What’s the class for?  What’s it all about?

Our Freedom class can best be understood in this context:  OJ and I are a couple of church kids hunting backwards for the fire of conversion.  Consider this with us:

• Most believers produce more new converts in the first year after conversion than in the rest of their Christian life combined
• Most believers experience their greatest period of Joy, Faith, and Zeal in the period just after a true conversion
• I remember testimonies of true salvation better than say, all the sermons I heard while in college, because of their power and impact

As church kids, we never experienced a profound conversion moment of transference from darkness to light, dramatic new birth, etc.  But the more we searched scriptures, it became clear that Christian life as described in the New Testament looks WAY MORE like the experience of a new convert than like typical church life.  What happens to the fire of the new convert, we wondered?  And where in the Bible does it say we regular church attenders don’t get a piece of that fire?

We turned to our old friend, the Apostle Paul.  He’d been to the third heaven.  He should know the answer.  Should we do like some friends and attend more conferences to try to find the fire?  Should we fast and pray for a visitation?  What if the right person laid hands on us?  Maybe if we evangelized more unreached peoples?  (All these are great things to do, by the way!)  Paul mentions all these things in passing, but there was one thing he harped on so many times, everything else seemed secondary to him.  Over and over and over again, he used the same word:  Gospel.

Wait a minute.  Isn’t that what you preach to unbelievers?  Why would Paul keep talking about the Gospel if he was writing to believers?  Was he just such a crazed evangelist that he couldn’t think of anything else?  Because, you know, some people are just built like that, right?  It’s their “spiritual gift.”  As church kids, we thought of the Gospel as something that you brushed up on with the help of the four spiritual laws so that you could share it with unsaved folks as opportunity arose.

It became obvious that Paul didn’t share our view.  Searching his writings, we found ourselves in a personal REVOLUTION.   We got to the end of our backwards hunt, and found that the end (telos) of it all, is really right at the beginning.  It’s the GOSPEL.  We found that it contained every answer and every promise, and yet had been relegated to the place of entry…kindergarten in the school of Christianity, if you will.  We began to peer into this mystery that intrigues the angels, and realize that every human need was provided for there.  It was so simple, so complete and perfect.  Our discovery had the same effect on us as it did on the newly saved. We had found the source of that new-convert fire, and it consumed us.  It dawned on us that we never had to live another day without it, if we would, like Paul, not leave that simple gate.

We began to groan inwardly, (and sometimes outwardly).  How could it be?  How can the church be living so broken, so bound, so hungry, so inadequate, when through the Gospel, everything had been provided for?  The years of training in repentance and freedom in Tacoma came into clear focus for what they were.  It was the Gospel, applied to the Christian life.  It was opening up the treasure box that the enemy has kept under lock and key that we might not fully realize what was bought for us at the Cross.

If the Gospel could be likened to a promise of full health, our freedom training had provided us the ability to accurately diagnose the sicknesses that were blocking that health.  It’s a practice in which the remedy is always the same, and always works, but the sicknesses can differ.  In the class we begin to dissect and diagnose not a human body, but a human heart.

So freedom class is central to The Mission because like Paul we are “…eager to preach the gospel to you also…”  In freedom class, we’re pursuing firstly revelation of the Gospel, returning to the zeal of our first love.  From that revelation, application naturally flows the as the Lord faithfully highlights the areas in which we are bound.  We’ll share more about freedom class, as it is something we expect to be doing regularly here, and elsewhere.

You can hear some of the teaching on our website at ojandsuz.com/teaching.

If you are interested in attending a freedom class, shoot us an email!

Suzanna and I recently put together a short teaching on the fear of man for my men’s discipleship group.  The primary goal in this was to produce breakthrough in the reader to A) be set free from fear of man and B) be empowered to produce transformation in discipleship and evangelism.

Breakthrough Teaching on Coming out of the FEAR OF MAN

Scriptural truths

Fear of man is at its worst when tied to a religious spirit.

Mark 11:27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28″By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”

31They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32But if we say, ‘From men’….” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

33So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Principles at work:

1. The Pharisees did not operate under fear of the Lord or conviction.  There questions were completely self-centered.
2. Jesus uncovered their lack of authority by his question.  If they had any real authority, they could answer straight about John, but they were unable to.
3. Fear of man will always lead to speaking and moving in a way that is conformed to the opinions of men.  It carries no transformational power.
4. When our convictions are based out of receiving the honor and praise of men, we are easily blinded to truth.  The Pharisees missed Jesus because they did not love the truth more than they loved what men thought of them.

Fear of man steals our testimony.

John 12:42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Luke 12:1Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

4″I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies^[a^]? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

8″I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

Principles at work:

1. Fear of man affects our relationship with God.  There can be no intimate closeness with someone you will not confess freely.
2. It is hypocrisy to confess that you are living for God but live consumed by the opinions of men.
3. Unbelief about the care of God and His complete control over our lives will lead to hedging out bets in the company of men.  If you are not sure that He counts the hairs on your head, you will not trust your reputation, friendships, and comfort into his care.

God brings justice ultimately.  Our pride causes us to seek justice in the eyes of men and miss the praise that comes from God in the day of judgement.

1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

23 A man’s pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

24 The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy;
he is put under oath and dare not testify.

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

26 Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but it is from the LORD that man gets justice.

27 The righteous detest the dishonest;
the wicked detest the upright.

Four categories or types of people who walk in the fear of man.

1. “Self-protection:  the hard shell”  -
   1. literally afraid of other men.  what they can do to hurt him or can steal from him.
   2. A man’s heart is mishandled from birth, he forms a hard exterior to protect himself from pain.
   3. He prefers to live numb so as to be able to freely exchange in the relational economy of sinful men.
   4. His life is marked by:
      1. religious duty w/o emotional connection
      2. shallow relationships with other men
      3. (for married men) his wife has increasing levels of sorrow and/or distraction from her husband, her heart needs are unperceived, unmet
      4. confusion and inability to hear God’s voice personally
      5. a lack of passion for fathering and discipling, unmoved by plight of the vulnerable and needy
      6. spiritual and emotional boredom

1. “Pleasant” -
   1. doesn’t want to cross anyone’s will.
   2. afraid of other’s reaction to him and perception of him
   3. wants to impact for the kingdom but lives in insecurity and is personally disconnected from God’s holiness.
   4. has not fed himself the fear of the Lord, and so cannot perceive the Scripture’s meaning with depth.
   5. his access to heaven’s resources are limited, so he mainly gives of himself, with limited authority.
   6. marked by:
      1. compassion w/o wisdom
      2. produces little or no breakthrough in the people who follow him
      3. driven by people’s perceived needs rather than their real needs
      4. overly drawn to routine
      5. fears confrontation
      6. wants to lead, but not really (avoid taking responsibility for others’ breakthrough…club mentality “let’s all do this together!”)

1. “Carnal”
   1. wants to enjoy fellowship with other men at any cost.  wants to fit into the systems of men
   2. has conviction that God and Jesus are real, but has not made Jesus Lord.  Wants to win with God and with men.
   3. unwilling to give up the world and men’s opinion of him.  makes an effort not to be perceived as “different” or “religious.”
   4. Marked by:
      1. Spiritual satisfaction and dullness, lack of hunger for God
      2. Self-hatred
      3. Anger and sorrow over life’s direction
      4. defensive over his lifestyle and resistance to anything “overboard;”
      5. fundamentally does not believe in the scriptural principle of cost
      6. thoughts  of serving God are disconnected from personal obedience; more a matter of personal preference

1. “The Fan”
   1. satisfied by men and what men are doing.
   2. easily excited about happenings and activities and schools of thought.
   3. inclination towards spectatorship, but talks excitedly about what others are doing in his “camp.”
   4. He is marked by:
      1. his loyalties, doctrines, and beliefs v. his personal fruit.
      2. devotion to choosing the right doctrines, being grouped with the right folks
      3. head knowledge v. spiritual authority and transformation
      4. escapism, avoidance of areas of defeat, esp in the home
      5. insignificance (stronghold)
      6. preference for talking v. doing
      7. disparity between what he says he believes and the power of faith to produce tangible fruit in his life
      8. team colors (I’m with so and so…extreme personal loyalty to people, even to the point of taking pride in association)
      9. “head in the sand”; this man can ignore God’s dealings with him over personal obedience by absorbing himself in ways God is moving in the body at large

Common thread is FATHERLESSNESS– a disconnect from the fear of the Lord and His personal interest in a man’s life and obedience.  A man who is fatherless is both unloved and undisciplined.

Questions to confront:

• Is the Lord committed to my personal development?
• Is my level of breakthrough reflective of His commitment, or am I blocking His development through fear of man?
• Do I regard immediate, personal obedience as the Lord’s constant requirement, or do I  make the issue of obedience confusing by thinking of obedience in broad strokes? Is my life simple?  (Faith like a child means hear and obey)
• Do I believe that He has greatness for me?
• Do I love correction, or does it make me feel like a failure?

Well, technically, he’s on his way home…but here’s some info about where he was.  Another mile marker on our journey into the calling on our lives, and a hint of what’s to come for the McDowells…

“About 3,000 ministry leaders from more than 100 countries united in Hong Kong this week to strategize for the completion of the Great Commission. In what might be one of the most significant meetings of its kind, the Call2All Congress in Hong Kong will affect missions for years to come…”

“The evening featured a focus on prayer, the kind that transforms and changes the destinies of nations. The delegates were called to make their life, home and organization a house of prayer.”

“Later in the day, delegates were introduced to one of the largest maps in the world ever printed. All 3,000 in attendance were able to walk on the map and pray over 4,000 locations, committing to go wherever God would send them. Using posted notes they wrote their commitments and stuck them on the map.”

Click on the quotes above to view the entire articles…

“Powerful times with the Chinese Christians both last night and then again today.  Really something extraordinary happening with the church here.

Went into the evening session and sat on the side of the Chinese church and prayed over some of them and them over me.  Very powerful.

This morning was foot washing with the Chinese volunteer team and praying over each other.  Lots of tears shed.”

–from OJ’s email

I just need to remind myself as I read this that he is talking about CHINESE CHRISTIANS here.  The ones who are still under persecution in places, who have paid extraordinary costs for Jesus, and who have historically been isolated from the rest of God’s family by their government…and my husband is there with them, washing their feet.  The world is changing, friends.  Isn’t it interesting that a new economic superpower is rising to take over from a failing one?  Could it be a picture of what has already happened in the heavenlies with a rising, vibrant, believing church, trained in severe conditions?

What joy to be able to serve these believers even for a couple days!

Friends, I’m sorry!  This is so delayed, but here’s an update to catch you up! 

From the Netherlands, we went on to Herrnhut, Germany, where we spent two weeks.  This trip was really different from the others.  We were there to support a couple who for more than thirty years have been carrying the torch for the vision of young people taking the gospel into all the world.  Instead of leading the charge, we got to serve them by teaching and praying for the staff as they saw need.  This husband and wife were so easy to serve.  They were those rare breed who can weave in and out with folks 30 years younger (like us), and 40 years younger (like some of the young people on the base), without losing any authority.  They were so loving and comfortable they might as well have been college sophomores, but they walked in wisdom and stability like parents.  Their humility was astonishing.  The kind of humans who are the opposite of humankind…the greater their treasure trove of wisdom, the greater their hunger for more.  We were so blessed by them. 

While in Germany we prayed for pretty much the entire staff of the base, and then a few of the DTS students.  The flavor of this base was much different, raw and real, with something radical right through them.  The hallway that circles up the main stairwell had photos from the base leader’s (who was a professional photographer previous to getting saved) collection around the world, like pieces of DNA threading up a helix.  Blown up to poster size, they were impossible to ignore.  By the time you reach the top floor, without realizing it, one is gripped for the nations and the devastation of humanity apart from God.  I often had tears in my eyes and wordless prayer in my heart, just climbing up to our room.  To see a sampling of his photos, go to http://www.jan-schlegel.com/.  They’re photos of the people they’re trying to reach, actually bringing the gospel to.  This base yearns for the unreached, including the youngest generation of the west.  Their DTS is jam-packed with the real needs of this orphaned lot, raised on secular humanism, video games, and powerless churchianity.  We loved ministering at Herrnhut.  It felt like even when you were just sitting and chatting on the main floor or sleeping in your bed, you knew there was a furnace in the basement roaring with vision, that never stops blazing and doesn’t have a clock.  The spiritual battle was more real and intense there than any other experience we had.  We were constantly fighting spiritually, in the thick of it.  Prayer times were often raw and honest, and it felt like we were exposed to living history as we glimpsed the spiritual inheritances of Germans, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, Americans, and others in these short prophetic exchanges with their hearts. 

From there, we stumbled home to Seamill, exhausted.  It was almost the end of the tour.  Pete and Erin both headed home for the States, and we went back to our flat to recover from the bunk beds, heat, and pressing schedule.  It was victorious, but we were tired.  Once again, God’s provision of a place to be at Seamill was perfect.  We cleared the schedule for a few days, rented a car, and relaxed with the kids, visiting petting zoos, lakes, the nearby beach, and Cafe OJ.  OJ even got his sports fix with the UEFA tournament, drawing us all into the European football (soccer) scene with instinctive gusto that surpassed the natives.  Judah and Ariel are both great dribblers, and though Judah’s build is more suited to a linebacker, we’ve got high hopes for those early seeds planted in Scotland.  Hooray!  Right there in our flat, without having to reserve a room or board a plane, we had the best family vacation we’ve ever had.  The Lord’s reward is so much sweeter than anything we come up with ourselves. 

 After the short, restorative break, we collaborated with Seamill base leaders to minister there most effectively in our remaining time.  We finished up the marriage course with lots of prayer for those who attended, and stopped in to the DTS for some teaching and dynamic prayer times with every single DTS student.  That was a blast!  Also, we got to a chance to teach on unity in the staff meeting and move some hindrances out of the way.  After a couple of weeks of finishing up,  it was time to say goodbye.  We’d been in Europe and the UK for more than 3 months, Angel baby had enjoyed a whole 2nd trimester of growth overseas, and God had provided every step of the way.  Oftentimes I’ve found that when a transition comes, it’s either marked by temptation to fear concerning the next step and clinging to the old, or an impatience to finally be done and on to something new.  I have to say, this transition home to the USA was one of the most joyful, healthiest transitions I’ve ever experienced.  We were full up to the brim with the joy and victory of what the Lord had done, and had no negative impetus to hurry to the end, but we were no less excited to be back in the USA for it.  The whole trip, start to finish, was blessed.  Our little family has never been as healthy, happy, whole, and unified as during this time.  There were challenges and meltdowns (just the kids…yeah, right), but the promises the Lord made to us before we ever left on this trip, He kept.  Abundantly.  Financial provision always came just as we needed it, and often not before.  While there were times that we spent our strength right up to the last of it, refreshment always followed, leaving us fuller than before.  Even the pregnancy was covered with grace, my persistent nausea of the first trimester being curbed a little sooner than usual, and the discomfort and lethargy of the last trimester holding off until the end.  Our marriage experience was of being shepherded by the King into green pastures and still waters, and we found that we have never been more overcome by the glory of God in one another than in this full-on, active pursuit of God and His kingdom.  It was like God went overboard to specifically address every fear that might have occurred to us or anyone else.  Praise God!!!!  He is our portion, our exceedingly great reward, and this last taste of Him has been better than wine, better than life, better than anything.    

When we left for The Netherlands, we were struck with conviction that the Lord wanted us to increase our faith.  After a victory, there is always a temptation to think that the next experience will be a downer, “comparatively.”  The Lord challenged us to walk in the opposite spirit, and ask to see even more of Him than ever before on this trip.  The first morning after we arrived, OJ introduced the group, and Pete taught the simple, profound truths of original design, explaining that the Bible calls us in Eph. 2:10 God’s “masterpieces,” created in Him for great works.  We explained why it is important to recognize that we each have a unique design and eternal purpose, and become aware of how that individual design is strategically opposed.  OJ taught the concept of strongholds, the freedom that comes through repentance, and how God’s purposes for our lives can be restored to us through freedom.  To demonstrate how we ask the Lord about individual designs, we asked for a volunteer to come receive a few pieces of their original design in front of everyone.  The Lord, of course, came through and spoke to who our volunteer was, and then we asked for a lie that the enemy brings that specifically opposes her design.  She was a lovely, faith-filled woman, and I laughed when I found out that we had prayed publicly for the chair of the leadership team without even knowing it!  Good thing God is faithful! 

At the end of that meeting, there was a signup sheet for prayer just for that day and the next, as we still were determining the schedule.  But soon after, we found people puzzling over the filled sheet, writing in their own times, signing their names at the bottom to indicate that they wanted prayer and there were no slots left.  There was such a hunger!  It was an exciting problem…too much hunger, not enough time.  So we indeed had to up the faith level.  By the end of the week, the 30-minute prayer times were cut in half to 15 minutes to get to everybody, and we were all needing to hear a lot better a lot faster!  We ended up praying for more than 60 people in the week, all of those receiving their original design, and a core stronghold.  A few highlights were the youth evangelist who had his leadership restored, a beautiful young lady who was released from anger at an abusive relationship, a powerful woman released from the lies of jealousy that kept her on the fringes of the community, and an amazing mother of teens who broke after more than 40 years the defensiveness and condemnation that her father’s criticism had forged in her as a little girl.  I wish I could tell you all the amazing stories, but there’s so much.  It’s just such a joy to see the Father speak to His kids’ freedom in ways that let them know how well he knows them.  On our way off the base the very last day, OJ grabbed me and pulled me over to where a wonderful older man was working on a project.  He and his beautiful bride of 49 years (!!!!!!) had received prayer from OJ and Pete earlier that day.  OJ explained to me that the Lord had revealed fear as the stronghold, but that they had not received the root of it during the prayer time.  He asked for a quick highlight.  I closed my eyes and saw a picture of WWII, and German soldiers everywhere.  I described what I saw.  His eyes got wide, and without thinking he just began to blurt out, “It was terrible!  From when I was 5 to 10 we lived in constant fear.  I almost lost the ability to walk, I was so weak from their treatment of us…I cannot believe that you guessed that…”  It was an honest, unguarded moment, where it was obvious that the Lord was speaking to his heart at a level one just cannot prepare for, where all the dots connect forcefully in an instant.  God was meeting Him right there in the square.  We had to dash off immediately, but we left with the knowledge that God was taking His 70 year old son on His knee right behind us and healing of the heart of a little boy.

As I said, there were so many other stories.  We could see the change in people by the end of the week, and they were coming up and testifying to the Lord’s work in them.  At the end of the long week, we unwound a little by touring around the area with a fiery young man of God from the base.  I hope to upload some pictures from our day.  We saw the ancient city walls, still strongly fortified against attackers, the old city gates leading to an inlet out to the sea, and cobbled streets.  We saw a Jewish cemetery from the 17^th century, and a synagogue that was as old, and learned of the decimation of the Jewish population in the war.  According to our host, there are still very few Jews in the Netherlands, most of them having been killed by the Nazis.  It’s strange to stand in an incredibly beautiful place, and yet know that you are looking at the very gates that families were dragged through to die.  As we learned through a few intense prayer times, the scars of WWII are still very much marking the soul of the peoples here.  We saw windmills and drove over a huge dike, marveling at the hundreds of miles of land that have been recovered from under the sea.  (NB:  I tried to figure out with my host what would have prompted people hundreds of years ago to create farmland out of seawater, and we decided they must have had the choice:  we need land.  Either we fight the Germans for it, or the sea.  We choose the sea!)  We saw more people on bikes than in all the USA combined, and almost fell for good prices (in Euros) on bargain items, doing the conversions just in time to save ourselves.  We toted Judah in the backpack and Ariel in the faithful umbrella stroller till they feel asleep pink-cheeked in the car.  It was a great day, a great trip, and a huge victory.  God bless the Netherlands!  And so…on to Germany!

Beautiful, hungry for God, humble, faithful…incredible!  Ministering in this place was like eating a huge dish of spiritual ice cream.  We could not keep up with the pace of the people who wanted prayer, and from the moment we arrived, they were just asking for more.  The whole base, which is a farm teeming with gorgeous children, a community day care and Christian school, and a center for numerous ministries and missions, is dripping with God’s blessing.  The sense of fellowship and family among the people was so sweet.  The passion of the people there struck us…evangelism was on everyone’s mind.  Right off the bat, we met a child evangelist, a young man who has invested money and time in creating tools for engaging kids in the gospel.  I had never met a young man consumed with telling kids about Jesus, and I probably overwhelmed him with my enthusiasm the first time we met.  The base has a concentration on supporting and sending longterm missionaries, as well as all the short term trips.  The DTS students we met were vibrant, telling us this was the best time of their lives so far.   

            The first morning we were introduced and shared about why we were there, the incredible purpose that God has uniquely designed for each of us, and why we have know how the enemy has hindered us from walking in it, and finished with an offering of prayer times.  They were immediately a mess, if anything can really be a mess in Norway.  Too many people, not enough slots, ENTHUSIASM!  As we began to pray for the people, we found they were so humble, we would often find ourselves in tears as the Lord spoke to their designs and ways they had been hindered.  Time after time, tall, strong farmer-type men began to cry just at hearing the Lord describe how he had made them, and then what had come against them.  One man in his early sixties broke down when the Lord showed a picture of the abusive discipline of his childhood, and in a half hour, he was free of a depression that had held him his whole life.  We ran into him later that day, and he beamed with joy.  He said it felt like he had had surgery.  The Lord described a tall, strong man as a strategist, communicator, and overcomer before I learned that he had been deaf since birth and overcome every prognosis to learn to speak not only Norwegian, but some English.  We were overwhelmed at God’s goodness as he cried and broke lies of abandonment and isolation.  Pete and Erin prayed for a man who was so relieved at the lifting of his burden, that at the end of the prayer time, I could hear him shouting “Hallelujah!” a floor away!  A beautiful woman discovered that the imprisoned feeling in her home could leave as she took authority over a lie her mother and grandmother had lived out that a woman lost everything when she became a mother.  We’ve found the Lord to be always faithful to speak to hungry hearts, so what really amazed us was the faith and hunger of these folks.  We could have prayed for weeks, and are looking forward to a chance to be back with these saints. 

After a 7 hour drive with the team, we made it to YWAM Seamill at about 9 p.m.  I know what you’re thinking:  you must have found at least one Starbucks between England and Scotland.  But no…just a nifty restaurant called “Little Chef” which would be the equivalent of a Shoney’s, but with a lot more vinegar.  So with tired kiddos and a little bit of indigestion, we pulled up to the castle on the coast.  It is not a real ancient castle, but was actually built in the 1800’s as a convalescent home, a place for the sick to come heal.  That legacy lives on in Seamill’s destiny, and their function still is to bring healing to folks who come from all over the world.  It’s simply part of their spiritual DNA. 

We felt instantly welcomed and overwhelmed with gratitude to have been brought to this place.  The base leader met us at the door, and from the get-go, it was obvious that we were in the company of like hearts and minds.  It was also obvious that we were all very tired.  So Dave (the base leader) took OJ to the airport to return the rental van, and the rest of us settled down to bed.  Pete and Erin were in their own rooms, and we were on a different wing, having two rooms across the hall from each other. 

 Over the next day or so, we got to know the base leadership more and talked over the heart of the base, their mission, and what God had brought us there for.  They had experienced a week of transformation a few months before at a conference for missionaries from all over the UK, which our pastor had taught.  They’d personally received prayer ministry several times at the conference, and have such an eagerness to hear from the Lord, which marks the entire environment of the base here…a hunger for the Lord’s voice. 

We set up prayer times as the schedule allowed, OJ and I praying for married couples, and Pete and Erin for singles.  I would liken those days to living like a superhero with a secret identity.  Chasing the kids around, trying to feed them an unknown diet, changing diapers, trying to quiet them (there is no doubt–Americans are loud, and our kids are the proof!), and then laying them down for a nap and meeting in the lounge with a new couple we’ve never met.  “Hi, we have approximately 1 hour before one of our kids is up and at ‘em…let’s go!”  And because Jesus loves loud kids and diapers and obedience, you jump right into the miracle zone.  Over the course of the past couple weeks, we’ve prayed for several couples on staff here, and several more who are in national leadership or used to lead this base.  One couple we prayed for were the founders of the base that we’re staying at.  Through faith, they purchased the castle here for 120,000 GBP, when the asking price was 750,000 GBP.  We sat humbled in front of them, knowing the Lord had used them profoundly for many years, and feeling so honored to get to pray for them. 

We’ve been starting every prayer time asking the Lord for His “Original Design” for the person, or some ways that He designed them uniquely.    We know we are only getting a tiny taste of the knowledge of these amazing people, but it’s such a joy to see mature, faithful faces light up at the sense of intimacy that comes from the Lord describing you like a proud papa to a complete stranger.  We always ask the Lord for ways that this design has been opposed or hindered by the enemy, usually linked to a stronghold or blind area. 

We could give so many examples of the miracles God does in just an hour of prayer together . One couple we prayed for were pioneering a church planting work in another city in Scotland.  They were just in for one night, and after we put our five kids (3 for them and 2 for us) to bed, we met in a lounge with baby monitors on alert.  They were a beautiful couple, he from Africa and she from Denmark, with gorgeous, happy children.  We asked the Lord to speak, and He began to fill up pages, with truth about their design, and even the design of their marriage.  The Lord spoke to her natural, personal leadership of women, and an ability to speak truth for the development of another.  He spoke to his deep integrity and call to evangelism.  As the Lord began to reveal ways the enemy had opposed his design, he was literally stunned to hear so concisely and accurately about how his life had unfolded and how the enemy had worked to hinder his design.  He connected so thoroughly with what the Lord was speaking as did his wife.  They were both thrilled to pray and receive the Lord’s design over their lives and resist the longstanding schemes of the enemy.  Both walked away with a greater freedom in their lives and were so filled with faith and hope at the end of the time. 

This man was a part of the national leadership team here, and because of his testimony and the Lord’s grace, they extended an invitation for us to come share for a time at the national meeting.  What was supposed to be a 20 min introduction became three hours with these mighty people of God, as we shared the story of the miracles God has done in our lives and we got a chance to pray and hear the Lord’s design for this nation.  He spoke powerfully, and our time together ended up being only too short.  We are hoping to be able to stay and respond to their invitation to join them on their leadership retreat in May. 

Meanwhile, Pete and Erin were having great prayer times mainly with staff here, and making friends with many of the young, dynamic people based here.  They taught a couple of sessions to explain the concepts of original design and strongholds, laying a foundation for effective prayer.  Each one has been an invaluable member of the team, and it’s been easy to feel like family, working together really seamlessly.  On Friday, we took Pete to the airport, and sent him off to a conference with Reinhard Bonnke.  We miss him alot, but are confident that God’s going to use the time miraculously.  We hope that he will rejoin us later for possible trips to other bases in Europe. 

It has taken us a while to get this site up and running.  You may have noticed the mismatching of the dates with the events.  Sorry about that, but we’re hoping to catch up to current news pretty quick here before we send out the link.  So, unfortunately, we’ll probably move quickly through a lot to get to now.

We arrived at the missions base at Harpenden, England, in a happy haze of jetlag and excitement.  OJ began his secondary mission of scouring the streets for Starbucks as soon as we hit the road from the airport to Harpenden.  Unfortunately, this mission is not going as well as the primary one; I think he’s only found one so far.  The wonderful folks at Harpenden treated us like royalty, giving our family a whole flat to spread out in.  Good thing, as we brought enough luggage to clothe the base.  I realized as soon as I opened the first bag that during the flight my mind had mysteriously been healed from the trauma called ‘moving,’ and I was awakened to a new reality of ‘packing.’  If the healing had happened a day earlier, we would probably have 100 lbs. less of luggage.

So we spent a few days connecting with the team already on the ground, meeting new friends, and recognizing faces from our trip to Harpenden 2 years ago.  We saw so many people whom we had met only when praying for them an hour during those ten hour days of intensive prayer on our previous trip.  It’s fun to get to know people you only know from prophetic prayer the normal way.  I was thrilled to find a bunch of them with new babies in their arms!  One of them was an amazing lady who had two older children and was for all intents and purposes “done.”  I clearly remember praying for her and her husband, and was blown away to see her a couple years later filled with joy and showing off her beautiful daughter.  “This was my surprise fortieth birthday present!” she said.  So it’s not just Tacoma where prayer and babies go together!  Praise God!

Initially we tried to let nature take its course in helping the kids with their jet lag, but when on our third night there Ariel didn’t fall asleep until sunup, we put them on a creative schedule to slowly move them by means of exhaustion closer to a normal schedule.  It involved many painful wakings of sleeping children (forgive me, Dr. Weissbluth), but it worked.  After a few days, they were much more on track, much more themselves.

We got a few chances to pray for the folks we came across over the next few days.  We experienced the kindest hospitality and warmth from so many there at Harpenden, and were so glad to be there as we got our feet underneath us.  We prayed mainly to encourage the teams that are trying to birth prayer team ministry there on the base, and lift them up in the battle to do so.  It is so easy to forget how opposed this ministry is, and so unveiling stuff coming against these mighty men and women was a huge treat.  Just to remind them how great they’re doing and why their job can be hard!  Since then, where we are in Scotland, we’ve come across folks who have been profoundly impacted by these new prayer teams born right here in the UK.  It’s the most exciting thing to come across–multiplication of initial investment made by our pastor and many other teams than us.  People being released in who they are being trained to do the prayer ministry, not merely receive it.

During our time at Harpenden the details for the first leg of the trip (destination Seamill, Scotland) were finalized, as well as the makeup of the team.  We sent off some amazing, beloved members who had travelled around England lighting people up before we arrived to their next adventures or some rest, and picked up Erin at Heathrow.  We jumped in a rental minivan to drive the seven hours up to Seamill.  The van crew was Pete, Erin, Ariel, Judah, OJ & me.  In a miraculous stuffing of our much downsized luggage (we stored a bunch at Harpenden), we all fit, most of us lodged in with various items around our feet and heads.  OJ drove, still searching the fields of sheep and sleepy towns we passed in vain for a Starbucks.  At the end of a long day, we made it to Seamill, Scotland, a missions base on the west coast of Scotland, home for the next little bit.