Summer 2012

Summer?!!!  Ah well.  Actually there have been a number of dry days (as this photo of our front door proves); we just tend to remember lots of rain!  However the rain has not stopped God training and equipping us, pruning us and sending us out. First there was the Baptist Union of Wales annual conference, then just three days later we attended the second three day conference for New Wine Cymru leaders, this time in Lampeter.   The following week Ifor had a couple of days with Waleswide in Bala, looking at ways of church planting in areas of Wales where there is little Christian witness.

Peter Farmer  (Newforms, Mission Britain and Simple Church) stayed with us the whole of the following week to help us move forward more strategically and intentionally.  This intense week, especially with the training weekend at the end to which six others came too, certainly helped us see ways forward and recognise people and places of peace. Peter took us out of the "safety" of our home to hold some of the training sessions in cafes and pub! How easily we hide away! Why? This was helpful to see how simple church could be carried out in such venues.

During that  week  two young evangelists came up  for the day.  They got chatting with a group of teenagers in the cafe in Brecon who meet there regularly after school, some helping to serve there. After chatting about some of their experiences 

with God, they asked if any of the teenagers would like to experience God. No takers.  After chatting some more, one said he would like to.  He stood between the two of them while they prayed.  He couldn't describe what he was experiencing but said it was cool.  That opened the floodgates with "me next,"  "me next,"  "me next"!  So one by one they all experienced a touch from God.  They then sat back around the table and prayed together (see photo).  One of the evangelists prayed a commitment prayer which two of the lads repeated line by line.  The following week they were all away on work experience; then it was the Duke of Edinburgh week, then they broke up!  So we haven't been able to see how they're getting on.  Please pray for them.

Earlier that day we were in Builth Wells.  Imogen, one of our home group, went into a shop with Gerald, one the the evangelists, while the rest of us prayed.  The annointing of the Holy Spirit fell on the four in the shop - two ladies working there and two customers. The Holy Spirit gave 'words of knowledge' for each of them. Gerald gave testimony of when he first met the Holy Spirit and talked of God's love.  God's love then filled the whole place.  One, whom Imogen had prayed for about a breast lump just a few days previously, excitedly told the rest that it had got a lot smaller over the next few days. Since then it has disappeared.  Three previous lumps had had to be removed by painful surgery.    They then prayed against the pituitary tumour of the daughter of another lady there. The specialists since then have pronounced it too small to operate on and are hoping it will disperse on its own.  The third lady asked for prayer about selling her house in these difficult days. Since then she has had three viewings.  Imogen had prayed previously with the fourth lady there who had pain in her knee and back and was very stressed.  She has experienced lots of relief and peace and is keen to have regular prayer times with Imogen which will be easier to set up after the school holidays.  This has in turn led to contact with a woman currently in hospital with a spinal problem.

Carrying on the theme of healing, a minister from Cardiff asked if he could arrange to meet a retired minister from Welshpool at our home who would like to receive healing from cancer of the kidneys.  I was aware that his skin was very white when he arrived.  As we prayed, a word of knowledge released healing of a time in his childhood.  God's love poured over Him like a weight and he felt a great heat in his heart.  Then as we prayed against the cancer I was amazed to see his skin colour changing to normal.  He was due to see the oncologist at the end of the week about surgery, dialysis and starting chemo.  The report came back that none of this was now needed, there would be no further treatment and they did not need to see him for another six months!  Praise God!

While Peter Farmer was with us we prayer drove around the Llandrindod Wells area with Rupert who leads a church plant and joined us on the training weekend.  This helped him see ways forward, including looking into holding a healing evening at a pub there.  He also took us to meet one of his members who has almost finished building a gypsy caravan from scratch and would like it to be used for Christian purposes.  Imogen and I have ideas of taking this into shows and festivals to offer things like "Psalm Readings", "Creation Prayer", Christian healing and using something like the Jesus Deck which is designed rather like Tarot cards - Imogen has plans to design and produce her own version. We'll see how God leads us on this.

 We have been excited to meet Rev. Janet Russell who moved into the county a year ago to work as Director of Mission for the Anglican churches and feel that a good friendship will form with her.  Together with Rev. Neil Hook (who has since moved to Builth to take up the pastorate there) and the Dean of the Cathedral, Janet organised "Exalt" in Brecon Cathedral earlier this year.  This was a brilliant praise and light show that attracted lots of teenagers.  Neil has already started doing something similar on a smaller but more regular scale in Builth Wells now.  Janet will now be organising an event in the Cathedral as part of Cath Woolridge's next tour, along with the others - a great evening for us to invite many to.  When we hosted  her concert last year in Brecon her testimony and revival songs, together with her husband Dai's dramatic monologues, inspired many.  Brecon Cathedral last week staged a stunning flower festival entitled "Gloria", culminating in a Songs of Praise service One lady who prays constantly for Breconshire said "The Festival of Flowers Songs of Praise was absolutely amazing.  The cathedral was packed. The worship was so uplifting interspersed with scripture about glory.  The atmosphere wonderful as it was all to God.  As I sat still I sensed an outpouring of gold and silver being poured into my hands.  Amazing God, Wonderful Lord."

In July I was asked to give part of our testimony at a new group that Carole Dry has started along with a few others in a smallholding near Llandovery.  Some of the people attending this are new believers since the Journeys DVD series she and David led (see Jan/Feb 2012 blog). The following week Ifor spoke on the Holy Spirit  at the monthly group Carole and David have started near Sennybridge. This was followed with prophecies, words of knowledge and healings.  One person had a lot more movement in her neck and back without pain. Another had pain leave her arm after a word of knowledge encouraged her to receive prayer. The prophecies seemed to be very appropriate. One prophecy I gave spoke of the future God had mapped out for a young man there that he could choose to walk into. Last night I heard that he chose to put His life into God's hands just a fortnight ago.

Ifor led the anniversary service (the only service now held) at the isolated hamlet of Capel y Ffin in an ancient Baptist chapel hidden away up a farm track and over a stream but attended by large numbers of people, mostly coming from away. The only remaining member, seated in the front row, who now lives in a home, was wonderfully wrapped up in God's presence during the singing.  Two people there bought copies of the book "Heaven is for Real" that we mentioned in our last blog.  This book is quietly having an impact in the county as those who have bought their own copies are lending them to others.

I served on the Christian Rural Network Tent for the four days of the Royal Welsh Show, serving free teas and coffees and having  some good conversations with people. God blessed the show just as he had prophesied He would. It was an extremely hot four days in the midst of much rain either side.  This meant record numbers attending the show - and we heard around 700 people were treated by St. Johns Ambulance - probably mostly heat related.  One person was taken to hospital with first degree burns!   We had lots of good conversations prayed with a few people and made contacts with some local people we can follow up.

Ifor and I were asked to judge all the fancy dress competitions in the local show at Gwenddwr! We missed the pig racing at Erwood Show this year as it coincided with a college reunion party put on by some friends near Oswestry where we enjoyed catching up with friends we haven't seen for 35 years!  We took our stall selling Ugandan necklaces to Llanigon Show and also to Llyswen & Boughrood Show where I entered some the the competitions  and even won a few prizes! At this show I spoke to a couple of people about the possibility of organising a bring and share "Paralympic Party" in the village for people of all ages to watch or join in enforced handicapped games, eg blindfolds, hopping, etc.  They were keen on my idea of including short video clips of Paralympians whose faith in God has inspired them to compete. (from More than Gold's 'Undefeated' DVD)  They also like the idea of the children making Olympic bead bracelets that tell the story of us and Jesus, using the colours of the Olympic rings. I have since had a meeting with two of the mums who want to be involved in organising this event next month in Llyswen.  Someone else would like to do the same in Erwood and has ideas of borrowing wheelchairs and of maybe involving the local Young Farmers Club.

Just over three weeks ago Jonathan Vaughan Davies brought a small team from Bethel, Whitchurch to Brecon to do some "treasure hunting" with us. None of us had done much of this before.  We asked God to give us clues to help us find the people that He wanted to bless - His treasure. We each asked Him for clues about the location of the person, the name, the appearance, anything unusual and what prayer needs the person has. After writing down on our 'treasure maps' what we sense God is revealing to us, we headed out into the town searching for these clues. On this occasion I had the location as a bakery, I was guided by the uniform God had given me insight to,  the watch and even the man's name.  The prayer need was pain in one calf.  When I found him he was intrigued how God had pinpointed him. No one else knew about the pain he'd had in his calf for the last two or three weeks due to all the standing around on hard surfaces. He was very open to prayer.  Ifor had the clue of a woman wearing a pink mac. This seemed so unlikely as it was a hot sunny day, but nevertheless he found her.  She turned out to be a Christian who had recently moved into the area and was struggling to find a church that was open to and led by the Holy Spirit.

These last three Sunday evenings Ifor has been doing a series on The Joy of Giving at Bethel, Whitchurch which has been well received.  While he preached I wrote prophecies for people in the congregation whom God was highlighting.  For the most part these seemed to be spot on and encouraged the people concerned. A few people received healing.  One young man had limited movement due to back pain after lifting.  After prayer he seemed to turn into a pain-free bendy toy!  I didn't know anyone could bend that far backwards and defy gravity!  Another had stiffness and pain in his neck which after prayer he found, much to his surprise, that he had full movement and no pain.  One woman showed me her perfectly normal hands and told me that I had prayed against a bad case of psoriasis in her hands a year before which had cleared up completely over the following three weeks.  Another woman was surprised when the stiffness and pain left her neck as we prayed.  Mervyn ("There is a Light in the Valley" You-Tube) came with us on the last sunday of the series as he felt God was asking him to give an update of part of his testimony there.  What he said was relevant to a few people there.  So God blessed, encouraged, challenged, touched and healed many people there over the three Sundays - including of course ourselves.

We are still out preaching most Sundays.  At the end of June I took a service at this little chapel, formerly a smithy for drovers.  I preached about having a living relationship with Father God and all five in the congregation said a clear "Amen" to the commitment prayer I led from the front.  Two in particular were most responsive.  I lent a copy of the book "Faith Like Potatoes" by Angus Buchan to one of the farmers there.  Please pray that he will read it and be inspired.

One way to meet farmers and people from isolated homes  is at funerals.  Ifor took one recently for a farmer friend with a simple Christian faith to which nearly 200 mourners came and heard about the reality of Heaven.

One farmer whom Ifor met at a previous funeral is avidly reading  Angus Buchan's daily Bible reading journal and has no qualms about telling others what he has read that day.  His life is being steadily transformed.

At the beginning of July Lucy came back from Norway and Katie and Sam from 11 months away in Australia, so we enjoyed a wonderful reunion weekend at Waterloo with Becky and Pete coming up from their new home in Cardiff, Mary from Pembrokeshire and Dad and Auntie Jane coming over to join in the celebrations.  Katie and Sam will be living in Chester where they met whilst in university.  Sam already has found work there as a sailing and windsurfing instructor on the Wirral. They have also been asked to be youth ministers at their home church in Chester.

In August we all got together to celebrate Dad's 91st birthday with a barbecue at Waterloo - lovely time for all of us and the first time the family have all been together for two and a half years -since Katie's and Sam's wedding.  The next day we had another family reunion in Chepstow where Ifor's Uncle and Aunt celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary - another lovely occasion.

Our monthly hill prayer walks continue with praying above Glasbury in July over the Wye valley from Hay to Talgarth. Our daughter Lucy who was with us that day felt that Glasbury was going to be significant in God's plan for the county.  (See how this is unfolding in the next blog post!). We were all excited to learn that members of the anglican church there meet together fortnightly to pray for their parish.

 In August a small group of us climbed up into the wet and windy cloud on top of  Pen y Fan to pray over the whole county and beyond and blow the shofar, announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God.  From that evening onward the way forward for us seems to have become much clearer.  More of that in our next blog post.

We really value your prayers.  Please ask for clear guidance for us this coming month. We feel we have turned a significant corner but want to be sure that each decision, both big and small,  is God led.
God bless you all,
Penny.

                                                                                 
                                                                                   
                                                                                   

Spring 2012

Hello Everybody! Sorry you've had to wait so long for this post. As you can see below, things are progressing more quickly now so we will have to be more vigilant in making sure we keep you wonderful prayer supporters updated more regularly! We're calling this update "Spring" because although its nearly the longest day, we still end up lighting the fire some evenings! Thankfully a farmer friend has very kindly brought us a large amount of wood from a tree that had fallen.

Looking back on our last update, the monthly cinema at Waterloo continued successfully until we paused it after the Easter showing of John's gospel from Lazarus to Jesus' resurrection, as lambing had started and with the light evenings it was no longer appropriate. We intend to restart it in the Autumn. The Sennybridge/Crai group have finished the Alpha Course and have since done Christianity Explored. Mervyn is still witnessing to people enthusiastically and he will be coming in as Vice President shortly of the Breconshire Baptist Association. He will be the speaker this coming Sunday at the monthly Cafe Style service in Erwood Market Hall. He has been asked to join the worship group at the Elim church in Brecon which he has started attending. Our monthly hilltop prayer group has since prayed over Talgarth, around Talgarth town and the ruined mental hospital, and over Llandrindod. We are sensing these are having great effect and can definitely discern a lifting of the spiritual blanket over the county. People are becoming more open. Since the first time I prayed around Talgarth there have been encouraging changes: A dodgy shop I prayed to close has closed and is up for sale; another has 'cleaned up' what it sells, a cottage covered with New Agey stuff is no longer like this; a cafe there, which also sells lots of second hand books, including a couple of shelves of Christian paperbacks, has agreed to sell my Ugandan necklaces and offered to do so all summer. We are hoping this will be a 'place of peace' which may be open to hosting an "Essence" course designed particularly for people into New Age, for them to experience God in different ways. Please pray into this. Ifor and I have recently started joining with Ruth (who initiated these hill top prayer groups) every week to pray for the county. These prayers are also proving effective. Two weeks ago we felt God was asking us to fast and pray over the county. We did this by driving to five different viewpoints which covered most of the county. We prayed constantly for the areas we were driving through as well as from the hills. Some of this prayer was answered wonderfully the very next day concerning a domestic situation. On the Sunday after this Ifor and I led a service together in a chapel that normally leaves us feeling heavy afterwards. This time we came out buoyant at their response. Prayer really does change things!!!

At the beginning of March we led a church weekend in Stratford on Avon about "God's Secret Weapon - The Tongue" - how it can be used to tear down or build up. We enjoyed getting quite creative with You Tube clips, dramatised readings, stories, games, teaching, training in hearing God and how to prophesy to build up others and for outreach. They cottoned on to this very easily and were prophesying freely over each other so were greatly encouraged. One of the members even asked for our notes at a later date so that she in turn can teach it. Praise God!

Also in March I was asked by Brecon Library to do a display for Internation Women's Day and to sell Ugandan necklaces there. The library in Hay-on-Wye asked me to do the same three weeks later on their busy market day. Both resulted in good conversations as well as sales. One lady who saw my display in Brecon Library asked me to do the same in her home that evening where she was hosting a clothes auction for International Women's Day. The women there invited me to join them to do 'balcony dancing' in the village hall straight afterwards. This was mostly medieval dances from around the world - different but fun! - a group of women whom I would probably have never met otherwise. I think this original lady could well be a 'person of peace' and will pursue this possibility. Please pray in to this.

At the end of February 34 people crammed into our sitting room to hear Peter Farmer (do google his Mission Britain website) talk about forming multiplying discipleship groups through seeking out 'people of peace'. People were inspired and encouraged. So in a fortnight's time (29th June to 1st July) Peter will be coming back to train a number from this initial gathering to do missional prayer, how to recognise 'people of peace' and how to encourage them to form groups who in turn will form further groups. He warned us that many of these potential 'people of peace' will be like Saul was initially! Peter has very kindly offered to come to us a week before to help us get going with this pioneering mission more intentionally and strategically. Since that large initial gathering here, Peter has got together a small group of people from across the UK who are doing similar work to us. We now have a monthly Skype conference altogether where as well as learning from and supporting each other, Peter gives us some input too.

 Since Ifor and Bruce Collins spent a full day traveling around mid Wales meeting with lots of leaders to consider starting a New Wine Cymru Leaders group for Mid Wales, this has now had its initial gathering in Llandrindod Wells where the vision was cast and discussed and people were encouraged. We agreed to meet altogether again at the end of September. It covers a large area from Welshpool to Aberyswyth to southern Breconshire. There is a possibility it may subdivide into smaller regions in the future, but people in rural areas are well used to travelling long distances!

 We heard about a local  farmer who had suffered a tragic bereavement. We were just wondering how we could get alongside this grieving man whom we hadn't met when the phone rang. It was the undertaker asking if Ifor would take the funeral! Immediately there was an opening to visit him and his grieving extended family. Ifor was very well accepted and quickly became a friend to many of them. Quite a few hundred came to the funeral and many talked about it for a long while afterwards. This has opened up many doors. He is now avidly reading the Angus Buchan farmers' daily journal and being greatly inspired and comforted.

Further openings started when Ifor was asked to take the wedding of the daughter of some longstanding friends of ours in the county. The marquee had snow drifts against the window - this was in April! The brother of the bride asked Ifor to do a dedication service for their new son. Lots of positive comments after this, with some of the relatives asking to meet up with us again. So we are arranging a meal to carry on the conversations. One of them is keen to have walks with spiritual talks with her friends with us too. Another even more local couple are asking for marriage preparation. At the dedication service Ifor spoke about an easy to read book called Heaven is for Real by Todd  Burpo. Its the story of his three year old son Colton who died for a few minutes during an op for a burst appendix and since then keeps coming out with memories of what happened in Heaven during that time and what it was like. We have taken over a dozen orders for this book from guests at the dedication and from an anniversary service that same evening in a different church. Its a great one to lend out. You just can't argue with an innocent three/four year old who tells it as it is!

 Just before Easter a crystal healer came to see us. A Christian girl had recommended she came to visit us! Intrigued, she made contact and arranged to come over. She poured out all this stuff she is into and learning about, then asked us why we thought she was here in this "serendipity moment". She knew Ifor is a Baptist minister but apparently that was a good thing because her grandfather used to play the organ in a Baptist Chapel. Ifor explained that it is Christian healing that we practice through Jesus. She said Jesus is a part of her life - in the circle around her and asked if we thought it might be a good idea if she were have him more as the focus! As she practices meditation, I tentatively suggested that in the next two weeks leading up to Easter she could focus on the cross. She thought that was an excellent idea and hungrily took the Passion of Christ DVD to borrow to help her in this meditation. Yes we did explain that this Mel Gibson film is very gory, but that did not put her off at all. We haven't heard from her since so please pray!

Shortly after Easter, thanks to some of our family, Ifor and I had two wonderful weeks holiday in Cyprus, staying most of the time in our son-in-law's parents' beautiful villa near Kyrenia in the north. I lived in Cyprus as a child between 1965 and 1969 and have not been back since until now. It was wonderful to share with Ifor (and Becky and Pete in a brief overlap at the beginning) some of the experiences of a significant time in my younger life. I was thrilled to find that, beyond the built up areas, much of the island had not changed all that much. We hired a car and drove all over the island, visiting old haunts and swimming most days either in 'our' private swimming pool or snorkelling in the clear sea most days. We did the same in the south for four days and found both of my old houses. We came back brown, refreshed and relaxed.

After a long drive from Heathrow we arrived back while it was still dark to the roar of our waterfall that we had left as just a trickle down one side! We had no idea about the torrential fortnight of rain in UK that we had missed! With so much stone washed down, our neighbour who had been looking after our ducks said one day she had to paddle through four inches of fast water over the bridge! With the aid of a pick axe and lots of muscle power, Ifor has managed to reclaim our pond which was full of stone up to the top of the dam. Since then we have bought another three ducks from the Smallholders show in Builth Wells.

 Another blessing we have received came just at the time we had briefly wondered what would happen with our increasingly high mileage estate car that has been serving us so well. The free blessing came from a friend in the form of Mercedes Benz estate with half the mileage, a year's road tax and MOT! Amazing! Katie and Sam are equally thrilled that they will now have our old car with still a lot of life left in her when they return next month from their ten month internship at a Christian outdoor centre near Sydney, Australia. "Our God supplies all our needs ..."

 Some of you may know Tony Nam from "Flames of Fire" days. His step daughter Sian has done a year's school at Bethel, Redding in California. She came to our house recently to talk with a small group of us who gathered to learn from her about Prophetic Art. This is basically drawing whatever crazy picture that comes to mind after asking God for a picture for someone. Match-stick men are allowed! This is another good conversation opener to encourage strangers and friends that God knows them and understands. We were greatly encouraged by the pictures God gave for each of us in that gathering.  Our monthly youth group is now following the "Journeys" DVD series of testimonies and it is making them think. Last time one of the lads said he thinks he should start reading a bible to find out more about this stuff! 

Lastly, another testimony story: Ifor was asked to join the social committee in Erwood to help organize the Jubilee event there on the Tuesday. He had also been asked jokingly by a man to pray for good weather. He protested on the Saturday that Ifor hadn't been doing his job because although the weather was good for Monday, the forecast for the Tuesday was awful. (On the Monday night we gathered around a huge beacon on the hill behind us, and could see ten other beacons burning from that point - hundreds of fires lit all over Wales reminds me of that prophecy ...!) Tuesday came and the morning was dry. There was just a light drizzle for the sports in the afternoon then for the rest of the afternoon and evening at the marquee it dried up completely. He had heard that we had prayed at the chapel nearby and was amazed at the result and came up to apologize! In fact quite a few remarked on it, knowing the horrendous forecast and hearing that there was torrential rain in a village just three miles away, and 'rivers' running down the roads not much further away. It gave us opportunity to tell of similar occasions where God had sorted out the weather in very localized locations in spite of all odds. Food for thought! 

Thank you all for all your prayer support which we really value and which definitely makes a difference.  The ground is certainly softening!

JAN/FEB 2012

JAN/FEB 2012

The new year started not just with a net of colourful balloons being let down at midnight in Erwood Market Hall after supper, dancing and games, but also with a lovely encouragement of acceptance in the area when Ifor was asked to join the committee organising local celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year. Also we have been asked to judge all the fancy dress competitions at a local show in the summer. Its great to be asked and involved. People in the local community, apart from the actual village of Erwood, live in scattered houses and farms over a wide area. They enjoy coming together but there are not that many opportunities. With this in mind we have started using our home as a mini “cinema”, projecting DVD's in the winter months and inviting our new friends in the neighbourhood to come together to watch films with a break in the middle for bring-and-share food and chat. Showing The Nativity to 16 people in this way just before Christmas proved so popular that people were keen to do this again. So in January we showed The Invictus, directed by Mel Gibson, to 20 very local friends. This inspiring film shows how Nelson Mandela, played by Morgan Freeman, used rugby to unite the blacks and whites in South Africa after apartheid. Our offer to show the film of Ian McCormack at the end of February was met with great interest. He is an Australian surfer who was stung umpteen times by box jellyfish, had an encounter with God in the ambulance, died for 15 minutes, woke up in the mortuary and today tells about what happened, esp during those 15 minutes. Please pray that many will come to this and be encouraged to explore more about God.

The group that formed in the Sennybridge/Crai area out of the hilltop prayer gatherings have now started praying regularly over their own area. They have followed a very successful six week dvd course of Journeys in their village hall with a couple of Farming and Faith dinners there. 65 local farmers, their wives and neighbours gathered for the second of these dinners to hear Mervyn speak about how God has transformed his life and farming. They are now following this with an Alpha course in their home. Mervyn himself is constantly sharing his faith and last month invited a friend he recently led to the Lord to look at the bible together with us and himself. Another person whom he led to the Lord that same week would also like to be a part of this, but lambing has put paid to all this temporarily.

Our own hilltop prayer walks continue enthusiastically, the most recent being over Builth Wells last week.  

Two of this prayer group have also started praying monthly from different hills overlooking Abergavenny and Crickhowell where they live. These two are part of a group of about 30 Spirit-filled women from different churches who meet together monthly to worship God, pray and study the Bible together each week. This group – W.O.W. (Women of the Word) invited me to teach on Prophecy last week. This went down well and they were all enabled to prophesy over each other in small groups and hear God in many different ways. I was also asked to preach to just seven people in a nearby chapel last week. Speaking about the Kingdom of God on Earth, I forgot to offer prayer for healing afterwards, but even so two of the people came and asked for healing prayer anyway! Very encouraging.

Ifor has been away a lot lately with several trips to Baptist Union of Wales Headquarters in Carmarthen on various boards and committees looking at ministry and mission in Wales. Also to the three day BUW conference in Saundersfoot where the two main speakers were considering how today's church structures may need to change considerably to reach the non church going communities. It was encouraging for us to see how well our new position places us to be more effective in this. A church planters' day in the BU of Great Britain headquarters in Didcot was also encouraging. It seems many in the country are looking at new ways of going about fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus left us with.

Tomorrow Ifor will be joining a gathering Christian of farmers from all over UK. Peter Farmer will be speaking at this. We met him last year when we went to Sussex for the four day conference on church planting movements which he also attended. Peter is doing a similar thing around Nottingham and Ifor went to a weekend he was running just before Christmas which greatly inspired him. So we have invited Peter to speak to a gathering in Abergavenny on his way to staying with us over the weekend. On monday we have invited twenty to thirty people to our home to hear him and consider ways of growing the Kingdom in a multiplying way through our varied contacts. Please pray for much fruit from this in terms of people being motivated to start reaching out in ways that will multiply Kingdom growth across mid Wales.

Back here the discovery group we meet with weekly are continuing to grow in their understanding and experience of God. As well as receiving continued healing and deliverance, they are looking more outwards and sharing their faith and testimony with their friends and neighbours. The monthly youth group has taken a break since before Christmas because of the three days a week rehearsals for the Young Farmers Clubs Pantomime competitions. We are considering starting the Journeys DVD course with them when we resume next week.

Ifor has received some training in all the legislation and paperwork that seems designed to swamp farmers nowadays. He has been helping a farmer who due to personal circumstances has seriously lapsed with his records which could result in the loss of many thousands of pounds. Just today we heard from the officials that all this rectifying work has been accepted and he will not now lose all this money. Praise God!

At the end of February Ifor and Bruce Collins will be going around together meeting with different church leaders in Breconshire and Radnorshire with a view to starting up a New Wine Leaders group in Mid Wales. Prayer into this would also be appreciated.

Breconshire may be a whole county but in this rural community the bongo drums work well as people know people who know people. Whilst having my hair cut two weeks ago I was telling my hairdresser Lisa about how I ended up telling Ian McCormack's story in a church on the weekend because I failed to get his DVD to work; this after preaching on heaven in the morning at the same church. She was intrigued to hear how someone who had been dead for 15 minutes came back to life. She then went on to ask if I new of a certain man in the county called Mervyn who reckons he can hear God. Apparently her aunt heard him at a church (where Ifor was preaching and had brought Mervyn along to tell his story) and she and my hairdresser looked up the video on YouTube of us and him. Lisa recognised me from the video. She also knows well the daughter of a good friend of mine where we may be running an Alpha course later this year. God has it all joined up!

As well as prayer concerning all the above, we have been asked to lead a church weekend in Stratford-on-Avon at the beginning of March. This will be on “God's Secret Weapon – The Tongue”. We really value your prayers and support. Although we seem to be making progress around the edge of the county, Breconshire itself is a tough nut to crack it seems.

AUTUMN 2011

AUTUMN 2011

Autumn has been ablaze with colour throughout the whole season in this lovely part of the country and we feel privileged to live in the middle of it all. This is a season we missed in coastal Pembs where the leaves generally tend to get blown off before they turn golden – often whilst still green! It has been a busy season for us with Ifor taking 11 harvest festivals most needing new sermons each time as people support each other's. This has been on top of us both being out preaching most Sundays. This autumn I (Penny) manned a Ugandan jewellery stall at 4 different events and did 14 slideshows of Uganda/Kenya at various groups around the county. In addition to this we both led a whole morning on life in Uganda for 100 nine year olds at our son-in-law's school, including getting the children to do African dancing while balancing plastic cups on their heads! The children went on to sell £700 of jewellery made by the children of a school we support in Uganda.

In September I took a couple of ladies from Erwood to join a group from Breconshire W.I.'s on a walking holiday based at Ffald y Brenin in Pembs. One of the group asked me for prayer for a very painful knee for which she was awaiting an operation. She felt God's peace and the pain left so she was able to walk the next two days without pain. A visitor to the centre asked me to pray for a migraine that was starting. She said it tends to come up from a nerve in her foot where she had had a tumour removed 16 years previously. This had left her without three toes and a large chunk of her foot. As I prayed the headache subsided and she felt heat coming upwards along what I presume was a damaged nerve. The following morning she found me just as we were about to leave the centre. She proceeded to take off her sock to excitedly show me three tiny toe buds along the severed edge of her foot that weren't there before and she could wiggle them! To balance this bit of excitement, two new people have come to Waterloo Cottage for healing and as yet have not really seen any improvement. A third one who came to us has received partial improvement to his stiffened neck. The two who have been coming regularly since February for their “incurable” conditions have both seen substantial improvement – one is writing a book about it!

A woman in a nearby town asked us to pray in her house where members of her family had seen three different ghosts and she herself had seen things move, been woken by voices every night that had no source and felt a cold presence regularly. Since we prayed she was no longer being woken at night and things seemed a lot better but in two of the rooms things still moved, even in her sight. We returned to pray again and so far so good. Hopefully all is settled down there now. We will visit her again in the new year, unless she asks us to come back sooner.

Ifor has been helping a farmer who has got very behind with his farm records. So often its the ones who need assistance who do not ask for it, so Ifor will be getting training soon in this line so that he will be able to go around the farms with something worthwhile to offer them. This will enable him to meet a lot more farmers without holding them up from their work. He has had confirmation from a number of sources that this would be a useful service to offer.

Many of you may remember that Ifor started writing a book in 2006 but with everything happening it was never completed. After several promptings he has put aside a few weeks to focus on this, rearranging again and again the format and writing new chapters. He hopes to get this finished by the end of this year and off to publishers.

A few weeks ago Ifor went to a conference like the one we both went to a year ago, learning a way of starting a movement of discovery groups. This has created fast growing movements in other countries around the world but has not been done in this way in this country – yet! He came back

inspired and encouraged, so when his book is finished we hope to start moving forward with this in the new year, getting groups started around the county.

Poor Mary stubbed and broke her toe soon after her return from China so has been convalescing with us whilst looking for new employment. She had an interview in Fishguard Comprehensive School, Pembs and has been offered a contract there until the end of August as a Learning Support Assistant. This suits her perfectly as she is hoping to teach English abroad again after that. This week she and a friend found a flat in St.Davids which they will share. The school hope she can start before Christmas, but this depends on the CRB check being completed. Whilst being here she has helped at a new youth club in Builth Wells started by Christians, a Welsh nursery school in Builth Wells, sat in on English lessons for Ghurka children in a school in Brecon and spoken about her visit to China at a BMS evening in Brecon.

We had a wonderful time in Broad Haven in October when Ben and Helen Dare were inducted as the new ministers there. A huge marquee held 300 people for the service, the rain held off and the church prepared lots of barbecues and puddings to feed everyone. It felt like a good handover and we feel the Dares will lead the church forward and be well liked in the village.

This Christmas the whole family will gather at Waterloo, apart from Katie and Sam in New Zealand who will be included in the celebrations via Skype (wonderful invention)! Before that I will be carol singing with Erwood W.I around the farms and village; playing Joseph in a funny nativity play with Aberedw W.I at a county event; we'll both be at the Erwood station Craft Centre once again at the Christmas do there; then on Christmas morning Ifor will be dressed as a tramp at a joint service nearby! Happy Christmas to you all!

SEPTEMBER 2011

SEPTEMBER 2011 PRAYER LETTER



Dear Friends,

We hope you have had a good summer and feel refreshed for the time ahead. Although we have been quite busy, God has given us time these last two months to catch up and spend time with family and friends. It was fun working together towards Penny's dad's 90th birthday celebrations – a garden party for his friends and the family on the big day, then an extended family lunch at Waterloo Cottage where we had twenty to a sit down meal and lots of fun - both a great success.



Katie and Sam have finished working in Samos and have now started a 9 month internship in Australia. Mary is back from six months in China and will be looking for work in teaching English to immigrants in this country. She went straight from Heathrow to help with leading youth from Broad Haven at Soul Survivor in Shepton Mallet where four of them made commitments, along with 900 others during the week. Lucy introduced us to her new boyfriend Mike before she returned to Norway.  We enjoyed his week with us and are looking forward to spending a lot more time with him. We have been back to Broad Haven for two weddings and a funeral, then had a few days holiday there with Becky and Pete, Kevin and Mary- all greatly enjoyable.

We only managed to do two shows this summer with the Ugandan jewellery but these proved fruitful and resulted in further opportunities. Requests for talks on our time in Uganda and Kenya have been pouring in as groups put together their new programmes. Not only does this greatly help the school in Uganda, but also gives us opportunities to make further contacts in different areas and raise awareness of what God is doing today. A school in Hay on Wye want to continue the link with the Ugandan school. Another school where our son- in- law teaches would like to form a link as well and have invited us to bring a Ugandan experience to the children there.  The church in Broad Haven blessed us with a brand new digital projector which has meant we no longer have to travel to keep borrowing one. After showing pictures and speaking at one group about some of the healings we saw whilst in Kenya, a grandmother asked for prayer for her grandson who has a brain tumour that had grown to give him double vision. I had the whole group hold him expectantly before God as I held up his photo and we rebuked the tumour.   Later we heard his vision became clear at the same time as we were praying. Another person with whom we have been praying regularly who also has a brain tumour has improved so much that he is back to riding his bike and the hospital does not want to see him again for several months. After showing slides of people who were healed in Kenya at a church one evening, I went straight from there to a barbecue and told Ifor and Lucy about two people who were healed after the service as a result. One woman overheard and asked to meet with us for prayer for herself. When she came she felt the peace of God so strongly that she wants to bring her sister for prayer for healing too.

 Ifor joined the chaplaincy team for the RWAS and has been on duty at the Dog Show and earlier at the Hound Show. Before the Royal Welsh Show we joined a group praying around the showground which we felt was very effective.  We both served in the Christian Rural Network tent again this year, serving free teas and coffees and biscuits and praying with those who wanted us to. As a result we saw several people healed, including one who was healed simply by walking into the tent, much to her surprise!  Ifor served as a chaplain for one of the days at the Royal Welsh and found his high vis jacket and large label actually helped him have conversations with those showing animals and stallholders.

This summer we prayed from a hill overlooking Crickhowell.  A group local to that area came to join us with their banners and we had a wonderful time praying and blessing the town. One of these people came to see me and has since started a small, outward looking group herself.  Recently we prayed over Knighton and again people from the local area joined us and we felt the morning was very effective.  Earlier in the summer we were invited to join Kilvert’s Pilgrimage Walk between five different churches in his Victorian pastorate.  Ifor was asked to take the service in the last church which was not accessible by road and was lit by candles from each pew end.  Rosie settled herself by the church fireplace!

We are both continuing to preach in different chapels most Sundays.  Through this we try to help people develop a personal walk with God and raise their awareness that beyond their traditional chapel services there is so much more of the Kingdom of God that is accessible to them.  On the healing side, we have put an advert in a countywide bulletin advertising “Alternative Christian Healing” amongst all the ads for reiki, reflexology, hypnotherapy, etc.  Those who contact us will then hopefully come expectantly.  We have seen an increasing degree of healing and deliverance in those we are ministering to long term.  Because of upbringing, one suicidal person was having problems because she did not understand love beyond her love for her children.  For the next couple of hours Jesus gently took her back to her childhood and babyhood in a very special way.  We sat there in awe as Jesus ministered to her.  Life is so very different for her now.  Something similar happened to another person who came. We have also been helping a couple with their marriage.

In the small home group we lead, one lady has given her life to Jesus.  Healing is progressing steadily in her and another lady.  The husband especially is hungry to learn more and more from the Bible.  Both women see very clearly what the Holy Spirit is doing as we minister to them.  One of the group is Russian and at our last meeting we were treated to Russian caviar!  It tasted like a strong version of smoked salmon.

Ifor has become increasingly aware of the difficulty all the form filling is posing to a number of farmers.  As he was explaining to me about the possibility of offering a service for this, a text came in saying  “Whatever is on your mind, do it”!   This text was nearly not sent to him but the writer felt a strong prompting to do so.  Soon afterwards, while at a Golden Wedding in Erwood, Ifor found himself sitting next to two farm inspectors who both vouched that this would be an excellent thing to offer.  The one, who had taken early retirement, had actually considered doing this himself because he saw the need.  So that looks like a green light that could helpfully provide a way of coming alongside some of the busy, hardworking farmers.

 Last week we helped Anne Roberts, who is working alongside us, move house into Breconshire.  God provided that house and the sale of her previous one in a remarkable way.  Two days later we hosted her 60^th birthday party which was lots of fun and a great way of getting to know people better.

The Baptist Home Mission are promoting our work again!  This time as part of a series of posters called “Imagine if …”.  The poster shows Ifor talking with a farmer by his tractor, then has a small insert of a closed Baptist chapel in Builth Wells that now sells antiques and bric-a-brac.  You may see it one day!

Thank you so much for your support and prayers. We really appreciate it!

With our love,

Penny and Ifor.

JULY 2011

JULY 2011

Dear Supporter,

So much has been happening in these last few months – we feel the pace is increasing. As well as being out preaching most Sundays, we have been mentoring a number of individuals and ministering healing and deliverance to individuals whose lives have improved significantly as a result. The seeking couple who come regularly to our healing/Bible exploring group have come to and enjoyed three Christian events. They travelled to Ffald y Brenin retreat centre for a day where God gave the wife visions and experiences of His love, a huge angel and a whole legion of the Roman Army! Just before she went back to her family in Russia for a holiday, she told us she feels she is now 95% ‘there’ to becoming a Christian. The husband of the Christian who attends the group had received full healing from a painful knee which had resulted from a motorbike accident when he was a teenager. He is also greatly encouraged by the improvement he sees in his wife’s health so is now much more open.

Another encouragement is that the tiny chapel Erwood has started hosting monthly coffee mornings, often with speakers, in the village hall. These have been well attended by the village and appreciated since the meeting place of the village shop closed at Christmas. From this has sprung a monthly café style Christian service, again quite well attended by a number who would not normally come to a chapel service. At the last one a young couple said they will bring their children next time and would quite like to start going to the chapel!

We lent the Journeys DVD course to a Christian couple near Sennybridge. They have been showing this to a group from their village who now want to do an Alpha course! In addition to this a number of Christians in that area who didn’t know each other before have started meeting together every week in their house. The initial introductions of the members of this new group occurred on top of a hill overlooking Sennybridge. These monthly hilltop prayer walks have continued over various parts of the county, including an Easter sunrise service on a hill overlooking Brecon where different people joined us for the occasion. This morning we met on a hillside overlooking the Elan Valley reservoirs to pray into a prophecy given of God intending to spiritually burst the dams, causing great floods of His Spirit over the land in all directions. Yes Lord!! These reservoirs are at the centre of Wales and the northernmost part of Breconshire.

Since Easter we have been to a Church Planting Leaders Day at the Baptist College; another leaders’ meeting where we received a long encouraging and challenging prophecy from Clem Ferris which was once again spot on; a three day New Wine Leaders’ conference at Cefn Lea, Newtown, which was very encouraging; and of course the recent Baptist Union Assembly in Carmarthen. So we have been well fed!

Seventy different Breconshire Christians took part in the Border Prayer room in Builth Wells over a 24hr period. What a turnout! During May Yvonne Mason, Daphne Godwin (Ffald y Brenin) and Lindy Morgan (24/7 prayer co-ordinator for Wales) organised the Border Prayer from north to south along the Welsh/English border, with pairs of prayer rooms set up either side of the border whilst a group walked the length of Offa’s Dyke. Each prayer room prayed for 24hrs for the other country’s needs, corresponding to the section the walkers had reached, thus seeking to heal any wounds of division.

Penny has done numerous talks and slideshows on Uganda around the county, mostly at W.I. meetings. Through this she has not only made quite a few contacts, but also sold many of the necklaces made by the children of Pastor John’s school in Uganda with which we have maintained links ever since Katie did a gap year there in 2005. We have also sold these recently at a craft fair and a car boot sale where we had good conversations with many people.

The highlight recently has to have been our two week trip to Africa in May. The first week we visited the Farm Schools project in Maseno, Western Kenya, started six years ago by Bruce Collins of New Wine International. Here they are taught simple techniques to improve their crops, which increase five to sevenfold in the first year! The scholars are also taught how to facilitate further schools, now numbering 28 just six years on. They are taught to tithe their produce. A third of the tithe goes to feed orphans and widows, a third to buy seed corn and hoes for new farm schools, and a third to the church who in turn run orphan schools and feeding programmes, etc. Everywhere we went, each of us would have a queue of 5 to 20 adults or children who wanted healing. As we worked our ways down the lines, most of them were healed! Amazing! We also went to pray in very poor/orphan headed homes and again saw healing. A woman almost blind could count fingers 30 metres away afterward! We even went around the local market, praying for those who were open and again saw many healings.

At the end of the week, we went overland by crowded minibus, through the border (an experience!) and into Uganda where we travelled another four hours to Kampala. We stayed in a slum/shanty area on the outskirts where Pastor John runs the school and church. We took a suitcase full of things for the school, including uniforms kindly donated by Mary Immaculate School in Haverfordwest. We also took a bundle of letters from a school in Breconshire for the children in Pastor John’s school, then brought back a similar bundle. We each preached in Pastor John’s church, followed again by many healings and deliverances. We also prayed for each of the children in Moses’ school, 20 minutes up the ‘road’ and also preached and healed there another day. Ligaments were restored with full movement after broken wrists had not healed properly. The 800 photos we took(!) are proving useful to select themes for different talks back in Breconshire to a wide variety of groups.

Since coming back, the healings are continuing but more slowly. The very first Sunday, Penny preached at a tiny church after which a woman there received partial healing without pain for a similar condition to the women with the wrists about which she had testified. The following Sunday she showed pictures and told of the healings to a gathered group of thirty from three house churches, after which she and Lucy (home briefly from Norway) prayed for many and saw quite a few healings and deliverances. Then last Sunday (10^th July) Penny showed slides of Kenya with many healing testimonies to a church in Newbridge and two people were healed afterwards.

Two weeks after our return we invited a group of young people to our home to hear a BMS Action Team tell of their time in Brazil. Then three days later our sitting room and stairs held 31 people to hear Azad, a prolific church planter from India, tell his story. People greatly appreciated this and three people received healing afterwards. Many of these 31 people had not met before. We intend to start some New Wine evenings to gather these unconnected Christians to encourage, empower and equip them to be more effective in their witness to the county. We also intend to start a New Wine Leaders’ group soon, and to run a central Alpha course before encouraging other people to run smaller Alpha courses in their homes.

Our family are spread over the world. Mary returns in August from six months with BMS in China, teaching English. I know she would appreciate your prayers as she tries to discern God’s plans for her immediate future. Lucy is back in UK for a month, then returns to Norway to lead the next School of Evangelism at the YWAM base there from the beginning of August. Again , prayers appreciated. Katie and Sam will have two weeks in UK in August after working in Samos before heading to Australia for a nine month internship to train to instructor level in many outdoor sports skills at a Christian centre there. Penny’s dad celebrates his 90^th birthday in August and with the help of the family he will be hosting a garden party at his home near Brecon.

Thank you for your continued prayer support.

With our love and appreciation,

Ifor and Penny

MARCH 2011

Ifor and Penny’s Prayer Letter March 2011

As we move from Feb into March there are signs of Spring bursting forth after a cold winter, and signs too of spiritual life coming into bud.

Since our last letter the Baptist Union have published a 9 min film of our work entitled ‘There is a light in the valley’- http//:www.youtube.com/baptistuniongb The film focuses on a local farmer called Mervyn, whose life has been transformed by his new relationship with God. This was not our doing, but it’s a wonderful sign of the spiritual new life which is beginning to happen in Breconshire. The film has already had over 2000 viewings on Youtube, as well as being shown in churches all over the country. I often spend a day working with Mervyn on the farm, doing informal discipleship. Six months after his experience of God, his faith grows stronger day by day. Last week he was witnessing to his accountant and the bank manager!

Anne Roberts is now working alongside us, doing a wonderful job ministering to the local Baptist churches, and we meet regularly to talk and pray. Her ministry releases us to focus more on the unchurched. In that context, Penny is receiving more and more invitations to speak to WI, Young Farmers, schools, and other groups about the work we support in Uganda. It opens up so many opportunities to talk about God and the church. Her talks are being very well received and she is fast becoming a popular speaker on the local ‘circuit’. We are going out to Kenya and Uganda in May on a New Wine mission trip and hope to come back with lots of fresh material and stories to share.

In January I spoke at a meeting where a Christian lady came forward for prayer. She suffers from a long standing illness and came to our home a few days later for more prayer. She knew of a non-Christian lady with a similar illness and a week later brought her and her non-Christian husband to our house for prayer. Although there is no definite sign of long term healing, their experience of God’s presence through prayer was such that they are now meeting with us weekly and at their own request we have started a Discovery Bible Study. Both non-Christians are hungry to find out more. This is exactly the scenario we were looking for when we felt led to seek out ‘people of peace’ who would be spiritually open. Watch this space!

Another opening occurred at the end of Feb when I was asked to compere a Young Farmers Drama festival, involving half a dozen local Young Farmers clubs and a packed audience in our local Village Hall. It was not appropriate to share the Gospel, but it was a wonderful opportunity to raise our profile in the local community. We had a similar opportunity at a New Year’s Eve party in the Village Hall, where a local farmer I had not met before, came up to me and told me we were doing ‘a good job’. Sometimes we think not much is happening, but local people watch and listen, and many seeds are being sown.

The teenagers group which meets in our home monthly was postponed a couple of times because of the weather and clashes with Young Farmers events, but we met again at the end of Feb and had a really encouraging time.

Another encouragement was the Cath Woolridge concert which we hosted in Brecon on Feb 15^th. Over 100 people turned up and Cath shared her passion for Jesus in a way that inspired everyone there. We showed Mervyn’s film, I shared some more testimonies, and a number of people came forward for prayer, two of whom have made appointments to see us. I know many of you were praying for this event, and I thank you because your prayers really made the difference. Talking of prayer, we are greatly encouraged by the monthly prayer group that ‘goes around the hills’ praying for whatever village or town that lies beneath us. This morning about a dozen of us climbed a hill overlooking Talgarth, and soaked the area in prayer.

Penny and I are out preaching most Sundays, and we also meet with several Christian groups in the area, seeking to help and encourage where we can.

In all the above, we both value and depend on your prayers. Please pray for…..

 Our daughter Mary, who is now in China teaching English with BMS

 Mervyn and his family, that they will grow in Christ

 The Discovery Bible Study group, that they will discover Christ

 The many speaking opportunities, that seeds will be sown and a spiritual harvest will result

 More openings with community groups, especially the Young Farmers

 That God will lead us to more and more ‘people of peace’

We particularly appreciate the ongoing support of the Baptist Union, as well as our home church in Broad Haven, who have just called Ben and Helen Dare to be joint pastors. We rejoice with them at all that God is doing.