It was good to arrive back in the UK, forty-seven minutes ahead of schedule due to the strong tail wind! In fact, the return flight to the UK from Canada was so rapid that we were in the car driving back to Oxford before our plane should have even landed. Most of February Helen and I have been across “the Pond” in Seattle and Montreal. It was a busy time of connections, deepening kingdom friendships, inputting leaders, and preaching and teaching at conferences. So, after a hectic schedule, it was good to be back on home territory and have some home time.

As this year 2020 unfolds I am becoming more aware of what a critical season we are living in. This is such a pivotal time for the nations, and the Church is rightly positioned to have great influence if we take our opportunities. As we watch the effects of the Coronavirus on travel and the economy this is the time for the Church to have an answer of hope. Gordon was reading a blog from his contacts in China who were sharing how they are praying for people in the quarantined cities and seeing many healings and a hunger for God! So, in the midst of trouble, GOD HAS A PLAN!

Helen writes: As I prayed at the turn of this new decade, I felt God give me two words for 2020.  The first was the word “flashpoint” which means a point at which someone or something bursts suddenly into action; a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action; a moment of truth or a point of no return.  I felt God say that the flashpoints of the year 2020 will ignite and set in motion a trajectory of trailblazing cultural and spiritual transformation which will mark out the rest of the decade. The second word God gave me was “ignite” and with it the sense that we must answer the question, who will be the catalyst to ignite these flashpoints or be positioned to take advantage of them when they occur, like in China with the virus!  As I prayed further into these words, the Lord showed me that there would be spiritual flashpoints where we would experience “face offs” with the enemy just as Elijah did with the prophets of Baal.  The Church would need to come to a new confidence in the God who answers by fire and this would awaken a new awe for God and accelerate the harvest of souls.  I felt the Lord say that He is equipping His Church “to launch pre-emptive strikes”, to be the head and not the tail.  I especially felt this in the area of what the Lord called “flashpoints of truth”. Massive deception is pervasive in society which increasingly challenges, mocks and provokes the authority of the Church.  But there needs to be a new bold confidence to speak into the issues of the day and bring an alignment of godly truth.  I felt God say that “undiluted truth (spoken/decreed by His people) will ignite a new freedom and authority for deliverance”; we will experience again how biblical truth really does set people free. We must pray for revelation, wisdom and strategy to address the “elephants & hot potatoes” of our day with clarity and truth coupled with great love and compassion for people.  As we make these stands in grace and truth, I sense that there will be flashpoints of outpouring in the nations, real atmospheric shifts where we begin to see great harvest – multitudes in a moment!  These are such strategic times and God is activating His Church to unleash her full potential.

Rachel resumes: Our time in Seattle, Washington state, was precious. It was so good to have time to influence prayer groups, meet with prayer leaders and speak at the ACTIVATE conference at Sonrise Church. In fact there was such an overflow from the conference that the Sunday morning services had an unusual sense of God’s presence and atmosphere of expectation. It was so special. The word of God was powerful and accurate and many testimonies have shared how God so perfectly pinpointed their situations and gave them hope! One girl wrote…”Rachel, there is just no way you could have known everything you spoke over me other than it being the Father speaking through you.  Thank you so much for being obedient and sharing His words with me!  I received so much freedom and healing because of it!  Walking out of my past has not been easy.  I have carried so much shame from it, and He released me from that …. well He had already done that, but I just hadn’t realized it until you prayed and spoke over me!  I want you to know that I am going to start writing again.  I know He has given me that gift, and it is my duty to use it for Him!  I love to write and He has always given me the words.” Stories like this always fill me with joy and satisfaction. When God touches lives with His power it is SO SPECIAL!

After Seattle, Helen and I flew to Montreal, Canada. This was a long flight overnight but was easier than we expected. God provided us with great seats and strength! Once in Canada it was busy. We spent time talking with leaders, connecting with prophetic teams, speaking at a prophetic activation conference, preaching in the Sunday services and then away on retreat for 2 days with leaders from 15 different churches from the Quebec area…Plus this was all done through translation into Canadian French! Both Helen and I struggled to understand the Canadian French at first but soon Helen’s ear got tuned into the different dialect and she understood most things by the time we left. The shock of the Canadian winter was also new with temperatures of -21C in the day and it felt colder with the wind chill factors and at night. However, we survived and the cars, homes and churches were warm….so we did not freeze! Even the snow storm on the way home was considered fairly normal when the visibility was so poor and the ice everywhere! The faithful cars plough through and manage and all the flights left on time! 

Once home we have had a weekend to acclimatise, connect with family and sort through mountains of mail and administration. However, we seem to have cleared the decks and are now ready to serve the UK again. It was so good to be able to preach in Milton Keynes on Sunday – a city of promise and KEYS! It was a joy to be at New Life Church and sense the promise that God was about to release in this city. As the month draws to a close we will be back in London to pray, teaching in Stoke on prayer, connecting with some leaders about future strategy and forward planning. God has been so good to us.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came to the Heartcry Legacy Days Kickstart 2020 event last month.  The recordings from the morning sessions are available online here.

HEARTCRY ITINERARY FOR MARCH 2020
1 ST ANDREWS CHURCH, SNEYD GREEN , STOKE ON TRENT, UK (Rachel & Helen)
7-8 ROSE CONFERENCE, ELIM BALLYMENA, N. IRELAND (Rachel & Helen)
11 SOUTH OXON FILLING STATION, MARSH BALDON, OXON, UK (Rachel)
11 HILLSONG EVENING COLLEGE, OXFORD, UK (Helen)
14 CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN CENTRE, GAINSBOROUGH, UK (Rachel & Gordon)
13-16 HELEN ON LEAVE
18-20 RACHEL & GORDON ON LEAVE
21 ST PAUL’S CHURCH WOMEN’S BREAKFAST, CAMBERLEY, UK (Helen)
22 BETEL CHURCH, BIRMINGHAM, UK (Rachel)
22 CUMNOR PARISH SERVICES, OXFORD, UK (Helen)
25 HILLSONG EVENING COLLEGE, OXFORD, UK (Helen)
27-29 FILADELFIA CHURCH, LYNGDAL, NORWAY (Rachel & Gordon)
29 ST ANDREW’S CHURCH, BOTLEY, OXFORD, UK (Helen)
30/3 – 6/4 FILADELFIA CHURCH, KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY (Rachel & Gordon)

Thank you so much for all your love, prayer and generosity.

Every blessing,
Rachel and the team.