DAVID’S HOUSE SPRING HARVEST TOUR March 23-May 18, 2010
Dear Friends,
The Spring Tour was all that I had hoped for and more. Not only was it a blessing to be in relationship with those who know the Lord, but it was also a blessing to witness the joy of old friendships being renewed between Randall and those he has worked with in years past.
Valerie Henry, who has choreographed dancers over many years at Jerusalem's Feast of Tabernacles as well as David's House events, joined us for the IAM Conference in Berne, NY. It was the first time she and Randall have danced as partners in ten years but they still flow together in a seamless worship unto the Lord. The anointing was so powerful on their giftings!
Our tour began with a week in Asheville, NC, where Randall did three events; Passover at Fletcher Feed & Seed Church (a small but enthusiastic congregation) and two evenings (Unleavened Bread and First Fruits) in homes of friends of Vinnie Holman. Vinnie is a New York-trained actress/singer/dancer with talent and ability oozing from every pore. She has recently had a hip replacement and now a broken arm but nothing holds her down for very long. Her website is
www.vinearts.org.
We stayed with Bill and Susan Thurman in their amazing mountain house built by Bill from whatever scraps of lumber, brick and stone came his way. It will probably outlast the others in the area. It has its own form of beauty and grace. Susan was a dancer and now teaches a younger generation. Bill teaches Hebrew, Greek and Bible at his own school on the property.
From Asheville we drove to PA to meet with Valerie and do some advance planning for the Berne, NY, event. We were Bob & Valerie's first houseguests in their beautiful new 1860 home. What a treat!
Easter was spent in Lyndonville, NY, with Randall's mother, Mildred. She still lives in the house her husband built in 1946. She is an amazing lady. At 94 she has no trouble with stairs, takes daily walks and keeps her house in shape. Her daughter lives nearby and her neighbors consist of everyone in town. The area has Amish and Mennonite communities with pleasant farms and countryside. You can spot their homes by the lack of electric wires from the poles to their houses.
We headed to Berne, NY, two weeks before the April 22 conference so Randall could prepare the dance and banner teams. Friend Barbara Schrell (
www.rejoicebanners@aol.com) makes wonderful banners and also has a pageantry team which became a nucleus for Randall to build upon. It fascinates me to watch what Randall does to create a team from a motley crew - some with experience, some not. Then good direction, proper garments, music and a ready audience bring the teams into focus for worshipping the Lord. Randall also creates the setting. He takes a blank wall, a cluttered stage, and makes them vibrate with beauty. I see it again and again but continue to be amazed at the transformation.
Randall was invited to participate in a Sunday service in Albany with an independent Pentecostal congregation using a Roman Catholic church. It was exhilarating to see big flags dancing in the great space of high-vaulted ceilings! We had dinner with the music director and his wife in their home and discovered he is also an accomplished painter.
The next part of our ministry tour took us to Woodstock, MD, and the home of Herb & Rae Lowe. Their beautiful home sits at the end of a road in a remote, wooded area. A great retreat house! Herb has a tape reproduction business on the property. He and Rae have spearheaded the local Feast of Tabernacles for 25 years. The Tabernacle Church, Laurel, MD, had invited Randall to participate in a Paul Wilbur concert Saturday night, May 8, and to participate in services on Mother's Day, May 9. Randall dedicated a piece, “Man with a Vision”, to me and to his mother. I felt
so honored! He reminded us that God leads men
and women with His vision.
From there we spent a few days with Darryl & Paula Gilbert in Leesburgh,VA. They direct Performing Arts Ministries (
www.performingartsministries.com). Darryl is also a pastor. Paula works with a secretary out of the house. Paula and her friend, Bebe, have served in the Jerusalem Feast of Tabernacles. Bebe and husband, Peter, now live in an apt. at the Gilbert house. It is another over-the-hills-and-through-the- woods location. The six of us traveled to Shepherdstown, WV, where Randall, Bebe and Darryl (he is an excellent drummer) took part in a CUFI (Christians United for Israel) event. Friends Claren & Nancy McQueen, who had been major players in the Jerusalem Feast of Tabernacles, were the music leaders. It was a fun evening!
Our final stop was Raleigh, NC, with William & Carolyn Suttles. They own a radio station, WPJL (We Proclaim Jesus Lord) which is a sister station to Orlando's WAJL, both started in the 1970's. The Orlando station is out of business, but WPJL is holding its own. Carolyn interviewed Randall for three sessions called "Living for Jesus."
The David's House event was at Wake Forest United Methodist Church. Randall had done events at a Methodist church in Salem, MA, during Halloween when Ken Steigler was pastor there. It was an effort to contrast the Wiccan cult revels with worship celebrations to the Lord God. Pastor Ken is now retired and assisting at the Wake Forest church. Randall's Sunday Evening solo concert was well received.
Now that I have been home a month I am beginning to look at what the trip has meant to me. There is a sense of peace that I find hard to describe. At 85 I find I can be useful on such tours. What a blessing! With computer and printer I created bulletins, programs and run-sheets as well as kept up with correspondence. It seems that all of my past experiences are coming together like pieces of a puzzle. Also, I am seeing God work in ways that I want to be a part. Although a minority, Christian Believers offering their sacrifice of praise, manage to balance the overwhelming amount of evil sweeping the earth. Instead of fear there is excitement and wonder at what lies ahead.
Ellen Smith
David's House Office
As you read Ellen's account f our Spring tour I hope you can sense the hand of the Lord as we moved.
I had booked three locations for ministry events in the two-month peiod. The eventual number of events in which I actually directed, performed or spoke was fourteen. The ministry to individuals and small groups apart from the public events was daily. It was a rich tour.
With the exception of the eight years I operated the Kansas City David's House facility, the thirty-plus years of my ministry have been itinerant. Even in the K.C. years I continued to travel bout 20% of my time, but it has become clear to me that God ants me "out there" and I want to serve Him as He requires. This tour was a graphic reminder to me that the booking of events or performances is only a "preparation of seed." The actual sowing, wateing and harvesting are done once the farmer gets out into the field.
I have found that the Lord guides me "in action." When I begin to move to the music I hear, I find my body responding in ways that my mind cold not conceive or plan. When I begin to unfurl the fabrics, not yet knowing how they will be used, the vision for this new worship space forms in my hands as I pin and fasten and stretch the fabric. Of course advance planning is required in order to put a tour together or develop a full-scale production. The amazing thing is that, even though He gives vison for the plan in advance, He creates as we move and He does so much more throough us than we imagined. This unique blend of the prepared and the spontaneos is one of the hallmarks of God's work on Earth through His beloved children. When we responsibly use the resources and giftings He has given, we are able to create orderly and beautiful expressions of His Truth and to express beautiful worship worthy of the King. And His Holy Spirit guides us as we move.
Some of you will be aware that my ministry was "on hold" for several years. The '09 Year End Letter on the David's House website will perhaps give you some understanding of my journey in recent years. Re-entering active ministry after a "dark night of the soul" is a fascinating process. As with all things, God prepared me long before without my knowing or understanding what was coming. When I asked Him for my spiritual name at the time of my ordination in 2000 He gave me John David. The David portion of the name was comfortable and familiar to me since much of my work in the Kingdom has been to lead worship in the spirit of King David. The John part of the name was clearly meant to refer to the Forerunner. It has not been so comfortable to walk in. John prepaed the way for the coming Messiah by operating in direct cross-purpose to the spiritual leaders of fallen Israel. I find that God has called me to a similar role. John was beheaded by the decadent rulers of his day and completely rejected by Israel's religious establishment as he proclaimed the soon-coming of the Lord. I find myself increasingly under the same calling to proclaim the "soon-coming-again." I also feel the enmity of the church as we have known it against my attempt to prepare the way for the glorious King who is even now orchestrating His entrance procession.
Spring Harvest Tour 