Dear Saints:

Amidst a very busy month of June for us, this past weekend marked a special event across all of Europe. A prayer initiative was organized that saw over one hundred groups of Christians come apart to worship God and pray in 35 nations for a reopening of the wells of revival that have touched Europe at diverse times and places throughout its history.

There was a threefold focus for these gatherings: to thank God for all his wonderful works over 2000 years in our continent, to ask him to send new life to these places again today, and to ask him to send new revival to the whole of Europe. For obvious reasons,  this is very encouraging to us and highlights the growing sense of urgency for intercessory prayer and ministry to the Lord.

Our neighbors Stan and Sue have just returned from an extended course with one of the Iris Ministries schools and received a visit from two young ladies that were part of the school with them. Sunday morning we had the privilege to have them with us in the chapel for a time of prayer before they each moved on to their next assignment in the Lord. Amanda, from Louisiana, was headed Israel to work with a ministry there, and Bronwen, from South Africa, is now on her way back home to see what God has for her. It was our joy to be able to pray for each of them with the flags of their nations and bless them with God's grace and empowerment for their specific callings.

As Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." We each have particular gifts and tasks the Lord has for us, and it is an adventure of discovery as we learn where and how He leads each of us. And it was a blessing to encourage these two young disciples from our years of experiencing God's faithfulness through each phase of our lives.

On Saturday we got to spend time with some special friends from Singapore. We first met them eight years ago when they came to stay with us for a few days. At the time Caleb was the worship pastor at Cornerstone Church, and we had the opportunity to pray with him and his wife Hannah about their desire to have children. So it was a joy to hear afterward that she was well-along in her first successful pregnancy.

We hadn't seen the family since we were in Singapore about five years ago, so it was a delight to meet and interact with their beautiful children Joshua and Naomi. It was a brief but very rich time of fellowship as we shared, among other things, about God's attention to the desires of our hearts and faithfulness to us over the years. This sharing testimonies with one another of God's goodness are both life-giving and devil-defeating at the same time. As it says in Revelation 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Another special blessing for us was having our daughter Grace with us for her birthday. She arranged some vacation days to be with us between work-related meetings in London and Valencia, Spain, so it was a good and much-needed break for her, and a joy for us as well. As we grow older there is a deeper appreciation of the truth of Psalm 127:3, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward."

I just want to add a quick reminder and request to please pray for the commissioning service for our friend Emyr who will carry a large cross throughout our county of Pembrokeshire starting this Saturday, 29 of June at 10:30 a.m. And if you live close enough to join us, please do! We've seen the Lord orchestrating several details of the meeting and we are looking forward to seeing what else is in store. Directions are available at this link.

May the Lord bless you with more of His boundless grace and goodness day by day,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Praying Friends:

Last week we had the privilege of attending the Bless Wales conference in Swansea. Organized by our friends from the Cornerstone Community Church of Singapore, it hosted as many as 900 people in the evening services. It was an awesome time with such an atmosphere of heartfelt and glorious worship and wonderful times of preaching and prayer. And seeing so many friends together reveling in the early fruit of many years of prayer was joyous.

The three-day event was enabled by students of the Bible College of Wales, volunteers from Cornerstone, as well as a fabulous turnout of helpers from local churches here in Wales. It was marvelous to see so many people from Wales and many other nations with such hunger for the Lord and a fervent desire to see Him move in revival power again. The ample times of prayer were powerful, and many attendees made commitments to personal worship and communion with God in prayer.

Of course, there was far more than I can begin to cover here. Dutch Sheets spoke about God's timings—the "chronos" seasons and the "chiros" times for action and intersection of heaven and earth. Sam Matthews shared some great insights into prayer—waiting and listening in God's presence, and readiness to obey. There was a sense that the stirrings of God over this land are moving into a new season—a time of fruitfulness. We were aware of a weight of glory brooding over Wales for His purposes.

The last evening session culminated with an invitation for all the pastors and their wives to come up on stage for prayer and impartation. The time was charged with intensity and enfolded in worship as words of faith and declaration were spoken over them and joined by all present. Prayers also were extended to include ministers and believers everywhere in Wales. It is time for action.

I think everyone came away from the conference with more than we could take in during out time together. There is much to digest, and we trust the Lord will continue to bring elements of what we received back into focus and continue to work deeply in the lives of all who took part.

It is time for God's people to flourish in their relationship with Him and to manifest His kingdom reality in the midst of a very unstable world around us. The life of the nation must come into the context of Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein."

The Lord has given our friend Emyr Mathias a particular way of making this declaration very public. Several years ago he built a large wooden cross and has carried it through many places in Wales. Most notable was a pilgrimage he made from St. David's Cathedral in the southwest to the top of Mt. Snowdon in the north. We may recall my writing about it in September, 2019. 

Last November at the Pembrokeshire Prayer Breakfast the Lord directed Emyr to carry the cross around this county where we live, and he took it to heart. That very evening he called me up and asked what I thought about having the commissioning service at Cilfowyr Chapel where we pray. The very next morning was our communion service, and I got the go-ahead from the pastor and members to have it at our chapel.

So on Saturday the 29th of June, in just 3 weeks, we will gather at Cilfowyr from 10 a.m. for a 10:30 start. Our pastor and other ministers will take part, and all are cordially invited to join us. (Directions are available at this link.) From there, empowered by our prayers and the strength of the Lord, Emyr will set off for an eleven day walk around Pembrokeshire as shown on this map.

We look forward to the participation of many old and new friends in this sending off. And we also pray the Lord will touch many lives with an open witness to the Lordship and saving grace of Jesus Christ. Emyr has many seen salvations, healings, and reconciliations with God through this bold ministry, and we anticipate many more testimonies as people are drawn to the cross along the highways and byways of Pembrokeshire.

We are so thankful for the Lord's handiwork among us, and pray that we apply our faith and diligence to walk in what he has called each one of us to do. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Every blessing in Jesus' name,

Dick & Gladys