Welcome to the Bravehearts newsletter! We are a team of missionaries travelling by faith to share the Gospel and edify the church, and we believe the Holy Spirit wants us to create this newsletter for YOU, the body of Christ, to share all God has been doing and teaching us on the road. Here's what we've been up to recently...
For over five years, Colston has been sitting on a word from God about Spain and the great victories that await in these lands. He first went to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago, known as the way of St James, where for over 1000 years pilgrims have walked these paths. It was here things started taking shape and the visions and dreams and visitations from God came.
Spain is also a special place for Kim and Nikos. The Camino was their first ever pilgrimage, and this is where Nikos, Kim’s husband, turned to Jesus.
A year later, the Bravehearts team walked the Camino together and an unbreakable friendship for Jesus was formed by the hand of God. It was so deep that words cannot describe and we just knew that it was destiny and something big was going to happen with us all in Christ.
What's a miracle is, in 2023, in a cave on the Isle of Patmos in Greece, where John wrote the book of Revelation, all of us saw one other for the first time. It was the beginning of an epic story that God was writing for us all to be missionaries on a journey together and part of Bravehearts4Jesus. Hear more on this testimony video:
Now we live by the great commission:
‘“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”’ (Matthew 28: 19-20 NKJV)
“And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” (Mark 16: 20 NKJV)
And now, the Spirit of the living God has led us into Spain together!
Before embarking on this journey, a word came from Eric Aidoo, an apostle and a prophet - Colston’s friend, mentor and pastor - about Spain for all of us. Briefly, the word was that Spain would be a mission of transformation and everything would be unusual - unusual provisions and miracles - and that we would return home born again, again.
We set off with blessings, prayers and support from all of our churches and families in Christ, which is invaluable in this walk of faith.
Life on the road with the Lord isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it means getting uncomfortable! For us, this meant a 27-hour bus ride through France and into Barcelona, Spain, as we felt God was leading us to travel there by bus.
On the bus and boat ride in, there were many opportunities for us to share the Gospel by the leading of His Holy Spirit including worshipping, handing out tracts and sharing our testimonies on the ferry.
Little did we realise, when we arrived in Paris on the evening for a change over, riots had broken out in the city that day. To be in Paris on a bridge praying and blowing the shofar was very significant.
We thought, while getting on the 14-hour bus ride to Barcelona, that there wouldn't be many people on the bus. How wrong we were! It was a packed out bus and Colston tried to sleep on the floor under the seats. We couldn't get comfortable and our feet swelled up, but that's okay because we had one another and Jesus to lean into. When God tells you to do something, there is always a reason why!
Our first stop in Spain was Montserrat, a 1,000-year-old monastery complex in the mountains above Barcelona. It was a time to come together to pray and prepare for the mission ahead, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening.
Some places are special to God, where heaven feels closer to earth, and the mountains of Montserrat is one of these places. We prayed at sunrises outside the monastery, bells chiming and echoing through the valleys. We sat at the foot of mountainside crosses, resting in our Father’s love, marvelling at His handiworks. We blew the shofar and it echoed around the mountains, reverberating.
The Lord sent people for us to share the Gospel with and believers to pray with - divine encounters, in the right place at the right time. We didn't strive. It was all His grace.
One afternoon, when Nikos was suffering with cold symptoms, Colston laid hands on him and prayed for healing in the name of Jesus. God answered those prayers. Nikos jumped up, completely healed, shouting in joy: “Jesus healed me just now!” Week one and we'd seen a miracle.
Our most beautiful moment with God came late one evening, when the sun had set and the stars were out. We walked through a forest to the cross perched on the edge of the mountainside. A huge cloud blew in, covering everything around us - the mountain, the monastery, even the sky. We were literally in a glory cloud. All we could see was the cross of Jesus Christ. We looked up and the clouds parted in the dark, just a little, and we saw His stars shining above us. The presence of God was so strong. Colston saw Jesus in the spirit sit on the rock with us. Then we all prayed for one another fervently, the love and joy of the Lord flowing. Out of nowhere, Colston's phone in his pocket started playing scripture aloud: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation 12: 11) As quickly as the cloud came, it left. It was all so supernatural. What a beautiful Father - and what a start to our mission.
Finally, God was calling us back to the Camino. And that meant a drive from Barcelona, North East Spain, to Ferrol, North West Spain… Sometimes, God’s plans don’t make sense to us, but we obey in faith and He always shows up to let us know it was Him. Even at the car rental place, we shared the Gospel with someone who was a music producer recording shofars!
We drove through the beautiful Pyrenees, astounded by the sights, stopping in towns to blow the shofar, pray and roar. A highlight was Colston blowing the shofar in the square outside the Cathedral in Leon - which means ‘lion’ in Spanish!
We prayed with people and shared testimonies along the way. Jesus led us to one very special albergue where we connected with the owner and guests. We prayed with one lovely pilgrim, a man from Portugal, and he showed us his blue Hoka trainers that he planned to give away at the end of his camino pilgrimage… Remember this when you read next week's newsletter!
That evening, as the peace of God surrounded us, we all stood beside a well in the albergue grounds, and we shared our testimonies and about the love of Jesus. We prayed with the owner and blew the shofar as a blessing. It was a God-ordained moment that we won’t forget. We knew we'd been led there for her.
Next stop, Ferrol to start the Camino! What God did on this path blew us away. Sign up for our newsletter to hear how the Holy Spirit moved as we walked these ancient paths.
Bye for now, from Bravehearts!
Click to send a prayer request
Click to donate to the Bravehearts mission