good times at the expense of the............witchdoctor!!!!

So my color group team (Vibrant Grey) which I lead went out into the village on wednesday to help a family repair some of the walls of their house. The local pastors whom we went with ended up being extremely unprepared so we didn't get much done (not a big surprise, this is Africa after all) but we arranged for them to be more prepared another day and we made a date to go back. While we were hanging around and playing with the baby though, we noticed he had a strange looking bracelet on him. I asked Justinho about it, and if it was a witchdoctor charm to ward off evil spirits and stuff. He asked the mother and she said it was. They had been having problems with him, so they took an hour and a half journey to see the witchdoctor who informed her that her child had a demon attached to it and this bracelet was supposed to keep the demon away. I told them this was unacceptable and that the bracelet needed to go. We asked the mother if we could remove it and she said we could. I expected a little more resistance on her part. Many families are terrified to remove a witchdoctor's amulet because they fear a demonic attack upon their lives. Anyways, we cut the bracelet off (with the help of Elise's key) and then gathered around the baby and prayed for the blessings and peace of Jesus to abide on him and heal him. Then we explained to the mother that trusting in Jesus was so much more steadfast and everlasting than trusting in the witchdoctor. It was good times.

The children here at Iris make their own bracelets out out different color beads which symbolically represent the new life which is found in Christ. One of the members of my team bought one and when we go back to the house we will replace the bracelet we took from the baby with one that represents the everlasting covenant God made with us through Jesus. How absolutely awesome is that?! It's pretty awesome. I love it.

update from HG5

I'm at this sweet internet spot in downtown Pemba. It's hilarious. Not really high speed or anything, but it's what we got, and for here, it's absolutely fantastic. So I'm full on in the role of staff for HG 5 (short for Holy Given) and things are well. It is a wee bit more chilled in Africa right now than I remember, but afterall, this is their winter. I mean plus 20 degrees is still pretty warm, but I expected some major heat to be cranking out. We got about 150 students here and only about 40 guys!! So the girls have us slightly outnumbered. It's all good though. So far we have had a steady diet of rice and beans! But don't worry, there are some restaurants that cater to our western needs!! All in all though, things are well. My mind has been preoccupied with things other than Holy Given, but God is good, and He's starting to minister to me in intense degrees.

I believe I have been approved by Iris to go to Sudan in september. But as of right now noone knows what the leadership wants to do with the ministry in Khartoum so nothing is finalized right now. As of this moment I have no idea what is taking place in september. It is totally up in the air. I don't plan in being back in Canada till at least January, but as I said, I've no idea what the Fall holds. I'm not too worried about it though.

So thats the latest. Pretty much been entertaining myself with the kids, refreshing my portuguese, getting the lay of the land again, and dying to self (which seems to be never-ending). It's all been real good though. We'll see what God intends to do in the next little while, but I'm expecting it to get A LOT more intense. Sometimes God pushes things to the forefront that must be dealt with; internal things. Here we go. See ya's.

welcome home

Yee haw!!, back in Africa. A 7ish hr trip from Montreal - Zurich, followed by a 8ish hr trip from Zurich - Dar es Salaam took me into Africa again. I grabbed a taxi [they ripped me off >:(] and drove to the Holiday Hotel for the night. The sights and smells of the poverty of Tanzania shocked me. I have been away too long. I had forgotten a little the severity of poverty. After checking into my room, I get a knock on the door and guess who...........Paul Adams, who arrived in Dar es Salaam the day before and hunted me down. Good stuff. We catch up and head into Mozambique together the next day.

I hit the ground running in Pemba when I arrive. The regular Iris staff all are going to Maputo for a staff retreat, so Kylene and I are put in charge and given a host of duties to see to. I immediately get put on key duty at base 1, work duties for the missions school, and distribution of donations and gifts directed towards the children and student pastors. I also am generally in charge of the 50 or so guys that are coming is as students for the missions school. It has been fairly busy indeed.

But enough about crazy busy time, here are some funny, interesting things that have happened since arriving about 5 days ago:
-- we go to town to buy some fruit, etc and get followed around by this demonized girl who is stripping in front of us and stuff. It was interesting all right.
-- I come home my first night and am greeted by an enormous hairy spider on my floor. After a 30 minute battle, I spear a Croc at it and injure it enough so that it falls off the wall. I finish it off with the other Croc. Victory!!!........and peaceful sleep!
-- I go outside to check up on my unfinished kitchen and an even BIGGER spider (pictured) has taken up permanent residence. My friend Paul grabs a loooong stick and whackes it, but it doesn't die. The thing is huge!! He squishes it with his shoe and ends the life of this terrifying creature.
-- I am awakened saturday morning at 6:15am by a text from Kylene saying some guy had lost control of his car and had rammed it through the wall of our water house (pictured). I walk the 15 minutes to base 2 ans sure enough, some guy had lost control of his car and had rammed through the wall of our water house!! So, we have to manually move 700 (1.5L x 12) boxes of water out of the room so they would not be stolen. It was a heavy duty move job.

I can't really think of much more now cause it's late and I have to go to bed. A lot has gone on in the last few days and rest is a GOOD thing. Staying close to Jesus in these busy times are also a GOOD thing, the very best thing, in fact. There will be many more stories to come, be sure. Internet is accessible here, but not a whole lot, so I will update as God allows me to. Sleep time.

What to say? What to say?

Well then. This week has certainly been intense. One of the most intense, I ask myself? Yes, absolutely. Questions and issues have arisen, and I've had to deal with them, somewhat. Things I didn't want to admit.........I've had to. At the end of the day, the things that came up ended up to be truth. To have them not come up would've kept them classified as lies. I know I'm speaking cryptically, and that for a reason. Some know, some don't. I'm not getting into it. Is it over? I doubt it. I truly doubt it.

So, I leave for Mozambique in a few hours. My time on PEI was incredibly rushed and busy, but I think I've gotten all done that I needed to. I would've liked to have been able to spend more time with my family, but time did not allow. I don't know what else to say. My mind is still a bit numb; it was quite a week.

So I sit here at my brother's, late at night, eating a Reese peanut butter cup, drinking Cranberry juice, listening to Coheed and Cambria, wondering at the next year of my life, praying for wisdom, and trying to release certain people to God. I can't wait to step foot onto the dirt of Mozambique. Oh to be back with the poor of the world, but the rich of the Kingdom!

grad photos

I was just playing around on the net and I was confronted by my Holy Given grad photo side by side with my Celebration Bible College grad photo. Can you tell the difference?

I would rather have someone I love hate me, but be free,
than love me, but be trapped.

life on PEI

Life on PEI is rather........................slow. Indeed. I've gotten to spend quite a bit of time with my family though, so thats pretty cool. The weather here has been fairly chilly. This wee has been a crazy busy one. I have had to do loads of administrative stuff in preparation of my year long trip to Africa. There seems to be no shortage of things that need being done. I've found it extremely hard to be able to crawl away and get time with God alone. Oh well, it's all good. I get to speak a bit at church this upcoming sunday; FaithWorks is having a commissioning service for me. Allin all, things are still very routine here. I gave up my permanent $17/hr job for the foreign mission field; some would think thats crazy, and of course, I agree. But I love it. Giving up 'security' to go do Kingdom work in the Third World. Is there any other way?

Of course not!

'Higher' vs 'Lower'

I was gettin ready to take a snooze earlier (yes I know, I'm getting old) when I believe God started talking to me about the whole 'higher' vs 'lower' dilemma that has plagued my mind for quite awhile now. Most of mainstream 'Christianity' has been obsessed with the 'higher' mentality. This consists of unnacountable prosperity, new anointings, personal visions, heavenly dreams, a new level, unrestricted health, etc etc etc. Now don't get me wrong, this is all good, if your heart attitude is pure.

The 'lower' mentality consists of giving up your very life, freeing yourself from materialism, being stretched to the very point of exasperation, praising God through the midst of times of trouble, being inconvenienced for the sake of ministry opportunity, etc etc etc.

Which do you prefer?

There once was an angel who constantly tried to attain to the 'higher'. It ended with him being cast down to the lowest position as it gets. His name was Lucifer. And there once was a Holy Servant who gave up His 'higher' position to go 'lower', and even died for those who were much less that Himself. His name was Jesus, and now He inhabits the highest position attainable.

Now which do you prefer?

I'm not saying it's easy. See, the main difference between the 'higher' and 'lower' mindsets is this: God has to set you on 'higher'. There is nothing you can do to reach that new level save by God soverignly placing you there. On the other hand, going 'lower' means sacrifice. It means giving. It involves practical application. It brings with it an opportunity to show how God has changed us. Nothing you can do can take you 'higher', but everything you do can take you 'lower'. It's a choice. One that involves cost.

Going 'lower' doesn't make a scapegoat out of the grace. It is grace.

somethings not right

I feel sick. I have literally almost thrown up about half a dozen times since I returned to PEI. It's not nerves about the future, which means.........God is not done with something.

Duffy's back on the Island...........

............but, is that a good thing? I think so. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to see friends and family, but I feel very uneasy about being home again. I absolutely love my family, and I totally know that God has brought me back here for a reason, even if it's for just a short time, but. It's an almost surreal feeling. It may sound harsh and cold, but it's just what it is. The last couple days in St Catharines were ones of immense intensity. I normally don't mind 'good-byes'; it's something that I have never had a hard thing doing. It was different this time. I had a time of prayer at the Vine with Earl, Kyle, and the Brown's on thursday night that has literally been unmatched in passion/intensity in my life. I left feeling incredibly heavy; drained. I said that I would not want many of those experiences to happen again (but would I?). The prayers prayed were ones of laid down desperation. Prayers that 'Christians' would like to pray, but don't really have the guts, or the belief, to. Not that we did either, but we were desperate for God to take away all of our peace apart from His will. Prayers that say, "Lord, give us no peace, no rest, no joy even, apart from Your will." Prayers like this aren't the glorious 'hallelujah' type we here in the west are accustomed to. They are born out of a soul's unequal hunger to be broken for the things that God's heart are broken over. These prayers hurt, and they're supposed to. A revivalist once said something to this effect: God makes things out of nothing. So until a man is nothing God cannot make something out of him. Thats hardcore. In this mindset, we bravely/stupidly pray, not knowing the dire consequences it will have on our life, our conscience, our decisions. Really though, is there any other way? There is, but it doesnt lead through the narrow gate, it leads through the wide one. I would like to have the time here on PEI to be introspective, but I simply don't. Maybe thats a good thing. There are some things in my mind now that are better not to think of.

In extrospect, Heymans dropped me off at the Toronto Airport this afternoon and I flew back to PEI. My mom and step dad, aunt, and brother, step sis, and nephew were all at the Charlottetown Airport to welcome me. I visited Danny on the way to Mom's and he insisted I drive his LeBaron convertible for a few days, and gave me some money to even gas it up. I am loved, and it's humbling. Sometimes thinking about how much God has blessed me, it's hard not to cry. Passion is burning in me right now, it's reaching a fever pitch. Times like this have been few, but they have been there nonetheless. Something immense has been birthed in these times in the past, but this time........? Potential; a big word. Can I tarry? I pray I can. Lord, help me. Strengthen me.