Little film...

Some footage of my July and August from ruth Alexander on Vimeo.

We have moved!

We have moved into the new baby house and we have our first new little one! Her name is Margarida and she is fabulous! The first day we got her she was dehydrated and very weak. However, just over 24 hours went by and she was sitting up and playing with the others, feeding herself and there were no tears. She is simply amazing and is settling in well. The photo shows our three newest who came in these last two weeks. 

We have been learning this new of role overseeing two houses, (the toddler house and baby house) but God has so much Grace and is teaching us well. We have placed a beautiful Mozambican lady in charge of all our Tia’s and the wellbeing of the houses. She has come along side us to help and assist. It is so wonderful to see the locals raised up and basically taking over our jobs! They won’t even need us soon!

Street ministry is coming into a new season now. Our fantastic mission school students are going home so we haven’t got their help each week. We are quite excited about what God is going to do with this. It shall be more of a quiet time with the girls were we can have more conversation. If you remember before we were washing feet and doing pedicures. Now we are just going to show up and ‘be there’. God has given us the word faithfulness. We need to be faithful to these girls each week. We want them to know that at least twice a week we are going to be in the same place at the same time. If they need help, need food or just need a chat, we will be there!

This week I opened the barraca for bible study and two girls showed up. One I know well, she was a prostitute that still gets drunk and hangs out with the wrong crowd. The other is very pure and innocent, has money and a beautiful 6 year old son. I just had to laugh as I had these two very different girls sitting in front of me. But God made it work. The one who is very ‘well to do’ came with lots of questions which we had fun answering. Then the girl who used to sell herself for £7 a night was laughing and jumping around as she helped me with a drama. The girls were not intimidated by each other. We were just family together studying the word of God, knowing that God loves us all the same.

As I am coming into this new season with the Barraca and the baby house, prayers would be very welcomed! Please do also email me if you have any news, testimonies or prayer requests. I love staying in touch with everyone! 

New lessons to learn...

I have been praying since the age of sixteen to pray like He prays. I believe that the ‘how to pray’ lesson has to be learned. Just as the disciples asked Jesus when He gave them the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew CH6v9-13)

Recently I have been finding my time with the Lord in my daily life here hard, simply because God has been showing me more and more of what He sees. The tears He cries, and the joy He feels, He has to stretch me, grow me and mature me to be able to handle all of this. It is almost like I want to stay blind. If I could choose to be selfish I wouldn’t go through this. However, Love keeps me on track. I have to choose to walk in obedience.

When girls who either used to work on the street or still do are at my door daily in great need, and when our precious staff members fall into sin, I have to know how to pray. God gave me the revelation while I was sweeping the Barraca to get ready for street ministry one night. Him showing me more of His heart, and my cry to pray like Jesus prays. It goes hand in hand. How can I pray the right prayers for each situation, if I am not seeing what my Father sees in the situation? I can’t stay blind anymore.

Street ministry is going really well. We have had many girls come to Christ in our little barraca, and on the street. Some are going to be coming to learn how to make jewellery one night a week. It shall be a skill that will one day provide for them. However for now we are going to be providing for them, as well as teaching them the simple social skills that may have been lost on the way. We are continuing to do a weekly bible study with them as well to teach them more about the Love of their Father!

This week is the week we are moving the babies into the new baby house! Thank you so much for all the time you have put into prayer over this! God has been so good in providing all that we have needed! For now only four babies and two of our wonderful Mozambican staff will move in the new house. Though we do know that it will be filled up very quickly with new little babies. Continued prayers for that would be wonderful!

I want to pray Romans Ch15v13 over all of you today. ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’

Love and prayers to you all! 

Videos and pictures of my life in the month of June

A little update from June from ruth Alexander on Vimeo.

“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” - Mother Teresa

As three weeks have past since landing back on Pemba soil I am struggling to make this update short, sweet and readable. I think if I was face to face with you all I would not be able to help but ramble everything that has happened... ‘and then this happened! And then God did this miracle, which lead to this and then oh yeh…’ And so on J God has truly been taking me through a heart-breaking season, He has made these three weeks seem like they have been months.

I got here to find the two girls who I had been mentoring were lost. No one could find them and all seemed hopeless. My barraca was a mess and my sweet neighbours decided as I had left for four months, they could place all their trash there. I came back to see such a great need and I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to run away. I could only scream and cry out ‘NOOOOO GOD NOOOO!! I CAN”T DO THIS!!’ I didn’t feel qualified, confident or strong enough. I had such a huge heart for these girls that it hurt too much. I couldn’t stand it. Too many tears were being shed.

One night God just whispered to me…’Ruth, you have the orphan spirit and that is why you think you can’t do this’. Wow. More tears came but this time I wasn’t fighting. This time I was giving all to Him, again. How can we do anything if we don’t know who we are? I thought I knew who I was. I thought I was stable in that. But when it really came down to it, I hadn’t given my whole self as a daughter to the high King of Heaven. God then gave me a torch in the spirit, and I am to hold it behind me. So while I am walking in this dark place, people can see this light of Jesus and follow.

So last night (Friday 15^th June) I opened the barraca once again, with the help of some wonderful mission school students. We started the afternoon by cleaning up the trash. This is when our first miracle happened with our neighbours coming to help. They worked the whole day with us! It was amazing! We got into the barraca and made it look so beautiful. When the night came we went out and ministered on the streets. We invited the ladies who are in the situation where they have to sell themselves, back to the barraca. We loved on them, gave them pedicures, sang with them. Learnt their names, and shared chocolate with them. It was beautiful. At least 4 ladies gave their lives to God and many more are coming to church this Sunday. They came high on drugs, drunk and just ready to party with men. But they spent a night safe with us being loved on by the love of Jesus.

We are invited by God to just sit in His arms, live in His grace and walk in His footsteps. We are invited to be fathered by the most wonderful father ever known. We are all qualified to do what we are called to do, as we are all children of God. He is the one who goes out before us and guides us. I don’t even know what I was worried about. J I know this will hurt, just because love does. However I know God is crying for these ladies with me. 

I am going home!

As the title explains...I am heading back home! :)

This whole trip God has been stretching me and teaching me. From what He was saying I knew he was teaching me for such things like getting on a plane and going places with-in days. So you might be able to see where this is going...I booked my ticket today and I am leaving on Saturday. I am basically organising everything this week to leave. So much prayer is needed as this is not my nature at all! But I can see that God is changing me to very much make it a natural thing to do. :)

Please pray for me during this week and next week. Once I get into Pemba I have to get my residency organised before the 30th May! Once this is done it means that I don't have to leave the country at all, which gives me lots more freedom. I do however have to pay to get my residency renewed each year.

Please do keep in touch with me with any news, prayer requests or just for some general chat...internet is very slow so I may not reply straight away but I will get there!

Blessings, love and prayers,
Mana Ruth

Video - Little glimpse into Iris Pemba.

Untitled from ruth Alexander on Vimeo.