Hello All!
Whew, what a year 2011 was! Its been a while since we've blogged and I want to catch you all up to speed and also to share with you what the Lord has been speaking for 2012.
Since my last blog in March of 2011, little did we know, how much our lives were going to change. The last weekend of May,we received a phone call from Ben's 88 year old great aunt Roberta. She was calling with an invitation/proposition phone call. An invitation to be part of one of the greatest outpouring of the Spirit that has ever been in history. It was an invitation to join John and Jolene Hamill with Lamp lighter ministries in Washington D.C. for the ushering in of the "Third Great Awakening". The last awakening before Jesus Christ returns. We knew this was an opportunity of a lifetime, but still needed to be decided with great prayer. We told her we would pray about it and get back to her. So, Ben and I took 24 hours to pray together, and separately to hear what the Holy Spirit would say. Well, 24 hours later Ben and I came back together to discuss what the Lord had spoken to each of us. The word was the same, and the word was this: Matthew 19:21 "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow me". Well, for us Crazy people, this was a NO BRAINER! Now most people were caught by surprise and thought that this was a new word for us, and to be honest were a little worried. Since 2006 the Lord began telling us to downsize. So with each move, the downsizing came. Little by little it came, or should I say went. Then in the summer of 2009 a great sense of urgency came to really start getting rid of more stuff. Long story short, we obeyed the Lord and in about one weeks time, had sold and gotten rid of about 90% of our stuff. Wow!! How liberating this felt to not be attached to all of this "stuff" anymore! Praise you Jesus for FREEDOM!!
So on June 29th we embarked on a road trip to Washington D.C.! Ben, Denise, Cedar, Hunter, Aunt Roberta and her assistant CaMara. When we got back east, we went to all of the different civil war sites and broke covenant with the spirit of baal, (idolatory, slavery) and made new covenant with God. This was very important as all of this work was being done in the spirit realm, and had to take place for the ushering in of the third great awakening. What an honor it was to be with these select individuals doing such important work for the Kingdom of God!
Another highlight of the trip was the fact that Aunt Roberta had a very special oil lamp that was used in the great revival that happened in Topeka, Kansas in 1901 and in Houston, Texas in 1905. This was one of the original lamps used in those revivals, and she sensed such an urgency by the Holy Spirit to have it lit during these events that took place with Lamp lighter ministries. John and Jolene knew that it was a fulfillment of a prophecy given over the event! How awesome is our God!!
Well, the event was a success, and we headed back west after staying with some new friends in Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean. We made a stop for a few weeks in Montana while my (Denise) oldest brother got married. Ben went back on to Washington to do his high school leadership camp at Cispus while the kids and I stayed an extra week for a total of 3 weeks. My mom and dad drove us back to Washington to meet up with Ben. They headed back to Montana while Ben, myself and the kids headed up to Port Angeles to perform his cousin Reba's wedding. From there we headed to the canoe journeys that were held at the Swinimish reservation and sold our jewelry at our booth and had the opportunity to minister to many that traveled through our tent. God was always good and ALWAYS showed up!
From there we traveled to Spokane to speak at Fruitland family camp. What a great time that was and spent lots of time down at the river during our breaks and had lots of wonderful fellowship with new friends. While we were there we met a young woman named Danaye from the Makah tribe in Neah Bay, Washington. We made an instant Holy Spirit connection and the Lord told us to invite her to come with us. We asked and she said yes, so from there we traveled up to the Lummi reservation in Bellingham, Washington to speak and help facilitate a youth camp. God was so awesome and saw lots of little ones give their hearts to the Lord. So, so awesome!
Since then we've done some more traveling,started a home church at the Nisqually reservation, and have rested our feet for a bit here in Olympia. A wonderful couple that we know offered their one bedroom basement apartment to us for rent, and its been a wonderful place and it has been a very sweet experience, not just for Ben and I but also for our kids. The Lord has shown us great favor for the sacrifice we've made.
About 2 months ago Danaye began feeling the Lord calling her into full time ministry with Crazy Faith. We took time to pray about it and felt tremendous peace. So starting January 7th, 2012 we will have our first intern. She will be living with us in our tiny apartment, but know that there is a great reward in obedience. We are believing the Lord for a large home that will suit all of our needs. We are declaring that it will be exactly what we want, and that we will pay cash for it!! Please join us in prayer for this!
We love you all! Stay tuned, as I have the word of the year from the Lord, and also some exciting insight He has been showing me! Its so exciting, and the time we've all been waiting for!
Blessings,
Ben & Denise Charles
Crazy Faith Ministries
