Hello Heartcry family,
What an incredible month of sunshine we have had here in the UK. It has been so good to watch fantastic sunsets evening after evening and be able to be outdoors enjoying fun, family and friends once again. Gordon and I finally were able to celebrate our significant birthdays and our 40th wedding anniversary with our kids and grandchildren in Tuscany at a wonderful farmhouse just outside Florence. It was such a perfect time to connect, relax and enjoy one another after a hectic start to this year 2022. I did not realise how mentally tired I was, and it took me a week before I could properly relax and read a good murder mystery and remember the intrigue and plot without re-reading the pages again and again to understand the storyline! Even though our flights were delayed, rental cars were not ready at the airports and travel was a little challenging for the 12 of us, we were blessed with angels along the way who helped us with difficulties and we had a fantastic time. Gordon had fractured his right shoulder just before the holiday so I had the added responsibility of driving on the Italian roads…! I managed the many steep farm tracks with no incidents and was very relieved to return our rental car unscathed! Gordon’s shoulder has healed well and he is now completing the physiotherapy to regain full movement in his shoulder.
Although June was a time of rest and holiday for Gordon and I for the first 2 weeks, the work of Heartcry still continued. At our recent Heartcry trustees’ meeting it was a delight to be able to report that we have been able to gift GBP £65,000 right to the frontlines of the mission’s work so far. Thank you for your generosity and support. We were so blessed to receive a wonderful update from Johannes and Charlotte about the ongoing work in Moldova and the Ukraine. Please do follow this link to read the full report here https://heartcryforchange.com/projects-moldova/help-for-ukraine/ but here are a couple of the stories to bless you:
Pastors from Kherson were meeting with Charlotte and Johannes and their team when they received a message to confirm that the last group from their church community had finally made it to safety. There had been more than 30 sitting in a cellar for weeks, afraid to go out. For the last period they only had a pint of water and some biscuits that they carefully shared and passed around. The water and biscuits never ran out!! In another region, three sisters walked out of a besieged town in the early morning hours. Walking for days, they kept singing worship silently, trying to avoid the roads and the Russian army road blocks. After days they finally reached the Ukrainian side and walked towards the border post with their hands in the air. The soldiers greeted them and told them they were safe and could take off their white armbands. The soldiers said, “We watched you from afar and realised you were civilians…. but where is the 4th man who was walking with you, a tall guy we saw walking beside you 3 girls?” They realised they must have had an angel escort them the whole time!
As you can imagine, these stories of miracles and divine intervention are so encouraging to the team as they literally risk their lives daily to extract people from the towns and villages or seek to get aid to where they are. Although there are many miracles, there is also lots of mess and suffering. Please do continue to pray for the workers and churches all across the region who continue to provide shelter and aid. Heartcry is committed to keep on supporting the team there financially so, if you, your company or church are in a position to contribute, please use our link to the Help for Ukraine page (as above) to make a dedicated donation by bank transfer or card payment.
Gordon and I, immediately on our return from our holiday were then in Vienna for the Leadership Academy Graduation with Gianni and Angela Gaeta. This was such a time of blessing and reconnection with the churches and their team. It was wonderful to hear the testimonies and watch about 20 second year students graduate and tell their stories. The day was perfect, sitting by the Danube in bright sunshine with wonderful food as we celebrated Jesus who transforms lives. On Sunday I preached about the power of Jesus to carry our shame and lift our regret – there was such a sense of freedom and liberation in the room. Many were set free and some dedicated their lives to Jesus afresh. It was so good to reconnect again after conferences on zoom!
Helen and I also had the privilege to meet a team of influencers and prayer warriors from Pennsylvania and record the story of William Penn from Christ Church, Oxford. Again the weather was kind and it was wonderful to watch the joy of the film makers and photographers as they stood in these ancient buildings, better known for the Harry Potter and many other famous films, telling the story of Jesus touching the life of William Penn!
As is so often our rhythm of life these days, Helen and I have spent time again this month with leaders, church teams and individuals talking, praying and discerning the plans of God and way ahead for them. It was great to chat to our friends in Bergen, Norway, and hear of the provision of a building for them in this season. Also talking with a leader from a church in the UK we were thrilled to hear testimonies from their recent Alpha course of lives transformed, people being baptised, and the church filled with the family and friends of these people finding Jesus for the first time. It is our greatest joy to hear these stories of people finding Jesus.
After our time at the Elim Leaders Summit in Harrogate in May, we have also continued to work with many of the leaders and people from the ELIM churches in this nation. Again in June Helen and I led a prophetic day in Letchworth Garden City and were thrilled to watch the word of God bring perspective and hope to so many. Many people commented to us afterwards that their minds were buzzing, and they were thinking about so many things and ideas. Often being in a prophetic atmosphere does just wake up our sense of purpose and realign our priorities, stirring questions to consider concerning our future. This is what we witnessed, and I think many were blessed and envisioned. Helen also enjoyed speaking to at a leadership development cohort day for newly qualified younger leaders in the Elim network. These mentoring networks are so vital and such a wonderful opportunity to invest in the spiritual formation of leaders so that we are not just training skills but also looking after leaders’ spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
So now we approach July and August. Helen and I will be back in the USA for the first time since COVID so that will be a delight. We are so excited to reconnect with our many friends there. Please do remember to look at our website and Facebook pages as these will keep you in touch with our news. Our monthly FRESH BREAD messages are still being posted on the first SUNDAY of every month so please do listen to these. I have done the July one on ADORATION and Helen will record the August message.
Also just an update that we have decided to postpone our next Legacy Day until the autumn. So there will be no meeting in Oxford in September and instead we plan to hold a gathering on 26th November, most probably in Burton upon Trent and we very much hope that we will have Charlotte and Johannes with us from Moldova so that you can meet them in person! We will also have our new year Legacy Day in Oxford on 21 January 2023. Please save these two dates and we will confirm more details nearer the time and let you know when bookings open.
We will not be sending out an August newsletter so below we have included our itinerary for both July and August. Besides the public speaking engagements below, we also have quite a number of meetings with leaders or leadership teams over the summer as well as some time for reading, retreat, research and preparation.
Ministry Dates For July & August 2022
July
3 Fresh Bread Message – Heartcry online social media platforms (Rachel)
3 St Mark’s Church, Coventry, UK (Rachel)
5 Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast, London, UK (Rachel & Helen)
8 Heartcry Team Retreat Day
12-22 Rachel & Helen in USA
13-17 The Way Conference, Sonrise Christian Center, Everett, WA, USA (Rachel & Helen)
19 Hope Village Church evening meeting, Bellevue, WA, USA (Rachel & Helen)
24 RACHEL’S BIRTHDAY 🙂
31 Fleet Baptist Church service and prayer ministry team training (Rachel & Helen)
August
7 Aug Fresh Bread Message – Heartcry online social platforms (Helen)
8-14 Heartcry office closed – team refresh & reading week
18-21 Conference, Storstua conference centre, Oslo, Norway (Rachel & Helen)
Thank you for all your ongoing support. We appreciate you so much!
With our love and appreciation,
Helen and Rachel & Gordon too!