More news from Jean and Teisa

Doubly blessed!

2012-02-18T04:02:00.002-08:00

In the last two weeks, we were doubly blessed to host two amazing teams at MCV. A YWAM team from Swaziland came home with us after the Pastor’s Advance and stayed for over a week. During that time, they blessed us with their hearts to serve however was needed: from clearing out an old garden, to washing windows, to giving the kids some one-on-one computer help, to handling cleanup after our birthday braai. Three of the members of the team were fluent Siswati speakers and two of the others were learning, so our kids had the rare joy of being able to speak their own language to some of our guests. When their ride came to pick them up at the end of their time with us, we had difficulty letting them go. We bless them as they seek out God’s will for the rest of their lives.

The second was a large team from a church in South Carolina, who spent a day at MCV doing prayer ministry with all of our staff, as well as our children. Everyone was touched by their openness to the Spirit and the encouraging words that they shared with us. Later in the week, the team spent the day in the local town of Backdoor, visiting and ministering in many different homes. We were further encouraged by the reports of the signs and miracles that the Lord showed them that afternoon! Through their ministry that week and in church on Sunday, the Lord revealed His heart for our area to be a place where God’s fire dwells. Father, let your will be done in Backdoor!

**this blog was written by our intern Kelsey who triply blesses us daily!

Lots to Report!

2012-02-15T17:05:00.002-08:00

Whooee! When did it become mid-February??? Things have been so crazy busy for us- but we are super blessed and have lots to share!

Although this website has been sorely neglected, the two ministry websites we help oversee have had some attention:)

MCV has a new computer lab! Read about it and the two amazing interns which are keeping me (Teisa) very happy and sane! www.mcvafrica.com

One of the interns, Kelsey, wrote a testimony about the Pastors Advance which we hosted last week. It also included Pastor Surprise's latest book launching! Here it is:

This past weekend, “The Pastors Advance 2012” was held in Backdoor. We were blessed to have Pastor Mark Lawson from Atlanta, Georgia as our guest speaker. Pastors and leaders came from the community, throughout South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Benin, Congo, Swaziland, Mozambique, Canada, United States, and Qatar. It was a time of fellowship, worship, and encouragement. Pastor Mark challenged us as leaders to not compromise, as Solomon did. Pastor Mark also shared about his personal experience with the glory of God and called us all, as the Body of Christ to go out, declaring the message that “Jesus is King and the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

After the final service with Pastor Mark Lawson in Nelspruit on Sunday, we were honored to attend the book launch party of Pastor Surprise Sithole’s new book, A Voice in the Night. Those who have read and enjoyed Rush Hour will be further blessed to learn much more about Pastor Surprise’s early life and God’s call on his life in A Voice in the Night. All who attended the book launch were encouraged by the testimonies shared about the influence of both the book and Pastor Surprise on those present. Anyone interested in purchasing their own copy of the book can contact Pastor Surprise or his support team (Teisa at teisamarie@yahoo.com).

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

More pictures at www.mcvafrica.com

Christmas is such a special time for our big family in Africa. There are few decorations, rare carols, no hyped up commercialism (except in the big stores). People celebrate with their families- usually around a large meal. Some give gifts. Some do not. Personally, we love giving gifts because it is a tangible reminder of the gift our Heavenly Father gave to us on Christmas! Preaching is so easy….who can resist such an amazing gift of love and eternal life?

Our highlight this year was seeing our children in action! For hours, the older kids at MCV helped put together 500 candy bags for the outreaches. They also helped with a Nativity skit that they performed at the Backdoor Christmas Outreach. The outreach got a little crazy at the end when hundreds of kids were pushing to receive their candy bag at the gate, but our kids were right there in the thick of it helping us keep order. They also went on home visits to the children in the community within the Extended Care Program. They assisted our volunteers in praying for the sick and leading many people to Christ!

On Christmas Day, our big MCV family celebrated together in some special ways. The MCV families each had a breakfast feast as a family before going to church. At church, Papa Jean shared a different Christmas message- the power of Holy Communion in which we all celebrated together. After church, the MCV family gathered again to give thanks, celebrate with gifts, and pray together. Each family would come forward and receive their gifts from Jesus. Then the rest of us would pray for that family for God’s fullest blessings and destiny for the new year. After the prayer, the families would excitedly open their gifts. Christ’s lavish love and joy abounded as our children enjoyed these precious gifts from Him!

We are so grateful for All Nations Fellowship in New Orleans and the many individuals/families who helped us with our Christmas Sponsorship Program! Thank you, thank you, thank you! God multiplied the money that came in! We were unable to do new clothing for all the community children, but we were able to give good used clothing (much was given by our MCV kids going through their closets!). Thank you again for standing with us and making this amazing harvest of love possible!

Many of you are also wondering what the latest news regarding our precious Warrior Baby. He has been successfully reintegrated with his grandmother whom he has grown to love. Today during a short home visit, W greeted us with much joy and did not cry when we left…he just happily waved and blew kisses. He really seems to be thriving in his new home and family, so our hearts are full. Thank you again to everyone who interceded with us for W- lets keep praying for his amazing little life!

Thankful reminder!

2011-11-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Dearest Friends and Prayer Warriors,

With thankful hearts, we wanted to send love and blessings to our global family! Many of our supporters from America will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week- a holiday that really should be everyday, aye?

Be joyful always, pray continually, and GIVE THANKS in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest people; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.” E.P. Powell

“Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.” W.J. Cameron

Amen and amen! We also wanted to share this video highlighting the Christmas Sponsorship program with everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9RUbY8KPlU

There is some great Johanna Joy footage in the video for all the JoJo fans:)

As we shared in our last newsletter, we are looking for churches or small groups (even individuals) to help sponsor the upcoming Christmas outreaches! In addition to all the fun stuff we have at MCV, we will be hosting two large Christmas parties for children in our Extend Care program (orphaned children taken in by extended family or the local church). We also follow up with home visits where we give gifts, special prayer, etc. We also hope to reach out to the child headed homes within the community (older children taking care of younger siblings)….So we need lots and lots of sponsors!

For $20 (US dollars), our team can buy an age appropriate toy/gift and item of new clothing.

Please be in touch with us ASAP if you are interested in sponsoring a child or group of children! Sponsorship monies need to be sent to MIA with a note in byline “MCV Christmas.”

Goal Accomplished!

2011-11-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

MCV celebrated another round of birthdays over the weekend! It was an especially fun day because we christened the new soccer field! Thanks to a dear sponsor in America, we have new soccer goals and equipment! Everyone joined in the match…even the “old” people like Papa JeanJ

It is always such a blessing to celebrate the lives of each child and volunteer staff at MCV. Amongst the highlights was seeing 4 year old S receive a new bike! His old bike (a gift at Christmas) was ridden daily for hours for months till the wheels completely wore off. Another highlight was during the prayer for the birthday kids. Many of our kids are really pressing into His presence and understanding the power of prayer. We watched many of the kids pray blessings and fire over the other kids/adults….Yeah God!

For more pictures, visit the galley at the MCV website! www.mcvafrica.com

Enjoying our treasures!

2011-10-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

The MCV family just enjoyed another week of school holiday. This is always a special time of extra activities, but God really impressed upon our hearts to very specifically to ENJOY our precious children. The mamas and missionaries took small groups shopping for new summer cloths/shoes. What a joy to watch certain kids radiate such delight and pride when showing off their new clothing choices! We also piled into the new Quantum, Papa Jean’s bakkie and Lisa’s rental (a friend from Flanders Electric) for a day safari at Kruger National Park. The kids saw God’s beauty up close with most of the animal coming within 10 feet of the vehicles. And when a child wanted to see something specific, the kids prayed and asked God to bring the animal to them…and He did! This happened over and over till everything was seen except a leopard or cheetah! The final highlight of the break was the big soccer game at Mbombela Stadium. The houseparents and Pastor Surprise and Tryphina treated the kids to a fun day cheering on Bafanna Bafanna (South Africa’s national soccer team)!

We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father and His hands (many of you!) who make this abounding joy possible.

Bible College Graduation

2011-09-28T01:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, we celebrated with over 30 amazing men and women the completion of the Biblical Studies program at Harvest Bible College. Many of the students attended a rotation of 2-3 weeks sessions for over 3 years in order to complete all the required courses. After worship and the joyous procession of graduates, Pastor Surprise Sithole gave a powerful word of commission and harvest. The ceremony continued with more awards, special words, etc. The highlight for many was watching each student receive their diploma and Bible (a special gift from the ministry). This was indeed such a joyous milestone in their journey- many celebrated in very fun, animated ways to the pleasure of the crowd! It was an amazing blessing to watch and pray for each graduate as they were commissioned and launched into a new season of ministry. The ceremony ended in much praise and thanksgiving. After pictures, everyone was treated to delicious meal and fellowship.

As you know, this ministry is very dear to our hearts....Jean teaches and Teisa does the administration. Join us in praying for the 30+ graduates and their families! Pray that they would be shinning stars in this dark world- bringing the light and truth of Jesus Christ to ends of the earth.

Chosen Ones- a Kingdom approach to education at MCV!

2011-09-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

The following blog was written by Dea Walker- an amazing missionary heading up the after-school program at MCV. We wanted to highlight this incredible ministry to raise more prayer support!

At Michaels Children’s Village, we take great joy in following Holy Spirit and being nestled in the arms of our loving Papa God. We are in love with Jesus, our Bridegroom King of Glory. In our work, we have watched Papa God lovingly bring us children to envelop in His Spirit of Adoption. We seek His guidance in every aspect of this time we have with our sons and daughters including their education.

In 2008, I asked God to show me what Kingdom Education looked like. God’s training was immediate. I focused on the Tree of Life and listened carefully to Holy Spirit as He led me in Kingdom Education within the classroom. There was much to learn with many unusual experiences in the midst of that time. I met more challenges but also enjoyed teaching even more than ever. Kingdom Education is the structural plan for the Chosen Ones afterschool and school break program for our children at Michaels Children’s Village.

So, what exactly does Kingdom Education look like at Michaels Children’s Village? Good Question. We are free flowing for the most part in growing this portion of our children’s development. Our children attend a good community school and attend Chosen Ones at our children’s village after school and on school breaks. Each child’s educational plan is based upon that individual child, their giftings, and their strengths with the guidance of Holy Spirit. We ask Papa God for direction for each child. We focus on Kingdom Education that brings in the love of the Father, the compassion of Christ, and the New Covenant commandments of Jesus.

We have a heart to serve the total child. This not only includes educational milestones like literacy and numeracy development but also spiritual, physical, and personal development. If you walked into a normal day, you could find a small group of children soaking or a large group worshiping in song, dance or art. You may walk in and find us all enjoying books or a small group in a guided reading lesson. You may also see a lesson in fractions with fraction blocks or polynomials with algebra tiles. You might encounter a young writing group or a young Kingdom leadership class. You may find volunteers cooking with the children, teaching a child to play guitar, working one on one with a child on their homework or doing crafts. You may even join some of us for a game of Monopoly or putting together a puzzle. God’s plan seems to have us plan the day around the child rather than the child to fit into the program schedule.

Pray with us for this amazing adventure in learning and loving at MCV!!!!

MCV dreams come true!

2011-08-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

Ever since MCV opened 2 years ago, transport has been a problem. The ministry had an old combi (9 seat van) which we used to transport the kids, but the combi was always breaking down….the thing truly ran on prayer! Around 3 weeks ago, Papa Dube was doing errands and the combi ran out of gas, so he parked it and walked off in pursuit of fuel….minutes later, a horrible accident in which another vehicle lost control and ran strait into the combi and totaled it. The insurance gave MCV the book value for the combi (way more than what it was worth) and we received a rental truck to help get the kids to school. Just a few days after we had to return the rental, MCV was blessed by Flanders Electric (company in America with awesome Christian owners/leaders) with a new Toyota Quantum (15 seat vehicle)! Some amazing Flanders employees’ delivered it Friday to an excited and elated crowd of kids. Everyone jumped inside in awe of this lavish gift from God (via Flanders!)

Yesterday for the first time, Jean drove the MCV kids to school in major style! With big smiles and lots of pride, we are pretty sure the hot topic at school was the new Quantum.

Thank you again to the extended MCV family at Flanders Electric who made this incredible dream come true! As we grow, we look forward to a whole fleet of miracle vehicles just like this one to carry our precious kids into their awesome destinies!

Teisa's Pemba trip

2011-07-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

Recently, Johanna and I were able to spend a week in our old home Pemba, Mozambique. Since tickets were crazy expensive, Jean volunteered to stay back and keep things running smoothly in South Africa. I was tad apprehensive to travel alone with JoJo (bus and plane rides in Moz), but everything went wonderfully (except crossing the border….but that is another story☺)

Our time in Pemba was epic! On the first night, we crashed the missionary home group (with around 50 people). Johanna had not seen Heidi in over a year (she is 18 months now), but she made a bee line for her. Heidi was soaking on the floor when she felt little hands on her head…and then Johanna kissed her! How amazing is that….little JoJo knew in the spirit how special Heidi is…to her/me (and to Jesus and the world!) I think JoJo received an impartation of love from Heidi that night too! For the rest of the week, we got lots of time with Heidi (which is a miracle), but we soaked it up and will treasure it forever.

So our mission while in Pemba was both social and practical; we had tons of people to reconnect with and we were recruiting short/long term missionaries from the mission school for the White River base. Days were full and fun. On Saturday, we refused to schedule anything so we could enjoy the beach and take the boys (our old dorm- Mighty Warriors/FireStarters) out for a special lunch/fellowship. Johanna loved the beach and really loved the time with her long distance brothers.

The last highlight was visiting Julianna. She is the first widow who we built a house for in 2006. Over the years in Pemba, God knitted our hearts with Julianna and her family in a deep, abiding, love at all costs way. Honestly, we would do anything for her…she is truly family. We heard before coming to Pemba that she was extremely sick…maybe even dying. This made the trip even more divine. We were able to surprise Julianna with a house visit and spend some incredible time visiting and praying for one another. Her health is stabilized but we are still contending for complete wholeness. Most of all, it blessed my heart the way God allows people to be separated, but so gloriously still together in spirit!

To all the people we only see only once a year/or every few years, but remain forever in our hearts and together in this awesome harvest- we love and bless you! DIV

Fire!!!

2011-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Currently it is burning season in South Africa. Almost everywhere one goes rurally, there is a fire somewhere along the way. Most of these fires are set purposely as a means of prevention (fire breaks) to stop run away fires.

The MCV family is always growing and learning. After having 2 small fires on the adjacent property which MCV owns, we sought out some help in being more prepared. Therefore, Jean helped organize a Fire Certification Seminar to train up our team of missionaries, house fathers, guards, gardeners, and some local leaders to form the MCV Fire Brigade! The 3 day training was quite intensive and included burning a few fire breaks. And the training was just in time. The next Saturday following the training, there was a massive fire that was rapidly burning on our large adjacent land. Not exactly the restful Saturday that we had hoped for:) Jean and the crew jumped in (even a visitor) and helped control the fire and back burn to contain the blaze from not touching any neighbors property. After 5 hours of hard work, the fire was out. Our dear visitor suffered a small, but nasty burn on his face. Bless him, he took in stride and bashfully showed off his battle scar of his love and service at MCV.

We are so grateful for your prayers for God’s protection and faithfulness! We indeed welcome the fire of God in the Spirit, but we hope to not see any more fires in the natural!

Africa School of Missions Team

2011-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

We recent hosted a team of students from Africa School of Missions for a week of intense ministry and outreach. The eight students are from the neighborly community of Masoi and currently are enrolled in the pre-nursing program at ASM. It was thrilling to watch these students pour into the local community/MCV. One of the highlights from the week of ministry was during home visits when the team prayed for a dying man in Backdoor. The man was critically ill and his home was in such horrendous state- the team could not properly breath inside the house (the odors were extremely overwhelming). Without any prompting from us, the team responded by returning the next day and thoroughly cleaning the man’s house and yard. Many of the team testified that God used the experience to change their calling from just nursing to being a missionary via nursing! We are excited and blessed to be a part of God’s amazing adventure of love and destiny for these students. We also look forward to an ongoing ministry partnership with ASM and these future South African world changers!

Our cup overflows...

2011-06-28T00:59:00.000-07:00

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap…” Luke 6:38

Every Tuesday morning, the MCV houseparents, missionaries, and volunteers gather together for a time of worship, prayer, and devotion in God’s Word. We love this time of prayer and testifying together. Each week the Holy Spirit leads us to pray very specify for different needs and breakthroughs. And each week there seems to be more and more answers to our prayers! A local restaurant (Loose Mongoose) did a winter clothing drive for MCV. A local AFM church donated 30 blankets. A thoughtful neighbor helped get sponsors for clearing our massive overgrown field and dropped of a box of blessings. MCV was blessed with a generous cash donation by the BMW Bikers Association. Another neighborly business gives MCV an abundance of weekly fresh eggs (which we share with Jabulile preschool, Back Door feeding program, local widows/orphans, and other local ministries/NPOs. Truly the blessings are running over when we give ourselves wholly to God’s purpose! James 1:27- “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Please pray with us for God’s continued provision will flood MCV and the surrounding community

Nedbank Cup

2011-06-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, Papa Jean, the MCV fathers, and older boys (10years old and up) enjoyed the Nedbank Cup at the new Mbombela stadium. The group went several hours early to ensure receiving the coveted new T-shirts, hats, and flags☺ The day was amazing fun and the game was action packed with two goals scored in the final minutes. Many of our boys aspire to someday play soccer professionally so it was awesome to cheer the SA teams and the dreams of our boys!

Stopping for the one....

2011-05-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

During the craziness of the Easter Conference, our sweet Thapelo was rushed to the local hospital with pneumonia. Due to severity of the sickness, he was admitted into the children’s ward….not the favorite place for a little boy who spent months there fighting for his life less than a year ago. As you can imagine, our little guy was not happy. Add the horrible sickness, weakened immune system, and fear and trauma from the past experiences, who could blame him for being grumpy?

Well as the visits and days went on, we saw our little Thapelo break free from the shackles of sickness/sadness and embrace happiness/healing! His breakthough released more breakthroughs! That night, the MCV papas who came to visit Thapelo boldly prayed for all the staff nurses….this lead to praying for most of the children in the ward. The next night, we prayed for all the children in the ward. Releasing heaven and healing, we were rewarded with lots of smiles, some ‘feel betters’, and Thapelo being released the next day.

Just to give this all a little context- this was one of the busiest weeks of the year for us. But in stopping for the one (Thapelo), we were able to see a multitude be touched by Jesus. Our Daddy God is sooo awesome!!!

Easter Conference

2011-05-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Every year the Iris family in South Africa//Swaziland gathers to celebrate Christ’s resurrection at the annual Easter Conference. We were especially excited to have the first service in the newly roofed church in Backdoor. Although the church is still under construction, it did not hold back the people or the presence of God! We have so many testimonies from the three days of meetings, but our favorites relate to the children at MCV☺

In one morning service, the guest speaker was speaking on the Father Heart of God. The speaker asked everyone to raise their hands if they had a father living with them during childhood. Very few hands were raised in the crowd….but then something caught my eye….many tiny hands proudly raised in the section where most of the MCV kids were seated. My heart almost burst with joy and praise. Looking at the faces of children “orphaned” in the eyes of the world, but wondrously adopted in the eyes of God and the MCV houseparents!

Another amazing moment was at an alter call for people to receive a greater revelation of God’s Father Heart. The first person to the alter was one of our MCV daughters. Prior to coming to MCV, this young lady has known unspeakable abuse and horror from a father figure. Still in the healing process, she bravely called out to God. With tears streaming down her face, she refused to leave the alter until He touched her. What an honor to stand with this dear daughter and see God’s transforming love at work!

Zimbabwe Arise...

2011-05-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 60:1 Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you!

Psalm 2:8 Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possessions.

In April, I (Jean) and four national leaders left for a week of revival meetings in Mbizo Zimbabwe. What should have taken 14 hours became 21 hours as we were delayed at the border for 7 hours due to a crazy technicality with the vehicle. Miraculously, we were finally permitted entrance to Zimbabwe. After arriving at our host church we were given a few instructions : 1) No political talk. 2) No mentioning the name of leaders in any way that could be construed as negative. 3) No negative talk about how things are or were. We were told if we abide by these rules that we would have no problems and we would be in no danger at all.

Only three years ago, life in Zimbabwe was horrendous. Political unrest and violence caused millions to flee. Uncontrollable inflation and corruption devastated a previously prosperous economy. There was no food, water, or electricity. Due to the total breakdown of civil services and basic sanitation, cholera was killing thousands of people.

When I asked some of the church leaders how they made it through the most difficult of times they said, “We just survived. I don’t know how, but we survived. We Zimbabweans, we are survivors It was by the grace of God we survived.” Those words penetrated deep into my heart as I was told testimony after testimony of the goodness and grace of God during the most difficult of times. They were not complaining, but they were sharing how God had been faithful. We were greatly blessed and humbled by the love and generosity of our hosts.

We came with a message of hope, bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God to a nation that has suffered beyond measure. The power and the love of God were demonstrated each and every night at the tent revival. Over 50 people gave their hearts to Jesus during the meetings, and many others were healed and delivered from evil spirits. The Spirit of God was poured out on a dry and thirsty land. Hope was brought to the hopeless and freedom to those who were bound. For this reason, Jesus died and rose again. What a joy to daily lay our lives down and see His resurrection power manifest!

As I reflect on the past week in Zimbabwe, I find myself very overwhelmed by the goodness and faithfulness of our God. Would you please join us in praying for Southern Africa and specifically for the nation of Zimbabwe? Let’s believe God for restoration of all that the enemy has stolen…Africa (Zimbabwe:) will rise up and be called blessed! We are so grateful for your prayers and monthly support! Indeed His glorious African bride is arising from the ashes of poverty, HIV/disease and the depravity of sin. Thank you again for making this outreach and so much else possible!

The sounds of fun...

2011-04-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought what ‘fun’ sounds like? What a delight to hear these sounds over the past two weeks of school holiday! Indeed Michaels Children’s Village will be a little quieter this Monday when the new school tern begins.

We’ve been so blessed to have 4 amazing visitors staying with us at MCV, so there was never a shortage of activities going on... We battled with the big green Combi to take the children swimming on two very sunny afternoons, which they loved! It’s so precious watching and hearing the little ones slowly overcoming their fears of the ‘deep end’ with the help of their older brothers and sisters. Our MCV Worship Team also got a lot of intensive help from Sharne, our visitor from Western Cape. It was such a joy to hear their sweet voices worshipping our Lord. They’ve even prepared something to share with the church on Sunday. There were also craft activities, dance workshops, card games, lots of soccer, and even a marshmallow-toasting bonfire when the weather cooled down.

May our voices unite in thanksgiving to our amazing Father who showers such love on His children.

Thank you Linda!

2011-03-02T00:41:00.000-08:00

Many of you have been praying for us regarding our staffing needs at MCV/White River Iris base. Jean and I faced being alone in January, but God faithfully sent amazing labors in His perfect time! One of those awesome answers to prayer- Linda Chapell, a long-time friend of Jean’s, came from Connecticut! Sent with wonderful gifts from one of our sending churches, ValleyBrook CC, Linda came bearing gifts, but really became the greatest gift! She served so selflessly in very practical ways- from cooking for the pastors, tutoring MCV kids, and countless other areas; she also babysat Johanna for us so we could sneak in an occasional date night! Thank you again Linda! We will be praying for God’s best for you (which we hope means returning to Africa!)

Johanna is one!

2011-03-02T00:08:00.001-08:00

Saturday was Johanna’s first birthday! It is hard to believe she is already one….

We thought about having a big party with all the MCV kids, but we did not want to encourage the already present “princess” problem (how the kids treat her special☺) Luckily, our friend Linda, who has been faithfully serving at MCV and assisting us in various ways, really wanted to do a safari before leaving South Africa. Therefore, we decided Johanna could have a fun, safari birthday! Our sweet girl celebrated with some larger-than-life guests- elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, etc! Good thing the guests stayed at a safe distance☺

Pray for us! Johanna started walking the day before her birthday, so she is EVERYWHERE! I thought it was challenging trying to stay on top of all our ministry responsibilities before, but now with a major focus of just keeping her alive, I really need Holy Spirit’s help☺

Miracle in the making...part 2!

2011-02-22T10:32:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much for praying for Thapelo! Globally, we know the extended MCV/Iris family is interceding for our little miracle! Locally, we have been so touched by the passionate intercession going forth at local prayer meetings!

Within hours of the request going out, Thapelo stabilized. The doctors put him on oxygen to strengthen blood/lungs and then sent him home! After a good night sleep, Thapelo woke up like nothing happened the day before. He was laughing and playing with the other kids all weekend.

During the ultrasound today, the doctors were surprised and amazed to find Thapelo’s kidneys completely normal size! And there was no blockage in the bile ducts!!! GLORY!!! No surprise here. We know our Heavenly Daddy’s promise and plan is just beginning…

Please keep praying! Thapelo’s liver is still oversized and causing stress on his small body. Pray against some other causes like cirrhosis or Hepatitis. Also pray with us for Thapelo’s new liver friendly diet. He can be quite emotional when we deny him some of his favorite fatty foods. Pray he can embrace and love the diet changes! And pray for his little heart as he says goodbye to one of favorite people….

Jean and I (and the MCV family) want to send out a huge thank you to Catherine Restiu, our medical intern, who leaves us this week to serve in Madagascar. Catherine was scheduled to leave a few days after Thapelo arrived, but the Holy Spirit led her to stay on to help assist in his medical care. I honesty do not know what we would have done without her...Day after day, she was at the hospital (it would have been me without her!) She has been huge a huge blessing to us and especially little Thapelo. Catherine has truly stopped for the one and we are praying God’s best blessings for her.

MCV Praise team!

2011-02-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

The sweetest sound was heard last week as the MCV worship team gathered for practice! Recently a worship leader from Maputo blessed the kids with lots of guitar lessons and times of worship. This lead to several children gathering informally to practice guitar and sing different praise songs. Gloriously, this prompted one of our local worship leaders, Wonder, to volunteer teaching and empowering this new praise team! The group is still praying a about a name, but we couldn’t help testifying about this new ministry for MCV!

Miracle in the making...

2011-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

We are reaching out to you today to ask for prayer for our precious Thapelo. In early January, Thapelo was brought to us by social workers from Themba Hospital. He came to us extremely sick and malnourished. He had just endured months in the hospital and was just beginning the ARTs (the HIV treatment which is extremely hard on the body). When he came, he was on over 10 different medicines for HIV+, mild lymphopenia, anemia, latent TB, and some strange skin fungus....The first picture is what Thapelo looked like when he arrived...

We have seen amazing advancement with Thapelo! He quickly began to gain weight and strength. Within weeks, Thapelo was running about MCV playing with the other children and bossing around the little ones:) Eating everything in sight, we could not make food fast enough. His engaging smile was caught on camera two weeks ago- what a transformation!

However in the past 10 days his health has taken a dramatic negative turn. Last week, he started retaining water at an alarming rate which bloated his poor body and created such tension breathing became difficult. Our medical intern, Catherine, has been at the local hospitals for 5 days following up his tests, abdominal CT scan, and blood work. Currently, the doctors believe he has a blockage in his gall bladder, an enlarged right kidney, and enlarged liver...

Please join us in prayer believing for a supernatural healing for Thapelo! We write this from casualties (the ER) as we wait to speak to the doctor. His fever was spiking today and his breathing was rapid and distressed. The doctors may order an ultrasound to locate the blockage, but an operation would be impossible due to his anemia and fragile blood count. So we need divine intervention to reverse this attack against Thapelo's body!

We are asking God to give him a new gall bladder, liver, kidneys, and immune system! Our God is more than able to do this and much more! Believe with us for Thapelo to soar into God’s dreams and destiny for his life!

Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103: 2-5

Pastors Advance 2011

2011-02-10T01:50:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of every year, our ministry (Iris Africa/PIH) hosts a three-day seminar for leaders and pastors. Keeping with the vision given to Pastor Surprise Sithole, the first three weeks of each year is spent in fasting/prayer and then is followed by a time of impartation into national leadership. Following this God given strategy, over 100 leaders from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique (Swaziland was not in attendance) are launched into the new year with fresh teaching, fire, and anointing for the Kingdom of God! As usual, Jean and I (and a few local leaders) ran around like crazy this week trying to bring things together...WOW...was it ever worth it!!!

Pastor Collin McGeer and his ministry team from Pretoria especially blessed us this year. With deep revelations about Kingdom authority and normalcy of supernatural lifestyles, our leaders were empowered and challenged. Healings and visions abounded! One highlight was when one dear lady testified of an angelic visitation. The angel spoke to her preach the Gospels in local schools….she was so overcome by God’s presence, she had to leave the gathering…but when she returned, she saw the angel again hovering over different leaders. Later when she testified about this, the Holy Spirited ushered another wave of eyes being opened in the Spirit!

Gloriously, Saturday night was an absolute Holy Ghost party as everyone received fresh power during the alter time and fire tunnel! The manifest presence of God and the fire of His love overwhelmed almost everyone. We concluded our Pastors Advance Conference on Sunday morning with Pastor Richard from Zimbabwe and experienced another outpouring of God’s love and power. Please pray with us for each pastor and leader to walk in the fullness of the Spirit with signs and wonders following!

Clink on the following link for more pictures:

http://mcvafrica.com/?p=339

Nice Interruption!

2011-01-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

I (Jean) arrived prepared to teach New Testament Values at 8:30am today, however the Holy Spirit had other plans. Normally we sing one song, then we pray for two-three minutes, and then we begin class. Today was totally different. The presence of God was tangible; the atmosphere of heaven had invaded our little classroom in Back Door South Africa. Two hours later class was over and we hadn’t even opened our book or even the Bible!

After one hour of worship and prayer one of the students released two words of knowledge. Then another student shared a vision he had during our time of worship. A third student then released a prophetic word for the class. After this two different students responded to the words of knowledge and received healing! Then we all prayed and prophesied over one another for the next 45 minutes until it was time for the next class to begin. I left class knowing I had an encounter with the living God. Changed by His glorious presence!!