News
Report:
Ministry in London, England 2010
July 5, 2010
Dear Friends and Family,
I cant
thank God enough for the wonderful work He did in lives this past weekend at
Emmanuel Christian Centre in London, England.
Here are some special highlights:
Worship led by recording artist Geraldine Latty on Friday
night and by the ECC team on Saturday and Sunday had me in tears over and over
because it was so saturated with the presence of God.
It was as though I spent the entire time with my
arms around the neck of Jesus, listening to His heart.
It was all I needed and wanted.
All that I taught and shared flowed out of those worship
times.
As a result, I knew
exactly what He wanted me to say and
do, and the spiritual freedom and clarity that I enjoyed was immense.
The Holy Spirit then did what only He could do.
The help that Linda gave metaking pictures, handling
finances, overseeing logistics, praying for me, assisting the person at the book
table and much moreallowed me to concentrate fully on ministering without
distraction.
It was wonderful!
She was such a blessing!
The senior pastors wife called me just before we left the
airport for home to tell me that many women have called her to tell her how God
had changed their hearts or their thinking during the weekend and to express
their gratitude.
It was so wonderful to hear the stories!
Praise God!
I was stunned to realize that even though I was in England,
I was ministering to women and men whose roots were in Africa, the West Indies,
Asia and the Caribbean, as well as in England.
All in one place, all at the same time, and all
speaking the same language!
Sounds
like heaven!
Keep
praying.
Next is Kenya in August!
Keep remembering that your prayers are the tracks
upon which the power of God travels.
I am so grateful for your passion and faithfulness
in loving those whom you have never seen and holding them and me up to God for
His power to flow and His will to be done.
He hears and answers your prayers!
Because of Gods love and mercy,
Joyce
I am very pleased with the way this ministry trip went.
Thank you for making it all possible through your
love, prayers and financial help!
Now here is a targeted report:
Victories:
A young woman
accepted Christ after the morning service in Apatity!
Reports came in
of healing of relationships as a result of last years ministry in Kolomna.
Women who had
experienced inner healing five years ago, when I first ministered in Kolomna,
told me all about what God was still doing in their lives.
There was
progress in helping a pastors wife determine parenting goals and strategies
that will bring her more rest and more time for ministry.
The foundation was laid with the leadership team (five
passionate young women, most of whom I have known for several years) for the new
Womens Ministry in Murmansk.
We will have a seminar together again next year to
continue development of this ministry.
We had excellent
leaders meetings in Olenegorsk, Tula, and Murmansk!
I had the joy of
being part of the celebration, dedication, and launch of new small group in
Tula.
There was a great
release of unforgiveness at the womens conference in Murmansk and during the
Sunday service in Kirovsk.
After the Kirovsk service, I held and wept with a young
mother (whose daughter has leukemia and whose husband died last year) until she
was able to release her fear to Jesus and accept His love again.
We needed no words.
Wonderful new relationships were built with pastors and
leaders in Tula and
Kirovsk.
I was interviewed
for the local newspaper to promote the Rehab in Zeleneborsky, share my love and
vision for Russia, and describe my books that are now in their language.
I received many
reports of how the books are ministering to the unsaved to draw them to Christ
and encouraging and instructing young believers in their walks with God.
There was truly
substantive dialog with individual pastors and they want me to return.
A precious wife, in whose home I stayed while in the Moscow Region, and I were successful at dialoging with each other about the problems she and her new husband are having in their relationship via an internet language translation program. That can be a very slow way to counsel!
I was blessed
with safe travel, good health, and wonderfully sweet times with dear friends.
Difficulties:
Too much heat in the houses up North during the unexpected
warm weather.
(There is no control of temperature in apartments.
The city determines when the heating season begins
and ends, and there are only two settings:
Full blast or off.
And, of course, the sun never fully setting at night
made it even warmer.)
Mosquitoes at the picnic in Kolomna.
Smile.
Remembering not to speak anytime I was coming from or going to our flat in Tula. The city officials (via suspicious neighbors) have been watching the flat and finding reasons to fine Christians who visit there, especially from other countries. The fact that I was an unregistered American made it really bad: I hadnt registered with the police in Moscow Region because of the national holiday, and was unable to do so in the Tula Region. I finally got registered in Murmansk.
The drunken man next to me on the flight home whose
behavior almost forced the pilot to land.
My greatest sorrow was not being able to speak to him because of a language
barrier.
Beauty:
The vast, rolling
fields of grasslands and rich, black soil, punctuated by dense birch and pine
forests, of the Tula Region in Southern Russia.
The rugged,
snow-capped mountains, hundreds of lakes, and the rocky terrain of the Murmansk
Region.
The precious
people everywhere whom God created and sent His Son to redeem!
Gratitude:
For your prayers
For the power of
the Holy Spirit which made ministry effective
For the love of
God which wins and changes hearts and lives
For excellent
interpreters
For my friends,
family, and husband, and my home sweet home!
May God move in power around the world in these days of
great spiritual need.
May we all be
instruments for His glory wherever we are.
He is Worthy!
Love,
Report: Kenya, October, 2009
I
am so glad that I responded to the invitation to be the speaker/teacher at the Intimacy
with God Pastors and Leaders Conference
in Kenya last month sponsored by Liberty Christian Ministries!
As you read in my emails from the field, God ministered deeply during
that conference. The greatest areas
of impact were:
Forgiving
even the unforgiveable
Learning
the Ministry of Presence during grief in the Body of Christ
Understanding
ones spouse during the pressures of ministry
Bringing
the family into the mission
Overall
restoration of passion for the call
Inner
healing
Preaching
both Sundays in the African Inland Church and Liberty Christian Ministries
churches gave me a wonderful opportunity to reinforce the freedom that comes
from forgiveness and also to challenge them to win the spiritual battles that
are inevitably ahead.
My
greatest personal takeaways were:
How
hungry for encouragement and responsive to truth they are
How
willing they are to sacrifice for the cause of the Gospel
How little difference there is in leadership there and in the U.S. The problems and the joys are the same.
Please pray for Christian leaders in Kenya, both in the church and in the government. May integrity flow through both as all is submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
I
have been invited to return next year to speak at the African Inland Church
Women's Conference. I am seeking God's will concerning this invitation.
Report:
March 2009 Mission Trip to Russia
This was the most Spirit-filled and Spirit-led trip to Russia I have ever had. The sense of God was in everything, and the freedom He gave me was amazing...
Here are some of the highlights:
-
Hearts of many believers and leaders were healed of deep wounds.
-
A chronic bleeding nose was healed when I prayed with a woman in St. Petersburg to forgive her mother.
-
Relationships were restored.
-
Decisions for Christ were made, especially in the Murmansk Christian Church, and scores of men and women forgave those against whom they had held bitterness for years.
-
Pastors and leaders were encouraged.
-
There was good fruit from the evening and next day's ministry to students at the Step by Step Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center in Zeleneborsky, and discussions with the staff were valuable.
-
We experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in the Women's Conference in Murmansk, the Women's Meeting in Olenegorsk, and the services in both cities.
-
There was great joy over the release of the new books, especially When God Lights the Fire and Journey to Joy. Books sold quickly and proceeds went to benefit the local Russian ministries.
-
I built new relationships with leaders in Velikiy Novgorod and St. Petersburg, and deepened the relationship with Vera Tsys, Evangelist and Russia's National President of Aglow Fellowship. The meetings in those two cities were truly guided and blessed by the Holy Spirit. It was a joy to watch Him change and encourage hearts.
-
It was a tremendous blessing to baptize five new believers who are now part of the New Life Church in Kolomna, south of Moscow.
-
I have been invited to appear on Russian Christian TV the next time I am in Russia.
-
God gave me complete safety (especially on the overnight express train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and back) and good health throughout the trip.
-
God anticipated and met our every need.
-
Amazing peace and rest throughout the trip.
I can't thank you enough for surrounding us with your prayers and love. Thank you for taking this trip with me! May God bless you and meet all your needs, just as He did mine.
I will now continue to:
- Focus steadily on what He has called me to do without wavering or being
distracted.
- Pursue knowing His heart for the world at a deeper level than ever before
and letting what I learn of it continually fuel my passion and shape my
life.
Footnote
describing the books: