In Mid February, we had what we called deployment week.  Bethel has started Global Legacy to help with deploying students from the school into the ministries that they have been called to.  Many churches across the world are now associating and tying into Bethel.  Paul Manwaring heads up the ministry.  We had Steve Whitt come and spend the week with us.  Steve is a powerful speaker and prophet.  He leads a large church in Cleveland as the Senior Pastor but also has spent many years as a business coach.  Bethel will soon be sending out approx. 1000 people per year into various parts of the world.  They provide the covering for any student once deployed.  Nothing happens in the bible without a seed – we were all started with a seed.  Unfortunately, we buy into what others say about us and let them shape our lives.  Steve had a large puzzle and he threw the pieces into the audience and then held the box behind him.  He had us pick up one or two pieces and told us that this is what happens to our lives – we begin to put the puzzle pieces together and frequently God flashes the box at us with the picture on it!  It was a great analogy for the students.  The Lord draws us in by mysteries. Sometimes we create God in our image instead of realizing we were created in His image.  Steve had us do a eulogy on our lives as if we were 85 looking backwards.  It was very interesting and very powerful to each of us.  It is basically a declaration of where we want God to take us.  

We are excited about what God is calling us to.  We have realized that it is intoxicating to sit beside the fire (Bethel) but he is calling us to carry the fire elsewhere.  

Bill Johnson spoke to the students about being intentional about creating a momentum for another generation to step into!!  We need to sow and live for the next generation that we cannot see.  Enduring faith brings answers and builds character at the same time.  God does stuff in the natural that will show you His character and we need to continually watch for that. Bill believes we are entering a season where God is answering His promises. We need to die to God and really need to pay the price of sacrifice (obedience).  We need to yield every day.  If the Lord doesn’t defend me then what I am fighting for is not worth it.  He really stressed to the students that if we live our lives in excellence, we will get an opportunity to stand before leaders as leaders look to excellence (Prov 22:29)  Excellence is the key to promotion in every instance.  Bill posed a question to us – what’s more important – influence or being known for something important.  It is the one thing that has so impressed me with Bill Johnson.  He is so humble and strives for excellence to be an influence in this world without being known for importance!!  The cornerstone of logic and reason is the eternal.  If we don’t keep focussed on the eternal we forget we will live for eternity it will shape our decisions differently.  True success is what your descendants will accomplish because of you.  Honour is the atmosphere of which the people of God become their best.  

We spent a couple session in dream interpretation and that was very interesting. A lot of the students have been experiencing many more and much more vivid dreams since being here.  Dayna has had some exciting dreams. 

Well, we just turned the calendar into March.  It has been a whirlwind.  We have been so touched by seeing so many healing miracles.  At Bethel last weekend a homeless man who attended was wearing a brace which he needed to walk.  He was prayed over and the leg was instantly healed.  His brace was removed and the strength came back into the leg and he walked out of the church (actually skipping and jumping)… yeah God – He is so good!!!

We have seen many miracles concerning student financing.  Last week a younger couple here received an envelope with $16,000.00 in it.  They needed funds to help pay for there Van which was in dire need of repairs and had been praying for it for months.  God responded – they had no idea where it came from but they are thankful and giving thanks to God for it.  

Bethel has teams that go into the community every week.  The teams are designated to certain neighbourhoods that they grow in thru the year and get to know and develop relationships in their specific area.  This year Bethel used 2^nd year students to actually take out apartments in each of there areas. They have now started home churches in each area and they are growing and expanding and many are being saved.  It is really neat to see all of this progressing.   

We as a class have officially moved into the conference center here.  It is another growth step for Bethel.  Next year they are expecting another 500 students (1500) which shows God’s faithfulness to the church and school.  We are getting ready for our Missions Trip to New Zealand.  We are leaving on March 22 and we are so excited to see what God is going to do with us there.  We have really enjoyed the year but to be honest, we are ready to head home and begin to put into practise what God has done in our lives over the past 6 months.  We miss our friends and am looking forward to May.  

Well, February has come and gone as fast as it arrived.  Before we know it we will be heading to New Zealand for our missions trip.  To all those that have supported us we love you and pray for God’s richest favour falling on you and your families.  During January and February, I, (Dave) have been involved in the healing rooms. It has been a wonderful time to see God’s hand and miracles work.  I have seen so many healing miracles over the past two months.  Metal dissolving from backs, legs and arms.  Diabetes, head trauma’s, necks, back and arms all healed by the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit.  Many stage 4 cancers as well.  God has been so faithful to His word.

We also have been involved in taking the “Love After Marriage” course.  It is designed by a couple from Bethel and it is a very powerful course that has seen many marriages resurrected and continuing in a healthy and happy direction.  The course runs for 18-20 weeks and deals with the most intimate parts of the marriage including teaching people how to communicate and how to handle difficult and stressful situations.  It is certainly a course that we would like to bring home.  We have realized that God is intending to bring His bride home without spot and healing marriages is high on His list!!

In February, we had many great topics and teachers once again.  Eric Johnson spoke to us for the first time and he spoke about stewardship. It was a powerful session and he cautioned us to understand that God knows exactly what we can handle in our lives.  In the middle of temptation there is always a way out.  He taught on the verse out of Matthew 25 about the talents.  He said that God always knows who can handle one, two and five talents.  His message was to be careful about our hearts as it always seems that if you are the person with 2 talents, He always seems to put the person with 5 beside you and in most occasions you wonder how that person got there.  God wants to see how we handle it from a heart situation.  What do you do when the Lord gives something to someone else that we have been crying out for??  Learn to steward well what He has given you at the moment.  Eric believes that this generation is about to experience something no one else has. Will we remain poor in Spirit and how will we steward something we did not pay a price for?  We need to set a new foundation for the next generation that we will not see. 

Don’t ever limit the anointing to only what you think you can do!!   Sometimes Jesus works on our character first before giving us power and authority – sometimes he gives it right away and works on the character as we go!!! 

During the month Mario Murillo came and spoke to us.  He is a prophet and pastor from the East Coast.  His message was on recognizing when we have new wine coming and as a result we need to ensure that we get a new wineskin. Hugh Ross came and spoke to us about creation.  Hugh is an astronomer who loves the Lord and gets into many high level debates with atheists.  His ministry is so detailed and it has such a place today in our age. 

Steve and Wendy Backlund  came to speak with the students.  Steve travels the world helping pastors to set up churches and get the right structure and movement to the church. He is very anointed and a very powerful speaker.  He spoke to us about declarations and how they need to be spoken out be each of us everyday.  Declarations go to the heavens and they really do come to fruition.  God is in the process of releasing more revelation to the church. We as the body need more revelation.  God uses people with issues – cause frankly there is no one else to use on the planet!!  We need to look at our lives and decide – what do I need to believe differently?  We need to stop calling it failure and call it learning.  The secret to our strength is our JOY. Every area of our life that isn’t glistening with hope means we are living with a lie and that area is under the stronghold of the enemy.  Success is a state – not a goal.  If it’s a goal then it is only sustained by work.  We are not called to be realistic – we are called to be SUPER NATURAL…we can alter our lives and our destinies by the things we declare. 

Bill Johnson met with the students and spoke about Kingdom principles. He cautioned us about being careful not to reduce Kingdom principles to natural stuff.  Since God is not a God of waste – why would he give us everything?  God gives us what we are capable of managing and then He can promote them into our destiny.   There is a difference in what is in my possession and what is in my account.  The Lord will reveal stuff to us that we can’t find on our very best day naturally.  When he reveals it, it becomes very clear.  In Luke 12 it says that it is the Fathers good pleasure to give us the mysteries of the Kingdom!!  If we move in proper stewardship that we have been given then things get increased.  The Lord continues to teach us process.  Jesus said that He is giving us the world and it is a shame that everyone seems to be waiting for the world to come to an end. 

Anytime you visit the past apart from the blood of Jesus – you are subjecting yourself to the Spirit of Deception because you are visiting a lie!  The past is not ours – it was bought by the blood of Jesus..

We had a visit from Bobbie Connors. He is a prophet and he was very powerful.   He really pushed us to be committed to the word and getting the word out.  He believes we are in a time like never before.  We are to prepare ourselves to begin to see and feel the awe of God.  We will see Him like we have never seen Him before.  It will be something that we as a church have never experienced before.  Bob told us that half hearted obedience is really cloaked rebellion. He told us that:

- We need to expect an outpouring

- Expect – Let your works appear

- We are to make an impact on the nations

- Deliverance is about to come on the house of the Lord

- God is going to release the Spirit of Evangelism

- Maintain simplicity

The whole earth is trembling and shaking waiting for the Sons of God.  The Kingdom of God is dragging behind.  The whole world is groaning waiting for us to step up!  Sceptism is really moving thru the body of the church right now.  Bob cautioned us to guard two gates – the eyes and the ears.  It sends stuff to our heart and what’s in our heart then ends up in our hands…  God always calls someone ordinary and puts an extraordinary call on him so God gets all the glory!

Kris Vallotton spoke to us about accountability and being accountable to someone in our lives.  He told the students that you need to have a mentor that when you mess up you are embarrassed to tell that person – anyone else is not suitable.   

January Continued – In late January Bill Johnson spoke to us about learning to recognize the Holy Spirit. We need to know what to do and when and knowing Him makes all the difference. We must talk and touch people out of the Spirit of God.  When there was a problem, Jesus, would always take people back to the heart issue. It was usually the root.   Bill spoke about learning from his father not to get too upset about people that preach something a bit different than we do.  That Paul mentioned that we always need to celebrate that Christ is being preached even if the intent is not heart felt.  We need to let the seed of the Gospel have its effect.  

Mark Brookes spoke to the students about living a life of integrity and purity.  God is calling us to have a greater anointing of power which requires more of God but also greater purity in our lives.  God is calling all of us to be more priestly in everything we do.  Grace requires more of our lives than logic.  He urged us to endure cause there is a great reward at the end.  The greatest treasure on the planet are the souls of unsaved men and women.  

We had teaching from Mary Walker who instructed on Words of Knowledge – how they show up and what to do with them.  We need to hear God for this.   It is out of rest that we actually hear Him the best. We need to have grace for ourselves as we will get it wrong.  We are taught here that we have to make sure that what we are giving is costing us a sacrifice (RISK).  Jesus loves hunger and He loves RISK.

Bible teaching has been intense for the whole year.  We have been going thru many books of the bible and learning to tear each word apart and how to interpret the bible. Our instructors are very knowledgeable and they amaze me at how they make such a dry topic fun!!

Danny Silk spoke to the us on the Culture of Honor at Bethel.  It is one of the main reasons that this school/church is in revival.  I have never served in a church where the leadership does not lead with some form of control and rules and regulations.  Bethel believes it is the leaders job to pull out the gold in everyone, to respect and draw out people’s gifting’s and to see that they grow and mature in those giftings and release them out to ministry.  He spoke about leaders fearing sin so much that they put in all kinds of controls.  He finds it funny that any leader would expect to have people and not have sin?  Its like having cows that don’t poop!  We become a slave to someone’s rules if we don’t know how to handle freedom.   Jesus didn’t manipulate anyone in the bible.  He came to serve and set people free – not see them live in bondage.  Fear wants control – actually, fear and love are mortal enemies.  Love offers choice and freedom.  Life under the law requires us to live protecting our relationship with the law.  Life in the Spirit requires us to learn to live free, protecting our relationship with the Spirit.  Law of Sin/Death is now triumphed by the Law of Liberty and Freedom – unfortunately, most of the churches didn’t get the memo!!  There is no love required when our relationships are built on rules.  Prioritizing the rules creates Religion = prioritizing our relationships cultivates Love.  Rules need to be subordinate to Love – how much more powerful is your love than a broken rule?  

Danny spoke on Confession vs Repentance.  Basically, confession allows me to feel better about punishment.  Most churches don’t know what to do with repentance – they are always looking for the punishment first.  You take a time out on the bench for up to a year and sometimes longer.  Too many people have been hurt this way and many have never returned to a church.  We must learn to remove the need to punish when we are around sin, love is much more powerful.  Discipline can be much tougher than punishment. 

Bill Johnson spoke to us about money 101!!  He told us that he lives by three principles

1) Tigh – Anything Jesus taught was meant to be carried over in the New Testament. It is a must to give to God what is His.  

2) Missions – If you can’t go then help send!!  He told us that it is not right for a Christian not to have a heart for the Nations.  He cautioned us to never abandon people in the Ministry field.  

3) Carrying for the poor – Jesus spoke about this so often. He really hit Dayna and I in the nose.  He told us that to not give to the poor because you think they may misuse the money is in itself a misuse of the money.  We do not know what is in there hearts and with our giving it may eternally change someone’s heart.  

Fire always falls on sacrifices.   

January 2012 - Well the New Year has arrived and we are now into the second half of the school year. We had a wonderful time in Ventura with Janey, Sharley and our new son in law Zeb at Christmas.  It was one our very best times at Christmas.  The weather was beautiful and we did lots of travelling up and down the coast getting an opportunity to see some beautiful areas.  It was sad to see Sharley go home but we were so excited to see what God is doing in her life.  She really is a very wonderful, sweet and beautiful young lady with huge ministry ahead.

We returned to Redding for another week off but attended the Prophetic Intercessor training.  Very few first year students are accepted into this as it is a very important and highly regarded ministry at Bethel.  Dayna received an invitation to join due to her prophetic gifting that God is really beginning to unfold.  This will be a huge step for her in the prophetic/prayer ministry. 

Our first Sunday back in Redding saw Bob Kilpatrick come to preach.  His message was simple but profound.  God is always here – there is no there or elsewhere!  God is an artist and is trying to make something good and beautiful out of us.  During the week we had a special session with Bill Johnson. Bill travels so much but really does miss the students and when he comes home he frequently schedules special sessions to meet with the students.  He is one of the most humble leaders I have ever met.  He always has time for any of the students.  He spoke to us about how he studies the bible. It was very interesting and how he links threads thru scripture.  He spoke about Jacob and Laban and equated it to today – what we see when we drink is what you reproduce!  Drink from the bible and you live a life in the presence of God.  He cautioned us that casual interest brings casual answers.  He cautioned us and told us that Leaders don’t need to know everything but they do need to have life in every area.  He also told us that hunger that leads to frustration is different than a hunger that leads to Faith. 

We were visited by Georgin and Winnie Banov.  It was a powerful day.  He and his wife have a church in Santa Cruz and they travel the world as missionaries.  I have never experienced a service like that.  This has been a year of first’s for both of us.  We have seen and been touched by so many of God’s current General’s.  It has made both of us angry that we have lived under the Spirit of Religion for so long and God had intended so much more for us.  It grieves us greatly that so many people live under this Spirit. 

Paul Manwaring spoke to us.  He leads Global Legacy here at Bethel.  Global Legacy looks after all the associated Churches around the world.  They also place any student after completing second year.  Paul is a brilliant man with a real passion for Christ.  He spoke to us about repentance in the opposite direction – actually turning to the glory of God as opposed to turning from something.  Who Jesus is to us is who He will be thru us.  What is beautiful to each of us?  What do I love? If you don’t love yourself – you can’t love your neighbour.  Bethel continues to teach and preach Son ship… its all about being filled with the presence of God and depositing that everyday where ever you go. 

Mark Brookes taught on the Spirit of Joy.  Joy is a feeling and when you don’t feel it you have to apply the truth.  Truth triumphs facts.  No man can take Joy from us – it came from the cross.  Joy is the antidote for trials and tough times.  It certainly gives us a different outlook on life.  Joy gives you the opportunity to diagnose life right.  When you don’t add joy to your trials it will always feel like judgement. 

Mid January, we had Randy Clark come for a Healing Conference.  We had Neil and Lucille Roy come and stay with us.  It was a wonderful time together and we love them.  They have such huge hearts for the Lord and for people and they are wonderful leaders.  Randy’s teaching was very biblical and very informative.  He has such a compassion for people.  We saw over 500 healings in three days.  He is extremely anointed and in the Office of Healer.  He did an impartation to the students and it was wonderful to be prayed over by him.  He prayed that the Holy Spirit would transfer his healing anointing to me and also he came back and prayed that I would be instrumental in bringing revival to Canada.  I had the privilege of being his security in the evening.  I watched him pray over a lady in a wheel chair.  She had atrophy of the legs and has not straightened them in years.  As he prayed over her I watched the colour come into her legs, her toes and feet.  She began to wiggle her toes, then her ankles and eventually she lifted her legs up and down stating to Randy that she can’t do that and hasn’t for years.  Randy laughed at her and showed her she actually was doing it herself.  She then eventually lifted one leg over the other.  After more prayer, he eventually straightened her legs.  It was amazing and it was an amazing opportunity to increase my faith and those around us that were watching.  We saw people healed of metal in there bodies, eyes, deaf ears hearing, shoulders being replaced, knees healed, backs and many more.  Many came forward with cancer – at one time Randy called out a number of people’s names – at the end of the evening a lady with cancer came forward and told him her name and that he had called it out.  Randy told her that she was having pain in three places in her body and pointed to them – she told him that she had three major tumours in the spots he pointed out.  Randy prayed over her and she went down and shook for a long time.  I am really interested to know how her next test will be??    After the conference we said goodbye to Neil and Lucille and wished them well on there trip and holiday to Palm Desert. 

Bill Johnson spoke to us about attracting the word/voice of the Lord.  Bill believes more than ever that the Lord is looking for the dream of his people while we are waiting for His next direction.  Sometimes we don’t ask cause disappointment is tough to walk thru.  He will give us what we ask for providing it’s what He told us to ask for (in His will).  God’s word is full of mystery because it ensures that we stay in the trust mode.  If we want revelation we need to remain child like.  A child’s heart attracts revelation as everything’s an adventure. He taught that most of what we need, will be given to us but most of what we want we will have to go after.  Bill cautioned us that what we know can keep us from knowing more if we let it get in the way.  The nature of wisdom is actually prophetic. You see beyond the obvious of a problem. He reminded us that we have been given the Holy Spirit in full measure.  All measurements are decided by each of us. There is a difference in what we have and what we have in our account.  We don’t get to do all that we want, but, we do get to do more that we are capable of (with the Holy Spirit).

Kris Vallotton spoke to the students about us as the Saints having Dominion, Glory and Sovereignty. He taught that we spend too much time trying to get things through performance, that which we already received thru creation and Jesus death of the cross.  

I will continue with January in the next post!

  Hello faithful blog followers, this is Dayna! Now that we are in a New Year, I thought I would share some thoughts about my own journey here at Bethel thus far. Our past blogs have been filled with much of what we have been learning here at Bethel but I wanted to include some of the things that the Lord is personally revealing to me and working out in me.

  Even before coming to Redding, Dave and I read Bill Johnson’s book called When Heaven Invades Earth. It was also one of the first books we were required to read and write a book report on when we came here. It is a wonderful book and one that I would recommend. Basically, reading this book helped me to understand the importance of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit transforms our minds and by His transformation comes revelation and with revelation comes greater intimacy and relationship. It is in this supernatural realm that God can do the work on this earth that He has longed for His children to step up to the plate and do. Believe me, here at Bethel, we have seen the impossible become possible!

  For example, Dave and I have laid hands on a young lady and through prayer and commanding illness to leave, have seen an infection inside her mouth vanish! This is common place here and has boosted my faith a million percent! How amazing, how powerful and how humbling is that! We serve an awesome God and although He doesn’t need to me to work out His plan, He’s thrilled when I am a willing vessel.

  I have also had a renewed set of eyes when it comes to reading and studying scripture. We have an awesome Bible teacher who has been with Bethel for the last 20 years. He is very knowledgable and very funny, which makes learning that much more enjoyable.

  From September to November I took a class on the Prophetic. I didn’t know a whole lot about this gift, but had such a desire to learn what it means, how to develop my gift of Prophecy and the purpose behind Prophetic Ministry. The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor.12), it is available to ALL believers, and the main idea behind this ministry is to ‘call out the gold’. Basically, prophecy is tuning in to hear the voice of God. It is a tool that God uses for exhortation, edification and comfort. It should never be used to state the problem but rather always used to provide the answer. God has grown me in this gift and it is wonderful to hear His voice (although He doesn’t always use words), speak with Him about what He’s prompting me to do (if anything) and then follow through with it. When the ‘message’ is delivered to the person to whom He wants you to deliver it to, the reaction (especially when I have been ‘bang-on’ accurate in hearing His voice) is amazing. It is easy to be fearful about these things and I have asked myself and the Holy Spirit “what if I’m wrong?” but in this process of learning, the Lord has been faithful to my desire to learn and grow and I’m trusting that what I have been asked to ‘deliver’ on His behalf, will come to fruition in the lives of the individuals that have been the recipients. Here at Bethel, they spell faith…R-I-S-K !

 Since starting school I have also had the opportunity to work with woman in a Drug Rehabilitation Program called Visions. This is a Christian based organization and Bethel has been sending students to help out with the woman for the last 5 years. I have learned a lot from these woman who are hurting, broken and who have lost custody of their children due to drug and alcohol addictions. They are beautiful people that Christ died for too and we have been able to share the gospel, share our testimonies, speak His love into their broken hearts and pray with them. Often times we see them come into the meeting withdrawn and downcast, but we see them leave filled with hope and a smile. 

  I’m also taking a class called International Transformation. There are 40 other students in this class but we have been divided into groups of 5 or 6. Each group has been given a project and the one that my group is developing is the provision of Restoration packages to children in Thailand/Burma who have been injured themselves (loss of limbs) or who have lost family members to landmines.  My group (I was nominated to be the leader) has been blessed to have a contact there that we have been able to email to get ideas as to what to put in these ‘packs’. She is a past Bethel student and now works as a Missionary in Thailand.

  I feel very fortunate that I have a great team of students to work alongside and that our contact in Thailand is available via email! Jackie has provided us with a great deal of help and suggestions as to what we could provide (art supplies, exercise equipment like balls and jump ropes, bibles, puzzles, and the Jesus movie in their language). These are items that are not easily available there and will provide the children ‘restoration’; physically, mentally and spiritually. I’m excited to see what we’ll be able to procure and finally send over to Thailand!

  Dave and I have decided to take a program called Love after Marriage. We take this class on Sunday afternoon and we have 3 other couples in our group, 1 of which are Bethel students from Australia. So far we have only taken 3 classes, but it’s really good material! It has added some extra homework to our week but it’s worth it J

  God has also used me to be a ‘spiritual Mom’ to many young ladies in our Revival Group (our RG meets every Wednesday). Some of these young gals (and guys) are in there early 20’s and sometimes really need a hug, encouraging word or prayer. They call us ‘mom and dad’ J We love it and feel blessed by their openness and energy.

  If there is one thing that I have really begun to understand it’s that God loves us so much! We serve a God of love and He is always good and always in a good mood. If we choose to hang on to the ‘old wineskins’ or old ways of thinking and ‘doing’, we will never see true revival or fruit that is lasting. God wants to use new wineskins that walk in consistency to His Kingdom. He wants His sons and daughters to understand who we are and what we have because of our Royal inheritance. We are missing the very heart of Father God if we don’t love and give of ourselves as Jesus did. Wow!

   As the next few months unfold, I am eager to see how the Lord is going to continue to use me (us). There is a conference at the end of February and we have our Mission trip in March to New Zealand, which will be totally exciting. Before we know it, we’ll be graduating in May! In our time here, I have never questioned why we came to Bethel. It has been such an incredible and sometimes challenging journey and I’m so glad I got to do this with Dave. We have grown together and as individuals. God has been more than faithful and I wouldn’t trade this time for anything. That said, if we leave here and don’t do anything with the tools we have learned and the gifts we have grown in, then what was the point? There is no doubt that God will honor our time here and place us where He wants us. We are both open to whatever and wherever that might look like. I know in my heart I will never be satisfied again with the ‘status quo’. 

  Thanks for tuning in!

  Dayna

It was a semester of so many ups and downs.  A roller coaster of thoughts (memories good and bad), and uncovering our desires for today and the future.  It was time of great joy as I actually met the saviour who I learned for the first time that He really cares about me and I learned that He is always in a good mood!  We have had a first half full of learning about our identity in Christ and making many declarations against the Spirit of Religion that we have grown up in.  It was also a time of tears as many of those trials, tribulations and hurts came to the surface. It was painful to learn that we have lived in the Spirit of Religion and the law for so long!!  We realized that if we intend to be all that God has in store for us we need to get rid of those hurts, the un-forgiveness and bitterness’s that life can bring to all of us.  We are not unique in that area, as most of us carry these weights around.  It is a tool of the enemy to rob, kill and steal your future that Jesus died for!  What a slap for Him who came from the throne, endeared birth and life and took mocking, a spitting in the face and severe beating all for us, that, we only give Him half of what He died for. 

There were many days that we came home with total exhaustion as we dealt with the melting pot of thoughts and feelings.  In the end, God has begun to make a more new creation – the one that He actually died for.  We see Him so much differently now than when we arrived and we see the task at hand much more differently as well.  We have learned that it really is all about just loving Jesus and allowing His presence (love) to completely smother us.  It’s all about living in His presence everyday and allowing Him to direct us to our divine appointments each day.  He really does have a plan for us.   We have had so many prophetic messages given over both of us mostly around pastoring, leadership and mentoring people that we have been blown away.  People who have never met us, prophesying the same mail pretty much each and every time.  We know that God is increasing our tent pegs and filling our hearts deeply to love every person we meet.  We now look at each person regardless of there life as being made in the image of the creator – how powerful is that!!  God has such a plan even for those who live on the streets or who struggle with mental and deep health issues.  He wants all of us to walk in any area declaring health free zones and declaring goodness over everyone we meet. 

God has been so good to us – an area that we really struggled was asking for support on our mission’s trip.  It is very expensive ($7,000.00) and we did not budget for it.  He truly is pushing and teaching us to rely on him.  We did send out support letters and within one day $1800.00 came into our account!!!  It brought both of us to tears as we rejoiced about another area that God is teaching us deeply about.   We were so blown away by our friends who sent money that it was hard for us to even communicate with them.  We love them all and to understand that people care and see a value in what you are doing is so rewarding to us – but again, it is part of what God is showing us and how He is actually re-teaching us about Him and His love for us. 

Bill, Kris and the other senior leaders who teach have turned our idea of what God intended for us upside down.  We have had to relearn what it means to serve Him with all our heart and how we see the world and the people around us.  We are so thankful that God sent us here and we know that we will never be the same.  We are done playing religion and want to see revival come to wherever we serve.  Revival just isn’t for Bethel but it is for the world.  We are called to return home and begin to change the world – one person at a time.  Revival is coming to Vancouver Island and we will see a day when people will fall on their knees in repentance and experience the goodness of the Creator!!  We have seen how God’s love changes lives completely.  We have seen many signs, wonders and miracles here and we know that this just isn’t for Bethel – this is how God expects everyone of us to live everyday – wherever we live!!  Cool eh…..

We are so excited about the second half of this year and know that God will continue to do the good work He has started in us.  We are so excited as this semester we will see several Generals arrive to teach us starting with Randy Clark in early January. We love all of you who are reading this blog – we hope that it touches all of you in a unique way as you walk our journey with us.  God’s blessings to you all!!!!

We are getting excited about Christmas break and our visit with Sharley, Janey and Zeb.  They are very important to us and we are excited about what God is doing in there lives.

In early December we were visited by David Hogan.  Hogan is another one of God’s generals.  He leads a ministry in Mexico.  His ministry has seen over 500 people raised from the dead.  He spoke to the students.  He is very powerful and to say the least someone who is not swayed easily.  He has been shot twice and has actually died twice but brought back to life by God thru prayer.  He is driven for the gospel and the amount of healings he spoke about gave everyone an excitement about what God wants to do in all of our lives. 

During the month we helped and attended Bethel’s Holiday Feast.  It was a wonderful event and very powerful.  The church invites over 1000 homeless people off the street and provides them a wonderful meal with the best fine china and entertainment.  They also have people from the church donate new clothing, shoes, toiletries, sleeping bags and tents.  Each person who attends gets an opportunity to pick a huge plastic bag with any clothes they want.  Some got new sleeping bags and a few got tents.  I have never seen so many people blessed and who actually felt blessed.  We saw over 250 people give there hearts to the Lord!!!  It was very powerful to us – Dave was part of the security team and actually got to hug about 90% of the people attending as they got off each bus.  What an honor!!  This event deeply touched both Dayna and myself.  She had attended the day before and took part in making over 1200 meals.  God is so good!!

Bill spoke to us during one session and again told us that the Lord has given complete promise for every situation in life – right now.  Those who are satisfied with lack can’t set our boundaries. He always rewards growth with pruning. He takes off the junk and keeps the authentic.  He wants us to carry the weight of the anointing.  God has set us up to make it!!  If we can make it thru the trials we will do very well. Bill warned us to weather seasons of tribulations and betrayals.  We need to stay away from bitterness and unforgiveness.  It is all in how you handle it. If we don’t live by the praises of man, we won’t die by there criticism.  He reminded us that if we are never opposed by the enemy, we may be going in the same direction!!

On Thursday – Dec. 8^th Banning spoke on community and the value of it.  He taught that we cannot do anything without being in community and it is exactly what Jesus wants.  We need to finish strong and stay strong thru it.  Community is big to God and community is a choice each of us has to make.  Banning told us that when we submit our lives to someone, it is an act of humility.  The fruit is not always evident but it will eventually be seen. Banning cautioned that as a leader isolation is a killer!  Discouragement means that we are disarmed of courage!  Christianity works best within community.  A disconnect with community, can lead to disconnect with God.  In Mathew 5:23 while having communion with God – we are told if there is a disconnect with someone then we are to go and make it right and then return and finish with God – in other words, community matters to God.  Community works and brings – Strength, Safety, Speaks in and thru community and encourages all us. 

Dave attends a Home Group on Friday afternoons. They go downtown and love on people, evangelize and have seen many healing miracles.  Last Friday three of them went downtown and walked into the middle of the Redding 99 group.  The group that is protesting across North America as they feel they are being ripped off by the financial industry.  It was very interesting to speak with the 4-5 people in the tent.  They were very radical socialites.  They wanted nothing to do with God and one lady actually screamed at the group.  By the time they finished one guy who had severe pain and little mobility in his back allowed them to pray for him.  He was healed and was doing all kinds of bending exercises without any pain.  The lady who screamed at us gave us a big hug when we left and invited us back to visit.  

We learned that if He is an all consuming fire – we should always be on fire.  We need to seek heaven so heaven can transform us so that the world around us can be transformed!!

We are being taught that we need to be confident and walk in confidence for God.  That he is confident with us and we need to be confident.  That too many churches have gotten people to feel guilty for being confident and teach people to walk in false humility.  Subsequently most people walk so squashed and lowly that they cannot accomplish half of what God has called of them.  Arrogance says what can I get out of this? Confidence says, what can I give to this situation.  Confidence and Arrogance can look very similar and can walk side by side. Confidence will look different on each person.  We are learning that God trusts in me and God trusts me more than I trust myself.  We must not limit the anointing to what we think we can do – God has given each of us so much more!!

Bill finished our Christmas week talking about living in the fear of man.  He told us that one of the greatest obstacles that we will face on earth is fear of man.  Fear of man often masquerades as wisdom.  If you live cautiously all your friends will call you wise – you just won’t move any mountains!!  We need to remember that the bible says that the enemy moves around like a roaring lion but it doesn’t say he has any teeth…  We need to remember that the fear of man will mess up our capacity to lay foundations on earth as God put his Word in our mouths.. Bill finished by telling us that as Priests today in this world we need to be real, accessible and relatable to people.

Kris Valloton spoke to us about false prophets, what they look like and how to deal with them.  Some false prophets carry the Spirit of Divination and some have simply fallen away from God, however, there anointing simply comes from somewhere  else other than God.  Kris stressed some thoughts on how to deal with False Prophets when we lead ministries. 

Wow, it is hard to believe that we have now been there for three months.  God has done some incredible work in both Dayna and me. We stand in awe of what we are learning and know that we will never be the same.  We will not stand any longer for the same old!! God has called us to a much greater path than we ever imagined and we intend on honouring God for the rest of our days.  We have had so many prophetic words spoken over us by Senor staff here.  The message is becoming very clear to us.  We are so pumped about the future and find it hard to take one day at a time.  In order for us to learn what we must – we must remain focussed on each day and thank the Holy Spirit that He has us in exactly the right spot that we need to be at this moment.  We are so excited about the next five months that lay ahead.  

Danny Silk spoke to the church about what leads to breakthrough.  Pressure – increasing pressure. When we live in a place of pressure or resistance we can work thru the breakthrough and get to the next level.  There is a intensity or an exposing of what’s inside when the pressure starts to do its work.  Danny said that we don’t want the pressure to go away or we will never see the breakthrough.  Seems human nature that when things get uncomfortable, we want to stop and go back to the old way – where we feel most comfortable. The common denominator for the resistance in life is a new venture or risk and opportunity.  He reminded us that previous to our last breakthrough our current safe boundaries were once an unknown frontier.  We need to constantly remind ourselves of our former testimonies of breakthrough in our lives. 

During the last week of November, the school had purity week.  The singles were separated from the married folks and they received there own messages on purity, dating and boundaries. Bethel teachers were very frank on the topics.  The married folk received teaching on marriage, communication and being connected in all circumstances.  It was a wonderful but tough week for all.  We need to realize that when love leaves our relationships, fear is the spirit that is left over. If we bring love back into the relationship the fear subsides. 

Dave has been taking Sozo (Inner healing) training.  Dawn De Silva who leads the Transformation Center at Bethel taught on the Spirit of Entitlement.  It seems that we all develop that.  The spirit that says we are entitled to things – things that only God can choose to give or take.  When we don’t receive those things in our time we tend to be offended by God and we can develop an unhealthy relationship with our Father.  We really need to ensure that we don’t get offended when we don’t get what we asked for (healing, favour etc).  The tactics of the enemy will always be the same – 1) challenge the word and 2) stands in your experiences and mocks at the failure of the Word coming to pass - i.e. healing.   We need to walk past anger and offence to see the miracle that God is doing or is about to do.  We have learned that our job is to believe that God – can, wants and will do it!!  Amen

Bill spoke to us about the word study of “help mate”.  He reminded us that Paul was really talking about Christ and His church. He spoke about the bible sometimes being interpreted by people who really aren’t in love with Jesus.  People cannot be punished into purity – we need to approach life and all its issues consistent with someone in love with Jesus.  Bill reminded us that sometimes it is so easy for people to be caustic when they teach but they will teach differently if they love Jesus.  If they have that good relationship with the Father they will teach differently.  He suggested that we don’t sit under a teacher that is not in love with Jesus.  God is the rewarder!  That is why two trees were put in the garden – you can’t give a reward without an option!  Discipline trims us so we can hold up under the weight of blessing so we can extend that blessing to someone else.  The enemy works so hard to remove dreams, by causing worries (especially finances).  The more stress and worries the less the dreams. We need to remember that because of the blood we are qualified to stand face to face with the King!!

In the Kingdom – everyday is:

Every day is the day of Jubilee

Every day is a day of rest

Every hour is Happy Hour!!! 

Hi everyone – November and December has been very busy months for us. In October we attended Janey and Zeb’s wedding in Ventura California.  It was a fun and beautiful time.  This year, we have had the fun of celebrating two (2) Thanksgiving’s – US and Canada.  It was a fun time and we had turkey dinners with many different friends from all over the world.  School continues to be a blessing in our lives.  The pace continues to be intense but the Spirit is teaching so much to all of the students. November was a tough month as the homework continued to increase and we are into month three (3).  I think all the students are looking forward to the three (3) week break at Christmas.  God is good and we are continuing to learn so much.  Every time you feel your capacity to learn is at maximum more nuggets come!! God is really renewing all of our minds and hearts to understand the calling He has for each person.  His love is intense and we are really seeing that the field is ready for harvest. 

In November, we continued to work on our identity in Christ.  It’s about God’s presence, building on it and walking in it all day long. We are beginning to understand that signs that make us wonder are good!!  We need to think about finishing this race well!  We need to embrace the season and thrive in the process.  Dayna and I are determined to embrace each day and each week with the thought of finishing this journey well.  We are all in a process our entire life and we have determined that like Nehemiah we need to build the wall that God has placed in front of us – don’t look to the right or left but just deal with the wall in front.  It is so easy to get distracted by someone else’s wall. We have seen in our past how the enemy wants us distracted from our wall by putting someone else’s wall beside us that seems to be bigger.  Human nature gets us focussed on that wall. We are learning to deal with the wall in front and letting our creator deal with the rest.  We are constantly reminded that we cannot rush the process and recognize the season we are in.  Seems like we all want the end but we do not like the process.  In Bethel, with all the prophetic words spoken over us it is easy to look at the end (prophetic declaration) – the problem is that there is a process that you have to go thru to get there.  A good example of this is a truck pulling a trailer and the driver goes too fast around the corner.  The trailer jack knives and actually ends up going faster than the cab out of control.  God’s process allows us to be in control and not miss being able to carry and lead what God is giving us. 

Bill continues to speak to the students about the value of thankfulness. It is the most undervalued trait.  Thankfulness is humble in nature.  Thankfulness is such a Kingdom principle. It is confidence in who God is and His nature. Thankfulness can break the Spirit of Division amongst the churches and I believe break issues over a Nation. 

Chris O spoke to us about evangelism and spoke about the world population of 7 billion people.  He said that there have been several recent prophetic messages that God is getting ready for a 1 billion soul harvest.  This means that the body of Christ must work together.  That the evangelist must embrace the church and for years the evangelist was a long ranger and not really tied to the churches.  Evangelists must embrace the world and the church at the same time. 

In late November, Bill spoke to us about family life.  He said that God was number 1 and there was no number 2! God takes all we do personal.  He said that pastors have always struggled with doing so much in the Kingdom but allowing there families to be stretched and strained.  He told the students that this is unacceptable.  That we are to do unto the Lord with people in our church but also our families and when we spend time with our spouses or kids it is being done unto the Lord.  Everything we do then becomes an expression of love to God.  Bill stressed to the students that they need to capture their lives and make it (all of life) an offering unto the Lord.  We always need time to rest in ministry and that becomes a priority.  If we don’t rest we will loose everything.  He told us that when we come home from our jobs we need to say a simple prayer – “you are not off work yet” (good advise for all of us).  We need to remember that we are loved by God and we are the apple of His eye and not His PC!!  We need to speak words of affirmation, love and destiny over our spouses and kids!!  John the Baptist’s destiny was spoken over him when he was 8.  He didn’t know it but the words were spoken and He walked into that destiny.  Don’t wait for your kids to know the Lord to teach them – show them how to pray and worship before they come to know Him.  

  Hello everyone! Id like to post some information about our Mission trip that we will be going on in March 2012. We have been chosen to be part of a team of 40 individuals going to New Zealand  and Tahiti. We have never been there and quite honestly, among the 60 places we could have gone, this was not at the top of our list. We wondered what God was doing in putting us on this team, but since we have had a team meeting with our leaders (John and Barbara Kealiinohomoku- He's Hawaiian and has a heart for the Polynesian people) and have spoken with some New Zealanders that are at Bethel as students, we have such peace and are completely stoked!
 
So, what on earth could we be doing in New Zealand/Tahiti you might be asking? The answer is...ALOT!
First of all, Auckland New Zealand has the largest population of Polynesians in the world. This is where we will start our journey on March 22. We have been told that the Polynesian people are very 'tribal' and although they love to dance and sing, it is not Jesus that they are necessarily dancing and singing to. While in NZ we will be partnering with a Bethel church plant in the Northern region and ministering to the Tribal (Maori) people and their leaders. We will also be able to visit schools, preach in other churches and do some street evangelism. We will be there investing into the communities for two weeks.

 Our next stop will be Tahiti where we will be part of a leaders advance for 3 days and breathing God's love into their hopelessness, their poverty and identity as a people. After that we'll be going to the Island of Moraa where we will be able to do some activities in their community, like worship and art. This may be the biggest challenge of the entire trip because this place, we have been told, is very dark and demonic and where witchcraft is still practised. 

 As we prepare for this trip, we'd like to ask for your personal prayers for safety, good health and through us, a release of God's Kingdom and love over NZ/ Tahiti. Bethel also has encouraged all students going on Mission trips to send out support letters. We are in the process of putting that letter together and it will include much of what I've written here. If you would like to partner with us financially as we sow into this area of the world, you can do so by sending your gifts to our home address here in Redding listed below:

Financial gifts may be made online at ibssm.org.  This gift is tax-deductible and you will receive a statement at the end of the year for your tax records. If you wish your gift to be anonymous, please check the anonymous box. This will still allow you to receive your end of the year tax statement.  If on line payment is not an option, cheque donations can be made payable to Bethel Church and mailed to: Bethel International 915 Twin View Blvd., Redding California 96003.  Please include a note with the donation designating it to Dave and Dayna Deimling Mission Trip - New Zealand/Tahiti. 

Dave and I are so thankful for this incredible opportunity and we appreciate your prayers as we continue on this journey! If you have any questions you may also send us an email at davedeimling@gmail.com or call our California cell # 530-710-6573.

Well, we have had a good October and November.  It is hard to understand that we are now three months into the nine (9).  Seems like we will be done and home before you know it.  At the end of October we went to Ventura to attend Janey and Zeb's wedding.  We had a wonderful time with my family and friends.  They were beautiful and thanks to Cindy Mash from Nanaimo that came and took some beautiful photos of the event. 

Our school time continues to be very good and we are learning and growing.  God is good and He always knows exactly what He can and cannot give you and how fast He can accelerate your journey.  Kris Valloton did a week teaching Prophetic prophecy.  He taught for 8-10 hours on the do's and do nots and what scripture says about the gift of prophecy. Kris taught on the five fold ministry and how the job of the 5 fold is to build up the body. We are called to bring the gold nuggets out of each person we meet and deal with.  He prayed and anointed the students for more of the gift and more dreams and visions. 

For our activations, Dayna has been working in the Ladies Drug Rehab - building relationships and preaching the word.  Dave has been in a healing activation group moving thru the city meeting and praying with people.  We recently started our new Tracks which will run the remainder of the year -Dayna is in International  Transformation and Dave is into the Sozo - Inner Healing track.  Inner Healing is so important to understanding and receiving the full love that the Father has for each of us.  We have all been offended in our lives and the roots of bitterness and anger often grow deep.  We must get rid of these before we can hear the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit to attain all that He has called us to be.  Dave will become part of the Transformation Team at Bethel until the end of the year helping people to find that healing. 

One of the things we are realizing is that sometimes we have a season where the Spirit touches us in different ways. Sometimes it is in Inspirational thought?  Sometimes the Lord gives us something different - it may be a deep process in the heart and mind.  These are divine moments and we need to make sure we catch them.  All increase comes from stewarding well what we were given.  Bill has cautioned us to go deep and not build wide but make sure we go deep. 

Danny Silk spoke to us about the Fathers love and touch.  Bethel really builds the Fathers love into us.  We need to understand where we stand in the Kingdom and the royalty that we have been given.  We need to claim it and realize that our Father is there for our good - HE IS IN A GOOD MOOD and wants the best for us at all times.  He is not this big guy in the sky waiting to wipe us all out for any mistake.  One of the greatest needs we all have is trust. Almost all issues that people face are traced back to trust.  We are learning to trust all and to develop intimacy with the people around us.  These are critical to growing in the Fathers love, power and authority that He has given us. 

We have just had the American Thanksgiving off.  It was a wonderful time to spend with new friends and celebrate all that God has done for both Dayna and I.  We are so thankful to our Father for Him choosing us and giving us His mercy and grace.  We are so encouraged by what God is doing in our lives and look forward to the next six (6) months.

I decided it was time for me to write on our blog and give Dayna a rest.  It has been an interesting journey to say the least.  On Oct. 7^th we were visited by Claudio Freidzon who is from Argentina.  Claudio oversees a church in Argentina with 30,000 people.  There has been a revival in Argentina for 30 years.  Claudio has been the main reason for the continued revival. God lights the fire but it is the minister who keeps the fire burning.  He was very powerful and heavily anointed.  He used the analogy of the bamboo seed.  He explained how the roots grow downward for 7 years before it starts to shoot upwards.  Once it starts upwards it grows huge amounts almost daily.  He equated that to how 7 years to God was but a blink of time.  Claudio talked about our need to surrender our lives to God.  Claudio walked around the room and laid hands on all 900 students anointing each student.  It was a powerful event with the Spirit moving very heavily and many manifestations occurring.   

God is amazing and we are learning more and more every day.  The un-renewed mind is at war with the Kingdom. When we understand that we will understand how destructive that is. We serve a Master that is full of things that make you wonder and if you don’t see or have those things then you need to check the distance between you and the Master.  The Holy Spirit comes in full measure but we each have a measured portion.  He will only give us the measure of what we will guard.  Follow Kingdom laws to get Kingdom blessings.   God is looking for us to do something with what we have been given.  The power and presence of God will do more in a moment than we can do in a life time!!

On October 12^th we had John and Carol Arnott arrive to do a conference at Bethel.  John spoke with the student body the day before the conference and spent time ministering to all the students. He spoke on the Holy Spirit and told the students that it was up to us if we wanted the Spirit and how much.  That we needed to go get what we wanted.  We needed to be hungry and He (Holy Spirit) wants to give us all we want. The Spirit will say things that are golden in the right moments. In the Lords presence there is fullness of joy and we need to live a life built around being with the Spirit every moment of the day. He reminded us that Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted, preach the good news and set the captives free.  We need to soak in the Holy Spirits presence on a daily basis.  The Lord loves corporate and John encouraged all the students to be in corporate.  The Fathers will was to heal everyone and everyone that Jesus met He healed.  He really encouraged us to walk in the gifts and to know what our identity and authority was.  We have a tendency to make the devil too big –  John reminded us that ``Jesus said that ALL authority was given to us`` so how much authority was given to the other guy – only what we give him?  John reminded us that the enemy will exploit us if we are the least bit tentative?  Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth has been given to us so claim it and learn to walk in it. Don’t give ground to the enemy.  We need to have more faith in God’s blessings than the devil’s plight to deceive us.  John also walked around and laid hands on all 900 students.  It was a very wild event with the Spirit moving heavily as he moved thru the building.    John and Carol ministered thru the weekend and there message continued to work around the identity of who we are in Christ and the authority He has given us.  The Super Natural should be the Natural and we need to get to that point in our lives.  On the Friday night at the end of the night to the right of the stage – a cloud appeared and something that looked like gold dust started falling.  It was captured on tape – a gem was also discovered on the floor and it grew as people were watching it.  Thru the night many people got gold teeth and it was evident that the Spirit and the presence of God were very much present.  Later Bill Johnson spoke to all of us on these manifestations. There is no explanation and we should not try to explain away the Spirit.  He said that they really have no idea what is happening but he is amazed and thankful that God is showing himself in some very distinct ways.  Later that week Kris Valloton spoke to us about the leadership team and how they are really trying to figure out the cloud and dust.  It was very refreshing to listen to the leadership about there thoughts.  He explained that they really don’t know what is causing this and as a team they are trying to decide if it is something they (church) are doing or why?  He was honest and admitted that the leadership doesn’t know why this cloud and dust have been showing up in larger amounts over the past three months. 

Bill spoke to us about looking for the deep secrets He (Holy Spirit) has already deposited in our hearts. Job tells us that He deposits those seeds while we sleep so we don’t get proud. They are deposited in our hearts and those seeds will eventually change how we think and see.  The Lord is building a company of people to move the Kingdom.  Sometimes we are put in a position to say or do something where we have no idea what the answer is, in order to keep us humble?  But, in a flash, it only takes a small shift for each of us to be moved to a position to counsel Kings.  We need to hear from Jesus and draw from the well He has created.  The Lord can give the Kings an appetite for who you are.  The Spirit can do something in each of us that makes them want to hear from us. Wisdom sees beyond the obvious - it just doesn’t see problems, it comes in with solutions and answers, however, we must remain filled and over flowing with the Holy Spirit to be effective. 

 It's been a while since my last post, so this one might be a little lengthy! Our schedules are getting busier with additional reports to write, books to read, Bible studies, and 'outside of school time' volunteer opportunities. It's all good but it is going to get tiring! Please pray for us that we will manage our time wisely, be excellent students and continue to soak in the Holy Spirit.
  So, last week we went on a retreat with our Revival Group. We stayed at a place called Springs of Living Water Conference Center. It is located in Chico, which is a town about 1 hour from Redding. A most beautiful place situated on 500 acres. The history of this place is that it was built in the 1920's and was a Hotel for the movie stars of that era. A place where they could 'get away' from the city life. It was then purchased in the 1940's by a wealthy SanFranciso christian business man, with the intention of turning it into a retreat center. This same man then donated it to YWAM in the 1980's and it has been operating as a YWAM base/ retreat center ever since. Pretty cool place with the COOLEST elevator I have ever been on! The time with our Revival Group was sweet and so was the food! Oh ya'....the Holy Spirit also came along and He treated us to His presence in a powerful way. It was also a great bonding time for all 65 of us!
 This week has been busy with the usual incredible teaching but we also started what the school calls AMT's, which stands for Advanced Ministry Training. There were several of these that we could choose from, but I wanted to focus on the Prophetic and Dave signed up for one on Healing. Our first class on these topics took place Tuesday afternoon. Incredible! Can't wait to absorb, practise and continue to learn from these very gifted teachers. We are also being broken up into small groups which we will meet with once per week. There are 5 girls in the one that I'm in and next week I get to lead it. I'm also 'testing' out the choir. There is a 'grace period' that I get as a student, so if in a couple of weeks I'm finding it's too much, I can gracefully bow out. Nice to know when you have no idea what your schedule might look like in a months time!
 These last couple of days we were taught on Purity by Kris Vallotton. This was a very frank, honest teaching on what the Bible calls Purity and how, we as christians, ought to be living this out. Believe me when I say, there was content that would have made people blush and feel extremely uncomfortable! I can also say, this was stuff that I wish I had heard 25 years ago. Kids need to know how God views sex, not as a bad, dirty thing but as a gift that He created and meant to be shared between One Man and One Woman within the confines of marriage. I know that concept seems rather 'elementary' to those of us raised in the church but how much do we actually teach it and teach it like we mean it?!
 The other awesome thing that we had to look at, was choosing where we might like to go on a Missions trip. These are not happening until March, but there are 60 places that Bethel takes it's students, so we had to read about each one and then try to make a decision. We had to pick our top five because there are no garantees we'll get our first choice. Dave and I spent some time looking at the options (which wasn't an easy task) and we both decided that Thailand was our first choice, then Mozambique, then Israel, then Lebanon and then New Zealand. Why was Thailand our 1st choice? Because it's a part of the world that suffers under huge amounts of sexual bondage often times selling children to satisfy the ugly, dark side of the sex trade. This is an area that causes our hearts to ache and it's an area that needs to know the freedom that exists in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate Bondage breaker and the devil doesn't stand a chance but we must be free of our own stuff and our own fears to really be effective. It is my prayer that our Lord will use us and that we will step into this arena and trust God for everything including the added finances to get us there.
 Every day spent here is another day filled with revelation, drinking in of the Holy Spirit, and the creation of new friendships. Some day I want to travel to Australia and Scotland and visit our new friends!
 Time to wrap it up for tonight. We leave shortly to go to SOZO training. SOZO is a greek word for inner healing and deliverance which we will definately need if we go to Thailand!

  So aside from the incredible school stuff that we experience on a daily basis, we have also met some great people from all over the world. We had 2 couples from Australia (Geoff and Christine and Rob and Deb) and 1 couple from New Brunswick (Jon and Kathleen) join us for dinner last night. It was such a wonderful time to relax and get to know others from our own country but also from a country many, many miles away. It's wonderful to hear everyones story about how they found out about Bethel, what brought them here and what they had to go through to get here!
 We also went for coffee on Saturday morning with a young couple from Scotland (Phil and Louise) They had just bought a car and we're thrilled to find something that was reliable and came equipped with an engine. I guess they looked at some real lemmons! There are still some students looking for housing. Some either came here with no idea where they might live, or others got here and the housing they were going to live in was not exactly advertised 'correctly'.
  This week we go on a retreat to a neighboring community called Chico. We will be there from Thursday to Saturday. Apparently, the camp that we will be staying at used to be an old YWAM base. Bethel has divided us into 'Revival groups', each group is about 65 students. We will be going on the retreat with our revival group and our leaders. Looking forward to that!
  We had Dann Farrely speak this week about how Bethel got started, how he got started with Bethel and the 'ebbs and flows' that Bethel has gone through over the years. Amazing story delivered in the most hilarious way I have ever heard! We laughed so hard it was crazy! It was good to hear that the Bethel we are attending today, didn't always look like this. They had very humble beginnings and went through some very tough stuff over the years. Pastor Dann put his 'funny stamp' on the content so we didn't even notice he spoke for 2 1/2 hours! It is clear that the leading of the Holy Spirit here is paramount. So often we tend to run ahead of Him or don't consult Him at all. I have come to realize that without His presence we are really missing out. Our christian walk is so much more abundant and meaningful with Him, than without.
  I'll post more after our retreat. I'm sure there will be great things to share!

  I think I'd like to share some of the 'nuggets' that we have learned so far. I'm sure there will be many more! To me, a 'nugget' is a piece of information that makes you say 'wow' or 'c-mon!' or 'thank you Jesus!' upon hearing it. I hope the nine items I've posted below make sense and that by reading them you will also say 'thank you' to the One we serve!
 1) A miracle is a tutor to teach you about the unseen
 2) We need to pray with God, not to Him
 3) Before we had a problem, He already had the answer
 4) We are working from Heaven, not for Heaven
 5) We are to be imitators of God...when we do this we are being ourselves!
 6) We honor the previous generation by going where they didn't have time to go
 7) It's never ok to be a spectator and only applaud at what God is doing
 8) Christianity is meant to be known for it's passion, not it's discipline.
 9) Our character is the platform that holds the weight of the responsibility He gives us

 I would encourage anybody that reads this to buy Bill Johnsons book 'When Heaven invades Earth'
It's mind-blowing and mind-changing stuff!

  We have been in class for 2 days but mentally it feels longer than that! We've had such wonderful instruction and total enveloping of the Holy Spirit that it will be difficult to put it all into words, but I'll try! For example, today we had a class with Kris Vallotton. He wanted us to partner with a total stranger for an 'exercise' in Words of Knowledge and the Prophetic. He led us in prayer and then gave us some basic instruction of what we should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal about the person we were paired with. When I say 'basic', I'm talking about a Word of Knowledge about their bedroom and what their Mothers name is.
As you can imagine, this exercise takes complete trust and a banishment of all fear. Since 'perfect Love casts out all fear', it is resting in that promise that allows the Holy Spirit to do His work. Trust me, I had my share of fear going into this but I can honestly say that that evaporates the moment you confess it and fall in love with Jesus. Does that mean we will automatically be perfect at imparting Words of Knowledge? No way! This takes practise, the realization that you could fail and total reliance on the Holy Spirits leading. But, what I can say, is that when you get it right, it ROCKS!! There is nothing more exciting than to see a persons face light up or tears stream down their cheeks when the Holy Spirit speaks to them through you and you actually heard Him correctly!!!
 There were several truths that were shared with us today that were mind blowing! For example, we are a Royal Priesthood of an almighty King that loves us SO much. We cannot 'do' or not do anything that will change it. His love for us will never shift. We have a built-in divine nature and that gives us the mind of Christ.
Bethel really cultivates a culture of Honor. It is an empowering environment that expects us to take ownership of our awesomeness in Christ but it also expects us to take risks. They spell faith R-I-S-K.
  You will only meet your full potential when you realize that God loves you immensely and He wants a relationship with you. He wants to capture your mind so that we can co-labor with Him. I love what Bill Johnson said... "We need to live out of presence and not principles'. So, I'll leave it at that tonight. We have some homework to do! Till next time.....D & D

  I forgot to add something pretty cool! As we were standing in the line-up waiting to register, a young man (we think he might have been a janitor) tapped Dave on his shoulder and told him..." I'm sorry to disturb you and I don't know you but I can feel that the presence of God is so strong around you.  Be prepaired because God is going to rock you this year". Isn't that just a little bit of confirmation as to why we are here?! Yippee!

  Hhhhmmmm, where to start?! Let's start with Sunday night service. Heidi Baker was here and she delivered alot more than the evening message! As some of you know, Heidi lives in Mozambique and oversees her Ministry called 'Iris'. She told us stories about how God has fed her 'children' against all odds when no food source was remotely available. But isn' that the God we serve?? He comes through against odds that seem impossible to us, when in fact, nothing is impossible with God! Heidi demonstrates a complete trust in our Father and she blessed us with her stories and brought the Holy Spirit and His annointing along with her!
  Today we had to be at Bethel to register, which started at 1000am. We showed up at 1230 and the line up was almost out the door! We had to stand in the International student line-up, which coming from Canada, seems a bit funny when your standing next to others from Switzerland and Norway! We had wonderful opportunities to speak with so many neat, interesting people...even a few youngsters from Calgary and Toronto :) There are 900 First year students, which made the registration process a wee bit slow, but nevertheless, they were highly organized and not ALL 900 students came through registration today. Believe it or not, there are still students that need housing! On Sunday they announced that 15 students have not found anything. That's a little 'too close for comfort' for me. Our first book report is due September 21st. I'm very thankful that we have read the book already!
  Our next door neighbours are two young guys. Daniel is from Canada (PEI) and Drew is from L.A. Daniel has done 2 years and Drew has just started his 2nd year at Bethel. We had them over tonight for BBQ burgers. It was great fun getting to know them and I'm sure there will be more dinners together. We have a sense that we could turn into the 'block parents' for some of these kids as this whole area seems populated by Bethel students!
  So, as we officially get started tomorrow, please hold us in prayer and ask this incredible God we serve to reveal Himself more fully, stretch us and remove fears and 'hangups'. Many thanks to you all for your love and support!

Welcome to our new blog!

Hello! We are very excited to be starting a new journey in our lives! Will miss all of our friends and family in Nanaimo - thank you so much to everyone who has loved us and been part of our lives. You will be in our thoughts and prayers. Check out this blog for information about what's happening in our lives as we attend the School of Supernatural Ministry at Bethel Church in Redding, California. You can always reach us by email davedeimling@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook! God bless!