New Blog!

Hello from Germany!

I wanted to let you know that I am now writing a blog about our trip here in Germany. We will be here until the end of August. Check out my blog at this link: http://herrnhut.blogspot.com. The link is also posted on this blog in the links section.

Ethiopia

Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Holidays! The time of Passover and Resurrection celebration is so dear to me. I love to go through the Passover Seder and remember how God brought His people out of slavery and bondage and into a new land of promise. I love to see how Jesus the Messiah is revealed through the Passover traditions and imagine what it was like at His last Pesach (Passover) when he broke the unleavened bread and told his disciples that it was His body—He was completely without sin just as the Matzah is without leaven or yeast. He also took the cup of wine and blessed it and said that it was His blood poured out for us. Just as the blood of the lamb was spread on the doorposts of the Hebrews’ doors and everyone inside was spared and passed over, He shed His blood for us on the cross and He said that He is the door and the way to the Father. When we receive the blood of Yeshua, we enter through the door and are saved for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. When Jesus was in the garden praying, He asked the Father if there was any other way; nevertheless, He was willing and He gave His life completely for us. I think about Father God hearing His only Son in his distress asking if there was any other way, and in this moment is where I realize the depth of God’s love for me, to be able to look at His Son and not change His mind, but knowing what Jesus would suffer to say yes, this is the only way, I want my children reconciled to me, I will not be separated from them forever. And, of course, the rest of the story is that Yeshua did die and shed His blood for us, but then He rose again in victory and defeated death, and through Him we have eternal life—we are reunited with our Father and have become the Bride of Christ! And not only that, but also He sent His Holy Spirit to fill us, to give us abundant life, and to empower us for holiness and to tell the world of His great love. What a wonderful God He is!
I wanted to share with you a quick update about my trip to Israel. I have blogged about the entire trip in detail, and if you are interested you can read it at www.gatewaysbeyond.org/gts2009. This is just a quick note on how the trip impacted me personally. I want to thank all of you who sowed financially into this trip and who prayed for us while we were gone. We were in Israel for an entire month, and it was just so good to be back in the land. I got to experience many new things this time that I had not done before on my two previous trips. For example, I got to spend over a week in the south of the country in the Negev desert. We stayed in one place that was literally right on the Egyptian border. I have a picture of some men in Egypt that I took from Israel. I really think I would love to just spend some time with Bedouins or Gypsies one day because I really like that lifestyle, though I admit I also really like hot showers and coffee shops. Another highlight of my trip was spending time with Israeli youth. I have been involved in youth ministry since I was a youth (which I still am by the way) and I love just hanging out with them, talking about their lives, encouraging them, and simply showing them love. I’ll just mention one more highlight; that is, we were able to stay in an old Armenian hostel inside the Armenian quarter of the old city Jerusalem. I have been to Jerusalem before, but it was so different living inside the old city walls and walking through the narrow streets on the cobbled stones smoothed from so many years of footsteps. On Shabbat, I walked alone through the streets down to the Wailing Wall and watched as people came and went on their Shabbat to pray at this spot where they feel closest to God. And as I pray for them, I look forward to the days spoken of in Revelation 21 and 22 where Yeshua is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem and there is no need for moon or sun because He is our light.
Well, I’m back in full swing in Cyprus now and getting excited about going out to Ethiopia in May. I will write more, but I just wanted to send out a hello and Happy Holidays. I miss you all and pray for you continually. Be blessed and enjoy time with your families and friends. And give each other hugs for me when you get the chance.
Much love,
Hannah Briscoe
hannahbriscoe@yahoo.com

Update from Cyprus

Greetings! I hope you enjoy this update on my life and what the Lord is doing. I miss you all and send you my love.

CYPRUS:
I have now been back in Cyprus for a month and a half, and I cannot describe the pleasure I feel to be in the will of God. I know I am where I am supposed to be and doing what makes me come alive. So, I wanted to write and tell you a little bit about what I am doing here.
This year I am a part of the GTS I team. The program is divided into three parts: a first year school, a second year school, and an internship. My main focus is with the first year students. I live in a beautiful, warm house where I am the R.A. over seven first-year girls. I joke with them that I am Marmie and they are my “Little Women,” even though some are my age or older than me. They are a great group of girls and I love having each one of them in my house; however, being an R.A. does produce many challenges that help me grow. I must enforce the house rules, make sure everyone is keeping everything clean, and ensure that any problems that arise are resolved quickly and in a righteous way. As the R.A., it is also my responsibility to lead the morning runs twice a week. I have never much enjoyed running, but just being surrounded by so much beauty makes it worth it. My weeks are very full and I am definitely working very hard; nonetheless, it is a joy to be working alongside others in a community of people who love the Lord and care for each other. My other responsibilities include writing and editing the GTS blog (www.gatewaysbeyond.org/gts2009), helping with child care once a week, preparing lunch for the community on Tuesdays, creating all assignments for the student journals, monitoring class on Wednesdays, and creating the service schedule and supervising the service time. Service time is every day from 4-6pm when the students do all of their chores. Creating the chart for 22 people may sound like a breeze, but it proved to be quite a challenging task. There are 16 first-year students this year—11 girls and 5 guys. The theme for the school is “Shine” and God has already done so much in each life. He has been shining the light of His love on all of our hearts, and you can already see in the faces of the students that their lives are being changed and they are being filled with His goodness. They are shining!

ISRAEL:
On March 8, we leave our beloved island and head to Israel for a month. In the past, the Israel trip has been a two week trip to experience Israel. This year, we will be there longer and we will continue with our program while there (worship, teaching, etc.) as well as traveling around and experiencing the amazing land. Personally, I am most excited about camping in the Negev desert and doing a 16 kilometer hike! We did not get to do this during my school, and I have always wanted to. It has been 5 years since I have been to Israel, and my heart is longing to return. I am so excited!

ETHIOPIA!!!:
I am thrilled to announce that we all (1st year, 2nd year, interns, and staff) will be going to Ethiopia for our end of the school outreach! I have never been to Africa before, and I have especially wanted to go to Ethiopia for the last 6 years. Gateways Beyond has a long history of reaching out in Ethiopia and has a strong relationship with many in that land. While in Ethiopia we will be reaching out to the large Jewish community there, ministering in orphanages and prisons, and encouraging the Church. Ethiopia was one of the first places to receive the Gospel as is seen in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8; we know their heritage is rich.
I want to express my deep gratitude for all of my family and friends back home who have been such an encouragement to me. Thank you for your prayers and support—they are so vital to what the Lord is doing in and through me.

This is a faith based community and none of the staff receive a salary. We are all here through money that we have earned back home and by the sacrificial giving of so many of you. I still need around $800.00 for the Israel trip, and I am also beginning to raise support for the outreach to Ethiopia (probably around $2000.00) If you would like to give a one-time gift or pledge a monthly commitment, any amount would be a blessing. You can follow along more closely with me through my personal blog (www.hiddenroyalty.blogspot.com) as well as through email. I am also writing a weekly blog for the GTS at www.gatewaysbeyond.org/gts2009. I would love to communicate with you more, so feel free to write. Blessings to you in the name of the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Hannah Briscoe
hannabriscoe@yahoo.com

P.S. I am sorry, I have not been able to get any pictures to upload to the email. Hopefully soon I will get some pictures up.

Giving information:
www.gatewaysbeyond.org/donate (You can make a note that the funds are for me)
Or you may send a check to the following address:

Gateways Beyond
PO BOX 155101
Ft. Worth, TX 76155
USA

Break Forth

A land swollen with hidden seed,
A land hungry, with unspoken need.
They yearn to cry out,
But it is caught in their throats.
They desire to shout,
But have said that they don’t.

Oh God, hear a cry
Of a nation in pain,
So much shame held inside
That is keeping them lame.

Muted and silent,
Or so they have believed.
But a cry is growing
That must be relieved.

I see an earthquake
That is coming to shake
Every heart and mind
From this lying snake.

As a tongue is released by
The first obedient sounds,
Let the groaning break forth—
Let the seeds break through the ground.

The fields have been planted,
And the Lord sends the rain.
The heavens are being released,
And is washing the stains.

Daughters and sons,
It is time to untie.
Your chains are released;
You have been waiting to fly.

Righteousness spring forth.
The ground is not dead.
Sing out for joy
For Jesus is your head.

O Germany, arise.
O Germany, you will shine.
O Germany you shall release
What has been growing inside.

treasure hunting

Wow. Today was an amazing day. We took a team of staff, interns, and 2nd year students into Limassol for an outreach. We split up into small teams and we walked around on the water front looking for opportunities to pray for people and tell them about God's love. We prayed ahead of time that the Lord would give us specific words and pictures of people that we would meet so that when we saw them we would be ready to speak directly to their hearts what the Lord had shown us beforehand. There were so many testimonies from the day. There was one man with a cast on his hand that got prayed for by five different teams. He started out looking really hard, but was lightening up as more and more people came up to him to tell him about God's love. Later, we were all sitting together having lunch by the water and then this man came walking up to us with another man. He had gone and found a translator so he could find out what it was we were about! Both men were Muslims from Iran, but were so encouraged as the team just poured out on them the truth of God's love for them. We told them about God's healing power and prayed for them in Jesus', the Son of God, name. They were very touched and wanted to find out how they could learn more and where they could go in the future. We were able to invite them to an event in the city coming up, and one of our team members got their phone number so he could follow up. God is so amazing! He took a handful of people from a Messianic ministry to go and used them to touch these Iranian men. God is so good! The great thing is that it wasn't this big event that took lots of preparation. We just drove down to the city with the purpose in our heart to shine God's love around us. You can be used by God at any time and in any place! All you have to do is to make yourself available to Him. Most of the time the people we approached did not even speak English, but we were able to smile and tell them God loves them and pray for them. Well, I hope this encourages you. Step out in faith. You will never go wrong telling people God loves them. It will always be true.

Consecrated Ones

Every morning, here in Cyprus, we begin our day with worship. We believe that every moment should be lived in worship to our God; nevertheless, there is something special and powerful when we come together with the specific purpose of praising our King and seeking His face. The amazing part is that when we seek Him, He comes! Daily we are drawn into His presence and our lives are being changed. There are so many aspects of God and of His love that you can never have enough. His love is wider and deeper and stronger and purer and lovelier than we could ever fully know. The more we gaze at Him in worship, the more of Himself He pours out and we are daily growing more and more hungry for more of Him. Could I use the word “more” anymore? Yes! I want More! I have been in Cyprus now for over 3 weeks, and there is so much I could write about. Already, God has spoken so much to me and kissed me with His presence again and again. Since I cannot possibly tell everything, especially when I am still processing most of it, I will just write a little bit about some special revelation the Lord has been walking me through.
Before worship begins each day, all of the staff and the interns meet in the office for a time of communication and prayer. Most of the time before we even go down to worship we have already had an encounter with the Lord in our staff meeting. Last week, Mrs. Rudolph shared with the staff an exhortation reminding us that we are “consecrated ones.” She said that those of us who are not married do not need to think of our identity as “single” but rather as consecrated ones. As she was sharing, my heart was lit with an excitement deep within. It is not that we are taking any vow of singleness, but it is the fact that we realize what a special time this is that we are able to fully devote ourselves to the One we love—singleness of heart. And this does not apply only to the unmarried, but the married as well can be consecrated to the Lord as ones with singleness of heart towards the Lord. Since I am not married, however, I will write about what this means to me in my state. What a privilege I have to be able to put all of my focus and zeal towards the Lord. I have more time to be filled with His love and healed in His presence so that when the day does come if the Lord should bring to me a partner in this adventure of life, I will be a whole person whose identity is rooted and grounded in God’s love. I am going to give it my all to let my roots go down deep. It is so easy to allow ourselves to be unaware of the days in which we are living. But we must awake! This is not a time to sleep or a time to get comfortable and make our lives nice and cozy. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are part of the Family of God. Your life cannot be lived in isolation from the rest of the Church and God’s plans in this earth. You may be satisfied to know that you are going to Heaven, but God gave us His Holy Spirit and the great commission so that we might play a greater role in this amazing redemption story. God has not made you to be an extra taking up space on the stage of life—He has created you to play an irreplaceable role with deeper significance than it may at first appear. It does not matter where you were born or what your background is, He is ready to fill your life with more meaning and purpose than you could ever hope for yourself. With this in mind, my excitement continues to grow as I begin to see myself as a consecrated one. We are so close to Yeshua’s (Jesus’) return. I am locking my gaze on Him and not looking around to try to find things to fill my life. My life is not my own. I lay it down gladly for the One who laid His life down for me. I am marching to the rhythm of His love wherever it leads. I am choosing to lay myself down on His table and ask Him to do surgery on my heart. He may cut away anything and everything that is not from Him. All of the hopes, dreams, and plans I have for my life, I present to Him as a gift. Because of His amazing love, I know I can FULLY trust Him with my all. I lay down all expectations and choose to follow Him. I pray that I would be found willing even unto death. I love Jesus. I love Abba, Father God. And I know that He loves me and His plans for me are good. I am part of the Jacob generation who will seek His face.