The last time we posted was halfway through the school just after our first bush outreach. So much has happend since then, school finished, we traveled from Mozambique to Nepal, and are now back in Canada.
Summary of the School (by Kyle)
Iris Harvest school was a totally incredible, transforming, life changing experience. I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who's hungry for more of God and has a heart for missions. It's pretty much impossible to go to the school and not be changed. Everyone including the students, staff, and speakers are so hungry for more of God and His Kingdom. Its a wonderful atmosphere for faith to grow.
Some highlights from the school:
You cross a line at the school, something changes in you and there is no going back to the way you used to live. Now that I've tasted and seen that there is more to the Gospel, I can't go back to the old way of thinking. It actually makes life a lot more exciting. Jesus can show up with His love and power at any place and any time. It has wonderful implications, when we cultivate a greater awareness of His voice, His presence, and the Kingdom, the mundane can become the miraculous.
Nepal
The day after graduation we led a small team of six (including us) to Kathmandu Nepal for an extended international outreach. There we partnered with the family that runs Iris Nepal and ministered for two and a half weeks. The outreach had some some amazing moments but had its fair share of challenges. Most of the team was sick for the duration of the outreach, which limited our plans to go visit unreached villages in remote areas. The outreach had no set schedule, rather we spent lots of time worshiping and seeking the Lord for direction. This led us to different parts of Kathmandu to minister on the street and pray over those areas.
We visited a number of Buddhist monasteries to reclaim the territory in the spirit. At the first one we visited some of the team prayed for the head monk who had noticeably bad asthma. You could hear a raspy hissing in his voice when he spoke. After a few minutes all the hissing was gone and he could breath normally again. At another monastery we prayed for an old Buddhist man with bad knees, causing him to shuffle when he walked. He too was totally healed and was able to walk normally with no pain. Another time we were near a small Hindu temple when the Lord led us to pray for the woman who was cleaning the idol of the days offerings (mostly flowers and coloured powder). The Holy Spirit gave us a word of knowledge that she had pain in her right hip. While we were praying she felt heat on the affected area and then all the pain left.
The thing that stuck me about these healings was that they all took place inside places of pagan worship. While intellectually I've always known that the presence of God is everywhere, I used to feel that temples and such were such dark places that I needed to leave as soon as possible lest I be affected by the demons that inhabit them. The reality is that the love of the Father is so much bigger, and He is waiting to pour it out. He loves the people who don't love Him, so much so that He'll send people into these places to bless and pray for them. By the Holy Spirit we transform the atmosphere around us not the other way around. Greater is He who is within us than he who is in the world.
The base leader Joel is incredibly inspiring. He stops for the destitute, the ones the culture ignores, and shows them real love. Ministering with him forces you to slow down. It was an honour to partner with his family and minister together with them.
Canada and Update about Nepal (By Annie)
We've been back in Canada since January 7th and it's been amazing! God's been doing a lot here and it's been really good to put what we learned at the school into your everyday life. One of the things that they talked about at the school was how you have to dig your own well. At the school you're taking in so much teaching and you're meeting so many amazing people that it's easy just to feed off of their "well", their anointing, their walk with God...you get the idea. But, when you're on your own again it's like, "right so now it's just you and me God, lets go!" You have to build your own faith and take what you learned and put it into practice. Faith is a gift, but we also have to work out our faith with "fear and trembling." What a dichotomy that one is! Rolland Baker loves the concept of dichotomy and how it's all through the scriptures, he said, "salvation is free, but it will cost you everything." I love that, it's so true. Following Jesus is the best thing you could ever do, but it's the hardest thing you'll ever do.
Right so back to us being in Canada. I lot of people were perhaps surprised that we returned as we bought one way tickets and didn't have a plan after Nepal. We were willing to stay there or go anywhere after the outreach. We both felt that we were supposed to come back at the beginning of January for a short season and that it would be a time of preparation, seeing family and ministering to whoever we come in contact with. It's been awesome. But, that being said we can't wait to go back to Nepal. For those of you who don't know we're heading back to Nepal to work with Iris Nepal for at least 2 years. I've wanted to be a "missionary" for years and my dream is coming true! It's so surreal, yet totally normal that we're Iris Missionaries now. So the plan, well we don't really have one, is to go back in the spring or early summer, we'll keep you posted.
Nepal got into my heart when we went there in 2008 after we got married and it's never left. When we left this last trip I cried for about 20 minutes after the plane took off, it was so hard to leave. I've never cried when I've left a place before, it really confirmed to me that Nepal is where we're supposed to be next. While we also have a heart for other places south of there (not saying the name intentionally), we feel that the next step is Nepal. We also have a heart for Canada and feel that someday we will return to our homeland and serve here as well.
Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we feel that this year is going to be a huge change in our lives.
Much love to you all,
Kyle and Annie
Iris Harvest school was a totally incredible, transforming, life changing experience. I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who's hungry for more of God and has a heart for missions. It's pretty much impossible to go to the school and not be changed. Everyone including the students, staff, and speakers are so hungry for more of God and His Kingdom. Its a wonderful atmosphere for faith to grow.
Some highlights from the school:
- The culture of honor, faith, and risk. Honor those around you, and honor the hero's who have gone before you. Stepping out in faith requires risk. But if you make a risk in faith and it doesn't work out it's not a failure or even a blow to your faith. Learning to take risks is learning to walk in faith.
- Learning what it means to be a son of the Father, realizing that we are called to co-labour with Christ, salvation isn't the end its the beginning.
- "There is no reason in faith, why today isn't the best day of your life" - Roland Baker. The more I lay hold of that truth the more powerful it becomes.
- Spending hours a day in worship and listening to incredible men and women of God share their stories and teachings.
- The students. I received as much from them as everything else in the school. Their stories, faith and zeal are incredible.
- Our first bush outreach, read about it here.
- Going on a second bush outreach changed my definition of destitute when I met a crippled man who has been bed ridden for five years.
- Graduation was one of the most crazy and glorious experiences of my life. The sheer power of the presence of God made the outreach I last posted on pale by comparison (not that we should compare such things). The Lord brought a banquet of His presence and we all feasted like royalty. Love, prayer, and prophecy poured out on everyone like water. Profoundly beautiful.
You cross a line at the school, something changes in you and there is no going back to the way you used to live. Now that I've tasted and seen that there is more to the Gospel, I can't go back to the old way of thinking. It actually makes life a lot more exciting. Jesus can show up with His love and power at any place and any time. It has wonderful implications, when we cultivate a greater awareness of His voice, His presence, and the Kingdom, the mundane can become the miraculous.
Nepal
The day after graduation we led a small team of six (including us) to Kathmandu Nepal for an extended international outreach. There we partnered with the family that runs Iris Nepal and ministered for two and a half weeks. The outreach had some some amazing moments but had its fair share of challenges. Most of the team was sick for the duration of the outreach, which limited our plans to go visit unreached villages in remote areas. The outreach had no set schedule, rather we spent lots of time worshiping and seeking the Lord for direction. This led us to different parts of Kathmandu to minister on the street and pray over those areas.
We visited a number of Buddhist monasteries to reclaim the territory in the spirit. At the first one we visited some of the team prayed for the head monk who had noticeably bad asthma. You could hear a raspy hissing in his voice when he spoke. After a few minutes all the hissing was gone and he could breath normally again. At another monastery we prayed for an old Buddhist man with bad knees, causing him to shuffle when he walked. He too was totally healed and was able to walk normally with no pain. Another time we were near a small Hindu temple when the Lord led us to pray for the woman who was cleaning the idol of the days offerings (mostly flowers and coloured powder). The Holy Spirit gave us a word of knowledge that she had pain in her right hip. While we were praying she felt heat on the affected area and then all the pain left.
The thing that stuck me about these healings was that they all took place inside places of pagan worship. While intellectually I've always known that the presence of God is everywhere, I used to feel that temples and such were such dark places that I needed to leave as soon as possible lest I be affected by the demons that inhabit them. The reality is that the love of the Father is so much bigger, and He is waiting to pour it out. He loves the people who don't love Him, so much so that He'll send people into these places to bless and pray for them. By the Holy Spirit we transform the atmosphere around us not the other way around. Greater is He who is within us than he who is in the world.
The base leader Joel is incredibly inspiring. He stops for the destitute, the ones the culture ignores, and shows them real love. Ministering with him forces you to slow down. It was an honour to partner with his family and minister together with them.
Canada and Update about Nepal (By Annie)
We've been back in Canada since January 7th and it's been amazing! God's been doing a lot here and it's been really good to put what we learned at the school into your everyday life. One of the things that they talked about at the school was how you have to dig your own well. At the school you're taking in so much teaching and you're meeting so many amazing people that it's easy just to feed off of their "well", their anointing, their walk with God...you get the idea. But, when you're on your own again it's like, "right so now it's just you and me God, lets go!" You have to build your own faith and take what you learned and put it into practice. Faith is a gift, but we also have to work out our faith with "fear and trembling." What a dichotomy that one is! Rolland Baker loves the concept of dichotomy and how it's all through the scriptures, he said, "salvation is free, but it will cost you everything." I love that, it's so true. Following Jesus is the best thing you could ever do, but it's the hardest thing you'll ever do.
Right so back to us being in Canada. I lot of people were perhaps surprised that we returned as we bought one way tickets and didn't have a plan after Nepal. We were willing to stay there or go anywhere after the outreach. We both felt that we were supposed to come back at the beginning of January for a short season and that it would be a time of preparation, seeing family and ministering to whoever we come in contact with. It's been awesome. But, that being said we can't wait to go back to Nepal. For those of you who don't know we're heading back to Nepal to work with Iris Nepal for at least 2 years. I've wanted to be a "missionary" for years and my dream is coming true! It's so surreal, yet totally normal that we're Iris Missionaries now. So the plan, well we don't really have one, is to go back in the spring or early summer, we'll keep you posted.
Nepal got into my heart when we went there in 2008 after we got married and it's never left. When we left this last trip I cried for about 20 minutes after the plane took off, it was so hard to leave. I've never cried when I've left a place before, it really confirmed to me that Nepal is where we're supposed to be next. While we also have a heart for other places south of there (not saying the name intentionally), we feel that the next step is Nepal. We also have a heart for Canada and feel that someday we will return to our homeland and serve here as well.
Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we feel that this year is going to be a huge change in our lives.
Much love to you all,
Kyle and Annie
