This week as I gathered and taught the teenagers, we talked about God’s power through His Word. The theme, of course, being found in Isaiah 55:10 and Genesis 1. I want these children to declare God’s promises over their lives and situations. I told them that we should never have to beg God for anything. I show them all the scripture where we are to speak a thing into existence and their faces lit up as they began to receive revelation. I really enjoy these teens because they really listen and want to know truth and the richness of walking in it. God will take them far because their faith is in Him and not what man can do for them or to them. The orphan spirit is always looking for someone to give them what they need and they don’t realize their inheritance and what it gives them. These kids know who their Papa is and what that is supposed to look like.

I am finally mobile again as the old missionary motorcycle that has been here since the beginning has been fixed for me. Yipee! The way the rains have been I don’t expect to see my belongings, which I had to leave in Aweil, until December. Our roads are so bad that it is very difficult to get out of here even with a four wheel drive vehicle. I have emailed the Commissioner (yes I can actually do that here) and he is coming to look at it and help us with it!! Another praise Jesus as we have been trying to solve this problem since the beginning, about five years now. Praying for the commissioner to move on our behalf to fix this road once and for all.

I just want to stop and say right here that I am so very grateful for every prayer sent up for us here at Iris South Sudan. So much rests on your prayers and yes, even your support, that we simply cannot continue to do what we do without you. Your prayers break open the atmosphere and causes things to shift for us. I keep thinking about the verse in the Bible that tells us that one can send ten to flight and ten can send 10,000 to flight. Although this verse talks about angels, I can just picture how our prayers do the same thing. It’s an amazing way that God has given us to co-labor with Him and for Him to move on our behalf. So, thank you, thank you, thank you family for praying!

Yesterday I had a small four year old on my couch, me right next to her, as she battled malaria. It frightens me sometimes that they can get so hot, so feverish, and not have serious consequences. Malaria is the biggest killer of children here in Africa. Their little bodies get so hot that you wonder if they are literally cooking on the inside. I kept wiping her down with cool water and was doing everything to force the malaria meds into her. All the tricks were used, hiding it in chocolate, dissolving it in juice, crushing it and hiding it in chewy candy, even bribery. She finally did get some into her and boy was I praying over her. By the after noon she was up and walking around, although carefully and slowly praise Jesus. Then just two hours later I had a teenager on my couch with the flu.

I feel like the old woman in the shoe who had so many children she didn’t know what to do! Actually I usually know what to do and when I don’t, Jesus does. Today is Saturday, our weekly outreach into the marketplace. The children dress up, load up, pray up and hit the market with worship and preaching and salvation springs forth. We are not just a Children’s Center where children live and go to school. We are an equipping center getting these kids ready for life in the world while operating from heaven. It’s what we teach and demonstrate. I want them to think that this is the “normal Christian life” and not just having church and doing works.

I just finished a three-part showing of the book of Acts and the life and death of the first apostles to the older teenagers. They saw these amazing men of God actually have joy and peace, even at the point of being crucified and beheaded. They had the relationship with the Lord that He wants all of us to know. We are in the world but we are not of the world. Until we get this revelation in us, we will struggle with this world and all its troubles. It is a daily discipline. Even I have to always remind myself not to get too caught up in what I can and can’t do. Roland Baker reminded me of that while I was in Aweil praying about taking this next assignment. I was so worried about the enormity of it and he told me that He and Heidi never carry the burden of these things, that’s God’s responsibility. Almost daily I remind myself of this.

It is now the end of the day on Saturday as I put the finishing words in my update. This morning I had to walk all the way around our fifty acres with a small girl who was very upset and crying fiercely. We just walked as I held her hand and tried to talk to her in my limited Arabic. Her mother was killed by her father in front of her eyes and then the in-laws came and killed the father in front of her. I think she still struggles with emotions. I have asked the older girls to join with me tomorrow as we soak this little one in prayer and love. Next I had four teenagers fighting, girls, and had them in my house for mediation. That took awhile. Then I thought the day would be quiet when one of our five year olds stepped on a nice piece of glass and sliced her foot pretty good. Blood dripping everywhere, me calm as you please, washing her wound and binding it up good and tight and giving her antibiotics and cookies and juice and signing her bandaged foot with “Jesus Heals” on blue duct tape. Now she gets to sit for three days until her wound melds together. On the weekends here in the third world it is very difficult to find any doctors/nurses/wanna be’s around so we have to do for ourselves. One learns pretty quick how to be an EMT!

May the Lord and Savior bless you ever so richly this week and give you a bigger glimpse of your home, of heaven, and show you more of what is available to you now!