HIckson, Heartcry and Helen October prayer News
Heartcry Hotline – Prayer Information and News
Heartcry Ministries, PO Box 737, Oxford, OX1 9FA, UK.
October 2008 Prayer Shield
Our dear Friends,
Another month has raced by and the season is definitely changing! I have at last managed to get out in the back yard and finally plant a garden area which I hope will look good for spring time. The summer has been so wet that it has almost been impossible to get outside. So it was a real joy to be out with the kids in San Antonio and have time to talk and sit out in the sun. It was still very warm while there. In fact we were in Texas when the Hurricane Ike rolled through but were grateful that we were unaffected and the region was not as badly hit as expected. September has been a busy month – we had our conference here in Oxford, we travelled to Norway and USA and have visited many places in the UK. David has returned to university for his last year and Nicola has arrived back in Australia after our time in Texas with a lovely new stroller which we were able to buy in the USA for the expected granddaughter...to be born later this year.
We started this month in Norway with a series of meetings concluding in Bergen. Our evening meeting in Bergen at the beginning of September was a wonderfully well attended event and we were encouraged to see so many wonderful women gathered and hungry for a move of God. I spoke from John 11 about the raising of Lazarus and the invitation to the Body of Christ to rally to work together in partnership for breakthrough so that we see each other released and freed from the grave clothes that paralyse us. I really feel such a strong connection to this city and will watch for other doors to open to us.
After Norway it was good to be in the USA and have the opportunity to be with my family. I was amazed how slim and neat Nicola looked although she is now 5 months plus pregnant. She coped with the jet lag well and we were able to go shopping for the little one and buy lots of pretty things for her. I also had the opportunity to minister in San Antonio whilst I was there and was touched by the love of the churches. They are great.
Helen then joined me in San Francisco where we attended the Deborah Company’s International Convocation with Cindy Jacobs. It was good to be reminded of the issues facing so many in the USA today as, not unlike the UK, legislation is being liberalised on issues such as abortion and things are tough for those who would like to make a difference but come up against almost prohibitive scrutiny and regulation for parents who would like to adopt unwanted babies.
It was then on to Seattle and we had a very productive few days including doing a Heartcry photo shoot for our new publicity material and website and preaching at Rainier Hills Christian Fellowship. We also found the perfect recording studio where Rachel was able to record her forthcoming 40 day devotional onto MP3 which will be aired on UCB radio, in a “Thought for the day” type format, sometime in the future. We were also delighted to be able to join our friends at the City Church for their annual Vision Banquet and hear how this church continues to bless its community through social action and five campuses where the church meets for worship and teaching. There have been many financial miracles over the last decade as this church has expanded and grown to touch Seattle.
While we were in the USA a very exciting parcel was delivered to us: 12 copies of Rachel’s Supernatural Communication in Arabic!! Yes, these books are now hot off the press and available to the Arabic-speaking churches. What has amazed us is how much interest there has been in England for this book. So many people know Arabic speakers in their neighbourhoods and communities and are excited to have a book in Arabic they can give their friends to introduce them to Christian prayer. Please pray for the distribution and impact of this book.
Please also pray as we seek to develop our projects in the Middle East, working with the churches and leaders and developing training programmes and resources. Helen has just started her second year with Heartcry and we feel excited by all that God will do through our partnership as we trust Him to provide for us financially and with strategy in this season. Our travel itinerary will increasingly involve missions trips so we need to partner this expanding vision with greater provision.
Our conference called ‘Kingdom Footprints – a Heartcry for Change’ was a great day to reconnect with friends old and new and to share our vision of change and reformation in this season. It was good for us to do this in Oxford and really establish Heartcry in the reformation city. We sense the call of God on us and know that our geography is no accident. The CDs of the conference are available and can be ordered online on the Heartcry Shop ....so please have a look. This set will give you a good sense of our heart and what God is doing at this time.
Interspersed in all of this, we have done a substantial amount of travelling within England this month, with a series on prayer in Bedford, church services in Sunningdale and day conferences, evening meetings or seminars in Epping Forest, Perton and Birmingham. We have loved getting a sense of the atmosphere in our nation at this time and are so aware of the privilege of seeing so many faithful believers staking their ground and acting as beacons of hope in their communities in these days of shaking and instability as we watch banks collapse and jobs put on the line.
So what does October have in store? After a long weekend in Kristiansand, Norway, we have a few days in the UK before we leave for our missions trip to India where we will be taking services and meetings as well as visiting orphanages, leprosy missions and micro finance businesses and just strengthening people who are weary! SO please have a look at the schedule....
October 2008
1 URBAN SAINTS CONFERENCE- LUTON- R
Contact Person: Virginia Boakes
1 KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY- H
2-5 KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY- R & H
Contact Person: Billy
7 ST ALDATES ALPHA BANQUET- R
www.staldates.org.uk
11-12 NEL CITY CHURCH GRIMSBY R & H
Contact Person: David Jones
david.jones@nelcitychurch.org.uk
16-31 MISSIONS TRIP- BANGALORE, HYDERABAD, MYSORE, GOA, INDIA- R&H
Contact Person: Duncan Watkinson
Please do pray for us as we travel to India. There are real religious tensions in India at the moment and so we need safety and protection. Please also pray for us to have time to read, think and prepare......I am so aware that these are difficult days and we need His word to hold us. Today as I woke up I felt God speak to me from:
(Acts 27:23 - 25 NIV) Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
I feel that these are days to have a bold courage to hold to what we know to be true and NOT FEAR. God will stand close to us! These are also days for moral courage that stands for righteousness and a voice that is not afraid to direct the way in these difficult times. Thank you for all your love and prayer!
Rachel & Gordon Hickson with Helen Azer.
| 