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.

November 25, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

            Six years ago I set out for Cyprus for the very first time. I was 19 years old and in my first year after high school. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew I was excited. It did not take long for me to realize that it is possible to feel so at home and have such love for two places. I love my home and family and church and feel so alive and fulfilled here; nevertheless, I felt the same feelings almost immediately in Cyprus with the Gateways Beyond ministry. It is not so surprising really because what draws me to both places is the Spirit of the Living God and the love in the people and community. The Gateways Training School in 2003 was a pivotal step in my journey as God established so many things in my heart concerning my destiny, His love, and the passions He has placed inside of me. I went back to Cyprus in 2004 in order to do the second year internship. This was truly a special time in my life. I grew closer to my friends, more deeply connected to the ministry, and more certain of my calling to the nations.

            After the internship, I went through a bit of a struggle over what to do next. I felt strongly that I was supposed to have a season of serving alongside the staff of Gateways Beyond and joining in the vision of the ministry; however, I also knew that college was something very important to me and for equipping me further for God’s Kingdom. So, I decided not to go back immediately but to come home and focus my energy on finishing school. This was also a pivotal decision in my life. I was able to be back home with my family, be involved with Shady Grove Church, and immerse myself in studies. My time at Dallas Baptist University was more than I had hoped for. I was very involved on campus with the University Honors Program and Sigma Tau Delta (the English Honor Society). I was challenged in so many ways and know I will always cherish the friendships I made with my fellow students and my professors. I even made my mark at DBU by being the first graduate of the new University Honors Program and you can find my senior thesis, “Transforming Tales: C.S. Lewis, Imaginative Literature, and Character Formation,” in the school library, although I think it is probably very dusty right now.

            As graduation approached, I thought the time was coming for me to go back to Cyprus, but my timing was a little off. The Lord opened the door for me to help lead Life Walk, the discipleship school at Shady Grove. Most of you receiving this letter already have read about Life Walk and our amazing trip to China this summer. So, I will just say that, once again, the Lord showed me that His plan is even greater than what I can dream up for myself. Life Walk was such a training ground for me, and I feel so enriched by the year I was blessed to spend with each student and the director. Just writing this brings back so many memories and makes me miss each of them.

            Life Walk ended for the year in May and I have been working ever since. The Lord is so faithful and in this time of global economic hardship I am blessed not only just to have a job, but also to have a job that I greatly enjoy. I am working at the Four Seasons Resort Dallas in Los Colinas and get to meet so many other staff from around the world. Many would not want to let go of such a job in these times, but I know I can trust in God; and now, once again, my path is shifting. After much prayer and submitting myself to the counsel and covering of my parents and other godly leaders in my life, I feel that the time has come for me to return to Cyprus and work with the Gateways Beyond ministry. I will be going in January and will be on staff. I will be returning after 4 ½ years and I know things will be different. Both I and the community in Cyprus have grown and changed in so many ways. I feel like I am both returning home and going to a new place entirely. I am so excited and humbled to have this opportunity!

            So here I am, just a month and a half left to go, and so much to do. I do not yet know what my exact responsibilities will be this year in Cyprus, but I can offer a glimpse of what I will be involved in. GBI has both a first year discipleship school and a second year school. It also has an internship program for students returning a third year. In whatever capacity I serve, be it hands on with one of these programs or administratively, I will daily be active in helping disciple the students and interns. I will also likely be living with some of the girls and leading a small group. For 2009, I will be in Cyprus from January to June. Sometime around March we will spend a month in Israel, and at the end of the school we will go to another country for a month-long outreach. These trips are always so powerful and transforming in our lives and in the lives we touch.

            Your friendship means so much to me and I am so grateful for the many people who have touched my life. As I go forth to the nations, I believe that the way so many of you have blessed me, God will bless many others. I would love to keep in touch as I travel. I started a blog online where I will post regular updates and other things I want to write about. It is at http://www.hiddenroyalty.blogspot.com. You can also keep up with me through email. If you would pray for me and this ministry whenever we come to mind, I know there will be many times that your prayers will change the very circumstances we are facing. You can also help me by spreading word to anyone you know that may need an online English tutor or need some proofreading or editing done. These are things that I can do via the internet and earn a little money here and there, as I will be volunteering and not receiving a salary for six months. Also, if the Lord would lead you to sow financially, I would be so blessed by your gift. Anything you give will go to help cover my monthly base fees and our trip to Israel and the outreach. You can give easily online by going to the website www.gatewaysbeyond.org and following the link “Donate,” or you can send a check made payable to Gateways Beyond to Gateways Beyond PO Box 155101 Ft. Worth, TX 76155 with a separate note attached saying it is for me. Both options are tax-deductable. If you would like to make a monthly commitment for these six months please let me know to help me keep track of everything. My monthly fees will be 350 Euros and it would be so wonderful if this was covered through monthly commitments.

            Once again, thank you for being who you are and for investing into my life. And thank you for reading this letter. Please write to me what is going on in your life and how I can pray for you. May you be blessed in all you do, and may you endeavor to honor the Lord in word and in deed.

Your friend and sister in Messiah,

Hannah Briscoe

hannahbriscoe@yahoo.com

(682)559-9351 (until I leave)

2414 Axminster Drive

Grand Prairie, TX 75050

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup is so delicious, yet how often I forget that fact. If chicken noodle soup had feelings I think it would feel very used and forgotten. I mean, we always turn to it when we are not feeling good or maybe if we are having a grilled cheese sandwich, but the rest of the time we (or at least many of us I am sure) completely forget about it, or we decide that it is not appetizing enough for an ordinary day. Well, I for one am thankful for this soup and confess that I take it for granted. It is always there for me when I don't feel so good and it always makes me feel warm and cozy. So, if you haven't decided what to have for lunch, you might consider opening up a can of Cambell's (or Kroger brand, it's yummy too) chicken noodle soup. I think you will be glad that you did. Whatever you eat, I hope you feel warm and cozy and good inside.

sleeping in

Sleeping in on my day off--good idea or bad idea? I can't decide. When I am in bed I think it is a lovely and grand idea. But when I get up and think how short my day will be, I think it was a bad idea. I didn't sleep in that late, only kinda late, so I think I can call it a comfortable compromise.