Picture at left depicts a walk we took last Sunday on a rare, sunny day of 60 degrees. It was beautiful. Here we are (see our shadow?) standing on a bridge over the creek that feeds Whiskeytown Lake, about 30 minutes from where we live. Ahhhh...sunshine.
Here is what our week looks like...
Monday - A day off. We usually do homework, laundry, clean the house, go grocery shopping, and do more homework. Sometimes we catch a movie if there's one that looks good. We recently saw Blindside with Sandra Bullock. We highly recommend it! It's been years since we lived in a city, so we are enjoying movie theaters that are five minutes away. Lately, Rick has been doing carpentry work on Mondays, and I usually finish an article for the local daily newspaper - The Record Searchlight.
Tuesday - I work in the Bethel Pastor on Call office from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.; then we join the student crowd waiting to get into the 1,000 seat sanctuary where we have our lecture classes. We start with worship - and there are dozens of great worship teams that get lots of good practice with us. We have to admit, our 58-year-old ears need ear plugs most days! Next is a lecture by one of the senior leaders - Bill Johnson or Kris Vallotton or a guest speaker. This week we heard Sergio Scataglini - who has been involved with the great revival going on in Argentina and presently co-pastors a church in Las Vegas. After the lecture, we break into our AMT (Advanced Ministry Training) or Ministry Tracks. I am taking a Prophetic Arts track where I am developing a line of greeting cards with a group of about 10 people. It's creative, fun, and I am going to be able to use some of my photography and others are contributing sketches, paintings, and other forms of art to a line designed to bring encouragement and hope to recipients. Cards will be sold in book stores and at conferences. Rick is taking a Church / School Planting and Leadership Track. He is learning about how you start a school of ministry that equips others to carry the kingdom culture and message. It's about not being a Bible study school, but a school that teaches how we can do what the Bible says as we walk the earth. After that class, we go to our training for our Tijuana mission trip we'll be going on in March. Rick will be doing kids' ministry, and I'll be doing photography, recording testimonies, and even trying my hand at prophetic art. On that trip we'll be praying for healing for people all over Tijuana, conducting services in six locations, and sharing the love of Christ. After that meeting, we go to Healing Rooms training and I also have a book writing class. That takes us to 9 p.m. and by then we are quite wiped out!
Wednesday - Wednesday mornings we study. School starts at 12:45 p.m. and we have a class called Kingdom Foundations; then Grasping God's Word; then a lecture by a senior leader or guest speaker. Then we split into small men's and women's groups. We love our small groups, where we get to know other students more closely as we share our lives, dreams and prayers with them. We have people from all over the world in our groups.
Thursday - Thursday morning starts early for me with more work on my creative greeting cards with members of the art group; then we have worship with the big class, followed by lectures, and then our outreach ministry groups. Rick and I are on a healing outreach. Our group of 7 people goes to hospitals, nursing homes, and individual homes who have called for our team to come pray with critically ill people.
Friday - We have worship, then more lectures, and then we break into what they call revival groups - our group of 45 that meets with a revival pastor for testimony and group discussion.
Saturday - We attend the healing rooms in the morning as observers. We have just been trained, and applied to be placed on a team that can actually minister healing prayer. Every Saturday sees 150 to 300 people coming from all over the world to the healing rooms at Bethel. Every week there are miraculous testimonies of healing from cancer, tumors falling off, bones being healed, vision and deafness being healed, pain completely going away, and more. I have worked several Saturdays in the healing room taking testimonies from people who have had healing. It is the most humbling and exciting experience to witness these people being so touched by God. I have to testify myself that, after going to the healing rooms a few times, and having healing prayer in class, that my back - which has hurt badly for many years - is totally without pain...and my migraines which I used to have once a week, are about 90 percent gone. Thank you God!!!!
If any of you would like to come to the healing rooms here, you can stay with us!!!!
Sunday - As students and prayer servants, we are supposed to go to morning and evening services at Bethel. I also take a Spanish class on Sunday afternoons in preparation for my Mexico mission trip!!!! Hola!!! Rick works all morning cooking and cleaning in the dining room, where the church feeds up to 200 homeless or needy people bussed in from the city.
Most mornings and on the weekend, you will also find us studying, reading, and doing our carpentry and writing jobs.
In spite of this crazy schedule, we have loads of energy and are able to keep up with all the young people!
Again - we thank all of you for all of your love and support and partnership on this grand adventure.
