Newsletter Archive

 

RHIANNON’S PRAYER UPDATE 22-10-07

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for accompanying me in prayer on my last trip. I’m safely back home having experienced so many answers to prayer. It really was a wonderful trip.

Of course, it also had its challenges…… Let me give you an overview of the time. There’s a lot to report so brace yourself for a long letter!

The first week was spent in Beni, North Kivu, D R Congo. I arrived without my clothes and waited for a week to retrieve my luggage in Uganda, but the Congo team were so generous and arranged for 2 very nice outfits to be made quickly for me. We had a very good week with Renee teaching on the Biblical Foundations of Community Development. It was not always easy, as she was stretching their thinking. It was a revelation to them that the Kingdom of God is much bigger than the church and it means bringing the rule of the King into every aspect of life. Their understanding that God is only interested in ‘spiritual’ things was seriously challenged! Once they had understood that reconciliation is only the start, and it then needs to ‘put on flesh’ in their communities in practical ways, they got really excited. On the final afternoon they eagerly planned different kinds of small ‘seed projects’ that they could accomplish in a short time with the resources they already have available to them. We await the fruit!

The second week, Cathy joined me to run a retreat for the core Congo team and their wives. This was held in South Uganda on a beautiful lakeside. The Ugandan transport system gave us challenges with buses breaking down……! But we had such a wonderful week that it was worth it all. We began with a Bible study on God honouring His people. (This was a revelation – they had only thought of our honouring God.) We had an honouring ceremony, placing (Burger King) crowns on their heads and giving them small symbolic gifts. The whole 3 days, God continued to minister to them in various ways, through Scripture meditation, hearing His voice through creation, etc. We also took time for debriefing and taking all wounds to the cross. At the end everyone testified of having received one blessing after another. The wives in particular felt uplifted and valued, seeing for the first time that they were also an integral part of the ministry.

At the end of that week, I travelled down to Rwanda for a few days before the Great Lakes Reconciliation Forum. Because of the escalating conflict in North Kivu it was decided at the last minute to relocate to Bujumbura, Burundi. I was able to get a visa in Kigali and then on the Sunday we drove to Bujumbura. This was my first visit to Burundi, and I was glad to have the opportunity to visit those conducting the HWEC workshop there who ha been trained by Joseph and Anastase. 18 people came from D R Congo, 18 from Rwanda, and 20-30 joined us from Burundi. From the start there was an atmosphere of love and excitement at being together. One of the Congolese Regional Chiefs (from Nyankunde) who had repented at the seminar for Regional Chiefs last March was among the group, and his humble, gracious attitude was such a testimony to all of us. It was a significant week, learning form each other and celebrating what God was doing in the 3 nations.

The week ended with a moving time of repentance between the nations, and a celebration of their unity in Christ as they honoured one another at the King’s Table. After placing a tinsel crown on someone from another nation, and enjoying a special meal together, each nation was affirmed and blessed before being asked to give a display of worship, in song and dance. Considering that these nations have been at war with each other (and Rwanda and Congo are still in conflict), it was so wonderful to hear them tell each other what they loved about each other’s nation. They were so enthusiastic – it seemed everyone wanted to say something. Blessing is so much more powerful than cursing! The meal began early afternoon and went on till evening! We believe that something powerful was taking place in the heavenly realm as well as within that room. They plan to meet again next year, next time hopefully in Bukavu, Congo. In the meantime they want to exchange news and prayer requests.

While in Bujumbura, I was privileged to be asked to speak at the top leaders Prayer Breakfast. I spoke from 2 Cor 10:3-5 on the unusual weapon of repentance and its power to disarm the heart and pull down strongholds. I took the opportunity to ask forgiveness as a European for the abuses of colonialism and the role it played in sowing seeds of conflict. It was very well received.

The final week was spent in Kigali. Erik and Jeltje were there too, and they ministered to the team in various ways. It was a special and significant time of consolidation of the ministry. Just before I left, Kristine Bresser arrived to spend 3 months with the ministry. You may remember that some time ago she worked as my personal assistant in Rwanda for 2 years. She has excellent management and administrative skills as well as having trained in the meantime in conflict resolution and mediation. I am sure she will be a great blessing to the team as she mentors and coaches them. She had been working in Israel but had her visa revoked. It seems God is redeeming this.

Regarding my health situation - when I arrived home I saw the Haematologist again. He expressed concern at the very high risk of thrombosis and strongly recommended that I went on the (low grade) chemotherapy treatment. I had not been at all keen to do this as I would need to stay on this indefinitely and potentially it has some nasty side-effects. He persuaded me by saying that he would like me to be able to continue my “very useful life”, and that if the platelet level could be substantially reduced with this treatment, there was no reason why I couldn’t keep travelling. I know God wants me to do that. He gave me peace that He is bigger than the side-effects. I have started the treatment and so far I feel OK. Please join me in believing for protection against the side effects, especially the rare one of the condition turning into acute leukaemia. It is still not known if this is part of the progress of the disease, or a result of the treatment. But God is still on the throne, and He can still heal me! Gwenda still does not know about my disease so please be sensitive to this.

I’m now home until Nov 30th, when I will join Erik & Jeltje to visit the team in South Africa. I’ll contact you again before I go. In the meantime, we need to make substantial progress on the book. Please pray that Anastase and Joseph will have the time to work with me on that by email. Their contribution is vital. Also please pray for my friend Alison who will help on the editing side.

I still have a lot of banana-leaf cards to be sold, made by Rwandan orphans. Maybe you would like to give a pack of them as Christmas presents? They are blank inside and would also make lovely notelets. They cost £1.25 each or 5 for £5 (plus p & p). The full details plus a sample of the various designs (mostly African scenes) can be got from Gina Annette, 9 Regent Ave, Ballyclare, Co Antrim, BT39 9LE. Tel 02893 340863 (home) 07919 123061 (cell) Email: g.annette@btinternet.com

So, many blessings to you all, and much love,

 

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RHIANNON'S PRAYER UPDATE 16-5-07

 

Dear friends,

It's high time I let you know I'm back safely from Africa having had a really blessed trip. I haven't really stopped since I got back.

First let me say that the blood test I had after returning was again a little better than the previous one. My faith is growing for a continuing steady improvement.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and interest. It was a very encouraging trip. The first 2 weeks were spent in Rwanda on team building with the national team and also visiting some of those who have been working in reconciliation in the regions. Not all have been very active, some were discouraged by the lack of funding but others were very committed and some were working alone if not in teams. We heard many people say, "This message is part of me now. There's no way I could not spread it wherever I go!" Some teams were doing remarkable work, helping to reconcile released prisoners awaiting trial with genocide survivors. Some are even working together in the community now as a result. Only God could do this! One of the groups called Carsa has website with encouraging testimonies and photos that is well worth visiting. The address is www.carsa.org.rw

This week and the next, Joseph and Esther are in the US meeting prospective donors to help fund the ministry in Rwanda.

The next 2 weeks were spent in Ituri, N E Congo. The news from the ministry in this region is truly amazing! They are all very active and achieving remarkable results. The highlight was a seminar they conducted for 24 regional tribal chiefs, together with local & regional government officials and army and police personnel. They all went to the cross together and repented deeply of all the conflict and were reconciled to each other. This was all video-ed, and the regional govt official now wants the whole 3 day seminar televised so that the whole population can hear the teaching and then see the chiefs and others repenting! There is now peace in this region, and we were able to travel to parts that we could never have gone to a few months ago.

One unforgettable afternoon we were taken to see a suspension bridge, made entirely out of natural fibres, over a fairly wide river. As we approached it we heard singing on the hillside beyond and looked up to see around 150 people who were waving branches to greet us. We were told they were intercessors who had prayed for the reconciliation seminars together with people whose lives had been transformed through them. They had heard we were in the area and some had walked 30 kilometres to come to greet us. So we had to venture across this precarious swinging narrow bridge, trying not to think of the crocodiles in the river below! Quite a feat in a long African wrap-around skirt! But it was certainly worth the effort to receive the welcome of the awaiting crowd, some of whom then queued up to tell us their testimonies of healed hearts and forgiveness. (Some of those present were former militia who had repented and we were meeting very close to their former headquarters.) They gave us 7 hens and many eggs, a really sacrificial gift from people just coming out of 10 years of civil war. We could only stand in awe of God for what He had done.

The training week attended by around 60 people went very well. I was pleased when Daniel and Pastor Baraka agreed to share the training with me. They are so capable and anointed. It's so encouraging to see more agents of healing and reconciliation being equipped. The second week was a team development time and we had a great time together, looking at the subject of Intimacy with God and Learning to hear His voice. I was very grateful that Cathy from Geneva could help me run that week.

The last week we returned to Rwanda for the official launch of Le Rucher Ministries there. Eric and Jeltje and Renee had come from Geneva for this. The launch went really well and we were so blessed when Antoine, the director of African Evangelistic Enterprise, attended and spoke very positively and graciously, assuring everyone of our continuing partnership and friendship. The final few days were spent with the committee of the newly formed Great Lakes Reconciliation Forum made up from representatives of the ministry in Rwanda, Congo and Burundi. Renee skilfully led us through a strategic planning time and it was wonderful to see the love and goodwill between the participants. After some deliberation they came up with a mission statement which really blesses me: to promote peace, stability and wholistic development to restore the glory of the kingdom of God in the Great Lakes region. I can get excited about that!

Last week I was down in South Wales for the seminar on discovering the Father's song for Cymru (Wales). This was led by Hywel Edwards, but really it was led by the Holy Spirit through him. It was a moving and inspirational time as we sensed deeply the Father's call to 'come home'. It was a time of discovering fresh hope for the nation as barriers between the different groupings came down and there were some glorious times of bilingual worship. Having a Spirit-led skilful harpist among us was a special blessing.

Next week (May 21-25) is Gwenda's holiday and we are both going to a Christian centre near Scarborough. Then on June 2 nd I go to our headquarters in Geneva for 2 weeks of planning, team retreat and personal accountability. Please pray for the team there as they are facing many challenges at present. Pray that God will call the right people to join the ministry. I really need to make some significant progress soon on re-writing the seminar manual. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! Working with Anastase and Joseph on this by email is a continual challenge as we are all busy people! I am also still waiting for a final date from Trinidad. Please pray for God's leading in that.

Thank you once again, faithful partners! I appreciate you so much. Many thanks for all the good wishes and kind words on my 60 th birthday the beginning of this week. I feel loved!

Every blessing,

 

 

 

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RHIANNON'S PRAYER UPDATE 15-3-07

 

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your prayer while I was in California. It was a wonderful time. It was a spiritual culture shock for us to be in such a positive, joyful and faith-filled environment! These people expect God to show up and work miracles in people's lives on a daily basis, yet they were not intense - quite laid-back really, with a beautiful humility underlying everything. We heard so many wonderful stories of God's miraculous intervention, especially as they go into the community ready to pray for anyone in need. The youth were amazing, with their radiant joy, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and belief in the God of the impossible. I heartily recommend the book ‘When Heaven Invades Earth' by Bill Johnston, the main leader at Bethel Church. (Treasure House publishers). Many other resources are available from www.destinyimage.com You could also look up the church website www.ibethel.org where there are many wonderful testimonies.

We were prayed for personally many times as well as hours spent in the prayer room soaking in God's loving presence. I can truly say that I fell deeper in love with my wonderful Lord! He showed me several things that He wanted to change in my life, especially in the area of negativity, mainly about myself. I realised in a deeper way than before how much value He places on us. They interpret “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God' as “We were all born to be amazing, awesome beings, but because of sin we have fallen far short of the glorious living God intended for us. God is now in the business of restoring us to what He intended. We are all significant and have incredible potential. Once we repent and become true Christians, we are no longer ‘only human': we are hosting the Divine.”

Regarding my health situation, I am much more confident in the ultimate positive outcome. My balance problem is unchanged, but I realised that my brain is literally believing a lie: that the ground is constantly rocking when it is not. I sense my priority is to focus first on getting free of any inner lies that I am believing. My blood test last week showed a little improvement in the platelet level. In one sense I'm glad we didn't see the big miracle there, as we could easily believe that if healing is needed, we have to go to Bethel in California. I believe Jesus wants to increase our faith to see His power at work here. At present, I cannot get medical travel insurance cover if I get any problem with blood clots, but God is my real insurance! I do not believe that any health problem will prevent me from accomplishing the work God gives me to do, and that's what really matters. My next blood test will be on May 3 rd.

Antoine Rutayisire of Rwanda gave a very challenging and powerful message at the Welsh National Prayer Breakfast in the Assembly building in Cardiff. He challenged the Government to pursue godly leadership and to be dependent on God, and challenged the church to get behind the national leaders in prayer and discipleship. It was thrilling for me to see what authority Rwanda now has in the world, having learnt painful lessons in very dark times.

At the end of next week, I return to Africa for 5 weeks. First I go to Rwanda for 2 weeks to spend time with the core team and also visit reconciliation colleagues working regionally around the country. It's a full and intensive programme. Then I fly into Ituri, in the northeast of D.R.Congo for 2 weeks. Cathy from Geneva will join me there. I don't have the full programme yet, but the trip will include a 5-day training seminar and a 3 day team development retreat. Some participants may be travelling through dangerous territory to be able to attend, so please pray for their safety. We will then fly back to Rwanda for the launch of the new ministry structure. Erik, Jeltje and Renee will come from Geneva for that. This is how the programme looks (may change!):

March 23 rd Fly to Brussels

March 24 th Fly to Rwanda

March 26-27 Visit teams working in the north east of Rwanda

March 28-29 Visit teams working in the north west

March 29-31 Team building time in Kigufi (on Lake Kivu) with the core team

April 2-3 Visit teams working in the south west

April 4-5 Visit colleagues in AEE and friends in Kigali

April 6 th Fly to Uganda

April 7 th Fly to Congo

April 9-19 Training and team development seminars (exact details not yet available)

April 20/21 Fly back to Rwanda

April 22 Launch of Le Rucher Ministries in Rwanda

April 23-27 Strategic planning time with leaders of the newly-formed Great Lakes Forum (from Rwanda, Burundi and Congo)

April 28 Fly home overnight

On May 7-11, one week after returning, the next Welsh seminar will be held in Pembrokeshire. Rather than doing the original seminar, several who have been before will return to seek to go deeper. We will be focussing on what reconciled worship could look like. We will also seek to understand something of the Father's song over us as a nation.

I have heard from Trinidad that the venue in which they were planning to hold the possible seminar in July has burnt down! They are now trying to find another suitable venue, or the seminar will have to be postponed until renovations have taken place. Please pray for God's best in this.

News from South Africa continues to be very encouraging as we hear of changed, healed lives and relationships as a result of their ministry.

As I go back to Africa I trust you will be accompanying me in prayer. I wouldn't venture out without prayer support. I'm really looking forward to seeing all my dear friends again and hearing their stories. Please pray fro us in all the travelling to and fro. Pray that all the input into individuals and teams will be anointed of God and will have the effect of leaving them refreshed and more empowered to continue the work.

Thank you again and be richly blessed!

Main prayer points:

1) Praise for a wonderful trip to Bethel, California, and prayer for the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in my life, in body, mind and spirit.

2) Health and safety during the next trip, and good sleep, especially with much travelling

3) That we will know God's agenda, and God's anointing on all that is done

4) God's hand on my sister Gwenda while I am away

5) The ongoing ministry in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and South Africa

6) Welsh seminar on reconciled worship May 7-11

7) God's leading re Trinidad

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Le Rucher Ministries
CP 442
1215 Geneva 15
Switzerland
Tel:  +33.450.28.33.79
Fax:  +33.450.28.33.85
email:  reconciliation@lerucher.org
website:  www.lerucher.org

 

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