including consultation rooms for adults and children, a lab, a dentistry, a pharmacy and a children’s health, pre-natal and general treatment facilities. Coming in the future will be phase two that will include a maternity wing and an inpatient unit. We feel God has shown us that this hospital will also be a place of supernatural healing and deliverance. It will be a place where patients and their families are treated with dignity and can encounter God and His love. Prophetically we claim this to be a place where HIV is healed and people are set free!

Barraca Ministry —One year ago God gave one of our missionaries, Ruth Alexander, a vision to work beside the prostitutes in the Pemba area. Since then she has been going out on the street talking to and befriending these precious women. Many of them sell their bodies for just 10 mts a night (under 50 cents), and many are forced by others to place themselves in dangerous situations night after night. Ruth and the team have now opened a barraca (a bamboo hut where sodas and food are sold) in hopes of creating a safe place for these women to congregate. Anyone can go there for an evening to be with caring and safe people who are only there to show the love of Jesus. On Friday nights two ministry teams go out from the barraca and share with the women who work on the street. Night after night Iris is seeing miracles and salvations, and we know there are many more to come!

Vocational Training School —Three weeks ago our new vocational training school opened its doors! It is a training facility for our young adults fourteen years and older. The students come to learn various jobs skills such as health care, business, character development, hospitality and English. The founders and administrators of this school are Steve and Cassandra Soars, and Grace Davis. It is their desire for these young leaders to receive the training and skills they need to be successful adults in their community and nation. The ultimate goal is to create social businesses in the community where we can equip students to run similar businesses on their own. The vision is that these young men and women will become successful business leaders in Mozambique who are sold out for Jesus and who desire for to see their nation changed and transformed by the power of God.

OFFERINGS OF LOVE

Baby House —ages one to six. This past month the baby house missionaries and leaders did a ten-day prayer fast for the baby house. At the end of the ten days they prayed together with their tias (Mozambican aunties) and the children. The presence of God showed up strongly and all, even the children, were obviously being touched. No crying or hitting—just peace and joy among them. During this time Ana (our Brazilian missionary who heads the baby house) explained to the children about the lack of funds for this Christmas. She told them that they may not receive presents this year, but if they wanted, they could give a gift themselves to someone else less fortunate. The children who were old enough to understand immediately went to their rooms and selected their best clothing to give! Most of them chose to give either their newest or their most favorite clothing item. All of the children gave at least one thing without any reluctance.

Widows Offering —Each week over three hundred widows and abandoned women from the community come to Iris Pemba for discipleship and fellowship. This past week at church Mama Heidi shared about generosity. She shared about Elisha coming to the widow and asking for her bread and oil. At their next discipleship meeting their leaders, Nathalia, Albertina and Gheti, informed the women that this year we may not be able to give them each a Christmas gift. Many of these women have very little. They are the poorest of the poor here in Pemba. Their leaders knew that sharing the possibility of no presents might make them very sad. However at this week’s meeting, the widows each came with their own offering. A piece of cloth was laid out on the church platform and one-by-one the women came up and gave. They gave capalanas (traditional African skirts), coins, fruit, head scarfs, baby clothes, jewelry and one even gave a spoon. A spoon to them is an item of luxury. It was a beautiful act of faith. The women and their leaders prayed over their offering, giving it to God and trusting him. Mama Heidi always shares that generosity will open heavens. That day the heavens were opened.

HIS BELOVED CHILDREN

Outreach to Nanjua —God has been doing many great things in the bush village of Nanjua. We first visited there three months ago. Since then there are no more deaf people there to pray for because they are all healed. Also, the chief of the village got saved and we are currently completing the building of their church. Isn’t God good! During a recent outreach there we saw miracles and many salvations. We met a blind man named Samuel. He came to us saying that he had heard us praying and that God had told him to come to where we were. He became completely blind in 2010. After praying for him he could see colors, faces and shapes. Mama Heidi took him to a mango tree and he counted the number of mangos on the branch - something he could not do before. He spoke with much excitement, “Now I can walk home by myself with no one to assist me!” Later that same day, along with many others, he was baptized in the river.

Manuel is a part of our Mercy Ministries and Partners in Harvest-Iris church. He makes day beds and weaves baskets in exchange for beans and rice. When a bed or basket is sold, part of the proceeds goes directly to Manuel. The rest gets poured back into Mercy Ministries so that other disabled and needy people in the community can receive aid. He is disabled and is currently sleeping on the roadside. Mercy Ministries is building him a house so that he can be safe and off the streets soon.

A long time ago, while walking from her home in Macomia to Pemba, Fatima stepped on a land mine. It blew off her leg. She currently walks around with a man’s prosthetic leg that is too big for her. She is a part of our PIH-Iris church and Monday discipleship program. She has a huge heart and lots of joy. One of the things which moves us most is her praying for other women’s legs to grow out and be healed.

We want to thank you for your extreme love, prayers and generosity. We bless you for remembering the poor and believing for the lost sons and daughters to come home to the Father. We love you and bless you.

In Jesus’ huge heart,

Heidi, Rolland and your Iris family