Thank you, wonderful Heartcry family & friends,

As summer begins to fade in the UK and the shorter evenings, lots of rain and strong winds return, we are so grateful for all your encouragement and support over these last 5 months. Can you believe it – we have survived 5 months of this strange and crazy season! We hope that you have been able to have a break and rest from the monotony of COVID-19 life and enjoyed some time in the sun and a moment to relax. We trust that you will continue to find a good rhythm for life in the midst of the ups and downs we are all grappling with.

Unfortunately, it is rapidly becoming clearer in my spirit that this will be a longer season than we may have hoped for and so we must lean into Jesus and let Him strengthen us for the long haul. This will take time and we need to be patient! Oh NO!! Whether it is health issues, relational challenges, job or financial struggles or just a general feeling of stress and uncertainty, we must keep focussed on Jesus and ensure He is the captivating vision of our lives. I was reminded of these words from Psalm 125:1-2 from The Passion Translation: “Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakeable … as mighty Mount Zion! Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s wrap-around presence surrounds his people, protecting them now and forever.” I don’t know about you but I have not always felt unshakeable over these last months. But I sense God saying repeatedly, “will you trust me?”. I am encouraged that if I lean into Jesus, if I put my trust in Him, His presence will surround me like a protective blanket against every adverse wind of uncertainty, stress or confusion. You and I are secure in Him. So let’s continue to look to our Father to meet our every need in these days and then know that we can comfort others from the resources we have found ourselves in the midst of many storms.

In July the Heartcry Team had a summer break for two weeks. Gordon and I had a week away with our son David, Jenny and our three grandchildren down in Cornwall on the south coast of England. The weather was perfect and much fun was had building sand castles, eating ice creams, catching crabs and enjoying family walks.

Helen also had a break during this time too. She had a special time with her Mum and simply enjoyed being home with free time to rest, read and recharge her batteries. After all the adrenaline and output over these months since lockdown began in March, it was good for us all to just stop, take a breath and try to do nothing. But somehow nothing never quite happens!!

While we were away, we ensured that the online Messages of Hope continued and we were very blessed by great contributions from our guest speakers and friends in the ministry who spoke on the themes “How we make good choices in uncertain times” and “What do you see on the horizon for church, community and the nations”. It was a rich couple of weeks. If you missed any of the messages from the last few months since we started lockdown in March, they are all still accessible on our Facebook and YouTube platforms, organised under playlists, so please do make use of them and perhaps press the share button and recommend them to others who could benefit.

You will be pleased to know that we have decided to continue with our Messages of Hope. Many of you have said how this regular message of encouragement has been a vital part of your life during these strange seasons. So, during September, we have decided to continue with the Messages of Hope but these will now be uploaded 3 times a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – rather than every day. We will also continue to preach a longer Sunday message, offering a prophetic and pastoral overview of the season. We trust that these messages will continue to strengthen and equip you. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement – we love hearing from you on the Facebook comments or by email and you have, in turn, kept us going! Thank you also for those who have very kindly invested in us financially – your support means a lot to us in this season!

The later half of August and September was meant to be an extensive season of travel for Gordon and myself. We were scheduled to speak in India, Malaysia, Singapore and three cities in Australia. Needless to say, the pandemic has meant all this travel is now impossible and sadly we have had to cancel all these events which would have been with such special friends and people. Helen was also scheduled to speak at several conferences in the UK during September too. However, several of the scheduled churches and conferences have emailed us to ask if we would please still preach for them by pre-recording video messages. So September is looking very busy in terms of preparing, preaching and recording talks and joining online zoom calls for various groups and leaders’ networks. Please pray for us to have the right word for each church and nation. As many of these messages will now be preached online, you may be able to either join the meetings live if you are in the right time zone or look them up afterwards. Below is an itinerary for you to give you an idea of what we will be doing apart from our time spent with you for the Message of Hope and other social media interaction!

Itinerary September 2020:

29 Aug Worldwide Glory Network Alliance & Worldwide House of Prayer, Singapore (Rachel & Helen)
5 Sept 10am–12:30 Webinar for Rhema Restoration Ministries/Covenant Love Church, Belfast, N Ireland (Rachel)
11 Sept Prophetic Conversations (UK – Helen)
12 Sept Coventry Elim Leaders Training (UK – Rachel)
12-13 Sept DUMC, Malaysia services (Rachel)
14 Sept Prophetic Conversations (UK – Rachel)
20 Sept C3 Church, Central City, Sydney, Australia service online (Rachel)
20 Sept Riverside Church, Southwell, UK service online (Rachel)

Also, during September Gordon and I will have the privilege of welcoming my mum and my brother, Duncan, into our home for 5 weeks. This will be the first time we have seen each other since Dad died in April – so it will be a sweet and sour time. Please pray for this time as we consider together many decisions for the future and trust Jesus to lead us and help us to make the best choices. In addition to all this, my 60th birthday present, a black Labrador puppy, arrives too! Bella, our new companion, will join our home in the middle of the month – so busy days!!

So, whether you are going back to work, school, college or other duties in September, we pray that you will feel God’s wrap around presence with you and that you will continue to know His personal leading of you each step of the way.

Thank you for your friendship, prayer and support.

Every blessing,
Rachel, Gordon and with Helen of course!