November

Untitled from ruth Alexander on Vimeo.

A normal day...

As I sit here trying to think what to write to update you all, memories of these last few weeks go through my mind. Some I still can’t believe I saw and some that are little bit of delights that make each day. So I have decided to once again; write down a normal day. So where to begin…well lets start with what today was like.

7:30am The alarm goes off, although I have been awake since 6 as that is when my neighbour decides to turn on his dance music.

I get up and ready, I talk to Juliana who helps clean our house and do our laundry. I organise things for her to do.

8:30am I go to the Barraca’s to find my friend Precious. She has had an infected thumb for a while now. It has gone in the thumb and is getting really bad. She keeps going to witch doctors, which is making it worse. I asked if she would come to the Iris clinic with me to get some medicine. Sadly when I got to her Barraca I find out that she has decided to stay at home.

I then return to my house to make a sticker chart for the toddlers.

9am I get to the children’s base and go straight to our Noviane base to hand money to the head member of each family for food. Here we have three houses that house families that used to live on the street. When I get there I welcome our new Mozambican staff member that has moved into a house on the little base. I then find out one of the girls there is ill so I take her back to the children’s base with me to go to the clinic.

9:30am I am seen by one of our lovely nurses who looks over her and tells us to keep an eye on her and gives her medicine for the headache. So after giving her some TLC I take her back home to sleep.

10am I then go to our beautiful baby house and make sure everyone is ok. Talk to the Tias and then put the babies down for a nap.

10:30am Drive into town to get snacks for the toddlers. I pick up some bread rolls, peanut butter and some fruit.

11am I go into the children’s office to have a meeting with our children’s director, which is the interrupted with me having to run out and get school uniforms for the children in Noviane. I then return to finish the meeting.

12:30pm I go home for some lunch. There one of the ladies who used to be a prostitute came to my house. I am doing bible study with two ladies each week. I provide food for them at the moment. She was here to tell me that she couldn’t make bible study this week, as the other ladies baby is sick in hospital. When someone is in the hospital here a family or friend has to make your meals each day. So this is what they were doing. The mother stayed with the baby and the other made food and brought in needed supplies.

13:10pm I return back to the children’s base with Ana who I work under in the baby house. We sit down and talk to each one of our Tias (Portuguese for aunty – they look after the children) We make sure each one is doing well and if they need anything. We then arrange bible study for our 4-6 year olds.

2:20: We wake up our 4-6 year olds from their nap and do bible study with them. We talk about turning the other cheek. Most of them are going into the first year of school so we wanted to teach them that when they are provoked. They need to walk away.

3:30pm: I arrive home with my housemate Ali. She is going to a hotel/restaurant to book the swimming pool. She is taking all 14 of our 7-12 year old girls to the pool this weekend. So while she is there she offers to get me take-a-way. I take up the offer quickly. J

4pm: I eat my early supper ready to settle down for the night.

6pm: I get a phone call to say the little girl from Noviane is really sick and needs medicine. I then phone our Doctor to ask what to do. We then decide to give paracetamol for the fever. I then have to find a car to get there. In the time it takes to get a ride over it starts pouring with rain, which with the dirt floor makes floods. I have to walk through a river full of mud and rubbish to get to the Noviane base to give the medicine. I return home quickly after as the person who gave a lift needed to go onwards to somewhere else.

6:50pm: I get another phone call saying that the little girl hadn’t been able to keep the meds down so I once again get a ride to the base and walk through the river to get her. I take her home with her older sister to wait for the doctor.

7:10pm We clean her up and get a bed made for her to rest on while we wait at my house. I put a movie on and make some plain rice for her.

8:00pm The doctor comes and checks her over. We do a Malaria test, which takes a while. We then realise that the test is void, however she seemed to be doing better so we let her sleep and would try a test tomorrow morning if need be.

9pm I take her home, which meant another walk through the river and mud to her house. I have anti-vomit meds for her so I show our wonderful Mozambican worker, Ana how to give. I then go home, tidy up the bed we made and rest. J

This is generally a normal day. Nothing usually goes to how I have planned, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am coming back to England in a few weeks and staying away from Pemba until May. I feel God telling me that this is a time of training. I will be contacting some charities that work on the street with prostitutes and hopefully volunteer with them. I hope to also go to Mississippi to volunteer with ‘We will go ministries’. Please pray for me during this season that I hear from the Lord clearly for new strategies as to how to work with the ladies.

I look forward to seeing most of you in England. Please do let me know if you have any prayer requests.

Lots of love and prayers,

Ruth

Seeing it through.

I’m crying uncontrollably at Heidi’s kitchen table, God is moving. I am not sure what’s happening or why, but I know that I am feeling peaceful and safe. God then speaks, ‘Visions beyond the veil is going to happen in Pemba and I want you to go long term with Iris Ministries so you can be part of it with the kids.’ I cry more and kneel before my savour, and say yes.

‘Visions beyond the veil’ is a book Rolland Baker’s grandfather wrote when he was a missionary in China. He testifies when He had an open heaven over the children’s home. He talks about the visions the children had and how they spent most their days learning from the father in these visitations. It was incredible how the adults started learning from the children. How the youngest, abandoned and rejected where the first in the fathers eyes.

One year and 5 months after I had that time with the Lord at Heidi’s table, I have witnessed and heard the testimonies of this happening. At a youth group for our older boys the Holy Spirit fell and one boy was taken into a visitation. He saw angles and shook hands with them, climbed a ladder to get through a hole he saw in the ceiling, leading to heaven and saw the floor full of the blood of Jesus. He also saw fire above each head of the people sitting there with Him. We heard all about this at our staff and missionary home group the next day. As we were listening one of our missionaries had a diamond fall on her leg. She assumed it was someone’s that had fell from their jewellery. So she started asking around but we all knew…for one, we are missionaries…no one has diamonds in their jewellery! We all knew if had fell from Heaven. It was such a beautiful diamond and cut perfectly. It was just perfect.

I am getting so excited for this and praying for more! We need to step up as a church and start stepping into these places of more. We need to start learning from the children all these years ago, who were stepping out in faith and stepping into the visitations.

Please continue to pray for us, pray for the more. Pray for the ‘big stuff’ to happen in each area of the ministry.

I have just got back from my visa run to Kenya and had an amazing time. I got to rest lots and play lots! J My friend and I had great fun having cheep good food, coffee, and cooler weather! So thank you for the prayers during this time!

Would be great to hear about what God is doing in your lives and if you have any prayer requests. Also I would like to know if this is the best way of keeping you all updated. If you are finding it hard getting onto my blog to read then do let me know and I can think of a new way.

Many blessings to you all! You are all amazing!

Ruth 

A video just for you...

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