Sometimes being there is enough

I've had a nice couple of days spending time with Heidi. I have really enjoyed it. I 'felt' I should text her Wednesday and invite her to lunch. It so happened that she wanted to contact me to see if I would help her and English Blogger move a wardrobe. So we planned to meet in Essen for lunch.

If you remember Wednesday it was sloshing it down. The walk from the car to Essen was not far but my glasses were totally covered in rain and by the time I got near I couldn't see. I duly walked into Essen, (I'd never been before) and thought to myself, 'this is a bit posh for Heidi'. I approached the bar and asked for a coffee whilst I waited for my friend. I then sat at a table near the door (good job really) and it slowly dawned on me that everything on the table had 'Angelo's' on it. Oops, I was in the restaurant next door! Managed to make my excuses and leave. Felt like a right idiot. Still it all adds to the flavour of life.

Had a lovely lunch with Heidi, enjoyed her conversation and was really blessed to see for myself some of the ways God is putting things together for her. Life won't be the same and the shape of it will be different from now on but God is putting things together for her good.

Met up with English Blogger back at Heidi's and moved the wardrobe (and bed and dressing table...) and agreed to come around to spend time with her Thursday whilst she waited for some furniture and a mobile to be delivered.

Arrived Thursday as promised. Tried to get on to the wireless network and found that I could actually use next doors without security but the Sellers wireless wasn't accessible. Reset the router and ended up trying to sort out for most of the morning the PC which is poorly. Eventually gave in and agreed with Heidi I would rebuild it sometime soon.

Mrs Teapot and Tardis turned up with sandwiches lunchtime. Had a good old natter about Lancashire pasttimes. We are all from 'up North' and I have many similar memories to Mrs Teapot and Tardis. Mrs T reminded me of old Lancashire words I had forgotten in my wanderings which made me smile. They were on route to a hotel in the Cotswolds complete with bidet for feet washing and the like.

After lunch Heidi decided, after a morning spent dusting, that she was tired and lay down on the settee whilst I tried to write a report I need to do for some consultancy work I'm doing. It felt very peaceful and relaxing so I didn't really get much work done. I realised that if you are friends there are times when just being there is enough. You don't need conversation or clever words, just being together is blessing.

This didn't last long as Heidi got a new burst of energy (must have been the hot Vimto) and started sorting out boxes of wedding cards, invitations, birthday cards, anniversary cards and even notes of Matt's speech.

Eventually the mobile arrived and after a bit more tidying we left and went on our separate ways. It was a good couple of days that I really enjoyed. Heidi is good company and easy to talk to and listen to. Hope there are many more times like these.

Bless you Heidi, she gave me a lot from just being with you.

Final Night In Honfleur

God saves the best until last many times and my last evening in the Evangelique Protestante Baptist D'Honfleur was no exception.

I spoke on the need to be intimate with the Father so we can then agree with what he wnats in our lives in prayer and then we will see it happen.

I felt so free to speak and the translator did a brilliant job allowing me to flow freely. It is always a little awkward when you speak through a translator and I haven't done it too much but it can be fun. She was a new person to the Church and is Apostle Freddy's personal assistant and speaks Spanish and English as well as French. It was funny at times beacue I don't have the purest English accent!

My real burden is that people who are coming to Christ or already in Christ should be 'free'. I get angry with the devil when I see some of the ways God's people are screwed up. After speaking for about an hour or more I began to minister in a more prophetic way. This can take many forms but this time God opened up the people for ministry by showing me by the word of knowledge what people needed to have release from.

I had a sense of someone who at 13 years old was abused. I sensed also that they had been locked up in a dark room or cupboard many times as punishment. There were other things said but this was the main area. I asked for those who wanted me to agree with them in prayer to come forward and about 10 to 15 people responded. As I prayed many people showed signs of deliverance and release. Some people manifest some sort of fight to be free and others don't but that is irrelevent. If God is at work He does it as He wants it done.

Another thing God asked me to do was to release a greater anointing on those who were intercessors. The Prophet gift is linked to intercession. Both a Prophet and an Intercessor have a 'seer' spirit. They see what God wants to have done. So I called those who wanted to be anointed with greater power or to be used in this gift for the first time to come forward. Many people did, maybe twenty or more. What happened next was incredible. The Spirit of God fell and many were mightily impacted with His power. It was a special moment when God just poured out from heaven a special act of His grace. One young man who had confessed some sexual sin to me was delivered of a demonic spirit as we enjoyed this heavenly outpouring. Another woman began to travail in intercession, it was loud but the amusing bit was she was eight months pregnant and sounded as she was giving birth.

As they prayed for me at the end I too was floored by the Holy Spirit and was really blessed by the words of promise spoken over me.

Honfleur was special. I was tretaed with great respect and honour and loved the people there. They are truly the people of God.

I had a special time with a couple who accommodated me in their beautiful home. It is a typical Normandy cottage with thatch roof and oak beams. Their baby cat took a special interest in me even coming and sleeping on my shoulder for about an hour. So if ever you are in Normandy this is one place the try. They run a bed and breakfast business so let me know and I'll put you in touch.



For all those who prayed, your prayers were answered.

Norman Invasion - In Reverse

I realise that my last three entries have been French in flavour one way or another but I do not apologise. I love France and unusual for some Englishmen I also love the French.

What am I doing in France?

Well it actually started in St Etienne, then via Cape Town, South Africa and finally Honfleur in Normandy.

As explained in an earlier entry I am friends with two missionaries in St Etienne. I visited them first in May 2004 then got to know them a bit via e-mail and visited a second time in May 2005. At that meeting I met an Apostle from Cape Town called André Pelser. He invited me to South Africa to be part of a celebration there and that is where I met Freddy De Coster. Who is Freddy? He is also an Apostle who has a church in Honfleur and he invited me to come and see him during this summer holiday in France.

I gave a testimony and prophetic word to his church when we visited and he asked me to come back and speak. So I am in Honfleur.

What has been happening? It has been a powerful time of God using me and also I witnessed some of His power in the services. One woman who came on Sunday with a crippled foot was healed! This was after five unsuccesful operations. She confirmed the next day that her doctor was totally amazed and that she was no longer a cripple.

I was privileged to speak and God used me to bring a word to the church. At the end many responded to ministry. There was a real sense of God being there.

Monday I spoke into the leadership and gave many personal words. It was incredible that these words were accurate and confirmed many things to them.

Tonight I am speaking again before travelling home.

I regard this as a reconnaisance trip. I am going to sound out the land before taking an army (of maybe four to six)in the new year. So any takers? The pay isn't much (you pay your own fare) but the food is brilliant.