Originally posted Jan. 2007

It seems like it has been quite a while since we connected with you. Life flows so quickly and easily slips away, whether we are busy or at rest. In order to spread the kingdom of God over all the earth we need both times of work and times of rest. We so delight in having the tent erected, meeting new people and renewing friendships, each one sharing about what the Lord is doing in our lives, how we have grown and how we haven't, (oops!) and worshipping our Father together. Praying with our old and new friends is a central point of our evenings in the tent.

When the tent goes up ,our meetings usually begin for us around 3pm by loading it with all our instruments. In some cities we have a morning prayer meeting. Often, when we are set up in the "not so beautiful" areas of a town, we must remove the entire sound system each night and reload it the next day. Then we practice music; this is our only chance to practice as we do not have space large enough to accommodate all our equipment together. Next, we spend some valuable time in prayer, we try to involve as many people as are interested to pray for the meetings and for the particular area where we are located. The 7pm meeting begins with worship, followed by teaching, and finally individual prayer. Quite often, folks will stay and visit for a while. The usual duration of a set up is from one week to 30 days. These longer setups allow for deeper trust, the feeling of unity among the people, and more intimate occasions with the Lord. It is difficult to take down and leave an area, as our hearts have been intertwined with the kinsmen (good word!) of the territory; we have spent each night pressing into the heart of God together.

Matthew 22:37-40 is our mandate.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

We establish a temporary tabernacle for people to come and meet with their Creator: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Providing an extended time of worship is one avenue of encountering the Lord. Much of our ministry is "one on one" relationships. Our lives are so busy and complicated that there is little time for esteem.ing one another. We try to fill that void in the lives we touch. The Lord has blessed us with the ability to reach out to those who will accept our love. Actually, it is HIS love as expressed through our family. The world is lacking a safe place where one can feel valued and cherished. As we go in our day to day business, we naturally touch the lives of others. For example, we are staying at the fairgrounds in Mount Vernon, Washington, where the gracious management allows the local jail to send prisoners to work on the property. This group is the perfect example of workplace ministry, but have no need to label their mission as such. One of the prisoners was drawn to our family. After some prayer and counsel, he and his sister now know their savior and are involved in a local church. That is another avenue of encountering God. These people knew absolutely nothing about the Lord! It is difficult to imagine that in our country. But America is changing face, so we need to be ready to open the truth to the lost. No, we aren't perfect, and yes, we do make plenty of mistakes. After ten years ministering on the road, we have learned much, but we continue receiving from those more "seasoned" than we. The moment we think we know it all is the beginning of failure.

Something we have learned from those seasoned ones is that there is a very necessary piece of life called rest.
Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For He who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

If we are really serious about the kingdom of heaven on earth, we must be just as serious about being in that place with God where the Holy Spirit is the Light that shines through us and..... "We're ok with that!" That is resting in Him. Performance, striving to make things happen, trying to convince the Lord to follow us, worrying about why this person didn't show up at the meeting, and countless other struggles are situations where we are no longer at rest . Just as Abraham made the decision that maybe God needed his assistance to produce an heir for him, because he and Sarah were getting on in age, we jump out in our own strength and create worthless Ishmaels. We have nursed plenty of them.

There are spiritual places of rest and physical seasons of rest. Both are required. After we take down the tent we can't just go back home, so we must find a place to regroup, rest, and seek our Father for more. Recently, Theron, Calvin and Shiloh remarked "We never have any fun." So we decided to change that. We were on Vancouver Island for the Youth Fest in July and August. We took the opportunity to scout around the island and actually experience its beauty. After 10 years of two week trips, we spent the time to make some deeper relationships and found new ones, too. What a blessing! We had so much fun being with our Canadian friends. We had the opportunity to lead worship with our friends at the Foursquare church in Campbell River. They love to worship our King! The church was, and still is, going through transition as our pastor friends were leaving after 25 years. They will be missionaries in Costa Rica and are so excited. We were even blessed to attend one of our friend's wedding. Later, we set up the tent downtown, right on the Strait of Georgia. Many people were impacted by the presence of God. So this year was our favorite one in Campbell River, BC. Even though an incident occurred on the last night of tent meetings, we felt it was actually a confirmation that we were supposed to be there. Someone cut 2 long slits in the side curtains of the tent. It was shocking to us, as this is the first time for such an attack.

Our next meetings were scheduled for Orcas Island, WA. We took advantage of the half price ferry from Victoria to the Islands. We set up the tent on Orcas, and had some good worship times with some dear friends that will be in our hearts always. A very special woman who had been searching all of her life, met her Savior during the meetings. So how do we explain the Heartbeat of Jesus Ministries? It does not fit into any category; we simply take what the Lord has given us and use it to His glory. Being faithful to Him is our mission. Jesus came to set the captives free, to reestablish our relationship with our Father, to teach us how to care for one another, along with countless other reasons. His mission is our mission. Just a word of encouragement: Are you completing what He has called you to do? Time is short and growing briefer each day. We should be looking forward to those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord."

Currently, we are in Mount Vernon, WA. doing repairs. We have been to a few churches, as we do in each city, but found one that is very special. The group is mostly young people that totally love the Lord. We have done worship with them whenever needed. The Lord connects us with local believers wherever we go. If we can just leave a fresh breath from our Father, we have done what He wanted.

Did you ask, "What kind of repairs are we doing?"... The silver bullet trailer has served us well for 4 years. It is 7000 lbs overweight and was showing by bulging sides, tires, and axles. An executive decision was made that our old faithful companion needed to have a place to retire. It will be a sad parting. Theron was bunking in it along with the molded and mildewed carpets that were causing him lung problems. Allen diligently searched for a suitable replacement trailer, but they were too expensive for our budget. He finally decided to put a 22 ft box on the back of one of the trucks. Good idea, but lots of work! The axles have to be extended, which means drive lines lengthened, muffler moved from upright position to horizontal and various other restructuring.

A good friend who was in the tent ministry sold his tent and just happened to have a truck with the box we needed on it. Thanks to him, that same box will soon be sitting on top of the back of our extended bed truck and filled with our equipment. Thanks to another good friend, that same truck will be pulling our conference room where all executive decisions will be made... in other words, Theron's new living quarters, separate from the mildew and mold in the equipment trailer. Our Lord has come through once again for us. It is simply amazing; He never leaves us stranded or lets us down. He is forever faithful to His sons and daughters.

We were part of the floods in the Northwest last week. Your prayers are very much coveted. We feel many changes coming and desire to be ready and flexible when He directs.

Thank you so very much for sowing your love, support and prayers for our family. You, too, will reap. We will continue to say, "Somehow, somewhere, someday we'll see you on the road again!"
May God bless you according to His love for you. (Get ready, that is mountain moving stuff!")

The Walz Family
Cheryl