While here in Mozambique we have had some amazing opportunities working with some incredible people here at Iris Ministries. Since my teams ministry this month was to help out on base and attend their ministry outings we were able to get to know our contacts, translators, and staff really well. When I think back on this month in Mozambique, they will be the key people I remember.
Loranna is Roland, Heidi Bakers husbands, sister. She has such a beautiful heart for missions and has some amazing experiences working on and off the field. While working on grounds we have been able to hear her stories, share our testimonies with her, and pray and worship with her. She is such a passionate individual who hears strongly from the Holy Spirit. I will thoroughly miss her tales about how God has moved in her life and the people she has come encountered with.
Lori is a prayer warrior! Wow, what a bundle of joy. She was called to Mozambique to teach the widows how to pray for one another. In her ministry with the widows she is teaching them that you don’t have to go to a witch doctor or a pastor to receive healing, you can go to each other. Praying for each other is one of God’s most powerful weapons he gives us. We are each filled with the same Holy Spirit and we can each pray for each other to receive healing from God. It’s been absolutely remarkable praying, ministering, and working along side her. She has been a huge encouragement for me and for our whole squad.
Sharon is the director here at Iris Ministries, Dondo. She has a heart for drama ministry and has been able to share with me her vision for the church she ministers at in Beira. Through hearing her heart, God has confirmed in mine that there is a place where I can both use my talents and gifts for his glory and not my own. I am excited to see what God has in the future for me. Sharon has truly been a blessing our whole time here… kind of like the mom of the base.
Anna is one of our translators during our offsite ministry assignments. She has been a huge blessing in helping us learn Sena and connect with people in the community. She is a godly woman who has so much life in her. She knows the area, knows the language, and can laugh and pick on us with ease. She doesn’t feel like a translator, she feels like a member of our team. At ministry sites she has brought so much joy to our team through her love for children and people. Her generosity to show us around, take us to where the good foods at, and shop with us has been a blast.
Lovemore has a heart to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow wherever he leads. How beautiful is that. He is another one of our translators for our offsite ministries and truly shines during hospital ministries. Funny story… one day we were at the hospital praying for a baby who had malaria. I felt led to hold this child and as I was holding her she went to the bathroom on me. The mother felt so bad, but to me it was no big deal, especially after working with 2 year olds this past year. Lovemore disappears for a while as we continue to pray over the sick. He returns moments later with a new caplana for me to change into and laundry soap for the mother to wash her babies wrapping in. I am inspired by his generosity, his beautiful heart, and his desire to know God, hear from him, and follow him.
Rui is simple joy. He is such a blessing to have here at the base and every time you see him he asks you how you are, gives you a high five (of a fist pump), and tells you, “It’s good”. His positive attitude just beams through him and you can’t help but smile. He speaks some English and to have a conversation with him is a true highlight of the day. It’s impossible not to love this man.
God, I just ask that you bless each an every one of these individual’s lives. I ask that you protect them from the darkness that surrounds these areas and continue to root them in your truths and your light. I thank you for for the calling that you have placed on each of their lives. As we leave them, Lord, I ask that you continue to encourage them in their own individual walks with you. Thank you for the blessing of each of them. Amen.
