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Jean and I were so privileged to be on “boat” outreach with the Bakers recently! We are amazed by our wonderful God who transformed this tiny, forgotten village on the island coast of Mozambique. We know Heidi’s update will inspire you to press past all the obstacles and frustrations in pursuit of His Kingdom dreams which every seeking heart has received!

Greetings from Iris to all our friends and family around the world; blessings, joy and peace.

As another wonderful outreach in the north of Mozambique concludes, I want to thank all of our amazing donors once again. Your love for the poor and your remembrance for the downcast, the orphan, and the widow are enormously appreciated. Without your generosity, it would be impossible for us to continue reaching the lost and feeding the hungry. You have a great part of all the fruit from this Iris family.

We have just returned from ministering in some of the northern coastal villages, where a deaf mute was miraculously healed on the first evening. As always, it was a truly awesome experience. Everyone in the village had known this person, so the healing was greeted with widespread excitement, exuberant cheering and clapping. Now the whole village wants to follow Jesus!

We stayed at this village overnight, and began our next day fresh at 4:30 am, when the whole village awakened. That morning we held a beautiful wedding at a church in a mud hut. The church family and all the local children sang and danced loudly in celebration of this couple’s union. After that, we went to visit people in their homes and pray for the sick. God continues to do glorious miracles among us! So many people were hungry for spiritual food, we might almost have forgotten how hungry they were for natural food — but after breakfast we also saw children scraping out the bottom of our pans after the pastors and visitors had eaten. The Lord again put it strongly my heart that love looks like something. So we prepared lunch, and everyone in the village who was hungry came and ate. We left solar-powered audio Bibles and a soccer ball, then we had to leave for another village.

The next village was one we had planted a church in several years ago. The pastor there has been through two training sessions at Iris, and is doing well. No words are enough to thank you all for helping us train these young, motivated Mozambican leaders! We won’t stop until every village and tribe is reached by the unending, bottomless, ceaseless love of Jesus. His love compels us. We have been so blessed by your ongoing generosity — God bless you all! And we ask you to remember us in your prayers.

Now I would like to share another story, one that is really close to my heart. In part it is about the boat that took us on our outreach, but it is really about Tenacious Love.

One day my husband, Rolland, was flying me in our little bush plane over a certain area of Mozambique. I noticed that there were no roads at all, but I asked Rolland to take me as low as the plane could possibly go, and when he did I looked down and saw village after village passing below me. And I started sobbing! I was sobbing because there were no roads, and it seemed like there would be no natural way for me to get to those people. I was weeping because I have read the Book, and I know my God — I can’t imagine anyone on this planet not getting the opportunity to know this beautiful Savior! I can’t imagine not doing everything I can to give them the chance. I wept and asked God what I should do. And He said, “get a boat!” So, we began to pray and believe for a boat.

For two years I was told again and again how impossible it was to get a boat to Pemba. Likewise, many of you reading this are chosen and called by God for great tasks, but there may be a lot of people telling you why you cannot go, why it is impossible for you to do what God is telling you to. They may try to explain it to you in detail. They may quote books about what they think we cannot do, and what they think God cannot do. I have read those kinds of books. But the Book tells us what we can do! I know my God, and if He says “get a boat,” He means that we should really get a boat.

So — we got a boat!

The government said that we could not bring it into the country without paying a seventy percent import duty. God provided, and I said, “Here is the money; give me the boat!” No one is going to stop me! Actually, I got really angry at the devil. How could he think he could possibly stop us? When you are in love, you are unstoppable!

It took two years and ten days for the boat to finally get here. On the way, while it was being hauled overland on rough roads, the transporters damaged the hull and put cracks in both the engines! At one point the donors who had paid for the boat came to see us, and it was still just sitting, waiting for repairs, covered in dust and dirt in the backyard of a non-Christian man who owns most of the city. Their investment was not looking very impressive. I thought, “God, this is not what I had planned.”

Sometimes it is like that. It looks like your vision is in the camp of someone who doesn’t even know God. It looks like your vision has been captured and carried away. It looks like it is full of dust, covered over, and without any fuel. And yet God says: “Believe what I said! And do not stop!” Love is tenacious. Faith is tenacious. Love doesn’t give up, even when the engines are toast and you have to pay seventy percent duty! Do not stop short of your promise. Do not stop short of your destiny. Do not stop short of His glory.

I had to keep searching for somebody to fix that boat, and even some of the people I love most told me repeatedly that it could not be done. Finally, I found a Filipino man who said he could repair it — but it took another year just to get the parts! After that, I was told that the hull was too deep, and I wouldn’t be able to get close to those villages because their coasts were so shallow. So I asked them to get me a dingy. I was told, once again, that this couldn’t be done. For some reason we couldn’t get a dingy in Mozambique. But I was convinced that there surely must be a dingy available somewhere! I had seen them! Someone said to me, “You just don’t stop, do you?”

I cannot stop! Everybody needs to know! Every tribe, every nation, every tongue! I am a woman possessed by His heart for the lost. Wholly possessed by the one I am in love with!

After another few months, they finally found me a dingy somewhere. And the day we finally took the boat on our first outreach, one of the engines blew. But the other one worked!

Of course it would have been nicer to have two. But since we had the one, I told the captain to keep going. When we got to that first village, by boat and then by dingy, everyone who lived there came running to us. And I was able to tell them that I had come with good news!

I shared every word that I knew in their tribal tongue of Makua. They had never heard the name of Jesus before that day. We sat in a little carpenter’s shop, which consisted of a few sticks and a ripped piece of plastic, and shared all about Jesus while some of the villagers made furniture. Everyone came. I shared, I sang, and I gave them some little solar-powered audio New Testaments in Makua. When I asked them who wanted to receive Jesus, they all said yes!

What if we had stopped short? What if we had given up?

Do not be stopped by difficulty! Never stop short of what God has promised you! He has a destiny for you.

A few months later we went back to this little village, and even before I had the chance to get out of the dingy, almost the whole village had run up to me, singing songs and quoting scriptures they had memorized from their solar Bibles! What a joy! God has made Himself known to this village, which had been totally forgotten by the outside world. We are now in the process of building a church and a school there, the first of either that this village has ever seen.

What a privilege we have, to share the gospel about Christ Jesus! Oh thank you Jesus! We get to be part of bringing people into His presence! We get to give our little lives. Without Him we are just dry twigs. But He calls us to fruitfulness, to intimacy, and to fearless, tenacious love. Whatever it costs… we count it all joy!

Love and blessings,

Heidi Baker

Marcelino joined our family in November of last year. Marcelino’s father brought him to the center after his wife had died of an extended sickness. At six months old, little Marcelino was also very sick. Weighing in at 3 kilos (close to 7 pounds), he was underweight and malnourished. His father took Marcelino to local women to nurse, but the baby still seemed to be getting weaker by the day. A local pastor told Marcelino’s father about Iris Ministries. The desperate father wasted no time. He arrived at our Pemba base a few hours later.

Marcelino’s first months with our family were not easy. Sickness after sickness seemed to plague sweet Marcelino. Due to the frequent illnesses, he was tested for HIV/AIDS. Praise God, his results were negative. During a visit when he was hospitalized our missionary doctor said, “Marcelino has ‘failure to thrive.’ Unless we see something change…we could lose him.” We prayed together and took authority over the spirit of death and released God’s Kingdom over Marcelino. We did not see any dramatic improvements, but we did not give up praying. After a week of these prayer visits, Marcelino was released from the hospital…and he has not returned! (2 months so far)

Today, Marcelino is a very happy and healthy ten month old! He loves to play peek-a-boo with his quick, irresistible smile. He learning to walk and soon will be unstoppable. Marcelino is another amazing example of Jesus’s ‘promise to thrive’ over His children!

Change … What comes to mind when you hear that word? Recent elections made he word ‘change’ into a buzzword for ‘better!’ Some people love change and some detest it and avoid it whenever possible. Most people have a love-hate relationship with change. Sudden or slow, difficult or easy; change usually happens. In the Makua culture, change is an insult to one’s ancestors. Big change, like moving one’s home to a new location for example might mean death because it would ‘anger the spirits.’ Even if the move is the obvious answer to protect a family from cholera or to avoid the annual flooding, change is avoided. This is perhaps the greatest reason why the Makua people remain southern Africa’s largest unreached people group…but that is changing! In just 5 years, we have over 700 churches in an “impossible” province! What about change and the Kingdom of God? The highest heavens and the earth below cannot contain our unchangeable God (Acts 7:49-50, Heb. 13:8). It is as if God has called the human soul to be in a continual state of change.

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God. (Matt 18:3)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory. (2 Cor. 3:18)

Globally, there seems to be a shifting within the Body of Christ…a season of change which is a divine dissatisfaction for anything lacking the fullness of God. It appears that God is currently calling forth His awakened bride for something only violent love can conquer …”The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” (Matt.11:12). At this very hour of change, it is time to seek God with passionate abandonment! Like a child, may we totally depend on our heavenly Daddy while letting faith arise and God’s enemies be scattered, (unbelief, fear, unforgiveness, selfishness, pride, etc). Change is coming… so let us be watchful and alert! “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…” (1 Cor. 15:51).

Speaking of change … we have something pretty big to share with you. At the beginning of the year, we were asked by the leadership of Iris Ministries to pray about relocating to South Africa to become Directors of the Iris South Africa base with Pastor Surprise Sithole. Needless to say this is a huge decision and we have spent over 2 months waiting on God and praying. As directors of the Mbonisweni base, we would be overseeing a Bible School, drop-in educational center, feeding program, and numerous other projects. The biggest focus of our attention will be pioneering a new children’s center in Mbonisweni (area in the Mpumalanga province which has an extremely high AIDS population). We recently went to visit this area and met the current staff. Our hearts were overwhelmed with peace and vision for this new work. We also learned of the overwhelming amount of children who have been abandoned at the local hospitals. One little girl we learned about has been at the hospital in Kabokweni for 6 years! This broke our hearts!!! In Pemba, if a child is abandoned, local authorities bring the child to our base immediately. But in Kabokweni, local orphanages are full. Praise God that the Father’s house is never full! There will always be room for more children!!! Please be praying for us as we continue to seek God’s will regarding this next step!
Love,
Jean and Teisa

From Heidi:

Dear Friends of Iris,

The Lord has been speaking to me about the process we are in as a movement. I feel that many in the Body of Christ are going through similar things. Because the Lord values intimacy with him above any other thing and longs for us to bear much fruit, He prunes us.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing”.

In love, Father God cuts away every branch that does not bear fruit in us. It is an excruciatingly painful process. It hurts, and at times we feel like there is nothing left of us. It is, however, the only way we will ever get to the place of supernatural fruitfulness that flows from intimacy. I feel the Lord calling us to a more intense place of clinging to Him, to remaining in His love and to a radical obedience. He longs for His joy to be made complete in and through us. Again He calls us to an unending and unstoppable love. The kind of love that calls us to lay down our lives for Him and those around us. He is calling us to a deeper friendship with Him. In the midst of global crisis and intense shaking there is only one place we can run to: The deepest place of His heart.

Again, I feel the Lord shifting my schedule; reminding me of what the most important things are: Deeper intimacy with Him and with those he has called me to serve. He is reminding me of how all this began and where I need to remain. First, we are called to love God powerfully, deeply and intensely. Secondly, we are called to love our neighbors in the same way. Relationship is of critical importance to God. His main concern is neither what we do for Him, nor how much we do every day. Rather, he asks the question: “Have we done what we have done in love, through love, and for love?”.

We have just had the incredible joy of seeing a new life birthed in to our Iris family. Jacinto, my Mozambican spiritual son who has grown up with us for the last 14 years, and his wife Katie, a missionary and spiritual daughter of mine, gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy yesterday. His name is Micah Samuel. This child was born out of their loving union. Both Jacinto and Katie were needed to bring forth this beautiful child. The labor was long and hard but seeing a healthy child born is, with out a doubt, one of the most profoundly beautiful experiences on earth.

John 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

I believe Iris and much of the body of Christ is in a time of labor. The presence of God is with us in the midst of our toiling and pain. He never leaves us for a moment. It’s time to push. It’s time to breathe. It’s time to push. It’s time to bring forth a a spiritual child. In the end the joy of birthing spiritual children will be greater than anything we have ever hoped for or imagined. The miracle of new life.

Phil. 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Playing off our last blog, we thought we would share about the last seven lively weeks. Since Jean’s “promotion” as the leader of the kitchen, he faces the daily challenge of bringing order and compassion to an extreme volatile area. Because of the center’s explosive growth, this includes the purchasing and distribution of food for over +1100 people per day! This might be hard for some to believe, but some Africans become different people when it comes to their food! Sweet people who love Jesus will yell at the top of their lungs and throw a tantrum if they do not receive what they want. Coming against the god of their bellies is a formable enemy who daily needs to cut down…like a weed, it can be mown down one day but it often grows back again the next day. Add in the daily stresses of overseeing staff, raising up Mozambican leaders for the kitchen, teaching in the Bible school, leading a discipleship group, and learning the accounting for the base (new project☺), Jean still guards his time with the Lord diligently (even if it means getting up at 4 am). He is my hero and an amazing example during this busy season.

On my end, I am so blessed to have this season in assisting Heidi (our director). Her previous assistant Katie just had a baby (see Heidi’s recent update below). Daily, God demonstrates His lavish love and power thru this awesome woman of God and I am grateful to have a front row seat-both in learning and participating! For example, we have a mercy/benevolence ministry to the poor. This ministry helps purchase wheelchairs, build houses, help with funeral expenses, pay school fees, etc. In the past, Heidi often faced the ever-growing cue of people alone. Consequently, two dear Mozambican sisters and myself have taken on this honor. Please pray for us! It can be very overwhelming hearing people’s needs and discerning whom we can help and when to lovingly say “no”.

Another huge project is revamping our widows’ ministry. We knew we needed to review the widow’s list when a few women came to the center to receive food with new babies strapped to their backs! Many of the women can work, so we have placed them in groups that have discipleship on Mondays and learn a trade on two other days per week. Besides sewing, we are teaching the ladies to make bead jewelry and weave local bamboo purses, hats, and mats. Therefore, we can “trade” food for completed items, which we hope to sell online (I will post the proper web info once we get this done).

Most days are long and filled with both testimonies and trials. Joy and heartbreak. Victory and defeat. How can anyone survive in such paradox? Easy…by abiding in Christ! We encourage you, whatever your current paradox may be, abide in Him!
“There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God. Only those who have experienced it can understand. However, I don’t advise you to seek His presence for the sole purpose of gaining consolation for your problems. Seek rather because God wills it an out of love for Him.” Brother Lawrence

We have more exciting news, but we are saving it for our next newsletter! Check our blog in the next week for our surprise announcement!

Since late November, our kids have been on summer break from school. I (Teisa) noticed a few of our boys with that famous “I’m so bored” look. Since my transition away from hospitality and to assisting Heidi (our director) when she is in Pemba, I have had more free time than usual. Therefore, Jean and I have tried to squeeze more activities for our boys in the past few weeks. One Saturday, we had a beach day at Muewbe (a local beach) where we played games and had Bible story time. In no time at all, our boys conquered Jean in soccer and set off to explore the beach at low tide. It was so sweet to be presented with lots of pretty shells and snails. Our boys graciously let me free the snails to return to their ocean home.

In preparation for the 2nd grade, we also started a short summer school for our 11 boys plus one other missionary child the same age. Most of the boys still have a hard time writing their own names, so this has been a major focus. We also have games and fun exercises that help develop hand-eye coordination and letter/number recognition.

Another fun activity has been catching butterflies. A dear homeschool family sent us a wonderful butterfly net and book to help identify butterflies in South Africa. Our boys will hunt butterflies for hours and then scour the book trying to find a matching picture. At first the boys were pretty rough with the poor butterflies, often severing part of a wing in eager pursuit to find the correct picture in the book…but after several tries, they learned how not to touch the butterflies and how to set them free after finding their picture. Thank you again Annette and family for sending us the amazing butterfly kit!!!

One of my greatest joys in Pemba is my daily walk on the beach. I (Jean) find this time to be a great source of joy and strength as I minister unto the Lord and enjoy his wonderful creation. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore refreshes my spirit, and peace and tranquility flood my soul. Last Tuesday morning I found myself in great need of help as I had just been asked to be in charge of our kitchen. Two days of training and I was handed the keys. The mission was to serve food to over 1000 people per day. All I could think was help me Jesus!! I was overwhelmed, in great need of assistance, and the only thing I knew to do was to go for a walk and pray.

While going for my walk I noticed a young boy in the distance (maybe 10-12) who was walking kind of funny. It looked like he had a clubbed right foot as he was dragging it while walking. I felt a prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray for him and felt like the Lord would heal him if I did. As soon as we met I asked him what his name was and if I could pray for him. He asked me for money. Immediately the scripture in Acts 3:6 came to mind, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you…in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk.” I then noticed that his hand was also clenched closed. As I began to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to come his hand began to slowly open. I then took authority over all the power of the enemy and commanded him to let go of Basillo. I then told him to jump up and down and begin to walk. His foot straightened out and as we continued to walk together he asked me for money again. Praise God! Lord let your kingdom continue to come on earth as it is in heaven!

One week later:

After several days of overseeing our kitchen operation I’m overwhelmed by the goodness, the grace, and the mercy of God. The prayers of the saints and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit have brought me into a new place of abiding in the presence of the Lord, even in the midst of trying circumstances. Teisa and I honored to be serving God in such a beautiful place as Pemba. Our hearts full of gratitude and thankfulness as we daily walk with our king JESUS!!!

We greet you from a very hot and sizzling Mozambique! Did we mention hot? As if it was not hot enough, we have 100% humidity too on some days…who ever heard of 100% humidity? Basically, it means you need to take a shower 5 minutes after taking one! One day Jean took our thermometer out of the shade and left it in the sun for a minute and it registered 127F! While winter temperatures drop in the western hemisphere, temperatures soar higher and higher in Africa. As the heat index climbs in the natural, we also rejoice at the parallel elevation and open heavens in the Spirit….

Like the open heaven He blessed us with on Christmas. For weeks, Jean and I prepared gifts for our kids (Thank you again Valleybrook! The children from this church raised money to buy presents for all 188 of our kids). Even in the midst of the crazy shopping and preparations, our prayer was “Jesus- you are the true gift this Christmas! May every child have a fresh revelation of you this year!” He is so faithful! On Christmas day, we were so wonderfully aware of the Father’s delight in His children. It was His birthday party and we had a blast! Our Iris family enjoyed a precious time with Him as we opened presents, prayed, worshiped, ate chicken, and drank Coca Cola.

The day got even better as the gates of our center opened at 1pm for all the community kids to join the Christmas celebrations. Over 1500 kids were gathered at the gate waiting to come in. Our Makua youth did an outstanding job helping the kids come into the center in groups, avoiding a mass stampede. Groups of 20 were lead to the kitchen where each child received a full plate of rice, chicken, and a coke. Upon leaving the kitchen, each child received a present (small toy or stuffed animal) and candy bag. Things got a little crazy as the kids realized what awaited them….suddenly over 800 kids wanted out of the kitchen at the same time☺ The riot was short lived as our Makua youth came to the rescue was again. Soon we had organized lines and kids waiting patently for their turn to leave and receive their present. By the end of the day, over 2200 kids/adults had full bellies and happy hearts, but even better, each one was touched by the lavish love of God.

We were able to put together a short, 5 min DVD of our Christmas celebration. Please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIeob4byzxs
or email me to request a copy to be sent directly to your home (please include your mailing address if we do not already have it)

Since Christmas, our days have slowed down a little and we have transitioned back into teaching, dorm parenting, assisting with visitors, and spending lots of time with Jesus. God has spoken to us that 2009 will be a year of fire and fruit. “He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit…Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” (John 15:5,8). “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28-29). “The fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifice; and the glory of the Lord filled the house” (2 Chron 7:1). We want to be that offering! Our greatest pursuit is to abide in manifest presence of our King. Whether in the secret place or out facing the multitudes, our hearts are crying out for His presence (fire) and His harvest (fruit).
We love you! We love you! We love you! Did we mention how we love you? Thank you again and again for your love and your prayers. Please know we adore the e-mails in response to our updates and any news from you. We are not usually able to respond quickly, but we always get around to it. Until we connect again, may we fix our eyes on beautiful Jesus and may we completely abide in Him.

Huge blessings,
Jean and Teisa

One more treasure was added to our family last week. One more gift from God with immeasurable worth and potential. One more chance to see Jesus lavish His amazing love on a lost, discarded soul. One more day seeing the Kingdom of God come to earth as it is in heaven.

We found little Aselmo sleeping on the streets in downtown Pemba. After the death of his grandmother, Aselmo was forced to struggle for his life on the brutal city streets. At eight years old, he was accustomed to loneliness and rejection. Aselmo was born with severely clubbed feet that made him the target of abuse and ridicule. His own mother refused to care for him as he grew, so Aselmo lived with his grandmother. Upon her death, Aselmo was all alone…

Upon finding Aselmo and hearing his story, we asked to visit his mother’s house (a necessary step when a child has a living family member). Little Aselmo did not even know where she lived. After asking around and a few wrong turns, our children’s ministry team found the house. His mother did not hug or even acknowledge Aselmo’s presence. Without any outward feeling, she stated that she would not care for him. She quickly signed the needed paperwork. Just like that, Aselmo became the newest treasure at Iris Pemba. What a joy it is to see these children unlocked and discovered! How amazing it is to see the orphan spirit broken off and watch children take their rightful places as sons and daughters in the family of God!!! In just a week, we have seen an amazing healing work done in Aselmo’s heart and life! Please pray with us for Aselmo’s complete healing- we believe that his little legs will be completely restored without surgery! Do it Jesus!