How quickly things can change - Richard Teo

In Memory of Dr. Richard Teo (1972 - 2012)
Thanks to Martin Allan for this.
Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012. He has just passed away few days ago on 18 October 2012.

Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse, so please bear with m

e. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I'm a medical doctor. And I thought I'll just share some thoughts of my life. It's my pleasure to be invited by prof. Hopefully, it can get you thinking about how... as you pursue this.. embarking on your training to become dental surgeons, to think about other things as well.

Since young, I am a typical product of today's society. Relatively successful product that society requires.. From young, I came from a below average family. I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about success. And that success is about being wealthy. With this mind-set, I've always be extremely competitive, since I was young.

Not only do I need to go to the top school, I need to have success in all fields. Uniform groups, track, everything. I needed to get trophies, needed to be successful, I needed to have colours award, national colours award, everything. So I was highly competitive since young. I went on to medical school, graduated as a doctor. Some of you may know that within the medical faculty, ophthalmology is one of the most highly sought after specialities. So I went after that as well. I was given a traineeship in ophthalmology, I was also given a research scholarship by NUS to develop lasers to treat the eye.

So in the process, I was given 2 patents, one for the medical devices, and another for the lasers. And you know what, all this academic achievements did not bring me any wealth. So once I completed my bond with MOH, I decided that this is taking too long, the training in eye surgery is just taking too long. And there's lots of money to be made in the private sector. If you're aware, in the last few years, there is this rise in aesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be made there. So I decided, well, enough of staying in institution, it's time to leave. So I quit my training halfway and I went on to set up my aesthetic clinic... in town, together with a day surgery centre.

You know the irony is that people do not make heroes out average GP (general practitioner), family physicians. They don't. They make heroes out of people who are rich and famous. People who are not happy to pay $20 to see a GP, the same person have no qualms paying ten thousand dollars for a liposuction, 15 thousand dollars for a breast augmentation, and so on and so forth. So it's a no brainer isn't? Why do you want to be a gp? Become an aesthetic physician. So instead of healing the sick and ill, I decided that I'll become a glorified beautician. So, business was good, very good. It started off with waiting of one week, then became 3weeks, then one month, then 2 months, then 3 months. I was overwhelmed; there were just too many patients. Vanities are fantastic business. I employed one doctor, the second doctor, the 3rd doctor, the 4th doctor. And within the 1st year, we're already raking in millions. Just the 1st year. But never is enough because I was so obsessed with it. I started to expand into Indonesia to get all the rich Indonesian tai-tais who wouldn't blink an eye to have a procedure done. So life was really good.

So what do I do with the spare cash. How do I spend my weekends? Typically, I'll have car club gatherings. I take out my track car, with spare cash I got myself a track car. We have car club gatherings. We'll go up to Sepang in Malaysia. We'll go for car racing. And it was my life. With other spare cash, what do i do? I get myself a Ferrari. At that time, the 458 wasn't out, it's just a spider convertible, 430. This is a friend of mine, a schoolmate who is a forex trader, a banker. So he got a red one, he was wanting all along a red one, I was getting the silver one.

So what do I do after getting a car? It's time to buy a house, to build our own bungalows. So we go around looking for a land to build our own bungalows, we went around hunting. So how do i live my life? Well, we all think we have to mix around with the rich and famous. This is one of the Miss Universe. So we hang around with the beautiful, rich and famous. This by the way is an internet founder. So this is how we spend our lives, with dining and all the restaurants and Michelin Chefs you know.

So I reach a point in life that I got everything for my life. I was at the pinnacle of my career and all. That's me one year ago in the gym and I thought I was like, having everything under control and reaching the pinnacle.

Well, I was wrong. I didn't have everything under control. About last year March, I started to develop backache in the middle of nowhere. I thought maybe it was all the heavy squats I was doing. So I went to SGH, saw my classmate to do an MRI, to make sure it's not a slipped disc or anything. And that evening, he called me up and said that we found bone marrow replacement in your spine. I said, sorry what does that mean? I mean I know what it means, but I couldn't accept that. I was like “Are you serious?” I was still running around going to the gym you know. But we had more scans the next day, PET scans - positrons emission scans, they found that actually I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. I was like "Whoa where did that come from?” It has already spread to the brain, the spine, the liver and the adrenals. And you know one moment I was there, totally thinking that I have everything under control, thinking that I've reached the pinnacle of my life. But the next moment, I have just lost it.

This is a CT scan of the lungs itself. If you look at it, every single dot there is a tumour. We call this miliaries tumour. And in fact, I have tens of thousands of them in the lungs. So, I was told that even with chemotherapy, that I'll have about 3-4months at most. Did my life come crushing on, of course it did, who wouldn't? I went into depression, of course, severe depression and I thought I had everything.

See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down..

You know the classical Chinese New Year that is coming up. In the past, what do I do? Well, I will usually drive my flashy car to do my rounds, visit my relatives, to show it off to my friends. And I thought that was joy, you know. I thought that was really joy. But do you really think that my relatives and friends, whom some of them have difficulty trying to make ends meet, that will truly share the joy with me? Seeing me driving my flashy car and showing off to them? No, no way. They won’t be sharing joy with me. They were having problems trying to make ends meet, taking public transport. In fact i think, what I have done is more like you know, making them envious, jealous of all I have. In fact, sometimes even hatred.

Those are what we call objects of envy. I have them, I show them off to them and I feel it can fill my own pride and ego. That didn't bring any joy to these people, to my friends and relatives, and I thought they were real joy.

Well, let me just share another story with you. You know when I was about your age, I stayed in king Edward VII hall. I had this friend whom I thought was strange. Her name is Jennifer, we're still good friends. And as I walk along the path, she would, if she sees a snail, she would actually pick up the snail and put it along the grass patch. I was like why do you need to do that? Why dirty your hands? It’s just a snail. The truth is she could feel for the snail. The thought of being crushed to death is real to her, but to me it's just a snail. If you can't get out of the pathway of humans then you deserve to be crushed, it’s part of evolution isn't it? What an irony isn't it?

There I was being trained as a doctor, to be compassionate, to be able to empathise; but I couldn't. As a house officer, I graduated from medical school, posted to the oncology department at NUH. And, every day, every other day I witness death in the cancer department. When I see how they suffered, I see all the pain they went through. I see all the morphine they have to press every few minutes just to relieve their pain. I see them struggling with their oxygen breathing their last breath and all. But it was just a job. When I went to clinic every day, to the wards every day, take blood, give the medication but was the patient real to me? They weren't real to me. It was just a job, I do it, I get out of the ward, I can't wait to get home, I do my own stuff.

Was the pain, was the suffering the patients went through real? No. Of course I know all the medical terms to describe how they feel, all the suffering they went through. But in truth, I did not know how they feel, not until I became a patient. It is until now; I truly understand how they feel. And, if you ask me, would I have been a very different doctor if I were to re-live my life now, I can tell you yes I will. Because I truly understand how the patients feel now. And sometimes, you have to learn it the hard way.

Even as you start just your first year, and you embark this journey to become dental surgeons, let me just challenge you on two fronts.

Inevitably, all of you here will start to go into private practice. You will start to accumulate wealth. I can guarantee you. Just doing an implant can bring you thousands of dollars, it's fantastic money. And actually there is nothing wrong with being successful, with being rich or wealthy, absolutely nothing wrong. The only trouble is that a lot of us like myself couldn't handle it.

Why do I say that? Because when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became. Like what I showed you earlier on, all I can was basically to get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of what society did to us, of what society wants us to be. I became so obsessed that nothing else really mattered to me. Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients.

A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me "hope". We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money.

Worse, I can tell you, over the last few years, we bad mouth our fellow colleagues, our fellow competitors in the industry. We have no qualms about it. So if we can put them down to give ourselves an advantage, we do it. And that's what happening right now, medical, dental everywhere. My challenge to you is not to lose that moral compass. I learnt it the hard way, I hope you don't ever have to do it.

Secondly, a lot of us will start to get numb to our patients as we start to practise. Whether is it government hospitals, private practice, I can tell you when I was in the hospital, with stacks of patient folders, I can't wait to get rid of those folders as soon as possible; I can't wait to get patients out of my consultation room as soon as possible because there is just so many, and that's a reality. Because it becomes a job, a very routine job. And this is just part of it. Do I truly know how the patient feels back then? No, I don't. The fears and anxiety and all, do I truly understand what they are going through? I don't, not until when this happens to me and I think that is one of the biggest flaws in our system.

We’re being trained to be healthcare providers, professional, and all and yet we don't know how exactly they feel. I'm not asking you to get involved emotionally, I don't think that is professional but do we actually make a real effort to understand their pain and all? Most of us won’t, alright, I can assure you. So don't lose it, my challenge to you is to always be able to put yourself in your patient's shoes.

Because the pain, the anxiety, the fear are very real even though it's not real to you, it's real to them. So don't lose it and you know, right now I'm in the midst of my 5th cycle of my chemotherapy. I can tell you it’s a terrible feeling. Chemotherapy is one of those things that you don't wish even your enemies to go through because it's just suffering, lousy feeling, throwing out, you don't even know if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feeling! And even with whatever little energy now I have, I try to reach out to other cancer patients because I truly understand what pain and suffering is like. But it's kind of little too late and too little.

You guys have a bright future ahead of you with all the resource and energy, so I’m going to challenge you to go beyond your immediate patients. To understand that there are people out there who are truly in pain, truly in hardship. Don’t get the idea that only poor people suffer. It is not true. A lot of these poor people do not have much in the first place, they are easily contented. for all you know they are happier than you and me but there are out there, people who are suffering mentally, physically, hardship, emotionally, financially and so on and so forth, and they are real. We choose to ignore them or we just don't want to know that they exist.

So do think about it alright, even as you go on to become professionals and dental surgeons and all. That you can reach out to these people who are in need. Whatever you do can make a large difference to them. I'm now at the receiving end so I know how it feels, someone who genuinely care for you, encourage and all. It makes a lot of difference to me. That’s what happens after treatment. I had a treatment recently, but I’ll leave this for another day. A lot of things happened along the way, that's why I am still able to talk to you today.

I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through.

Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life. Not according to what other people tell you to do, and you have to decide whether you want to serve yourself, whether you are going to make a difference in somebody else's life. Because true happiness doesn't come from serving yourself. I thought it was but it didn't turn out that way.

Also most importantly, I think true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God – I mean, you can read the bible and know about God – but knowing God personally; getting a relationship with God. I think that’s the most important. That’s what I’ve learnt.

So if I were to sum it up, I’d say that the earlier we sort out the priorities in our lives, the better it is. Don’t be like me – I had no other way. I had to learn it through the hard way. I had to come back to God to thank Him for this opportunity because I’ve had 3 major accidents in my past – car accidents. You know, these sports car accidents – I was always speeding , but somehow I always came out alive, even with the car almost being overturned. And I wouldn’t have had a chance. Who knows, I don’t know where else I’d be going to! Even though I was baptised it was just a show, but the fact that this has happened, it gave me a chance to come back to God.

Few things I’d learnt though:
1. Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart – this is so important.
2. Is to love and serve others, not just ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with being rich or wealthy. I think it’s absolutely alright, cos God has blessed. So many people are blessed with good wealth, but the trouble is I think a lot of us can’t handle it. The more we have, the more we want. I’ve gone through it, the deeper the hole we dig, the more we get sucked into it, so much so that we worship wealth and lose focus. Instead of worshipping God, we worship wealth. It’s just a human instinct. It’s just so difficult to get out of it.

We are all professionals, and when we go into private practise, we start to build up our wealth – inevitably. So my thought are, when you start to build up wealth and when the opportunity comes, do remember that all these things don’t belong to us. We don’t really own it nor have rights to this wealth. It’s actually God’s gift to us. Remember that it’s more important to further His Kingdom rather than to further ourselves.

Anyway I think that I’ve gone through it, and I know that wealth without God is empty. It is more important that you fill up the wealth, as you build it up subsequently, as professionals and all, you need to fill it up with the wealth of God.

(Please share his photo and words with others) —Posted By Rich Wong. ♥

Agape is a verb

Elaine came over tonight just before she goes back to Kenya. We talked about how professionals were trying to advise her the other day. Interesting how charity has gone from being agape, to a noun meaning something similar to a corporation or board. Even my African friend who thinks in terms of people being born again then when it comes to church is all about board meetings...allbeit his board mee
tings resemble worship gatherings. i say cut out the middleman....ie the boards. We're at this thorny stage all over the world, where everything God has ever done so far has been able to be mimicked, so we have a corporation package for missionary work and founding churches. Thorny, because...up until 2012 the independent self question has never ever been faced in a corporate setting. So the independent self has been co-managing churches,co-managing charities, quietly acquiescing to Rothschild Freemasonic or Round Table input and now ofcourse comes the divide of history. Nothing is ever going to be the same again.Up until now, we didn't know what was going wrong. We knew our collander had holes, we just didn't know where and why. Now we do. So what are charities and churches going to do?
Well the jury's out. Watch closely.

On what authority do you speak?

The internet is full of these authoratative sounding guys. Carlos Iggy Shelton lampoons a lot of them. This one is called Phil Johnson and I believe pushes John Macarthur materials. John is probably a better man to listen to, but listen carefully in the Spirit as you do.

People like Phil don't have a real ministry themselves, they exist in the shadow of others some who they perceives as good, some as bad. They are little more than encylopaedias reporting on all the commonly held views about all and sundry. After 6-10 of similar blogsites, you can strongly be tempted to walk into the nearest bar and get drunk, thinking that God isn't real at all.

Praise God He is real. He speaks to our hearts, not just Phil Johnson's leftbrain, and God's Promise remains : He DOES send the Comforter to lead us into all truth. But you notice God never promised to lead our leftbrains into all truth first, which is the approach of Johnson, and this behaviour resembles a badly brought up kid shouting at his parents, demanding they behave exactly in the way and manner that he sees fit to be brought up. God doesn't ofcourse. He knows what each of us need and in what sequence. He has 9 Names of God, 7 spirits, 12 tribes worth of material, 4 completely different apostle's gospels....and a humongous load of revelation throughout all the letters and the rest of the Bible. It's too much for any leftbrain schooled in Rothschild designed education as we all in the West have received, so the first thing God does is to shift us sideways first in to Proverbs 3:5-6...in other words that we NOLONGER rely on our insight...but first and above all TRUST IN THE LORD with all our heart.

More NOW Exhortations - Cherrie Fore Ball

Cherrie Fore Ball "I am moving in the earth, Children. I am moving in the heavens. I ammoving even in the bowels of the earth. For I am bringing great change.
I am bringing a great delight, even for you this night. For I am opening even My Chambers unto you. Step into My Chambers, for they are new. I have created them for you, and I am drawing you into the folds of My Garment. I want you to seek Me more. For as you do, My Life will pour, and I will unfold My Garment even more. For I have Chambers in store that I have desired to open and pour. But I have waited until My People would seek for more. For I do not give the precious to those that are not sincere. But I do give it to those that will draw near."

"The Changes I bring, will be in full swing by Spring, for you are in My Momentum. You are in the Cresting of My Wave. For I am moving quickly to heal, to deliver, and to save. I am moving in a great movement in the earth. Let My Chambers give birth! Open yourself to Me completely, and hold nothing in reserve! Abandon yourself to My will, and see the things that will come still, for I have Treasures for you. I have Treasures in the heavens. I have treasures in the earth, and I even have Treasures in the bowels of the earth, and as I shake all three, even the Treasures will come forth quickly, because I held them for this hour."

"Do not be moved by the shaking, but run to Me in this hour, for I am shaking My Glory in you. I am shaking My Glory through you. I am shaking My Glory out of you. I am shaking My Glory all around you, and I will shake, and shake, and shake, until everything is as I desire to make!
For I am King, and I am changing everything! Rejoice in this day, Children, for I am coming in a stronger way, and I will show My Hand to you everyday, and you will laugh, and leap, and play in My Glory each day! For I have a Rest and a Liberty for you, that will refresh you, and strengthen you, and heal you, as you come into My Chambers with Me! You will move with great, great Liberty!"

Thoughts on the Vision of the Church as Daniel Garcia goes to glory

Pastor Daniel Garcia who has died this week

On hearing of the death of Norita's brother Daniel Garcia (Main pastor of Los Rios de Vida, Buenos Aires and in all the other states of Argentina)and reading one of his last requests that people continue to spend long together praising and worshipping the Lord, and to not neglect the gathering together of believers my thoughts are this.
Ed Miller,Jorge Pradas and Daniel pushed open the doors of praise and worship as a pattern in the local congregation maybe more than any other series of churches on earth. But I am resolved that this is NOT sufficient. Often content to stay in the outer realms of the holy place in order to prepare for listening to preaching, may the next generation really become the advanced corps prophesied in Psalm 110 and Psalm 24. In Psalm 134 also we are shown what a huge role we have, and again in Psalm 149. We have to be expert in what up to now we are still playing with. The Melchizedek Order is where Jesus Christ rules and reigns. He has pulled down any separation at all, having His flesh torn as the veil which kept us from approaching God's throne.
He has, in these last days through decades of seeking God revealed through his servant Norman Grubb, a missionary for around 70 plus years, the exact blueprint of how Galations 2:20 works on an individual life, but as yet NO CONGREGATION ANYWHERE ON THIS EARTH has worked out this third level of operation on a corporate scale, the level of "KNOWING HIM WHO IS FROM THE BEGINNING" described in 1 John 2. This is the realm the elders before the throne operate in. But Jesus specifically told us to pray this prayer. "THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." and again the apostle writes " AS HE IS , SO ARE WE IN THE EARTH." What this looks like in corporate form, projecting as Ern Baxter prophesied " the Community of the Trinity out from the Throne into a community of people in a space time world" we have as yet no firm idea. We have proved what it doesn't look like by creating networks of churches run by men at the top of pyramids, and have blocked the specific injunction of the New Covenant: They shall all know Me from the least to the greatest. Instead these networks have all put out their prophets, have not advanced in their doctrines and revelation, and have not pursued the worship of God into the third level, first opened recently by Ed Miller and attended to by national revival in Argentina as a sign following.
Ed Miller has proved the Third level exists.
Jorge Pradas and Daniel have proved there is such a thing as the vision of the local church.
Norman Grubb has explained how we may walk continually in this third level of knowing Christ as consciousness on an individual level.
The Psalms of Ascents (Ps120-134) however, describe a corporate rising into the Presence of God that is completely without historical precedent, yet it  takes place at a time of NIGHT in the Earth.
Isaiah 60 declares that this Darkness will cover the earth, and it describes this Darkness as GROSS Darkness. Yet at such a time shall a LIGHT ARISE on the people of God that is equally unprecedented. It is the Light of the Son of God, this time manifest incarnationally not only through the Head who is Jesus, but through His entire Body, of whom it says , He is not ashamed to call them brethren. The Son of Man shall arise suddenly, like lightning in the Earth, and it is said by Jesus of this "Son of Man "the angels of God ascend and descend upon Him."
For the rest of the church this is far fetched, but both Ed Miller's churches and JorgePradas's churches have already experienced angels among them. The foretastes of Jesus singing amongst His brethren in the congregation have already been indescribable, but this was among a people that do not yet know the third level apart from the briefest glimpses. Praise, worship and the Presence of God among a people who know Galations 2:20 as consciousness, will release a realm of Power and Glory no man can at this point fully realise, but is described obliquely in Psalm 134 when it says the saints shall BLESS THE EARTH OUT OF ZION. Earth sized blessings shall be released by such a people.

Fragmentation.
The throwing out of people such as myself and many many others.
The reluctance to press through to any kind of maturity as promised in scripture.
The Lacklustre worship of the one for whom are all jewels, riches,skills, knowledge,praise, love, adoration even our Bridegroom who honours us above all other possessions...
ALL THIS HAS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY, and simply yielding in obedience to the One who loves us, He will simply amaze us by what He can reproduce in our flesh and blood. He was , is and will always remain glorious and without parallel.

**********************
Norita his brother had written on FB
We arrived today at Heathrow airport and as we were waiting for our suitcases we received the message saying that my dear brother and pastor Daniel Garcia passed away last night. It was too late for me to go back to Argentina but as we came back home we joined with our sons, other brothers and sisters that came to greet us to give thanks for his life of sacrifice and complete surrender, together t

o his dear wife Nelly, other servants of God such as Papi and other contemporaries in the work of His kingdom.

We are rejoicing now that he is resting from his tireless work for the beloved church of the Lord. Even though he was still sick, his spirit was intact in the Lord and he was continually thinking about the Church. I heard him say a few things only weeks before passing away that will stick with me: “care for the God’s church, take care of the brothers” and also: “In the church meetings, do not rush the times of praise and worship”. Then he added: 'Don’t stop going to church”.

He was a tireless fighter, so much so that he entered with marks into the Promised Land. He recognised his mistakes but deeply trusted in the Lord his God. He dedicated time to the study of the Word and to prayer. The Word of God has been extremely important in his life of faith. Crystal clear waters from the throne of the Lord. The Lord increased those who live out and bring the Word of the Lord clearly to the lives of its people.

I always remember one of his favourite passages:

'but the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which is on the rise until the day is perfect' Proverbs 4: 18

------------------------
 Hoy llegamos al aeropuerto de Londres y estabamos esperando las valijas cuando recibimos el mensaje que mi querido hermano y pastor habia partido para estar con el Señor a las 8 de la noche del dia de ayer. Era muy tarde para volver a Argentina pero al volver a casa pudimos dar gracias por su vida de sacrificio y entrega junto a su querida esposa Nelly y a sievos de Dios como papi y sus companiero

s de la obra. Estamos gozosos de saber que ahora el esta descansando de su infatigable trabajo para la amada iglesia del Señor. aun enfermo su espiritu estaba intacto en el Senior y pensando en la iglesia. Una de estas ultimas semanas el dijo entre otras cosas: "Cuiden a la iglesia del Señor, cuiden a los hermanos" y otra vez: "los cultos deben tomar su tiempo en la alabanza y adoracion". Luego aniadio: "No dejen de ir a los cultos". El fue un luchador infatigable, que aun con marcas entro en la tierra prometida. Reconocia sus errores pero confiaba ampliamente en Dios su Senior. Tomaba tiempo en el estudio de la palabra y en oracion. La palabra de Dios ha sido sumamente importante en su vida de fe. Aguas cristalinas el trono del Señor. Que el Señor aumente aquellos que viven y traen la palabra del Senior claramente a la vidas de su pueblo. Siempre recuerdo uno de sus pasajes favoritos:"Mas la senda de los justos es como la luz de la aurora, que va en aumento hasta que el dia es perfecto" proverbios 4: 18

Electricity Circuit

Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in your midst. 

 
Electricity theory:
 in a lamp circuit that is in series,where there is a power source, no faulty connection to the switch, no faulty connection to a lamp, and where there is a return connection to the powersource, a lamp shall light up.

Galations 2:20 is a staggering concept. Imagine a room of people all knowing by revelation that they have been crucified. That the self-powered delusion they used to live in and was never self-powered but instead was "hooked up with the spirit of wrath".....
Now imagine that swept away, and people just having the consciousness that they were now owned,operated by their new Spirit empowerer...Christ the Living Lord....in other words...like Jacob...after three generations of he and his forebears all seeking God's face...he had a name change to Israel, prince of God.....

well in the same way, these Christians have had their Name changed to Jesus as them in their form. Imagine a circuit of such people linked by gathering in this New Name? 

Who is in their midst? 

The One Firstborn of a multitude of brethren.

The Ancient of Days. present with the Father at the foundation of the world.

 Can you begin to understand what church will be like, and can you understand now why present churches are so pathetic in comparison, run as they are often by one leader, who may or may not know as much as their congregation.

 Can you now see why the pattern true churches run in according to Ephesians 4:15-16 is a blueprint of supernatural power that the earth has never truly ever seen?" Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." NASV

The Gift of Righteousness

When I felt particularly to seek God in those early morning sessions in Bible House....and I felt I just had to "wait" upon the Lord...like Psalm 123....Nothing articulable happened. because the Lord was restraining me from praying.
From even reading the Word.
I just had to wait upon His Presence.
Now this is what happened.
I became aware of a peculiar burni

ng inside me.
No one had talked about this really.Maybe John Clarke.
At times it was like agony....almost writhing around.
It really felt like those verses that say
when I tasted your word in my mouth it was like honey, but in my stomach it was exceedingly bitter.

Righteousness, holiness,invading us can feel almost painful. Like heat. It is God Himself taking up more residence in our souls, in our hidden parts, in our hidden programming (Ezekiel 8:10)

But have no fear, this holy fire takes a hold, but it doesn't continue to feel so awful. Who knows what stronholds and generational ties are being gobbled up while this reprogramming is occurring.

There's no textbook for it. It's the same Presence you get in very good meetings....so it's confirmed and witnessed to by every believer wishing to take the Word of God seriously. It's not some bizarre weirdness ore weird spirit entering us causing us to spiral off into erroneous doctrine or worship of spirits.

It's like layers coming off....layers of callous coming off our insides. We become increasingly sensitive to what's going on....to sensing when God is going on....or when God is not in something.

This is all righteousness is....the invasion of Christ in His full Person....not just the bits we want because they give us good feelings....but in fact our steps never change.

True righteousness changes us from within out.
It is no more than Him outworking the full effect of what He already accomplished 2000 years ago. It's the stripping back of us down to the raw person He originally made us to be....ready to be spontaneous and whole
not speaking out hurt or victimhood every sentence we speak
not shortcircuiting to the behaviours that always trapped us
not always fouling up relationships with bits of snipe and bitterness

in short it is the removal of every trace of who we were....children of wrath

a wrath that expressed itself in
alienation
from God
from man
from family
from friends
a wrath that always directed hurt and anger towards a false image of God not being good and gracious
a wrath that always hindered us in our work and creativity because we couldn't then live from a clear and simple heart.

Really it is like the parable of the sower and the seed. it's like having your own personal bulldozer strip back your soil of all hardness,crusts and flinty soil....back down to a beutiful soil that grows big things for God without thinking about it....
just superfertile.....

It's that sort of thing that is holiness and righteousness.
Always a gift.
Always grace,
really nothing more than believing Him as me, in my form, my personality....Him just getting on with His Life as us.

NOW Exhortations

through Annalize Mouton

WORD OF EXHORTATION 10/17/12

Written by Robin Kirby-Gatto
I HEAR THE HOLY SPIRIT SAY THAT WE HAVE HEARD OVER AND OVER ABOUT THE SHIFT COMING IN GOD'S CHURCH AND IN THIS NATION. HE SAYS IT IS ABOUT TO OCCUR. WE GOD'S CHURCH, HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE SHIFT FOR YEARS, BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF IT IS ABOUT TO COME FORTH IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. GOD SAYS THE BLESSINGS OF HEAVEN ARE ABOUT TO POUR OUT UPON HIS PEOPLE. WE WILL SEE HEALINGS AND CREATIVE MIRACLES MANIFEST IN THE HOSPITALS AND IN HOMES AS WELL AS CHURCH. GOD SAYS CHURCH WILL NOT BE CHURCH AS USUAL, FOR THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND HIS PEACE ESTABLISHED ON THE THRONE OF DAVID WITH JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ABOUT TO MANIFEST, BRINGING FORTH THE FIVE FOLD MINISTERS AND LIFTING UP THE BRIDE IN THIS HOUR INTO HIS DESIGN, HIS GOVERNMENT, WHICH WILL CAUSE MANY TO COME INTO THE KINGDOM. GOD SAYS CONTINUE TO DECLARE HIS WORD THAT HE HAS GIVEN YOU AND STAND ON HIS PROMISES, KNOWING THAT THEY ARE YES AND AMEN AND GET READY FOR DRASTIC BREAKTHROUGH TO OCCUR ON ALL LEVELS. YOU WILL SEE PRODIGALS COME INTO THE KINGDOM, YOU WILL SEE PROVISION COME INTO THE KINGDOM AND YOU WILL SEE HIS GLORY AS NEVER BEFORE! GOD BLESS YOU! ROBIN KIRBY-GATTO

Annalize Mouton
Yesterday
Annalize Mouton

GET READY!!!!!

Written by Robin Kirby-Gatto
I AM TELLING YOU I WISH YOU ALL COULD SEE THROUGH MY EYES WHAT GOD IS SHOWING ME AND WHAT I AM HEARING! HE HAS RELEASED MANY ANGELS, THEY HAVE DEEDS IN THEIR HAND FOR PROPERTY (GOD SAID MANY PROPERTIES NOT ONE), HOMES, BUILDINGS, RANCHES, CARS, RVS, CAMPERS AND CRUISERS. GOD SAID THAT THE BRIDE HAS BEEN TESTED AND THE REMNANT IS COMING OUT OF THE FIRE NOT SMELLING LIKE SMOKE, SHE IS COMING OUT OF THE WILDERNESS, LEANING ON HER BELOVED! GOD SAID THAT WE THE REMNANT BRIDE HAVE BEEN PREPARED FOR THE GREATER WORKS AND WE WILL SEE A MANIFESTATION OF GOD'S GLORY AS HIS HOLY SPIRIT RELEASES THE DIVINE CANOPY OF GOD'S LOVE TO SHIELD AND TO SHADE US IN THIS TIME WE ARE ENTERING IN THE EARTH! GOD SAYS THAT THE EARTH HAS BEEN GROANING AND MOANING FOR THE SONS OF GOD TO BE MADE MANIFEST AND THAT NOW HIS TRUE SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE RISING UP OUT OF THE ASH HEAP AND BEING LIFTED UP TO THRONES OF NOBILITY WITH AUTHORITY IN ORDER THAT THE BRING THE DIVINE POWER IN WHICH CHRIST JESUS WALKED INTO THE EARTH IN THIS HOUR, HAVING COME INTO GREAT MATURITY INTO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS! GOD SAYS I AM RELEASING THE ROYAL GUARD (THOSE WHO ARE OF THE ARMY OF HIS FAITH THAT ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD AND A HOLY NATION). GOD SAYS I AM ABOUT TO RELEASE SIGNS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE IN THE EARTH, AND I DO SEE OIL COMING OUT OF THE GROUND; IT IS NO LONGER BE HELD BACK EVEN IN SOME PROPERTIES HERE IN THE USA! I SEE REVIVAL BREAKING OUT IN THE HIGHWAYS, BYWAYS, CITIES, SCHOOLS, BUSINESSES AND SPORTS ARENAS! I SEE REPENTANCE WITH HEAVY TRAVAIL TAKING PLACE IN PRISONS AND IN BARS!!!! I SEE THE CHURCHES BEING UNABLE TO CONTAIN THOSE THAT ARE ABOUT TO COME INTO THE KINGDOM!!! IT IS TIME NOW FOR THE STADIUM MEETINGS OF GOD'S HOUSE TO COME FORTH HE SAYS!!! THERE WILL BE SO MUCH OUTPOURING OF GOD'S HOLINESS AND HIS HOLY SPIRIT THAT PEOPLE WILL RUN AND FLOCK TO SPORTS ARENAS; THAT IS ALL THAT WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD THE MASS REVIVALS THAT WILL OCCUR IN THE NATIONS SAYS THE LIVING GOD! HE IS RELEASING THE NEW ANOINTING FOR THE BRIDE OF CHRIST JESUS AS IN PSALM 92:10, WHERE GOD IS EXALTING THE HORN OF THE BRIDE LIKE A WILD OX AND GIVING HER THE NEW ANOINTING! CHURCH WILL NO LONGER BE BUSINESS AS USUAL BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A DISRUPTION IN MAN'S PLANS SAYS THE LIVING GOD BY THE POWER OF THE CONVICTION OF GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT THAT IS POURED OUT AND IT WILL BE GREAT AND MIGHTY, EVEN AS IN THE TIME OF ACTS! GOD SAYS THAT HE HAS BEEN PREPARING HIS PEOPLE, GETTING THINGS IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN HE BEGINS TO MOVE IN THIS HOUR WE WILL ONLY SEE CHRIST JESUS LIFTED UP AND AS HE IS LIFTED UP HE WILL DRAW ALL MEN TO HIMSELF! GOD HAS ALSO TOLD ME THAT THE TOWN SQUARES IN BALDWIN COUNTY WILL HAVE A MASSIVE OUTPOURING OF REVIVAL!!!!!
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(

Chris Welch

The giftings I have placed in each one are understood in the spirit, they are spiritually discerned. Only in my Light do you see Light. I have to reveal My Son in you.
In the natural you behave like wild beasts with one another, trying to tear from each other what is precious before it is the time to know. Everything shall be revealed in its time and context, and the context is my love and honour one ofr the other. One of the legacies of blindness is you try to live from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil with one another. You trust in your insight and not your heart. You try to fit another's insight into your insight before accepting them in fellowship. But I say maintain the Unity of the Spirit UNTIL you enter into the unity of faith.
Instead learn how things are in the Spirit.
You have come to a Big Feast. You each carry wrapped presents prepared in some cases over generations. It is a time of great celebration. Instead of tearing that person's gift from them you wait until love awakens them to share. It is Me in them sharing what I alone can give to you from them. Wresting things from them, thinking you will save time, and quicker receive,will only be puzzling and empty to you. For I must fill all in all. I am the revealer of Myself in the Body.
Now let the Big Celebrations start and the unwrapping of the presents begin!!!!
16.10.2012

Beware - Adventure !!! Part2 - Elaine Waterfield

I give myself away so you can use me as I am a friend of God and he calls me friend

Elaine Waterfield explains from the inside out what life as a missionary actually feels like.

by Elaine Waterfield on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 at 07:21 ·

Nobody has any idea what its like to be a missionary unless you have lived as one especially in a rural  area and living within a community whose culture and traditions re so very different to the ones you have been brought up in. But I thank God for the privalidge to be one and being sent out to Iraq and Kenya. I havent been sent by a missionary society but sent by God no church behind me just lots of friends who hve helped me and and supported me and my community in our darkest hour. But I give myself away God so you can use me.my life is not my own to you I belong I give myselfy away.

I have become two people Nya Suna Wiga and Laineeloo and they are two very different  people when I go to the airport off to kenya Laineeloo becomes Nya suna when I go to the airport back to Heathrow I am laineeloo and sometimes I get very confused and its difficult to adjust. It takes six weeks to get back to living like a Mzungu and six months to revert to Nya Suna living in a semi perminant house and using a hole in the floor for a toilet with bats and flies maggots and sometimes stench behyond imagination. Visitng houses with children who have died because of ignorance and girls subjected to prostitution because of poverty and the need of education and info to iradicate poverty and ignorance.
Frustration of language barrier, culture and tradition which at times I fail to undertand and cant cope with, food which for me is alien to me and find myself with diaroreah and sickness, widow inheritance and the mind blowing practise of getting a alcohlics or special needs men to have sex iwith a widow whose died to cleanse them as well as polygamy.Sometimes at night when theres no elctricity an no water light and its very lonely and I feeling incredibly home sick I just wonder what on earth am I doing here but then God says " for the Kingdom of God and did you think that to take up your cross for me would be easy."

I have had temper tantrums and mardy fits becasue of the language barrier, what grates on my nerves is that the people can speak english but still speak in Luo and alll day I dont understand what they talkiing about but blabber and cant engage  in a conversation and then go back to a dark house with silence.and cry to God WHY WHY WHY WHAT AM I DOING HERE and God lovingly says the KINGDOM OF GOD and when I wake up it is all OK.But if you took all of it away I would be devasated its my life and I love to be pushed and stretched as that where you see God. When i go off with the hump as I dont understand whats happening in a meeting they tell me its bad behaviour and so I dispair so the only solution is when I go back to learn the language and teach them english. Plus they want to eat all day food is so important to them it comes before anything even God sometimes they had a fund raising and the spirit was moveing but they stopped for lunch, Me I hate food to me foos means getting fat and being mocked. Mardy Nya Suna but maybe one day they will understand. Food to the britts esepcacially women is a curse pile on the pounds and you cant get it off, Wjat takes me six months in Africa to loose I pile it back on in six weeks. Also when I am away they dont communicte but then ie expect its the pessa.. but I have no money either what is happening but when I go back I will surely find out?

When I arrived in Africa I was fatter and unfit and africans are terrible " you are too fat to sit on my bike," " you cant tell your breasts from your stomache and you re heavy so for a woman who suffered with anerexia and starved herself to 6 stone it was an anerexics hell but made you get over stuff. Its kind of like a love hate realtionship.

However what draws me back is how I have seen the hand of God in a community of people who are beautiful and loving and who haver tremendous faith  and  whose worship (although takes time to get your head round coming from a very quiet back ground in comparison) its addictive and powerful, so when you come  back to UK the quiteness has becomes as frustrating and boring. I miss the clapping of hands  and the vibrant singing and demons being cast out I remember one day in the Uk house having a fellowship group all clapping shouting singing jumping and I thought these people were mad ( so differen to west End) so sitting outside I saw a young man coming out of the Uk house rolling on the floor and I thought" thats it God no more choruwoks "and do you know what God did he had me cast demons out of him and i miss chokruwoks in my  UK house so God can I please have some more.

I have had some really treasurable experiences seeing Morris and Challis and Nashons lives turn around from alcohol and a life of crime and now seeing them witness to others and from being despised they are respected. Seeing young girls being empowered by a football tournement for girls giving them a voice in their struggles and confidence, encouragement and knowledge that Girls OK God loves Girls and Girls are preciouse. Praising God and singing with makongeni church up the mountain and walking home at 2am and bumping into all these drunks and leading them to the Lord. Seeing peoples health restored from near death and seeing God build a clinic and ward and office in a very short time, climbing up mount kilamanjaro even only for a shirt way for a day, God made a way when we had no money to fullfill a dream. Seeing Pam walking round house after house in Liegh park to raise money which went on school fees for girls. to see such interaction is amazing.Poor Pam she did get a bit of abuse but shes a stalwart and did an amazing job.

I never thought I would be given the task of given a stick and walking round the field praying wher to put htem for the foundation od a church and seeing the Lord get people making the bricks and getting them ready to build.Parents going up the mountain and praying for school feees whilst the Lord at the same time speaks to someone in the Uk to give money for school fees.Lord you are good and your mercy endyreth forever. One of the other great moments was to see two familes in adultry to repent and give their lives to God and forgive awesome. The list goes on and how I had nothing and God provided with money even money for a cow to feed people at a convention this happened a few times.i was also inspired how friends gave and gave praise God as without them we would be stuffed and not got where we are today.In Chuingni people are calling babies Elaine after me  and in Chungni I have so many children so God is amazing he restores the years the locusts have eaten as  in Uk my kids have given up on me

Every time I seem to get to a place where I am used to my life in Chungni I have to come back to the Uk and by this time I feel drained and need my bucket filing but faiingl to realise that my bucket has been filled to over flowing. I get to the point where I dont want to go back to England and would even contemplae hiding in the mountains to avoid coming back to blighty..

Back in England I miss my kenyan family and with phone calls that are expensive and time difference I have lost six weeks and wonder whats happening and feel I missed so much. but do you know God is the same God in Kenya as he is here. Despite the worry of silly visa and things out of my control I have been so blessed and filled up again, God provided me with a years multi visa amen, I have experienced worshiping and praying with 300000 people in Wembley Football stadium and seing the glory of God coming down and where people come to worship football and idol and spend loads of  money to get to we are worshiping the living God then at night we saw an ex football hooligan Renton giving testimony of how Jesus changed his life a violent guy now changed and restored he was such an angry man who lived his life wanting to fight the oposing team hatred that was demonic but now you would have never believed he was the same man.

London to me going there seemed to be very plastic all about what you earn who you are and know what you look like and wealth thank God in Gods kingdom it doesnt matter what you are and who your we are all needing salvation and are all saved by Grace and nothing can change us or help us only Jesus death and ressurection on the cross.

When I went to Leicester I was able to preach in the town and meet with friends pray up old John with Fatima kids and Gemma for George and Sarahs child Jamoko who was restored and healed by faith and prayer amen. I met Sandie hastings a police officer who I met whilst working on an estate in Leicester and she is dealing with Restoative Justice. We became really good friends over the years Big Sis I remember when Nigel was alive we had a phone call to say that her dad was in hspital and we all went to pray outside the Leicester Royal Informary and do you know what the father got better over the months and yet he had only 23% chance of survival amen. God gave him a few more years of life and this time he died and Sandie was at peace and happy the way the hospital treated him. She is seeking raki which isnt a christian thing todo so pray that Jesus changes her life and be with her today as they bury Brad.

Another amazing thing was to see Steven a lad from Glen Parva HMP now out  I met him and his parents and they thanked Nigel and me for we had had an influence on him and wow that blew my mind away. They saw that Nigel came to see them every week despite the fact that he was in a wheelchair with Muscualr dystrophy. Moments like these are treasures God gave me the chance to see how what we did as a couple did make a difference.

Went to see Dave and Tammy and Kids wow  was like I had never been away that was treasuarble and I cried when i left as I miss them they were my family and still are, I love them I have  so many memories like when Tammy who was on crutches at the time and Nigel in the wheelchair was sat waiting for me in the car and I had nt put the handbreak on and they were rolling down the hill thank goodness Tammy managed to get it in time depsite the struggle. The when we went preaching in Northampton Nigel went into the shop when it rained but they thought he was in the toilet.. steve and dave where standing outside and shouting Nigel are you alright/ soooooooooooooooooooo funny.
Didnt see Steve he was in rehab to dry out from alcohol but he was sent back to Dupont he so needs to be sent somewhere esle out of the way of Friends. I pray Lord you send some more missionaries there and a church in Dupont Gardens . I looked at the close and thought of all the street parties and bible studies prayers and tears and laughter and how the kids used to be seen as nobodys just ASBO kids but God loved them and saw them going to sunday school Kingsway fellowship. From throwing stones after four years we visited High grove were prince charles lives and they were amazing kids so well behaved love them and all the friends there amazing times. I did go out a couple of evening as a sterrt apstor thanks to Frank and enjoyed having a go on a skate board although I fell off nearly silly me but it does have a purpose street pastors is bridges the gap between young and old and makes a difference if you dont always see it so keep on folks.

During this time I was greatly pleased to have spoken on line to the man who brought me back to the Lord and had the privalidge to have thanked him. I had been a back slider for 20 years and hated christians but he told me to always put God before man and his witness was a great encouragement to me and had it not have been for that witness I wouldnt have been and done things I was doing now So Julian thank you I will always be endebted to you and you will awlays have a special place in my heart as my spiritual parent and the man who changed my life. God turned my beauty to ashes and sorrow in to joy mourning into dances.

One of the hardest things for me to witness was to see a special friend in a wheelchair he looked like a different person and couldnt walk or talk and that upset me as he was the life and soul of the church. It. It reminded me of all the struggles me and Nigel went through and I got a little agnry with God  because I never thoguht this would happen to my friend who I looked up to and thought so much of who I love greatly as a man of God It was just a shock and a reminder of Nigels struggles, something I put on the back burner so please pray for healing and restoration in my friends life.

This weekend I am going to Belfast thats a miracle Mandy invited me to a ball and yet I have no money my friends were saying I couldny go no dress no shoes no ticket but hey ho guess what God provided me with a kind lady who pais for my ticket, I cried all night as I have always wanted togo to a ball and God dad my husband heard my cry and now cinderalla can go to the ball.

Now after all the moods and tears about visa I am going to find leaving UK diificult but very much looking forward to going back to Chungni and learning all what happening there. Its just hard meeting firends again seen my mum who is more spiritual than I thought and getting used to light how water baths and driving the car to the beach and cycling with christine meeting up with pam and anne and having a conversation in my own language.

However I miss preaching and teaching waking up to beautiful country side and the heat watching Challis and Nashon grow in God gadding about on the pikki pikki with George and miss sarahs sense of humour and wisdom and cooking. little jamoko . brian roger the dodger Makongeni church and singing santa sana buana  climbing the mountain miss their faith Africa is magical, spiritual place that draws me pulls me and shapes me restores me. People from Chungni have given to me far more than I could have ever given. A sense of family, love, care and acceptence a purpose in life when at the time I went I was on at risk with the doctors of suicide because I was grieving for Nigel and had given up and in pain as my family had abandonded me they gave me hope to see lives changed and restoring, plus a big thanks to George and Sarah who have helped me change into a very different person without them I couldnt have done anything even going to the chanaga brerey to preach love that family and little jamoko love Makognei church Maragert and Domincus peter Dominic Pastor Joshua and Pastor Peter without all these people and most opf all God nothing would have been possible. without Trevor and Joan. Christine and Chris Pam and Anne, Hayley Ruth and Martin Frank Parker and so amny many others.

In Uk the people who have been my rock is Trevor Davies my bessie bessie mate he provides me accomodation friendship  a car and listens to hours of me going on but great fun in the digger getting off the ivy, Plus frank and sally parker who helped me get places to speak and Ruth and Martin . Anne and Pam who help so much and chris and christine without their friendship and support none of this would be possible all people who help and support love you to bits in chungni kenya and Uk.

Linvoy faith and football have given me some kit to take back and Pam and nne have got stuff too and martin and ruth
With Jesus you go to places you never thought you would go do things you never thought you would do and meet people you never thought you would meet its so true..
So I pray God that you wil send me back to Africa with a new song to sing and a new thing and do even more amazing things as the best is yet to come. But I do pray that I get sponsership and we do get help and people do come to see us as I am broke and we cant do anything unless we have money and people are just wanting and waiting people like Trevor Martin Ruth and Joey Daniels to come and visit we need ideas, inspiration and to know that they are thought of and as I found they give back far more than we can ever give

 Cherry Silcox on Facebook

23 July

Cherry Silcox

Everyone!!! look at Elaine Waterfields' profile!!! This is a WOMAN on her OWN doing the WORK of THE LORD in DARKEST AFRICA!!!! she needs YOUR help so she can help the desperate people she ministers to!!

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Other related Posts
 http://080808onnowto.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/when-churches-get-money-right-jack.html

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Daniel's Particular Community Vision II

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PDF and Article Audio Here

My Vision: II
 Lazarus, Come Forth

What you are about to read is the most vulnerable I have ever made myself. Normally, here is where I bolt and hide. The Lord spoke to me this morning, as I was contemplating doing just that, “My soul has no pleasure in those who draw back.” That is not a word of condemnation, but of the deepest encouragement. (My soul has great pleasure in those who persevere.)

I know, in sending this vision out, the Lord Jesus will not laugh at me, that He carries my own heart carefully in His hand, and that He regards with highest respect the deepest recesses of my heart.

Some who know me, reading this, may well call it fantasy. Technically they would be right. But what I share comes out of years of real experience and years of thoughtful contemplation of that experience before the Lord. The idea that one moment of my life would be pointless or wasted does not fit in my philosophy. I have always weighed everything carefully, seeking the Lord to understand His ways in all things.

By sharing my “fantasy,” I lay my own heart open either to ridicule or to glory.

~~~

For eighteen years I have carried a word inside of me, a word that has never let go of me, holding to it by faith, knowing that God does what He says. But outwardly, by the sight of the eyes, that word has been dead for 14 years.

God spoke to me on September 24, 2012, in the midst of the Feast of Tabernacles, “I will finish the word I planted in your heart.”

~~~

When God spoke that to me, the vision of returning to Blair Valley in British Columbia leaped full-sprung with all joy inside of me.

Now, let's get the first business taken care of right off the bat. There are three distinct problems with the idea of my family and I returning to Blair Valley with others of like precious heart to build there a Community of Christ, a city on a hill, that will be a light and a hope and a rejoicing to many across this planet.

Problem # 1. It is impossible.

Problem # 2. The whole idea is ridiculous.

Problem # 3. It is patently absurd.

Those who wish to argue any point of those three real arguments with me will hear complete agreement from me. They are correct – and I suspect that I may know the reality of those three objections more than they.

In fact, after I had written the first part of “My Vision” I finished watching a movie, Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. In that story, a man pursued and was consumed by a dream. When he finally achieved that dream, staggering in a state of madness, it proved to be 100% empty. He died in brokenness and despair.

Bang! I was hit with the full and knowledgeable realization that I was mad, that maybe this is “the devil” tempting me to leap off the cliff. I quickly decided never to let “My Vision” see the light of day.

But then I remembered an argument some have made, that in this world, genius is often madness that succeeds, and madness is often genius that fails. That thought gave me some comfort! J

I have a distinct problem, though. God is always welling up inside of me, and so I send the thing out anyway. Oh well. If I am mad, then I am mad because of my love for Jesus and for His revelation in His people.

But let me share with you a secret. Should the day come, soon, when I find myself standing there, between the ridges, looking out across the fields of Blair Valley, with the title deed to the property in my pocket, with the full provision (money) to build the community of Christ that is in my heart, a city on a hill, with strength and vigor  returned to me, and with brethren of like precious faith standing by my side, heart to heart, something will happen in that moment.

I will command the heavens, and angels will give me ear. I will command the earth, and all men will turn to me in silence. I will command the dead, and they will give me heed.

I will declare to the universe:

God does what He says!

God speaks the truth.

And no voice will ever stand against His word again.

The ages are turning; the serpent is being cast out of the heavens, about to show up physically in the earth; the sons of God are stretching their faith and the glory of their hearts across this planet.

Kingdoms fall into ruin. Fear grips the nations.And the Kingdom of God arises from beneath of us and flows out from our bellies.

Okay, back to the vision of my heart.

Let me say this first. I do NOT believe in isolation or “hiding.” Why God would choose such a remote place for a light that will shine to all nations is His business, not mine.

A healthy community MUST keep a continual and carefully tended balance between nurturing the heart of the family, those who have made their homes there, and the outflow of life to others, those who “come and see,” but go forth strengthened with joy, to see God move in similar ways back home. It's not 50-50, it's 100% careful nurture of the heart of every individual there: FAMILY. And it's 100% outflow of life and blessing to others.

I do not believe in poverty or in a “god” of poverty. God is abundance, and all that we need to meet the needs of others flows out of our shared heart. Money is not evil; it is only a tool. The pride of poverty is as hostile to God as the love of money and possessions. All money on earth belongs to God, and His sons access that money as they have need. Jesus' ministry was not cheap; it was financed by several wives or widows of rich men. Jesus never gave thought to “money,” but what He needed was always there as He needed it.

More than that, example after example through the Bible shows us the difference between those who believed God for little and received little versus those who believed God for much and received far more than they had imagined.

At the same time, just watch any of the money-grubbing shows on Christian TV, if you can stomach it. You soon won't – stomach it, that is. I know well the politicking that comes into the room when there is real money at hand. And I have first hand experience when too much money for a project causes wrong decisions to be made. When money is spent on the wrong thing, that thing becomes a weight to pull the whole thing down.

That is why, I suspect, God would take the heart of a man into the tomb for 18 years and there, batter that heart all apart and rebuild it, piece by piece, inside the Lord Jesus Christ.

The greatest triumph of my creative ability is the Graham River Tabernacle. It stands today mostly empty and useless in the icy wastes of the Canadian wilderness. I know what it is to walk away from everything. I would do it again in a heartbeat to know the Lord Jesus in His glory.

I am not afraid of failure or making mistakes. I have no concern about shame. I will not pretend.

I expect with all the expectation of God that I do not fall short of His glory. At every step along the way, I cast all that I have and all that I am before His feet. God and I walk together as one.

I say all this to dispel from anyone's mind any idea that I'm thinking about a small group of people eeking out a meager existence, isolated and poor. I am thinking of no such thing.

But I want to share the vision of community God birthed in my heart specifically as it could be inside the physical characteristics of the Blair Valley property. In that discussion, I must include a brief mention of money.

Let me say this. Since God birthed His heart for community inside of me on that hillside in Oregon in November of 1994, the nature of that life together, what form it could take, has been my constant companion. I have labored deep and long over all of these issues. What I share here comes out of the deep plowing of God.

First, every particle of the former Shiloh structures and debris must be removed. There are reasons for that, which I will not expand on. It's possible that one or two buildings still have temporary value; but I see only new buildings for every function and need of the community.

Second, there is one means only by which a community of people living at that location could earn a decent living AND be a ministry to others. That is, the business of Blair Valley and the ministry of Blair Valley are one and the same. There are two things operating fully in Blair Valley. There is the family that can be described best by the word, “family,” and there is the business/ministry that can be described best by the word “hospice.”

Our business and our ministry is, first, hospitality; we are a teaching community. Some may call it a “vacation resort.” That's not really what we are, but it does fit into that “box.” People spending their “vacation” time with us, engaging in all the farmstead and homestead activities of  a simple life, will go back home deeply refreshed, inspired to something they had never considered before, AND with new skills and knowledge that will most certainly come in handy. Others may think of us as a “boarding school.” Again, that's not really what we are, but that rough description is not “wrong.”

For a somewhat example of what I envision, you could peruse this website. I am referring to the outward, public part of this group's ministry, not any of their inner doctrine or practices.

http://www.heritageministries.net/home.html

Let me bring in here my statement from the yet undeveloped website, yguide.org.

The delights of strong and healthy children, warm and inviting homes, the aroma of herbs, the cackle of chickens, the richness of the soil, shaping wood into beauty, tinkering with machinery, the comfort of a full and well-stocked pantry, the beauty of growing things.

Dream of a simple life, of the increase of the fruits of the earth and of your labor.

Share with others from your abundance.

This is part of the vision at the core of our business/ministry, our hospice.

For all these years, I have wrestled with this question. Is the vision of my heart a Christian community first? Or is it a school first? Or is it a hospice first? I now know the answer. Yes – to all three. Yes, yes, and yes.

Come with me on a visit to the Blair Valley I envision.

You are driving north on the Alaska Highway from Fort St. John. After passing the little town of Wonowon (Mile 101), be on the lookout for the Blair Valley sign at Mile 109; turn left. After about nine miles off the highway you will descend into the valley of the Gundy Creek. You will pass by a number of cattle ranches and hayfields. After awhile you will cross Townshend Creek on a narrow bridge and ascend a ridge. At the top you will see a Blair Valley sign; take a right. Have no concern; the road you are on is an all-weather road, safe and comfortable.

We know you are coming; we are on the lookout for your arrival.

As you drive north through poplar woods, you will notice two ridges arising on each side of you, one to the west and the other to the east. You are in the valley of Blair Creek. A few miles more and the road leaves the poplar/spruce woods. You are looking over a long field of grass. A mile in the distance you see some buildings. You have arrived at Blair Valley.

Now, before continuing in, I want to speak of costs. In 1998, I estimated the costs of raising our winter access road to an all-weather gravel road to be around $150,000. In the 14 years since, the value of money in this world has dropped more than half. Thus the same thing today would likely cost between $350–400,000. That road is essential, before even arriving at Blair Valley. It is one of the large differences between isolation and the ministry of Christ, between “eeking out” in poverty and a city set on a hill. I do not consider going back into Blair with less than five million dollars, though that is around 1/4 of the costs of what I am describing and would leave us stunted right at the point of making the difference.

I am not interested in limiting God, even with the figure of $20,000,000. It all belongs to God, and we are His sons, the expression of His hand. Endurance and example guides my thoughts, not extravagance.

. . . a place prepared for her . . . Revelation 12

The buildings in the distance take shape as you drive closer. To your left is the large southern hayfield; to your right is the eastern ridge rising up from the road. The tops of the two ridges are just over three miles apart; the ridge to the west is a bit higher, about a thousand feet up from the valley bottom. The valley itself averages about a mile in width. Blair Creek is about a half mile to your left, just below that line of poplar trees on the edge of the hayfield.

You notice that the two large buildings just ahead are shops, a mechanics shop and a wood shop, but the main road turns to angle across the field.  You pass by emblems announcing: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Is the Lord of Hosts.” You begin to sense that you are entering a place devoted to the glory of Jesus.

To your right is a row of houses stretching along a small wooded valley just behind them. You pass the nearest one and dip down into the little valley across a small dam. To your right is a pond stretching back into the poplar trees. To your left you see gardens dropping down the slope below you. Your car comes up again on the other side. On your right is another home; on your left is a longer building with a wrap-around porch. You see a group of people sitting on the porch; they seem to be shelling peas. Just ahead is a parking lot where you park your car.

As you step out of your car, the man and woman whom you already spoke to are there, greeting you with warm smiles and a hearty handshake. “Welcome to Blair Valley.”

You look around; everything is brand new, but you know that you've never before seen anything like the wholesome, life-filled village that now surrounds you.

One thing you notice is that the buildings, though varying in size and shape, are all the same style. All the roofs of all the buildings are a light, pastel green metal. They all appear to be log cabins, the logs sanded and varnished clear and scribed carefully together. The trim is quaint – Scandinavian or Dutch, maybe, and different homes have different colors of trim, though all are a light pastel. Everything is orderly; everything fits.

Behind or to the side of every building stands a bank of solar panels turning with the sun. There is a generator up behind the shops, but it runs only occasionally. There are no ugly wires visible anywhere.

What you will learn later is that the logs are the outer wall; the real walls of all the buildings are solid concrete, with a warm BLANKET of insulation between the inner and the outer walls. If you come in the winter, you will be astonished at how warm and cozy every corner of the buildings are and how little firewood it takes to heat them, even at fifty below. Almost every building has a wall of south-facing windows to garner the winter sun.

What you may never know is how blessed the men of the community are – all through the long winter months – that they do not spend so many long, hard hours at great cost of equipment, securing unending piles of firewood to feed insatiable furnaces. No, at Blair Valley, we simply spent a bit extra money in the beginning on a wise design to eliminate one-third of the outside labor of a community – hacking down the forests to consume them in the stoves that still leave frozen corners and ice next to people's beds.

Let me make a comment here. I have spent so many hours and days and years rebuilding poorly built buildings somehow to keep them meeting present needs.  I have faced and dealt with every kind of construction difficulty you could imagine and many you could not imagine. It is foolhardy and wasteful to build cheaply and for the moment only. To me, it is a moral issue. I build for my children and their children. I would see generations yet to come enjoying the fruit of my labor. The modern practice of buildings made to last 50 years is abhorrent to me. A building should be comfortably useful and easy to remodel for at least 200 years, or better yet, 500 years.

The gospel promises us everlasting life. I have no plans to go anywhere; I'm in this thing for the long haul. It would not surprise me in the least if you visited me at Blair Valley 300 years from now and found me living in the same home, sharing life and joy with many.

Hey, I believe in Jesus; I am convinced He speaks true. We are called to declare Christ, to be His witness. Let us do so with all abandon, regardless of the cost.

As you step away from your car, you come up to a lane that you crossed, running east and west, perpendicular to the road you came in on. You are now facing in the opposite direction, due south. You spend a few minutes gazing around.  Behind you is a dense forest of short spruce trees, almost a bog, but not quite. To your left, stretching up at an angle to the northeast of where you stand are two more rows of homes on either side of the lane. Behind the one row is the dense spruce woods, behind the other is the little poplar valley you already crossed. In-between are open grassy yards and short white picket fences. You will learn that each home includes an acre of trees and lawn that “belongs” to that family.

Right in the center of these homes is a slightly larger building, a lodge. You will learn that the family calls it “The Tabernacle.” It is their living room, their community dining room, their place of relaxation and fellowship. You are welcome to join with us at any time. There is no distinction known here.

However, the permanent family homes and living are all to your left, in those three rows of homes joined by many walk ways and little bridges, white-picket gates and flower gardens with the Tabernacle in the heart of their life together.

Straight ahead of you and to your right are the buildings and lawns that make up the Hospice part of the community. But your immediate attention is drawn to your far right, just behind you, to a large structure extending beyond where the spruce woods end. “Is that a fort?” you exclaim. Your hosts laugh.

“That's part of our hospice,” they explain. “Inside are all the little shops and workrooms, many of which you indicated you want to learn while you visit with us. There's a blacksmith shop, pottery and leathermaking, spinning and weaving, soapmaking, a herbarium – on and on. You'll probably want to try your hand at a number of traditional homesteading activities while you are here.”

“The building you passed by with the wrap-around porch, straight ahead now, that's our family homesteading work-place. It's where we process and store our food on one end, on the other end is a modern sewing-craft room for the use of the family.

“You'll find that we have two kinds of work going on here. One kind utilizes full modern equipment and facilities to meet the needs of the family. The other kind is pioneer, hand-tool types of work; the way people used to live before electricity. You are welcome to learn from and join us in both.”

Your hosts grab your luggage and walk with you across the lane towards a large lodge located across a grass lawn, at the far southern point overlooking the Blair Creek below. You have rooms reserved on the second floor of the lodge. You signed up for the three-week full program at Blair Valley Hospice.

You pass by a large building on your right, shaped like an H. “That's our school building,” your hosts mention. “You will enjoy theatrical and choral presentations there in the main room of the school. On the far-side is our craft store, run entirely by our students. Feel free to visit there any time; make any purchases you wish. Everything in the store is made or grown right here.”

To your left, you see a chapel overlooking the gardens below; to your right, on the other side of a lane, is a gymnasium.

The large lodge sits at the very point of the bluff. You notice a large sign above the entrance: “Speak Christ and Enter.” Passing through the entryway, you find yourself in a large “living” room. The ceiling is the slope of the roof high above stunningly beautiful log trusses. Behind you is a rock wall with a large fireplace in the center. But you are drawn to the far side, to high windows overlooking the gardens and the Blair Valley below. As you approach the glass to look out, you are stunned by the natural beauty of the place God has brought you to.

You are looking out to the western wall of Blair Valley, the high, steep, and wild ridge stretching at an angle to your view. Straight below you are gardens and walkways, gazebos and green houses, spilling down the undulating slope. To your right is the Blair Creek, winding around its channel and around more gardens. To your immediate right and just below, you notice a cabin, the first of a number of cabins scattered among woods and meadows and ponds between Blair Creek and the higher bluff on which are the Hospice buildings. These are guest cabins.

“You are welcome to go swimming in the Blair Creek, but the water is nippy! You might enjoy the small indoor pool  on the ledge just below the bluff instead,” your host explains. “But we will enjoy a picnic with the whole family down along the Creek this Sunday afternoon.”

Later on you will learn that for a mile further to the north of the village are more hay and crop fields. Inside one of the nearer fields is an airstrip with a small plane, available for any emergency need. Up the eastern slopes of the valley, behind the mechanics shops, are the large barns and some of the farmsteading activities. The barns are grouped together in a large horseshoe shape so that no one feels isolated in the dark days of winter. You will learn that the farmstead specializes in rare and unusual breeds of animals: horses, goats, chickens, and sheep.

Inside the four-acre “fort” there is no electricity, nor anything “modern.” Everything is as it would have been for those living in 1800's Canada. You will get to experience true authenticity, but then go back to your comfortable room after.

Everything here is solid and well-built, but also practical and comfortable, with no show of “luxury” or ostentation. You feel safe and taken care of, but you are excited at the thought of your next three weeks.

Let me briefly explain the “three-weeks Hospice program” you selected. I will not create an exact “schedule,” here, just an outline.

Your time here will be fairly structured. Certainly, you will have times of privacy and leisure, but you did not come to sit and be bored. At the same time, you signed your initials on the line stating that you also wish to be included in the “Christian” activities. You are welcome fully, one way or the other. No one is pressured to drink of Christ; all are free. We see so many lives transformed, so many hearts melted into His love, but no one is thought a bit less of who chooses only the “secular” activities.

You chose hand woodworking as your main craft; your wife chose pottery making. You will spend a few hours most days working in those shops inside the “fort” learning your trades. You will spend some time learning other crafts as well, entirely as you wish.

You will spend time working with the members of the family in the fields, in the barns, in the gardens, in the kitchens, in all the workplaces where the normal work of the community takes place. You will eat in the community dining rooms – all of your food will be natural and organic – you will enjoy tender moose roast; you will participate in the habit we have of EVERYONE helping to wash the dishes after most of your meals. You will enjoy skits and choral music put on by the young people. You will laugh; you will sing along. You will experience one awesome candlelight full service dinner during your stay, and you don't have to help with dishes after.

You will hike along the creek and up to the ridge tops. You will take an impressive horse buggy or sleigh ride. You will enjoy picnics along the river (if you come in the summer) or skiing and skating (if you come in the winter). If you're young and hardy, you might enjoy a backpacking overnight further up the Blair Valley.

You will join the family in awesome worship and praise. You will be asked to share Christ from your heart with all. You will hear the goodness of God in thanksgiving. You will learn what speaking Christ really means. You will sign up for different “Bible” courses. You will sit under profound sharing from the throne of God. You could even take Daniel Yordy's writing course; he's one of the brother's here, the guy with the bald head and the goatee.

You can spend time in the prayer hut next to the rose garden, meeting with the God who always fills you full.

On your way back to Fort St. John, on the paved highway once again, you turn to your wife and say, “Can you believe that, Sweetheart! That was the most incredible, fulfilling “vacation” time we have ever known. Did you notice how much those Christians love one another?”

Now, I want to go from the eyes of a visitor to the a structure of sorts for the permanent family.

First is the injunction to cast the vision and to make it plain.

On the one hand, I delight in other people's ways of doing things. Much of what I share here MUST grow out of the combined hearts of a number of committed people. Their welcomed input is part of what I desire. Things could well look a bit differently than what I have described. I can picture the wheels turning in the minds of those who have lived  at Blair, trying to figure out my “locations.”

But on the other hand, I cannot walk with those with whom I am not agreed. I cannot give myself to something that does not flow out of the witness of my own heart. There are many things which I will not compromise on. At the top of that list is that we will treat every individual person, from the least to the most, with the utmost regard and respect. Our main task as fellow believers is to guard one another's hearts. Everyone who comes, guest or family member, will be more blessed and honored in their going than they are in their coming.

These people belong to Jesus, not to us. Every way in which we treat one another, we are literally and actually treating Jesus.

Rules are important for any life together. But I have watched more people destroyed by the enforcement of rules than just about anything else. May I suggest the example of God. Yes, God gave some rules, and then He bore all punishment upon Himself for every broken rule. What if we allowed God to be Himself through us, carrying the weak, bearing even our enemies inside ourselves in tender compassion, laying down our own lives for our friends.

Here's what I know. Everyone appreciates it when the vision is clear, when the course is marked all the way to the end. In that way, some, looking at the clearly cast vision, might say, “That sings in my heart; I belong there.” At the same time, others can look at the clearly cast vision and realize, “No, that's not for me.” Both are well-served.

I have seen too many times when the vision was not cast clearly and some came, only to discover that it was not really for them. They had not known what they were leaping into. How badly those precious brethren were treated! How broken and confused they were as they escaped a nightmare to preserve their sanity. Some did not succeed.

Another absolute for me is that there will be no separation inside or out. When we look at our brother, we see Christ alone; his flesh is the flesh of God. We honor him or her no matter how silly we might think they are. And in the community at large, there is no “us versus them,” no class structure. Every person, male and female, 25 and above is part of the government and ordering of the community. Every person, 16 and above, will have the chance to be “the boss” over some area of work during the course of the seasons. I will take as much delight in having a 16-year-old girl give me and others our instructions as we line up to help her harvest her garden patch that she has been responsible for as I ever did in leading large crews of men. Strong oversight is required for work flows to be successful, but who is the oversight will be fluid and regularly changed.

The ministry of Christ is a service, not an office. It is a lifting up, not a “place above.” No one except Jesus is “responsible for the kingdom.” No one is under the “displeasure” of God.

Every person is invited freely to share Christ in any and every way their heart would express itself in the good flow of honor and purity.

Sin? There is no sin ever committed not found in Christ, dead upon the cross – and there is no sin in Christ. The incredible conceit that “we are responsible for the kingdom,” or, “God is displeased with all of you because of your hard hearts,” is a far greater expression of that which dishonors Christ than any teenage indiscretion.

There is only one reason why those who are wise in the community would step in to ask an individual to leave. That reason is the actions of abuse. That's an important distinction to make. We all make foolish mistakes and become frustrated with one another. We all do things that require us to ask forgiveness. That is perfectly normal.

But in any group of people, over time, you will find that there are those few who move in a level of abuse against others that is cynical and cold. When that is not stopped immediately by removing the abusive party entirely from the community, great harm comes into people's lives. I have known young people who were shattered life-long by such abuse, abuse that was tolerated because of “grace and mercy.”

If someone hurts one of these little ones, they can find all the grace and mercy they need – somewhere else. They can find it even in a prison cell if such a place is warranted by their actions.

Every where one looks throughout the community or all through the day one sees or hears the speaking of  Christ, the seeing of Christ alone, the tenderness of His heart, the light touch of His hand.

In my previous community experience there was a fetish, almost, with iconoclasm and a run-down, almost derelict appearance. Some of the communities were so ugly and trashy it was hard to visit them.

Let me point towards a philosophy of life that so agrees with the way God made my own heart – if I were free and had the strength to see things happen this way. I am referring to the book, A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. I have read with inspiration from this book, though I do not own a copy myself. But I do have Patterns of Home along with Home by Design  by Sarah Suzanka which come out of that way of thinking. A Pattern Language postulates that really beautiful design grows organically, bit by bit, out of spontaneous lives and the needs of the people of a village. In contrast, I have presented a fully-formed view of a village. I have to see the whole picture myself in order to know where any of the parts go. But I am more than ready to see any of those parts altered to fit the spontaneous reality of those who are part of the community.

Yet I know this, when the design of a community flows out of a beautifully conceived idea and order, the entire place takes on a feeling of beauty and design. This, also, is important to me. The lack of concern for beauty at many of the communities I lived in never appealed to me.

There are seven elements of the Blair Valley Community that we focus on and cultivate. Each of these seven elements is structured or ordered slightly differently. Government is part of all life together, but there is never “one size fits all.” Anytime a “wineskin” is no longer usable, we gleefully toss it away. New wineskins are a lot of fun!

Here is the short list – in order of importance.

1. The Family

2. The Church

3. The Subsistence Tasks of the Community

4. Business/Ministry (actually, the larger group of what follows)

5. Hospitality

6. Teaching

7. Outward Ministry and Service

I want nothing to do with the “elders” - “body members” class structure that I knew in move community. That so-called “order” is neither Biblical nor godly nor conducive to the goodness of Christ. It comes from the same theology as some of the worst elements of Catholicism and slowly creates the same class structure of aristocracy and serfs that developed over centuries under European Catholicism.

The family consists of all those who are at Blair Valley for longer than the three-month Hospice plan. This includes those who are living fully at Blair Valley as well as those who come so that their children can attend the school. People can get visas to come from other countries to be with their children for the school year. They will be reckoned as fully members of the family as anyone else.

Our life together in community overall is governed by the adult members of the family, all age 25 and up. Typically the direction for the community is decided by consensus, though there is no reason why we cannot choose to go with a large majority (75% or so) vote on some issues.  Yet we never disregard the heart of a brother who just cannot connect with the “majority.”

The church is our life of worship together. There are some gifted to share words and teachings – all will have opportunity to share Christ in the gathering together of services. Some are gifted to lead praise. As I shared in “In the Womb of the Church,” God is both orderly and spontaneous. He does wonderful things when He is free to lead.

There is a role for the service of elders inside the part of the community called church. There is a place for directing the services and all our times together in the Holy Spirit; and there is a need for counseling or for resolving difficult and private disputes between individuals. There is no rigid “group” who are “the elders,” however; although those who have wisdom in that area will usually move in that role.

The subsistence tasks are the work of the community including serving guests in any form other than teaching. They include farming, gardening, remodeling, mechanics, and so on. They include cleaning rooms and cooking meals for guests, and so on. Projects in this category always need a boss. However, the “boss” changes from one job to another. Everyone, 16 and up, should get the chance to be “the boss” at least now and then. The boss is partially a dictator, he or she commands and the rest of us obey. But the boss operates under a set of “policies” established clearly by the overall community.

Business/Ministry is, to a certain extent, a one-man show. That is, the overall direction and flow of the community flows out of my heart.

What I mean is this. Blair Valley is a teaching and hospitality community. All the many ways in which that expresses itself must come out of the hearts and interests of all the members of the community. But I cannot live anywhere else than inside the word of Christ flowing through me these last few years.

I welcome all word that comes alongside the word of Christ which I teach. I have no problems with differences of view or expression from how “I would say it.” That's part of normal church life. But I cannot be a part of that which I am not agreed. The revelation of Jesus Christ in His people in ALL that it means, seeing Him alone in each one, and seeing all things out from His heart must fill the Word that underlies the community.

The Word is the foundation of the Church. She lives entirely by the Word that she carries.

Hospitality is our primary business/ministry. There will be a certain charge to those who come for any of the “vacation packages”; beyond that donations will be most welcome. All visitors will be slotted into working at community tasks as part of their overall experience. The “store” will allow visitors to purchase homemade items to take back home with them.

Our goal is to bless people with the goodness of the Lord and with no strings attached. Everyone understands that we must make a “living.”

Teaching is our secondary business/ministry. This includes older students who come to Blair Valley for their final years of high school as well as some families who come primarily for their children to enjoy the school. It also includes specific ordered training offered to guests.

This means that most everyone in the community will learn to be a teacher in some way. And every one will learn two or more crafts or art skills that they could teach. For instance, I would teach woodworking and writing to our guests, as well as English and Social Studies in the school. I also would love to teach gardening. The ideal situation would be to have the provision to pay for individual members of the community to go out and receive specialized training in such things as blacksmithing, horse farming, and so on – the list is endless – all crafts that are a necessary part of full village life.

Outward business/ministry consists of two things. The first is a website similar to my vision for YGuide that will be an extension of what we do all over the world. That is – homesteading and farmsteading crafts. One individual will spend full-time working on the website, but will include write-ups, videos and so on from all the many craftsmen and craftswomen in the community. The goal would be to build a website that heritage craft and “back to the farm and the simple life” people all over the world would value and make use of.

This website would be our primary means of advertising and would likely draw people in to the Hospice from all over the world.

Finally, the outward ministry could include some going out from time to time with a word of the gospel of the kingdom and of the revelation of Jesus Christ. There is no real “go and tell” in the gospel without having a “come and see” to which the minister of Christ can point. If there is no church, no body of believers, walking in all the life of the word one is preaching, who send that person out from their own gathering, then “go and tell” becomes little more than empty words about empty ideas.

Outward ministry would also include teachings and books going out by the Internet and other means.

I will close off there. Sometimes one cannot see clearly without writing things out. I must say this, however. There is no question in my mind that I have gone way out on a very high limb and thoroughly sawed that limb off. I am fully cognizant of the possibility that some will come along twenty years from now and say, “Oh dear, there's that Daniel Yordy, the guy with all the big dreams that never happened, all the bold proclamations that went nowhere. Sad, very sad.”

The truth is, I really don't care. I am almost 56 years old. My heart, hammered and battered and shaped and filled by God for 37 years, cannot be engaged anywhere else.

I would rather die believing God than live in the empty shell of what might have been, if only.

And yet I know this. There are so many dear hearts all across this planet, beloved of the Lord, whose hearts long and cry for just such a place for themselves and for their children.

It is for their sakes that I carry this thing through until God proves Himself mighty.

John Gray pointed out that Jesus named “Lazarus” when He said “Lazarus, come forth”; otherwise all the dead would have heard His voice and come out of the grave.

Blair Valley, come forth!

But it is no longer the time of in-part. We live in the turning of the ages, the fullness of times. All that God speaks is fulfilled in our lives. The kingdom of God is village life, real and tangible, spreading across the earth.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.