Ffald-y-Brenin
Roy
Godwin
Ffald-y-Brenin
Roy
Godwin
Angelic
visitation.
Changed lives.
I am pleased to report that
something wonderful is currently happening here at Ffald-y-Brenin
Christian Retreat Centre.
*
As a leader prays for a few minutes before breakfast an angel appears in the
room and the voice of God is heard.
She calls her team together and an amazing depth of healing and cleansing
takes place.
This continues until Midnight.
*
Bonfires are lit before the High Cross in the grounds as people
physically surrender things to Jesus.
Dustbin bags have to be used to remove the excess rubbish.
*
Children agree to come on a Church Weekend as long as it’s a secret and their
friends don’t find out.
Suddenly they are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in new tongues as
Jesus appears to them.
They go to school and ask the Head for permission to start a school
prayer meeting, and start to witness enthusiastically to their friends.
Ffald-y-Brenin
(The Sheepfold of the King) is an award-winning Retreat Centre set in the hills
by the sea in North Pembrokeshire.
Started about 18 years ago, my wife and I arrived to lead the work in
1999.
We hadn’t expected or wanted to come here, but God made it very plain
that this was where He was placing us, and from the moment we said “yes” the
doors of heaven seemed to open upon us.
This was truly amazing grace because we were not coming from a place of
success but from a seemingly inauspicious place of brokenness and pain.
Our
brief was to develop the vision and build a new team.
We sensed that we were to pray here specifically for a sense of His
manifest presence, a release of joy as well as peace, and to become a House of
Prayer for all nations.
Well-meaning Christians informed us that there was a very simple method
for establishing a House of Prayer but we preferred to ask God to reveal His
unique plan for us.
Since
we believe that we must model God’s purposes before seeking to draw anyone
else into them, our first goal was to seek to live out what we were praying for.
We had to become people of prayer and soak Ffald-y-Brenin in God’s
presence.
Again we came to God in weakness and asked Him to teach and lead us.
This led to a different form of prayer for the land and buildings that
brought an immediate release and fruit.
Later, when we raised a High Cross on our promontory in response to
revelation it too seemed to release something.
The
sense of God’s presence began to increase.
*
A carload of guests, swapping jokes as they approach our drive, suddenly have to
pull off the road because the Holy Spirit falls on them.
*
Two atheists in their 20’s (visiting with Christian friends) discover they are
lost as the God they don’t believe in reveals Himself to them.
As they respond they are filled with the Spirit and the joy of the Lord
floods their hearts; they shout praises until the early hours.
*
A Church leaders weekend retreat – Saturday is listed as a free day, but they
pray before breakfast.
The glory of God appears and they don’t get their breakfast – or
their lunch, or their tea.
So they decide that the next day will be their free day.
But the same thing happens again.
Non-Christian
groups started to call and ask whether we would pray for them and bless them if
they came and visited for an hour or so.
But we wanted more and asked for it; soon, walkers on the local footpaths
started coming to find us to ask why something strange but very good had
happened to them when they walked near our boundary.
This now happens regularly, and we get to witness and pray with them all.
Guests
started to experience deep healing without human intervention.
*
A broken man who has been unable to smile for 15 months has to be helped from
the foot of the cross to his car because Jesus has met him, healed his broken
heart and filled him with so much joy that he is paralytic with laughter.
*
Guests describe the air here as “being saturated with healing”.
Meanwhile,
as we were still asking what it means to be a House of Prayer for all nations,
we sensed God directing us to be a place where English- and Welsh- speaking
Christians would be equally at home.
As usual, as soon as we heard His voice it began to happen, and it’s
wonderful to be in a prayer or worship setting where both languages intermix.
*
We seek God and then invite a few people to make a daily commitment, as we have,
to pray for their area and for Wales as a nation using a common framework that
we call The Caleb Prayer for Wales.
We start with 30 people, but with no advertising or publicity material
this now numbers thousands of people in many nations.
*
Local radio approaches and asks permission to broadcast the prayer twice a day
in English and Welsh.
As
we looked for a model that could help us understand what God was doing here, we
were impacted by some of the values of historic Celtic Monastic Christianity. A sense of place and presence were paramount.
Rhythm in worship and prayer; rhythm in planning time.
Walking in the Holy Spirit and seeing fruit and gifts at work.
Simplicity, compassion for the poor, hospitality, meaning we now offer
part-or-full board for groups as well as self-catering.
‘People come before projects’ so casual visitors are welcomed, given
a cup of tea, a tour and are blessed in prayer.
We have established a team of local people who work here.
Others are being drawn towards the rhythm of our lifestyle in an extended
relationship.
Individuals
and Church groups come to this quiet, remote place to be apart, to rest, to
recover and to seek God.
Please
come and visit us yourself; call 01348 881382 for information or visit our
web-site
use
our link