| Report on Teachers Breakfasts in 2008 |
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I give all praise to Jesus for an amazing year.
The fellowship is great. Teachers are free to “talk shop”. People network, ideas are exchanged and teachers are ENCOURAGED by the Lord, by each other and by testimonies of answered prayer. At the last meeting for the year I stood in answered prayer. A teacher shared how the power of prayer dramatically helped the learning ability of a year 8 student who previously had struggled to learn. My pedagogy didn't change, I didn't implement any significant new strategies. All I did was trust God completely and prayed. Immediately there were changes. Changes so marked that the whole faculty was noticing. This is nothing less than a miracle and I am believing that the Lord will perform miracles in the lives of every student. The favour of the Lord is on the breakfasts even extending to the staff at the venues. I have seen staff go out of their way to make something work well as though their hearts were committed to the vision of MIRED. Considering the breakfasts only began in 2007.the growth in the number of breakfasts is staggering.
Surely the Lord has brought His vision to pass! The idea of the teachers breakfasts came from the Lord at the end of 2006. He told me that Christian teachers are missionaries in education needing encouragement and support just like missionaries who travel abroad. I knew that the Lord wanted teachers to feel valued, appreciated, loved and encouraged. That’s why the venues have been specially chosen and delicious food is a prerequisite! I also knew He wanted to minister to the spirits of the teachers and give them a fresh vision for their place on the mission field. That’s why the word of God and praise and worship is so important. In 2008 new locations were taken in NSW at Wollongong, Hawkesbury, Sthn Highlands and the Central Coast. Throughout this year I have been aware that the Lord is wanting to take territory, move forward, expand and not stand still. The children and youth of this nation are on the Father’s heart and He is desperate to reach them through the schools. I pray that my journey with the breakfasts will encourage you to keep moving forward and not stand still, regardless of what things look like in the natural. As humans we like to have everything in boxes, neat and tidy with no loose ends. BUT the Lord’s view on things is completely different because He sees the end from the beginning. So to keep moving forward with the vision the Lord had given me I needed to trust the Lord who is the alpha and omega the beginning and the end.
Human reasoning may have said wait till a core group appears, BUT I knew that the Holy Spirit had spoken and so I moved forward with His leading. Refusing to look at numbers as an evidence of success is another huge issue for me. It is difficult not to look at numbers as the venues require numbers for catering. But I cannot let numbers be the measuring stick of success. Our flesh craves some tangible measure of success BUT we walk by faith and not by sight. The five senses that the Lord gave us are to help navigate our way on the earth. They are of no heavenly use. They are not designed to lead us through spiritual matters. Our spirit man is designed to lead in spiritual matters. So it is absolutely essential to strengthen our spirit through the word and prayer. Planning to go national with the breakfasts was a huge leap of faith. The Lord knew I was struggling with the “numbers issue” and so He sent help. To go national meant I had to ignore numbers and man’s logic. At the breakfast at Penrith when I was feeling quite despondent the Lord sent a man of God to tell me that obedience is His measure of success. I was so encouraged by this. His word strengthened me. I was refuelled by the word of God and determined to continue regardless of who turned up. To confidently move forward meant the Lord’s voice had to be louder than human logic. Firstly human logic would say why go national with the breakfasts if the whole of NSW hasn’t been covered and not every person in NSW has heard of Miracle Education? Secondly I don’t have a large support base in every capital city. But I knew the Lord had told me to go national and so that was that. He apparently wasn’t impressed with my logic. My strategy was to find contacts in every capital city and work with them on the breakfasts. However despite all my requests for contacts interstate and all my petitioning before the Lord, the locals were deaf and or non existent. My plan was definitely not successful. Eventually the Lord was able to get through to me and remind me of how I began the first breakfasts. At the end of 2006 I set the dates, booked the venues and then looked for the contacts. So that’s what I did across the nation. I used the internet and booked venues online, site unseen, just using the photos and description on the net. Doesn’t sound reasonable to man but it what was the Lord was asking me to do. And in the last few weeks I had an email from a teacher in Kununurra, (WA) who is being transferred to Perth. When I told her about the breakfast in Perth she said “Please tell me what you would like me to do to help make the breakfast in Perth amazing! !My story about how I came to be in Perth is very God! I can't wait to tell you about it in person.” The Lord deliberately repositioned this woman to be Perth to help me. And recently I had an offer of help from a teacher in Wyong! So the contacts and helpers are there. I just had to do it the way the Lord wanted it done. And His way was to exercise my faith! These offers of help that came out of the blue(!) greatly encouraged me to walk by faith and not by sight. I serve the God of provision and as the breakfasts are His idea He will provide all the resources, whether that be people or finances. He is not limited. So by faith I know that He has people in every capital city and as I confidentially move forward He will bring the helpers to me when I need them. All praise to Jesus! Not only did the Lord tell me to take the breakfasts across the nation but He has told me to organise a National Christian Educators Conference in Sept 2010. So I have booked the marque Hotel in Canberra, Sept 27th In summary I encourage you to
A BIG thank you from me to all those who support MIRED, through prayer, encouragement, attendance at the breakfasts and finances. I appreciate you and am sooo grateful to the Lord for you. And a BIG thank you to all the guest speakers who graciously give of their time to sow into the Lord’s work. I know the Lord will continue to bless you! Blessings |
The teachers breakfasts have been a huge success and this is because the breakfasts are the Lord’s idea and He is faithful to always turn up! His presence is tangible. He moves upon the teachers. Lives are being impacted and changed. Teachers continue to come back not because of the food(though it is yummy) but because the Holy Spirit attends the breakfasts ministering life, bringing healing, peace ,new vision and refreshment.
When the Lord told me to hold a breakfast in Wollongong I did not have a large support base actually in Wollongong. But I obeyed the Lord, stepped out in faith, made the booking and asked and prayed for others to go with me. And as it turned out with all praise to Jesus, He did raise up a team of volunteers/pioneers who responded to the call and went with me to establish a teachers breakfast.