Today is my birthday. It began with Eddy showing me a video clip Brooke made for me before she left for Africa. So sweet! Of course, it made me miss her all the more! Shortly afterward, I got another call from her letting me know they had arrived in Pemba. Yay! Now the real fun begins!
I have had a wonderful birthday for other reasons as well, which I won't go into right now, because I want to introduce you to the place Brooke is serving this week.
Following is info about the Pemba base of Iris Ministries as found on their website. For more info, click on Iris link to the right.
ABOUT US
Our Pemba base is full of life and joy and there's always so much going on each day! Each missionary is responsible for a different area of ministry, and we come together a few times a week at our weekly staff meeting and weekly home group and Sunday morning church for worship and prayer.
We so appreciate your prayers for us; each day is busy and we so desire to be filled more and more with the love of the Father so that in everything we do, we give His love away.
Farm (Machamba Metuge)
We recently purchased a 120 acre farm twenty kilometers from our Pemba center! It is a blessing to us and our children, who can eat fresh vegetables. Our vision is to grow enough food (maize and beans) to feed all of our Pemba and Mieze center children and staff (about 2000 daily!)
We recently purchased a 120 acre farm twenty kilometers from our Pemba center! It is a blessing to us and our children, who can eat fresh vegetables. Our vision is to grow enough food (maize and beans) to feed all of our Pemba and Mieze center children and staff (about 2000 daily!)
Health Clinics
We try to meet the medical needs of the local community by offering a free health clinics. Our goal is to promote a teaching environment where Mozambican and visiting workers can learn from each other and to empower Mozambicans to develop their skills and increase their knowledge base. We want to teach patients about subjects such as the importance of drinking enough water, eating a well balanced diet, basic hygiene, the facts about sexually transmitted diseases and the negative aspects of going to the witchdoctor.
We try to meet the medical needs of the local community by offering a free health clinics. Our goal is to promote a teaching environment where Mozambican and visiting workers can learn from each other and to empower Mozambicans to develop their skills and increase their knowledge base. We want to teach patients about subjects such as the importance of drinking enough water, eating a well balanced diet, basic hygiene, the facts about sexually transmitted diseases and the negative aspects of going to the witchdoctor.
Many patients come with severe wounds and they come back regularly for many weeks for wound care and dressings. We assess mothers and babies twice a month for the distribution of powdered milk formula. We teach the benefits of breast milk rather than powdered milk. We also assess the children of Ministerio Arco-Iris everyday and record any illnesses and treatment given.
Ministry to Needy Women and Widows
Sewing School
As a Mission Sewing School we aim to bless the wider community of Pemba by teaching vocational skills to women. These skills are developed through goods produced for the children of our center, our outreach villages, and for others within the community whom we assist. Our goal is to teach, develop skills learned, assist in finding an outlet for the sale of goods produced, assist in continuing learning with literacy, numeracy, and small business principles, offering opportunities for students to become independent workers and highly proficient in the field of sewing. The sewing school employs a fulltime Mozambican director and has a missionary assistant.
As a Mission Sewing School we aim to bless the wider community of Pemba by teaching vocational skills to women. These skills are developed through goods produced for the children of our center, our outreach villages, and for others within the community whom we assist. Our goal is to teach, develop skills learned, assist in finding an outlet for the sale of goods produced, assist in continuing learning with literacy, numeracy, and small business principles, offering opportunities for students to become independent workers and highly proficient in the field of sewing. The sewing school employs a fulltime Mozambican director and has a missionary assistant.
Prison Outreach:
Our desire is to show the prisoners practical and spiritual love and support in order that they may be empowered to believe in their value and therefore live changed and productive lives in their communities once they leave prison. We visit the prisoners weekly at various prisons across Mozambique to encourage them and teach them the Bible. We help them practically in many ways, through giving bread, clothes, toothbrushes, Bibles, medicine, soap, and pens. We now have a Bible school in the Mieze prison that meets twice a week! We also have medical visits to provide medical treatment to the prison and jail, especially caring for the children of the prisoners, who live alongside their parents in prison.
Mercy Ministry
The goal of the Mercy Department is to share the love of Jesus through assisting people in the community of Pemba and surrounding villages with acquisition of basic necessities such as food, clothing, property, houses, home repairs, etc. when the circumstances of their lives do not allow for them to personally acquire these necessities. We aim to assist as many people as possible with resources acquired through donations from people around the world. Because this in-coming amount is fluctuating, our month to month assistance also fluctuates. We have about 240 people in our permanent program who receive food every two weeks.
The goal of the Mercy Department is to share the love of Jesus through assisting people in the community of Pemba and surrounding villages with acquisition of basic necessities such as food, clothing, property, houses, home repairs, etc. when the circumstances of their lives do not allow for them to personally acquire these necessities. We aim to assist as many people as possible with resources acquired through donations from people around the world. Because this in-coming amount is fluctuating, our month to month assistance also fluctuates. We have about 240 people in our permanent program who receive food every two weeks.
Education, Public Health and Literacy
Public Health
The Vision for Public Health on the IRIS base and in the Mieze and Noviani church communities is that every person would understand and practice basic personal hygiene.
They would also understand the importance of drinking clean water and measures to take to prevent cholera. It is our goal that the people would learn and want to make right choices in their behaviors to keep their bodies and their families healthy.
The Vision for Public Health on the IRIS base and in the Mieze and Noviani church communities is that every person would understand and practice basic personal hygiene.
They would also understand the importance of drinking clean water and measures to take to prevent cholera. It is our goal that the people would learn and want to make right choices in their behaviors to keep their bodies and their families healthy.
There has been a concentrated effort to put into place the teaching and teaching aides to accomplish this vision. We have been teaching all aspects of HIV and AIDs and basic nutrition and nutrition during pregnancy as well as well as child nutrition from birth to one year.
Primary Schools:
Our primary schools have been ranked the top schools in Mozambique by the Mozambican government, and we are thrilled to be able to offer free schooling to our children and poor children in the surrounding communities and villages.
Because our schools have been such a success, we desire to build a secondary school in Pemba as well as a university, and we are excited about these new projects.
Our primary schools have been ranked the top schools in Mozambique by the Mozambican government, and we are thrilled to be able to offer free schooling to our children and poor children in the surrounding communities and villages.
Because our schools have been such a success, we desire to build a secondary school in Pemba as well as a university, and we are excited about these new projects.
Bible School
We have a Bible school that runs for three months with approximately 150 students from different provinces including Zambezia, Niassa, Nampula and Cabo Delgado. We teach them the Bible and leadership skills as well as literacy classes. For those who can read and write, we try to have English classes available.
We have a Bible school that runs for three months with approximately 150 students from different provinces including Zambezia, Niassa, Nampula and Cabo Delgado. We teach them the Bible and leadership skills as well as literacy classes. For those who can read and write, we try to have English classes available.
Vocational Training Program
We work on three important issues in the children's lives, mainly focusing on the children between the ages of 15 and 18. These three issues are identifying the child's need, working out a plan for that child, and helping and encouraging the child to act on that plan.
We work on three important issues in the children's lives, mainly focusing on the children between the ages of 15 and 18. These three issues are identifying the child's need, working out a plan for that child, and helping and encouraging the child to act on that plan.
Specifically, we have started a cooking program for the children to cook in order to work in a restaurant. Currently there are ten children working within this program. We have made arrangements with two local restaurants, the Pemba Beach Hotel and Starfish to help train the kids. We have also started a shadowing program that gives the children who are not yet in a trade school the opportunity to watch a carpenter, plumber, electrician, mason, or a mechanic to understand the trade.
Feedings Programs:
Our vision is to continue in our Biblical call to reach out in love to feed the hungry with nutritious food from a clean kitchen at a reasonable cost. We provide an adequate diet to support the mental and physical growth and development of our 176 center children. We continue with current feeding initiatives such as: the Daily Village Feeding Program of children from ages 2-12 yrs of age (almost 1,000 daily), and the Community Feeding Program after church every Sunday.
Our vision is to continue in our Biblical call to reach out in love to feed the hungry with nutritious food from a clean kitchen at a reasonable cost. We provide an adequate diet to support the mental and physical growth and development of our 176 center children. We continue with current feeding initiatives such as: the Daily Village Feeding Program of children from ages 2-12 yrs of age (almost 1,000 daily), and the Community Feeding Program after church every Sunday.
We recently started three new programs that include Community feeding on Mondays after church serves approximately 240 widows plus the very elderly men and women. A new structure for the handicapped is complete which is wheelchair accessible and currently serves 10 people/day 7days a week and Village Youth Feeding Program now serves 50 village youth between the ages of 13-19 6 nights per week!
Village Outreach and Evangelism
We are traveling to encourage our pastors in these areas and find out what their needs are and try to help the churches provide for the needs of the people in these communities. We meet their immediate needs of food and health care by giving the aforementioned food products and by setting up a health clinic that offers scabies treatments to the children; worm medication to the villagers as well as general wound care. The most exciting part of these outreaches are watching what Jesus does among the people, as He heals, delivers and sets them free.
We are traveling to encourage our pastors in these areas and find out what their needs are and try to help the churches provide for the needs of the people in these communities. We meet their immediate needs of food and health care by giving the aforementioned food products and by setting up a health clinic that offers scabies treatments to the children; worm medication to the villagers as well as general wound care. The most exciting part of these outreaches are watching what Jesus does among the people, as He heals, delivers and sets them free.
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