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GIGUE

There is a reason little girls dream of being princesses and little boys dream of daring sword fights. The fairy tales and adventure stories we grew up with are echoes of a truth that runs deeper than what we feel and see with our physical eyes. Our imaginations connect with the truth of our identity. With this in mind, we themed our first Gigue “Story Book.” For those of you not familiar, “Gigue” is the word we have used to mean a night of great fun and creativity. This is a cherished tradition in the community. On Gigue night, the whole community comes together for a night of entertainment. We all perform for each other and express the talents, gifting, and creativity God has placed inside of us. There are songs, skits, poems, dances, videos, and pretty much anything someone can think of in the way of performance. We had amazing participation this past Sunday evening and fun was had by all.

CREATIVE WORSHIP AND STUDENT JOURNALS

Creativity is so important to us because we were created in the image of God—the Creator. As we seek to become more like Him, we learn to open ourselves up in humility and release the creativity inside. Releasing this is an act of humility because we are letting go of control and are willing to be displayed for Him. In past years, the students have always done creative journaling. We changed it a bit this year and made the journal assignments more straight-forward writing assignments and we have incorporated other opportunity to cultivate more of the unwritten arts, such as a creative worship hour on Fridays; nevertheless, many students have taken it upon themselves to go beyond the writing assignments and create beautiful journals that express in a greater measure what is on their hearts than the words alone could do. These are a few pictures from some of the journaling the students have been doing.

TEACHING

We are so privileged to receive from many great men and women of God who come from afar to teach in the GTS. We are also incredibly blessed to have a wealth of revelation and impartation in the men and women who are a part of our community here in Cyprus. This week, the students sat under the teaching of Michael and Aimee Hennen, Norm Frederick, and Jeff Collins. The Hennens taught on principles of Biblical interpretation. They encouraged the students to take the study of God’s Word deeper, and equipped them to do so by teaching about the types of studies and the tools to help. Norm taught on prophecy and had a time of prophetic ministry. He taught that accuracy in the prophetic comes from intimacy with Jesus and love is the core of being prophetic. Jeff Collins is a walking storybook of years of experiencing the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. He encouraged the students that God wants us to hear His voice and we can trust in the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

STUDENT LED SERVICE

In student led service this week, Daniel joyfully shared the revelation he has been receiving from the Lord. We all want to belong, and the Father’s love is where we belong. The Lord is King forever. And if He is the King, then what does that make us? Yes, that makes us princes and princesses, and as such there is a certain behavior that we should walk in: “He’s telling us to walk in love, to walk in light, and to walk in wisdom.” Daniel also challenged us that “there is a Kingdom that we have an inheritance in, and there is a war being raged against that kingdom. Are we going to sit back or are we going to stand up and fight for our kingdom?”

Katie shared with us about the authority of words. She challenged us to consider if our words are accomplishing what they are sent forth to do. Just as doctors are esteemed for healing people’s bodies, so should our words bring healing to people’s souls. We do not want our words to simply be space fillers, but we want them to have life. As Katie preached about our words, you could see her love for The Word overflowing.

We hope that this week you will be encouraged to dig deeper in your identity as a son or daughter of the most High King, that you will begin to discover the creativity that the Creator has placed inside of you, and that you will begin to release it as worship to Him.

With love and blessings,

-Gateways Beyond Training School.

Photo Editor: Marissa H.

Blog Writers: Hannah B.

Blog Editor: Marissa H. and Hannah B.

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—Sometimes people are daunted at the thought of worshipping God for all eternity. “Won’t I get bored?” “Eternity is a loooong time.” This is an understandable question, but we are discovering-along with believers throughout the world and time-that worshipping the living God is unlocking the deepest truth of who we are and why we were created. Daily worship becomes addictive. It is good!

—Looking back at the week, it is always difficult to decide what to write because God has done so much. Two things are prominent in my mind:

—Wednesday morning in worship God birthed a deeper cry of intercession in our hearts.  We felt the call of Esther on this generation; turning over and over in our hearts was the phrase “Here am I.” We want to tell the Lord that we are here, willing and anticipating and trusting in Him, ready to obey.

—Friday was also a meaningful time in the Lord. Everyone was tired starting off the day. But we know that God is worthy no matter how we feel, and we chose to press in and worship Him who gives us strength. We only sang for a very short time and then began to pray over our speaker to bless him before he returned home to Israel. Singing is not the only way to worship, hallelujah! First, the Lord brought great unity to the room. Then, by taking our focus off of ourselves and focusing first on the Lord and then on others, we came alive. When we get past our own selfish flesh and choose to press in on behalf of others, that sacrifice is such a sweet aroma to the Lord. Just as worship is addictive, so is prayer! It was awesome to see the students be so involved and active in praying for others. It was both a time of deep intercession and a time of simply hanging out with Jesus. At the end, a member of the community sang a song out of gratefulness for what the Lord had done. In his jazzy-folk style, he sang the words, “There’s no hurry. . . . There’s no worry.” When we’re hanging out with Jesus, there is no hurry. We can just enjoy each other’s company.

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—Eitan (Pappa) Shishkoff was the teacher this week for the GTS 1. Pappa Shishkoff comes to us from Haifa where he leads the congregation Ohalei Rachamim (Tents of Mercy). Every time he is with us, we are all touched by his father’s heart and the love in his eyes. This week he taught on the pathway to destiny. He did a study on the trials and testing of twelve people in the Bible that ultimately led them to their destiny. The people of the Bible can become our counselors and encouragers as we begin to study the Word and allow the Lord to speak to us through their lives.

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—Once again, we were so blessed in our student led service. Rachel spoke on the importance of honoring the generation that has gone before us. Joel spoke on the first commandment and being consumed with loving God and being loved by him. You could tell that these messages were real for them; they were not just clever messages, but the students carried them deeply in their hearts.

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—God’s heart for this generation is for young men and young women to learn to love each other as brothers and sisters and seek the best for each other. This is opposite of what we learn from the media where young people are always objectifying each other or using each other to meet their own needs. The GTS guys displayed this brotherly love on Valentine’s Day by surprising all the girls with a banquet of chocolate. We had Finnish hot chocolate, French truffles, chocolate chip cookies, and an assortment of European chocolate.

Community Update:

—One of my favorite aspects of community is all of the children in our midst. There is nothing better than hearing a two year old shout “fire” during a worship or prayer time! An exciting development in the community is the new Mini F.L.I.G.H.T. School (Finding Light in God’s Heavenly Truth). We know it is important for the children to be learn and grow and be ministered to as well. This week, they have bbeen learning about the armor of God. They can hold up the shield of faith and put on the helmet of Salvation!

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—Last weekend, the second year students, interns, and staff went on an evangelistic outreach to the waterfront park area in Limassol. We broke into small teams and walked around looking for opportunities to pray for people. There were so many testimonies. The Lord led us by His Spirit and we were able to share the gospel with several Muslims and Asian domestic workers, and we prayed for several people with physical injuries. You could see their countenances lift and a light grow in their eyes. This was a great opportunity for the second year students to step out in boldness in the context of local outreach. Miracles are not only for big outreach trips, but also for everyday and every place.  Praise the Lord for His compassion and goodness.

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Dear Readers,
We hope that you have enjoyed this week’

s blog.

With love and blessings,

-Gateways Beyond Training School.

Photo Editor: Marissa H.

Blog Writers: Hannah B.

Blog Editor: Marissa H. and Hannah B.

Teacher Bio: Eitan Shishkoff

In 1989 Eitan Shishkoff had a vision. He saw an oasis with tents full of provisions of every description. The Spirit of God spoke to him that this represented Eitan’s call to establish a place of refuge and healing for the returning exiles. Many of these new immigrants would come with few economic resources but God had promised: “I will restore the tents of Jacob and have mercy on his dwelling places.”

Jeremiah 30:18. Seven years later, the vision of Tents of Mercy became a physical reality. Today God is continuing to expand this ministry to lend a helping hand to His beloved people in the Galilee.
www.tents-of-mercy.org

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—-Psalm 67:1 was the meditation verse for this week, and it has come alive in our hearts. He is stirring us and speaking to us in all hours and in all activities. This has been an incredible week, and we praise Him-the radiant One.

—“God be merciful to us and bless us….”

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Our loving Father is so merciful and kind. He is not a task master looking for the maximum amount of work He can get out of us. Actually, God is fun! He not only wants us to rest, but also to have fun and enjoy the abundance of life He has made available to us. On Sunday, we took the students up the mountain for an afternoon of adventure in the snow. This is such a great time for everyone to let loose, act silly, expend a lot of energy, and bond with each other. Here are some pictures of the fun for your enjoyment:

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“…and cause His face to shine upon us”

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God has been shining on us in so many beautiful ways. Friday, as we had our first student-led service, we could really see God’s beaming face shining on the three students who preached. Second year students Tony Dillon and Gwen Paget and first year student Joy Collins each shared out of the revelation the Lord has been giving them. The Holy Spirit was welcome in the room, and He came in such a sweet way. Each message tied into each other in a way that only the Lord could do. He was definitely speaking very clearly through these students about His love for us and the hunger it creates in us for more of Him. Our identity is changed by the transforming power of His love.  For “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

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—-We want our love to shine on each other as we celebrate special times. This week we celebrated intern Joel Heidel’s  and first year student Susanna Hipple’s birthdays. Joel has displayed such a servant’s heart in all of his many new responsibilities. Susanna has blessed us all with her eagerness to pursue God. Happy birthday Joel and Susanna!

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“That Your way may be known on earth….”

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As a Messianic Jewish ministry, we were privileged to host an event in Limassol for the pastors and believers in Cyprus to come and hear a teaching on God’s perspective on Israel and the Middle East. Asher Intrater, a key messianic leader in Israel and throughout the world, was the speaker for this event. The Lord exceeded our expectations in a mighty way. We had a full house, and so many came with ready and willing hearts. God not only touched many with a heart for Israel, but also with a heart of repentance and forgiveness among many people groups represented in the room. Asher encouraged the people with a word from the Lord that Cyprus, like of old, is to be a sending and receiving place. It is significant that the first place to which the Gospel went from Jerusalem was to Cyprus, and it was from Cyprus that Paul and Barnabus set out on their first missionary journey. And it was a Cypriot-Barnabus-who believed in and encouraged Paul. This land has a rich history and destiny!

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Asher was also the teacher for the GTS this week. He taught on so many things, and for many students, this was brand new revelation. All of our lives were greatly impacted and changed. Several students had powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit and will never be the same. Student Baptiste Arnaud said this of the week: “His teaching changed my way of reading my Bible. Now, for me, the Bible is a living book. It is alive, speaking to me.” We are so grateful to have had this time with Asher. He truly carries the fire of God.

“Your salvation among all nations.”

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During our worship times, we often focus on intercession for a specific people or nation. We pray for Germany every Tuesday, for France and the French-speaking world every Wednesday, and for Israel every Friday. This Tuesday, the Lord moved so powerfully upon us as we lifted up a cry for Germany. The Germans in our community and the people who have burning hearts to invest their lives in Germany came together at the front as the rest of us surrounded them in prayer. It was a time of great breakthrough. At the end of the prayer time, Asher spread out an Israeli flag over the group as he pronounced blessings upon them. This was a beautiful picture as these precious Germans cry out to see a generation rise up in Germany who will bless and protect the Jewish people.

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Dear Readers,
We hope that you have enjoyed this week’s blog.

With love and blessings,

-Gateways Beyond Training School.

Photo Editor: Marissa H.

Blog Writers: Hannah B.

Blog Editor: Marissa H. and Hannah B.

—-This week marked the beginning of a new page in the lives of sixteen students. From the U.S.A., Ukraine, Germany, France, Canada and South Africa, they arrived on the island of Cyprus ready to enter into a time of consecration to the Lord. The theme for this year’s Gateways Training School is “Shine,” and already God’s light is flooding and filling these hungry hearts. We know that as we look to Him and gaze upon His beauty, His glorious light shines on us. And as we soak in His Truth, we become transformed. We are not only filled with His goodness and truth, but light is bursting from us, bathing everyone around with this holy fire.

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—-What better way to begin the school than to have the father and mother of the ministry to be the first teachers. Mr. and Mrs. R spent the week pouring into the students from the reservoir of faith and faithfulness cultivated through years of love and service to the Lord. Students were stirred by the many testimonies of God’s power and grace and the practical examples of how God has moved, stirred, and led their family. Mrs. R carries a special impartation for releasing and training this generation in intercession. It has been so special to see students tapping into God’s heart for peoples, nations, and situations, and declaring His purposes with faith. This generation lacks both the love and the discipline of a father, and so the students and community alike are blessed to receive from Mr. R’s prophetic insight that comes through his father’s loving heart. He gave a very practical and powerful illustration of our lives being like a sail boat. The sails are our giftings and the keel (the weighted part underneath that balances everything) is our character. The more sails or gifting we have, the stronger and deeper our keel or character must be.

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—-The students have had immediate opportunity to practice this teaching through their daily service time. Beginning Monday, orientation was over and it was time to dive into the FULL schedule. Each day from 4 to 6pm, the students are afforded the opportunity to worship the Lord through practical service, i.e. chores. (Moms alike shout amen!) From scrubbing toilets and washing cars to preparing dinner and washing dishes, the rudder of our character is under regular maintenance. I am pleased to announce great attitudes and willingness to serve this first week.

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—-A very special part of the GTS is involvement in the greater community here. Shabbat dinners are a wonderful celebration full of fun, thankfulness, and fellowship. Last Friday we had our first Shabbat dinner together, and it was beautiful. Everyone enjoyed getting a little more dressed up and eating a great meal. The home-made challah is always highly anticipated. We had some extra entertainment this week with a little Scottish birthday celebration. Speaking of birthdays, we have already celebrated several. First year student Katie Carrol, second year student Gwen Pagent, and intern Julia Wilks each received gifts from the community in celebration of their extraordinary lives.

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A New Year

by Chelsea

—-For the GTS II students, the beginning of the 2009 school year has been a happy homecoming. The reuniting of class-mates previously separated by nations has been sweet and we all feel that we have, in a sense, come home. Our small class of six (with just one male - poor Tony!) is expectant for our portion from Abba this year. Many of us found new freedom and identity last year, and it has been amazing to start this year walking in that fullness. Our GTS I ceiling has become our GTS II floor. We are building on the foundation the Lord has already so skillfully laid.

We are all eager to pursue the Lord together and receive all He has for us. And from all of our hearts we pray that “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine  upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Dear Readers,

We hope that you have enjoyed this week’s blog.

With love and blessing,

-Gateways Beyond Training School.

Photo Editor: Marissa H.

Blog Writers: Hannah B.

Blog Editor: Marissa H. and Hannah B.