Where to Begin....

Where to Begin....so much has happened since I last wrote you all. I spent most of the day at the Pemba Beach Hotel with some of the other lady staff. It's right across the street and it's a place for us to get away from everything and have a break (students aren't allowed to go there). We had coffee on the veranda, some lunch and went swimming as well. It was so lovely and refreshing.

Right, so what have I/we been doing??? Well we have class from 8am to 1:30ish every day except Friday, which is a practical missions day. The students sign up for an area here at Iris that's run by a Mozambican or a long term missionary and they get to help out and see what it's all about. They can help with the kids, gardening, the kitchen, finances (only one student gets to help with that), village outreach, babysitting for the base director, etc, etc, etc. Kyle and I are going to the hospital every Friday afternoon to hang out with patients and their families and to pray for people if they want us to. It's the same as in India in that the families have to provide for all the patients needs like washing clothes and bringing them food. We went yesterday, but the paper work that gives us permission to go into the wards hadn't gone through yet and so some of us walked around the property and prayed for people outside, while a few others walked around inside the property. The conditions in the hospital were a lot better then I had expected, but no where near what it's like back home. People only go to the hospital if they're really sick because there's not a lot of beds available. I am excited to see what will happen when we get to go inside the wards. During the last school some people went and prayed for the patients in a ward and then went back the next day to find that the ward was empty. They had all gotten better and went home! Thank you Jesus!

We start off every morning with worship and then have two or three different sessions in the mornings. Heidi speaks for a session on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Rolland speaks on Mondays and Wednesdays. Last Sunday Heidi's mother passed away and so she's been away this week. After she's with her family she's speaking at some conferences and will be back early November. Rolland left on Wednesday or Thursday for Korea and will be gone for a couple of weeks as well. There are some pretty amazing guest speakers as well.

As staff I have to be present for most of the classes and pray for the students during ministry time. My duties to help run the school are organizing all the worship sessions, graduation requirements (which includes making sure students do the required book readings, organize attendance for class and making a schedule for group presentations, etc), and I also have to organize the book reviews for students that can't read the books because English is their second language. It's a pretty full on schedule, but I'm learning to rest more as well. On Saturdays I have to take the full day off and I'm not allowed to do any work!! I really like how Iris is all about our strength being in resting in His love and Christ being strong in our weakness. I couldn't do this in my own strength and it's such a relief that I don't have to!

Well I must be off to bed, I'm going to try to get up early to do some laundry...yeah for hand washing!

Much love to you all,
Ann Marie

Analogies for that which is bigger than analogy

Oct 3, 2010

 I feel as though God is slowly revealing to me a much wider perspective of the kingdom. Often during work or rest Jesus seems to point out an area of my 'understanding', of my doubt, and even my faith and simply says "There is more, My Kingdom is bigger". Every day He pushes is just a little bit wider.  There is this constant whisper that the Kingdom of God utterly defies any limitation I'm able to place on it. Its like inhaling air that's pregnant with breaths of promise. Breathing that air is crating a hunger in me to really see the kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.  To have a deeper revelation of Jesus, all He did, is doing, and is going to do.  The last time we traveled God challenged me to realize that nothing is outside of His redemption. This time He's taking it a step further by showing me that there is absolutely no area His love, grace and power can't transform. We Christians so easily forget that the battle is already won, and the end has been unchangeably decided, we're just to play a role in the chapters leading up to that end.

-Kyle

School Prep

It's been a week since we arrived in Pemba. We've been busy getting all the housing ready for the students - cleaning, organizing and making sure the right amount of beds are in all the little houses. There are 13 houses for couples and single women and a separate area for all the since men. Each house has a small kitchen, 2 bathrooms and 3 rooms. Kyle and I are lucky enough to have our own en suite bathroom! There will be 6 other women in our house and we will be the house parents. There has only been about 9 of us here getting ready for the school so it will be a big change when all the students get here, all 140 of them! It will be good though, like a little community, it will be like a small town here :)

I am excited for the school to start on Friday. I can't wait to have worship everyday with everyone and to be able to have awesome times together praying and learning more about missions and Gods kingdom. It's going to be a great time, we will let you all know what our days look like once everything is kicking and we have a better idea of what's going on.

bless you all,

annie

If anyone wants more information about Iris go to:

irisministries.com

Actually Leaving

I don't think it hit either of us till just before we left for the airport. I took a moment to sit on the front steps of my childhood home and thank God for His goodness. As I've said before we've been waiting for this for a while and as I sat there thinking about the pains that came during the long wait I was able to see a little deeper into the blessing of Gods sovereignty. The wait was hard, but it has brought fruit and friendships that would be sorely missed had things gone according to our timing. A year ago I sat on my roof watching planes fly by wondering when I'd be trapped in one again, now I board one in twenty minutes.


-kyle

Our apartment is empty!

We moved all of our stuff into storage yesterday. We were blessed to be able to store it all in my mother in laws basement. Thank you MOM!!!

It's such a relief to have it done. We didn't get to packing until 5 days before we moved so it was pretty crazy this past week, lots of late nights and not getting to bed until 2am. It has been so busy the past few weeks, I feel like a haven't had time to breathe. Now that the move is finished we can just focus on the last minute preparations for our trip. We are still staying at our apartment though, it's very empty with lots of echo's.

We need to do a test pack tomorrow, which we've been meaning to do for a long time. I don't know how we're going to fit everything! I am not a fan of packing, I have a hard time deciding on what to bring and what to leave.

I am getting more and more excited, although it seems so surreal at the same time. In 5 nights we will be in Africa. Speaking of nights, I gotta go to bed, air mattress here I come!

Ann Marie

Schooled by Eugene Peterson

The way in which Jesus is the way is not a matter of style of expedience. Nor is it a generality, a vague pointing in an upward direction. Prayerfully and scripturally attentive, Jesus deliberately chose the way He would live. If we chose to follow Him, we must be just as prayerful, scripturally  attentive, and deliberate. The other ways are no ways.  - Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

The above quote has been taped to the inside of my apartment door since the winter. I was reading through Petersons book while Annie and I were in the early stages of praying about going to Mozambique. At that time we were still debating on a lot of the ways that the trip would "practically" affect us. Did we want to give up the apartment we love? What about money? What about stability, and our future? In all honesty we were thinking carnally and with our own "wisdom".  We were praying about it at the time but often our own worries drowned out our listening.

It was in that mindset that I first read Eugenes exhortation, and it hit me right between the eyes.  I was arrested by the Truth and there was no room left for excuses. Any fearful reasoning lingering around was suddenly striped of its validity. I must be intentional about the choices I make, and I must know the reasons why. To do otherwise would be to embrace an illusion of discipleship, and accept a counterfeit as good enough. I love how an encounter with truth can transform a landscape like that. How it puts everything into perspective and undeniably shows you the better way.

-kyle

Preparation

Things are starting to come together, we've been busy getting everything we need for the trip, and figuring out how to pack it into three bags. Packing for Africa is harder than other places I've been because we have to bring all our toiletries with us, often things like shampoo isn't readily available, or if it is its incredibly expensive. We're busy trying to see friends and family before we leave, finalizing all the other nuances of travel and moving all our stuff into storage.

 It reminds me a lot of wedding planing, there is always this part of your mind that is trying to think of what else you have to do, and prioritize it all. It works its way into most conversations between Annie and I. It becomes hard to turn it off, it becomes hard to focus on the spiritual preparation for the trip which is more important. Its funny how the pervasive "needs" of the seen push the needs of the unseen aside, yet we are to "persevere seeing Him who is invisible".

Above all the errands and to-do lists there is a looming sense of substantial change. It's both exciting and frightening to relinquish control over your life. To stop planning and learn to follow. To move away from monetary dependence and rely entirely on provision. To, as Jason Upton puts it, not know where I'm going because I've been blinded by the truth.

But past any of the apprehensions that may ail our thoughts there is the overwhelming certainty that the Lord is good, and what He has prepared for us is better than we could possibly hope for. This is the change we've been praying and waiting for or as I've often described, it's like walking up to the Jordan after so long in the wilderness. The realization of it caries so much mass that it takes a while to settle in and then it systematically takes your breath away.

This long hope of our hearts is upon us, and it's wonderful.
-kyle