Debbie and I have enjoyed two wonderful weeks here in Redding and at Bethel Church. We are very grateful for the privilege of being your representatives here and for the benefits of this time away.

So what are we doing here? We are resting, studying, praying and immersing ourselves in the atmosphere of this global ministry. At our first staff meeting we were the guests of Steve Backlund and listened to 90 minutes of testimonies of what the Lord had been doing through this ministry in the past week. The testimonies ranged from Berlin to Paris to the poorer neighborhoods of Redding. People healed, saved and equipped. To say it was inspiring would be an understatement to say the least.

We also have had the privilege of sitting under the ministry of Claudio Freidzen from Buenos Aires. He has been a leader in the Argentine revival for the past 25 years. I first encountered Claudio in 1996 when I went to Argentina to intersect the revival there. Then, less than a week later, we experienced the ministry of John and Carol Arnott from the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, a ministry that has been experiencing and ministering revival for the past 20 years. Bethel Church has been in revival for the past 18 years. Wow! The level of anointing flowing in these meetings was remarkable.

We have been in the room while several healings have occurred, including one of note. One of the Bethel pastors had a word of knowledge for someone who had their neck injured in an auto accident at least ten, maybe fifteen years ago. Oh yes, in a red car. “Did that description fit anyone?” A woman from Minnesota stood up. She was in a crash fifteen years ago driving a red VW beetle. Since then she had suffered from fibromyalgia that was triggered by the accident. Her husband had offered to send her to any spa in the country for a week in order to ease her pain. Instead she said, “I want to go to Redding and Bethel Church.” As she stood and responded to the word of knowledge, the people around her prayed. A bit later she shared the testimony that her pain was gone and her range of motion was restored. Desperate desire for healing fueled her faith and the Lord released the word that led to her healing.

So we are soaking in this atmosphere, being fed, being stretched, being refreshed. Thanks again for the opportunity to be here. We are enjoying every moment and looking forward to returning to Wellspring and sharing with all of you the fruits of what we have been receiving here.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

Pastor Rick

Greetings Fellow Americans and Friendly Foreigners!

Debbie and I logged some more amazing miles on the Pacific Coast Highway today. We sojourned into the mountains for a day to visit Crater Lake National Park. It is the deepest lake in the country and fills the collapsed rim of an inactive volcano in the Cascade mountain range in southern Oregon. The rim is about 7,500 feet high. Very beautiful. Very eerie landscape. Very remote location.

This morning we woke up and decided where to head on our last day on the road before we head into Redding tomorrow. Our decision was to head southwest from Crater Lake--back to the coast and Highway 101.

So we crossed over the coastal range and drove into California. Immediately we both felt the difference from Oregon. So good to be back in California again. When we hit Route 101 we were on the section called "The Redwood Highway." That's right. This amazing highway runs for miles through the forest of massive giant redwoods that runs along the coast here. Many of the trees are just a couple feet off the side of the road.

There is no describing these trees. They have to be experienced to be believed. Massive grandeur and hundreds and thousands of them. No picture can capture them (besides I haven't uploaded any pictures yet).

Then the bonus. In one stretch along the highway there are several herds of elk just off the roadway. We stopped and made the acquaintance of a couple of the small herds--one was about fifteen feet from our vehicle. Elk--called 'Wapiti' by the Indians, which means 'big white rump.' Yep, they have that distinctive marker.

That's the report for this day. Tomorrow, Lord willing, we roll into Redding to set up shop in our new digs for the next six weeks. We will be staying at "Glory Mountain Retreat" just north of Redding.

Blessings,

RM

My Fellow Americans (and those few non-Americans who read this blog),

Walked the beaches of the Oregon coast today. Also drove about 150 miles on Highway 101. Magnificent! Some of the best days of my life have been enjoyed driving up and down this magnificent road. Every turn presents another orgy for the eyes. Makes the Atlantic coastline look like the bank of some farm pond.


And get this--you can actually SEE the Pacific coastline from the road! For miles and miles and miles it is visible and not obstructed by houses or shoreline private roads. And you can walk on the beaches--for free! And no town or county or state charges you to park your car! In Oregon most of the shoreline is state park and totally accessible.


Some other observations about Oregon:


Personal grooming and dress are low priorities throughout Oregon. The grungier one looks the better--especially the men. Most women here at least comb their hair. But if I were to move here I would have to invest heavily in flannel shirts (ripped preferably) and hoodies--and I would have to let my hair grow and faithfully comb it once a year.

Eastern Oregon is the west and Portland is the east. Eastern Oregon is ranch and farm country and very dry where not irrigated. And Portland is liberal northeastern in its politics--but it has a laid back tempo and ethos like California. Also Portland has amazing formal gardens. It ain't called the Rose City for nothing. And you can't pump your own gas in Oregon--it's like New Jersey that way. But the gas prices in Jersey are cheaper. You think a lot about gas prices when you are logging about 400-500 miles a day.


75% of Oregon is brown and dry and 25% of Oregon is green and lush. And the people and the cities are where its green. Except a lot of where it is green are mountains and trees on a rampage. You have never seen such trees in your life! There is a reason the Oregon license tag has a picture of a Douglas fir on it.

I actually wrote more stuff for this blog post and it was brilliant, but my wi-fi connection crapped out and it got lost in cyber space. And now I am tired and going to bed.

Happy Trails!

RM