June 09 newsletter2

Blessings from our new home in Back Door, South Africa! Forgive us for the many names, but one of our first cultural shocks was sorting out the many names for the area. Back Door is a small, impoverished community that shares a high hill with Mbonisweni (where the future children’s home will be). Back Door overlooks Kabokweni (the larger township) and many hills and valleys dotted with homes. We are blessed with a breathtaking view of the surrounding area (perfect place to pray for transformation and revival). People often refer to our base as the ‘Nelspruit’ or ‘White River’ base since these are the larger urban centers within easy driving distance. But before we tell you more about our first week in SA, we want to share a testimony from our last week in Pemba!

Like any “mundanca da casa” (moving of the house), we were overwhelmed with all the details, goodbyes, and last minute needs of the ministries in transition. I (Teisa) was furiously trying to fulfill any commitments I made within the Mercy Ministry so the new leaders would not have to deal with, “But Teisa said/promised…”. This included purchasing 2 wheelchairs, 2 home improvements projects, and buying a bed. Any one of these projects (except buying the bed) normally would take 1-2 weeks separately to accomplish, so we knew it would take a miracle to get everything done (including packing, goodbye parties, and lots of administrative loose ends, etc). Praise Jesus, we serve a miraculous God!

The mercy ministry team (myself and 2 Makua youth) set out to buy the wheelchairs and the many needed items for the 2 houses. We spent three days searching the city for wheelchairs and nothing could be found. While searching, we bought the necessary rock, bamboo, matufee and chappa (roofing material), and other items for the homes. Wondrously, we were able to deliver the materials and arrange for workers with relative ease…no bribes were asked, no truck breakdowns, no stealing of the materials- Yeah God! One of the widows, Lucia, gathered her 7 children and demanded us to dedicate her new home. We were very happy to comply! After prayer, Lucia kept thanking God for His favor and love for her family’s new home. The other widow, Maria, was equally elated when the provisions for her roof were brought to her door. This family would now be properly sheltered from the cold rains during the rainy season.



Little did we know, word was on the street that Iris Ministries wanted to buy wheelchairs. To our astonishment, several were brought to the center for us to choose from! We were so blessed to give these vital gifts to two boys within our church who desperately needed them.
We were down to the wire and had one more item to go- a bed for a blind woman and her two kids. We asked the woman to return on Wednesday to pick up her bed. This would wrap up all the projects and give me all of Thursday to pack (our departure flight was Friday morning). Sure enough, the family was waiting at our office door Wednesday morning. We found out that Christina was a widow and that her home was in the city, so we arranged for a truck to take her family and the bed home. They were loading the truck when the Holy Spirit told me I needed to go with them…I was thinking, “Really? I don’t need to go…I have so many other things to do.” But the Holy Spirit was clear, so I hopped into the truck. Boy was I glad I obeyed!!!

We discovered that Christina and the two kids lived on the side of a guard shack. They had no walls and only a tattered makeshift roof to shelter them as they slept on the ground. The kids began joyously dancing around as we moved their new bed into the small space. I could not help the tears flowing from my eyes as I watched their precious joy over the simple thing like a bed. We began to question Christina and found out the kids had never been to school; instead, they take turns leading their mother around town begging. The oldest girl, Isabella, was most likely being abused to pay for the rent of the little space from the guards. My heart was so broken for this family, I knew I could not leave Pemba until this family was safe.



My team talked about the options….we could rent a mud hut near the Iris Center, but that would not take care of other needs of the family (food, school, safety for Christina and Isabella). Then we stopped talking and prayed…duhhh! The Holy Spirit reminded me of the Noviana Village, so I called the director, Don Kantel. The Noviana village (an extension of Iris Ministries Canada) is a small community of widows and their children near our Iris base. Two years ago, I was present when the first family moved in—a widow with two young daughters. I knew of the two other families who also had moved in, so I knew there was little hope that there was space. Gloriously, Don told me that there was a single room left and we could move the family in the next day!!!

Thursday morning, instead of packing for our move, I packed for this new families move☺ In a few moments, their worldly possessions more than quadrupled by simply throwing extra cloths, plates, sheets, towels, etc. into a few trash bags. Excitedly, our mercy team went to pick up the family and move them into their new home. Christina was eagerly waiting outside the shack with her new bed and a small bundle containing everything she owned.

Friends, words cannot express the joy of seeing a family lifted out of the pit of hopelessness and set upon the rock of love, Jesus! We watched this family as they settled into a real home, lovingly embraced by their neighbors who were merrily preparing food for them. We explained how the kids would go to our Iris school and how Christina would no longer have to beg. They were safe. There would always be enough food. They did not have to do anything to earn it. They were loved. They had an amazing Father who simply wanted to know them and take care of them. We all cried as we prayed over this new family and the beginning of their new journey in the Kingdom.



And guess what! Later that day, Jean and I packed up our whole house up in around 5 hours. Delighted to give away more than we were taking with us, things came together rather easily.
We are now getting settled into our new home in South Africa. As expected, Jean left two weeks ago to accompany Surprise Sithole (International Director of Iris Ministries) on a preaching/fundraising tour of the UK. I stayed back to help in various areas. As for specific prayer needs, we really need divine wisdom and favor as we move forward with the new children's center. Without really knowing the local culture and people, we need the Holy Spirit to impart heavenly strategies so we know what steps to take, what issues to take a stand on, when to keep quiet, etc. As always, there are some interesting dynamics and problems that prevented major headway for the new children center. We need to renovate the 4 current buildings and receive approval from social services and town planning (plus getting the proper licenses and the property rezoned). Please pray for these details and our leadership team as we begin establishing the children's center core values, staff guidelines, house rules etc. And pray for the dear children who are anxiously waiting for a home. Lastly, please pray that we find God’s chosen house parents who will love these precious children as their own.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…” Psalm 68:5-6

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Matt 20:16


"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Rev 22:12-13

Forgive our delay! We have been in South Africa for almost 2 1/2 weeks, so this is way over due! We are loving our new home and new mission. Here is a picture of our new home and the amazing view of the local area (it is the perfect place to pray for His glory and revival fire to fall!)
We also included a picture of the wonderful team in which we will be serving! Please keep praying for us! We will have another email update out in the next week!

As many of you know, we have been in earnest prayer for several months about moving to Mbonisweni, South Africa to become the new base directors for Iris Ministries South Africa. We are excited to announce that God has spoken and confirmed His next step for us. As Jean loves to say, “The cloud is moving.” Indeed, we know God’s presence is going before us to Mbonisweni and we will joyously follow.

This joy is bittersweet as we say goodbye to our family in Pemba and especially our boys. Our dorm room (and the Iris kids in general) received the news surprisingly well, which has comforted our hearts greatly. Another great comfort is the blessing and commissioning from our spiritual parents, the Bakers. After several years of mentorship and fruitful ministry, we knew this day of launching would someday come.

Thank you again for joining us on this journey! We look forward to keeping you prayerfully connected as we share His vision for this new children’s center, new nation, new people groups, etc!!!! We leave for South Africa (SA) in the one week, so we are busy imparting all we can into the leaders and missionaries who will be taking our areas of responsibility, ministry, etc. We know this seems quick, but our presence is urgently needed. Upon arrival, it is good possibility that Jean will join Pastor Suprise Sithole (pictured above) on an important trip to the UK regarding the new children's center. Please be praying for us during this time of transition!

We love and bless you, our friends and supporters. Your amazing generosity is an ongoing miracle in our lives that brings great blessing and eternal life to so many of the lost and the least. Please continue to run the race with us!

~Wondrously His,
Jean and Teisa Nicole

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!