Safely in Johannesburg

Hi.  I'm Andy Kerner, Madison's dad.   She just called me from the Johannesburg airport to let me know everything is great and asked me to post a short blog.  She apologized about the lack of communication, but said they did not have internet access and limited minutes on a phone card. She said the trip was fantastic and God did some awesome things.  It was very difficult to leave the children this morning before they departed for the airport.  She said one boy skipped school and found a way to the airport to see them off!

Everyone is in good health.  They were able to go a safari in South Africa and she said it was fun (she said they had confirmed it was safe in South Africa before they went).

She asked that everyone continue to pray for their team -- safe travels, smooth connections and continued unity during the next 36 hours of their journey home.

Street Ministry

We are spending most of our time here at the Zimpeto Center, but we have a lot of opportunities to go out on outreaches as well. The team has spent time at the Bocaria, the hospital, other children’s centers, and out on street ministry.

Colin and Emily went to a prison to encourage some of the inmates two nights ago, and we were able to go out on street ministry last night as well. We went to a park where many people live in shacks or just sleep on the ground. We gathered together about three kids and starting worshiping and over time about 20 people joined us. We held a 30-45-minute church service where we worshiped, prayed, and spoke what the Lord had put on our hearts. Psalm 27, Matthew 5, and 2 Corinthians 2 were on our hearts as we shared with the people through our translator.

Here is an update on the team members: Ashley loves it here and thinking about marrying a Mozambican and staying here (we’re only kidding…sort of). Ava is having a blast and making us laugh all the time. Blair is spending most of her time with the little girls and in the baby house. Colin is running around 24-7 with the boys playing soccer and basketball, and took his first shower in 4 days last night. Emily is always spending time with the Lord and loves being pushed out of her comfort zone on outreaches. Erik is serving everyone all the time- we are constantly blown away by his heart. Jacob is spreading love everywhere he goes with hugs and words of encouragement. Our team is amazing and we are receiving so much joy by serving with them and watching what the Lord is doing through each of them.

Sorry this has to be short, but we only had about 10 minutes to write this and the internet was especially slow today.

-Blake and Madison

The Bocaria (by Erik and Emily)

Yesterday we went to the bocaria- or what we would call the city dump. Only the difference is that the bocaria is inhabited by a lot of Mozambicans, mostly mothers and children. By far it was the saddest day here--but also the most promising. We rode in the back of a flatbed truck through the city until we reached the mountain of garbage and were immediately greeted by the children that live there. Then, we broke up into two groups to do ministry. Our group went throughout the neighboring houses, to pray for the sick who lived there. One child in particular drew our attention, he was a young man of about 22ish who was infected with AIDS. His story was a miracle, today he was well enough to stand and greet us, but last week would have been a different story. People at Iris that have been praying for him say that a week ago he was unable to stand or hardly even move from the mat that he sleeps on. The Lord is the only one who could have brought this change in him!

The kids at the bocaria rummaged for food, clothing, and bits of metal to sell in the heaps of trash. But they all came running to the children's church service at the bottom of the bocaria. There were at least 70 kids there. After the service, Iris passed out over 300 pieces of bread to the families and the kids.

On Saturday, our team went to the market. We haggled and bargained our way to some beautiful African art and such. After riding downtown in a truck (all 13 of us), we ate lunch outside at a really nice Mozambican restaurant overlooking the Indian ocean and ordered such specialties as coke in glass bottles and ice cream for desert. This is a huge contrast from the food that we eat at the compound. They serve rice from huge washtubs for lunch and dinner to everyone. They top the rice with a different food each meal, such as cooked cabbage, beans, noodles, or fish.

Sunday was amazing. We can't really describe it- the worship, dancing, overall celebrating the Lord is beyond words. The service itself was translated into english for our benifit, but language barriers are so insignificant when it comes to the Lord. We can't fully describe it...

One day down in Zimpeto

Although we got ripped off at the airport in Maputo for $50, we made it to Mozambique with every person and every piece of luggage! Praise the Lord!

The drive to the Center was an extremely sobering experience. None of the team had seen that much poverty before (most people from the US haven't). Mozambique is the third poorest country in the world, and you could see it on the streets. Within a mile of the airport, we saw children digging in the trash, starving animals, and infants walking around with no shoes and no parents.

We got to the Children’s Center and were immediately surrounded by 15-20 kids. We are definitely the only white people here, which is an odd feeling. Yesterday was overwhelming for many of us with non-stop activity all afternoon. We were all asleep by 9:00 pm, and most of us were up before 6 am. (Ava, Ashley, and Blair were the first to bed and the last to get up - no surprise there)

Today, we are spending time at the Center with the kids and painting a missionary's room. Jacob and Emily are going to the hospital to pray over the sick (only 2 could go today, but everyone will go sometime this week). We are adjusting to a life of freedom with no schedules here.

The team is a perfect example of selflessness. Everyone wants to do the lowest job and jumps at any opportunity to serve anyone. We spent hours at airports and waiting in lines, but no one ever complained. Although some of them were dozing off playing games with the kids yesterday, they kept themselves awake until we told them they could go to bed.

Thank you Lord for providing for our team. You brought us to Mozambique safely and easily and gave us a team of people after your heart. We are excited for what is in store over the next two weeks. Continue to give us things from you- we don't want anything of ourselves. Also, be with our families and the intercessors.

-Blake and Madison

South Africa - 14 hours till we are in Mozambique

We are offically in Africa... In a hostel in South Africa called Africa Centre. We made it here with no problems, all our luggage arrived perfectly, we were picked up from the airport, and all our flights were on time. Thank you for lifting up the details of our travels in prayer- it was much needed and we could tell it was completely of the Lord's provision. Everyone is doing well, no one even got sick on the plane (even the motion-sickness-prone ones). Despite an annoying baby crying the whole way and her older sister of 5 with a passifier still in her mouth, we had the ideal flight from New York to Dakar (for fueling) to South Africa.
We are leaving tomorrow at 7 am to get on our flight to Mozambique that leaves at 10 am... our time... which means... blake loves dot dot dots. We forgot what they were called...

So 3 am Central time is when we are boarding our 45 minute flight to Maputo, Mozambique!

People from Iris Ministries will pick us up from the airport and we should be at the children's center by lunch time.

The Lord is continuing to speak to our team through His specific supplying of all our needs. We are learning to trust Him more and more completely by that provision.

Be looking for updates in a few days. We will see how fast (slow) the internet is at Iris.

Here is how you can continue to pray for us:
Details would continue to be worked out
Multiplied rest
Prepared and fertile hearts in Mozambique
That our hearts would continue to be tuned in to the Lord's heart
That we would also continue to be praising Him for all He is doing! (We can't believe we're actually HERE!)

Father, bless these intercessors that are warring with us for your Kingdom. We love these people.

love, Blake and Madison
and Jacob, Colin, Ashley, Blair, Erik, Ava, and Emily

we thought it'd be funny if we left a name off... but that wouldn't be funny. EVERYONE'S GREAT.

Hey Kids..

Your mother and I are in Dallas at her parents' house, getting some things together for when we leave TOMORROW NIGHT!!! (Mom says she loves you!) 

We got prayed over last night by Madison's family's community group and it was incredible. We will be heading to Norman in about 45 minutes to go to Emily's graduation party, and then we'll head to Tulsa to see my side of the fam. I'll tell your grandparents hello. Remember, tomorrow is Mother's Day, so make sure you let Mom know how much you love her and think she's the best.

On another note: God gave us a picture on our way to Dallas of all of us in a big bed together as a family, dreaming and being poured into by the Lord. It was in a cabin in a big field, and at the right time, an alarm clock woke all of us up, and we were to get up immediately and go out to harvest together. We each have been given all the tools we need, so we don't have to worry about that. We are going out into a field to release the things that have grown from the bondage of the ground. The field is ready for harvest.

I feel like this is God telling us that we have been getting things from the Lord, and He has been pouring Himself into us. We are being made ready for each moment from here on out. We don't have to worry about conjuring up great things, they've been given to us. He's given us a heart to know him (Jeremiah 24:7). Now we WILL be faithful to go out when He says to go out. We will awaken and jump into His field to be used by Him there. The theme is the same: Death. We are continually dying to ourselves, it's never going to stop.

We also got a vision of us as a team being pieces of gold and silver, having to be burned to get all the impurities out.

We desire to stay in the melting stage- no room for tarnishing, but remaining pure and melting in His Presence.

Father, kill us. We want to be dead and lose our lives to find them in YOU. You are our refuge, our portion in the land of the living. We delight ourselves in YOU. Give us a heart to know you. Come in close- intimacy with You is all we want. Your heart is the one thing we want more than life or peace or comfort or riches or prestige or recognition. YOUR HEART IS ALL THAT WE WANT! Reveal the man Jesus to us. Open the windows of Heaven and pour out your blessing of your Spirit until there is no more room for us to hold Him. Thank you Jesus. Wound our hearts to look like yours- like the hearts on our shirts. They're not meant to look cool. They're meant to be symbolic of what our hearts really are. We are lovers looking for a Lover, and we've found HIM. You are a lover looking for a Lover, and you've found us. Yes, Jesus.

-blake

Prepared

The preparation, in the Lord's eyes (and how it should be in ours), is more important for us to focus on than the actual 'serving' or 'doing' or the 'ministry.' Look at the deserts in the Bible (and in my life, and in many of our lives...). People are called into a desert for YEARS, and prepared, and then they go out as a vessel to do whatever God wants them to do- because they are empty. Not even because they are prepared, really... but because they have learned to be empty every day.

Jesus didn't start his 3-year-long ministry until he was 30 years old... Why do we get prepared for 3 years (college) for a career (30 years)? - just a metaphor for this process of us going to Mozambique. DON'T LET YOUR SERVING HIM REPLACE YOUR LOVING HIM.

GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR WORK IN MOZAMBIQUE. DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT YOU ARE NEEDED BY HIM. He loves you, and you are desired by Him. He wants your heart as much as the hearts in Mozambique. He has entered into a covenant relationship with us, binding Himself to our prayers. Empty yourself before Him EVERY chance you get. And then make more room for Him in your life and do it again. And again.

Choose emptiness every day this week. You need to. You can't do your finals. You can't succeed in pleasing God. You can't go and have a quiet time. But you can surrender. Or not. What will you choose? RELEASE THE REINS. RELEASE CONTROL. If you surrender to Him, you will be filled. He will give you a heart to know Him. Jeremiah 24:7. Return to Him- every day. It's not enough to have prayed this thing once. You must every moment be surrenderING to Him. If you don't, you can expect to be full of regret while you are trying to get tuned in on the trip. Do it NOW. Then, when you're 'done,' do it again. Until He puts you to sleep at night, be surrendering to Him. If he says kneel in the sidewalk before Him (which he made me do today), then kneel in the sidewalk before Him. Do you trust Him? 

Have a heart of 'yes' this week.

I love you more than you will ever know.

And thanks so much, Ava, for posting Isaiah 55. That's right on. Keep tuning in deeper and deeper. There's no limit to it. Do it until you look completely foolish for Him, and then go deeper.

Night!

-Blake.