Another Africa Update! =]

         So much has been happening here at the Harvest School! It’s November 2nd, and I’m looking back wondering how October flew by so quickly. Our classes have been so great as the long-term missionaries and staff members here at Iris have been sharing their testimonies and stories. There have been speakers from all over, and each brings a different flavor. I get so excited as I hear their stories about how they obey and follow G0d, and their lives are full of adventure with the L0rd! It has made me so hungry inside for more of Je$u$! Just Je$u$! I just want Him to take my life and use it however He wants. Friday’s have also been a highlight because I get to help with the Village Kids Discipleship here on the Iris base. We sing songs, do B1ble skits, and play with the kids. There are always about 3-5 kids hanging on us at a time. =] It’s a wonderful time to connect with the kids from the nearby village.

                           Here’s a little update from my outreach weekend!

A couple weekends ago, my Color Group (which is made up of Harvest School students, and the Mozambican P@stors training here at the B1ble school) went on outreach. We climbed onto the back of two trucks, and drove to a village 3 hours away. When we arrived, we were greeted by a bunch of curious kids, some of which have probably never seen people with white skin before. 

Both nights we were there, the village people gathered to watch the Je$u$ film on a projector screen. It is a film that goes through the whole life of Je$u$ in their language. We prayed for people to get healing at the end, and a lot of people said they felt better, and the second night a lot of people received Je$u$ as their savior! The next day we walked from house to house throughout the village and talked to people, and praying for them. We talked with lots of people, and it was so much fun just to sit with them in their huts and pray for them and bless them. They were so beautiful! As I was walking, a little phrase popped into my head: “Jewels in the dirt.” I just began to think about each little child and adult, and view them as jewels in the hands of our Father, each one being SO valuable and SO beautiful, even in the midst of extreme poverty. It was cool, Je$u$ loves that village so much! As we prayed for people, G0d moved in cool ways, and we saw the L0rd touch a blind woman. She was completely blind and could see nothing, but after prayer, she was able to identify our team and point out people individually, so there was slight improvement. It was wild though, and a total miracle!! My faith shot up. The L0rd impacted a lot of people that weekend. There is a small Iris church in that village that got planted there about 6 years ago, and they are reaching out to the community, and discipling the people there. We had a meeting in it the morning before we left, and we had a big dance party, and you could feel the presence of G0d so strong in that chrch! Dance is such a big part of their culture, and you could feel freedom and joy in the atmosphere! It was a great weekend.

So far, this school has been great! I’ve really learned to appreciate the simple things that I take advantage of back at home, like having running water, working bathrooms, and electricity. Here it is such a treat to have running water! Sometimes, the whole towns water source gets cut off for days. I’ve gotten used to being dirty pretty much all the time=] but I’ve had so much fun. I’m just excited for more that G0d has for this time set apart here for all of us students. It’s been an adventure so far in Africa!

First couple weeks in Africa!

Hello everyone!

I arrived safely in Mozambique on Friday the 28th after a few days on a safari in Johannesburg, and I love it here at the Village of Joy! We have had a lot of classes on the Father heart of Gd, and all of us have been getting wrecked in a really good way. Heidi taught us the other day in class about our identity as sons and daughters, and it was very powerful. There have been lots of tears as the Lord is healing hearts. I've been practicing Portuguese with my friend Mamoodo and some of the kids here at the center. Thankfully they are very patient with me! Life and culture is very different here and time has really slowed down. Our leaders have placed all 300 of us students into twenty different color groups which include harvest school students and also Mozambican Pastors. Each weekend two color groups are sent out into the bush-bush to witness to smaller bush tribes who have never heard the gospel. A team just went out this past weekend, and prayed for the sick and saw sight restored, and a lump on a woman's neck shrink! There has already been so much unity in our group, and I'm so excited for when we go on outreach! I will let you guys know when my outreach weekend is so that y'all can be praying for us! I've been having a blast playing with the kids here at the Village of Joy, and also the street kids. I'm excited for nine more weeks here! I just learned about 25+ different practical missions areas here at the base that I can help serve in while I'm here. Some areas I can potentially help in are teaching preschoolers basic schooling, teaching young girls dance, working with hospitality team for visitors that come through, visiting prisons and jails to minister to people there, and doing street ministry and evangelism. I'm excited to begin helping more in a few of these areas. Some prayer requests are: For more revelation of the Fathers heart and realizing my identity as a daughter of God. For upcoming outreach weekend, and for the teams that go out each weekend that Father would move in healing and miracles and that many people would be saved. There will be more testimonies to come!

Blessings,

Joy Henning

Almost There!

It's finally here! This Monday morning, Sep. 27th, I will be boarding a plane and eventually arriving in Africa! Last minute things are all coming together, and I just cannot wait to be at the school! I am fully covered now financially for this trip. Thank you to everyone who has helped support me on this trip, I couldn't have done this without your help! 

I am hoping to log on and update this blog throughout the duration of my 2 months at the Harvest School, so I will try to keep it up-to-date. Also, I will be sending out emails every so often with prayer requests and updates, so if you would like to be on my emailing list during this trip, email me at joyhenning93@gmail.com and I will put you on the list! 

Please remember to keep me in your prayers while I am gone. Your prayer support is greatly appreciated!

-Joy

Seventeen Days... and Counting!!

            In seventeen days I will be boarding an airplane and journeying to the continent of Africa! This dream began when I was thirteen years old, when during a worship service I saw a picture in my minds eye of multitudes of African people gathered together worshipping the Lord. In that moment, a desire sparked inside of me to see this vision first-hand. In the years that followed, I received prophetic words from multiple pastors and leaders regarding me in Africa, which only strengthened my desire to go someday. Now, six years later, the Lord has opened up the door, and I am stepping through!

            Right now, I am just preparing practically for the trip. I’ve been finishing reading assignments, getting vaccinations, figuring out insurance and all that fun stuff. The Lord is so faithful! I needed over $5,000 by August 25^th which would cover tuition for the school and airfare. I was extremely blessed as checks came in the mail and people continued to give generously, and I had everything I needed in time! God is such a faithful leader. It is true that where He leads us, He is faithful to provide the means for us to follow. So now, all that is left are the practical things needed for living in Mozambique for over two months, and I still need about $700 in the next 17 days (which includes Medical Insurance, Malaria medication, purified water, etc.) If you would like to help me reach this goal, you can contact me personally at joyhenning@ihopu.org or give through the Donate button on this blog site. He’s going to do it!!

-Joy :)

Going to Africa!!

Hey guys!

            As you may know, for the past two years I have been living in Kansas City, involved at the International House of Prayer’s mission base. I completed one year of their Bible University, then was a part of a traveling missions group of young adults, and we traveled many places throughout the U.S., some parts of Canada, and Mexico. After completing both of those programs, I have recently moved back home to St. Louis with my family, and strongly feel that the Lord is leading me to a mission base in Mozambique, Africa!

            I recently got accepted to a school in Africa called the Iris Harvest School. This is a 2-3 month intense missionary training school from October 1^st-December 6th, based at an orphanage in Pemba, Mozambique, led by Heidi and Roland Baker. It is on-site training for the mission field! Our days, nights, and weekends will be very full with classes taught by speakers from all over the world, ministry projects, weekend outreaches to bush tribes, small groups, etc. We will also spend a great deal of time with the orphans at the base, and help serve the poor there in that region. The work this mission’s base is accomplishing is amazing, and I am SO excited to join them!

            However, I cannot do this alone. Right now, I have until August 25th to raise $6,000 needed to cover tuition, the plane ticket, and other expenses for my total stay, but I know that where the Lord guides, He provides! Would you pray about supporting me financially, and help launch me into the missionary work in Africa?

You can contact me anytime at joyhenning93@gmail.com
And you can donate through Paypal by simply clicking the "Donate" button at the top of this blog page.

Matthew 9:37-38 “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Blessings!

Joy Henning