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July 2000
Dear Friends,
Summer temperatures in Georgia are rising, and drought conditions
turn the grass a dull brown. We have to follow stringent water restrictions
or face a stiff fine.
Sometimes our souls go through a similar parched period. Gideon,
that timid leader in the Old Testament whom God called a "valiant
warrior," must have felt parched like the lamb's fleece he
set out that night, asking God to keep it dry next to the dew-drenched
ground as a sign that God was with him. Judges 6-8 carries the story
of God's patience and challenge in turning a fearful man into a
victorious leader of God's chosen people.
Is this a "parched" period for you? Maybe you face unemployment,
a broken marriage, or you stand at an uncertain crossroads. If you
have done the Healing for the Nations Intensive Retreat, you'll
know we emphasize tools by which you can rely on God to move you
into a different place. If you have been using the tools we gave
you, but you feel you need a "refresher," maybe a second
retreat may benefit you. When we have to repeat something we've
done before, we can easily believe that we've regressed. That's
probably a lie! When the scenery of our journey resembles where
we've already trekked, God still knows what's best for us, and in
His mercy is providing the growth we really need. Repetition is
an excellent teaching tool in elementary school; it also works in
the school of life.
Gideon was a hero while God touched his life and used him to win
a battle against the Midianites. But this valiant warrior stumbled
at the end, letting greed and a seeking for recognition without
taking responsibility cloud his view of God's calling (Judges 8:22-35).
Maybe he sabotaged his own success by giving up hope that "watering
day" would come.
Maybe the grass is turning brown in our yards, but other plants
thrive on the direct sunshine and less frequent watering. Petunias
and Queen Anne's Lace are examples. Regardless of our make-up as
people, God has both water and sunshine for us. He knows how to
feed our souls so we will be conformed more and more into His image.
Be patient, watering day is coming!
Around the World with HFN
At the end of July, we will hold an Intensive Retreat in Einegen,
Switzerland. The retreat is already full, with many pastors and
other people in ministry attending. Nestled in the Swiss Alps, overlooking
the Thunner See, Einegen is a breathtaking spot to hold an HFN retreat.
We've conducted several retreats there before, but this will be
our first German-translated retreat. We are excited about this opportunity
and we thank Helmut and Dorothea Göbel for sponsoring this
event.
In Holland, Healing for the Nations is known as Rapha Retraites,
and has been closely linked to Rafaël Nederland, the Dutch
term for the Foursquare Church. Rather than limiting itself to just
that denomination, HFN in Holland is building relationships with
more Christian groups, including the Vineyard Church. Jan and Janneke
Boogaard are doing a marvelous job as they facilitate the retreats.
We are privileged to have Janneke join us on staff at the Einegen
retreat.
England is in a certain sense the birthplace of Healing for the
Nations (known then as Rapha Retreats and still called that there).
We have a dedicated staff led by Catherine Parkinson and the ministry
holds several 5-day retreats a year in Lancaster, England. They
also conduct "From Head to Heart" conferences every month
in home cell groups and in smaller churches. Catherine shares that
the ministry is flourishing with a full retreat for July and several
church events booked for both England and Scotland. We thank God
for our UK team and their determination to see God heal His people
in that great country.
Steve and Rhonie Hammond took the core material from the HFN conferences
and created a week's teaching in a Youth With A Mission setting
in Russia. When we changed our ministry name from Rapha Retreats
to Healing for the Nations, we had in mind the expansion of God's
healing work to many nations where His people need deep healing.
Russia is one of those places. The YWAM Discipleship Training School
students whom the Hammonds taught were typically from broken or
abusive homes. On top of that, the Russian people are trying to
find their moorings in the wake of a collapsed empire that dominated
their lives and constantly lied to them. Trust issues, shame, forgiveness
-- these were frequent themes in the Hammonds' teaching in the schools,
one held outside Moscow, the other in Rostov-on-Don. Lights went
on in the eyes of many of the students as they began to grasp all
that God had for them in being co-crucified with Christ and now
alive to let Christ live His life through them (Galatians 2:20).
Steve and Rhonie are now brainstorming with leaders in Brazil how
to bring this HFN-inspired material to various cities in Brazil
this fall.
Part of the healing process for broken people is to recognize the
heritage of their cultural background, to join in on corporate repentance
when needed, but also to affirm God's fingerprints on each culture.
Island Breeze Ministries (a part of Youth With A Mission) seeks
to "redeem cultures" through re-educating people, including
the use of dances and customs of cultures that in one way or another
declare the handiwork of God. HFN has brought the retreat teaching
to Island Breeze's Discipleship Training Schools three times over
the past year, presented by Marie Farrow, Rob Burnett, and myself
(Steve Morrison). We hope to partner with Island Breeze staff to
develop a program targeted specifically for young people. Puerto
Rico may be the location for the first of these Gen-X oriented retreats.
Rujon and I have been to Hong Kong numerous times to interface with
St. Andrews Anglican Church, and with Mother's Love, a ministry
to special need orphaned children in China. Not only have we been
able to provide spiritual renewal retreats for those working with
these children, but there may be an opportunity to develop a deeper
partnership in the future — possibly into mainland China.
Our friends at Church of Our Saviour in Singapore continue to use
our material as a tool for discipleship with ongoing conferences
and seminars. Coordinated by Pat Mok and Jaya Singh, these seminars
are called "Journey In Wholeness." They just finished
a seminar at a large Methodist church there.
Our Singapore friends have also recently taken our "From Head
to Heart" video series and converted it to CD-TV format (similar
to DVD) so it can be used by missionaries in China and Asia.
Back in Georgia, our retreats in the historic gold mining town of
Dahlonega have been picking up in numbers lately. We restrict the
number of participants to 16 at Eagle Rest mainly because of the
current size of the facility. So it becomes a happy problem to have
to tell someone they may have to wait a month for the next retreat.
We attribute these increased numbers to God's faithfulness to bring
the right number and combinations of people to the retreats (small
numbers are also the "right number" when God is in it),
but also because we have a staffed office of volunteers to follow
up with those who have inquired about our programs. We are expanding,
and we look forward to seeing how else the Lord will "grow"
us.
We are thankful for Steve and Rhonie Hammond, and Marie Farrow as
they have staffed the phones. This is especially important during
the times that we travel. It also helps free us up to concentrate
on further developing the ministry of Healing for the Nations.
We are thrilled to be part of what God is doing. Pray for us to
discern the way ahead that in everything we do, we would exalt our
most high God.
God bless!
Steve and Rujon Morrison
and the HFN team
P.S. If you want to read previous newsletters, click on the links
below:
July 2002 Newsletter (Acrobat PDF format)
April 2001 Newsletter
November
1999 Newsletter
If you do not have the Acrobat Reader program you can click
here to download a copy.
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