Dear Friends of Wales Awakening:

Instead of the wheat or oats regularly planted in the field above Cilfowyr Chapel, the golden flowers of this rapeseed seem to reflect a promise. The Lord says in Isaiah 43:19, "Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert." So we continue to hold fast to all that He has in store, walking by faith and not by sight.

Some of the members of our chapel joined with those of a few other local chapels for a special excursion. This is the first time one of these joint outings has happened since before the pandemic and so we accepted the invitation to go along. Our destination for the day was St. Fagans National Museum of Welsh Life on the outskirts of Cardiff.

We all climbed aboard a comfortable tour bus, accompanied by our pastor, who also ministers in two other small congregations, and headed off toward the capital city of Wales. Everyone was chatting merrily away in Welsh, with Gladys and I using our limited conversational abilities. We scattered out over the 100 acres of rural Wales, complete with many reconstructed historical buildings that have been brought from all over the country. It is an excellent way to get a feel for the culture as it developed through different periods.

Among the buildings is this old 19th-century chapel that was moved here from Drefach Felindre, our pastor's hometown. Arrangements had been made to have a brief service there, so a prayer, a hymn, and the portion of 2 Peter 2:9-10 rounded out the afternoon. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ...who once were not a people but are now the people of God..."

The following week found us heading to Mid-Wales for the Heal The Land Conference in Builth Wells, on the Royal Welsh Showgrounds. We had been to this event before the pandemic, and it was a great encouragement to see so many old praying friends again and meet many new ones as well. We greeted many people we had seen before and struggled a bit to place them. Several conversations went like, "I know you from somewhere but can't remember when or where, do you?" It was a great relief to find some who responded, "Yes!" and learn or recall their names, etc! It made us realize just how long we've been in Wales and how many wonderful people we've met over the years.

The main speaker was Andreas Keller from Switzerland who has been praying with farmers for well over a decade. One of the topics was about "trusting the process" of the sowing and the growing of the seeds planted. Just as in the agricultural realm, our seeds of prayer also have to be left to the faithful working of God. We can only do our part, whatever it may be that He has asked of us, and know that the rest depends on Him. He is ever faithful.

Mark 4:26-27 says, "And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how." That is where we need to "trust the process."  That is God's domain, and we can rest in His faithfulness. There were many amazing testimonies and marvelous times of worship.

There were also many times of prayer and ministry of the Holy Spirit throughout. In one of the workshops, we joined a group to prayer-walk through the showgrounds and just listen to the Lord speak through the surroundings and give spontaneous prayers to group members. It was beautiful to join in the power and depth of the prayers of these seasoned intercessors. For both Gladys and myself it was a great encouragement to keep on keeping on, trusting the plans and processes of God's kingdom.

Jesus finishes the parable by saying in verses 28-29, "For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." The term "by itself" refers again to God's domain. It is now through His "doings", and we see this new season as the beginning of the harvest we have all been praying for.

May Paul's prayer in Romans 15:13 be fulfilled in each one of our lives, " Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Dick & Gladys