Written by Emma Freeman

We had a couple of days to rest by the beach before going home. We just had fun dancing on the beach when two young Hispanic guys came to ask what we were doing...
We’re dancing for joy! Would you like to join us?
They did!
We danced, chatted with them and prayed for them before saying goodbye.

Written by John Chamberlain-Butt and Sheila Eike

John:
One Monday on the way to our weekly prayer meeting the place name Beersheba lodged in my mind which I mentioned to those present. Another had brought for prayer an article about detention of  men from war torn east Africa in Holot camp near Beersheba, close to the Egyptian border. Apparently quite a few are Christians and considered by the writer of the report to be genuine refugees denied fair treatment.

(Such people are regarded in most counties as 60-80% asylum seekers but Israel have only accepted 1% and will not allow the rest to integrate, so they wait in limbo for the possibility that other countries will receive them. A few have been taken by Uganda. The high court in Israel have ruled twice that the centre should be closed but the government has each time legislated to overturn those rulings)

This became a seed for our latest visit to Israel.
During our time in the desert we drove towards Holot and found a piece of vacant ground within sight of the camp.

Our prayers and declarations were made whilst 12 of the team were arrayed in angel wings raised to heaven and spread as sign of heaven coming to earth in blessing, protection and in His will being brought about.

Whilst we were preparing an army/police car pulled up and the driver asked what was going on. “This looks very interesting” the officer said with a smile.

Ginnie explained we had come off the road to bless and pray for the people of Israel.
The officers did not move us on- rather they were appreciative and gave their blessing for us to continue.
So when they moved on we interceded there for the inmates in the detention centre-  for strengthening of believers and for God encounters to bring others to Yeshua; and for the fire of the Holy Spirit to come into that place.

We also interceded for the Israeli Government that they might perceive and enter their destiny in this matter by becoming a beacon of righteousness according to God’s heart of mercy
Is 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
And her salvation as a lamp that burns.

We shouted in unison to earthly and spiritual powers “set the captives free!”
One of the team spotted a sign in Hebrew where we had turned off the road. We couldn’t translate it except that in the middle was printed in English “consider it done”.

A couple of African looking men were wandering about near to us– they were quite possibly from Holot as detainees are allowed to leave the camp (so technically not prisoners) but would be arrested if found elsewhere in Israel. One of the team presented one of these guys with a Hebrew New Testament which he gratefully received.   

It was also on the heart of one of the Sh’ma family that it was very significant that Kadesh Barnea was in sight only 2 miles away at the border with Egypt. This was the place named in from which 12 spies were sent to spy out the promised land - 1 spy per tribe but only Joshua and Caleb brought back a hopeful report based on faith in God. The others saw the walled cities and backed off. Num 32:8, Num 13.

Facing the border, we prayed for Egypt for revelation of Messiah to the Muslims and strengthening of the Christians, and declared that God calls Egypt ‘My Beloved’. Then facing north, we prayed for the Jewish people, for their protection in the land and that the believers in the land would be persistent and courageous like Joshua and Caleb and bring the next generation through into their full inheritance in the Kingdom of Messiah.   

Shelia:
After we danced near the Holt Detention Center, one of those little desert whirlwinds that pop up appeared (we often see them on film in the Arizona desert). This one wasn’t cone shaped but cylindrical; it was revolving but never moved from it’s place.  It made me think ‘was this the pillar of cloud that God sent ahead of the Israelis during the 40 years wandering?

Emma:
I had been praying for any believers in the detention center & for God to send His word in. A man walked past us, presumably to go to the center as there isn't much around here. Virginia gave me a Hebrew bible & encouraged me to go say hello. Thankfully he spoke Hebrew & I was able to have a very brief conversation with him, after which he gratefully received the bible.

With all our praise garments on, we went to celebrate Shabbat in a quiet spot. Our intention was to dance and worship for His eyes only, but the quietest spot we could find was next to a road. A few people stopped to see what we were doing. We had some great chats as a few of us were able to share why we were there.

Written by Emma Freeman

We joined the group of believers to worship on top of hill following what God had asked them to do. At the start of the school year, the teenagers and parents go to the top of one of the hills and perform pagan ceremonies with effigies. The believers here felt to go to a high hill and come in the opposite Spirit to release the Kingdom in the area & call out for those currently in the darkness to come into the light

Written by Emma Freeman and Diane Chamberlain-Butt

Emma:
We arranged to meet up with, a local pastor because whenever we go for an assignment, we seek to connect with what God is already doing in the area. We always want to honour local believers because these are the ones God has called to have authority there, so we want to be a blessing to them.

Diane:
The 1917 battle at Beersheba was the gate to Israel and the beginning of freedom for the Jews to re-establish their homeland, which in turn gave way to the Balfour declaration. A gate can only be opened by the power of God and the horses involved in that battle were of strong sturdy stock. The victory by the Anzacs is remembered as the last great cavalry charge in history, the horses leapt 3 metre trenches filled with machine gunners and riflemen, which the infantry could not pass, bravely securing territory back from the occupying forces. Again, the power to break through at the gate can only be supernatural.

Water
Apparently, the battle at Beersheba was about getting to the water supplies. Our first assignment here was at “Abraham’s well”. It was in Abraham’s time that the Arab nation was birthed. Now in the park where we worshiped stood an ancient well (Abraham’s well?) and a minaret directly opposite. This surely was the essence of the battle; the significance profound. Hagar’s 2nd encounter with God came when she was put out by Sarai and it was then that Ishmael was saved from death when God provided water at Beersheba and then promised to make him a great nation (Genesis21 v 17). Here stood the well of Abraham, the living water of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob releasing the power to defeat false religion and war over disputes of inheritance. But central to the message of the Kingdom and all the contention in Israel today is this story-The battle of the true faith of Abraham and the battle to establish God’s sovereign plan. Isaac was born by the Holy Spirit – the child of promise and Ishmael the natural was a slave. As the battle against religious spirits emanate from this point in history it was with the release of life from the wells of salvation we could dance and intercede for what seemed like the whole of the world. We stood against religious pride in Israel and the Church and proclaimed over Islam by declaring that the blood of Yeshua was enough.

Blood
The word for that day was ‘honour the blood. ‘The blood of Yeshua speaks a better word than the blood of Abel’. It does not require revenge but has the power to redeem history and resolve conflict. Upon returning to the cemetery, we continued to celebrate the blood of the Lamb by breaking bread and drinking wine, followed by pouring the wine into the ground remembering those who gave their lives to liberate Israel. Within our narrative Isaac is offered as a sacrifice but is saved by a lamb in the thicket. Is the Lord showing us that we are to be willing to ‘love not our lives unto death’ too? To follow Him may mean the ultimate price but with joy we can continue to drink from the well of salvation forever.

We had to go to the airport to switch cars...

Christine:
We come out of the lift on the wrong floor, so we had to get back in and go down. When we got out we were looking for somewhere to have a coffee. Everyone was looking one way, but I caught sight of a man dashing past and I thought “I know that face!” I said to Ginnie, that man looks like our friend! Ginnie ran after him, it was! We hadn’t managed to see him this time in Jerusalem, but instead God organised for us to see him in the airport and His timing is so precise, if we’d not got out on the wrong floor, we’d have been in the cafe and missed him.

Ginnie:
We were bearing a gift that had been given to us to be a custodian of until prompted by the Spirit - "this is the right man". They had just paid all their bills and now had nothing left, so we were able to bless their work.

Sharron:
In the airport, while coming out of the chemist, I dropped my purse. Ginnie was behind me, so saw it and shouted after me. The reason she was behind me was that the Lord had had told her to walk around the shop again ‘but I don’t need anything’ she thought, but was obedient anyway.

Emma:
We joined the 20,000 people who came to Jerusalem to show our love and support for Israel. When the march bottle necked, we danced and sang Hebrew songs as locals watching the march smiled and waved from widows, or videoed us. Some who had crossed the barriers came to join in the dancing!

Virginia:
How can such vast numbers of believers all hear to go to Jerusalem at the same time unless it’s the same Spirit speaking to them? Calling so many different nations so they can obey that call and what a privilege it was to be part of that. The joy of speaking to and encouraging people that we hadn’t forgotten them and that God hadn’t forgotten them. To say to them directly “for Zion’s sake we will not be silent” and that we are your friends.

Emma:
Despite our bodies aching, we went back to the conference and couldn’t stop ourselves from dancing again because how can we be in His presence and not be moved by Him?

We walked home past a sculpture of the world where we danced ‘Every Tribe’ to call the tribes home and the nations to come into alignment with the God of Israel, Who will make Israel the head and a praise of the Earth.

Isaiah 62 TLV

1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her righteousness shines out brightly,
and her salvation as a blazing torch.
2 Nations will see your righteousness,
    and all kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name,
which Adonai’s mouth will bestow.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Adonai,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will you be termed “Forsaken”,
no longer your land termed “Desolate”.
Instead you will be called, “My Delight is in Her”
    and your land, “Married”.
For Adonai delights in you,
and your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
    so your sons will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
    so your God will rejoice over you.
6 On your walls, Jerusalem, I have set watchmen.
All day and all night, they will never hold their peace.
“You who remind Adonai,
    take no rest for yourselves,
7 And give Him no rest until He establishes
    and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8 Adonai has sworn by His right hand
    and by His strong arm:
“Surely I will never again give your grain
    as food for your enemies,
nor will foreigners drink your new wine,
    for which you have labored.
9 But those who have garnered it will eat it
    and praise Adonai,
and those who have gathered it
    will drink it in the courts of My Sanctuary.”
10 Go through, go through the gates.
Clear the way for the people!
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Lift up a banner over the peoples.
11 Behold, Adonai has proclaimed
    to the end of the earth:
Say to the Daughter of Zion,
“Behold, your salvation comes!
See, His reward is with Him,
    and His recompense before Him.”
12 Then they will call them The Holy People,
    The Redeemed of Adonai,
and you will be called, Sought Out,
    A City Not Forsaken.

Written by Emma Freeman

5 days before our planned trip to Israel, we woke up to find 10 of our group no longer had flights (we booked with Monarch). Lord, have we heard you right? Were you really calling us to Israel this time? We heard His confirmation, so we found new flights, but this time we had to fly through Istanbul with a 9 hour layover...

Rosie:
“Ok there’s got to be a reason you’ve got us going through Istanbul, what is it?”. I felt led to look at YouTube and found a secular video about Istanbul the seemed interesting. The man on the video said that the Bosphorus Strait was a ‘Gateway’ between Europe and Asia, I knew that was what God wanted me to hear! I phoned Ginnie who told me that there is significant evidence that the 10 tribes of Israel went through the Bosphorus Strait."

Rosie shared this with the group and we prayed. John and Diane had an encouraging word for us as they saw an arrowhead landing on heavy armour and piercing explosively through and opening a way into enemy territory (the spiritual forces of darkness) for others to enter after you. They felt we were an arrowhead landing in Turkey and opening a breach, a gateway for the Kingdom. Thank You Lord!

We arrived at Istanbul, most of us shattered from a week of many trials, BUT it is an honour and a privilege to be a part of what our God is doing, so before we did anything else, we prayed and listened to find out exactly what to do while we were there.

We found space in the airport at the gate. We did a few prophetic dances and interceded to call back the tribes from the nations to worship the true God. We opened the Gateway.

Christine:
"People from Iran can come here and learn about the Lord because here (although still restricted) there is more freedom than in their own countries. For some, when things happen in places like Iran (Persia) they have a different view than most - they see it as a blessing because they know they’ll be able to go to a place with more opportunity to learn the ways of God. There are also more opportunities for women & children who have no voice in their own countries. These refugees are His harvest."