My duty.

After a pleasant evening spent with friends, my housemate and I come home feeling wide-awake ready for more adventures. We decided that at 10:30pm we would go on a random drive around the Pemba city. Now remember 10:30 is like 1:30am in the west. The city is dead. Everyone is either sleeping or working as night-time guards. However half of them where also sleeping. J The only other people that seemed to be out in the city at the same time where the ladies on the street, and the men picking them up. We saw it happening on nearly every street. Every lady we saw had a client. The city now seemed to be buzzing. It was prime time to come out for one thing.

My eyes where opened. I had to do something. My desire to change this was mixed with this experience, and one ‘working lady’ following me home one day just to chat. I was once reading a speech my grandmother had written to inform all her friends about her time as a missionary. She finished the speech with this quote. ‘Anything we can do to help the folk….is our bounden duty…wouldn’t you feel the same if God has sent you?’ It is my duty to help. It is my duty to stop for the one. It is my duty to put ‘my all’ into what God has set before me.

We are opening the Barraca very soon. I say this but we do still need a team, money, a working door and a few chairs and a table. However I know God is telling me to ‘hurry up!’. I know the need is urgent. I know God is going to provide as needs are set before us. Please do be praying for us daily.

I am currently overseeing the Noviane base as the missionaries who usually do this, are on their break. To remind you this is the base we have for families that used to be homeless. It is such a fun job and I love getting to know everyone there that much more. As well as their neighbours! However, we have had some hard days there recently. We as a family are sticking together and praying each situation trough. Your prayers would also be appreciated!

Some photos are coming but I have just been a bit slow this month!!

Lots of love and prayers to you all! Thank you so much for your love and support! I love knowing my family back home are cheering me on! It makes such a difference.

You are all wonderful. 

Road Trip...

Sitting in the back of a truck, cloth covering my face to stop the dirt sticking to me, listening to music and getting my position for a long drive to Nampula. 

An hour goes by driving more into the bush.

I then look out.

All I see is beauty. Mountains, huge trees, mud huts, Mozambican ladies carrying water on the side of the road. Sun rising. The beauty of it all takes my breath back. All I can do in that moment is worship. Worship Him for revealing His artwork to me.

Then God looks at me, smiles and keeps looking at me.

Did you know while we are staring at God’s creation, God is staring at us and thinking the same thing? He is thinking, ‘wow my daughter is truly beautiful’ or ‘wow my Son is so strikingly handsome.’ That just blows me away. What a revelation! He loves us so much he thinks we are far more beautiful than a sunrise, sunset, shooting star, fish in the ocean.

‘He made everything glorious, so what does that make me?’ David Crowder.

You are His favourite!!

These last few weeks have been great! I know I always say that I have been busy but these last few weeks…busier than any others! J The new baby house is really coming along and should be ready in two months, so pray that this keeps going a fast as it is! I helped out with a lot more admin during a time, as help was really needed. But come this week I have passed it onto someone else who shall be doing this full time. I did enjoy doing the admin but missed the babies too much to keep doing it full time, and letting go of working in the baby house. Four of our babies had birthdays, so we have had many fun birthday parties. Lots of cake and balloons! We also felt it was time for two of our younger boys to go to pre-school. So was really exciting seeing their little faces as they went with all the others. They are now really thriving and loving being the big boys!

Below is a little video of photos for you all to enjoy. Please do keep in touch with what you are up to and any prayer requests!

Lots of love and prayers,

Ruth

God likes that my feet are dirty

Each day I come home and my feet are brown from the red/brown dirt we have everywhere here! My shirt is smelly and my make-up has worn off. I don’t feel like the prettiest of girls. After organising my belongings I was carrying around all day I go and wash/scrub the dirt of myself. I put on clean clothes and re-do my make-up. I am back to my normal self. Back to the way I like it to be. Back to knowing I won’t offend anyone with my scent J

God then whispers in my ear, ‘I like it that your feet are dirty’. He loves the fact that I bring a nasty smell into my house. He likes that fact that my make-up was wiped off with the first drop of sweat after leaving the house in the morning. He loves getting dirty!

The message of Iris Ministries is stop for the one. Here stopping for the one is talking to those digging in the garbage dump that sits outside our base. Stopping for the one is wiping the tears from a child’s face. Stopping for the one can mean sitting in the hot sun just to chat. Stopping for the one is a filthy job, but God loves it!

I am sorry for the lack of contact recently. It has been a mixture of no time and no Internet! I want to thank you all again for your support prayerfully, financially and lovingly. I wouldn’t be able to be here without you guys! If anyone would like to come and visit please feel free! I would love to have you! We can get busy in the dirt together!

I have put together a video of photos for you all to see below so feel free to watch.

Love and prayers to you all!!

Ruth

ruth@irismin.org

The gap is getting smaller...

Hello everyone!!

So the gap is becoming smaller. I realised in church on Sunday that the gap, the differences between my local friends and I is smaller! There’s still a lot to learn about this culture. However at this time I feel like my friendships in the workplace, in my home and in everyday life is becoming thicker! This makes me so happy and excited! I pray daily that in these friendships, God can shine through me. God once told me that once when I was little, people would be healed from my shadow. I argued with Him and said that’s not possible! Yes that’s right…this stubborn girl who thought she knew better, told God He was wrong. A few years later I then read about Peter’s shadow healing people. (Acts 5:15) I feel like as I am now becoming friends with locals and going to their houses, sitting with them and sharing with them. I am praying desperately that God will do work in their lives. That He will heal them, pour down on them and bless them beyond what they even expect!

When I was walking to the children’s base on the weekend a lady was sitting down in the dirt waiting for a bus (Chapa) to come past. I said ‘Salama’ to her, which is hello in the local tribe language ‘Makua’. She said ‘Salama back but then as our eyes met, her eyes went dark and her tongue went out like a snake. I knew this was a demon-possessed women and she was reacting to Jesus who lives in me.

This is the kind of thing I am talking about. I would love for you all to pray along side me. That as I start to become ‘one of the local’s’ (Well a white local). That I don’t get in the way one bit to what He wants to do through me. That I can just sit in the dirt and share my testimony with my friends…and hear theirs. That we can encourage each other and be a blessing when we are having a difficult day. That the big picture of the church being a family becomes apparent.

I would like to let you all know that I have decided to step down from doing the amount of admin that I was doing. This is to concentrate more on setting up ministry work with the prostitutes in this area. We shall start by just becoming a familiar face in the party scene here by selling cola and Fanta. We may also do hairdressing. Please can you pray that a team comes around for this and that we are received well in this area?

I would love to hear about what you are all up to! Please do keep in touch and let me know if you have any prayer requests.

Lots of love to you all! 

Ruth

Snakes in the camp...

We have had quite a bit of a battle this last week. A few of the children I look after had ear problems, two houses got broken into and had lots taken. A few things went missing from the baby house (not any babies just incase you were wondering, hehe). Some of our older boys got into a bit of trouble. Things keep breaking in my house as well as it leaking every time it rains. It all seems to be a bit hard. However we know that the witchcraft around Easter is always crazy. We can feel the enemy coming in and trying to steal our joy, our friendships, and our possessions. 

The day that the houses were broken into was Easter day. We had an early start and had lots to sort out. We then went to church and the amount of support; the way we got together as a family, the joy and celebration shown on that day was wonderful. That night we then had a snake come into our compound next to our house. It summed up the day; it summed up the way the enemy was sliding in. The guard then got a big stick and killed it. ;)

It made me think of a video that I saw this last week. A man named Arthur Blessitt carried a cross around the world. He was in the world record books and speaks in churches. On the video he was talking about a moment where he was walking in a cold part of the world where there was a blizzard and he thought he was getting hypothermia. He decided to pray against the blizzard and the cold. It then became heaver and colder. He laughs to himself and says 'it will take more than that to take me away from your joy, I will still praise you'. 

This is such a hard lesson to learn but as these troubles are happening all around us I am learning praise God with my family here. I am learning to walk with God in this and focusing on Him and not the troubles that come to distract. 

Please pray that through all of this we as a family become stronger and become conquerors in Him. Today one of the younger boys who is three was told he didn't need medicine for his ear anymore, which is wonderful!! The Tia and I celebrated! :)

Please do keep me updated with everything and let me know if you have anything you need prayer for.

Blessings and joy,

Ruth

My boys having fun with the camera...

'Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, you. you. you. you. you. you. you!'

Thank you to everyone who was praying about my visa. We went to immigration this week and they agreed that they would stamp my visa after 90 days. Which means I only have to leave after 6 months! After there seemed to be no hope...God shows me how all my hope is in Him.

Just want to remind you all how much I love and appreciate your support and encouragement.

Love and prayers!
Ruth

I'm here!!

Hello my dear friends and family,

I am here and hit the ground running, but with a big smile on my face. J It was so wonderful to see all the children and my friends again. I couldn’t wait to see the babies in the baby house I went in as soon as I got there, sadly they were sleeping!

I am currently living in the hospitality centre while I wait for someone to move out of my new room. This is now just going to be with one of my friends instead of two of them as one is moving to the base with the children on. This means I have a bigger bedroom that doesn’t rain! J It also has an air-conditioner installed but sadly it is broken. Looks good though. Hehe. So next week I will be moving into my new room and making it my own, searching for furniture and unpacking all my stuff!

I am also going to start going out to do work on the streets next week r maybe the week after. This is so I can focus on the baby house for now as there is a lot to do. Please do pray though for me as I start preparing for go out. Can you also pray that the locals respond well to us?

Well this is a short little update but just to let you know I am here, loving it all and getting stuck in! Thank you to you all for your support, prayers and encouragement during this last season to get me to Pemba. I hope you are all well and getting excited for this hot summer that is meant to be coming to the UK!

Lots of love!

Ruth