Dear Heartcry Family,
This month we are writing while on the road in the USA for four weeks. We are so enjoying our time here connecting with long-term friends and partners in the ministry and it was so fun to celebrate Gordon’s 75th birthday while being here. As we have travelled in the North West, we have sensed such an awakening of hunger for God. It feels as though God has a divine appointment with His people here. This summer the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776 and there are many initiatives to mark this special milestone. One of these projects is the release of the feature film called The Great Awakening which we have just seen in the cinema here in the USA. It tells the story of the revivalist preacher, George Whitfield’s, profound impact on America and the pivotal role he played in inspiring Benjamin Franklin’s conversion and subsequent role in dedicating the fledgling nation as one nation under God.
When George Whitfield, along with his contemporaries John and Charles Wesley, encountered Jesus while studying at Oxford, he was gripped with a call to holiness and a passion to bring new life to the dying institutional church of his day. Just like Ezekiel, these young men could see the dry bones of religion all around them but Whitfield began to provoke his hearers to awaken to new life. His key Scripture was Ephesians 5:14: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” When Rachel, Gordon and I arrived in USA on 16 April for a weekend with Victory Faith church in Spokane WA, we did not know about the new movie. But Rachel had felt that we needed to preach about awakening resurrection life. What an encouragement to discover that God had helped us to hear the sound He is releasing across this nation at this time. So we preached on awakening the cry of resurrection life and putting faith in the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17).
It is always a great joy to be back in Spokane with Victory Faith church, our home away from home. Like so many around the world, they are experiencing a surge in church attendance, with all three of their Sunday services almost at capacity and some 2,700 people coming through the building each weekend. While we were at Victory Faith we had a picture of the Church as a lighthouse. Instead of simply shedding light into darkness, in this season where many people are walking through the fog of confusion on so many fronts and sight is often limited, we felt that it is so important for the Church to also emit a sound that shatters the silence and offers a lifeline. The great thing about sound is that it works even in the fog. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. So let’s not be silent in this season. Maybe there are areas of your own life that seem to be dead – a relationship that is struggling, health that is failing, a business which is in trouble. Let’s remember that resurrection is not limited to Easter Sunday. We are called to live this new life every day. So let’s speak boldly and release that cry of resurrection life into every barren place: “Awake! Awake!”
From Spokane we then travelled on to Everett just outside Seattle. We have met with regional prayer leaders and intercessors, senior women leaders from different spheres of life, and also had the joy of preaching at Sonrise Christian Center. This house, led by John and Grace Hammer, is another well which honours and loves the presence of Jesus so it is always such a privilege to minister here and see people come to faith in Jesus. Next week we will travel on to Lewiston in Idaho and then finally Harrisburg in Oregon for US Mother’s Day weekend. We fly back to the UK on 11 May.
Although it feels like a long time ago now, April actually started with two ministry weekends in Europe. Rachel & Gordon were in Poland and then in Bergen, Norway.
Rachel writes: It was so good to be back in Poland with Chris Larkin and share a prophetic weekend speaking in Warsaw. Many who participated in the Prophetic Conference were young Charismatic Catholics who have found Jesus and joy. I asked one of the leading father figures with the network what he expects to experience when he is in a gathering with prophets present and this was his response; it really spoke to me. Edward from Poland said this – “When a prophetic ministry comes into our community we expect to slow down, change our rhythm of life – wait, listen and reflect on God. We expect to understand the heavenly realm more fully and discern the times and seasons we are in more completely”. This thought has stayed with me and shapes our experience too. There is a new waiting and lingering in the presence of God. A fresh expectation and a definite cry – Oh, Lord, awaken us!
As always, it was a joy to be in Bergen, Norway, with Jesusfellesskapet again. We arrived earlier on the Thursday and taught at the Bible School with their interns on being Shaped for Ministry and the balance of marriage and ministry. We had fascinating discussions and good times of prayer and ministry. Friday night we had a Prayer Night which was called a FIRE night and it was wonderful. I had forgotten how much I love GOOD prayer meetings. The presence of God was heavy and then we were silent in this presence, just lingering and listening to Him. It was a real encounter time. On the Saturday it was a stunningly sunny day and, although there was a chilly wind, we were able to prayer walk the streets. Our group went to pray on the university campus asking God for access to the venue. As we approached the closed doors and prayed a man walked out leaving the doors open and we were able to walk in…we had just prayed OPEN THE GATES to this facility and God did!! On Sunday we preached in the church and again we were so aware of God being present and encouraging people. Norway is a special place! Gordon and I then rushed home, unpacked our bags, did our laundry and jumped on the plane to Seattle. God has been gracious to us and the jet-lag has not been too bad. We are back on schedule and connecting, preaching and praying here in the North West. As a treat for you, we have recordings of the three messages that we preached in Spokane, Washington, on the first weekend and have these available as the Fresh Bread messages for this month of May. Do go to our Facebook and YouTube platforms and listen to Helen’s introduction and then follow the links to the three messages on the Victory Faith church website (https://victoryfaith.org/faithcast). There were 3 services and Helen, Gordon and I took a service each on the same theme, using similar scriptures and spoke different but the same messages!! Enjoy!
There are so many signs of new life across Europe and the nations…the nations are ripe for harvest and there is hope stirring even in the midst of war. We have just heard from our partners in Moldova who report a tangible change in atmosphere in the nation. Charlotte and Johannes are encountering a new generation of young Moldovans who feel called to stay in Moldova and bring transformation. One of the current dreams for the projects in Moldova is to purchase a piece of land that would be a permanent campsite for the children’s summer camps and events for youth and families outreach all year round. This land could also house volunteer teams and provide homes for the workers and classrooms for training and discipleship programmes. Several churches and Christian businesses have begun to donate equipment including beds, tables, chairs etc. We would love for the Heartcry family to contribute generously to this vision so we will be sending funds to Moldova in the next few weeks. If you would like to be part of this wonderful opportunity, you can make a donation through our dedicated Moldova link: https://heartcryforchange.com/project/donate-to-moldova/ . As many of us make plans for our own summer holidays, it would be amazing if we could all give an offering towards these summer projects that literally change lives. Thank you for your generosity!
Looking ahead to the second half of May when we are back in the UK, we are so looking forward to being in Harrogate for the Elim Leaders’ Summit. Later in the month Gordon will be ministering in Zagreb, Croatia, as part of a team with Duncan and Cathie Vincent. Please pray for them as they come alongside young leaders and invest in new believers. Here is an overview of the month – we would love to see you if you are near one of these locations.
Ministry Dates May 2026
3 May Fresh Bread message, Heartcry Social Platforms (Heartcry team)
1-3 May River City Church, Lewiston, ID, USA
8-10 May Life Bible Church women’s conference and Sunday services, Harrisburg, OR, USA
12-14 May Elim Leaders’ Summit, Harrogate, UK (Rachel, Gordon & Helen)
17 May Life Church EN11, Hoddesdon, UK (Helen)
19 May C3 Cambridge Academy training, online (Helen)
20-24 May Zagreb, Croatia (Gordon with Duncan & Cathie Vincent)
24 May St Mark’s Church, Coventry, UK (Rachel)
24 May St Andrews Church, Botley, Oxford, UK (Helen)
29 May Attend Rise Up Now Prayer Conference, Ealing, UK (Rachel, Gordon, Helen)
30-31 May Paris, France informal meetings with leaders (Rachel & Gordon)
Thank you for all your love and support and for praying for us. We are so blessed by your generosity and encouragement.
With all our love, Helen – on behalf of Rachel & Gordon too!