Lassen, Redwoods, Winter

As previously mentioned, we've been enjoying some of the natural surrounds of Redding. Lassen National Park is a dormant (yet still active - don't ask me why they call it dormant), volcano. We managed to head up there (about 1 hour away) before the main road through the volcano was closed for winter. Zeke had his first touch of snow which was pretty cool :). For the main part of the day we hiked into 'Bumpass Hell' (great name hey!). You hike in, then walk around on a boardwalk built over hot bubbling, steaming mud pools. It was quite an experience. The smell took us back to Bendigo - the dreaded sulfur smell of the Bendigo Creek, only intensified! We spent the day with our good Aussie and Kiwi friends! Lou and Shane are a couple from Taree, NSW, that we've loved hanging out with. And of course, Tim, our Kiwi boarder was with us - but he's lots of fun too :).

The students all had time off over Thanksgiving. Again we used the time to explore! We travelled with Lou & Shane, and Mike, Bek and the kids - all Aussies! The northern coast of California is famous for it's large Redwood trees. The size of the trees was amazing. The most spectacular drive that we took was though an untouched part of the woods. It was magical! Something mysterious and breathtaking about it. The coastline was just as spectacular. Similar to the Great Ocean Road in parts, but the rocks are grey in colour. Just beautiful. We also enjoyed our first west coast sunset! A pod of whales decided to show off their spouts of water too! My (Taff) first sighting of whales. Unfortunately they didn't want to show off their jumping skills!

We returned to Redding on Thanksgiving so we could enjoy our first Thanksgiving with an American family from the church. Lots of delicious food and great people to enjoy it with.

These days we are enjoying sitting by the open fire as the days are colder. So far, all our wood has been provided free of charge! Today our landlord gave us a truck (ute) full of pre cut wood! It's perfect! Apparently the last couple of days have been unusually cold. I would say the weather was on a par with Bendigo. Doesn't seem to be any colder than what we're used to. The good part is the snow is only half an hour away! Our neighbours have another property there which we have been invited to spend some time there whenever we like.

So our christmas tree is up (with our home made decorations) by the open fire and for the first time all the christmas songs make sense and it feels like a 'real' christmas. We even has christmas stockings hanging from the mantle piece! We'll be celebrating Christmas with the people in our house and some other families from Australia who have no one else to share it with. Although we really miss our family and friends at this time, it should be a beautiful Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!

Partner with Dave's Mozambique Orphans & Prisoners Mission Trip

Many years ago, I went to a church in Queensland and was prayed for by a man (who I didn’t know from a bar of soap) who said “I see you in a village preaching to black skinned people and God is doing mighty things!” When he said this (15 years ago) I felt like “well I can’t see that ever happening! I don’t ever want to go to Africa!” and yet here I am in California America at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministries and God has asked me to go to Mozambique and I cant wait!

We will be joining Bethel missionary Tracey Evans (who sees over 600 children fed by faith each week!) She is amazing & has survive un attacks, witchdoctors & even seen corn raised from the dead! On this trip we will be getting opportunities to minister in a local prison, in the markets, to village children, at local and bush church plants!We will also pioneer an open air church with 150 people from Tracey’s clinic!

We are believing to see people healed, set free from demons, people discipled and people resourced. I can’t wait to prophecy into people’s identities, see them healed, see them saved and see them set free! I was told today that 99% of people we pray for will get healed!

I really believe that this trip is God ordained and that he is going to bring together a strategic team of people who will spiritually and resourcefully support this trip and ensure its success!

For all who would like to partner by praying, I hope to be giving regular feedback during the trip, so that you can pray specifically into what God is doing! To sign up as a prayer partner email me at daveh@suvic.org.au.

If you would like to give into the trip (I need about $3700, plus am aiming to take a gift of $1500) you can make a donation through our bank account below:

Bank: Bendigo Bank

Account Name: David S P Harvey

BSB: 633 000

Account No: 104861463

If you make a donation please also email me at daveh@suvic.org.au as I would love to send you regular updates too.I really appreciate your belief in me & in the power of the gospel of our amazing Jesus Christ! Thanks so much for your gifts, prayers & partnership! I look forward the lives that our team will see changed!

God Bless Heaps!

Dave Harvey

Powerful Encounters at School

Photo top: Olive Branch I was given during first encounter.

Photo below: A Students photo of fire over our heads during FREEDOM shout encounter!

Since I have started God has been really enlarging my understanding of Him and as renewing and redeeming my self image. He has been highlighting areas where I have needed to repent, (lies I have believed, 1/2 truths about Him and me) He has also been showing me people I needed to forgive and has been showing himself new to me.

In one encounter recently God set me up during the week... on the Monday I lost my wedding ring (then I told a mate... he prayed for me...and I immediately remembered where it was)...then on Tuesday in my time with God at the prayer chapel I saw the bright colour RED and when I asked God what it meant, he said "I am passionate about you!"...the next night during a sozo class God we were asked to ask the Holy Spirit to give us a gift...he gave me a girls wedding ring and a clothes rack with kids clothing on it! I had no idea that these were connected until the next day when my Revival Group pastor Crystal was preaching on intimacy with God... I responded and then during worship she felt led to come down and give me the olive branch she had used to preach with. Instantly God hit me... I balled and laughed... then I saw a vision of Jesus and I... except this time I was a bride! then all of the weeks events (my wedding ring, the red passion, the engagement ring and kids clothes) began rushing back to me...then Jesus said to me "where do you want to go today?" "what are we going to do?" It was in such friendly intimate husband wife talk that it blew me away. You see I had always struggled with Jesus and me. I had struggled to intimately connect...I always thought he was on a mission and I had to help him get it done! It was a business relationship and there wasnt much intimacy. What I was now realising, was that I AM his lover! that He passionately desires me! that he wants to go on adventures with me! That he wants to have fun with me! Now when I have my quiet times it's different, it's more intimate, more personal, I'm out of control and never know quite what is going to happen!

The best and last part of the vision was when I saw my boys smiles (Jaden massive ear to ear and Zeke's cheeky smile) and Jesus said "This is how I look at you all the time!" I burst into tears and laughed too! He rocked my world!

Another encounter only a week or so later was when our leaders felt God wanted to set some of us free. So after preaching he set up the open mike and asked for anyone to come up who felt God wanted them to get free, and to shout "FREEDOM!" into the microphone. So the stage was swamped... and I was one of them. After about 40min or so, it came to my turn, and I was shouting for myself, for my parents and for my family. So I let it rip "FREEDOM!!!" before I knew it I was jumping like a Kangaroo! yelling it over and over again... and then I ended up on the ground 15metres away knocked out under the power of God. I got so drunk in the Holy Spirit (2nd time now) that my Aussie mates were paying me out for another 30min and I didnt realise! I feel freer ever since that encounter, and am more susceptible to Gods presence in meetings.

Dave's new miracle bike!

WOW! I never would have thought it!

A mate of mine asked me to go to the bike store with him and help him pick a mountain bike (so we could start riding to get fit!) (I had already been given a girls mountain bike (1980's style) which was ok (sort of)) So we went to the local Giant dealer and checked out a heap of the bikes. While we were there we checked out the cheapest ones, right up to the top of the range in the front suspension models. It became clear to me, as I rode them that the better bike was the more expensive one. So he asked me "Which one do you wreckon I should get?" And I said "well for sure the Giant XTC2" Then he looked at the shop owner and said "We will take two of those ones then thanks!" I looked over at him with a confused look...and he said "You don't mind if I get you a bike do you Dave?" I was GOB SMACKED!

Then I remembered how 3 weeks earlier, I had been in my prophetic class and a young girl was asked to give me words of knowledge. She said "I see a coffee machine"... I replied "well I have been enjoying getting into drinking coffee"(a few weeks later I got loaned a coffee machine)... then she said "I see a bike"... I said "I really want a bike, but don't have one yet" (the girls bike didn't count) And then 3 weeks later God not only gets me a bike, not even the cheap version, but he gets me the best! God is sooo GOOD!

Fun, Family, Friends...life

We've been having so much fun that we haven't managed to get around to updating our blog! Our apologies for those who have been regularly checking for the latest update!

Some of the photos below show what we've been up to. After settling in to our house we connected with quite a few fellow Aussies at the college. So what else were a bunch of Aussies going to do on Grand Final weekend? Eat meat pies and watch the footy! Thanks to our neighbours who recorded the final for us and then supplied the house with the LARGE screen TV, we were able to enjoy watching the ALF final - and what a final it was!!! We were very excited to still feel a part of the footy culture! I can't say all the Aussies enjoyed it, but the Victorians sure did! They did all enjoy the Four n Twenty pies we had shipped up though (found a distributor somewhere in California that we ordered from)!

The Redding Airshow was on the same afternoon. Tim, Anna, Dave and I, and the boys enjoyed our free viewing of the Blue Angels from the traffic intersection outside the airport! Zeke was stoked to see the planes - as were all of us actually! We were amazed by the pilots abilities!

We've enjoyed being able to use some of the free days that Dave has had to enjoy some of the beautiful surrounds. We have enjoyed waterfalls with Nat and Yvonne Parsons, spent a night camping with Tim & Anna, and another couple Jonathan & Rachel, been swimming in waterholes, watching sunsets with our neighbours, and more recently visiting Lassen National Park and Redwoods National Parks (more on them another time). Dave and I have managed to spend a few date nights together too, thanks to Tim and Anna babysitting!

Our first experience of Halloween was quite tame. Zeke dressed up in a pumpkin suit (thanks to our neighbours) which he kept on for about 5 minutes! Our neighbours held a small kids party with Jumping Castle, food, and lots of little kids activities. We had 3 places to be that night, so we didn't send Zeke 'Trick or Treating' which we were glad about after seeing the massive bags of lollies (candy) our neighbours kids collected!

Another American culture thing we have tried is 'Biscuits and Gravy'. We were assured it was great...however I (Taff) didn't find that to be the case! Their biscuits are what we would call scones. The gravy is a white sauce with sausage in it. Not my cup of tea. Some enjoyed it though! Following 'Biscuits and Gravy' we went out to the shooting range - which is just outside along a road - aiming up at the hills! So I had my first go at a shotgun and pistol - shooting pumpkins left over from Halloween!

We have also had a couple of other visitors to our house. Our friend, Suzy, who lives in New York spent a few days with us. We haven't seen her for over 6 years, so it was good to catch up and see her enjoy our boys! Just last weekend we had more visitors from home (Bendigo). John and Judy Mott also spent a few days with us and didn't fail to bring some Aussie supplies for us! The vegemite and weetbix and very precious items in this house! It was so nice to have people from 'home' in our new 'home'.

So we are enjoying ourselves and the surrounds as much as we can before the weather turns too cold! Lots more to tell, but we'll break up the post so it's not too long!