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From
Ruach to The Rock: The Shetland Saga |
The names of the
two houses that we lived in on Shetland – Ruach and
The Rock – represent the twin poles of our
spirituality. We are called to move in the power of
the Spirit (Ruach), but in a way that is constantly
undergirded by the Word of God (The Rock).
Towards the end of 2001, an unexpected opportunity
arose for us to consider heading north for a sojourn
on Shetland. It was not only an unexpected and
dramatic summons, but, as it needed to be, a
multi-stranded call.
Our first hint that something radical was about to
happen came when a couple came to pray with us. They
brought us a prophetic word that our lives had been
proceeding in one direction, but that we were about
to experience a complete change of course. They also
warned that we would need to set our faces like
flint for it to come about.
We had no idea what this meant. The Lord had gone to
such great lengths to give us our present house and
ministry that it had never crossed our minds to
think that we might one day leave them behind. When
Ros discovered that there was an immediate vacancy
on Shetland for the post of Senior Clinical Midwife,
however, the peace of the Lord came on us, and she
felt led to apply for it.
The Lord impressed on us that this would be a
sojourn rather than a permanent move, but it
represented such a radical move that we felt the
need to set a seemingly impossible fleece. We prayed
that if the Lord really was in this change of
course, He would provide at least one point of
continuity by causing our friend Anna, who looked
after our two-year old son, to be willing to move to
Shetland too.
On the basis that there is nothing to be gained by
building castles in the air, we rang Anna together
to see how she would feel about such an idea. There
was an audible gasp at the other end of the line.
Although she had never breathed a word about this to
us, it turned out that she had already received a
call to Shetland herself some years previously! She
had already paid several visits to the island, and
was actively looking for a way to get there.
As I was praying with a friend about what I would do
when we got to Shetland, she began to speak in a
tongue that I partially understood as a result of
having studied ancient Romance languages at
university. Amongst other things, the Lord spoke of
His help in the venture, and of my writing
illuminated manuscripts during the sojourn.
In due time we sent out a huge number of
publications that blended words and photographs of
the beautiful Shetland Islands. I found the word
‘sojourn’ particularly interesting. Apart from its
primary meaning as a ‘stay of unknown duration,’ the
Latin dictionary I consulted said that it could also
mean a ‘standing still,’ a ‘post,’ a ‘residency,’
and a ‘religious assembly or meeting.’ This
versatile word perfectly encapsulated the heart of
my calling: to stand before the Lord in prayer, to
send out teaching insights, and to organize an
international prayer conference.
Other confirmations quickly flooded in. At one of
our regular retreats, a friend had a picture of an
island attached to the mainland of Shetland by a
bridge. As if to highlight how closely linked
revelations and action are meant to be, the Lord
later went on to guide this man to purchase Ruach, a
wonderful modern house for us to have the use of
during our sojourn. Ruach, of course, means ‘breath,
wind of Spirit’ of God. We renamed our ministry
after it.
We loved Shetland, but it took time to adjust to a
lifestyle that was as far removed from our previous
twenty years of largely itinerant ministry as the
north is from the south. Six or seven months after
arriving, we heard about a word that had been given
back in 1997, when God had spoken specifically
during a meeting of Scandinavian intercessors about
a strategic conference that would bring Scandinavian
and British intercessors together to pray for
Europe. The word specified that the conference was
to be held on Shetland. This surprising choice
actually makes a good deal of sense if you turn the
map of the North Atlantic upside down. It is very
clear then that Shetland is the northern gateway to
Europe!
Back in 2001 we had organized two national days of
prayer in the United Kingdom: Fight for this Nation
and Britain and Ireland United in Prayer. We quickly
realized that the Lord wanted us to take up the
baton, and to bring this conference to birth.
Eventually, Fire from the North drew together
intercessors from more than twenty-five different
islands and nations.
We knew nothing about all this, however, when we
sailed north for Shetland in a violent February
gale. As is so often the case when following the
Lord’s leading, obedience precedes understanding!
One year after moving to Ruach, the Lord surprised
us by calling us to purchase our own house. He
showed us clearly the one He had in mind: a large
modern building called The Rock, that overlooked a
stunning voe (fjord). He told both of us the price
we should bid for it, but warned that there were
other people after the property whom He did not want
to acquire it. Months later, we met the couple
concerned. They had been planning to develop it as a
New Age Centre. Amazingly, they had bid the same
amount for it that we did, minus the small change in
our pocket! Once again, the word of the Lord proved
true.
Meanwhile, He had not forgotten Ruach. The Lord
completed the loop when some dear friends felt
called to Shetland, and moved into the house just
three weeks after we vacated it – and they are
making far more creative use of this beautiful house
than we could ever have done.
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