In January we were in California for 2 weeks. A six hour stop over in Korea on the way, where we saw snow that told us we were headed for a much cooler climate! Despite the weather, however, we praised God for the warm hearts that welcomed us everywhere we went. God had promised us His blessings on the trip, and He was indeed faithful to His promises every step of the way. We started off in Los Angeles at the beautiful Palos Verdes Country Club, where Brian had been invited to join the Harvest Evangelism Team, led by Ed Silvoso, to speak at the Transform Our World Seminar. The day was organized and co-ordinated by our gracious hosts, Dave and Kristen Wendorff, and it was an honour and privilege to be part of the team made up of Roy Tirtadji (Sentul City, Indonesia), King Flores (Paranaque, Philippines) and Benjy MacNaughton (San Jose, California). The beautiful view over LA was a reminder of the reason why so many pulpit and market place ministers had gathered together, to bring hope to that city and see a change take place not only there but also in the surrounding area and beyond. As the transformational message was shared throughout the day, it was evident that faith levels were beginning to rise and hearts were open to believe that with God all things were possible. From there we joined other members of the Harvest Team at the Harvest Evangelism headquarters in San Jose for a meeting of the Prayer Presbytery, ably led by Barbara Chan from Hong Kong. The speaker for this was Chief Jay Swallow, who brought very powerful insights into prayer and intercession. The next day we gathered together at Mount Hermon Conference Centre, situated in the beautiful mountains near Santa Cruz, California, for the annual Harvest Family Summit. It was a time of renewing old friendships, making new ones, a sharing of hearts, vision, hopes and dreams, and of course being challenged to rise up to a new level and believe God for greater things. The highlight of our trip took place several days later when we flew to the city of Juarez, Mexico, listed by the UN as the most dangerous city in the world. We were there at the invitation of our good friend, Poncho Murguia. It was an incredibly blessed time visiting with him and his family, and ministering in his church. We felt a strong sense of the presence of God amongst us during the Sunday morning service, which was confirmed through the message and testimonies which Brian brought. Later that afternoon after a wonderful lunch and a time of sharing with the leaders, one of the ladies told how she had actually smelt the fragrance of Jesus in the meeting. The following day we had a powerful time of prayer on the mountain overlooking the city. We joined with Poncho as he declared that he was the father of the city and proclaimed that Juarez was now no longer an orphan. We praise God for His promises of protection for our brothers and sisters there. A day stop over back in LA on the way home was filled with a visit to Dreamworks, arranged by Sally Robson. It was a very interesting day, and we were encouraged to know that God has His people in the right place to bring blessing, even to Hollywood. We praise God for His safekeeping, for the many blessings that we received, for the new friends that we made, and for the privilege that we have knowing that He's chosen us to partner with Him to transform His world. Brian and Poncho praying over Juarez Margaret in the courtyard at Dreamworks
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