Last month...

Well, another month is trying to get the best of me in getting this out.

So, I'll cut to the chase…

…well, just a quick report on the amazing worship time in Switzerland.

It's difficult to put into words how significant this felt and how great these 3 days were.  10 of us from our church went with a simple/vague agenda to worship the Lord for 3 days.  We were a group of 5 French, 4 Americans and 1 Welsh girl.  We ranged in age from early 60's to 17. The location was Christian retreat center named Laebeshuus (they're redoing their site at the moment) that is situated high on a hillside overlooking Lake Thun near the town of Thun, Switzerland with an absolutely stunning panorama of the snow-capped Swiss Alps in front of us.  There is a desire, in addition to being a retreat center, that this center become a place of constant prayer and worship.  It was in this context that our friends Rusty and Janet Richards organized this trip.  Laebeshuus was looking for worshippers and we were happy to oblige. 

There was also a desire that as many worship team participants at our church could participate as well.  Since some of those are young folks still in school, the trip was planned during the spring break here.  We had 3 youth with us and were extremely blessed to be able to share the time with them.  Their participation was key and there were also some strong times of impartation into their lives.  The detail level of planning was not done intentionally in order to give the Holy Spirit as much room as possible to guide us.  Our time was mostly spent in a small room (formerly a garage!) that is becoming their "worship center". We were able to set up a few instruments in there, a table for painting/drawing, and we still had a bit of space to "move" with banners and such. 

We also enjoyed getting to know each other around a generous Swiss table with great food in a wonderful facility.  We were able to take early morning walks and just stare in awe at the amazing mountain scenery with weather cooperating to give us a varied view of the landscape with mysterious clouds and brilliant sunshine all on offer in these 3 short days. 

The Holy Spirit was moving among us and we could feel the flow from one topic of prayer to another and different musical "scenes" taking place, all backed up by prophetic pictures that were simply flowing from the artists among us.  We felt used by the Lord as a group in praying for strategic things (different nations in Europe, etc.) as well as for each other and individual growth.  I've been involved in many different short-term intercession initiatives and it's always fun to watch the Lord create and bond together a team in a short period of time and it's especially fulfilling to watch that with young people involved as well.  I love watching their giftings coming into maturity and bearing fruit.  Very satisfying!

This month...

• Olivia on the road again - Olivia's 10th grade class is currently on a class trip with their German teacher to Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany - returning Saturday.  Please pray for their continued safety, good health, strong bonding and a measure of the Lord's heart for different lands.  
• Worship - This Friday night is our monthly 4-hour worship tabernacle.  At the moment there are only 2 leaders (myself and another gal) available and a lack of drummers too.  Typically like to have at least 3 groups for 4 hours. Pray that we find the Lord's perfect organization to create a worship environment that pleases Him. 
• Room strategies - Recently we've had some serious discussions about how to change our worship center so that it can be rented out from time-to-time.  This has brought to the fore several different, and opposing opinions about the layout of the room, how to best do the sound, how to protect equipment, etc.  These are things which need to be resolved to move forward into the next season of our stewardship of this building that is being renovated.  Please pray for wisdom and grace as we seek God's perspective in this whole matter and the ability to hear each other's hearts.
• Sozo training trip - Angela takes off with about 10 people from our church to attend an advanced Sozo training workshop in Nimes, France (down south) this Thursday.  This training is really an answer to prayer for the expansion of the team.  Angela's had the training but this will be an excellent team-building time for all involved.  Please pray for their travelling safety, team bonding and strong revelation during the training for this inner healing ministry. 
• School IT work - I've made some progress during this break but not as much as anticipated.  I need to get some specific things done by this Thursday before school restarts.  Additionally, I'm working on a "recruiting" effort to build the IT team by 1-2 people.  I really need to know how to go forward in this as I know that God's ways of recruiting are usually a bit different than ours. Please pray for effective work times these next few days and for the right direction in bringing in new people into this work.

May you be blessed!

David