July 9, 2009
Dear precious partners,
I have just returned from a “road trip”. It is the first one in a very long time. For so long I have been flying and flying and flying. It was so good to take whatever I wanted without weighing the bags. I even took my bicycle with me. I went to my home town, Midland, TX, up to O’Donnell and then on up to Altus, Oklahoma. This seems to be a season of reconnecting for me. Facebook definitely has contributed to this process! I have a sense, though, that the Body of Christ is beginning to come together. Among many there is a sense that things may grow dark soon. I know the economy has many feeling that its dark, but I believe things will shake us even more. I can’t prove that or even define it, but as I cast the vision for disaster preparedness on my little trip, it was surprising to me how many people were already thinking in the same direction. The training we had in Houston in April was a great success. There were a total of 70 and we represented 8 or 9 different churches in the city. We met Friday night and all day on Saturday stirred to get busy collecting supplies and preparing. The real truth is that if where I live is “ground zero” and I am personally struggling to survive, I cannot minister to the community suffering around me. It is our DNA to be in the middle of the chaos bringing water and food and bandages and peace fueled by the love of Jesus.
There was another reason for my trip. I felt the need to go and meet with people and churches that have prayed for me and supported me faithfully through the years. There are two churches in Midland that send a check once in a while. And I tell you, the once in a while is always at a critical time! There is a precious Sunday School class in Altus, Oklahoma that has been sending a check each month and they had never even met me. I had to meet them and tell them the many stories in between the lines of the updates they have read for some years now. The whole trip was filled with encouragement that the Body of Christ is awakening, I believe. I am praying that God will continue to get us ready so we can be the light of Jesus when darkness falls.
I continue to pray for wisdom along the way. We have been communicating with a U.S. Army Major assigned in the south of Iraq who has found some very needy people. They have needs for water and also medical treatment for skin diseases from insects out of control. Several of us are praying for God’s way to help these people and develop long term relationships. Pray for wisdom and provision. I am also going back to Aceh, Indonesia the last two weeks of August. I just couldn’t miss a summer as I have returned each summer since the tsunami devastated the region. My heart loves both the victims and the workers in the land and I continue to pray that Jesus will be known in the hearts of those who lost so much.
October will be the month for Syria. I will be on a team again from my local church and then extend a bit. Our desire is to support and encourage the local church on the ground that is passionate about the lost and suffering. They continue to baptize many and try to help as many Iraqi refugees as they can. We have seen transformed lives…lives totally broken from the war transformed into smiling faces deeply involved in the ministries of the church. Only Jesus!
I am comforted often when I realize that God is not wringing His hands about world situations or personal situations. I have watched the situation in Iran since the election. I have prayed for the many secret believers and members of the house church knowing they were probably involved in the process. I believe there is still the possibility of a regime change. Only Jesus!!
We pray for success in Iraq as our troops have left the major cities. Lord, may the peace hold…let there not be a vacuum. We pray for success for the surge in Afghanistan. We pray for the women and children and followers of Jesus in those places. The future of freedom is tenuous there and in other places in the world. We do have a role in each of those places. We must pray! There is no need for a plane ticket to Kabul, Tehran, or Baghdad….we can be there immediately in prayer. Please don’t change the channel when bad news comes to your T.V. ….pray! In many of the places where bad or violent news happens there is a remnant of the Body of Christ…there always will be. The difference for me is that I know some of those people by name…it is very personal for me. But let me be your link and testify that God’s Kingdom is advancing!!!! Be a partner…be a nation changer!
So thanks again for hanging in there with me. Thank you for praying, for giving, for loving, and for wanting to know the whole story. Can you believe it has been 30 years since I started on this trek! ONLY JESUS…. could have kept me so long and so many miles. But I believe that for all that I have seen Him do in these 30 years, it is nothing compared to what will happen in the next 5. Things are racing so swiftly.
Pray for wisdom, provision, protection and continued favor with people in high, strategic places. Pray for the Body of Christ to come together for this hour in the Kingdom. If you or your church or group is interested in possibly being trained for disaster survival as I mentioned above, let me know and I will try to facilitate something in your region. Most of all, may we be totally engaged, prepared, and full of the love of Jesus.
Blessings and peace to you,
Betsy Brown
Heartsong Ministries, Inc.
11921 Barryknoll Lane
Houston, TX 77024
7135696597
