Dear Praying Friends:

This past week has been full of more encouraging activities. Pisgah Chapel in Loughor was re-dedicated after being rescued from demolition, and totally renovated by our friends from Cornerstone Community Church of Singapore.

This beautiful little chapel was a church plant of Moriah Chapel, of the 1904 Welsh Revival fame. The construction was overseen by Evan Roberts himself, who lived just a few hundred yards away. It was also a special place of prayer for him and others, and many say that it was here where the revival was forged.

I didn't know this place existed 12 years ago. On one of our several visits to Wales before moving here, we stayed in Island House B&B where Evan grew up. I had a marvelous experience praying along the nearby river  before dawn where surely he had walked and praying many times, and I felt strongly connected to his prayers. You can read more about that in the October 29th entry here.

Tuesday we had the priviledge of spending time with a group that came from Singapore for the graduation of the second class at the restored Bible College of Wales in Swansea. They were also at the dedication service at Pisgah where we met face to face since making arrangements through email.

After a wonderful time in a place that had been saturated by prayers leading up to the 1904 revival, it was a special blessing to bring them to another unique place of prayer. The tiny St. Govan's chapel was built into the cliffs by the sea on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, where the Celtic Monk spent the last years of his life preaching the Gospel praying for the land in the 6th century.

It is always a joy for us to share these significant places in West Wales with so many saints that come from other places with a hunger for God. Most people know of the heritage of prayer and revival here, and are eager to add their prayers to those of the past. This particular place is great to just come soak in the atmosphere where prayers have been offered up for over 1500 years.

Yesterday we met them at two more local historic places: the "Bend me" chapel in Blaenannerch, and the small church by the sea at Mwnt. And then after lunch we came and spent some wonderful time praying at our Cilfowyr Chapel. This is always the highlight for us, as we feel constantly strengthened and encouraged by reenforcements from afar.

It is also a blessing to be able to pray for those that come, and know that what they have been absorbing here in Wales will stick with them and empower their prayers. And they will continue praying for the coming move of God in Wales because they know it will have repercussions their own countries also.

"In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill all the world with fruit."
                                      Isaiah 27:6

Thank you for your continued interest and prayers. May God bless you abundantly,

Dick and Gladys

Dear Friends of Wales Awakening:

Saturday morning we drove to Abergavenny to join with friends for the Crossing Wales event that we mentioned last month. It was a grey and windy start to the day, which made it a comfortable climb to the top of the Blorenge, the mountain just south of the town.

There was a fair number of brave souls that undertook the climb, and hats of to Emyr who carried the cross the whole way from the starting point. It was a time to sing out praises, to pray together and to prophesy and make scriptural declarations over the area.

Abergavenny has a long history and many great preachers have come from the area in years gone by. But in more recent times it has been sort of a dark place, and people have grown hardened to the Gospel. As we finished up and were coming down again, the clouds thinned out and the sun came shining through, as if to confirm that there was a result of our reclaiming the territory for the Kingdom of God!

At lunchtime a good many more people from several area churches met together for a picnic in the local castle grounds in the sunshine which by then was very hot. The day's activities finished up with a joint service in the local Baptist Church which was attended by an even greater number of people, and it was really good to see the family of God coming together in unity.

On Sunday after church, Gladys and I set off to do some exploring in the area. One of the places we visited was the old Llanthony Priory, started in the 1100's. It functioned for just about 350 years before its decline, and was formally closed down by King Henry VIII along with all the other monasteries in the Britain.

The ruin seems to make a statement about the general state of the church in Wales, and the rest of the UK today. It is estimated that only about 4% of the population are active in their Christian faith, and some fear that it is even less than that. However that is precisely why the Lord called us here to pray. And as I've mentioned, over the years the Lord has called many more people to Wales in preparation for what is to come. And the pace is picking up.

Just as the spring is now in full swing and everything everywhere is growing, we see through eyes of faith that something is also happening in the spiritual realm. it is summed up beautifully in this portion from Psalms 65:9-13.

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.

You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.

They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.

The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

        (You can see a short clip at this link!)

Another part of our day's adventure took us through this beautiful little valley passageway. The ancient beech trees have become totally entwined with one another, planted along the fence line on both sides of the lane. The lush growth of fresh leaves is aglow with the sunlight in the early afternoon and forms this tunnel of new life leading into the open sunshine at the top. Gladys said it looked like the roadway to heaven!

Looking at the surface of the road it is evident that it is not a smooth or easy ride. And that is not far off of our own experience in this life. And I am quite certain that we aren't the only ones. And through these things the Lord is always at work in our hearts.

Jesus never said it would be easy. In fact, in John He said "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

And because we know the Glory at the end of the Story, we continue on ahead, and look forward with hope and confidence as God's goodness becomes ever more evident with each passing day.

May He bless you each day with greater knowledge of His grace and His ways,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends:

It's hard to believe that eleven years ago this morning we found ourselves standing with half of our worldly possesions outside Heathrow Airport in London! Our Welsh adventure had begun and here we were full of expectation and perhaps a little trepidation too!

It has been an amazing time and we have seen the Lord's faithfulness in sustaining and blessing us from day one. For example, we had rented a car for a week and hoped to be able to buy a vehicle by then. But on drive out to Wales I said, "Lord, it would be really awesome if I could find a cheap car quickly and turn in the rental tomorrow and save a few hundred bucks." It was just a casual mention if you know what I mean, not at all a serious prayer.

Can you believe that later that first afternoon when I went up to the chapel, the caretaker had a little car that he sold me for about $100 more than what the week's rental would have cost? God's amazing grace has provided for us day by day by day, and we continue to be amazed and filled with thanksgiving at seeing His faithfulness throughout these years.

It wasn't long after that we were able to purchase a fairly new used minivan with low mileage with the generous gift of friends back home. And now, after almost 11 years and 120,000 miles, we have just gotten another car. Last year we received an amazing gift that enabled us to travel to the USA and Guatemala. Fortunately we had enough left from that to put toward a newer car, and God once again, as only He can do, gave us newer car (2004) with even lower mileage and automatic transmission so Gladys will be able to drive now too as soon as she gets a UK license!

On Friday we enjoyed a visit with friends we've known for several years from the south side of Pembrokeshire. We always have a good time together, and get some extra smiles when we meet somebody new, because we are Dick and Jill, Dick and Hazel, and Dick and Gladys! We fired up the grill, they brought the goods and we enjoyed a great little barbeque before heading up for some prayer at the chapel.

Over the years we have had countless opportunities to pray together with many new friends from far and wide. We could have been keeping a guest book I suppose but it just never seemed important. What is important however is that people are still coming and joining in the prayer effort here. We know that many who have only come once still remember their time here and continue to pray for Wales, and for us.

During the preparations for our move here, more than once people asked us how long we intended to stay here. My answer was that I hadn't heard a specific time from the Lord, but that we were thinking anywhere between five to fifteen years, or until revival breaks out and the Lord shows us our work here is done. And here we still are today, which means the coming revival is eleven years closer than it was when we first arrived. And that is exciting!

Recently I was reading in the Psalms one morning and this portion practically leapt off the page as the Lord showed me how he has kept us so faithfully in His hand.

Psalm 26
"13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

So as we enter this next stage of our mission here, we look forward with strengthened hearts and sweet anticipation of the goodness of the Lord being made evident to multitudes, and His spirit being poured out on all flesh!

Thank you so very much for your interest, your prayers and your support. We know we are not in this alone. God continues bringing more people into Wales for such times as these, and we rejoice in Jesus and His loving plans for a needy world.

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends and Prayers:

Somehow these last ten days have flashed past and here we are in May! The annual hymn festival, "Cymanfa Ganu" in Welsh, has come and gone. On Sunday the last rehearsal was held at "our" Cilfowyr Chapel, and good use was made of the just refurbished vestry in between the sessions.

Gladys was in her element serving tea and cakes through the several sittings it took to accommodate everyone. The 35 children were first to be served, and she said their eyes absolutely lit up when they saw such a grand variety of goodies stacked up on each table!

We've been making the most of the beautiful days that we've had lately. It has still been cold but blue skies and sunshine have brightened everything up, and flowers are

everywhere now, with more coming out every day.

We haven't had our vegetable garden really going for a few years, and finally it is all turned and weeded and almost ready to transplant seedlings. It has been hours and hours of hard work, and my body is beginning to show telltale signs of my years, but it is a joy to be active outdoors again. The warmth of the last few days has the trees in the river valley below the house starting to fill up with tender green leaves.

Yesterday we had a wonderful visit from our long time Welsh friend Elaine and our mutual friend Audrey from the Khasi Hills region of Northeast India. It is a region that was first reached by Welsh missionaries in the mid-1800s, and then has had wonderful revivals every 50 years since then. She was set afire in the revival that took place there in 2006 and contacted us when she began to investigate the Welsh connection.

It was such a treat to meet face to face after all these years and hear her stories of revival, and her heart of gratitude to the Welsh missionaries that God used to bring the Gospel to her ancestors. After a meal and sweet fellowship we took her and Elaine up to Cilfowyr. It was precious beyond words to see tears of joy stream down her cheeks as her dream was made real as she stepped inside a real Welsh chapel. Her prayers for this land to once again experience the power of God's love and saving grace that she knows so well were marvelous indeed. What an inexpressible privilege the Lord gives us to become His sons and daughters.

Besides this special visit and many other things as well, Gladys and I have an extra cause for gratitude. We have been invited by some dear friends to go with them to the Celebration for the Nations that will take place in late July in Israel! They have never been before to the Holy Land and the Lord put it on their hearts to take us with them to actually Israel for a week and then take part in the Celebration.

We are thrilled and overwhelmed yet again by God's goodness and the amazing generosity of His people towards us. Last year it was Guatemala and the USA, and now are actually going to Israel. It is a dream fulfilled by the pure grace of God.

How our hearts long for the nations of the world to know the love of the Savior. Please pray with us that this would become the prayer of millions of people around the globe:
"One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple."  Psalm 27:4

Dick & Gladys