Team B - Feedback

We went to Chatham this morning, hunting treasure in the highstreet. One of my clues was CRUTCHES, and it didn’t take long when we saw a lady walking on a pair of CRUTCHES. She just went into a shop, so we waited outside till she came out again and then approached her explaining what we were doing. She thought it was all a bit ‘freaky’ but she was quite interested. Her ailment (arthritis) was not on our treasure map, but she let us pray for her. She thanked us sincerely, she seemed to have felt quite honoured by this encounter. Encouraged, we continued and a minute later we saw a man sitting, with a CRUTCH in his hand. I had expected that he would quickly dismiss us, but instead we got into an open and friendly conversation about his life and God. Jenny and Mape gently provoked him to think about God and Jesus, and although he kept saying he dealt with his life in his own way, he also understood what we were saying. We left him in faith that he will remember this encounter and will start to ask himself questions about his beliefs and God.

We continued to the BAKERY, and waited there for a short while but we didn’t see any potential treasure. We continued to BLOCKBUSTERS; for some strange reason I was convinced that this was a clue of one of the others, and they followed me graciously. It turned out later that this had never been a clue on our treasure maps, but we did find treasure... Jenny and I went inside to see if anyone matched our clue, while Mape started chatting with a young mother with BLUE JEANS. She was waiting outside with her children while her husband was inside. When we came out we went through the clues with her. Again, she didn’t find any other clue on our maps that she recognised, but she did say that we could pray for her as she had recently found out that she has brain tumour! So we prayed for her while her husband came back. She said to him ‘Isn’t this amazing, these three ladies just came here looking for someone they could pray for, while I wanted prayer!’ She told us that some of her family were Christians, and others were Muslims, and they were all praying for her healing.

After this amazing encounter, we finally went towards FORT PIT HILL in a hurry as we were running out of time. We had just passed some GATES, and went up into the park when we past a man with BLUE JEANS WALKING DOGS. He didn’t have jeans, but he did wear blue trousers and the dogs convinced us that he was our treasure so we went up to him. He was very friendly and went through our treasure maps. It appeared that he had BACKPAIN and he was quite happy for us to pray for him. He couldn’t feel anything different after our prayer, but he was still very friendly and interested. He also told us that his wife goes to church sometimes, so hopefully this encounter will encourage them both.

We felt quite encouraged; we didn’t find many of our clues, and even went into ‘wrong’ directions, but we did find God’s treasures. We didn’t see any dramatic instant healings or salvations, but the people we approached were really friendly and interested. We went back confident that God had used us to sow seeds into their hearts which He will continue to cultivate.

Helena Posthumus

Treasure Hunt @ MFC

Hello Hunters,

We had 8 people this morning stepping out in faith to share the Kingdom with those that God led them to.

We worshipped, prayed with one another, got our clues and then split into 3 teams:

Team A - Natalie, Laura, Aurelie

Team B - Helena, Mape, Jenny

Team C - Andrew & Gordon

Myself and Andrew approached several people that matched several clues but the highlight was definitely when we approached a young lady because she had a TAN RUCKSACK, she was in the PARK, near the PLAYGROUND - When we spoke to her we asked her name and it was ELLIE!!! - We encouraged her, she went to a local SCHOOL, her parents are Christians, we told her that God knows her and loves her and encouraged her that He wanted a personal relationship with her - She was really moved that God had led us to her - Praise God!

More to follow...

Treasure Hunt Training at Bedford (Kings Arms)

Hi Hunters!

On Saturday, 11th September the team over at Kings Arms in Bedford will be hosting another of their excellent Treasure Hunt Training Days.

Click on this link for more information...

http://www.kingsarms.org/cm/component/option,com_events/task,view_detail/agid,538/year,2010/month,9/day,11/

Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

A Party in Heaven - Hunt @ MFC

Hello Hunters,

This morning we had Laura, Jenny M, Aurelie and myself together to bless the people God revealed to us.

We headed off to BLUEBELL HILL, as we had this clue and also HILL.

In the carpark we spoke to some guys in a 59 plate BMW, but nothing really came from that.

On the way there we were joking that because I had BEREAVEMENT and also a clue about FIRE/SMOKE that perhaps we should pop into the crematorium next to BLUEBELL HILL.

Personally I didn't have faith for that but Laura pressed me with a bit of gentle ribbing so we thought we'd give it a go and really step out in faith!

We parked up, walked around the grounds a bit and then Laura approached a lady who had a BLUE JACKET and DARK HAIR.

At the same time Jenny and Aurelie went after a lady on a MOBILITY SCOOTER, again I bottled it so backed up Laura (I had more faith for that then the scooter lady!).

It turned out our ladies name was JULIE and she was wearing GLASSES. We had a chat with her and her sister, encouraged them and then offered to pray for them - It was great to leave them as they drove off with beaming smiles on their faces - God's always in a good mood!

Meanwhile Jenny and Aurelie had spoken to the MOBILITY SCOOTER lady - Her daughters name was SALLY and they got to speak briefly with her.

They then approached an elderly lady and got talking to her - She had been going to church but wasn't a Christian yet. She basically struggled with not being able to be good enough and feeling completely disqualified to come into Gods presence/family.

Jenny explained that to have a relationship with God depends solely on the effort of Jesus, not on our own works or performance (thats legalism!) and that all she need do was move into the grace and mercy of God, accept Jesus free gift of salvation by repenting (changing her thinking) and offering her life to God - Jenny asked if she understood this, she said she did, so Jenny then gently offered her an opportunity to lead her through a prayer of commitment - The lady responded to the essential gospel and heaven had a party!!! - COME ON!!!

God is so amazingly good and gracious - The way He had already primed this lady for Jenny to come along and invite her into the Kingdom was a real inspirational moment.

But the most humbling thing was the way that Jenny just took it all in her stride and loved the lady like Jesus would without even entertaining the fear of man that could have quite easily prevented her from stepping out into the conversation when the time came to act in faith - Praise God!

I love the way that God moves in spite of me, not because of me - It was such a blessing to see Laura, Jenny & Aurelie just doing what they felt the Father was telling them and giving the angels a good cause to have a knees up - Life don't get much better than this! haha - God you're awesome!!!

Be encouraged - Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

Treasure Hunt - MFC - May 22nd

Hello Hunters,

We went out again this morning as one team of 4 people. There was Helena, Mape, Natalie and myself.

We started off at the PARK at the bottom of ROCHESTER CASTLE. We strolled around for a fair while but God didn't open anything up, although Helena was really taken with the idea of starting an outdoor gym (there were people exercising on the grass area).

We eventually headed onto Rochester High St. passed the ARCHES, the COFFEE SHOP and the TREE WITH BENCHES AROUND IT and then Helena noticed a young girl with BRAIDED HAIR who was walking with her mum. Helena & Natalie approached the lady and asked if she had ALLERGIES, which her daughter did! They chatted for a while, talking baout the families faith and questions surrounding it and then the opportunity came to pray for the daughters asthma (ALLERGY!) - It was a really encouraging first encounter of the morning and set the 4 of us up for what was to come!

Helena & Mape approached a guy who was sitting on the wall selling the Big Issue. Usually there is a woman there (she has been prayed for on previous Hunts) - It turned out that the woman is the guys sister. They prayed for him, for him to get a job and encouraged him - More Lord!

As we walked down the street we noticed a temporary ONE WAY SIGN in the middle of the High St.

Mape then saw a guy wearing an ARSENAL top. I originally thought it would be a red on but it was a BLUE one. We chatted with him briefly but he wasn't the treasure but he held us up just long enough for our next encounter...

...as we walked on down the street a woman fell out of a shop, down the step and crashed into Natalie, grabbing her to stop herself falling over. Amazingly the woman had a WALKING STICK. We asked how the lady was, if she was she ok? Then I asked if the reason she had a walking stick was because of her KNEE - It was!!! We then asked her name got to know a bit about her and then commanded healing upon her knee and gave thanks for the lady and her new baby granddaughter.

While we were praying with the lady Helena & Mape were talking with a STREET CLEANER, encouraging him and laughing with him - We were in a real hotspot in that High St.

It was such an encouraging morning, starting off seemingly slow with little happening and the all of a sudden God opened it right up and brought us person after person with impeccable timing.

Our next hunt is sometime in June - Really looking forward to it. God seems to have really changed our outlook and expectancy as a team now and we seem to have a real understanding coming that it's all about what God is wanting to do rather than what we feel we should do.

Be glorified God, you are amazing!

Happy Hunting!!!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

MFC Treasure Hunt

Hello hunters!

We were only with four of us, two for their first hunt, one for her second hunt, and myself. It is always exciting to go on a treasure hunt with ‘fresh’ hunters and to see God speak through them so I felt quite privileged.

After an amazing time of worship, we asked God for clues. Although not many, we had a few distinct clues and some matching. We went to Rochester, first to the train station, where there were also some roadworks going on. There we saw an Asian man with a beard and dark coat walking purposefully towards Chatham but we were too late to pick up the courage and speak to him. So we asked God that we might meet him again later in the morning. After waiting at the station for a couple of minutes without seeing anyone matching our clues we walked towards Rochester bridge.

Again, here were roadworks going on and we certainly felt we were in the right place. However, we saw no one matching our clues so we moved onto the nearby park where there are trees and bushes. There were also a father and son playing with a ball (cricket) which we felt was another clue for the location. However, again no one matched our other clues. We talked to two ladies on a bench but they didn’t recognise any of our clues and didn’t want prayer so we moved on, back to the bridge.

Then, suddenly Aurelie ran across the road, where a young man with a long black coat and dark clothing was approaching. I catched up with them, and we explained to him about our treasure hunt. He then said that he was Roman Catholic but that he was in a stage of life where he was not sure whether God really exists. Aurelie spoke powerfully truth in his life, encouraging him to be serious about searching God, looking for the truth and also to look for light and not darkness. He then let us pray for him, so we asked God to reveal Himself to this young man.

At the same location near the bridge, we spoke to another man with a beard and dark coat, and his wife, who were visiting Rochester for the weekend. Although friendly, they didn’t want recognise any of the other clues nor wanted prayer so we blessed them. As we were about to go back, we then saw the same Asian man with a beard and dark coat again, crossing the road coming towards us. We were amazed, as he went in the opposite direction when we saw him at the train station earlier on, which is about a mile away. But here he was again, just as we had asked God. So we spoke to him and explained what we were doing. He told us he was a Sikh so didn’t want prayer but we just responded that God loves him.

As we made our way back, we saw another man with a beard and dar coat near roadworks and a green jumper but he was not very responsive to us. We had an opportunity to pray with the lady who sells the Big Issue in the high street though and had a lovely chat with her.

All in all, we had a great time, enjoying the lovely spring weather. All of us felt we had learned again on how to hear from God, how to act (don’t hesitate, opportunities are easily missed!), but also how to receive God’s grace when we don’t act. His love and grace never fails.

Happy hunting!

Helena Posthumus

Medway Family Church

Hunt at MFC

Hello Hunters,

We went on a hunt last Saturday and had a great time. God really spoke to us clearly about a few people and situations and it was a pleasure to pray for a few people too!

We got our clues and headed off to Strood. Adam had the clue BIG WHEEL so we were bowled over when we saw one opposite the train station in a travellers compund. We also had the clue GARAGE and again were bowled over as we pulled over right outside Watsons GARAGE (Watson is my surname!).

Adam & Bola met a lady right near the BIG WHEEL and opened a conversation. They prophesied over her and encouraged her - It was a real God encounter.

Natalie, Colette and myself were near the SHOPS in Strood, outside SPORTS SHOP. There was an elderly lady walking with her disabled daughter, she was struggling to walk with 2 walking sticks, we had 2 clues about opposite knees. We approached her but she said her neck was bad. We prayed for her, she saw a small improvement, then we all prayed for her again and she said it felt better...

We met a few other people. Adam met a man ALL IN YELLOW (wearing Hi-Vis gear) but he couldn't stop to talk. We found many other clues and had a few other conversations but nothing of real note.

Anyway back to our lady with the sticks... She asked how much we charged! We obviously said £10 a prayer - haha - No really we obviously said it's all free, that Jesus loves her and doesn't charge! She asked us for a card and we blessed her and left her there outside the shops.

Anyway on the following Monday I went into the town centre and as I was parking my car I saw this little old ladies daughter walking right next to my car. I couldn't pass up this God appointment so I jumped out of the car and got talking to the daughter. I walked with her to the shops (about 10 min walk). We spoke about God and I asked her about her disability.

I let her know that God loves her and values her, then I asked after her mum and her neck - She started telling me I was a genie! I said "genie?" She said "No - a Genius!" - She then went onto say her mum had been pain free in her neck since our prayers. I explained it wasn't us but that the power came from God in heaven. That Jesus had healed her and he loves her - It was quite remarkable really!

And that was that, I left her outside the same shops we had met at on the Saturday and just pray that God will really get a hold of that family!

Be encouraged - Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

Hunt in Oxted - Kings Church

Hello Hunters!

Here is a selection of testimonies for your encouragement from a Treasure Hunt in Oxted on Saturday, 13th March.

1. James

Eddie, Ray and I had three location clues between us - spice (which we took to mean an Indian or similar restaurant), station and flower beds - which took us eventually to the area between the Cinnamon Lounge and the pub opposite, near the station and bordered by raised flower beds. We had previously tried some other locations along the High St with a few contacts but no obvious treasure.

We felt it was right to stay in that area and trust God to bring the treasure past us. Again, several contacts but no definite hits. After a while Eddie started talking to one of the people who came out of the pub for a cigarette. He was a young man who was amazed to find that Eddie had his name, James, written down as a name clue. He also felt that Eddie's reference to someone with a heavy burden applied to him. Eddie said afterwards that he'd started talking to James as he felt prompted to do so, having caught his eye a few times (this was following a word that Dale had passed on to the TH team earlier in the week, about following the Holy Spirit's prompting). Ray and I joined them and James explained that he felt very much as though his life was empty, despite being outwardly successful at work and in his wider life (though he'd broken up with his girlfriend a little time ago). We gave him some testimonies - including Eddie's and Ray's - and encouraged him to see God's hand upon him that day, to find abundant new life in Jesus. He said he was really interested to talk more and this was what he needed to hear, and if we could wait he would go inside and finish his breakfast (!) and come out again. We agreed and he duly came back a few minutes later, ready to carry on. We talked more and asked if we could pray for him to feel his Father's love in a new way from that day on, with which he was happy - so we did. We gave him the church contact details and the "Knowing God" leaflet and he agreed to come to church at the first opportunity, this coming Sunday (he lives in Oxted but couldn't come yesterday because of his pub manager work in East Grinstead). We advised him to expect obstacles to that coming up during the week, but he seemed determined to be there next Sunday. It will be great if we can pray him into (a) King's church next week and (b) the Kingdom! We left on very good terms, having told him that it really blessed and encouraged us to talk to him too and we looked forwards to seeing him again, at church.

We all felt greatly encouraged by that encounter. Often we've said that there seems a natural time limit even to a good conversation, but in this case we each felt that he was ready to drink in everything we were telling him about God, and that from his face he seemed very open and ready to move forwards. As a team we had a word as we set out that chains would be broken and we prayed afterwards for James that that would apply in his life, shown by his coming to church and getting saved.

2. Brian

He was a man with a walking stick near the station, who said he didn't think God could help with his "hole in his spine" but we said we'd pray anyway

3. Brazilian family Eddie knew who were reluctant to commit to coming to church but the husband Nelson asked us to pray for their financial/business situation.

4. Alison- her father had died a couple of years ago and her mum lives 400 miles away. Her mother, Kathleen, can be lonely and so we prayed for Kathleen, and also for Alison and her family. She was very open and it was a very positive first encounter of the morning.

5. Caroline- her husband has just got the job as deputy head of a local secondary school and she is looking for a lively Church for her and the family. Pippa gave her the King's Church card.

6. Janice- she is recovering from a hip replacement and asked that we pray later rather than on the street.

7. Harvey- he is a Christian but doesn't go to a Church. Charleigh told him about youth and has invited him along.

9. Emily- looking for a job. Told her about job club and gave her the information about it.

10. Shann - with her mother and brother, had a sprained ankle, was about a 7or8 on pain scale, we prayed for it and she said it was feeling a bit better.

11. Dawn- Had shoulder and neck pain, we prayed for her and chatted to her, she was very open about things such as her beliefs. Said her shoulder/neck was feeling a bit better, and would have had more prayer but she had to go and meet a friend.

12. We were outside Oxted Electrical, and saw a woman with a blue top and red scarf. She said that she was a German Catholic and a Scientologist… one of our clues was confused and this could refer to her spiritual state! She had a bad hip and so we offered to pray for her and ask Jesus to heal her. We laid hands on her and prayed and she said that the pain had gone down and the hip felt better. We also prayed for a young lad who was with her who had a broken arm. We gave them both tracks about the gospel and asked them to take some time to read about Jesus.

Happy Hunting!

Dale Barlow

Kings Church Oxted

Encounter Weekend - Town Invasion Feedback

Hello Hunters!

Just wanted to fill you all in on the amazing time that was had by all at the Encounter Youth Conference last weekend over at The Town Church, Sevenoaks.

We had the pleasure of having Julian Adams come and teach/minister to us over the Friday evening and all day Saturday - He spoke on the Fathers heart and many people encountered God in fresh new ways. The worship was electric and it was such a pleasure to see 100+ young people going all out for Jesus!

On the Saturday afternoon we had approx 30(ish) youngsters signed up for the Town Invasion.

We had a short time of teaching and instruction on Treasure Hunting before heading out into Sevenoaks to bless the people that God led us to.

All of the teams came back having found clues and being led to people. Many of the teams had some really exciting encounters where the love and power of God really touched peoples hearts.

Some of the youth had tried this method of evangelism before but for a few it was their first time out and they were all hugely encouraged as they realized that hearing from God can be an everyday occurrence and that it's not as difficult to share the Kingdom with people as they originally thought!

Some of the testimonies will be posted soon... watch this space!

Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

Oxted Hunt Testimonies - Jan/Feb 2010

Here's a few testimonies from Kings Church in Oxted.

Orange Hair in Nero’s

As soon as we set out, David found his first clue and blessed someone whom I had already had contact with through a woman2woman event. She was open to be blessed and prayed for which was an encouraging start.

It was a bitterly cold day so Kate and I were keen to move on to my next location clue which was NERO'S!!!! We were incredulous as we saw our treasure, sitting at the back of the cafe. A woman with LURID BRIGHT ORANGE/ RED HAIR. Bulls eye!! She was deep in conversation so Kate and I decided to sit nearby and wait until we had a chance to talk. When our ‘treasure’ did eventually get up to leave we decided to ask her about her amazing hair colour; she needed no second bidding and sat down next to us with great eagerness and gave us a moment by moment account of her last trip to the hairdressers. We finally managed to explain why we were drawn to talk to her and showed her not only the hair clue but also the words GRIEF which Kate had written on her card. She was astounded that God had spoken so accurately, especially as she had just confessed to her friend to being up to her neck in grief moments before. It transpired that she was a Christian and had been in an abusive marriage for 23 years. She felt bitter that God had saved her on her wedding day but since that day, her life had been very difficult and she was so angry with God and feeling guilty because she had just separated from her husband. We spent some time bringing truth and words of comfort and life and we prayed for her. The tears flowed and we felt that God had made His point - what love He has and what mercy and grace was flowing in spite of her anger and confusion. We really felt that we had brought His presence and that this precious Christian really knew that she was on Father God's heart and that He wasn’t angry with her as she had previously thought.

It was an extraordinary meeting and we are sure that she left us feeling that God would never let go of her and that she was loved.

Rescued by Eddie

After we left Nero’s, Kate and I headed out for our next location, but on the way there, we found our next clue; a lady with JET BLACK HAIR and the skinniest pair of BLACK SKINNY JEANS stood before us. We explained what we were doing and were met with a very suspicious response- partly due to the fact that her English was poor but also because she clearly didn’t trust us. I was fast beginning to wish that we had never stopped her as we could see that the shutters had gone down. At just the right moment, in perfect timing, Eddie and his team walked by and he immediately saw our predicament. He began speaking to the lady in Bulgarian, and assuring her that we were safe. It transpired that she and her family were Bulgarian and Eddie had witnessed to them in the past. The transformation was astonishing, she started to smile and was open to hear what we had to say. We shared about Jesus with her and although she was very busy and life was stressful, she conceded that she might come to visit us one day at church. She left us looking happy and realizing that God sees her.

Flat Cap by the Legion

We made our way to the BRITISH LEGION, looking for a man in a FLAT CAP who had a WALKING STICK because of his bad back and whose name we thought was BERT. Having waited in the cold for a few minutes and seeing no one we suddenly saw a man walking up the hill about 100 yards away. He had a flat cap and was clearly in pain from the way he was walking. We caught up with him and it turned out that his name was David (not Bert) but that he did had a bad back. The doctors thought he had a trapped nerve but were unable to offer any solution and he had been in pain with it for 6 years. We asked if we could pray for him and when he said that was ok we laid our hands on his back and commanded the pain to go and for healing to come. We then asked him how his back was and he smiled and said that the pain had definitely got less. So we prayed again and encouraged him to walk up and down and see how it was. By the end of our time praying for him he said that the pain had been 8/10 but was now below 4/10. We encouraged him to keep thanking God for what He was doing and to keep asking Him to heal his back completely.

Happy Hunting!

Dale Barlow

Kings Church, Oxted

TOWN INVASION - Saturday, 13th February 2010

Hello Hunters!

Just to let you all know about the Town Invasion (Treasure Hunt) this coming Saturday, 13th February, that is happening as part of the Encounter Weekend youth conference with Julian Adams.

We will be at The Town Church in Sevenoaks, with the invasion preparation starting at around 1.45pm.

There will be a quick time of instruction and testimony before we get our clues and head off into Sevenoaks in teams of 3/4 people to find the people that God gives us the clues to find.

I'm expecting God to really impact some people on Saturday afternoon through the power of His Holy Spirit!

Each team will be out for about an hour before heading back to The Town Church for a de-briefing session (military stylee!) so we can all hear about what God has been doing.

Feel free to message me via the Encounter Weekend Facebook page (just search for Encounter & you'll find it on there!) if you have any further questions.

I look forward to meeting many of you there.

Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church

Roadshow at Oxted - 23/01/2010

Hello Hunters,

Today we had churches from across Kent meeting at Kings Church, Oxted, to bless the people in their town by going out on a treasure hunt.

There were loads of testimonies fed back after the hunt. Needless to say it is amazing just hearing testimony after testimony of how God has given people clear words and descriptions of people and their needs so that we can introduce them to the King of Heaven!

The highlight for me today was going to the SUPERMARKET, where there was a young man walking out of there wearing an ORANGE JACKET. The lady walking with him had HIGH BOOTS on and was also pushing a SHOPPING TROLLEY. I ran over to approach them with Laura from our team and explained what we were doing and the lady said that the young man was autistic. She is his carer, he lives in a home and that his parents were coming to visit him today. I nearly fell over!!! My self and Laura had the words FATHER & MOTHER between us. I explained that I felt that God wanted us to pray for the young man. She introduced us to him and I spoke briefly with him, he kept saying "I'm in charge, I'm in charge!"

We didn't end up praying for him there and then, I asked him a couple of times, but he didn't want us to, just said "I'm in charge!" and it felt wrong to be forceful and push it further. But I came away from this encounter both humbled and stirred.

Humbled because God had led us to this young man, bound up in himself and not fully engaged with his surroundings. And then stirred because as a church we have had prophetic words about us being a healing centre for autism (amongst other mental conditions).

God won't you please accelerate this promise into becoming reality!

My heart felt so compassionate towards that young man, but I was also aware that maybe whatever was saying "I'm in charge!" wanted things to stay just as they were. If I was a disciple I'd have had a pretty good idea what to do!

Move in power Father and help me overcome my unbelief!

Watch this space for further testimonies from today - I'll post them as I receive them...

Happy Hunting!

Gordon Watson

Medway Family Church