Dear Friends & Prayers:

After a light frost a few nights ago, it seems like spring has really arrived now. It was nearly sixty degrees today, and we've had mostly beautiful blues skies for a few days in a row. Lambing season is in full swing, and the fields are filled with proud mother sheep with their young lambs which are busy nursing or napping or cavorting around gleefully with all their new playmates. There is a certain joy reminiscent of our being His lambs too! At night we can hear bleating of the little ones in the field across the road, but we can't tell if they are complaining of the cold or just want another warm drink!

This afternoon we took the ten minute drive down to one of the local beaches. The little road winds its way down through the hills affording some great views. Strolling along the sand at the edge of the waves, I spied a bee trying to climb out of the water where it had been churned around by the surf. Maybe it had gotten a little too curious or thirsty and was all but swallowed up by the sea. I almost walked on by, but on second thought I scooped it up in a shell, and put it in the sun on the rocky cliffs, and by the time we left, it was fluttering its wings and looking much better.

It made me think about how sometimes we unwittingly get caught up in things that are too big for us, and we flounder around and would most likely never make it out unharmed. They could be temptations or sin or just wrong thinking that gets us into trouble. Any in many cases, nobody would ever even notice. But happily, we too have Someone who cares for us and always comes to our aid just at the right moment.

Also, thank you for your prayers for our friend Beti. I just heard that Saturday night the Lord took her home to Glory. Of course the death of a friend or loved one is always sad for us that remain, but is only a temporary separation for those of us that have the Lord's assurances. When I first met Beti four years ago and told her of the Lord's word to me about the coming revival, I knew that because of her own miraculous baptism experience, she too understood that the Lord can certainly do things that are much bigger than we are always ready to believe!

And so we continue to pray for a powerful reviving move of the Holy Spirit to bring many into His love and saving grace. Thank you for praying with us, and for your continued interest and support!

Sincerely following Jesus,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends & Prayers:

Last week's warmer weather had us doing some springtime chores outside. There is still a row of leeks in the garden, and one giant rutabaga we've left to see how big it gets. I've been turning over the soil in our vegetable garden a little at a time with a spading fork, and it is hard work. Last year I borrowed Alex's roto-tiller to do it all, and it did a great job and left us with a perfect looking garden. But now digging by hand I am getting deeper into the soil, and discovering more rocks and even an old brick under the surface.

It has made me reflect on the spiritual garden of my soul. We may look good to ourselves, and even others, but the deeper we invite the Lord into our lives, the more junk keeps turning up that needs to be rooted out. We pray His Word keeping working deeper and deeper in our lives, and that we are willing to allow Him to remove whatever remains of ungodliness. It's like the rocks in our garden, which are interminable. But faithful is He who began the work in us, and in Wales too!

Please be in prayer for our friend Beti Bowen, who has been in the hospital for several weeks now. She is almost 92 years old, and is not doing very well. Please pray that the Lord's will be done in her, and that His grace and peace surround and fill her. It was her testimony of her miraculous baptism in 1932 that I wrote about in my journal from October,'02. The unusual downpour of rain that made the baptism possible in the midst of a drought was representative of the downpouring of the Holy Spirit that we and many others are praying for in the midst of the spiritual draught that has plagues this land for too many years.

Thanks so much for your prayers,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends & Prayers:

Last Wednesday we went to the National Prayer Breakfast in Cardiff. (This is Gladys writing, with translation) When we arrived and went inside the building, I was very surprised when someone came to greet me, and said, "we have put up the Guatemalan flag for you, it's up on the second floor." The event was conducted in both Welsh and English, and after the breakfast itself, we were taken up a stairway to where the rest of the meeting would take place.

During the worship, which was also both in Welsh and English, I began to feel the Lord was directing me to go and see my flag. It wasn't until the coffee break that I could go to the back wall where all the flags were displayed. As I made my way towards the flags someone said hello to me, but the drawing towards my flag was stronger and I didn't stop and talk because I was already weeping.

Seeing the flag of Guatemala hanging among all the flags representing the world gave me a sensation like, "How far away I am, and yet come here to find the quetzal, the coats of arms and the blue and white background." My heart was broken and I wept openly. I felt my soul was torn apart and I cried out to the Lord for my country. He had made it with such natural beauty, but it is bound with so much violence and corruption.

Dick came over to where I was weeping, and we cried out together that God would intervene and bring down the powers oif the enemy, and that Guatemala belong entirely to Jesus. I held and kissed the flag, and while we wept more, I felt like we were Jews pouring out our hearts at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

The Lord conforted me, because He is our wall and our strong rock. I gave Him thanks because He is alive and He reigns over all in all.It doesn't matter if we go up to the North Pole or down to Antarctica, if we go to China or to the end of the galaxies. He will never leave us alone, and He, Jesus, intercedes for us with the Father. His love so sweet encourages us and draws us to Himself like sheep to their green pasture. God is so awesome!

In His love and care,

Gladys & Dick

Dear Friends & Prayers:

On our way to Moriah Chapel on Monday afternoon, Gladys commented on how the Lord has so wonderfully opened doors for us since we've been here. I had to agree, it has been truly amazing be so covered by His grace. Here we were on our way to two prayer meetings in the two largest cities in Wales, and gracious hospitality was all arranged for us! Our hosts in Swansea greeted us with a wonderful roast dinner together with our friend who'd made the connection, and we enjoyed a great time of fellowship.

Later we arrived at the meeting in Moriah Chapel - the very place where Evan Roberts began a meeting with his youth group which started the great Welsh Revival of 1904! Among the fifty or so people was a group of twenty one young people from the Chinese Church of Swansea, and their presence added particular significance to the meeting, as we were praying for this very international Celebration for the Nations coming up in July. We learned that 400 people will be coming from South Korea to the week of worship and prayer for revival.

During a time of prayer when we had all stood to our feet, the Lord repeatedly impressed the word "intersection" into my spirit. So at an opportune moment I shared that word, and how the Lord is bringing yhe church into a time when we can no longer live a parallel life style, "in the world but not of the world." But how rather how He is bringing us to a juncture where His kingdom is going to be intersecting the natural world, causing lives to be directly affected - confronted, overturned and redeemed. First the church, and then the world around us, will be impacted with the supernatural interventions of Almighty God. I saw what was like a mighty volley of arrows coming down from heaven and piercing the human plane with God events - thousands of individual lives being touched and changed, healed and set free.

Please continue to pray not only for this upcoming event, but this concept of intersection. The dictionary defines it as: "An act of intersecting : his course is on a direct intersection with ours." And so we can pray that God's ways will come into direct contact with man's way, and He will be glorified in the nations of the earth. "For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope." 1 Cor. 9:10

Holding fast to the plow,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends and Prayers:

Not only in the U.S. are battles being fought in the political area between the people of God and kingdom of darkness. News was forwarded to me from friends in England about proposed legislation here in the U.K. that would effectively make it illegal for the church to speak biblical truths about the gay agenda. Please pray about this during the coming weeks, and email me if you'd like more information.

We start off tomorrow for a three day outing, going to the monthly prayer meeting at Moriah Chapel for the Celebration for the Nations event in late July which I have mentioned before. Please visit their web site (http://www.celebrationforthenations.org) and consider whether you might like to be involved, or perhaps someone you know will come to mind that you could pass this information on to!

On Tuesday we drive to Cardiff, the capital of Wales for the National Prayer Breakfast that takes place Wednesday morning. Back in January we received in invitation to this event. The letter said that "a friend of the Breakfast has particularly invited you ... and would like to pay for you to come." We have not discovered who this friend is, but we were thrilled at the opportunity, and feel honored by the invitation. From what I understand, several members of the Welsh Assembly (the national congress) will be present as well as a special speaker.We look forward to getting a broader picture of people praying for Wales, including many who work in the national government. (Wales is in the red outline)

Both Monday and Tuesday nights we will be staying with familes we've never met, and will enjoy making new friends. On Tuesday we'll be even be sharing with a bible study group at our hosts' home in Cardiff, and are looking forward to that as well. So we appreciate your prayers for us as we set off on this little adventure, that we can encourage those we meet, and that we don't miss any divine appointments along the way! I'll send a report along in our next update.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement,

Dick & Gladys