Week of Conferences

Week Monday 23 April to 29 April
This week became a week of conferences. For eight days in a row we attended church meetings, and as the time went on, the blessings we received intensified.
The first was at Hemel Hempstead Community Church from Monday through to Wednesday (held in what used to be an old gas works). Because this conference was targeting European leaders (we kind of gate crashed!), we met up again with 4 of the people who were with us at the School of Ministry in Toronto. Key speakers at this conference were Rolland Baker, Patricia Bootsma and Dan Slade.
Berkhamsted was our first major encounter with driving in the narrow residential street, where often cars were parked on the footpaths, and there was only enough room for one way traffic - quite a contrast from the wide streets in the USA.

Just as well we had a small car for the narrow streets!

One of the things that really blessed us, was how everyone was so warm, outgoing and friendly! We had some very precious and meaningful times of fellowship with a wide range of people. There were also some amazing contacts that were made, where we had things very much in common with some even though we lived on the other side of the world. The couple who were hosting us went out of their way to bless us.


Bob and Lexie, our hosts at Berkhamsted

Bob and Lexie's 3 storey, 6 bedroom home

We were also blessed by the liberty and freedom in the people that we saw, and that we experienced.

On Thursday, we took a four hour trip from Hemel Hempstead up to Blackpool. It was that evening that the next set of meetings was to start. These meetings have proved to be some of the richest times that we have experienced in the whole trip so far. We would not have known about them if we had not been told as an aside in an email from a friend. We stayed in a hotel very close to the beach in Blackpool, and that night, headed out to the Baptist church in St Annes, Lytham the venue of the conference, about six miles from the hotel.

"The Well", St Annes, Lytham

For a start, we were early (thought it began at 7, but not until 7:30), so were able to talk with people. Met a German lady, from near Augsburg, a place where we intend to go in Germany, to see an acquaintance of Karen’s from 30 years ago. She told Karen of some of the things that the Holy Spirit was doing in Augsburg. Karen became overcome with gratitude to the Lord, about how He was preparing things in advance for us, and giving us the reassurance that He is in control of what we are doing. We were invited to share a testimony, then we were prayed for. We were so blessed by what was prayed over us and the prophecies we received that night.  We also learned that the premises now occupied by Baptists had previously been an Anglican church with quite a history of revival in the past – with people such as Smith Wigglesworth and John Wimber having spoken there.
One of the senior ladies of the church told us that she was going to Ffald-y-Brenin Christian Retreat Centre in Wales, a place that we planned on visiting in the following week.

On Friday, it being reasonably fine, we went for a good walk along the seaside of Blackpool. This place certainly has been set up for tourism, with major entertainment attractions. We even observed the roller coaster operating in the rain.

Blackpool boardwalk by the sea

In the evening we were really blessed through the ministry of Mark Stibbe, who has a burden to impart the Father’s heart to people. We were blessed again also by the ministry of Rolland Baker, Saturday and Sunday.