11/29/2018
Newsletter
REAL JOY MINISTY
Col. 3:15-17 “AND LET THE PEACE OF GOD RULE IN YOUR HEARTS, TO WHICH ALSO YOU WERE CALLED IN ONE BODY AND BE THANKFUL. LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY IN ALL WISDOM, TEACHING AND ADMONISHING ONE ANOTHER IN PSALMS AND HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING WITH GRACE IN YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD. AND WHATEVER YOU DO IN WORD OR DEED, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIM.
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2018
DEAR FRIENDS AND PARTNERS:
We greet you in the wonderful name of our Savior Jesus Christ who is active in and through our lives. Since we are too late to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, we are wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving Season. Sometimes we take our blessings for granted and it is wonderful to have a special time of thanking God for all He has done for us. The greatest blessing being the gift of eternal salvation purchased by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
This last month has gone by like a v***r. We arrived from our trip to Canada on October17th and on the 22nd Jackie had so called minor surgery which required a longer period of recuperation than she expected. Before that was over, we had the shock of the mass murder of thirteen in Thousand Oaks, one of the safest cities in the country where we raised our children. The next day the Woolsey fire started about 30 miles from where we live and it continued spreading over many days until it reached our neighborhood. The fire was very close and we were evacuated but only for one day; the firemen and the sheriffs and policemen did an awesome job during one special night of taming the flames which left the hills around us burnt black. Our daughter, Carole, and family were evacuated and came to our house but the next day, we were evacuated so we all had to leave. They had a real miracle, everything is burnt to a crisp all around their house but the fire stopped at their doorstep. Their vineyard, fences, gates, trees are all burned but the house is intact. Our granddaughter Nicole stayed with us over a week because the smell of smoke made her sick. We are all extra thankful for being spared as we also pray for those who lost everything and the families of those who lost their lives.
We received many phone calls from Europe, Canada, and the U.S. because the two fires could be easily confused by the television reports. The worst fire called the Camp fire was in Northern California which is undreds of miles from us. It was the most devastating fire ever recorded with much loss of life and property.
Jackie tried several times to write this letter but we had computer problems, one of them was being hacked by someone who was using their knowledge of computers for evil. We had it cleaned up and repaired so she is starting to write again.
Our trip to Montreal was a tasted of heaven; we experienced such a strong anointing of the Holy Spirit that is only possible when there is hunger, love and unity, instead of strife and division. We landed in Burlington, VT, rented a car and drove to our first stop which was spending the week-end with our dear friends of many years, Jacques and Nicole Phillibert who pastor Un Refuge Sous Ses Aisles ( A Refuge under His Wings). We met through Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship when Jacques was a dentist who became President of FGBMFI over all Canada and later became a pastor. I remember when he would invite and pay for a whole table at a dinner and they all would come forward and receive the Lord.
The church is not a regular church but more of a training center. Nicole has just started an intercession group which meets every two weeks for serious intercessors coming from different churches. They really travail as they cry out to God for revival and pray for Canada and their government. The meeting on Sunday was so filled with power that we could barely walk as we prayed for everyone. After we were all done, people started giving testimonies of what God has done and if was midafternoon when we left. One precious testimony is what the Holy Spirit did for a precious friend. Jackie was walking around to see who else needed prayer when she saw this friend on the floor as I had already prayed for her. Jackie bent down sensing that it was not all done, laid her hand on her and started praying. She went through a very deep deliverance and said that she had suffered from a fear of speaking boldly specially in public. She got up, took the microphone and started sharing real loud like she had never done. Jacques was blowing the shofar; another man was also delivered of the same spirit. Everyone was clapping, It was quite a meeting.
Every year, we ministered at a church in Laval West pastored by Jean Marc Menard and his wife Francine. Shortly after our last visit last year, Jean Marc’s battle with cancer was over and he went to his heavenly reward. He used to call me his twin brother because we looked alike, except that he was much
younger. He really was the wheel that made everything run and his wife found herself unable to continue. She sold the building, paid off the mortgage, and started a home meeting; I told her we would come and help her. This was our first time and the meeting was attended by a small committed group who stuck together after the church closed. It was a sweet meeting attended by the Holy Spirit as we brought faith and encouragement and laid hands and prayed for each person for which they were very grateful.
We met with different pastors just to spend time with them having fellowship and showing love and encouragement. Pastoring is hard work, it is mostly giving and not too much receiving. In turn, we were so blessed being with them and receiving from them as well. We also spent as much time as we could with my sister, Pierrette. She is still doing well, and even better each time we see her. She gets checked every six months and the results are good, no cancer. Thanks be to God!.
Our last week-end was spent in St-Hubert. We stayed with our dear friends, Claude and Lisette Morin who live minutes from the church were we were going to minister; Eglise Alliance et Vie pastored by Odette and Leo Menard. Those days were the culmunation of a most blessed trip, sort of the whipped. whipped cream on top. We are so blessed with the special relationships that the Lord has given us. It is
not something man can do, it goes much deeper than that because it is God given. We receive so much love in this church that it cannot be explained, but just felt. They cheer and clap at everything we say, we get filled up with so much love from the pastors and the people. During the two meetings we both shared what was on our hearts and that strong anointing of the Holy Spirit just enveloped us in power and love. We prayed for everyone, most ended up on the floor and stayed there for a long time. Jackie and I walked around and prayed for healing and deliverance as the Lord touched His people and met their needs.
This church is not a normal church either, to say the least. It is a prophetic church, the dance teams that travel all over the world training other groups are also prophetic, the worship is prophetic as well as the teaching. There is a pre-service meeting which allows people to prophesy over individuals, while being taught and mentored on their accuracy. There is a flowing and freedom in the Holy Spirit that is very unusual and it is easy to flow with it. During worship, which is awesome, the small children are in front worshipping, as well as the whole church, and learning to dance as they copy the team which is on stage. Over the years, we have seen many of these children grow up and join the worship teams; there’s a new crop developing all the time.
About thirty years ago, I met Pastors Odette and Leo at a Full Gospel Business Men’s meeting where I was the speaker. Before they even head me speak, they asked me to come speak at the church they had just started. They were not really accepted by the church at large because of the prophetic and the dance teams. They told me their church was considered a sect but I said “Yes I’ll come”. I loved them and the church immediately and they felt the same way; we have been going back ever since. It is a different story now, they are invited to teach and the dance teams are invited by many countries to share what they have. They paid a price to be frontrunners for Jesus and going forward fearing God and not men. We went to lunch with the pastors ending our day about 5 p.m. in wonderful sharing of love and fellowship, leaving with our hearts full of the love of Jesus.
Our last two days were spent with Claude and Lisette who took us to a house on Lake Champlain which was our favorite place during our dating years. The autumn leaves were filled with color and we had a good time of fellowship. It was even close to the airport so we didn’t have far to go to Burlington the next morning.
We give all the glory to our Lord Jesus for what He has done on this trip. We do the physical but we know that only He can do the work that will change lives, which we have seen on this trip. Demons flee at the name of Jesus, broken hearts are healed, the captives are set free and the glory of God is made manifest as the name of Jesus is lifted up.
We love you our partners and friends, we appreciate you, and we thank you for your loving support and prayers. The prayers of the saints avail much, for which we are witnesses. We were physically well and able to fulfill our assignments, my back held up with the driving and standing for hours to preach and pray for each one. We are very grateful for what God has done in answer to prayer.
In hIS Service,
Ray & Jackie Brooks
PRAYER LIST & SCHEDULE
11-29 TO 12-5 FRIENDS FROM SWITZERLAND AT OUR HOME
12-4............... JACKIE SPEAKING AT SIMI VALLEY WOMEN’S AGLOW 4346 SPRINGFIELD, 9AM COFFEE, 9 45 MEETING
2-16.............. ARROYO GRANDE-OASIS CHURCH 6.30 P.M. 1562 W. GRAND-PASTOR JOHN FRADY
2-17.............. PASO ROBLES 10 A.M. FAMILY WORSHIP CENTER-616 CRESTON RD-PASTOR PAT SHEEAN