Thursday, October 10, 2002
Arrived by train in Carmarthen at 2 pm, and Alex met me at the station. After going by to visit a friend in the hospital, we drove past the chapel on the way home to Rhos y Gadair Uchaf, Alex and Renie's Elsaesser's little farm just east of Cardigan, in the village of Felinwynt.
Dream of Flowing Word the first night:
In this dream I was watching life go by with people, places, etc, as if watching from a train window. As I looked on, the Lord began to give me his word of understanding into the reality in the spirit realm of everything. As I grew accustomed to it, and got over my initial fear, I was able to speak a bit of what I saw to one person, and found that what I said made total sense to them and was perfectly true. As I tried with another, and then another, I realized that I was flowing in perfect sync with the Holy Spirit, and so broke free of my own restraints and just let the words pour out as easily as tongues. The result was like I was seeing through God's own eyes into each
situation and was able to speak to people exactly what He was doing
in each case.
It was like having rolled out before me an endless layer of film over
the events, adding on top of each the essence of God's dealings
in every aspect for each person, revealing to them his love and perfect
plan in the lives with absolute precision and wonderful results.
Friday, October 11, 2002, a.m.
As I began to pray and ponder the fact that now here I am in Wales,
quickly my mind began wonder what I really expect to see happen or
accomplish on this trip. Then the Lord spoke to me through a small
sign on a mirror that said: "DO NOT LIMIT GOD, Psalm 78:41"
As I looked up the verse and read, "Yes, again and again they
tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember
His power..." God profoundly convicted me for my small and
limiting thoughts, and reminded me of what He has shown me from the
beginning about Wales, and that He will bring it to pass by His power
and sovereignty. So once again I find myself limited to just obey
and pray here, not giving thought to the morrow for that is His domain.
So today I will press in to prayer and expectation. Thank you Lord for your living word today!
Friday, October 11, 2002, p.m.
This afternoon I went over to the little Baptist chapel "Capel
Cilfowyr" near Cilgerran. As it had started to rain, Alex, my
host, lent me a car. When I drove down the nicely paved road towards
the chapel, I pulled off to the side to park, and was going to go
into the cemetery with my umbrella to pray for a while. It had never
occurred to me to try and gain access to enter the chapel. But as
I sat there in the car, a car started up the hill from the little
cottage below the chapel. I knew he must be the caretaker, whose wife
I had briefly spoken to when I was here in May. He stopped to see
who I was, and I told him that I had just come to pray a bit, and
asked if he remembered my friend Alex coming to inquire about the
meeting schedule two months before. He said that he did, and so I
told him I was the one that Alex had inquired for. I then asked him
if I might possibly get the key to be able to pray inside the building,
He said yes, that would be alright, but that he was late in rushing
off to an engagement, He was in suit and tie, and said to just ask
his wife for the key!
As I let myself into the chapel moments later, I was overwhelmed once
again at the total covering of God's grace in this whole adventure.
Had I been two minutes later, I would never have seen Mr. Williams,
and two minutes earlier I would have been out of sight of the road
when he drove off! So for further confirmation the Lord blessed me
beyond what I could have hoped for in the very moment I got to the
chapel. I was going to phone the pastor tomorrow with Alex to ask
for permission! I still shall, and hope to meet him also.
I had a wonderful time with God those two hours there, praying, weeping
and interceding and worshiping with song and harmonica. I can't
say how glorious and privileged I felt to be there in His presence
and absorbed in His heart for Wales.
Saturday, October 12, 2002
Today I spent quite some time in the cemetery praying as it was a
sunny and windy day. After a time the word came to me when Jesus asked
the women to went to find his body in the tomb, "Why do you seek
the living among the dead?" As I dwelt on this verse in my heart,
I realized that is what I came here to do, to seek and pray for true
"living" for those that are living "dead" without
Christ in this land. His heart's cry is "Awake, you who
sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
A bit later I found written at the foot of an old tombstone listing
several family members, "Blessed is the people that know the
joyful sound." The obvious reference to the final trump of God
calling out the dead in Christ first. What testimony of these simple
country people's faith in the Living God.
As I prayed inside later on, I was lead to pray for those families
that the Lord would bring in and touch here, and then send them to
other places to carry on the work of His Spirit's outpouring.
Also, out of sheer curiosity I counted seats in the chapel and was
astonished to find a seating capacity for over 400 people!
Before leaving today on Alex's little motor scooter, my main
transportation here if it doesn't rain much, I also learned that
this coming Friday night will be the annual Harvest Thanksgiving service!
Sunday, October 13, 2002
Today as I prayed in the chapel, rain fell constantly outside, and
moved me to pray for the latter rain of God's Holy Spirit on
all flesh, and specifically for the folks that He will bring into
this little house of worship. I walked and prayed between the benches
in the balcony, and those that will fill them, and dwelt on those
for whom they had been built and who sat there in the congregation
of years now long past.
I also began to realize that what ever the Lord starts here must start
with the families already here, and so I began to pray for some of
the family names on the gravestones. I talked to the pastor this evening,
who has only been there as pastor for three months, and only to perform
the monthly Communion service. He said I could get a list of the families
in membership from the caretaker, even though he belongs to a different
chapel down the road.
Also, I can't help wondering if something extraordinary might
happen this Friday night...... So soon, Lord? Let it pour!!
Monday, October 14, 2002
Rain until midmorning, I arrived at the chapel at noon. During my
prayer I was reminded of how the Angel of the Lord spontaneously presented
Himself to Moses, who immediately drew close to "see this great
sight." And then God spoke to him and told him to take off his
sandals because he was standing on "holy ground." So I was
led to pray today for this chapel to be like that "holy ground"
that would first draw and then confront people with the reality of
the God so much greater than they.
As I continued praying in this sense, a heard a low distant roar that
grew louder and closer, until I realized that it was a British fighter
plane on maneuvers from a base nearby. I went outside to watch as
another and another thundered low overhead, and then looped around
and doubled back again as they were joined by a 4th jet. That is the
kind of impact Moses surely felt at the voice of God, and such is
goal of my prayer today for God's presence to saturate and emanate
from every molecule of this building so as to impact those that come
here for devout, religious or social reasons.
As I inspected another area of the cemetery I found the following
inscription on a tombstone from 1826, "But I do not want you
to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep,
lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 1 Thes.4:13
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
This morning as I prayed on the ground floor, I began to walk back
and forth in the side sections of seating, most of which hold four
people comfortably. As I prayed, I was reminded like yesterday not
only of those past and future families, but now of the people that
will come as visitors when revival begins to break out here. When
I got to the small "two-seater" at the very back, I sat
down to pray.
Suddenly the Lord brought to mind the first verse of Psalm 1, "Blessed
is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands
in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful."
And so here I was, sitting in the very seat the scorners would use
- those that mock Christians and the Gospel who come to watch the
spectacle in curiosity and then see how they can criticize and make
light of it all. The Lord moved me to intercede for these ones in
particular, because they are as beloved by Him as the faithful. I
prayed in faith I saw that there would be miraculous healings taking
place before their very eyes, dashing their disbelief to shreds and
leaving them exposed and repentant before our awesome God.
Then I moved over to the center section. These are the places of the
actual members of this chapel Cilfowyr. It is obvious because every
section has a white plastic heater directly underneath the bench seat!
There are 78 seats in this section, but I only took time to pray for
the left half. As I prayed for these people, I had to laugh as I asked
the Lord to give them warm hearts and not just warm backsides!
A bit later in the afternoon, I went and asked the caretaker's
wife for a cup of tea to help fend off the deepening cold, and she
graciously offered me coffee instead, instant, with milk, and some
"biscuits", little cream-filled cookies. The caretaker joined
us and I learned that there are only about 25 or 30 regular members.
I told them a bit about why I had come here to pray, and when I asked
them if they knew what revival was, they should their heads and said
"No." They had apparently heard the term somewhere in their
past, they are both probably in their mid 60's, and knew it had
something to do with "church", but that was all. They talked
a bit about how bad off the world is today, and agreed when I said
it was because of the lack of knowledge of God and His ways, but they
didn't seem to show any interest.
When I returned to prayer afterwards, I realized how revival here
must depend completely on God's sovereign outpouring and conviction
and revelation. Then the questions will come and teaching can take
place, but first God's power will have to open their hearts.
Let it be so, Lord!
As I was praying in the pulpit, beseeching the Lord to pour out his
Spirit in this place, I found myself crying out in a loud voice, "Come
from the four winds oh Spirit of God," Immediately the Lord quicken
Ezekiel 37 to me, so I picked up the bible in front on me (only one
English bible out of several in Welsh!) and read the whole chapter
out loud slowly. This was the word for this chapel and this land!
The body of Christ is like those bones: dry, very dry. Yet out of
these "dry bones" God will raise up an army, mighty in the
Spirit of the Lord! They will become the light of salvation for this
nation! After I read it, the Lord moved me to sing the first 6 verses,
repeating each verse 3 times.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
I arrived at the chapel today just after noon, because Mrs. Williams,
the caretaker's wife, needed time in the morning to clean the
chapel for this Friday night's special Harvest Thanksgiving service.
I can't help but wonder about the timing of this "happenstance."
I've been soaking this place with prayer and worship since I
first came last Friday, and Alex and Renie are going to accompany
me Friday morning to pray also. Wouldn't it phenomenal if things
started to break loose already?
Today I started praying in right side section, singing and claiming
the souls of those that would come here. When I was praying in the
last section towards the back, I was suddenly overcome with a wave
of intercessory anguish, and leaned my head up against the top of
a little closet door. My heart was wrung for the overwhelming need
for God's great Love in the hearts of the Welsh people, and my
chest heaved in agony as I prayed. When I opened my eyes a few minutes
later, I saw a little cloak of cobwebs directly beneath my face in
the corner of the door. This immediately spoke to me of the condition
of this little congregation. Like the chapel itself, this little part
of the body of Christ is so unused that it has been collecting spiritual
cobwebs, showing signs of dwindling numbers over the years to the
point when the last members die off, they will just quietly close
it down altogether like so many hundreds of others throughout Wales
and the rest of England, Scotland and Ireland. The bride of Christ,
which is supposed to be the shining beacon of Hope towards which the
people of the world can run, seems as lifeless inside as the graveyard
is outside. Again I was caught up by strong pleading for the church,
and the lost who depend on them. There are so many little groups of
believers, hanging on to hope against hope in an ever darkening and
hostile world around them. But them anew my heart thrilled with a
profound joy when the Lord reminded me of purpose of my mission here.
I was called to pray here for Revival! Thank you Jesus, I know it's
coming! Hallelujah!
Back in the "scorner's corner" on this side, I prayed
for God's love and glory to shine through each crack in the walls
and fiber of wood and molecule of plaster. "The Word of Your
Power, Lord, to envelope and enlighten each soul in this place!"
and in the spirit I could see the whole chapel absolutely glowing
with His life!
After praying down along the benches of the "regulars",
I moved into the little chancel area where there is the communion
table and curving bench, and then three heavy wooden armed chairs
up against the pulpit. As I took hold of the arms of the first and
began to pray, the Lord showed me these were for the elders of the
church, and guided me to pray for His supernatural wisdom to move
in them and lead them in the paths of righteous and justice and responsibility
and vision when it comes time to start moving outwards from here with
the anointing of revival that will start here.
As I prayed again from the pulpit, I thought about Friday night and
wondered if the pastor, or the Lord, would have me perhaps share something
at least in the way a greeting? After all, here I am a total stranger
who has invaded their private and exclusive domain to come and pray
for a revival that will involve them directly in shaking and awakening
their countrymen with God's Good News! I could almost see their
faces: curious, taken aback, uncomfortable, or possibly even angry?
Help me Lord Jesus!
A little later, it suddenly dawned on me that I have been neglecting
the people in the pub in Cilgerran! I've found it's easy
to pray here in the chapel, but what about talking to some of the
people I've met there? I met a very nice retired couple Friday
night when I stopped by there, both jazz musicians. He plays trumpet,
and she the piano, and wonderfully as she did a few songs that evening.
I even joined in on a couple with my harmonica we had a great time.
Could that be You Lord, giving me musicians for a worship team?
Then another thought flashed through my mind momentarily: Here I am
in the middle of nowhere believing God is going to actually do something
in a stone cold and dead old chapel? That sounds as far fetched as
a bunch of people in a pub getting saved! And a Spanish-speaking American
who doesn't know word one of Welsh! What a riot! What nonsense!
How absurd!
Ah yes, but how totally glorious is our Lord! For "Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the men of old obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were made of things which are invisible." Heb.
11:1-3
Thursday, October 17, 2002
It rained today almost until noon, so I stayed to pray in my little
trailer this morning. I also listened to Wesley Campbell's CD
"Fireland." The title came from a prophetic word given over
Ireland in 1999, that the Lord was going to bring revival to Ireland,
and was changing the name according to the outpouring of His holy
fire over that land. The introduction talks about how Ireland was
mightily touched by God's presence and anointing in the second
millennium, and that continual prayer and worship 24 hours a day/7 days a week
was established there in Bangor non-stop during nearly
250 years! As Wesley prayed on the CD I was deeply moved by the breadth
of what the Lord is poised to do. I am certain that all these prophetic
prayer events are all tied together somehow in God's grand scheme
of things!
I was also delighted to find there some music that has been playing
over and over in my spirit for months now, as if it were a "theme
song" of my experiences in Wales. I hadn't been able to
identify the melody, thinking it was perhaps an Irish or Celtic folk
song. It turned out to be a traditional Irish hymn Be
Thou My Vision, the words of which express the essence of what
I believe the Lord is going to do here in the hearts of the people
- to make things happen that can only come from His heart and
by His power.
I spent only an hour in the chapel today. While praying in the pulpit
I opened Ezekiel again, but this time was drawn to chapter 36, where
God speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit. The section starting in
verse 21 surely dealt with the Hebrews of that day, but also clearly
refers to today's churches, for the most part empty and lifeless.
He makes several statements of things that He will clearly do. When
he says in verse 27, "I will put My Spirit within you and cause
you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do
them." He is the initiator of it all. And it is HE who will "cause
us" to walk in the fullness of His Spirit. For only by the Spirit
can we walk in a way that is pleasing to Him, fulfilling the law.
And then in verse 33 He will enable us to dwell in the cities (the
church!) and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land shall
be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who walk by
.... 36 Then the nations which are left all around you (the unsaved)
will know I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places..."
Wow, what a declaration of what we can expect to see the Lord bring
to pass in our day! Come Lord Jesus in great power upon us!
I had previously made arrangements to have coffee with a couple I
met at the pub in Cilgerran last Friday, both musicians and recently
retired. So after my time in the chapel, I drove over to their home
just a couple miles from the chapel! They love jazz, and so I went
to share with them Charlie Miller's CD with some great Gospel
songs. When they asked me what I was doing here, I was able to tell
them my whole story, including the Jesus movement of the '70s
when so many young people were sovereignly ushered into the Kingdom
of God, and thus my connection with Alex and Renie close by in Felinwynt.
I also took the opportunity to pray for Roy's knee, badly damaged
by aging and the malpractice of some "medical" person. Please
ask the Lord to continue to bring him relief and restoration, both
physically and spiritually!
Friday, October 18, 2002
Well, today is the big day, the Harvest Thanksgiving service! Could
tonight be the beginning already? We'll see, Lord! A couple hours
earlier the caretaker came in and turned on the electric heaters to
give the place a chance to warm for tonight. A simple enough task.
But Lord, by your Spirit I ask you to turn on Your Heat in this place!
Earlier I was praying out in the cemetery, and went over to a large
grave that had lots of writing on it, and in English! I tried hard
to see the letters and could only make out enough to see that they
were scriptures. I struggled to read them because they had weathered
so since from the mid 1800's and as I was trying to piece the
legible words together, suddenly the sunlight fell across them from
behind a cloud and filled each letter with shadow, and I could suddenly
read them quite clearly! These are the verses that were revealed:
"Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the
world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." Acts
17:31
"Behold this day I am going the way of all the earth." Joshua
23:14
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14-15
... "Lord may You quicken Your words to your people in
this very way with the light of Your countenance!"
Later, while I was sitting up in the balcony on the sunny side of
the chapel, I found myself gazing out through the frosted glass into
the cemetery. I could discern the grey cold forms the tombs contrasted
against the green grass. Suddenly there I was looking at the world
outside as if "through a glass darkly." In my mind I knew
perfectly well what I was seeing in the physical realm, but how different
to see it through the eyes of God, as reflected in the scriptures
above. "The cloud of witnesses" of Hebrews 12 comes to mind!
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Last night the chapel was actually almost warm! People began to arrive
a little earlier, and I was greeted cordially by a group of women
accompanying a very old man with a cane. The caretaker's wife
walked them up to the gate of the church yard, and had apparently
told them that I had been during the week, as the one who first greeted
me seemed slightly curious about my presence. I just said that I had
fallen in love with their beautiful chapel! I learned from the old
gentleman that in two more years they will celebrate the chapel's
300th year! I also found out that they fill it up completely every
May for a large Hymn Festival, when people come from all over southern
Wales to participate in or listen to the wonderful Welsh choirs.
I took a place in the back of the center section, and noticed that
people tended to stay in the back section. The organ had been playing
softly in the background, but promptly at the chime of seven o'clock,
music welled up as everyone joined in the first hymn. There were several
hymns, all in Welsh, though they did announce the number in English
for our benefit. (Alex and Renie and two of their daughters had also
arrived for the service). A Psalm was read, and then after the collection,
a guest preacher delivered what seemed to be a spirited and engaging
sermon about faith. I could recognize a few words like Bali, New York,
Washington, and even thought I picked up Deuteronomio which is the
same as Spanish! The preacher did make a few remarks in English again
for our benefit, but I didn't understand a word. In all, however,
I enjoyed the spirit of the talk!
There was nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could see, but I
was glad to get a glimpse of the church members. The average age was
close to sixty, with a total of 25 local folks in attendance. The
brother who preached came around to greet us, and was very warm and
friendly but disappeared quite rapidly. Then the pastor in charge,
who has only been there for three months, come to say hello as well.
He has three other churches which he serves, so his role is really
just as an officiator of services rather than really being a pastor
in the sense we'd expect. I conversed briefly with a woman in
front of me who was considerate enough to turn around and greet me.
She'd been a member here all of her life, as I guess were most
of the others. Nobody stayed around very long afterwards so there
was not much chance to meet others.
The Lord has been impressing on me the need to find a few members
who really have a relationship with Jesus and know how to pray, and
to try to make an opportunity to share a bit about my mission here
and ask to please pray with me about all this. I don't know yet
whether I'll find any echo at all to this, but am trusting God
to show me. The pastor didn't seem to show any particular interest
in why I was here, though Alex had told him last month that a friend
would be coming over to pray here. I hope tomorrow to have more of
a chance to meet the real prayors, or at least talk a bit with one
or two of the long-time members.
Rather than being discouraged that nothing happened last night, I
am actually more excited about things. I can see that in the natural
this church fellowship is like much of the traditional church - in
"survival mode", with not much outreach towards their community,
nor any involvement of teens or young adults. Great portions of the
institutional churches are like the "dry bones" the Lord
was talking to me about earlier in the week. And so what I believe
is to take place here will be all the more overwhelming when the Holy
Spirit takes charge of this little flock!
This morning I listened with fascination to tape that came for me
in this morning's mail. It was a recording of Duncan Campbell
describing in detail his experiences as a minister during the great
Hebrides Revival of the mid-1900's. I was greatly ministered
to as he told how it all started through a word the Lord spoke to
two elderly ladies one of the towns. He was promptly called in to
preach and teach about salvation as people came clamoring to the chapel
trying to find out how to get right with God. The revival took place
not as the result of preaching, but rather a spontaneous revelation
of God's presence and holiness directly to the people. After
leaving the first meeting, he saw people lying beside the roadsides
crying out to God for mercy. It was literally a sovereign move of
God. I was deeply moved to hear this, because it is so similar to
the many details that the Lord showed me was to happen here during
my visit back in May. And then as Duncan Campbell went on to describe
how Revival began to spread, it was identical to what I received from
the Lord three years ago on my first visit here! Oh, what an incredible
testimony he gave. And what an incredible privilege that the Lord
actually has me here now praying for this very kind of revival, not
just on blind faith, but a growing faith in things that He has shown
me vividly over the past three and a half years!
At a certain point in the tape, as I was washing dishes, I felt a
great desire to call my friend Harry Hewat, who had told me of the
tape and gave me the address to write for it, just to tell him what
a blessing it was to me now. Not two minutes had passed and the phone
rang. I almost didn't answer because nobody was home but myself,
and lo and behold it was Harry calling to talk to me! Thank you Jesus!
Even in the small things You know what we want before we even ask!
And on t he grandest scale imaginable, You will also in your perfect
timing will bring to fruition what You have promised. There are so
many people praying for this revival in Wales, and yet you have plucked
me out of a different place and culture to be involved here in this.
You are awesome and good and forever merciful and loving! Isn't
it great to know that the expression "Too good to be true"
is a lie?
As I prayed this afternoon in the chapel, once again the Lord broke
me through into a level of intercession that consumed my heart with
overwhelming desire for His love to be made manifest in this place,
and His holiness to electrify the atmosphere and drive people to their
knees. And as I prayed and worshipped and paced back and forth through
the benches upstairs, I felt a growing excitement at what the Lord
has in store for this place, for Wales, and the utmost corners of
the earth!
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Chapel Cilfowyr had less people this morning than Friday night.
It seemed like a very traditional kind of service, with hymns, a long
prayer by the pastor, and a sermon followed by the Lord's
Supper. Afterwards a few people came up to greet us, and I found no
answer to my question of who were the people of the congregation who
pray! One gentleman told us that he was writing a history of the chapel
in preparation for their 300th anniversary coming up in 2004. He mentioned
an incident that I thought was very interesting. There was an elderly
lady here this morning he said, who had been baptized in 1932
when a remarkable thing happened. This was during a time when baptism
by immersion was much frowned upon by the Church in Wales. For this
baptism, the chapel had asked the neighboring farmer to provide them
with water for the baptistery, and he had refused. It had been a very
dry spring and there was no water in the little stream that usually
supplied them, so that Saturday they had spent the entire day fetching
water in containers from the town of Newcastle Emlyn some 10 miles
away to fill the baptistery, and left things prepared for the baptism
the following morning. To their great dismay, they found that someone
had pulled the plug and emptied out all the water. They all suspected
the farmer, but there was nothing to be done about it. During the
sermon, there came a sudden and unseasonable downpour of rain, and
when it was over, they looked and found that the baptistery was filled
to the brim, so were able to proceed with the ceremony with great
joy, and 5 or 6 young people were baptized by God's miraculous provision.
It turned out that nowhere else in the area had any rain fallen at
all!
The gentleman who told us the incident assured us that it was perfectly
true but didn't really expect us to believe it. I assured him
that we did, and that it seemed related somehow to my presence here.
When I told him that I had been sent here by the Lord to pray for
special things that were to happen in this little chapel, he seemed
somewhat interested. I give him my email address, and the URL of this
web page, and I do hope he looks it up. He also gave me his email
address. I thought perhaps he was the contact in the church the Lord
was giving me, but I "mysteriously" misplaced it. After
lunch I went to Alex and Renie's chapel just up the road, and
remembered I had pulled the paper with the email address out of my
pocket there. I even drove back to the chapel to see if I had dropped
it, and then later went once again to have a look in the cemetery
to see if the wind had carried it off and the Lord might show me a
scripture on a tombstone where the wind had stuck it! OK Lord, as
they say these days, "whatever!" Maybe I wasn't supposed
to get side-tracked down that path!
As we talked later with Alex and Renie, she mentioned how particularly
significant that baptism incident seemed, and as soon as she said
it Holy Spirit moved her to tears. I realized it paralleled what I
see that Lord preparing to do here. The "downpour" of the
Holy Spirit that will come is necessitated by the fact that the "baptistery"
is empty. There is no apparent vision for church growth or evangelization.
There have been several mentions of the coming 300th anniversary,
a remembrance of how "sweet it was", but I couldn't
help but think of how sweet it will be, unbeknownst to all at this
point in time!
When Alex showed me a history of Cardigan, entitled, Cardigan, Gateway
to Wales", I was suddenly overwhelmed with that longing for God's
outpouring. It was another confirmation to me that what started at
this chapel will them spread from here into the Cardigan area and
then out to the rest of Wales.
Monday, October 21, 2002
This morning, I struggled a bit as to whether or not I should try
to call the pastor of the chapel, but couldn't find peace about
the matter. It seemed the only thing I really know clearly is the
that Lord told me to come to the chapel every day and pray, and that
He would take care of all the details. So, in faith I decided to not
try to do any of the things that were coming to mind; not rely on
the "arm of the flesh" but to just trust God to move. Maybe
there would be nothing else for me to do on this trip, and that's
was alright too. I had to remind myself Who is running the show here!
It had been raining off and on, after some great sunshine earlier,
and the weather didn't look good at all, but in obedience I put
on the rain suit and off to the chapel I went. As I weaved my way
through the little country lanes, I was pleasantly surprised that
there was a clearing between rain clouds that preceded me, and even
sunshine on most of my way to the chapel. "Amen, Lord. I get
it!"
I found a beautiful hymn in the chapel, called "The Gospel for
the World". It seemed a strange contrast to find such a stirring
challenge to reach outwards with Gods' love in such a small and
waning congregation. Yet the message is so fitting to what I see the
Lord wanting to do here and beyond. Oh Lord, the thrill of that song
resounding on these hallowed walls, and stirring vision and sending
out among those who will be touched here!
The Gospel
for the World
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand,
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error's chain.
Can we, whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high, --
Can we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation, oh Salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learnt Messiah's name.
Waft, waft, ye winds, His story;
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till, o'er our ransomed nature,
The Lamb for sinner slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.
R.
Heber
There were other hymns that have particularly touched me during
my days here, as I've looked through the small section of
English hymns in the Welsh hymnal. They seem to speak so
prophetically about God's wonderful plan, I couldn't contain
my tears as I read them through. In particular were Breathe
on me, breath of God and Come,
Holy Spirit, Come. Both are such sweet confessions of
the fullness the Lord wants to pour into His people here
and everywhere.
I spent time praying and singing, and found myself with
the desire for someone to come to the chapel. I thought
that somehow I needed to make contact with at least one
of the members, and be able to share with them what the
Lord was showing me, but nobody came. I did however notice
an announcement laminated in plastic and tied with string
to the fence by the road. I thought it strange I hadn't
noticed before, and closer examination showed me that the
string was very clean and had obviously been put there earlier
that morning, or Sunday. There was another copy in English,
and I read the announcement, and at the bottom was the name
of the church secretary and her address. Aha! Here is the
person to contact I thought then. So I jotted down the information,
and planned to try and find a phone number later on and
call. After a while the rain clouds started to close in,
so I took off on the scooter before I got caught in a downpour!
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Today I started off my day writing yesterday's journal,
and found myself thinking about calling the pastor so frequently
I finally went down to Alex's house and used the phone.
His wife answered and said he'd gone off to a meeting. When
I asked where, she said in Cardigan! He would have a meeting
from 11 until twelve. She gave me his mobile number, so
I rang him up immediately, and he said he could meet me
briefly after his meeting! By the time I got cleaned up
and rode the scooter down to the town, it was 12 o'clock.
I asked to have lunch with me, but he had to drove off in
15 minutes, so we sat in his car and talked. Well, I talked,
and he listened very attentively. I briefly told him the
whole story, and he said "that would be wonderful" but without
much conviction that it was possible in a shrinking little
church. I told him my desire to share with a few people
who might be open to the idea, and would be possibly interesting
in praying about this. He gave me the names of a few people,
and more or less where they lived, all fairly close to the
chapel, and so there was my agenda for the day!
I can't take time now to explain what a marvelous time I
had that day. But for starters I met with the sweetest old
lady, the one who had been in that miraculous baptism! It
was drizzling a bit, and helmet in hand I knocked at the
door. She opened up and glancing at me said, "You were in
the chapel Sunday. Come in, come in, I don't like people
standing in my doorway." She invited me to have a seat quite
naturally, as if I weren't a total stranger! That supernatural
event had taken place 70 years ago but she remembered it
like it were yesterday, and averted her eyes as they filled
with joy! What a very speciaol day that had been for her.
She told me about how life in the chapel had been for most
of her years, with three meetings every Sunday. We chatted
about how things had changed, and the chapel had gone from
3 meetings to one, and then after more years just twice
a month. And then just a couple years ago that was reduced
to once a month. It was sad for her because she only gets
a chance to her friends then.
I told her the story of how I had comes to Wales 3 years
ago and stumbled across the chapel. And then went on to
share all tat the Lord had been showing me, and how it related
to the event of her baptism, which I've previously described.
She said how wonderful that would be if the Lord were to
do something like that. I asked her she would pray about
it, and if she might ever be able to get together with her
other friends who might be able to pray with her. She told
me she had had to stop driving 6 months ago because of her
failing eyesight, and it was hard to move around. She said
many other of the members were also getting too old to drive,
but yes, it would be nice. It sounded to me like they have
never met together in a hnousehold for prayer or anything
church-related. I took a few moments to pray with her for
her ailments, and also for the Lord to touch her with the
joy of His presence, and for His will to be done in the
chapel. As I took her hand in both of mine to pray, she
placed her other hand on top of mine in such a tender way,
and as we prayed I could feel the Lord giving her joy. I
think it had been a very very long time since she had prayed
with anyone like that. Perhaps since her husband died 20
years ago.
From there I visited two other couples, both of who recognized
from being in the chapel and received me graciously. I was
invited to a cup of tea or coffee and bisquits, and as I
shared my story they listened with interest. In both cases
they also said "that would be nice", evidencing the year-worn
strain of doubt endemic to a slowly shrinking church. One
of the gentleman saids he was sure that his years of Christianity
were limited to a very superficial level, and that he had
always known a desire to "go deeper" in the Lord but had
never really known how. The Sunday meeting were always the
same, a song, a pasalm, a song, the long pastoral prayer,
a song, the offering, the sermon, and a final song. He had
long since given up hoping for more. He seemed glad to hear
that there is so much more. He is going to send me a casette
of their choral music from the Hymn Festivals, and I will
send him a copy of the Duncan Campbell testimony of the
Hebrides revivfal, of which no one who I visited had ever
heard of before.
I was impressed by hlow isolated all these people are from
one another. The richness of fellowship that we enjoy is
practically unknown to them outside of special but infreqquent
occasions. Wouldn't it be a blessing to somehow, even from
far away, promote informal gatherings for tea, fellowship
and prayer? How difficult for a pastor trying to cover 4
or more congregations and barely able to keep up with the
"official" activities. Lord bless these wonderful, warm
and needy people!
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
As I got to the chapel this morning, the fact that it would
be my last day here made me suddenly sad. What very special
times I've had here with God, and how quickly the time has
passed! I knew this would be a special day, but had no idea
just how much! While praying here yesterday, I had found
myself with a desire that at least once someone would stop
by and offer to pray with me, or at least ask what I was
praying about here. Then, Tuesday evening, just minutes
after I got home to an empty house, the phone rang, and
it was Harry Hewat calling for me! He said he had been sharing
my Wales experiences and journal with a couple of minister
friends, both prophetic types and who have been involved
in praying for revival for the UK for several years. They
had felt "resonance" with the things I'd been sharing, and
felt impressed upon by the Lord to take the 4 hour drive
out from Birmingham early in the morning to come and stand
with me in prayer for a couple of hours. Before he had finished,
tears streamed down my face and I couldn't even answer for
a moment, so overwhelmed was I at God's benevolent response
to my unspoken desire! Harry wondered if it would be allright
if they were to come out! He was going to drive out with
them, but they had to be back in Birmingham at 6 in the
afternoon. Wow, what a blessing!
Once inside the chapel, I went up into the pulpit to pray
from there, and as I worshiped my eyes were drawn to the
big Welsh Bible lying open on the stand. I went to see what
scripture was open, and found Psalm 123:
-1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in
the heavens.
--2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of
their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand
of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
until that he have mercy upon us.
As I read this the Lord spoke so clearly to my heart that
this was exactly what I had been doing here these many days.
Who else could I look to? I was immediately overwhelmed
by tears of longing for God's grace to be shed abroad in
this place. And as He had so clearly showed me in May, what
more could I possibly do here? "As the eyes of the servants
look to the hand of their master" is such a clear picture
of total dependence. "Without Me you can doing nothing.."
Jesus said. That was my condition exactly. My only avenue
of action has been to "wait upon the Lord our God until
that He have mercy upon us", and make supplication that
He pour out His presence on this place and this land according
to His promise to me, confirmed already many soo many signs.
--3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for
we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
--4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of
those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
As as read this next section I was again overwhelmed by
the Spirit as I understood that it was not for my sake but
rather the sake of His church that I agonized so. The church
has been made contemptible for it's ineffectiveness in our
days, and for centuries. As I looked at this empty little
chapel, and saw at once so many church building devoid of
any life or significance in their communities, my heart
broke in a thousand pieces before the Lord. How could we
be so irrelevant to the world around us? What poverty must
be the picture the world has of His church. How many empty
buildings does the world see? How little godly influence
is exerted in our modern society? What total indifference
to the things of God prevails at every level and age group!
"Lord have mercy upon us. And not for our sake, Lord, but
for the sake of Your Name! Oh Jesus, You hung on the tree
and shed Your blood for the redemption of the very ones
that scorn You! Oh God, have mercy and reveal Yourself!
Just as You said, Lord, through Jeremiah, 'And I will sanctify
my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which
ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall
know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall
be sanctified in you before their eyes.' So be it Lord God.
Our eyes look to You as the eyes of the servant to the hand
of their Master."
I was caught up in this travailing for some time, when I
heard the door of the chapel open and Harry called out my
name. It was such patent testimony of His incredible love
for and care of me that my tears were changed to tears of
joy unspeakable! He came in with his two friends and introduced
us and we embraced with unspoken oneness of heart and purpose.
When I recovered from the wave of emotion, we talked some,
I showed with them what the Lord had just shown me, and
we began to pray together. What joy to hear other voices
than my own in resounding in this place! What strength of
purpose I felt as we cried out in unison for God's mercy
and purpose. Oh what joy flooded my soul to know the accompaniment
of other human hearts brought into the same cry of God's
own heart of love for His wayward children!
It is hard to describe how I felt as the brothers shared
with me the things the Lord had shown them and why they
had come. One of them told me that as they were driving
out here, the Lord showed him a picture of a hang glider
that was soaring around and around over the hills and valleys,
in preparation for making its landing here. He said I was
that glider, sent by the Spirit of the Lord, and that they
came in spiritual representation of their country to receive
me and assist and steady the wings of the glider as it touched
down and landed! There were many other words they shared
in which the Lord totally confirmed the purpose of my coming
here, and His pleasure at my obedience. I was so humbled
and blessed and comforted by this manifestation of His love
and care for me. What amazing Love is this we know in Jesus,
that he would cause two strangers with busy lives of their
own to drive nine hours with my friend to bring me this
special affirmation of His calling me to this place!
After spending a marvelous two hours with these saints of
God, and a quick bowl of soup in the pub where the Lord
has people reserved for Himself, I returned to the chapel
for my last hours there. Since last week, I had felt the
desire to tackle some of the grave plots that we totally
overgrown with brambles and even small trees. Again I had
to marvel at how favored I have been by the Lord during
my time here. As I was parking my scooter, the caretaker
came out of the old stable pushing his lawnmower! I had
told him earlier I'd like to do some cleaning up, so he
fetched me an axe, a saw, pruning shears and machete, and
off I went to the plot that I had set my sights on. It was
about eight feet wide and sixteen feet long, surrounded
by a five foot high wrought iron fence with a gate in the
middle of the long side. Immediately inside to the right
was a small tree with many different trunks, clutched around
one of the headstones that were sunken into the earth with
the passing of 150 years. The brambles and weeds were as
tall as I, and quite thick. At the end to my right was the
large principal monument, and my goal was to clear out at
least that far. I set to work at once, cutting the tree
down as far as I could and removing all the trunks and branches.
Every two feet along both the near and far side were small
headstones of apparent descendants of the patriarch buried
at the end. As I tackled the harsh, throny bramble bushes
with the heavy leather riding gloves, the Lord began to
show me some interesting things. One was how the subtle
work of the adversary throughout the years had virtually
overcome all the work of this little flock. As I saw this,
I attacked the thorns with a vengeance, waging war against
the works of the devil in the power of His might. What satisfaction
it was to pull out by the roots the ugliness of sin and
ineffectiveness and complacency and indifference! I also
noticed how from one root there were many different branches
that stretched out in so many dirrections, making whole
areas impassable with their thorns. But I found that as
I stooped close to the ground and got my hands around the
base, they could actually be pulled up quite easily. I saw
how similar it is with sin in our lives: when we don't deal
with it at the source, it flourishes and contaminates many
areas, but with the cleansing of acknowledgment and repentance,
the freedon which Jesus already paid for can be ours.
When at last I got to the end, I was able to read the main
headstone and found it to be of a man who had been the beloved
pastor of the Baptist chapel in Newcastle Emlyn, about 10
miles away, for fifty years. He was buried around 1860 at
80 years of age, and I presume the other many stone were
those ofhis wife, children, and perhaps grandchildren. I
only managed to clear about 40% of the plot, but I did get
all the brambles pulled up, and Mr. Williams said he could
go after the rest with his strimmer (weed eater) and finish
it easily. In spite of the cold and strong winds, I worked
myself into quite a sweat. What a pleasure! After coffee
and Welsh cakes with Mr. Williams and his wife, I thanked
them for their kindness and openness to my presenced there,
said I'd see them again the next time, and putted off into
the oncoming rain as nightfall drew closer.
Thursday, October 24, 2002
After a 45 minute drive with Alex to Carmarthen, to the
south, I said goodbye and boarded the train for London.
As I rode along the rails again, it seemed hard to believe
two weeks have gone by so fast! I was again filled with
tremendous gratitude at the goodness of the Lord on my behalf.
What an amazing time of inquiring into His temple, and finding
His goodness and mercy at every turn.
I checked into my hotel by Paddington Station, and after
a brief nap struck off walking towards Hyde Park to explore
a bit of this huge city. One of the things I wanted to do
was visit the Holy Trinity Brompton church, home of the
Alpha Course. I had emailed them soon after my arrival telling
them of my interest in attending one of their activities,
and telling them the date I'd be in town, but I never heard
back from them, and so had decided not to go. But halfway
across the park, as I sat down to rest and pray a bit, I
felt like I should go anyway, but I had left my map in the
hotel. No matter, I thought, I'd go find a directory in
a phone booth on the other side of the park and go for it.
I had a map, and so figured I could make it by 7:30, a traditional
starting time. I came out the other sie of Hyde Park in
front of the Royal Albert Hall, and found a phone booth.
There was no directory, but there was a fat wallet there
instead. I found it had some cash, and lots of credit cards,
and thought about the poor guy who lost it! So I stuck it
into my pocket to examine later on and try to locate the
owner.
After unsuccessful attempts to find just where the church
was, I discovered on my map with the help of some security
police that it was a long walk to a church marked Holy Trinity,
and made of through the semi-lit strrets to find it. What
a maze of winding streets and unclear signs. A good while
later, exhausted and losing hope of covering what was probably
close to a mile off still, a sat down on the fence of a
large building on Brompton street to rest and figure out
the best route from there. Then I got up to plod along and
when I had walked not even a hundred feet, there was a big
sign saying "Holy Trinity Brompton" right in front of me!
Thank you Jesus! So I followed the arrows along a little
lane and found myself in an empty parking lot. Just then
a lady came along, and I asked her if she knew what activities
there might be tonight, and she said there was an Alpha
Course prayer meeting, and led me right to it! I was amazed
once again at God's goodness!
Later on in my hotle, I went through the wallet, and found
it belonged to a young man from Germany who must must be
distraught by now. Trying to figure out how to contact him,
I found his business card with a cell phone number and called
him up. He was overjoyed to get my call, and said he'd meet
me in the hotel restaurant around 10 o'clock. His name was
Christian, and I had a great opportunity to share with him
about the Lord. He said he was in fact a Christian, and
attended a Catholic church. We talked for quite a long time.
He is a product designer and had come to London for a job
interview. When he asked me what brought me here, it opened
the door to talk about revival, the work of the Holy Spirit,
etc. He was very receptive, and I encouraged him to study
the scriptures and seek to know the Lord intimately. What
a blessed way to end the last evening of my "adventure"
in the U.K! |