The Adventure Continues
Oct/02/07 11:29 AM
Well here we are again on another new adventure with
God! These past three weeks have been simply a blur
of great blessing. We have seen overwhelming
generosity from the saints in this nation in helping
us with everything from broken household items to
major projects on our property. It seems as if heaven
opened up on us from different avenues in wholly
unexpected ways and we are deeply grateful to the
Lord for what He is doing.
Early in August, we were made honored guests of a great local church I had spoken in briefly before leaving for Korea that fateful March. Fae’s parents have already been recipients of their kindness for some time now, in their providing a ride for them to church every Sunday. This blessing was set up for them over a year ago by our friends Duane and Jenny Newport, when Dad Rees-Thomas became legally blind and could no longer drive. Although the church has since had a major change of leadership, the new team likewise continued this kindness and now have committed themselaves to helping us also.
This one work has been so wonderful with their time and expertise, sending out a small resource team to see how they could help us. From their investment in our lives we have a new clothes dryer, a friend from thirty years in the past who has given us time every two weeks to bring our jungle into the Divine order called a garden, a man from a Wellington team of professionals who donate time and materials to repair and fix things for a ministry who came out to help us with our leaky conservatory roof. As I look out our side window, there is now a beautiful concrete driveway stretched all the way to the footpath instead of two muddy ruts carved out by cars.
They asked Fae and I if we would like to attend a major conference they hold each year as their guests, and were accommodated by them at a beautiful new hotel overlooking the bay for the week-long duration of the ministry.
We had opportunity to meet with three of their guest speakers, Don Thomas, a worship leader from Atlanta, Ian Green, a friend of mine from Whales formerly with Youth Alive! in England, and now active in planting many churches in Eastern Europe. The third ministry guest was Bill Johnston, the revival pastor from Redding California where the Lord has been doing so many great things in their city and through his ministry. Though this was the longest time I have ever been in meetings since the surgeries in Korea, the Lord sustained me and we deeply enjoyed the ministry and fellowship of that week. To cap it off, we were signally honored by a special offering taken up for us from the convention towards providing support for us during these many months of restricted travel and sharing until I am fit and well enough again for battle. This was the largest single gift we have ever had in our ministry, taken up from among the over 200 pastors there and both national and international attendees to honor us for the many years of ministry we have spent in His service both home and abroad. Thank you so much Martin Steel, pastor of Harborside Church, as well as those attending Manifest Presence who so marvelously gave of your love, prayers and precious substance to help us so deeply in keeping our calling. We are so touched.
Following the convention, we hosted some of the speakers and international visitors at our home over the next two weeks, showing them some of the other part of the Revival Library in my New Zealand study. There are some gems of historical greatness in God on these shelves, some books more than three hundred years old and sets that show in every generation He has raised up those who listen to His voice and do what He bids.
Other internationals followed, friends and fellow-ministries coming by to see us and to encourage us together. First was a small team from the Philippines, where Fae and I originally sent 200 copies of the first Youth Aflame manual in the sixties that were able to help disciple and train three generations of young Christians. They in turn have been used of the Lord to win thousands of people to Jesus and raised up hundreds of new churches both there and abroad. I never fail to marvel at the power of the Word of God when it is put in the hands of the hungry, and what He can do when their hearts are set on a holy life-long romance with Jesus. Kelvin and Ribena Burton came from Lindale Texas for a three week stay here making our home their first port of call and bringing us a suitcase full of Texas goodies.
Last week our good friend Che Ahn from Pasadena specially altered his international ticket to spend a day with us on his way to Australia and then on to Korea. He has been a friend of many years starting from our first time with him when he was 19 and being able to help direct him to the work and ministries of some of the great saints of the past who saw revival in their time. God has signally honored Che and his friend Lou Engle in not only launching the Call prayer movement that has involved literally millions of young people in a “nameless, faceless” call to seek God for their nations, but also to raise up a wonderful church both in Harvest Rock and the H.I.M network across the globe now involving more than 2,000 churches.
Looking at him again last week I remembered how much of a risk he and his young family took in laying down a previous work they founded to pursue God 24/7. They dared believe that He could bring literally hundreds of thousands of young people together without advertised bands or speakers, just to seek His face and pray. Undaunted by the best paid financial advice they were given to not do this, that all the odds were against them, that they were wholly unknowns and unless some 80,000 kids could come to support such an event that was “just prayer” they would probably lose both their homes and church in trying to pay off such a massive undertaking as renting the Washington Mall for it. Heart in mouth, Che and Lou sought the Lord yet again, heard His clear word to “Just do it” and went ahead in faith to see one of the two largest gatherings of young people in the history of America, where more than 400,000 youth stood together hour after hour even in the rain. to worship God and seek Him.
Last week we caught up also with David McCracken and his wife Margaret, who I first met in my little office decades ago, where he as a young pastor with great dreams shared something of his passion with me. Surviving the loss of his church and Christian school where our son Billy once attended during his time in New Zealand and a major life-threatening heart attack, David has not only been a survivor, but has since been used of the Lord to encourage hundreds of churches both in Australia and other parts of the world. The Kingdom of God is built on friendship. In these and so many other wonderful weavings of love, I see the truth of the Scripture that calls us to cast our bread upon many waters, to see it come back to us having touched so many lives.
Reflecting again with gratitude on the unbelievable volume of prayer launched on our behalf during the crisis, I was reminded of how great a legacy God has given us in permitting the technologies of the time to link us instantly. We know a true revival affects our neighbors. Love restored to Christ will call also on those within reach of our influence. But the neighbor of the new Millennium is no longer just the person geophysically next door to you. We are rather, as my friend John Dawson says, linked by “lateral villages of relational communication” so that which happens to us can instantly be shared with hundreds, even thousands of “neighbors”.
Yesterday morning, I went again early to the airport to see off yet another friend returning to Australia who I have known since his teenage years. He now has a wonderful ministry helping other churches join together to bless the marketplaces of the city with righteous renovations, and is doing a new book :”Where Does God Go On Mondays?” Danny told me that when I was critically ill, our dear friend Dennis Slape of Adelaide called him immediately on his cell – and he was in Sweden in a conference with 200 pastors! He immediately called them also to prayer and did the same in the next conference with some 2,000 pastors. Scores of others simultaneously did the same thing. Thus, in just a few days, an exponentially expanding torrent of prayer was released for me, where we estimate that there must have been literally tens of thousands of people holding my fragile life up to the throne. No wonder I was spared for another round. By God’s grace, you can call my movie Winkie Balboa.
So where are we physically with this operation? The wound has finally healed. I have been discharged from the weekly visits of the District Nurse checking it, and on our last visit with Dr. Ian Bisset he pronounced me good to go. It seems as if the final operation will be done by his friend Andrew in our district and we will meet with him to discuss a date when he returns from his three weeks away from our newest hospital – Manukau Counties Hospital, the “Super-Clinic”.
Andrew seems to ably fulfill my three expectations from God on this final surgery – (1) a genuine Christian, so that more than one hand will be on the knife (he was a missionary in Africa for three years before taking up this post) – (2) a highly-trained professional who really knows what he is doing (a teaching professor, whose specialty is this sort of operation) so I don’t have someone who is just a “practicing” surgeon and (3) a public, rather than a private operation, saving some $8.000-10,000 of Kingdom funds.
It also is a fulfillment of an unspoken wish that has guided most of my faith life – that the final selection would not have to be somehow manipulated, pushed or prodded from our end but become in itself a testimony to the flowing faithfulness and care of God. I believe that living by faith is living without scheming. Scary, but always great. We trust Him with our lives, and rest on His promises that He that feeds the sparrows can even more wonderfully take care of His children. (Matt. 6:33)
Blessings, dear ones. Your continued prayer is a life-line for us to His throne.
You are loved and deeply appreciated. We are thankful for all you have done for me and our little family. We look to see the story of His love grow wider.
Winkie and Fae
Posted by Israel Anderson
Early in August, we were made honored guests of a great local church I had spoken in briefly before leaving for Korea that fateful March. Fae’s parents have already been recipients of their kindness for some time now, in their providing a ride for them to church every Sunday. This blessing was set up for them over a year ago by our friends Duane and Jenny Newport, when Dad Rees-Thomas became legally blind and could no longer drive. Although the church has since had a major change of leadership, the new team likewise continued this kindness and now have committed themselaves to helping us also.
This one work has been so wonderful with their time and expertise, sending out a small resource team to see how they could help us. From their investment in our lives we have a new clothes dryer, a friend from thirty years in the past who has given us time every two weeks to bring our jungle into the Divine order called a garden, a man from a Wellington team of professionals who donate time and materials to repair and fix things for a ministry who came out to help us with our leaky conservatory roof. As I look out our side window, there is now a beautiful concrete driveway stretched all the way to the footpath instead of two muddy ruts carved out by cars.
They asked Fae and I if we would like to attend a major conference they hold each year as their guests, and were accommodated by them at a beautiful new hotel overlooking the bay for the week-long duration of the ministry.
We had opportunity to meet with three of their guest speakers, Don Thomas, a worship leader from Atlanta, Ian Green, a friend of mine from Whales formerly with Youth Alive! in England, and now active in planting many churches in Eastern Europe. The third ministry guest was Bill Johnston, the revival pastor from Redding California where the Lord has been doing so many great things in their city and through his ministry. Though this was the longest time I have ever been in meetings since the surgeries in Korea, the Lord sustained me and we deeply enjoyed the ministry and fellowship of that week. To cap it off, we were signally honored by a special offering taken up for us from the convention towards providing support for us during these many months of restricted travel and sharing until I am fit and well enough again for battle. This was the largest single gift we have ever had in our ministry, taken up from among the over 200 pastors there and both national and international attendees to honor us for the many years of ministry we have spent in His service both home and abroad. Thank you so much Martin Steel, pastor of Harborside Church, as well as those attending Manifest Presence who so marvelously gave of your love, prayers and precious substance to help us so deeply in keeping our calling. We are so touched.
Following the convention, we hosted some of the speakers and international visitors at our home over the next two weeks, showing them some of the other part of the Revival Library in my New Zealand study. There are some gems of historical greatness in God on these shelves, some books more than three hundred years old and sets that show in every generation He has raised up those who listen to His voice and do what He bids.
Other internationals followed, friends and fellow-ministries coming by to see us and to encourage us together. First was a small team from the Philippines, where Fae and I originally sent 200 copies of the first Youth Aflame manual in the sixties that were able to help disciple and train three generations of young Christians. They in turn have been used of the Lord to win thousands of people to Jesus and raised up hundreds of new churches both there and abroad. I never fail to marvel at the power of the Word of God when it is put in the hands of the hungry, and what He can do when their hearts are set on a holy life-long romance with Jesus. Kelvin and Ribena Burton came from Lindale Texas for a three week stay here making our home their first port of call and bringing us a suitcase full of Texas goodies.
Last week our good friend Che Ahn from Pasadena specially altered his international ticket to spend a day with us on his way to Australia and then on to Korea. He has been a friend of many years starting from our first time with him when he was 19 and being able to help direct him to the work and ministries of some of the great saints of the past who saw revival in their time. God has signally honored Che and his friend Lou Engle in not only launching the Call prayer movement that has involved literally millions of young people in a “nameless, faceless” call to seek God for their nations, but also to raise up a wonderful church both in Harvest Rock and the H.I.M network across the globe now involving more than 2,000 churches.
Looking at him again last week I remembered how much of a risk he and his young family took in laying down a previous work they founded to pursue God 24/7. They dared believe that He could bring literally hundreds of thousands of young people together without advertised bands or speakers, just to seek His face and pray. Undaunted by the best paid financial advice they were given to not do this, that all the odds were against them, that they were wholly unknowns and unless some 80,000 kids could come to support such an event that was “just prayer” they would probably lose both their homes and church in trying to pay off such a massive undertaking as renting the Washington Mall for it. Heart in mouth, Che and Lou sought the Lord yet again, heard His clear word to “Just do it” and went ahead in faith to see one of the two largest gatherings of young people in the history of America, where more than 400,000 youth stood together hour after hour even in the rain. to worship God and seek Him.
Last week we caught up also with David McCracken and his wife Margaret, who I first met in my little office decades ago, where he as a young pastor with great dreams shared something of his passion with me. Surviving the loss of his church and Christian school where our son Billy once attended during his time in New Zealand and a major life-threatening heart attack, David has not only been a survivor, but has since been used of the Lord to encourage hundreds of churches both in Australia and other parts of the world. The Kingdom of God is built on friendship. In these and so many other wonderful weavings of love, I see the truth of the Scripture that calls us to cast our bread upon many waters, to see it come back to us having touched so many lives.
Reflecting again with gratitude on the unbelievable volume of prayer launched on our behalf during the crisis, I was reminded of how great a legacy God has given us in permitting the technologies of the time to link us instantly. We know a true revival affects our neighbors. Love restored to Christ will call also on those within reach of our influence. But the neighbor of the new Millennium is no longer just the person geophysically next door to you. We are rather, as my friend John Dawson says, linked by “lateral villages of relational communication” so that which happens to us can instantly be shared with hundreds, even thousands of “neighbors”.
Yesterday morning, I went again early to the airport to see off yet another friend returning to Australia who I have known since his teenage years. He now has a wonderful ministry helping other churches join together to bless the marketplaces of the city with righteous renovations, and is doing a new book :”Where Does God Go On Mondays?” Danny told me that when I was critically ill, our dear friend Dennis Slape of Adelaide called him immediately on his cell – and he was in Sweden in a conference with 200 pastors! He immediately called them also to prayer and did the same in the next conference with some 2,000 pastors. Scores of others simultaneously did the same thing. Thus, in just a few days, an exponentially expanding torrent of prayer was released for me, where we estimate that there must have been literally tens of thousands of people holding my fragile life up to the throne. No wonder I was spared for another round. By God’s grace, you can call my movie Winkie Balboa.
So where are we physically with this operation? The wound has finally healed. I have been discharged from the weekly visits of the District Nurse checking it, and on our last visit with Dr. Ian Bisset he pronounced me good to go. It seems as if the final operation will be done by his friend Andrew in our district and we will meet with him to discuss a date when he returns from his three weeks away from our newest hospital – Manukau Counties Hospital, the “Super-Clinic”.
Andrew seems to ably fulfill my three expectations from God on this final surgery – (1) a genuine Christian, so that more than one hand will be on the knife (he was a missionary in Africa for three years before taking up this post) – (2) a highly-trained professional who really knows what he is doing (a teaching professor, whose specialty is this sort of operation) so I don’t have someone who is just a “practicing” surgeon and (3) a public, rather than a private operation, saving some $8.000-10,000 of Kingdom funds.
It also is a fulfillment of an unspoken wish that has guided most of my faith life – that the final selection would not have to be somehow manipulated, pushed or prodded from our end but become in itself a testimony to the flowing faithfulness and care of God. I believe that living by faith is living without scheming. Scary, but always great. We trust Him with our lives, and rest on His promises that He that feeds the sparrows can even more wonderfully take care of His children. (Matt. 6:33)
Blessings, dear ones. Your continued prayer is a life-line for us to His throne.
You are loved and deeply appreciated. We are thankful for all you have done for me and our little family. We look to see the story of His love grow wider.
Winkie and Fae
Posted by Israel Anderson
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