Soon Christmas carols will be in playing the shops, the heating will definitely be turned up high (for those of us living in the UK) and the dark evenings will return. We dream of Australia and the warmth of the southern hemisphere in months like this!!
I am writing this report on a plane returning from a wonderful time with friends in Egypt. The weather was perfect, warm with a cooling breeze. The friendships are deep and it was so good to be able to share and connect with our girls and encourage one another. Everywhere we travel we are aware that so many people are in transition and waiting for clarity concerning their next steps with God. There is a strong sense that change is in the air but still we are carrying the uncertainty of what this change actually looks like in our everyday life. However, one thing seems certain – this is harvest time. We have moved from the sowing times of prayer into the harvest season. In many places there is this urgent sense that we need to prepare the workers, it is a time of teaching and training as the harvest is plentiful.
I was reading this scripture in John 4:35-38: “Don’t you have a saying, “It’s still four months until harvest”? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying “One sows and another reaps” is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.’”
As I read this passage I was struck by this part of verse 38, Others have done the hard work… I felt the THANK YOU of God as many of you are the OTHERS whom God asked to do the HARD WORK! We have been those drilling into the hard ground in prayer – but the season is changing – and now it is HARVEST TIME. God says the season has shifted and we are now moving from the place of sowing prayer to harvest prayer. We need to become the spiritual airforce protecting the harvest as the infantry or evangelists are reaping the harvest. We have lived through the time of tears and now we feel the joy of harvest bubbling up in our hearts. As Psalm 30:5 says: Weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.
We have prayed and we are now living in a season where we are watching our prayers being answered. Many of us participated in the initiative of praying for the “10-40 Window”, where we prayed for the Middle East and the other nations situated in these geographical latitudes. Now we are seeing the church grow in these areas and people discovering Jesus in vast numbers. In the parables of Matthew’s Gospel we read many stories describing harvest time. I always notice that the angels are very active in these parables; they are ready to work with us. We need to enjoy this partnership with the heavenly angels while being aware, but not distracted by, the increase of demonic activity in our nations too. But we have the God of angel armies working with us in this harvest time.
So what has this month of October looked like? In a word: TRAVELl! Unusually I travelled alone to Grimstad, Norway, where I ministered in a regional prayer conference. It was so good to be in Norway again. The weather was stunning and Norway shone in the sun. On Saturday we had a dramatic storm and it was incredible to watch the waves and wind hit the land. Fortunately we were protected from the full force but further up the coast houses were damaged, trees were uprooted and roads flooded. By the time I flew home the sun was shining again! As we ministered in the conference there was such a deep stirring to become people of prayer once again. We prayed for Norway and the land and there was a deep cry of intercession for families and for Jesus to be honoured in the nation. There were testimonies of healing and times of reconciliation. Although the demands to pray for individuals and leaders was intense, I left feeling tired but happy. I have also had numerous meetings, phone calls and connections with leaders across the nations as we help each other position ourselves to work efficiently in this time of harvest. Across the nation there is a new urgency to pray and many networks are working together to facilitate this across the churches. I also had the privilege of working with Betty King and her prayer school on zoom, where many nations came together for a one hour training session to discern what God is saying to the nations in these days.
Helen and Gordon have also been busy in different churches and places. Gordon taught at the AOG conference here in Oxford on faith and many lives were touched and people were activated to stretch more and be mobilised in the supernatural. Gordon also spoke in a local church in Aylesbury on the kindness of God. The emails and thanks he received afterwards demonstrated that this message was profound to many. Watching the hunger of people as they hear a Jesus message is so rewarding. Everywhere people are hungry to hear and respond!
Helen has been busy with churches in Harlow and up in Rochdale who have requested training on the prophetic and hearing the voice of God. Apart from Sunday services, these churches have hosted additional seminars and training days as they realise that many of the people who are coming to faith have no biblical foundation or knowledge and so the need for in depth teaching and discipleship is growing.
Helen and I have just returned from our time in Cairo, Egypt. It was so good to meet with our friends and even their children – now young adults in their own right. As our partnership in Egypt continues, we feel the call to help train the next generation to pray, prophesy and know their identity and influence. We would love to stay involved in working with our friends here. The teaching/training schools, rather than just attending conferences, is the place where Heartcry would like to concentrate its resources in this next season. Time to sow and reap a harvest in the next generation.
I landed back in the UK from Egypt and was back at the airport in less than 12 hours. A little crazy! But Gordon and I have one more trip before the end of October – Italy. We are excited to be going to Orvieto with our friends and Pastors Claudio and Simona of Parola della Grazia church. We thought this would just be a time of informal sharing and fellowship but we have now been invited to share with the church over the weekend on the Saturday and Sunday. Italy is coming alive too. Over the next few months I will be in Italy three times. What a vibrant exciting time to carry Jesus.
Here is an overview of the schedule for this coming month of November where we will be mainly UK-based:
Ministry Dates November 2025
2 Nov. Fresh Bread message, Heartcry social platforms (Helen)
2-3 Nov Riverside Church, Southwell, UK (Rachel & Helen)
9 Nov Ashbourne Elim Church, Derbyshire, UK (Helen)
14-16 Nov. Kings Church, Little Lever, Bolton, UK (Rachel & Helen)
19 Nov Heartcry Roundhouse gathering, Oxford, UK
20-21 Nov European Prophetic Council, Rome, Italy (Rachel & Gordon)
22-24 Nov Parola della Grazia church, Orvieto, Italy (Rachel & Gordon)
29 Nov Elim Ladies Regional Day, St Albans, UK (Rachel)
30 Nov Living Waters Foursquare Church, Dunstable, UK (Rachel & Gordon)
Thank you for everything you do in your own places and spaces. We are so grateful for your love and prayers.
Many blessings and hugs, Rachel & Gordon with Helen too.