Wales Awakening Updates

Dear Friends,

Praise the Lord for His goodness! Last night was our first night in our very own rented home, Genaur Glyn, in Beulah! We arrived in Wales in May (the 5th month) on the 11th day; and yesterday, 5 months and 11 days later, we moved into our "permanent" home. This was our 7th move since we've been here in Wales, and is the number related to completion. So this will be the last move for a nice long time we hope!

Isaiah 62:4 says, "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married."

It is a great relief to finally be situated, and so now we can concentrate our time on prayer in the chapel, visiting and encouraging other believers, and our Welsh studies. We went to the monthly service this morning at Cilfowyr Chapel, and realized how much we've missed our daily prayer times there this last couple weeks. So we look forward tomorrow to getting back on schedule again. And so this is the special meaning of the blessing of Beulah for us!

The work in the house over the last couple weeks since I last wrote has been a good exercise for us. There is still more to do, the guest room next the final coat of paint, and the closet with the new boiler will be closed in this week, but we can live here now! It had everything but the kitchen sink, literally, so that held us up. Now we have a brand new kitchen, complete with refrigerator, and the central heating is toasty warm! The Lord has blessed us also with basic furnishings that were already in the house, and we have only had to buy beds and one used wardrobe. Then yesterday and today we picked up two love seats and two armchairs that were given us by friends. Of course it'll take a while to get everything we'll need, but we already have the all essentials to make this home. There's even a good sewing machine so we can make new curtains when the time comes!

Two Saturdays ago we were blessed by our first "official visit" by the president and executive director of the Race track Chaplaincy of America, with who we have worked in New Orleans for 10 years in ministry to the Spanish workers resident at the Fairgrounds Race Course. They generously contributed to our support for this year, and have offered to help us again in 2006, for which we are very grateful. Dr. Enrique Torres, the director, is from Chile, so Gladys especially had a good time speaking Spanish with someone besides me! We spent only 6 hours together, and shared a precious time sightseeing a bit, fellowshipping, and praying in the chapel together! We were mutually blessed encouraged by their visit.

And now we have a guest room, so please know you're welcome too any time!

God bless you greatly!

In His love and service,

Dick & Gladys Funnell

For information on our mission to Wales, please visit

http://walesawakening.org

Cell in Wales: 011-44-7796-316626

Home: 011-44-1239-810825

Our new home address is:

Genaur Glyn

Beulah

Newcastle Emlyn, SA38 9QB

Wales, U.K.

Support can be mailed to:

Verbo Ministries - Wales (Please write "Wales" clearly in Memo area)

P.O.Box 190

Kenner, LA 70063

Office: 877-723-4129 Toll Free

Dear Friends & Prayers:

I've been waiting until we had actually moved in to our house to tell you the news. However, here it is over two weeks later and the plumber and builder STILL haven't finished things. They showed up one day this week to work, and supposedly tomorrow they'll be back, but there are several days worth to do yet. Please pray the Lord get them about their business, as we have one week until we need to move from this trailer where we've been staying in since mid-August.

It has been a long two weeks, and between the house and spending time in the chapel, it's been a very busy time. We've been working hard on the rooms that needed to be stripped and painted, and also have been doing a lot on the outside. At times I've struggled with the idea that we should be otherwise occupied, but it has been a very interesting process.

As we work, we have both been feeling that this is very much a part of our intercession for the church in Wales. Scraping paint and peeling wallpaper, weeding overgrown gardens and washing off years of grime from bricks and walkways have taken on a parable-like significance in our prayers as we work. Our hearts cry out for the church, the Body of Christ, to shake off the crusty build up of tradition and static expressions, and to come alive and be the Light we were meant to be in a darkened and thirsty world.

Also last week we started in our formal Welsh classes, two nights a week. It feels good be making headway in this now, and we look forward to it continuing, rather than just a few days of exposure. Beulah is a small rural farming village, and most people speak Welsh, so we have the opportunity to practice what little we know so far. This is definitely a good area to be living in to help us along. Starting again now from scratch with a new language, I'm amazed how I was able to learn Spanish with such fluency. It's a sobering thought what 28 years can do. But, we can't wait that long, so please pray that the Lord really give us some supernatural help!

Thank you for your continued interest and prayers. I can't over-emphasize how vitally important your prayers for us and for God's plan for Wales are!

May God bless you with His love and grace,