Is that time of the year again, time to say bye bye...

For those of you who don’t know yet we are going back to California this Sunday to do the 2^nd year of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry so, it’s almost time to say good bye to friends and family before we head back, but before that, there’s still time for one last blog update, we hope you guys enjoy it.

Summer in Ireland

So this summer has been a great one for both Christine and I, we were really looking forward to come home and spend some good quality time with family and friends, which we did, and also to partner with what God is doing here and to pour everything we’ve learned last year into what’s happening here.

Since we got home, we were amazed by how people are so hungry for more of God, it was fun to just run with what’s happening here, we feel that there’s so much momentum in the Land, all over the place people are speaking one language and carrying one statement, and that is, ‘Let your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth, in Ireland, as it is in Heaven’, and I believe that this is just too attractive to God.

This summer we had amazing opportunities to speak at different meetings, pray for people and prophesy, and everywhere we went we were so encouraged by people. We want to thank everyone for all the encouragement, support, and opportunities, it meant a lot to us, all of it, and it was a lot of fun to just run with you guys and partner with what God is doing around the place. We had the privilege to meet some amazing people and we are looking forward to keep developing relationships and walk this journey together.

Another great thing this summer was to be able to get involved with worship around the place, Christine was really looking forward to be reunited with her keyboard and we had a lot of fun worshiping our Daddy with our brothers and sisters. We also got the opportunity to start doing some outreach with our church here-Emmanuel, Belfast through a tool we learnt in Bethel called ‘treasure hunts’. Basically we all meet up and ask God for clues (words of knowledge) about where to go, who we are going to meet and anything they might want prayer for- we are finding Gods treasures!! We got the opportunity to pray for healing for people, encourage many and just share the love of God with all we encountered. Here is a great testimony from Kathryn and Ryan from one of the mornings we were out:

“One of the clues we had was the name ‘Ashley’ and we also had McDonalds as one of the clues so we went there and checked out the people sitting outside, no-one really stood out to us so we went in and Ryan decided he would buy a milkshake, as he was ordering, he then started to say to the guy "we were praying before we came out today and asked God to lead us to people to meet because He has things to say to you and I feel like it might be you" I looked at the guys name badge and yep it was called Ashley. He said "who has things to say to me?" And we said "God" he took a step back and was said "wow....my mum just became a Christian a month ago and I've been really looking into it, I've been reading the Bible and had been looking into other religions" 2 of the other McDonalds staff then leaned in to hear our conversation, we just affirmed him in his search for God and told him that it was pretty obvious that God was looking for him, he was visibly moved and said that he would be thinking about it all day!

Who knew God loved McDonalds?!!!”

People everywhere are hungry for something more and its so surprising how open so many people are. These guys are going to continue to go out and we’re so excited to here all the amazing things that are going to happen when they just step out!

Enjoying some quality fun time with Hannah and David during the summer. 

2^nd year

So after an amazing summer we are now ready to go back for more!! The 2^nd year program is focused on training and raising up leaders to be able to bring and sustain a revival culture. We also get to really focus on areas we feel called to and want to grow in as well as being given a lot more responsibility such as leading the first years in outreach and mission trips. Another great thing about 2^nd year is that we get the opportunity to travel with some of the Bethel leaders/pastors on their ministry trips to different churches/conferences as part of their ministry team, we’re both really excited about that.

We really feel that long term this year will be really beneficial and a great investment into our future ministry and all we feel called to do in Brazil (and Ireland). We are so excited about this amazing opportunity and want to really thank everyone who has supported us both financially and prayerfully to get us here!! Thank you!!

Well, that’s it for now, but we can’t wait to keep you all updated in all God is about to do in our lives this year, and looking forward to hear all that is happening back home.

See you guys on the other side of the big river (the Atlantic).

Lots of love.

The Oliveiras

Unconditional Love calls sons and daughters back home.

So the story is familiar to most of us, a father and his two sons, the youngest son came to his father and asked for his share of the family’s money. The father, rather than try to control, punish or manipulate his son out of the idea, decides to let the son have his way, and so the drama begins.

With all the money he has, the son takes off to a far way land and treats himself with the best money can buy, and with that, he wastes all his wealth in wild living, and to make things worse, a famine hits the land and the whole country goes broke.

In the midst of that recession and with no money left, the only thing left for him was to find a job at a local farm feeding pigs and with a salary so low that he couldn’t even afford to eat what the pigs were eating.

As he hit the bottom, he remembered the life he had at his father’s house, and realized that even his father’s servant had a better life than he now has. One last desperate idea comes to mind, go back to his dad’s land and beg for his dad to give him at least a place to stay and a job to pay for his living, after all, he realizes that the way he treated his father was so dishonoring, that he wasn’t even worthy to be called a son anymore, much more be treated like one. As sad and humiliating as it was to go back with nothing and defeated, he takes off and heads back to his father’s house.

Once he gets close to his fathers house, his father sees him, and moved with compassion, he runs to his son, threw his arms around him and kisses him. The son then turns to his father and says: ‘Father, I made a big mistake, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; but please, make me like one of your hired servants.’

But the father turned to his workers and shouts: ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! Hurry, Let’s celebrate!!’

I’m not sure how long it took from the moment this kid left his father’s house to the moment he returned, but during this time way from his father’s presence, love and care, he went from a place where he knew he had rights over everything his father owned to a place where he was gonna have to work and perform to be treated as a servant. See, this kid has now a new mindset, he thinks and sees the world differently. A son became a performer, trying to work hard to earn something he once had for free. A son goes from a place of abundance to a place of survival, just like that. And he knew he deserved that. He came back to the father’s house indeed, but not as a son, but as a servant, as a performer.

Here’s the thing, what this kid didn’t expect to find was his father’s unconditional love towards him. That despite everything he did, he was still a son, he was still family. His survival mindset brought him back as a servant, a performer, but unconditional love made him a son again.

Truth is, if we just look around, we’ll see that all over the place sons and daughters are trying to find their way back into the father’s house, performing and working their way into some sort of affection, acceptance and love. They are everywhere, in our families, workplaces, schools and yes, in our churches. To be honest, sometimes we are the ones walking in those shoes and in need of that love.

So to finish it off, here are the big questions; what would happen if we start to walk in unconditional love? What if, just like the father in the story, we celebrate, champion and fully accept people as they are and love them into a place of true relationship with the Father God?

And two, What if we become fully aware of the unconditional love that has been lavished on us everyday of our lives? What if we open ourselves up to accept that there’s nothing we can do to separate us from the love of God?

Today unconditional love is not only calling us back home, but is also giving us permission to let go of all striving and performance and live in the fullness of our greatest purpose, which is intimacy, as sons and daughters, with our heavenly Father.

Unconditional love is always calling sons and daughters back home, and today is a great day to walk in unconditional love.

Daniel