Middle East 2024 Week 1

The team are incredibly grateful for your prayers, words and encouragements that helped support us and partner in blessing the delegates.
We consider it a miracle that this mission took place and that the delegates did indeed manage to come! There was such resistance before the mission, largely due to the threat of war in the Middle East, that we were only convinced that the delegates were coming when we heard they had landed! We held on in faith that God was going to make it happen, as His word says, "Do I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?" Isaiah 66:9. Praise God!

The team started off with two days of intercession and this was an important and uplifting time. It helped us prepare as a team and also helped us to connect with the delegates in the spirit, as we were interceding for them. We interceded against some of the strongholds that we discerned are in their home nation, and felt peace that work had been done. This was not without its trials, as one team member had to go to Hospital on Sunday, which took 3 team members out for almost an entire afternoon. We are grateful to God that things started improving afterwards.

As the Seminar began on Monday morning the delegates were rejoicing that they were there. Some mentioned that they had not met in a group of believers like this and sung out loud in worship for a long, long time due to the persecution within their home country and the need to "whisper worship".

On the first day we were encouraged with a story of a lady who had been on last year's Flame Seminar. She mentioned that she had received much healing last year and when she went back home she shared the Flame teachings with her unsaved mother who was heavily in the occult, and the mother then repented and began to follow Jesus. It was God's grace that this happened, as 4 months later the mother passed away, but is now with the Lord.

The teaching was generally well received and the people responded. Most of the delegates came to the cross to forgive people, and there was particular mention of people being healed as they forgave themselves and repented of blaming God for the bad things that happen. There were many tears of healing throughout the teachings and people were being blessed with conviction of the Holy Spirit and deeper revelation.

The prayer ministry groups took some time to establish as many of the delegates were in families and there were not enough groups to split up the families. We managed to work around it though, by setting apart times of personal ministry with some more vulnerable people who were not willing to open up in the groups. This said, there was still some wonderful ministry and freedom happening in these times, and we know the delegates go back changed. (See below for some testimonies)

These persecuted believers and church leaders are such beautiful people whom we love so dearly. It is a blessing and privilege to support these brothers and sisters. You and your prayers have been an abundant blessing. Though many of the delegates go back to difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances, we rejoice that they go back having been touched by Jesus Christ. We continue to pray for them and are thankful we can continue to be in fellowship with them and support them.
We thank God and give Him glory for a blessed trip to Istanbul. Please see below for some of the wonderful testimonies.

One man was set free from anxiety and worry about the future. After he received the Lord's deliverance, he said he had been carrying that weight on himself for 2 years and now it had gone.

Two other ladies felt that forgiving others was not the issue but that forgiving oneself was harder. They needed to hear about forgiveness in order to have inner healing. One of these ladies had manifest with a tightening around the throat and when she went up to hammer a nail into the cross she felt this tightness go. She retained some neck and spine pain. During the group work she was prayed over and when hands were laid on the back of her neck she felt heat and all pain go. In the blessing session earlier in the week, she felt hands laid on her and experienced comfort and the presence of Gods spirit.

One man has been resistant to worship the Lord in his own language for the last 5 years. Through forgiveness and freedom from fear and lies, he has now been healed of this.
Another lady had come with so many worries in her mind. She experienced such a good week. Was tearful and thankful with a countenance full of joy.

A grandmother in the group had come with her family. It had been 10 years since she had attended a seminar and had found this week such a blessing. She was prayed for in the small groups.

One lady received prayer for marital issues. Over the week their relationship improved a lot.

One lady had been thinking about forgiveness and her relationship with others. She had pain in her body and knew that she needed healing. She felt a measure of healing and a squeezing. The pain has not completely gone but she knows that this is the beginning.

One lady had a painful spiritual knot in her abdomen. She experienced deep inner healing in her human spirit and had a physical change in her abdominal area.

One lady was a perfectionist and knew that it affected her son. She asked her sons forgiveness and received the Holy Spirits freedom to live in another way.

One young lady received personal ministry for father issues and his destructive behaviour. We ministered into trauma and invited God as Father to come and minister. Performance based identity was taken away and we saw her change into the behaviour of being herself. Early childhood abuse was prayed into; she had a profound encounter with Jesus. Other relationship issues were similarly prayed into and she was redeemed. Her physical appearance changed and her face shone with God's peace and love.