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Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV)

July Newsletter - 2016

Hello there,

Thank you for reading our devotional and being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. This is our monthly update on what has been happening here during the last month and I thank you for taking time to read it.

August 1st of 2016 marks 4 years since the Lord pushed us into full time ministry. In 2012 our computer business that I had started in 1998, dried completely up. I was complaining to the Lord that He had abandoned me. After years of walking with Him and seeing miracles in our life, I now felt alone and I could only hear silence when I prayed.

The Tuesday before August 1st I went into my prayer room and sat down for a few moments. After several months of intense pressure and silence, I no longer had the strength to pray. We were packing to move out of our house and trying to decide what to take with us, or ship, or sell, or just leave behind.

I sat down on a bean bag in my prayer room and for the first time in my life, saw an open vision like a movie screen appear in front of me while fully awake. On the screen I saw myself entering into a boxing ring, and it looked like I was alone. Then the camera panned around to my face and I could see the LORD standing outside the ring, behind me, like a coach would. He said:

“You are not alone for I am in your corner, and I have prepared you for this day! Now get in there and fight!”

It brought me to tears as I knew at that moment that the Lord had not abandoned me. Yes, I know that scripture tells us that He will never leave us, nor forsake us, but every person has limits, and He found the edge of mine. “Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off” (1 Kings 20:11 NKJV).

When I came out of my prayer room that morning, I told Sylvia that we were going to be alright. I didn’t know how, but the Lord had spoken to me and He was with us. I went to my computer and checked some job sites like I did every morning and there was a new one there that read something like: “Seeking a creative arts pastor. Must have great computer skills, be able to build websites, assemble videos, and put together teachings for the Internet.”

It was like a job opening that had been created especially for me. I had gone through Bible College during my twenties, graduated and later got ordained, before getting into the computer field, and we were desperate for any work at all. So I sent them an email along these lines: “I have a bachelors in Theology, I am ordained, I have owned a computer business for the last 17 years and have built at least 100 websites for various clients, here is a list you can look at.” To shorten this up, that Friday I became a full time Pastor and my first day at work was on August 1st 2012.

Though I had felt abandoned, and could only hear silence, it was just a dramatic pause. God had something important to say and He wanted me to listen. The things that He has spoken to your heart will come to pass in due time. He had spent decades preparing me for Internet ministry. He taught me how the Internet works, how domain names are resolved and why Apache won’t start on that virtual server. When He was ready, He brought it all together, and here we are for such a time as this. Refreshing Hope Ministries: working to bring hope to those that need it, right where they are.

Online Church News: www.refreshinghope.org - We have grown to 3.362 members and 14,469 friendships. We have had 109 prayer requests and sent 445 replies to them. A big thanks to our ministry team.

The live services are still going on each Sunday morning at 11 AM Eastern Time. Thank you to those who provided feedback in our poll to determine the best time. After going over the comments and with some prayer, we are most likely going to stick with the Sunday morning time. While there are cases to be made for other times, we believe our first responsibility with these services is to those who don’t have a church, and Sunday morning is the time when most would be attending. For those who have a local church, the message portion is currently still available on the website.

Many thanks you to all those who have been participating in the live services. We are still evaluating and feeling out the future of this. The live meetings have been fun, with a small group feel, and the Lord’s presence is certainly there. The attendance for the live meetings run between 30 to 50 people at the moment, which is consistent with the poll that we took. The whole group, praying together is great.

The Vimeo videos though have taken a dive and we may be rethinking that venture in the future. Last week we spent many hours preparing, recording, editing, uploading and a week later it has four comments, 48 views. We will be praying over the next month on the direction to take this or how we could improve it, or possibly cut it off. You can watch Christian videos all over the Internet, but the live interactive meetings with group prayer and personal ministry time are unique to us. So we may focus on improving that.

We have created a mailing list for the live services to keep you updated on what is going on. You can sign up here if you are interested:
https://refreshinghope.leadpages.co/rhm-live-announcements/

New things added:

This month we have had some great events from our small group leaders. The FAAD group hosted a “Reach Out’ event, focusing on being a blessing to those around us. The Healthful Living group hosted a prayer event, committing to pray for others each day. The Spiritually Single group is hosting an ongoing event to gather those who have committed to supporting RHM. Finally, we all enjoy the fun themes each week from the Creation Photographers group!

If you are in need of prayer, we are here for you! Just click on the Prayer link on the website menu (you will need to be logged in). Also, if you are interested in joining our prayer team, please do contact us.

I pray that the Lord blesses you richly, that He guides you each day, and works His perfect will in your life! Thank you so much for being part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. We may not have the opportunity to contact each one of you, but we are truly blessed by all who pray for us, support us financially, and encourage us each day. You all bless us more than you will ever know.

Pastor Dion