Apostolic Ministry

Yesterday the day began very early indeed! I was invited to speak from 6am - 7am at a local radio station that reaches the entire Philippines. I spoke about the reality of the Kingdom of God and shared the Good News with the people of the Philippines. It was a challenge to basically speak for 60 minutes with only a few breaks but it was an amazing opportunity to proclaim the truth to the nations!

After a short breakfast we made our way to KLB's Sunday meeting. The room was filled with people and there was a real buzz. The worship team had clearly taken hold of the principles we taught them the day before and very soon we were entering the presence of God. It was wonderful to witness how these young worshippers have taken hold of the essence and are now running with it. Frances shared a powerful message on the call of God and how noone is disqualified. It was a joy to be part of this dynamic new church family and we are excited to see how God will continue to bless and work through KLB to transform Butuan. One visiting lady said it was wonderful to experience the presence of God like that again after so many years.

We then had a scrumptious lunch together (with avocado shake, calamari, kinilaw, stir-fried beef, aubergine) and then made our way to pastor Berwyn's church in Cabadbaran - Mabini Christian Fellowship, where I shared on Proverbs 16:15 about the favour of God. It was very special to see the many children again and to see how they have grown and matured. After the service we made our way back to Butuan and stopped for some fresh Durian on the way. Durian is very smelly but tastes amazing. In the evening we had our "Abschluss" dinner with Berwyn, Julius, Roszel and Jasfer (an amazingly talented young drummer). It was a long day and after rolling home from Robinson's (the new shopping mall) to Dotties hotel, because of all the food we had, we hit the sack and were out for the count.

This morning we had to pack and check out of our hotel and enjoyed our last coffee with Julius, Roszel, Jasfer, Yrah Lee and Jonkris. Berwyn and Liberty and the kids then joined us and we made our way to the airport where they saw us off.

We have arrived safely in Manila and enjoyed checking out the Mall of Asia. Tomorrow we will spend time with our good friend, Mark who was part of KLF for a  year when he was in Frankfurt. Mark does sign language for the deaf and tomorrow we will visit his school where I will be ministering to some deaf students. We will probably be visiting Mark's family in the evening. Our return flight via Hong Kong is on Wednesday evening.

It has been an amazing 10 days here in the Philippines. I praise God for the wonderful things we were privileged to witness as He touched the lives of so many people. We really feel that we were able to fulfill the apostolic ministry of teaching, imparting, equipping, training and helping KLB to create Kingdom culture as they remain uncompromising in essence but flexible in form. We give God all the glory for the wonderful things He is doing and will do! We are looking forward to visiting next year again, hopefully with a small team.

Releasing the Prophetic

Glory to God!

Today we spent the morning in Mabini and I ministered in pastor Berwyn's church, Mabini Christian Assembly. After worshipping in their language and now spotting a few familiar words, I was invited to preach. I spoke on Elijah and the fact that he was a man just like us and an example to us of someone who completely trusted in God. We looked at the account of Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal and the Lord showed us how to draw His fire in our lives as we stop wavering between two opinions and build an altar for Him. It was a powerful word and everyone responded to it as we surrendered our lives afresh to the Lord. (They call the motorbikes skylabs when they have sideboards to carry extra load. Here are 8 people on one bike!)

After a delicious lunch (lots of mangos for mango-man - my name at the hotel) and lots of fun with Berwyn and Liberty's children, we made our way back to Butuan to finish some paperwork and then to speak to pastor Julius' young people. 

The Lord led us to look at the work of the Holy Spirit and prophecy. Frances and I then taught on how to prophesy and then got the youngsters to give it a go. The guys paired up and we invited the Holy Spirit to lead us. After 5 minutes I stopped the guys and asked them to share what God was doing. To the amazement of the group the guys shared what they had received and as their respective partners confirmed they were accurate and some even cried, they were so encouraged that the whole atmosphere changed. Faith was ignited! These guys are in for an amazing adventure with God! Thank you Lord! 

Tomorrow is our last day here in Butuan. I am preaching in the morning and early evening and will possibly be at the radio station again in the afternoon. The Lord has really been revealing heaven on earth here and I am so excited for the young people here!

"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy." 1 Corinthians 14:1

July 2013

Pastors Richard and Frances Morschel will be visiting the Philippines in July 2013. This will be Richard's third trip and Frances' first trip to the Philippines for the purpose of strengthening exisiting relationships, equipping pastors and leaders, visiting various churches in the area, planting Kingdom Life Butuan, and furthering God's Kingdom on the Island of Mindanao. We will be updating this blog daily during our trip from 09.07. - 22.07.

Please pray for:

• Preparation of hearts to encounter and receive the Holy Spirit.
• Provision for the trip.
• Health and protection during our travels.
• An outpouring of God's Spirit on the people and the land.
• Wisdom and guidance for setting up KLB.

"Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’" Matthew 28:18-20

Vision Day

Today I had a meeting with pastor Berwyn and his sister, Roszel to talk through the options of Kingdom Life setting up a ministry here in this area. We had an exciting time sharing what is on our hearts, particularly concerning our desire to help the many needy children here, in what is recognised to be the poorest region in the Philippines! Roszel and her husband, pastor Julius are passionate about children and are presently active in kids and youth ministry in their church as well as being key leaders for Compassion (click here for more information). They have a heart for all needy children, both within their church as well as those who never set foot into a church building. They recognise the desperate need to care for these poor children as well as the opportunity to reach their parents with the love of God. They are a great couple and I can see God's grace upon their lives to do great things for His Kingdom here in Butuan! They have a little daughter whose name is Yralee (right on picture above).

Pastor Berwyn's family (Liberty, Christine - left on picture above - and Christopher - picture on right) joined us for lunch and after a visit to the local shopping mall, all of us went to my hotel where the kids spent the afternoon in the swimming pool. It was a real outing for the kids and they were overjoyed and excited about being able to be in a pool and to be in the big city. Little Christopher did not stop running around and squealing with joy! He'll be dead tired tonight!

It is a joy to know these wonderful, godly people and I am excited about what God has prepared for us to do together in Butuan and Mabini. Please be in prayer for God to give us wisdom and to direct our steps as we seek to build His Kingdom here.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Luke 18:16

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Mabini Christian Fellowship

Today we spent the day in Mabini where I visited Berwyn's family and ministered to his church, Mabini Christian Fellowship. In the hot and humid little church we praised God and met with




Him. I am always amazed at the attentiveness of the younger generation here - it's wonderful to see how hungry they are for God. I spoke to these precious people on the difference between knowing about God and knowing God personally. In response to God's very clear word to His people, 4 people gave their lives to Him and have already spoken to pastor Berwyn for follow up. Hallelujah! After the meeting we enjoyed some rice and noodles and some traditional sweet rice. We had a lot of fun together and the kids kept flocking around me - must be my shiny head. It was good to see familiar faces again and to see how Berwyn's children, Christine and Christopher have grown.

I was also pleased to see the small addition that Berwyn was able to build with the generous Christmas donations we gave the church last year. The children now have their own little hut to meet in during the adult meeting so we had children worshipping in the background whilst we listened to God's word in the main church hut.

On our way home, cramped in 15 seater van, the Lord gave me a word of knowledge for a young guy sitting right in front of me. I asked Berwyn to share it with the chap and he was visibly surprised and encouraged. His response confirmed that what I had heard from the Lord was accurate. Hallelujah!

The Lord is really impressing on me the urgent need for the Church to be revived. I believe it is time for the Church to wake up and move with God's purposes for His people in His power. Only a revived people will make an impact and have a influence on a lost world. Andrew Murray writes,

"There can be no forward movement in missions, no great offering of life, without a deepening of the spiritual life of the church leaders and a real spiritual revival among the church members."

Oh, that the Church would hear and obey God's call!

"'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity." Eph. 5:14,15

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KLM

How nice of the airline I flew with yesterday to call themselves KLM - Kingdom Life Missions! After being delayed because of storms in Amsterdam, I still managed to get my connecting flights from Amsterdam to Manila and from Manila to Butuan. When I arrived in Butuan, Berwyn and members of his family fetched me and we had a splendid day catching up and getting excited about what God has planned for our second missions trip to the Philippines. We have great expectations! Just being here and seeing all the needs around, I am certain that God has immeasurably more in store for us than we can possibly ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20,21)!

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared
for those who love him" 1 Cor. 2:9

2011 trip

From the

15 July to 1 August

pastor Richard will be travelling for the second time to the Philippines.

Check this blog during that time for the latest news.

Preparing the Ground

Today I spent the day with Pastor Berwyn and his family. We went to the local beach for lunch and in the afternoon Berwyn and I scouted the area to get an idea of what God has in store for the ministry here. Berwyn has it on his heart to provide a proper facility for the children in this area in order to educate them and provide for their physical needs. There is a real need here to look after these poor children (of which there are many) and provide them with some form of stability to give them hope in life. The goal is also to reach the parents with whom relationships will be formed as the children are connected to the ministry. This already happens when Berwyn has enough resources to be able to feed a group of children and share God's love and Truth with them (sometimes only twice a year). The children love Mabini Christian Fellowship and know that they are loved and accepted and can even get some food there sometimes. As we travel along the roads here there are literally hundreds of little children around, playing on the streets. Apparently this nation is over productive and the government has had to address the issue of using birth control in order to try and reduce the growing birth rate. Many religious groups however do not allow birth control and therefore the issue still remains! The short clip reveals the amount of kids at the beach and this is not the weekend! When the children saw me filming, they started to get really excited...

Tomorrow we have an appointment with the Mayor of Cabadbaran. The purpose of our meeting will be to create a relationship between the Mayor and Pastor Berwyn and to simply make him aware of the work that Mabini Christian Fellowship is doing and desires to expand. We also want him to know that we are praying for him and that he has our support as a leader in this nation. God is at work here! Hallelujah!

Prophetic Leadership Conference

Today was the first day of our 3-day Prophetic Leadership Conference. About 50 pastors from Butuan and the surrounding villages attended. These precious people are so poor that they would not have been able to attend if we hadn't paid for their bus fare to get to the conference hall! We also included a free lunch and refreshments to bless these men and women of God.

In the first sessions we looked at the diffrence between the natural and the spiritual, and the nature of the prophetic and how it is revealed in the lives of Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul and the early Church. On this first day the Lord led me to emphasise the foundation of "Christ in us" and to encourage the people to realise what they have received in Christ by being united to Him. We also looked at the significance of spiritual revelation and how the believer can only know the secrets of the Kingdom by the Holy Spirit.

The leaders responded very positively and are feasting on the revelation of God's Word. The feedback I have received today is that the teaching is simple, easy to understand and people are able to apply it to their lives. There is a real buzz in our time together - excitement about the revelation of God's Truth, and enjoyment of fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

After the teaching session in the afternoon I invited all those who were hungry for more of God to come forward to be prayed for. Almost everyone came forward with faith and expectation. We began to worship the Lord (without instruments or any "props") and waited for the Holy Spirit to do His work. As I observed the Father touch His people I simply worked with Him and prayed for those who were already responding to God. Once again people wept, laughed, fell over, stood quietly, shouted, spoke in tongues and allowed God to do His work in them. I watched the Holy Spirit fill pastor couples simultaneously as they both fell into the Father's arms. When everyone had been prayed for I encouraged the leaders to do the same with their people and to pass on what they had freely received today. The Lord is equipping His people to spread the fire of His Truth and Presence to the people in this nation. Hallelujah!

We closed the meeting a little earlier than scheduled because the Holy Spirit was done and many of the people still had a 2-hour journey home by bus! These people are so hungry for the Word of God and they so appreciate that someone would come all the way from Europe to share God's heart with them in Mindanao. Apparently US citizens are not allowed to travel to this area because of the radical Islamic terrorists present in parts of Mindanao. Pastor Berwyn had planned for me to visit the "mountain people" on Friday but because of his concern about potential danger, he has arranged for these people to come to his church in Mabini.

Tomorrow promises to be another exciting day in the Lord and I will be sharing some key principles on leadership to help the spiritual leaders become a Kingdom influence in their churches and in their communities. Hallelujah!

"Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to build and to plant.'" Jer. 1:9,10

Let the little children...

Today I spent the morning with Pastor Berwyn, encouraging him and equipping him by giving him spiritual revelation and Kingdom principles - tools to work with to continue to build when I leave again. We then traveled to Mabini and had lunch at Berwyn's brother-in-law's home where he was celebrating his birthday with family and friends. We had a traditional roast pig and lots of sea food and I got to meet some more of the people in the community.

At 2pm we were supposed to begin the church service but Berwyn explained that in the Philippines it is common for people to come over an hour late. So the meeting "began" at 2pm with a room full of children on plastic chairs waiting for some action. There were about 30 little ones present so I began to play with them and very quickly had their complete attention. I then told them the story of Lazarus with all the actions I could think of as well as the story of Peter throwing the net on the other side of the boat and catching many fish. I was amazed! I had the children's attention for over an hour and was able to communicate that Jesus gives life and that when we depend on ourselves we will only catch one fish but when we depend on Jesus, we will catch a whole net full. It was a wonderful and most thrilling experience as well as a lot of fun and laughter!

At around 3pm the adults began filtering in and after a time of worship in song I preached and ministered to these precious people for over 2 hours. The Lord was present and the Holy Spirit touched the lives of those who came forward to receive from God. One man gave his life to the Lord and I prophesied over almost everyone, revealing God's compassion and love for these poor and broken people. The Lord affirmed and declared His abundant love to them and they were deeply touched and encouraged.

I praise God for His faithfulness and outpouring of love.

Tomorrow I will be ministering at another church and I am looking forward to what God will do!

Mabini Project

Mabini is the name of a small village, near Butuan on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. I (Pastor Richard), will be travelling from 7 July - 20 July to this area to pursue a relationship God has orchestrated between Pastor Berwyn and me and between Mabini Christian Fellowship and Kingdom Life Frankfurt. During my 10 day visit I will be leading a 3-day prophetic leadership conference, a 1-day worship seminar for the youth and I will be ministering to various churches and leaders in the area. The purpose of the trip is to establish the work God has begun and to find out how God wants KLF to support and build in this area of the world. I hope to keep a regular report of what God does during my visit on this blog together with pictures and videos.