Times Not Backward

Moving Away From The Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:41:00 +0000

We're still alive even though we haven't written an update in nearly a year! We've gone to Canada, had a baby and returned to Nepal.

We've decided shut down the blog and move to an email news letter. This decision is mostly for privacy sake since a less public forum will allow us to be a little more open with our updates.

If you would like to sign up for our updates send an email to timesnotbackward(at)gmail.com (replace (at) with @ ) and we'll send you a link to the sign up page. If you received this message via email just reply to this message. Though the new system is email only you'll always have the option of canceling or changing your subscription, and we'll never use your email address for anything else.

We'll wait a couple of weeks for people to sign up and then start sending out updates on a more regular basis.

Thank you for your interest, prayers, and support.
Kyle & Annie

Worship night with the Iris kids

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:22:00 +0000

Last night we went to have a worship time with the kids. It was so great! Nelson, our Nepali brother, led them in some worship songs with dancing and lots of drumming, as most of the kids wanted a turn on the hand drum. They started to spontaneously share some testimonies and one girl shared how when she was on the school bus that morning she realized that she forgotten to full up her pen with ink before she went to school. So, she prayed and asked God to help her and when she got to school she started writing with her pen and there was ink in it and it lasted all day! The teachers here are really strict and so she was worried that she would get in trouble, but Jesus had something else in mind! Hallelujah!

After some songs the kids all went into a time of spontaneous prayer and were intensely praying for each other. At the end of this precious time one of the older boys said that while we were praying God gave him a song to sing. He stood up right away and sang a beautiful song about how there is darkness in the world, but that God has provided a huge light for us and how for those that are feeling sick or in pain that there's healing in Jesus. It was so beautiful. I told him afterwards that Jesus was going to give him more songs, he just nodded his head, Nepali style, and had a big grin on his face, what a precious boy!

I love the kids at the Iris home so much, it's so great living just down the street from them. Speaking of home, I want to get Kyle to take some shots of our house and neighborhood to show you all. Oh and some of the kids home too. Kyle's on outreach now, but we'll do this soon. Stay tuned.....

Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:36:00 +0000

Hey so I just realized that we failed to post on our blog that we're pregnant! Yup I'm 21 weeks today and the due date is September 23rd. We're super excited! What's also exciting is that we're going to go back to Canada to have the baby! Yup, so all you folks in the Toronto area that want to see us please drop us a line via e-mail and we'll try to arrange a time to hook up with you. We'll only be in that area for a couple weeks and then we'll mostly be hanging out at my parents place as that's where our midwife will be. Visit's to my parents place are also welcome :)

We'll be back in Canada from about the 20th of July until the last week or so of November. We don't have any flights booked yet, put those are the dates we hope to be there. My sister leaves for about a year to go and work with a ministry in the States on July 29th so we're going to go back a little earlier then we originally planned so we can spend some time with her before she leaves.

The kids at the Iris Nepal home are so excited, they're always asking me, "Annie Auntie how's your baby?" Or, "how big is your baby now?" It's so darling. We'll have to skype them while we're in Canada, I'm going to miss them like crazy!

Yay for babies!
Annie

About The Blog Name

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:03:00 +0000

I've come to realize that some of you might be uncertain of the meaning behind the name of this blog. Admittedly its a bit abstract, but it was the only name I could find that suitably reflected the circumstances surrounding the blogs origins. Two months before we took our trip to Mozambique I was reading through C.S. Lewis' Perelandra for the second or third time. It was in that season as we were preparing to step into something entirely new and embracing the realization that we would be drastically altering the course of our lives that I fell upon the following line from old Clive's timeless book.

"Since our Beloved became a man, how should Reason in any world take on another form? Do you not understand? That is all over. Among times there is a time that turns a corner and everything this side of it is new. Times do not go backward"

My understanding of this is that in time, in history, there are lines that once crossed bring about a level of change so total that things can not return to the way they were. The Christ event, the incarnation, death and resurrection, was such a line. A fallen world has been redeemed and it cannot be un-redeemed. The course of time has been changed and nothing can slow the momentum of Gods salvific plan.

So why choose such a monumental analogy for the title of a small personal account of a new direction in life? Like much in the Kingdom the macro parallels the micro, the big is found in the small. For us the decision to leave what we knew and follow Holy Spirit was crossing such a line. In our hearts we burned the bridges back to the life we had. We are learning to persevere seeing him who is invisible. There is no going back to Egypt.

Hebrews says this of the heroes of faith:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

I believe that Jesus calls all believers to live with such reckless abandon. It doesn't mean that all are called to go overseas or quit their jobs, however I do believe that it Jesus wants to so posses our hearts that every decision of substance is in submission to the path He has laid before us. That we are so captivated by Him and the hope of His calling that we are heedless to the perceived consequences of obedience, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.

This blog is an account of us learning what all this means, learning how to follow Jesus. Learning about faith, hope and love. Learning about the Kingdom of Heaven. We've reached the point where going back is harder then going forward. We can no longer go backward.

-kyle

Such Is The Kingdom Of Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:25:00 +0000

Last week the DeBortoli's (Iris Nepal Base leaders) had all the Iris kids over to their house for a barbecue. The kids enjoyed hotdogs, and other treats, and played in the big yard. The DeBortoli's just so happen to have a house that came with a trampoline. Knowing what some of these kids were like when they first arrived at the children's home and now seeing the joy they continually carry is nothing short of miraculous. I'm understanding a little more why Jesus said such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

-kyle

Iris Nepal February Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:31:00 +0000

http://www.irismin.org/nepal/journal/iris-nepal-update-february-2012

enjoy!

Driving In Kathmandu

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:17:00 +0000

While the traffic here is not as bad as some places like India, its still crazy enough to keep you on your toes. Despite the craziness I love riding a motorcycle here.

The first portion of the video is road we ride almost daily, the second part is down town Kathmandu where we only go when necessary. It turns out that years of mountain biking growing up have had some unforeseen fringe benefits on the mission field.

Till The Ground

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Fields near the Iris Nepal Children's home

We've been in Nepal for 10 months, and among the many many things involved in the perpetual learning process that is missions, has been this tension between our expectations and Gods, between our perspectives and time frames and those of our Father. Its really a losing battle for us, but I doubt any good would come if we had it our way. Expectations can be a strange and powerful thing. They can become these carelessly placed anchors in our mind that we hold onto and are often used as some irrational measuring stick. Perspectives can greatly alter our interpretations of things. A wall can look much taller from its base than from an airial view. Seeing in the natural Elisha's servant saw things very different than the prophet who saw the superior reality of the Spirit. Time along with us is a created thing and the created will never have greater understanding than the creator.

Ten months has been like the beginning of some slow pregnancy of the kingdom. Holy Spirit has been moving but not as visibly as we had expected. He's been tending to seeds in us that would not survive if they were birthed now. In many ways carrying this child of promise has been the most challenging aspect of moving here. The changes of environment and culture can be embraced with relative ease, but to have the beginnings of something hidden within us and not yet be able to release it is a challenge that we were completely unprepared for.

Following Jesus here has involved a lot more waiting that we had anticipated. I especially had fallen victim to a sort of "take it by storm" type of ambition. Thankfully Jesus in His mercy has deprived the plant of ambition any water allowing it to wilt considerably. He is not slow towards us concerning His promises as some count slowness. His promises don't return to Him void, He is faithful, He is patient, He is always good. I'm learning that its imperative to trust His promises completely and place little weight on circumstances. When we react to circumstances we can easily repeat the sin of Abraham and Sarah and take things into our own hands. But we must remember that even though waiting for a promise may reach the point of frustration, He is always faithful to His word.

So while this season here has at times felt a bit listless, thats a rather limited perspective. Jesus has been tilling the ground and preparing us for His purpose, and we wait, but we wait with the hope of promise.

-kyle

Child Sponsorship

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:54:00 +0000

If anyone is interested Iris Nepal offers a Child Sponsorship program for the kids at our home. Photos of the children along with their sponsorship status can be found here. For more info email irisnepal@gmail.com

Radio Silence....

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:49:00 +0000

...We're still alive and doing well, but due to moving, no internet access, and our laptop dying, we have been rather lacking on the communication front. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll be able to give a more verbose update(with pictures) on whats been going on with us. For now we leave you with a point form outline.

After 11 months of nomadic homelessness we've finally moved into our own flat just outside of Kathmandu. We live above a church and below our amazing landlord. The place is brand new which is a nice perk in Asia, and when its a clear day we can see a number of Himalayan mountains from our windows.
The power supply on our laptop blew which has led us down the wonderful adventures of international warranty claims
We've seriously been falling more in love with the children at the home. The more we get to know them and their personalities the more they work their way into our hearts.
All the staff who we're away during the summer returned last month, and last week we had a YWAM arrive. Now we'll be resuming village outreaches, going to Nepal's many unreached villages and sharing the love of the Father with them.

On another note, last week we encountered Gods amazing faithfulness and provision. Essentially we ran out of money and we didn't know what we were going to do. So we prayed and thanked Jesus for His provision and faithfulness ahead of time. The next day we received more money than we immediately needed from a totally unexpected source. Then a couple days later our base leader came to our door with money saying it wasn't from him and he couldn't tell us who it was from. Jesus is so good and faithful, its amazing!

Thats all for now
Grace, Peace, & more Holy Spirit
-Kyle & Annie

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 05:12:00 +0000

Our bi-annual update for Iris Canada is now online.

http://irismin.ca/updates/august-2011-kyle-annie-update

Marbles and the relentless generosity of children

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:11:00 +0000

The other day I decided I wanted to give each of the boys at the Iris home a few marbles. At one point they had one or two to share among all 13 of them, but they had long ago disappeared the way marbles do. The day after I decided to get them marbles Jesus provided a whole jar of them to us for free. Not that marbles are expensive, or out of our ability to purchase, but any provision from the Father is a good thing, and for this we are thankful.

Today we gave each boy four small marbles. They were so excited and thankful over a few cents worth of round glass. They all kept saying "Thank you Uncle, thank you Auntie", and wasted no time starting a number of games around the play area. The smallest ones would just giggle while they chased their rolling marbles around.

About an hour after we gave them to them a five year old named Mahindra came up to me and placed all four of his new marbles in my pocket. Thinking he was being silly I took them out and tried to put them in his shirt pocket. He promptly places both hands over the pocket preventing my deposit and said he wanted to give me the marbles. I played along and thanked him, then a few minutes later I tried again to put them in his shirt pocket. Again he flat out refused. After a few more unsuccessful attempts I ran down to his room and hid them under his pillow. He soon discovered them, chased me down and shoved them in my pocket.

I had to accept it, he wanted me to keep them. This little boy who doesn't have very much, and shares all the toys with the other children, insisted on giving away his new toy that was entirely his own.

Freely we have received and freely we are to give. We can't hold onto anything so tightly that it gets in the way of love. Five year old Mahindra knows more about the kingdom than I do.

-kyle

Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:09:00 +0000

This is Pabitra. She's five years old and one of the newest additions to the Iris Nepal Children's Home. What we know of her story is similar to so many children in Nepal. Her father died and then her mother remarried, however, her mothers new husband didn't want any reminder of his wife's old marriage, so Pabitra's mother abandoned her.

When Pabitra first came to Iris you could see rejection hovering over her. Like many new orphans she would eat huge quantities of food because she was probably uncertain if any more food would come. While the other kids would run around and play on the rooftop terrace of the home she would stand motionless and stare out at the mountains. She would let you pick her up but she would sit lifeless in your arms. Everyone at Iris would just hold her and pray for her, pour as much love into her as we could. Most kids take a few hours to realize that they are in an environment of unconditional love and acceptance, Pabitra took days.

One day we went to the kids home to spend time with them after school and Pabitra was the first child I saw that day. She was a totally different person. She met me with a huge smile, arms flung wide, wanting to be picked up. She now is full of joy, giggling, running around with the other kids. She eats normal portions of food, and sings while she does her homework.

This is the transforming power of the Fathers Love. It demolished the spirit of rejection and poured out acceptance and love, and made a broken little girl into a new creation.

Glory

-kyle

The Narrow Gate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:21:00 +0000

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Matthew 7:12-14

This verse kicked me in the pants the other day. "...the way is HARD that leads to life." Wow, that really speaks against a lot of what the Western Church teaches. Following Jesus is the best, most amazing thing one could ever do, but it's so hard as well. I've been having a difficult time adjusting to life here sometimes, but it ok. Doing what Jesus has called you to do is often difficult, it involves suffering, it involves the desires and wants of our flesh (body) to be killed, so that our life in Jesus can grow and blossom. My character is being built and issues that I thought I've dealt with have all been challenged since I've been here. The enemy has also been trying to discourage me and tell me lies, so it's been double the hurt (pruning) and pain sometimes. BUT, Jesus is so so good. He's changed my life! He's making me more like Himself until one day I am face to face with my Saviour - perfected by His glory.

Father, may my life be a sacrifice and offering to You. Thank You that You give me the strength to do this.

- Annie

I met my cousin tn Kathmandu!

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:00:00 +0000

That almost sounds like a country song. After we got back from our outreach my Mum, Aunt AND Uncle all e-mail me and tell me that my cousin Amy, who I've never met, is in Kathmandu doing a DTS with YWAM. She's an MK and has lived all over the world and I've never had the chance to meet her. After connecting by e-mail we arranged to meet for lunch. It was so good to connect and share about what's going on in in our lives. It was surreal and yet completely comfortable, I mean we have the same grandmother, same cousins and we even have the same space between our toes! I miss her already. LOVE YOU AMY!!!

Village Outreach recap

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:15:00 +0000

Panwhalla in Janakpur

Its been a few weeks since we returned from our village outreach in Janakpur and Pokhara. It was great to get out of the Kathmandu Valley and into other parts Nepal. Janakpur feels almost exactly like North India, the heat, the food, the people, the way the city is laid out, all of it. It made us miss our time in India a little.

In the three days we were there we ministered in one church and three small Dalit villages, one of which had never heard the name of Jesus before. We would gather and worship for a while to welcome the presence of God, this also tends to gather most of the village around us. One of the Nepali's on our team would then preach, and then we would pray for the sick. Because of the rigorous farming work in the rural areas almost everyone had some sort of body pain amongst other ailments. At lease 5-10 deaf people were totally healed, some heard their children's voice for the first time. Overall the vast majority of people prayed for were healed, many also accepted Jesus into their hearts, and received the love of the Father.

We had to pray for a few hours just to get through all the people. It gave me a better understanding how Jesus got tired at the end of a day praying for people. I kept getting to a place of feeling totally empty yet there are still people waiting in line, or bypassing it all together to receive prayer. I often had to pray as an act of will rather than a place of faith, but that didn't matter much, when we are faithless Jesus is faithful. The people were so hungry, hopeful and full of faith. They often had more determination than we did. If they weren't healed they wouldn't get discouraged, they would just receive more prayer until they were.

In spite of all that the Holy Spirit was doing I don't believe that was the primary purpose for us going on this outreach. It was a very trying and challenging time for both of us. The Lord was testing our hunger for Him and His Kingdom, testing our reliance on His grace and presence. Can we faithfully lay hold of His promises when our hearts or circumstances seem contrary? Though difficult these things were actually answers to things we have been praying about for some months now.

After Janakpur we headed over to beautiful Pokhara, had a day of rest, then hiked up into the surrounding mountains to some more villages. Because of an encroaching storm, and a navigational blunder that turned a two hour hike into a seven hour one, we never got a chance to do any direct ministry in the villages around there. Instead we all enjoyed the spectacular views and had an intense time of prayer for the area and the Nation.

-kyle

Village Outreach with Fire and Fragrance

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Fri, 06 May 2011 06:39:00 +0000

In a few hours we're leaving for a 10 day village outreach with a team from Fire & Fragrance (a ministry under YWAM). We'll be splitting our time between Janakpur (map) in the south and Pokhara (map) to the west. We'll be based in the two cities but spend most of our time in the surrounding villages of the Dalit (untouchable) cast. These people are shunned by the general public and can often only find work doing the jobs no one else will do.

Our hope is that the people we meet encounter the love of the Father and that Holy Spirit crashes in. That heaven would invade earth in a place where many have never heard the name of Jesus.

We'll write more when we get back.
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
-kyle & annie

In Transit

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Everything we've taken with us

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of packing and travel. We had planned on sorting out all the packing weeks prior to leaving but things piled up and we ended up doing it the day before. Our large suitcase was hopelessly overweight, we tried swapping its contents with other bags but it was still coming in 20 pounds over! Finally in the wee hours of the morning as we resigned to just pay the overweight charge I checked in online only to find that we had an extra free checked bag than what our travel agent told us! Thank God for hidden blessings. So the morning of our flight we managed to get it all under weight with the help of the extra bag.

We were incredibly blessed to spend four days in London on the way over to Nepal. We spent a bit of time seeing the sights but we were mostly there to see some beloved friends from Harvest School in Mozambique. It was a great time to catch up, pray, worship, and be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. They are all inspiring people who's heart is set on the kingdom and its exciting to see where Jesus is leading them.

We arrived in Kathmandu on the 13th and are settling into our temporary lodgings and fighting off jet lag. Today as we ran some errands I was incredibly happy to be back. Nepal already feels like home even though I don't yet speak the language or know how to take the bus. The hills around Kathmandu are stunning and with monsoon approaching in a month or so everything is becoming vibrantly green. It almost inspires me to become a landscape photographer.

-Kyle

Leaving soon...again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Kyle and I leave for Nepal in 11 days! We're really excited and can't wait to go. This is just a quick post to ask you all to pray for us as we prepare to leave. This is so different then just going on a long trip, we're moving to another country! Yet, in so many ways it's not a big deal at all. Nepal is so right, we're stepping into our destiny and there is nothing else we could do but to go there.

God is so faithful to us! He keeps His word and His promises. Thank you Father for the opportunity to live in a beautiful land and minister and learn from such beautiful people.

Bless you friends and family!
-annie

What Do We Have To Give

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:10:00 +0000

"To beg God to heal someone is to assume that you have more compassion than He does" - Randy Clark

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
(Acts 3:1-7 ESV)

The above quote and verse from Acts have been challenging me lately, and changing the way I think. The vast majority of Christians believe in praying for the sick in some capacity, yet for reasons that escape me it is often reduced to an uncertain plea to God. Often in our near certainty that no healing will take place, we throw in the anti-prayer contingency "If its not your will to heal them, then give them strength, peace, perseverance etc". I've prayed like that in the past, but I don't really know why, perhaps it's learned behavior? As Randy Clark points out above, to pray like that is to totally disregard the nature of the Father. Furthermore I'm unaware of a instance in the NT of someone praying for someone in this manner.

So if praying for the sick is not a petition to God what is it? Whats been getting to me the most is where Peter and John say to the lame man "I have not silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!". What is it they had? What do we have to give in a situation like that? We're called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His power, and that is a significant factor for sure but as I've mulled over it I've realized there is more.

I've occasionally fallen into the error of praying for a miracle just because it works, with no tangible love for the person I'm praying for. Sometimes because the Father love the person more than I do He heals them. But as Bill Johnson aptly says, "If our prayers don't move us they aren't going to move Him". I've realized that power or anointing alone isn't how the kingdom works. I need to walk in greater love for the people I minister to, I need Jesus to give me supernatural love for them.

I also feel that as temples of the Holy Spirit we carry the presence of God with us wherever we go. The more time we spend in His presence, when our cup is overflowing, the more of Him spills out around us without us even trying to do anything. We can walk into the darkest places we can find and actually bring the presence of God with us. Sometimes His presence in us is all thats necessary to change the atmosphere around us. I believe that's what happened when people were healed when peter walked by them. It wasn't His shadow, he was so filled with the Glory of the Lord that it gave life to all around him.

While this is all partial revelation I do know that is changing the way I approach the "impossible".

-kyle

Nepal & Iris Ministries

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:50:00 +0000

We indicated this in the last post, but I thought I'd throw it out there a little more officially.

We've signed on to work with Iris Ministries in Nepal for the next two years. Iris is a beautiful and amazing ministry and we feel blessed and honored to be a part of the family. Their heart is to feed the hungry in body and spirit, and let the love of Jesus spill out all over the place. Furthermore having leaders like Heidi and Rolland Baker is incredibly inspiring, they are true forerunners in the Kingdom. Iris Canada is also registered Canadian charity and will be handling all of our donations from now on. If you wish to support us you can make tax deductible contributions on this page, or by clicking the links on the right of our blog page.

While we were at the school in Mozambique we did a long term interview with the leaders who oversee Asia, though we had not yet been to the Iris base in Nepal we knew Jesus was calling us there. Our short time in Nepal confirmed it, the country and the people worked their way into our hearts. The Lord has left the next step in our life in Kathmandu. We cannot not go there.

We leave Canada around April 8th, which leaves us just enough time to prepare to move to Asia. When we arrive we'll be meeting up with some good friends from Harvest School (in Mozambique) and ministering with them. After that we need to find a place to live and then take on the challenge of learning the Nepali language, which is very similar to Hindi. The exact nature of our ministry there is yet to be revealed, but our heart is to release the Fathers love and the Kingdom wherever we are. We are also looking forward to building relationships with the kids at the Iris Nepal children's home.

-kyle

A Long Overdue Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:51:00 +0000

The last time we posted was halfway through the school just after our first bush outreach. So much has happend since then, school finished, we traveled from Mozambique to Nepal, and are now back in Canada.

Summary of the School (by Kyle)
Iris Harvest school was a totally incredible, transforming, life changing experience. I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who's hungry for more of God and has a heart for missions. It's pretty much impossible to go to the school and not be changed. Everyone including the students, staff, and speakers are so hungry for more of God and His Kingdom. Its a wonderful atmosphere for faith to grow.

Some highlights from the school:

The culture of honor, faith, and risk. Honor those around you, and honor the hero's who have gone before you. Stepping out in faith requires risk. But if you make a risk in faith and it doesn't work out it's not a failure or even a blow to your faith. Learning to take risks is learning to walk in faith.

Learning what it means to be a son of the Father, realizing that we are called to co-labour with Christ, salvation isn't the end its the beginning.

"There is no reason in faith, why today isn't the best day of your life" - Roland Baker. The more I lay hold of that truth the more powerful it becomes.
Spending hours a day in worship and listening to incredible men and women of God share their stories and teachings.
The students. I received as much from them as everything else in the school. Their stories, faith and zeal are incredible.
Our first bush outreach, read about it here.
Going on a second bush outreach changed my definition of destitute when I met a crippled man who has been bed ridden for five years.
Graduation was one of the most crazy and glorious experiences of my life. The sheer power of the presence of God made the outreach I last posted on pale by comparison (not that we should compare such things). The Lord brought a banquet of His presence and we all feasted like royalty. Love, prayer, and prophecy poured out on everyone like water. Profoundly beautiful.

You cross a line at the school, something changes in you and there is no going back to the way you used to live. Now that I've tasted and seen that there is more to the Gospel, I can't go back to the old way of thinking. It actually makes life a lot more exciting. Jesus can show up with His love and power at any place and any time. It has wonderful implications, when we cultivate a greater awareness of His voice, His presence, and the Kingdom, the mundane can become the miraculous.

Nepal
The day after graduation we led a small team of six (including us) to Kathmandu Nepal for an extended international outreach. There we partnered with the family that runs Iris Nepal and ministered for two and a half weeks. The outreach had some some amazing moments but had its fair share of challenges. Most of the team was sick for the duration of the outreach, which limited our plans to go visit unreached villages in remote areas. The outreach had no set schedule, rather we spent lots of time worshiping and seeking the Lord for direction. This led us to different parts of Kathmandu to minister on the street and pray over those areas.

We visited a number of Buddhist monasteries to reclaim the territory in the spirit. At the first one we visited some of the team prayed for the head monk who had noticeably bad asthma. You could hear a raspy hissing in his voice when he spoke. After a few minutes all the hissing was gone and he could breath normally again. At another monastery we prayed for an old Buddhist man with bad knees, causing him to shuffle when he walked. He too was totally healed and was able to walk normally with no pain. Another time we were near a small Hindu temple when the Lord led us to pray for the woman who was cleaning the idol of the days offerings (mostly flowers and coloured powder). The Holy Spirit gave us a word of knowledge that she had pain in her right hip. While we were praying she felt heat on the affected area and then all the pain left.

The thing that stuck me about these healings was that they all took place inside places of pagan worship. While intellectually I've always known that the presence of God is everywhere, I used to feel that temples and such were such dark places that I needed to leave as soon as possible lest I be affected by the demons that inhabit them. The reality is that the love of the Father is so much bigger, and He is waiting to pour it out. He loves the people who don't love Him, so much so that He'll send people into these places to bless and pray for them. By the Holy Spirit we transform the atmosphere around us not the other way around. Greater is He who is within us than he who is in the world.

The base leader Joel is incredibly inspiring. He stops for the destitute, the ones the culture ignores, and shows them real love. Ministering with him forces you to slow down. It was an honour to partner with his family and minister together with them.

Canada and Update about Nepal (By Annie)
We've been back in Canada since January 7th and it's been amazing! God's been doing a lot here and it's been really good to put what we learned at the school into your everyday life. One of the things that they talked about at the school was how you have to dig your own well. At the school you're taking in so much teaching and you're meeting so many amazing people that it's easy just to feed off of their "well", their anointing, their walk with God...you get the idea. But, when you're on your own again it's like, "right so now it's just you and me God, lets go!" You have to build your own faith and take what you learned and put it into practice. Faith is a gift, but we also have to work out our faith with "fear and trembling." What a dichotomy that one is! Rolland Baker loves the concept of dichotomy and how it's all through the scriptures, he said, "salvation is free, but it will cost you everything." I love that, it's so true. Following Jesus is the best thing you could ever do, but it's the hardest thing you'll ever do.

Right so back to us being in Canada. I lot of people were perhaps surprised that we returned as we bought one way tickets and didn't have a plan after Nepal. We were willing to stay there or go anywhere after the outreach. We both felt that we were supposed to come back at the beginning of January for a short season and that it would be a time of preparation, seeing family and ministering to whoever we come in contact with. It's been awesome. But, that being said we can't wait to go back to Nepal. For those of you who don't know we're heading back to Nepal to work with Iris Nepal for at least 2 years. I've wanted to be a "missionary" for years and my dream is coming true! It's so surreal, yet totally normal that we're Iris Missionaries now. So the plan, well we don't really have one, is to go back in the spring or early summer, we'll keep you posted.

Nepal got into my heart when we went there in 2008 after we got married and it's never left. When we left this last trip I cried for about 20 minutes after the plane took off, it was so hard to leave. I've never cried when I've left a place before, it really confirmed to me that Nepal is where we're supposed to be next. While we also have a heart for other places south of there (not saying the name intentionally), we feel that the next step is Nepal. We also have a heart for Canada and feel that someday we will return to our homeland and serve here as well.

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we feel that this year is going to be a huge change in our lives.

Much love to you all,
Kyle and Annie

Then All Heaven Broke Loose

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:37:00 +0000

Two weeks ago we went on a three day bush outreach that was incredible on so many levels. Basically a group of fifteen mission school students and ten Iris Mozambican bible school pastors pile into a flat bed truck and drive out to remote villages to minister. We set up a screen, projector and sound system, and play some music to get every one together to dance (Mozambicans love to dance). Once everyone is gathered we play the Jesus film in the local dialect, then we preach the gospel, maybe do a short drama, then pray for the sick.

The villages our team went to were very small with only about two hundred people each. The first night we arrived to near perfect African sunset, then the whole team setup their tents before it got dark. We did the outreach service but not much out of the ordinary happened. At about ten pm we ate dinner and went to sleep in our tents.

In the middle of the night Annie woke me up because a child had been screaming near by for over half an hour. I had a moment of compassion deprivation wondering if it would even be culturally appropriate to go see what was transpiring in the middle of the night. But my good wife wouldn't be swayed so we climbed out of our tent and found another woman from our team awake for the same reason. Not far from out tents we found the child with her mother under a large tree. Using hand gestures we found out that the little girl had pain in here ear. The three of us began praying for the child and after only one minute the child stopped crying, and a minute longer seemed pretty much normal. We asked the mother to ask the girl if the pain was gone. It was!

Goshtandino

The next morning the team split into groups with the Mozambican pastors and walked around the village looking for anyone who was sick or needed prayer. We soon came to three Muslim men sitting in the shade of a veranda.

We started by asking them if they knew of any sick, blind, or deaf people in the village. They didn't since they were only passing through the village but one of them had a bad toothache. We explained that we were followers of Jesus, and who Jesus is in the Koran, then asked if we could pray for the mans tooth. Much to his surprise the man was quickly healed. We then spent about half an hour sharing the gospel with him and by the end he said he believed Jesus because He healed him.

As we were finishing with the Muslim men, a man named Goshtandino approached us beckoning for us to follow him. He led us to his house a short distance away, and once he had us all sitting down on a day bed and a grass mat he asked us for prayer. He was near sighted but didn't have glasses and was suffering from back pain caused by a hernia. We prayed for his eyes twice, each time with small improvement. Then one of the girls on our team felt we should anoint his eyes with mud. After explaining to him that this was something Jesus did she spat in a bit of dirt an placed it on his eye lids. We prayed for another couple of minutes then wiped off the mud. His eyes were now totally healed. He pointed to the house were the Muslim men were sitting and said "when I came and got you I couldn't see that, but now I can".

Filled with faith from the healing we immediately started praying for his back pain. Within a few minutes he was bending over and twisting from side to side without any pain. It was amazing to see how happy he was and he joined us in thanking Jesus for the healing.

Shortly after the man asked us to pray for a women from his house who has been having nightmares of drowning and being in a grave yard. When we first started talking with her she seemed totally numb. There was no expression on her face and she would stare off into the distance and would only speak in whispers. We found out that she had been bathing in a potion from the witch doctor because she thought someone had brought a curse against her. We got the sense that she was ashamed about going to the witch doctor so we encouraged her that we were here to help her not judge, and that there is no condemnation in Jesus. We brought her out from the shade of the house into the sun as a prophetic gesture of her leaving the darkness behind and stepping into the light. After praying for her and just loving her there was a huge change in her countenance. You could see she was tasting freedom and peace for the first time.

Nearby a group of women were sitting outside a house and they called us over. After watching everything that happened to their neighbours one of them wanted to accept Jesus. As we were talking to them four more decided they wanted Jesus as well. We also prayed for a girl that was missing an eye but didn't see any change. Our hope was that she'd wake up the next morning with two eyes.

By this time we had to head back to camp, eat a lunch of rice, beans and gazelle, then pack up to go to the next village. Right as we were about to leave the church presented us with an offering of two huge bunches of bananas, a large basket of peanuts, some papaya and other fruit. This was coming from a church made from mud, bamboo and grass, that had an alter made of cinder blocks and ragged grass mats to cover the dirt floor. It was incredibly humbling to see people with so little give so much.

We arrived in the second village late in the afternoon. It was situated on a hilltop overlooking a large plane of Mozambican bush and backed by low mountains behind which the sun set. We were given the luxury of setting up camp in a fenced court yard adjacent to the mud church which granted us some extra security. Considering the small size of the village the homes were incredibly spread out. From the church I was only able to see three other buildings, and one of them was the pastors house. There was a serene feeling to the village, very little activity and a strange absence of children inspecting what the Akuna's (white people) were doing. Yet while there was a sleepy lull in the natural a storm was approaching in the spiritual.

The team gathered to pray in the court yard. Outside the music and dancing video gathered an unreceptive crowd who chose to sit in the dirt rather than dance. As we prayed with hope and anticipation the word breakthrough stirred in our hearts. There was a felt barrier in that place that needed deconstruction. By the end of the prayer time the presence of God was rolling in like a cloud charged with expectancy.

Half way through the Jesus Film the Lord spoke to a girl on the team telling her we should pray that the whole village would accept Jesus including the chief. As this word was passed among the members of the team that could be found in the dark we began to pray and prophesy over each other. It felt as if we were being filled up for what we were about to pour out and we prayed at length for the pastor that was going to preach within the hour. After the film finished pastor Carlos began to preach and concluded by asking anyone to raise their hand if they wanted to accept Jesus. In the midst of the many hands raised I saw a man in a white Muslim cap sitting down. Holy Spirit told me it was the chief and I needed to pray for his heart to be softened. The incredible thing is that Holy Spirit independently revealed the same thing to other members of the team around the same time.

After every member of the team introduced themselves to the crowd Pastor Carlos gave a call for anyone who needed healing to come forward for prayer. The first person to come forward was the man with the white cap I saw sitting earlier. He was the chief of the village and had been suffering back pain. The significance of this action and its outcome crashed in on me, but the amazing thing is that when the stakes are higher Jesus has a reputation of showing up more powerfully. When we step into situations that are completely beyond our human ability then the Lord can glorify Himself even more because we are unable to take any credit.

2nd Village Chief

A few of us gathered around him and began to pray and after about two minutes we asked if anything had changed. His countenance remained almost stoic yet he insisted the pain was gone. The pastors had him bend over and twist his back to ensure all was well then asked him to testify with the microphone what had happened. Then all heaven broke loose, healings were happening faster than we could keep track of. The crowed quickly transformed into a huge dance party in celebration of what God was doing and soon enough the chief joined in with a huge smile. At one point I told a guy on the team to make sure that any people healed get the mic and testify. His response was that they had just healed four people who had since dispersed into the crowed. The bulk of the ailments were headache, body pain and stomach issues, and Jesus was healing them all almost instantly. Over all we estimate 30-50 people were healed of their various ailments.

The next morning the chief was present at the church asking for prayer because the Muslim leaders from the surrounding villages will want to kill him because he has now converted to Christianity. Its a very real threat and the Muslim leaders will certainly try to curse him through the witch doctors if not try to stone him.

As we sat squished in the truck on the way home I felt in my spirit that the chief is the keystone to the village. An arch is unable to support itself with out the key stone in place. If the chief of a village is against Christianity then the village as a whole will be much more resistant to the gospel.

Through out all of this and the stories from other outreaches the thing I've been learning is how much I had complicated praying for healing. I had bordered on formula, sometimes thinking I had to include certain things in a prayer in order for it to "work". The reality is that praying for the sick is a commandment not a theological exercise. Its our job to do what Holy Spirit tells us to and just be an empty vessel for Him to work through not try and contort our faith so its strong enough. Its our job to love the person more than we desire to see a miracle. The healing itself is entirely up to Jesus.

-kyle

Where to Begin....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:04:00 +0000

Where to Begin....so much has happened since I last wrote you all. I spent most of the day at the Pemba Beach Hotel with some of the other lady staff. It's right across the street and it's a place for us to get away from everything and have a break (students aren't allowed to go there). We had coffee on the veranda, some lunch and went swimming as well. It was so lovely and refreshing.

Right, so what have I/we been doing??? Well we have class from 8am to 1:30ish every day except Friday, which is a practical missions day. The students sign up for an area here at Iris that's run by a Mozambican or a long term missionary and they get to help out and see what it's all about. They can help with the kids, gardening, the kitchen, finances (only one student gets to help with that), village outreach, babysitting for the base director, etc, etc, etc. Kyle and I are going to the hospital every Friday afternoon to hang out with patients and their families and to pray for people if they want us to. It's the same as in India in that the families have to provide for all the patients needs like washing clothes and bringing them food. We went yesterday, but the paper work that gives us permission to go into the wards hadn't gone through yet and so some of us walked around the property and prayed for people outside, while a few others walked around inside the property. The conditions in the hospital were a lot better then I had expected, but no where near what it's like back home. People only go to the hospital if they're really sick because there's not a lot of beds available. I am excited to see what will happen when we get to go inside the wards. During the last school some people went and prayed for the patients in a ward and then went back the next day to find that the ward was empty. They had all gotten better and went home! Thank you Jesus!

We start off every morning with worship and then have two or three different sessions in the mornings. Heidi speaks for a session on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Rolland speaks on Mondays and Wednesdays. Last Sunday Heidi's mother passed away and so she's been away this week. After she's with her family she's speaking at some conferences and will be back early November. Rolland left on Wednesday or Thursday for Korea and will be gone for a couple of weeks as well. There are some pretty amazing guest speakers as well.

As staff I have to be present for most of the classes and pray for the students during ministry time. My duties to help run the school are organizing all the worship sessions, graduation requirements (which includes making sure students do the required book readings, organize attendance for class and making a schedule for group presentations, etc), and I also have to organize the book reviews for students that can't read the books because English is their second language. It's a pretty full on schedule, but I'm learning to rest more as well. On Saturdays I have to take the full day off and I'm not allowed to do any work!! I really like how Iris is all about our strength being in resting in His love and Christ being strong in our weakness. I couldn't do this in my own strength and it's such a relief that I don't have to!

Well I must be off to bed, I'm going to try to get up early to do some laundry...yeah for hand washing!

Much love to you all,
Ann Marie

Analogies for that which is bigger than analogy

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 06:26:00 +0000

Oct 3, 2010

I feel as though God is slowly revealing to me a much wider perspective of the kingdom. Often during work or rest Jesus seems to point out an area of my 'understanding', of my doubt, and even my faith and simply says "There is more, My Kingdom is bigger". Every day He pushes is just a little bit wider. There is this constant whisper that the Kingdom of God utterly defies any limitation I'm able to place on it. Its like inhaling air that's pregnant with breaths of promise. Breathing that air is crating a hunger in me to really see the kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. To have a deeper revelation of Jesus, all He did, is doing, and is going to do. The last time we traveled God challenged me to realize that nothing is outside of His redemption. This time He's taking it a step further by showing me that there is absolutely no area His love, grace and power can't transform. We Christians so easily forget that the battle is already won, and the end has been unchangeably decided, we're just to play a role in the chapters leading up to that end.

-Kyle