Urgent Prayer
Hey there, I am sure that many of your have seen South Africa all over CNN this past week so I would like to update you from the heart of the violence.
Not far from where I live and work in is a township called Masiphumelele. Tension has been building in this area, particularly towards Somalies and towards Zimbabweans and Malawians Shops have been looted and we heard that last night people were threatened, their belongings were stolen and they were trapped inside their homes when sandbags were packed against their doors. Hundreds are being held hostage and violence is rising. This morning we all got together and prayed for hours for tonight. They are saying that TONIGHT will be the night that blood is shed here. Nobody knows what to expect so all we can do is just pray for our brothers and sisters trapped in Masi. I will be taking in refugees that had to flee for the night, who knows anywhere from 2 to 20 will stay at my place. Death is near as the evening approaches and I just would like you to please PRAY for my safety along with those around me. The army is already up in Johannesburg where the violence has been going on now for a week already (check out the front page of cnn) so down here in the South we are left with very little protection and military enforcement.
In another township to the north of Cape Town police are keeping journalists out because shots have been fired. The news here has seemed to downplay what is happening in at least three townships in Jo'burg. But apparently 13,000 people have left their homes due to violence breaking out against 'foreigners'. There are many Zimbabweans, Congolese and Mozambicans living in South Africa and ill-feeling has been growing at the thought that jobs and housing are going to non-South Africans.
I'm not letting you all know to be melodramatic or to get you worked into a panic, but we clearly need to have people around the world praying for South Africa right now. Ethnic tension is not something to take light here. Something needs to happen to throw cold water on all this and extinguish it as quickly as it flared up. And considering how quickly these things have been seen to escalate in other places, I'd say it's never too early to ask for a bit of help. How I am I doing, I am affected but I have faith in my God. I am scared but I have angles protecting me. I feel blessed to be on the front line serving my Father, and I am honored to obey the calling God has given me.
What am I doing next?
Well I just returned back home to South Africa a few days ago from Zambia and Zimbabwe (North of South Africa). I am home and at the orphanage until the third of June, then I take off to Mozambique (East Africa) and Sierra Leone (North West Africa) for the next three months.
The orphanage is doing great, it’s been painted lime green and is full of life! My passion for the orphans is like a river of God’s love just being poured out in abundance more and more everyday. One of our little boys Has is very sick so keep him in your prayers, and all of the children have and are getting over small pox right now as well. I miss my babies when I am away but I know that this is the Lords plan for me right now. Christina and Molly will be there while I am gone for the next few months so I am not worried.
My next three months are going to be a time of Spiritual growth, equipping, discipleship, and intense conditions. A year ago when I came to Africa I got word of this crazy woman named Heidi Baker. People in Africa told me all about her and those who knew my passion and heart said Ali this is you. Her ministry is your ministry. I thought about it this past year on and off and just before I came home to the States to visit the Lord spoke to me. I prayed about it and I heard God strongly say GO. I said No Lord, I have the orphanage and I am busy enough right now. He said Ali right now you have one orphanage and 52 orphans, you are 19 years old and I want to equip your young soul. You have a public ministry in your future (which I had just been given that word from a few other people here) and this is the opportunity I am giving you to take the next step. I said okay, I’ll apply and I will go where you send me. It usually takes months to even be contacted and even longer to be accepted into The Holy Given School, but within two days I heard back and was accepted on the spot.
So in eight days I will be going up to Iris Ministries. They have over 6,000 orphans in their care that I will be living among and helping. Aside from caring for and loving these orphans: I will be attending their mission’s school- where I will further learn to minister cross culturally. Iris has 700 churches throughout Mozambique (many of which are in tribes in the bush.) They feed over 50,000 people a day throughout the country, care for many people medically, and have the best public school in the country, which many of the orphans are blessed to attend. I have no expectations for these next few months because I do not want to limit the power of God. I know it will be life changing, the hardest three months of my life, a time of deep repentance, a season of extreme spiritual growth, and an opportunity to experience the healing power of God over two very war stricken Nations.
Zambia
My trip to Zambia and Zimbabwe was a wonderful success and the Lord really showed up in our ministry. We worked in many villages with hundreds of children, played soccer on the weekends with the Bushmen, and had the chance to meet various people from government officials to some of the most hurting people in this world. What an honor it was to get on a plane with one bag, an open mind, and very little money. Total step of faith for us two young girls, but boy were we ever covered in the presence and protection of our Father. God did miracles through us and many lives were touched. Mol and I even had the chance to get away for a few days and go bungi jumping off one of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Victoria Falls.
Mail
Just quickly, one of my roommates is coming back to South Africa from the States next week. She leaves California on the 29th next (Thursday). If you have anything that you would like to send like care packages or cards or encouraging notes that would be a huge blessing. Because it usually takes a few months to receive mail, with her coming back next week opens up an opportunity for you to send the package or letter or what ever it may be to her in California, and she will be able to bring it back with her when she comes. A lot cheaper and faster than sending it to South Africa!
This is her information and if you do send something please let me know via email so I can let her know something is coming.
Christina Mazzocchio
27792 Elderberry Street
Murrieta, CA 92562
In the midst of death and disaster, we must praise our Lord
You might be thinking, sho Ali at such a time as this, how can you be praising the Lord? My answer is how can’t I? My nation is in need of prayer and praise at this time, so Praise the Lord oh my soul praise the Lord!!! Our God is so big and mighty, man just feel the presence of his power over you!! I tell you the freedom of the Spirit is radical. To be able to lift my hands in the air and smile from cheek to cheek in pure joy with the abundance of God’s love in my heart is a blessing. He loves you and he wants you to live your life here on earth with abundance. We seem to think its okay to be just normal. But what is normal in this world? Reading the bible, calling yourself a Christian, and praying before a meal? Or is it giving God what’s left of us at the end of the day? Handing him our scraps once in a while when we really need something important? That’s what I used to think, ill be honest. But I was blinded by my culture, my society, by my own fear of man. Think about it, what if you actually meant what you said, and what if the words you sing in church were actually from your heart and not your mind? I think this world would be dangerous and on fire for God!! What if when we prayed we expected miracles to happen? What if we laid hands on the sick and healed one another. Or better yet, what if we lived on earth as it is in Heaven?
What’s holding you back from the power of God? Do you really believe your Father is a person, here on earth that is sitting right next to you just now? Or is your God floating up in the sky and hanging out above the clouds. Mine was for a while, and it was boring. But once I asked God to walk not only within me, but beside me here on this earth, my world was turned upside down. I became normal. People always ask me, so do you ever fear your life as a missionary in Africa? My answer, YES EVERYDAY! But it does not bother me. I am already dead to this world, for I am alive in Christ. How can the enemy kill me if I am already dead? Sho at this point your probably thinking wooo Ali you are off your rocker get back in touch with reality. But I ask you, what is reality? Is reality wearing a cross around your neck and practicing a religion? Or is reality carrying the cross on your back, walking in humility, and having a personal relationship with your God?
I get it, you’re too busy, you’ve got enough to worry about or deal with in your life, who needs this personal relationship thing when you can just go to church on Sunday and spend one hour being a Christian, then carry on with your weekly activities until the next Sunday rolls around. For all you brothers and sisters, you’re missing out. It took me many years to be able to testify to this, but I proclaim the truth, and the truth is alive here on earth today. We live among a LIVING God. Jesus didn’t just pay the price so you could live your life here on earth and just go to heaven someday; he paid the price so that you and I could be FREE. That we may be able to experience his presence and his power right here on earth, in this life, not just the next. So what are you waiting for? What is standing in your way? What are your dreams? My dream was to come to Africa and have an orphanage some day. Most people said keep dreaming those are some good ideas but Ali, get in touch with reality. You’re still a kid. One year ago when I was just 18, I got on a plane all by myself and I came to Africa. Now I am 19 and I have an orphanage. God’s good isn’t he. We can’t keep him in a box. Many of my friends and family back home describe me as out of the box these days and to be honest, it’s encouraging to hear. Praise the Lord for the renewing of the mind, body, and the soul! God did not make you or I to be monuments, he made us to be movements, so once again I challenge you, WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK!!!
And don’t say well, it’s not my time. Trust me I may be young but I am wise enough to know that the time never seems to be right. Something will always distract you; somebody will always hold you back, and you will always question something. Something will always be standing in your way. If you wait for that perfect day, you will be waiting for a while. Don’t let your circumstance control your thoughts, let your heart control the circumstances and let God do the rest.
I am asking you to catch the big vision of what God is doing. I want to be YOUR missionary to the Nations. I have said ‘yes’ to God’s call, and I trust He will supply all that I need with the help of your support and love.
I am finding that will must disappear. I think that it doesn’t really matter what these people do with the money I give them. I think it has more to do with my heart. Do I trust God enough to trust that He will take my sacrifice and use it? Do I love that person enough to risk them abusing what I do or give? Yep, I’m young, immature, and idealistic but seriously, what is love? Am I willing to really try to understand that question? How do I, a young girl with a nonexistent bank account, love people here and try to “change the world”? I have no money, no understanding of love, and nothing left within me to be able to pour into these people. But despite that, I do have peace knowing that God says give until there is nothing left.”
Ask the Holy Spirit for an awakening, a renewal of your mind, body, and soul. Don’t fight it. Don’t be afraid to leave yourself…who knows, maybe like me, you just have to loose it in order to find it again, in a new and beautiful way. Don’t be afraid to DIE AND BE BORN AGAIN. HAVE FAITH AND BE ALIVE IN CHRIST.
How many kinds of faith are there? Saving faith, faith for healing? What if the faith we are supposed to have is simply faith in who He is? God is always good, God is all powerful, and God is always with us! We all believe that on paper, but when it comes to walking it out, our lives often show that we don't really believe these things. Christianity has become all about going to heaven (which is a good thing), but wasn't the purpose of the birth and death of Jesus to bring us back to the relationship that man had in the garden? But we have developed a Christianity where we just try to use God. Use Him to get to heaven, use Him to get healed, use Him to get our finances in order on and on we go. My prayer is that today you ask the Holy Spirit to come and fill you with the faith you have lost in the midst of “Christianity” and that he will restore to you your faith in a personal relationship, and not a religion.
That’s the latest news in a nutshell. I would love to hear from you before I head out again next week and I ask once again for your prayers over my nation at this time. Get up today and thank the Lord you are not one of the 1,000 South Africans dying every single day here from HIV/AIDS. BE BLESSED.
Love
Peace child
Missionary Morgan
Copyright Missionary Morgan 2008
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Missionary Morgan
Newsletter 5/27/2008
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