For all those who have been praying for the release of funds for the purchase of Bethanie, we wanted to post an update…
You may have heard that Bill and Jan have been working on a possible bridging loan. The idea is to obtain a loan for two years, enabling them to move into their new home and giving bless further time for fund-rasing, with bless covering the cost of the loan through rent payments. When this option came up we felt it was the right provision at the right time, as many advisors have been urging us to commit further time and resources to fund-raising.
However, Bill and Jan heard today that their loan application has been turned down on a technicality to do with the nature of their sale to us.
Please do pray for them over the coming days – with two goals:
1. Please pray that the vendors selling to Bill and Jan will be willing to wait a while longer while alternative sources of loan are explored.
2. Please pray that their broker, who has been very supportive and helpful, will be able to identify an alternative source.
We should no in the next 4 to 5 days whether this has been possible.
Thanks for your prayers and support – we appreciate you.
Gerard

We arrived on the estate to the sound of bangers and the smell of gunpowder. The floor was littered with burntout fireworks from Bastille Day celebrations and the air tinged with smoke. A rocket whistled by. BANG! A group of twentysomethings stood menacingly in the doorway of the high rise flats observing their territory and watching our every move. They let off another rocket at random. Whistle. POP.

We unloaded our resources and set up camp on the grass beneath the largest tree in the square which provided us some respite from the hot summer sun. We took a moment to pray. Taking a marker pen we each wrote a prayer on the sole of our shoes.

‘peacemakers’ was the single word prayer I scrawled on my trainers in large letters.

Ordered chaos ensued as the team moved to action; blankets were laid out and carrier bags emptied to reveal an abundance of coloured beads, threads, juggling balls and face paint. The parachute was unfurled and football teams selected. Our sole prayers began to spread out covering the square. Some remained still beneath the shade of the tree, others danced around the parachute and others still chased football and frisbee around the park.

Within minutes the air seemed to clear. Bangs were replaced with the sound of children laughing and playing. Hostility substituted for hospitality; intimidation for intimacy. There was a tangible sense of joy, peace and festivity. Their territory suddenly felt like it was Gods ground.

Two hours later we left the estate, exhausted, but with an amazing sense of God with us. As I climbed wearily into the car I glanced at the soles of my trainers; nothing but dust and dirt. Our prayers had rubbed off, literally.

for more stories go to liveforothers.eu or read our go2bless france issuu

Visit our collaborative blog at www.liveforothers.eu for images from this summer’s missions in France, Croatia and Bonsia …

We are impacting the lives of young Europeans one joyful moment at a time.

Isaiah 13:2 “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty.”

Esaie 13:2 “Menace sur Babylone, révélée à Esaïe, fils d’Amots. Sur un mont dénudé, dressez un étendard, poussez des cris et agitez la main! Que l’on franchisse les portes des seigneurs!

Jesaja 13:2 “Dit is de profetie die God aan Jesaja, de zoon van Amoz, over Babel gaf:Kijk, de vlaggen en de vaandels wapperen als hun vijand tot de aanval overgaat. Roep naar hen, Israël, en zwaai met uw hand wanneer zij optrekken tegen Babel om de paleizen van de rijken en de machthebbers te vernietigen.

Isaiah pictures an army marching against the great pagan city of Babylon. In the context, this almost certainly refers to the Medes and Persians. The prophet sees Israel as cheerleaders to the invading army. From their vantage point on a barren hillside – clearly visible to all – they are to waves flags, arms and anything that moves to spur on those who come against Babylon. But what if this picture were for today; who would the invading army be? Young leaders perhaps, established and equipped in their faith, marching into the very heart of Babylon to enter the places of power.

Bethanie is an isolated farmhouse on a hillside in Normandy: exposed to the elements; far from the city; away from the action; out of the spotlight. A strange place indeed from which to launch a continent-shaping movement. But this is what we believe God is calling us to do. This is a place, we believe, that will impact a generation of young leaders from the nations of Europe. They will come here to meet with God, to be formed in mind, body and spirit and to consider their lives. They will leave here to ‘enter the places of the high and mighty’ with a new confidence, a new vision and a new resistance to the powers of Babylon. And from this bare hillside that God has for some reason chosen, we will cheer them on.

“ …you planted a flag to rally your people,  an unfurled flag to look to for courage…” Psalm 60:4, The Message

The funding to complete the purchase is NOT yet in place. Our urgent need is for £150,000 (€180,000) THIS MONTH to take the process to the next stage.

We continue to believe that God has called us to this place and that Bethanie itself has been prepared, over generations, ‘for such a time as this’. Please get in touch if you are able to stand with us in this challenge.

In September 1991 Chrissie and I were on a Brittany Ferries boat sailing into Ouistreham for a visit to Caen. At 6am, after a sleepless night, I opened my daily Bible reading and found some words that had already for several years been significant for us: “He lead them by a straight way to a city where they could settle” (Psalm 107:7). We knew then that God was calling us to Normandy, and specifically to the Caen region. Over 19 years and 9 house-moves we have kept that dream alive, even though our path has taken us to many other places. “Not all who wander are lost” Tolkien wrote, and we have sensed in the wanderings of many years a meaningful pattern, moving towards a point of resolution. That resolution has come in the form of a return to Normandie, and we stand at last on the threshold of fulfilling God’s call to us.

We are now within weeks of the deadline for the contact to purchase Bethanie, the former cider farm where God has called us to establish a base for prayer, training and missional formation. We have raised €117,000 towards a total target of €476,000. We have seen gifts come in from a wide range of people and are thrilled to see so many backing this vision: but we haven’t yet seen the significant funding we need to complete the purchase.

We are due, by the end of June, to raise a further €359,000 to complete the purchase or a minimum of €200,000 to move to the next stage of the process. This might seem a good time to panic or to shift emphasis; even to own up that ‘we couldn’t raise the funds’ and turn aside from the project.

And yet we sense that God is telling us to do none of these things. We have talked and prayed with Bill and Jan Gordon, our vendors, and all four of us believe that God is saying to us:  “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today… The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13) So we are asking all those who pray for us to stand with us in these vital last two weeks. Please pray with us:

a) For the RELEASE of the funds needed for this purchase – to enable bless to move on with the vision for Bethanie and Bill and Jan to move on to the next stage of their lives and ministry.

b) For God’s JUSTICE to be established. We sensed when praying that there may be a blockage of injustice holding back these funds. We don’t know the details of this, but believe it is right to pray for God’s justice to be done.

Please continue to pray with us and for us, that God’s purposes for our lives – and for this remarkable place – will be fulfilled. We will be standing and watching daily through the coming weeks to see what God does. Will you stand with us?

When we first agreed to take on Bethanie, the price agreed was €450,000, based on a valuation of €500k to €550k. Bill and Jan, the current owners, wanted to help our fund-raising efforts and immediately ‘gave back’ the first €50,000.

We then raised from Bless supporters the €40,000 needed for the deposit, which was paid in September 2009. Since then a further €27,000 has come in through gifts and sponsored activities. This makes a total raised so far of €117,000, with an outstanding need for €359,000. We have been offered the opportunity for part of this figure to be converted to a loan to be repaid after completion of the purchase, but even for this to happen we need to raise a minimum of a further €200,000 by July.

These are tough figures – but we have always believed that this is a faith-journey, and that even if the answer comes at the eleventh hour, it will come in time. We are as convinced as ever that God is calling us to this work. In the months that we have been able to ‘test-drive’ Bethanie, we have seen incredible fruit. We are astounded by the impact that this place has on the young people (and others!) who come here. We really do sense that God’s words to Solomon, spoken over the Jerusalem Temple, are true of this small corner of Norman soil:

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy – this place you have built where my name will be honoured forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” (I Kings 9:3)

Our dream is as strong as ever to see Bethanie established as a missional community offering opportunities in formation, training and mobilisation to a new generation of young leaders. We are asking people to pray very specifically in the coming two weeks for the release of this finance. Will you stand with us in prayer for this ‘great deliverance’?

Bike2bless kicks off tomorrow morning (Wednesday) for four days cycling Dartmoor, Exmoor and the roads in between. Nine riders will tackle the 160 mile route, ranging in age from a sprightly sixteen to a faith-stretching fifty! There is still time to sonsor this event – go to http://www.justgiving.com/jonathancherrybike2bless

For regular saddle stories visit http://bike2bless.tumblr.com/