| From the desk of Iris Ministries (Heidi
Baker):
Matthew 9:36-38: "Then He said to His disciples, 'The
harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore
pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
God Himself was on a mission when He sent His Son from heaven to
earth to save you. And now that the harvest is ripe, God is calling
forth a new breed of missionaries, a generation of laid-down lovers
who will run into the darkest corners of the earth, call in the
outcasts, bring in His Bride, and compel the poor to come to the
wedding feast.
For revival has a face.
You can see Jesus in the eyes of the dying, the broken, and the
lost. He came with ceaseless love for both the one and the masses.
Now we must do the same: stop for the one but believe for the multitudes.
We are called to carry His glory. But first we must lie down so
that whole nations can come to Jesus.
For this purpose, Iris Ministries is thrilled to present our first
international, three-month missions training school based in the
Moslem northern province of Mozambique. We invite you to come and
be trained on the field. Live, love, and learn from the poor:
* Attend a three-month Bible school with Mozambican pastors and
leaders.
* Be trained by Heidi and Rolland Baker, Lesley-Anne Leighton, and
other international ministers and missionaries.
* Go on extended evangelistic outreaches in local bush areas.
* Live with hundreds of children and experience the Father's heart.
* Gain understanding of how to minister cross-culturally.
* Get practically equipped for the physical challenges of third-world
nations.
* Live with a company of abandoned, holy, and whole-hearted lovers
at the Iris Ministries center in Pemba, Mozambique.
L-O-V-E
It is a small, four-letter word that will cost you everything.
Laying down your life. Passion and compassion. Giving without expecting.
Feeling His very heartbeat and surrendering to His rhythm. Following
the Lamb wherever He goes...even to Mozambique...
 Who
is Simeon?
When I arrived in Mali in September 2003, Simeon (on the right)
was one of my neighbors. He was working as an accountant and was
not adhering to any religion or religious practices. I was spending
time with him and the family he was staying with to get to know
them. One time they were in my apartment and looking at pictures
from Austria and the US, many of them church-related pictures. That's
when the questions started. Two months after my arrival, Simeon
dedicated His life to the Lord. He immediately went on a fast, and
the Lord released a strong prophetic gifting on him at its conclusion.
Ever since he has daily visions and dreams, and accurate prophetic
words for believers as well as unbelievers. In the summer of 2004
he lost his job and has been living by faith, evangelizing the city
of Bamako nearly daily. Simeon has become my personal assistant
and right hand, a young leader with a high calling that still requires
a lot of maturing, refining and training. The Lord has given him
a huge vision for his life, showing him what He has in store for
him in the future, increasing the longing in him to wholly serve
God with everything he's got. Simeon is longing to preach the gospel,
heal the sick and see the kingdom of God come in power.
When I received the announcement of Heidi Baker's school a few
months ago, I immediately know that Simeon was to go. When I told
him about it, Simeon shared with me a couple of dreams and visions
he's had about being with a group of white people in a school and
doing evangelism and great things for the Lord. He knew the Lord
had already told him about the school before I could ever tell him
about its existence. We both became excited about the prospect of
Simeon attending HOLY GIVEN. I also knew we'd be up against the
odds.
The first obstacle was Simeon's poor knowledge
of English. However, he has since made much progress, working hard
on improving his English. I'm giving him private lessons whenever
possible, giving him Christian vocabulary, reading the Bible and
Christian books in English with him.
The second obstacle was taken when Simeon was the
first student that was accepted at all (out of 120).
The third obstacle when we were informed he'd have
a scholarship, so that all he has to pay is the airfare.
The fourth obstacle was his passport, because it
needed to be renewed. Living in Mali, the prospects were bleak how
he could get the renewal done (in Benin). God did some mind-blowing
things, gave mind-blowing favor, so that Simeon received his new
passport a week ago.
The fifth obstacle was arranging the flight –
not easy from one end of Africa to the other. For weeks we were
trying to find the best way without success. A few days ago, as
if a miracle, suddenly perfect arrangements were found.
The sixth obstacle is the visa for Mozambique.
Again, for weeks we've been trying to find a solution. No Mozambican
embassy in Mali or nearby… Two different Mozambican embassies
have now told us that he should simply take care of the visa upon
his arrival in Mozambique (is the last word spoken???).
The seventh obstacle – and only one left
– are the finances. Simeon needs 2500 EUR
(that is currently 3300$) just for the flight!
Who would invest into Simeon's life and ministry at this
crucial time of his life and the life of the ministry in Mali?
What do I expect to see as a result of Simeon's time in Mozambique?
I expect him to grow considerably, to receive impartation from all
the awesome teachers as well as the people ministering in Mozambique,
to get understanding for us in Mali where we want to see the same
things that are already going on in Mozambique.
When Simeon comes back to Mali, we have two months left to prepare
the crusade and conference with Cliff Pash. With Simeon being equipped,
and Cliff bringing the spark, we expect to see great increase in
every way, so that the glory of God will spread in Mali!
If you would like to enable Simeon to go to Mozambique on May
27, please send your contributions in one of the ways below
and mark clearly that they are for Simeon.
There are two months left, and Simeon is absolutely confident that
the Lord will also take care of the seventh obstacle. As he said
the other day, that amount of money is nothing for God! (At this
time, all he's got is a pledge for 100$.)
May you experience the love and power of our risen Lord this Easter
weekend!
All for HIM,
Claudia
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