Still Alive, God is Faithful, Wifi is Not.

Hello World!! 

So 12 weeks ago I was faithfully updating this blog and sharing about how I was off to Mozambique, Africa. I did go, and while God was faithful, the wifi was not. #tia (this is Africa). So now I am on the other side of an amazing adventure with much to share!! So I will take the next few weeks to unpack my experience in Pemba, Mozambique and share what God is doing through Iris Global and in my own life. I do apologize to those who have been waiting for updates, I hope what I share now will bless you and challenge you.  


I ask for a lot of grace as I share and for you to stay open. A few days ago I was in a completely different world, and now I am trying to find my footing. God has once again brought me into deeper freedom and Intimacy with Him. I have been pushed and stretched in every way. I have seen the pain of a broken world on a greater level and I have encountered Jesus to a height I hadn’t believed was possible. Nothing I share is inaccessible to you, it is just a question as to how far will you fallow God and walk in obedience. Doing missions in Africa was in no way more holy then when I was doing missions in Australia. Both pleased God and He has used both. So all this being said, I hope you have a freeking good cup of coffee in your hand right now, because this is a long read. If you want to stop reading now, let me just summarize everything for you so you don’t miss out. We all need Jesus, and He is in hot pursuit of His bride. That would be you, the woman you work with, the Isis radical, the Syrian refugee and the Muslim child in a village in Africa. Jesus is King. He is calling His church to wake up. He wants laid down lovers who will bring the light into the darkest places. He desires us to be living sacrifices, dead man walking. If you are already dead you will do anything for Him because death and fear have no hold on you. Like Paul from the New Testament, by losing my life, I have finally found it. I died in Africa. I have never felt so alive. All of this is because of God. I take no credit. I just want more of Jesus. 

Iris Global: Pemba, Mozambique, From their website

For this first blog post on Africa, I want share just about a morning in Pemba. 

4:30am. Alarm goes off. I look around our small room. 3 bunk beds, 6 beautiful women who have all moved to Africa in pursuit of Jesus. Suitcases are pushed wherever they fit. Mosquito nets drape over our little mattresses. Outside our window the Mozambican night guards have once again forgotten the time and are loudly conversing. The sun is waking up and so am I. I am already sweating, and due to having no running water I need to pull myself together enough to

walk to the latrines at the other side of the property. I won’t go into this too much, but one of our main conversation topics in house 13, is what goes down at the latrines. I have never prayed so much regarding my bodily functions. Speaking in tongues and pleading with Jesus that there would be favor every trip. And oh how sweet is the walk of victory as I see my house mates and can proudly proclaim I just pooped. Can I get an Amen from the missionaries out there. 

So, Mornings were my favorite in Pemba. I would eat fiber cereal to balance out my bread and rice intake, drink coffee and have a long morning to spend with the King of Kings. Often I would have to remember to stop and listen because usually I was so busy talking and processing that Jesus wouldn’t have much time to share. However, He is very Patient and kind. We began our meetings every day at 8am, so I would head back to my house to finish getting ready. I lived with 11 other women and personal space was not even an option. The first week we would apologize for everything, sorry I bumped you, sorry I moved your water bottle, sorry I took some of your toilet paper. But we got over that quickly and became each others family. Sometimes we could take bucket showers, which consisted of a 1.5 liter water bottle and a bucket to stand in. However, most days, baby wipes were your best friends. 

So, 5 minutes to class, which probably wouldn’t actually start for another 20 minutes #tia. Sunscreen, check. Long skirt and leggings, check. Water, check. Already sweating buckets, check.

So funny thing, God often uses my lack of understanding to get me exactly where He wants me to be. That is how I ended up in Australia for the first time and that is how I would end up in Africa. I knew I signed up for something called a Harvest school with Iris Global. I expected to be in full ministry mode, pouring out and seeing all Iris does because I thought God was calling me there for long term. Little did I know this was actually a mission school. We did ministry and saw people healed and saved and set free, but I was about to experience an outpouring of God like never before. I have been in missions for most of the last 4 years. I understood a lot of cross cultural things and what trusting God can look like. So when we started receiving teachings and testimonies of what it is to be in missions I was kind of like, yes I understand, God, why the heck am I here. I am not saying I have all the answers at all, but in my heart I felt like I was in Africa to get more of Jesus, not to be in another lecture on what it means to be a missionary. I wanted more of Jesus. Haha, and that is exactly what I got.

Iris is one of the most amazing movements I have ever seen and been a part of. They love the presence of God, and they refuse to live without it. This is exactly why they are seeing revival in what was one of the poorest nations in the world. We would gather together as a missions school. 230 missionaries representing 30 different nations, and we would hunger after God. We would pour out our lives on the feet of Jesus and press in for the more of God. I had seen people encounter Holy Spirit before and I myself have been overcome by the powerful presence of an almighty God. But when a God that is infinite collides with our little limited bodies, things happen. Seeing God manifested in us as a group brought me the most joy and raised a lot of questions in me, but I was there for the ride. I wanted nothing more then to give up all control and be purified by the fire of His love. Sometimes it hurt. Sometimes I felt so broken I questioned if it could really be from my God. But as I continued to pursue Him I experienced Him bringing greater freedom into my life. He was ripping out the things that were hurting me and then filling me with truth. Even when I first arrived in Pemba, I was so filled with fear I couldn’t sleep. I had an orphan mindset about seeking God that caused me to believe that maybe it is wrong to ask for more of Him. But praise Jesus, He broke those things off. He used the times of being spiritually attacked to flip me around and become freer in Him. Jesus is King. 

So we would spend the mornings in worship and we had many man and women of God come in and share with us their testimonies and whatever God was speaking to them to share. Sometimes we had classes with the Mozambican Bible School in which was running alongside our mission school. It was amazing and I received so much in these times and through these people, especially through Heidi Baker. What an amazing woman. To walk in the same level of obedience as the Bakers do is what I desire. My life will not look the same, but that doesn’t matter. I want to carry the same love for Jesus and desire for holiness and obedience. I to be that hungry, but it comes with a cost. That was a huge revelation our group was going after. Are we willing to be martyrs? We want to fire, we want the presence, we want the signs and wonders, we want the harvest, but are we willing to die? Have we counted the costs? These are not warm fuzzy questions. And the horrifying stories of those who have already been martyred make me sick to my stomach. However my love for Jesus says I will go. 

More to come on Life in Pemba. I will be sharing more about our days and outreaches later. Be blessed!!