My name is Claire Hollywell and I am a nurse who has decided to heed the call to run in radical abandonment after Jesus and the life He led and wants us to lead, His kingdom come here on earth! I visited Iris Ministries Children's center in Pemba, Mozambique in May 2006 and my life has been turned upside down as a result! God has re-awakened in me a deep passion for the poor and a hunger to see His glory and love being poured out on them. As I obey His call on my life, He is opening doors before me to work for them long term.
I am truly excited to see God move to change not only the hearts around me but my life, attitude, and direction as a result of doing what He has said. The vision of Iris ministries has captured my heart; stopping for the one, radical living, walking with Jesus in total trust and obedience. After visiting last year, I became so desperately hungry, thirsty and inspired to walk as the disciples walked, leaving all behind, healing the sick, cleansing the leper, casting out demons and preaching salvation (Matthew 10v8)….doing what I, we, are created to do. I am going to Mozambique to learn and to understand how to walk this. I am desperate for Him! I pray you might be greatly encouraged by the work that the Lord is doing in Africa at this time and through the world as we surrender our lives to Him and begin to see glimpses of heaven on earth.
I am truly excited to see God move to change not only the hearts around me but my life, attitude, and direction as a result of doing what He has said. The vision of Iris ministries has captured my heart; stopping for the one, radical living, walking with Jesus in total trust and obedience. After visiting last year, I became so desperately hungry, thirsty and inspired to walk as the disciples walked, leaving all behind, healing the sick, cleansing the leper, casting out demons and preaching salvation (Matthew 10v8)….doing what I, we, are created to do. I am going to Mozambique to learn and to understand how to walk this. I am desperate for Him! I pray you might be greatly encouraged by the work that the Lord is doing in Africa at this time and through the world as we surrender our lives to Him and begin to see glimpses of heaven on earth.
My Stoy...
I’ve been a Christian since I was 4, brought up in a wonderful Christian family. My father is a quiet man and a prophet. He taught me to keep both feet firmly on the rock of Gods Word, instead of the sand of emotion and experience. I get on very well with him and look up to him so much. My mother is a teacher and encourager. I worked with her running Christian school assemblies in secular schools. She taught me much about the love and compassion of God, His fatherhood and unconditional acceptance of us. I also have a beautiful little sister and she is an awesome woman of God although we are very different!
When I was 12 I was baptized in water and Holy Spirit. At 14, God healed me of an incurable joint condition and gave me visions and the gift of prophecy. I was a child minder, Sunday school teacher and leader of the Christian union.
I went on a 9 week trip to Ghana with a non Christian organization called Teaching and Projects abroad with a Christian friend. But God turned it into a missions trip. We initially worked for them teaching and nursing and after a short time they released us to work in a local village by our request, with a Christian Ghanaian lady we lived with. There, we set up a free nursery for 50 children in a remote village which has resulted in a charity being formed by another volunteer who continued the work after we left – http://www.africasfuture.org.uk/. During this time, God also began to show us how to pray for the sick and we saw a woman who should have died that day of kidney failure, remain alive for a further two weeks after we went to her in the hospital and prayed only to discover she owned a bible and thought we were angels!
After Ghana, I was also totally and miraculously healed of lactose intolerance and a stomach disorder.
I went to university to study nursing because the Lord asked me to. He said I must learn how to serve in the most basic way before pursuing anything else for Him. This has been the most intense school in serving and love I have ever known. God has given me a new perspective of His heart as I serve His precious patients. I got involved once again in the local church and then God asked me to go to Mozambique after a friend of mine returned from Holy Given School of Missions 2005.
Since Mozambique, God has wrecked me completely, showing me a new level of what it means to need Him as I need breath. My devotional life is in a totally new place and I spend hours worshipping or in discussion with the Lord about everything. I also spend a large part of my time bible studying and 'blogging’ (http://www.chollywell.blogspot.com/) what the Lord is teaching me, because I love to write and speak.
I went on a 9 week trip to Ghana with a non Christian organization called Teaching and Projects abroad with a Christian friend. But God turned it into a missions trip. We initially worked for them teaching and nursing and after a short time they released us to work in a local village by our request, with a Christian Ghanaian lady we lived with. There, we set up a free nursery for 50 children in a remote village which has resulted in a charity being formed by another volunteer who continued the work after we left – http://www.africasfuture.org.uk/. During this time, God also began to show us how to pray for the sick and we saw a woman who should have died that day of kidney failure, remain alive for a further two weeks after we went to her in the hospital and prayed only to discover she owned a bible and thought we were angels!
After Ghana, I was also totally and miraculously healed of lactose intolerance and a stomach disorder.
I went to university to study nursing because the Lord asked me to. He said I must learn how to serve in the most basic way before pursuing anything else for Him. This has been the most intense school in serving and love I have ever known. God has given me a new perspective of His heart as I serve His precious patients. I got involved once again in the local church and then God asked me to go to Mozambique after a friend of mine returned from Holy Given School of Missions 2005.
Since Mozambique, God has wrecked me completely, showing me a new level of what it means to need Him as I need breath. My devotional life is in a totally new place and I spend hours worshipping or in discussion with the Lord about everything. I also spend a large part of my time bible studying and 'blogging’ (http://www.chollywell.blogspot.com/) what the Lord is teaching me, because I love to write and speak.
God has accelerated my growth in Him beyond belief. I’ve learned more about His character, who I am in Him and most importantly, how to embrace refiners fire instead of despise it. He has taught me the greatest lessons these last few months; How to lay down and let Him kill me with His love, surrender everything and trust Him completely.
I have since travelled the world working as an administrator and charity worker as well as nursing in England 2009. 2010 is set to be another globe trotting adventure, visiting my friends who are doing amazing work in Africa but also going on an adventure to love and empower the poor and orphaned of Romania. It's a crazy adventure but I am SO blessed to be one of the ones asked to go!