MOZAMBIQUE 2009 - A Day With Heidi Baker

Pemba, Mozambique
Friday, November 6, 2009
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A Day With Heidi Baker
We have been so blessed to be able to attend the IRIS Harvest School of Missions here in Pemba, Mozambique. Heidi and Rolland Baker are the founders of IRIS Ministries. They came to Mozambique in the early to mid ‘90’s after being missionaries in Indonesia, China and England for many years. Heidi has written a few books and has a HUGE heart of love, especially for hurting children. As she teaches us in the school, many times her mantra is: “stopping for the one.” She talked about that a lot today in class, as she illustrated it with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Because of Heidi and Rolland’s love for the hurting, IRIS Ministries is not only an organization that helps orphans, but the fastest growing church in Mozambique, with thousands of churches and pastors here and in other nations, and that in only the past fifteen years or so. To be honest, I believe Heidi Baker to be a modern day Mother Theresa. Thousands of orphans in Mozambique and beyond have been taken from the streets and have been clothed, fed, housed and educated, all because of Christ-like love and compassion that flows from the heart of this woman of God.
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We are attending this school because Heidi personally gave the approval to grant us a scholarship, as full-time missionaries, to come and attend the school. She is so very kind. At the end of today’s session, Heidi had all of the IRIS full-time missionaries come forward to have the student body lay hands on them and pray for them. We were invited to come forward, as we are full-time missionaries in Lichinga, along with Jesse and Tanya. It was an honor to have Heidi, or “mama Aida” as they call her here, lay hands on each member of our family, including our children to pray for us. She has been imparting to all of us her heart that is so filled with compassion.
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Outreach in Saul
Our outreach teams, made up of staff and students, were heading out to two different locations yesterday afternoon. Heidi was heading to one of those locations and we were invited to follow her one hour to the village of Saul. It was so neat to just stop at the gas station with Heidi, converse with her, and follow her in the Land Rover that she was driving to that village. Heidi likes to be able to be on outreach with the students here in the Pemba area, when she is back from speaking at different conferences in the States. After we arrived in the village of Saul, we were able to connect more with “mama Aida.” Our children just hugged on her, and she hugged on them. We thanked her for letting us come to the IRIS Harvest School of Missions. We will be able to connect with her and Rolland next week to get to know each other more and to vision cast what God has placed on our hearts for the future.

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The Jesus Film was being shown in the Makhua language, which differs a lot from the Yao language that we are learning back in Lichinga. As it has been with other outreaches in Mozambique, it looked like almost the entire village was gathered around. As the film was ending, all of us students and staff piled into the back of the Camio with Heidi. Heidi asked if Jordan and Justine could be a part of the play, where the story of the Good Samaritan was acted out. They were happy to be a part of it. They played “banditas” who attacked and beat up the man in the story. Heidi then explained the story and preached the gospel. Jesse, Paul and others testified, too. Many people were saved. She also gave the invitation for people to come and receive healing from Jesus. Heidi has been given such a strong healing anointing for deaf people. She now has a 100% healing rate of people receiving their hearing as she lays hands on them and prays for them. Many times, she will go into a village and say, “bring me your deaf people,” pray for them, see them healed by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, and then see entire villages repent from their witchcraft and embrace the gospel of Christ. This night two deaf children came forward to have Heidi pray for them, and they walked away hearing and talking, healed by Jesus. PRAISE GOD! Many others were healed as staff and students laid hands on the sick. I was blessed to be able to pray for a few people, one of which I led through a prayer of deliverance and receiving Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, all in the Portuguese language, as I had no one to translate. It was an amazing night of victory for the Kingdom of God.
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We piled back into “Freedom,” our 4X4 that God has blessed us with, and followed Heidi in her Land Rover back to the IRIS Base in Pemba. We enjoyed our day with Heidi Baker, and feel so blessed that God continues to bring such wonderful Christ-followers into our lives. We count it a HUGE blessing to work and minister with IRIS Ministries here in Africa.
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Christian Young