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Linda and I
spent a total of seven weeks in Australia, the longest time we
have been away
from home. We spent two
weeks at Ellel Australia at Gilbulla, outside Sydney, two weeks
at Ellel Australia at Springhill, outside Perth, and nearly a
fortnight having the holiday of a lifetime in the Kimberley
region at the very top of western Australia - an area very few
Australians have ever been to!
Our daughter Joanne flew out to meet us at Perth and stayed with
us for two weeks before flying home again.
A trip out of the ordinary! |
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August 3rd - 5th 'Father heart of God'
A full house, as seems the case for nearly
all Father heart of God courses. God graciously continues to
work powerfully through this teaching and the testimonies at the
end of the nine teaching sessions were
amongst the most moving I have heard. Below are a few pictures from
the nature walk session when we see God's glory and heart
revealed through the things that are made. Romans 1:20
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August 5th evening..
Last year pyrotechnic expert Damien
Armstrong put on a
fabulous firework display as way of saying thank you
for what God had done in his life through the Men of God
course a two years earlier.
It was such a blessing to all at
the end of last year's Father heart of God course that
he returned and repeated the performance for the
delegates again this year.
The night sky was lit up with a
spectacular display that was simply awesome. Thank
you Damien! |
August 7th -9th 'Moving
on with God'
Wonderful people, all hungry to move on with
God. Subjects covered included understanding the Lordship of
Jesus, the power of the Blood covenant, God's testings, the
journey from Egypt to the promised land, discipleship and
building a disciplined prayer life. Testimony time during the
final session showed that God had been moving amongst His
people.
August 10th - 12th 'Sons
of God'
This was a major 'quiver' event for young
men. Though always well attended overall, the number of young men who attend
quiver events is relatively low, so it was a wonderful surprise
to find some 50 young men (18 - 35) attending this course. The
course was an outright
challenge to committed discipleship. One delegate emailed me one week after the event to
say that it was only after the event did revelation hit him
and he was radically changed. Here is a brief extract from the
two page email..
"You may be reading this thinking it
is drivel, but it is a revelation to me! In taking these series of small
steps I am already feeling like a new man. My hardness of heart and
heaviness of spirit is gone. I feel it (and my wife confirms it - she
says I sound like a new man) so I just wanted to say thanks!"
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On August 15th we flew to Ellel
Springhill outside Perth to teach on two weekend
courses and our daughter Joanne flew out to join us for
the two weeks.
Here Joanne meets some of
the kangaroos that live on the 85 acre property.
These were the first kangaroos she
had ever seen and her excitement was obvious! |
August 17th - 19th 'Men of God'
A very well attended weekend where
the men were challenged regarding their walk with Jesus.
Men's issues are talked about openly and looked at
through scripture. Ministry on the Saturday evening
session was a very powerful time when many men made
renewed commitments. I continue to find that
Aussie Christian men are more than ready to step into
the front line. The testimonies speak of how deeply
God's Spirit was at work within these men hungry for
more of God.
"Challenged me to be more obedient
and gain an understanding of the fear of God and how that fits with
God's grace"
"This event has brought me closer to
God"
"In a God fearing way this has
reinforced my role as a man / husband / father "
"Opened my eyes .
Convinced me
to get off the fence and follow God"
"This event
has been everything I expected and therefore was not
'surprised' by the ministry, but it certainly
challenged me and confronted specific issues that
the Lord needed to deal with before He can move me
on to the higher destiny He has in store"
"I had to deal
with pornography in my life!
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Professor Charles
Kraft,
Sun-Hee Kwak Professor of Anthropology and
Intercultural Communication
at Fuller Theological
Seminary,
and his wife were speaking at a conference in
Perth and came out to Ellel Springhill for a day
when we had a good Aussie barbie and some great
discussions. It is good to meet some of the
great saints of God along the way. Here we are
pictured with some of the Ellel Springhill team. |
One of the delegates on the
Men of God course very kindly paid for Linda
Joanne and I to have an overnight break on the
beautiful island of Rottnest, some miles off
the City of Perth. Being the Australian winter
the island was nearly deserted and we had a
wonderful time in this mini paradise! |
August 24th - 26th 'Moving
on with God'
Again a group of men
and women eager to move on with God and wanting to deal
with issues that would hold them back. Many travelled a
long way to attend this weekend course. Two men drove
for around five hours while a woman in her sixties
travelled more than 1000 miles. I find such hunger and
passion both humbling and encouraging.
A selection of the written testimonies
showed that God had touched these hungry hearts..
"Reignited my faith"
"This course has presented a very
clear, direct, emphatic teaching on the scriptural picture of a
Christian, our call, the father heart, the covenant and what it means to
move on with God. Eliminated shadow areas and making this very clear. I
am grateful for this clarity. I feel strengthened, confirmed, and
equipped to move on"
"God's truth delivered so gently with
a powerful punch"
"Fabulous. Put you on the spot, makes
you assess where you really are (without condemnation) and helps you
really move on. Yet all this in a gentle way"
"Great solid Biblical teaching, a lot
of ground covered"
"I was blessed. There is more than
enough food, Biblically based for me to feast on for some time. My
prayer will be to savour each pearl of truth as it sinks into my spirit.
Covenant teaching was enlightening. Thank you"
Holiday time!
I have wanted to go
to the vast and remote Kimberley and Northern Territory regions of Australia for many
years but the distances and time needed, not to mention
the finances needed were always prohibitive. However
when I was in a coma in the Newcastle upon Tyne
heart unit two years ago, Linda spoke
into my spirit again and again telling me that if I got
better we would go and see the Kimberley. As this year
is my 60th (December 18th 2007) we decided that this
would be the year to go for it, and go for it we
did. It exceeded even my best expectations. I think the
pictures will tell the story best. I took nearly one
thousand photographs so showing nine does not do the
wilderness holiday the justice it deserves!
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What's on in October?
In October I will be spending a week with
Lifeline in Dublin teaching Kingdom leadership principles and
skills to young men whom God has wonderfully saved from lives of
crime and serious drug addiction. These young men have proven to be some
of the best quality disciples I have encountered and they are
ready to help the work in the city expand.
The Cri team continues to work alongside
Green pastures church in Ballymena as it establishes itself
within the community. The new 900 seater building opens in a
couple of months and the weekly prayer ministry school is
helping to train up a ministry team.
Our annual 14 week (one night a week)
prayer ministry school starts this month also and is one of the
most popular events in the teams calendar.
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