Time has flown by since we got home, and so this is just a quick update to say that Gladys is doing much better, and thank you again for all your prayers and emails. Wednesday she was out planting leeks in the garden, so that is proof positive! While we were away there was a week of very warm weather and lots of rain, so the garden and green areas had grown like mad, the grass was nearly knee high!

It's taken a while to catch up, as we also had houseguests the day after we arrived home. Old friends whom we have known and worked together for over thirty years, so it was a blessing to have them with us, and share some times in the chapel and introduce them to our part of Wales and our mission here.

In prayer recently I have been touched by the words of David from 2 Samuel 9:3 when he asks, "Then the king said, 'Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?'" It is the knowledge of this "kindness of God" that seems to be so totally lacking here, and has set the tone of our prayers recently. It is made much clearer in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." What human kindness can draw close to this? And our desire is that He equip the Body of Christ to show the world His kindness through each of our lives.

A quick and final note is that early tomorrow morning here, there is group of intercessors and worshipers meeting at Stonehenge to redeem spiritual territory for God's kingdom. Some folks have come from the US to participate in this event, and simultaneously we will be meeting with some local prayers here in the Preseli Hills where the huge bluestones were taken from some 3500 years ago. We appreciate your prayers to support what God would have accomplished through this singular event!

Graced with His incomparable love,

Dick & Gladys

We arrived back home in Cilgerran yesterday, Sunday afternoon. We thank you so very much for your prayers.They really made a difference! On Saturday we spent an intense time praying in our hotel because Gladys was just not feeling very well and doubted she'd be able to fly, and we really cried out to the Lord. He came through in an amazing way, and over the next two hours God restored about 90% of her strength and we knew things would be fine for the flight, and made the trip without any problem - thank you Jesus!

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans our daughter Grace received her masters degree from Tulane University in International Public Health. Here she is between two of her brothers, Richard on the left and Michael on the right. Of course we are very proud of her, and so thankful to the Lord for his wonderful care of our children! One of His specific words to Gladys before we left Louisiana was that they were His children, not ours, and that He would take better care of them than we ever could, and this was certainly part of the fulfillment of that promise.

We also passed another milestone while we were in Crete but got overlooked because of the situation with Gladys. It has now been three years since we moved to Wales! And we are made aware time and time again of the extraordinary privilege we have in being here to stand in the gap and make intercession for this nation, and are supremely grateful to God for His goodness and calling. Thank you for your continued interest and prayers and support, all of which contribute to making our mission here possible! We bless you in Jesus' wonderful name above all names.

In His great love,

Last Friday we came to Crete for a short break, and sunshine and warm weather. According to our travel plans, we would have arrived back home this afternoon. But Gladys appears to have gotten a viral inner ear infection that has given her dizzy and spells and sapped her strength. So when it was time to take the bus and flight late last night, she was in no condition to travel.

So we are stuck here for a few days at least, and it is much better than the Miami Airport where we were stuck for four days a few years ago! It was been very nice indeed, and a real treat to see so much of the sun. We came on a package tour, and so there are some administrative hoops to jump through. Fortunately we acquired a travel insurance policy that hopefully will cover everything as the return flight segment was forfeited. And so in the world's eyes we are at the mercy of the medical system here amd the insurance and travel agencies.

It is a very good thing to know Whose hands we are truly in, and Whose mercy far outreaches any human agency. We wonder why things like this happen, but also know the Lord allows things for a reason. Today we had a good opportunity to share the Lord with the nurse that attended Gladys for nearly an hour. Please pray with us for Sylvia to come into a genuine born-again experience of her Christianity and that she find a real hunger for the word. The churches she has found here do not provide any real nourishment.

I also had a good chance to share with Steve the manager of the hotel here, and he had many questions. He and and his wife Tania are from the Ukraine, she is a believer but he is not. When he brought his wife to meet us, and she was very responsive, but her English is very limited, and my Russian, well..... They don't have a bible, but he said that they could ask family to send them one from home. Please pray for them

Specially, please pray that Gladys has a speedy recovery from this condition. She will not be allowed to fly until she gets a "Fit to Fly" certificate issued by the doctors. There is a flight out on Tuesday, and hopefully she will be fine by then and there is space available on the flight.

Thank you very much for your concern and prayers!

In His faithful hands,

Dick & Gladys