June Newsletter - In the Heart of the Village

THIS IS BETHESDA HOUSE, WHERE WE HAVE BEEN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS NOW, OFFERING PROPHECY AND HEALING TO THIS DIVERSE COMMUNITY. ALONGSIDE THIS WE ARE 5 WEEKS INTO OUR 6 WEEK ywam TRAINING SCHOOL, CALLED THE LEADING BY THE SPIRIT COURSE. I HOPE THIS LETTER CAN CAPTURE SOMETHING OF WHAT GOD IS DOING HERE…

Our Monday Night open times have been a blessing to all who come off the streets to enjoy the uplifting music and the tangible presence of God. We have recently seen a dramatic increase of people receiving salvation during these times, and others having deep encounters with God, Over the past 5 weeks we have seen 10 salvations at Bethesda House. Even street kids are literally being drawn into the arms of a loving heavenly father. We desire to simply give people a taste of Jesus in a language they can understand, knowing this will dramatically change their lives forever!

Our Leading by the Spirit Course (LBSC) has taken off like a house on fire. We have 20 students and 11 staff, from many different countries learning and applying together what it means to truly live and lead by the spirit of God. Our students are diving head first into this action packed course, The theme for the school is RESTORE, EQUIP & COMMISSION, and this is really the goal! We have seen amazing breakthrough so far in the lives of these people. This 6 week course has now been accredited with the University of the Nations and is completely run and facilitated by our department and we desire to launch it internationally soon, starting this September. During the school I have had one foot in Bethesda and one foot in the classroom so it has been an incredibly challenging and busy season! Once the school is finished, we will commence with a 6 week internship partnering with Bethesda for students who desire further experience and seek to join our ministry.

The past prophetic art mentoring group (a three month weekly group) graduated with an exhibition celebration a month ago, and 5 students from the last group are now helping me to facilitate this next one, which we are now 5 weeks into with 11 new students, from the local church, YWAM base and many from the LBSC.  This group includes teachings on different elements of the prophetic, as well as art and how the two come together. Our goal is to teach, develop and release individuals in prophetic art and to usher them into the fullness of their God given creativity and prophetic calling; and, to use prophetic art as a tool to bring the lost into an encounter with the love and truth of Jesus, through open times, stalls and events partnering with Bethesda House and Light&Life.

Now you can ‘LIKE’ our page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Light-Life-South-Africa

We have run two LIGHT & LIFE events so far during the LBSC, on the 6^th May and on the 3^rd June. The students have come alongside us to apply what they have been learning in the classroom. We hosted these events from Bethesda for six hours each time. Together over ninety people have come through our door to hear what God had to say to them. Throughout the event we had teams of people prayer walking the streets, others handing out roses and inviting people to come along for a free spiritual reading, some were doing intercession in our back room, while others were offering coffee and chatting with people coming in and showing them to a free stall, and others were trying joining us in the spiritual readings and prophetic art and live music. A whole lot of surprisingly organised chaos! Some of the students were so surprised by the words that came out of their mouths, they would have never imagined a month ago that they would be prophesying over spiritual seekers!  During both events together, we saw 4 salvations and 5 recommitments to Jesus and dozens of others encounter God’s loveJ

Here are a few testimonies:

-           This past Friday the 3^rd June, right at the end of the event a street lady came in who was deaf in one ear and in need of an ear operation; some of our staff and students gathered round her and prayed for her ear. And a few moments later her ear literally burst open, leaving her and everyone else shocked and celebrating!! Her hearing was completely restored!!

(the same women was at an open time at Bethesda House the previous Monday night and some days after she had noticed her reflection in a broken piece of mirror… the deep 

                                                                            facial scars that she had were completely healed spontaneously with no one even praying for her!)

-           One story that I will always remember from the 6^th May was with a lady who came in with her daughter. I was working at the art stall and painted a simple picture for her of  a pearl reflecting different colours, surrounded by words like valuable, beautiful, lovely, worthy. I told her that she is more valuable than all the money in the world that no one can put a price on her worth, and that God is offering her a ring, that expresses His faithfulness and everlasting covenant. I did not know why, but felt I needed to share these simple words. Her daughter nudged her side and they exchanged a knowing look and a smile. She then confided in me and my team mate of her job selling herself on the street since coming to Muizenberg from another African country, in order to provide for her daughter. She said prostitution is her only way to survive. We prayed with her, and ministered God’s comfort and faithfulness toward her. After she left we were speechless with God’s perfect restoring love!

We did a week long strategic outreach in Muizenberg with the LBSC students, to model this practically and give them a taste of the sheer adventure of prayer! As a ministry team we have been praying weekly for Muizenberg for over 3 years and now we finally felt that it was the right time to deal with the historical roots of some current day issues, in regards to slavery and an orphan spirit.

Strategic outreach always includes 3 keys: Research, strategy and attack, so this is what we spent our time doing. This included the students going out and prophetically spiritual mapping various areas of Muizenberg. Loads of research was done, as well as strategising, waiting of God, and then praying in layers. Starting with repentance for historical sin and going all the way through to onsite prayer at various locations, including an old battle site between the British and Dutch, the beach, the train station, first church, and places of false comfort. We even had a Dutch student on the school who was related by blood to Jan van Riebeck. He was able to repent for the injustice that came through the first Dutch settlers in the Cape! It was amazing to see the way that God spoke so clearly to all the students giving specific keys that all came together and formed a picture of what He was leading us in. This encouraged them to realise that they can hear God’s voice and have a massive impact on the future of a city. We ended with what we called the “BIG HUG” by dividing into 6 teams and praying at specific points forming a circle all around the town, and each declaring scriptures expressing God’s comfort and restoration over this area! We all felt a massive breakthrough and expectancy for all that God wants to release in the future in Muizenberg!

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      THIS IS HOW YOU CAN BE PART OF THIS:
       Finances- I live by faith. This means that I trust in God to provide for my daily needs. If you have a heart to be a part of what I am doing through becoming an ongoing supporter or contributing financially, then please contact me.

·        I would appreciate your prayers during this busy season: for the team and myself for STRENGTH, perseverance, grace, intimacy with God and increased capacity. This is a long race, and I’m in it for the long haul, I do need all the prayer cover I can get in this journey! 

    Much Love,
    Gaylin