Easter is here early this year and we have the wonderful joy of celebrating the risen, powerful life of Jesus! He is risen and alive, full of power, grace and forgiveness.  Our lives have purpose and satisfaction because of this truth. As it says in Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”  This Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave is now available to us to give us life in our human bodies. This power is available to us to upgrade and enable us to live our lives to the maximum. We can live lives full of purpose and power for Jesus. 

Gordon and I have been so aware of the kindness and goodness of God as we have travelled miles in Australia and New Zealand, both on holiday and for ministry. We have had so many special days when the weather should have been terrible but then it changed and the sun blessed us with extraordinary views and vistas we would otherwise have missed. Gordon dreamed of seeing Mt Cook while in New Zealand but the weather looked cloudy and unpromising. However, on the only morning we had in the area, we awoke early to clear skies and bright sunshine. Gordon jumped out of bed, drove up the mountain and now has fabulous photos of his mountain and many memories too. Our time in Tasmania and South Island New Zealand was so special. We took 3 weeks to drive the countryside and again and again we were astounded by the incredible scenery and beauty.  We saw rainbows, a fantastic electrical thunderstorm, snow capped mountains, sandy beaches with paradise settings, glacial rivers and lakes shimmering with magical colours of turquoise and various blues and greens, stunning birds and all varieties of wildlife. It was a special time to remember and our senses were in overload by the end. We have seen so much beauty and variety that we can hardly remember all we saw. I am so grateful for a husband who loves to take photos. But unfortunately even our best shots do not seem able to do justice to the amazing things we have seen. This time has been a once in a lifetime treat.

It was also wonderful to be able to worship in different nations and churches. Gordon was able to be in Melbourne at Hillsong for the transition service when Dean Usher handed on to the next leader. This had been the church Tim and Nicola had led and now Nicola’s dad was able to be present on this transition Sunday when Nicola could not. Very special for all of us. We were also able to be in Hobart, Tasmania, with Eddie and Rachel for their Vision Sunday and loved our connect with them. In Auckland we went to the Life Church, planted by Paul de Jong, and visited one of their campus locations. It was so good to be able to worship in Malaysia, Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand and find people who love Jesus passionately and also love to worship Him and serve in their communities. It was so encouraging to see the church flourishing.

As we complete this month, we leave New Zealand and fly to Canada where we will minster in French-speaking Montreal, before we fly home for Easter. I will be ministering at a revival night on the Friday, then teaching the prophets for 4 sessions on the Saturday, speaking in a local church on the Sunday, and then finally we return to the UK. After a few days recovery, I will then preach at our Oxford church at both services for our Easter Sunday. Life is busy but wonderful…I will be sharing the FRESH BREAD for this Easter season too so please do log on and listen on our Heartcry YouTube and Facebook.

While Gordon and I have been the other side of the world Helen has been busy in the UK.  Helen writes:

I had the joy of ministering at Kingdom Advance Network at the beginning of March. Our friends Steve and Jenny have grown a wonderfully prophetic culture and their church family love to worship. I had felt to speak on being a house of miracles and becoming more aware of the supernatural and miraculous intervention of Jesus in what can feel like our mundane everyday lives. During the worship before I got up to speak, Jenny felt led to sing the song “Miracles Happen”, not knowing what I had chosen as my theme.  We then prayed for various people who needed a miracle in finances, health, relationships and so on. Just that week someone had testified to the miraculous provision of a car when theirs had been written off and they could not afford a replacement.  You can imagine the encouragement that everyone felt – Jesus is at work and His power is available to us today. Later that evening, I spoke at a church in Chadsmoor and we had an extended time of ministry for over 1.5 hours after the service. After sharing a word of knowledge about someone who was tormented at night by recurring nightmares and had been unable to get a night’s sleep for months, a lady responded and received prayer.  Jesus was so kind and really set her free from her torment. She contacted the church the next day to testify that she had had unbroken, deep and restful sleep that night for the first time in ages!  Thank you, Father!

Apart from formal ministry settings, this month I’ve also had the joy of meeting with several leaders in different spheres including the creative arts, national youth ministry staff teams and church leaders.  In each situation it has been a privilege to share and minister to them. The right word at the right time can often set (or re-set) the course of our journeys and give us hope. I’ve been reminded so often in the last few weeks of the power of our words – to build up or tear down. Our culture speaks about creating narratives and the power of stories on social media drives and shapes opinion.  How much more when we, as ambassadors of Jesus, share words of life, should we expect to see transformation take place. As so many of our nations around the world face national elections this year, negative narratives abound but let’s boldly proclaim a better story and change the messaging and the headlines.  Be encouraged, miracles happen!!

April will be a busy month of ministry both in the UK and Europe for us as a team…this is what the schedule looks like at this time:

Ministry Dates April 2024

5-10 April Zagreb, Croatia discipleship and mentoring (Gordon)
6 April WOW Ladies’ Breakfast, Camberley, UK (Rachel)
7 April Kingdom Advance Network, Burton, UK (Rachel)
8 April Informal meeting with leaders with a heart for Europe (Rachel & Helen)
10 April Zagreb, Croatia evening meeting (Rachel & Helen)
11-15 April Ministry in Slovenia, multiple locations (Rachel & Helen)
19-21 April County Mayo, Ireland (Rachel & Gordon)
21 April Discovery Church, Galway, Ireland (Rachel)
20 April Flame Church Prayer Ministry training part 2, Blackheath, UK (Helen)
21 April St Andrews & All Saints evening service, Malvern, UK (Helen)
27 April Gordon’s birthday 🙂

Once again, thank you to everyone who prayed for us on our travels. We had so many God appointments and helpers along the way. On one journey our hire car broke down in a remote area of New Zealand but a kind woman called Naomi drove me 45 minutes each way to the nearest garage so that I could buy the thing we needed and helped us when we could find no assistance. She was my angel that day! God was so ready to help us.

Every blessing as we step into spring here in the UK and the Easter season. Let us celebrate Jesus who conquered death and carries life!

Every blessing and hugs,
Rachel & Gordon and Helen and the Heartcry team.