Celebration for the Nations 2009 Report
17th July - 5th August
Hallelujah!
First of all a big THANK YOU to the Lord Jesus Christ! His Presence made the Celebration very special.
A report can only touch the fringes of all that the Lord did over these last few weeks, but we do want to thank each person who was involved. Many put in weeks and months of work, in prayer, in administration, in practical preparation, in stewarding, counselling etc. The worship leaders and groups were amazing. Again it was so wonderful to work with people who were not concerned about making a name for themselves, but in glorying in the Lord's great name. Praise God and thank you everyone!
First Love
For many of us the Celebration has brought us back to the joy of our first love with the Lord. So many have spoken of spiritual refreshment as we have given ourselves to worship Jesus.
The Lord promises those who return to their first love will have the right to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7). Let's take time to sit in the shade of that wonderful Tree of Life, and eat its fruit. The tree is the Lord Jesus himself, who is the source of all life. The fruit of his Spirit is 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control'.
In the busyness of our lives let's take time deliberately to lean our backs against the strong trunk of the Tree of Life, finding refreshment in its shade and taste each wonderful part of His fruit. He wants to feed us, as a lover feeds his beloved. Let's continue to celebrate by feeding on the wonder of his love for us, his joy over us,(despite all our mistakes and sins), his peace that he shares with us even in the storms, his great and wonderful patience towards us ... and so on. This Tree of Life is eternal! As we eat the fruit, we find that we too have fruit to give others.
A word from the Nottingham Worship Team leader
'I think it's fair to say that it was one of the best week of our lives in regards to family time and spiritual renewal. We all gained tremendously by meeting and sharing and generally drawing closer to Jesus.
As a result we have now changed our lifestyle to suit our new spiritual habits. We have decided to push other stuff out and we try and meet as a family to have half hour of prayer and worship each morning and evening together. Furthermore others from our church have asked if they can join us on some of the evening prayer times. God spoke to me and is continuing to do so more over the Celebration week than ever before.
We have decided that we will be coming to the Celebration next year. I would not want to miss spending such a glorious week with God and his people for anything.
Salvation
There were a number of people who prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour again this year. Several teenagers made commitments at the Open Air on the Tuesday night of the first week. That evening was special from the start. The weather forecast had been heavy rain. We commanded the rain to stop by 3pm, so that equipment could be set up. Though it rained all around (we had teams in Swansea and some surrounding villages that afternoon) Llanelli stayed dry from 3pm onwards, and that evening the sun shone!
Others made commitments through the week, including some Koreans who realised that up until then they had followed a religion rather than getting to know the person of their Creator Jesus.
Sacrifice
Each person who came to the Celebration had a story to tell. Some gave up jobs to come. One widowed mother sold her insurance policies to come. When she arrived she saw beautiful hanging designs conveying the shape of a dance that the Lord had given her as she prepared to come. What beautiful confirmation that he accepted her sacrifice! Some came with no money, even to eat, and through the hard work and generosity of the London Korean churches everyone was provided for!
Welsh Youth
This year it was our joy to see Welsh young people begin to express their love and worship to the Lord in the Celebration. Suddenly in one meeting, some of them started to run round with all their might lifting banners and singing His praises. Some did cartwheels of joy as we worshipped; others skipped and laughed. It was wonderful to see and be part of.
Little ad hoc bible studies started on the edges of the meeting as unsaved friends were drawn in by the Presence of the King of Kings.
TRIBE came across from Swansea and helped us in the Open Air. Many of them have been saved out of very broken backgrounds. They gave testimonies and had fun, making a positive impact on the local youth. Next year they are talking about sharing church floor space with some of the Korean youth, and joining us for the whole week.
Apostolic Churches
The Apostolic church started in West Wales as a direct result of the 1904 Welsh Revival. They have grown phenomenally, particularly in Africa. The Welsh churches are often healthy but small. We were able to take a coach load of Celebrators each afternoon to pray at locations with local pastors and church members.
Joint Sunday Service
The first Sunday of the Celebration was special in that we were joined by many from local churches. It has been a blessing this year to be working more closely with some of the local churches.
Digging deeper
The leaders felt satisfied that this year we had returned to the original vision to simply worship the Lord, to sing to the wells. We feel that our worship is digging deeper into the hard ground and the Lord is encouraging us to keep going!
North Koreans
It was very special to have ten North Koreans in the Celebration this year, including one pastor. We feel it is prophetic that they celebrate the Lord's goodness with us in Wales, and that together we cry for the reopening of the wells of revival in Pyongyang. There is a holy link between Korea and Wales, and unfinished business in the Kingdom of God! More Welsh Christians are now beginning to pray for North Korea.
Celebration London
Many more London-based Koreans were able to come to the London meetings. We were able to continue to worship, and also pray for North Korea in particular. In the international meeting at Marsham Street, Westminster, we were joined by the team leader of the London Global Day of Prayer. We hope to work more closely with them next year.
Placements
Eleven teams went out from the Celebration this year. Two left straight after the first week to go to China and Tibet. The other nine left after a couple of days' training in London, four to England and five to Wales.
It was lovely to hear some of the testimonies from the placements. One young man realised that evangelism could be fun! Many people were prayed for and received gospel literature. Old and young were touched by the zeal of Korean youth given over to the Lord. Maybe next year more Welsh will be involved!
Future
Leaders will get together (or possibly via internet) in September to pray and plan for the next Celebration. Please pray for us. Our thoughts at present are to continue with the Selwyn Samuel Centre as the main venue.
See for yourself
Enter again into some of the worship and look at photos at www.celebrationforthenations.org
Remember that the Celebration does not finish just because we can't all be together. Keep celebrating Jesus' victory and praying for his streams of life to flow through you! He is worthy all the time!
With love and deep thanks to you all in Christ,
Gail and the Celebration team.
