January / February 2007 

Dearly Beloved Child of God,

Every trial, every testing, is permitted by the Lord,

Even Satan’s darts of fire are directed by God’s sword;

There is nothing ever happens which our God does not permit

Therefore I can always trust Him; sure He’ll do as He sees fit.

Have the powers of all hell’s demons been arrayed against you, friend?

Do you feel that you are conquered, and that life itself will end?

Know that He, Who dwells within you, is far greater than your fiend,

And that He will rise and conquer; its not so bad as it has seemed.

Satan, knows his time is shortening, angry, roaring as a lion,

And the end-time battle’s raging, every nation, every clime

Trembles as the floods of evil threaten to destroy both man and God,

He will raise His mighty standard, just like Moses raised his rod.

We will stand in awe and wonder, as we see the hand of God

Move with mighty signs and wonders every place His feet now trod;

We will shout, and praise in wonder at the mighty acts of God;

We’ll come through each trial, a conqueror, knowing that our Lord is God!

Gwen R. Shaw

GOD’S WORD FOR 2007:   I believe that the above verses, which the Holy Spirit has just now anointed me to write,  express what the Lord has shown me about the days that lie ahead. We will face the greatest trials and tests, and we will fight the greatest battles that we have ever fought in our lives, but we will also see the greatest victories, and signs and wonders, as God proves to this sinful generation that He is still God, and that He is in complete control.

MY WONDERFUL MISSIONARY JOURNEY:   I left the USA in time to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in early October in Israel. I had the honour of speaking to the plenary at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Over 4000 souls came from many nations of the world to attend at a time when Israel was just recovering from their latest war. It was a time to bring love, healing and express our solidarity, as Christians, with Israel. Because of Papa Jim’s health he could not travel with me, but the Lord chose Doreen Shurley from our staff to be my “armour bearer.” Her strength and management of all the details was a great help and blessing to me. God always has His “man”. We enjoyed our time of refreshing and ministry in Israel and in the House of Peace and the Galilee House. Gene and MaryLois are doing a great work in the Holy Land.

MY THIRTEENTH MISSIONARY TRIP TO INDIA:   It was a great joy to return to India after many years. I had the honour of being a speaker at the Annual Convention of Mission India in Nagpur, Central India. This great ministry is founded by a young man with a powerful testimony, Saji Lukos. He endured great trials and persecution to become the powerful servant of God he is today. He has hundreds of young men and women working under his leadership. It was so inspiring to see God doesn’t need long-term foreign missionaries in India any more; He is raising up a mighty army out of the loins of India, itself. Hallelujah! It is a new day for India! We also traveled to Nanital in the Himalayan Mountains for a series of meetings. This ministry is under the auspices of Mission India. Then we had the joy of returning to our old “stomping ground,” Jaipur, Rajasthan, where we again raised a tent and had wonderful meetings with our old friend, Rev. Claude Roberts, who was the Manager of my Tent Revivals in North India so long ago. His daughter, Olive, who was a little girl then, and her husband are now helping to pastor the church.

CHINA:   When Chuck Todd and his wife Helena invited me to accompany them on this special journey to Beijing.  I “ran” to answer that call. When I discovered we were having difficulty with our interpreters, I reached out to God, and with His help, the Holy Spirit enabled me to preach in Mandarin, even though I had not preached in Chinese in over thirty years. Immediately the Spirit fell on the people; there was weeping and beautiful manifestations of the presence and power of God at the altar calls, which we opened to the hungry and seeking souls after many, many years. Churches that had been destroyed  are being rebuilt, we preached in a great new cathedral seating 2000 people which was filled the day it was opened, and has been open for services ever since. We praise God for the big changes we are seeing in China.

HONG KONG:   After living seventeen years in that great city, how could I not stop there to see old and new friends and preach again the old, old story of Jesus and His love. It was like “coming home.” My “Hong Kong Girls” are doing great things for God in the Market Place. They were a big blessing to me; and I trust that the Word I preached to them was uplifting and encouraging.

THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR JOURNEY:   Many ask me what the highlight of the trip was. I think it was when I met Samuel Hilel Lal, one of the speakers at the great Conference in India, and he told me that he had been in one of my tent meetings years ago in Rajasthan, when he was a young lad, and that he had dedicated his life to Christ in those meetings. Today he is the leader of Every Home Crusade, an international ministry founded by another Canadian from Saskatchewan, Dr. Jack MacAlister and his wife, Hazel, in 1946. In 1964 they started the India Every Home Crusade. They had a special place in their hearts for India. God called him Home on January 12, 2006. The Lord gave them the vision to reach India through the printed page. Samuel is the new Executive Director of this great all-India ministry which has an outreach to millions of souls throughout India. What blessed me, were the kind words Samuel spoke to me when he thanked me for raising the tent in Ajmer, Rajasthan so long ago, and how it was through my life he dedicated his life to God at the altar, and is impacting millions of souls today because I made that sacrifice so long ago. I used to call Ajmer “the city of my sorrow” because I had so many troubles there. That was also where I contracted Typhoid Fever. Now I can say, “It was worth it all!” I was often in tears as I saw the impact my life has had on these nations. I know I am nothing. But the “seed” I sowed was good seed. And God has seen fit to bless it, and it is bringing forth an even greater end-time harvest.

MY BAD FALL IN HONG KONG:   On my last night in Hong Kong, after our greatest of all meetings, I lost my balance in the bathroom, and fell flat on my back, on the tile floor, hurting my back (I heard the bone crack as though it was broken), and fracturing my left wrist, again, in two places. I didn’t know it was broken. But it sure hurt!

CHICAGO:   We stopped in Chicago on our way home from the Orient because of an invitation to minister in a Jewish Synagogue during their Hanukkah celebration. Larry Groves drove Papa Jim to Chicago to meet me. It was a wonderful surprise to see him when we landed after our long flight from Hong Kong. We also ministered in the church of our dear friends, Derek and DeDe Kuhn. One of our Chicago highlights was seeing my son, David, his wife, Sue, and my two beautiful grandsons, Samuel, and Little David. Another was our meeting with the End-Time Handmaidens and Servants in that area. How the Spirit fell! We left the USA at the Feast of Tabernacles and returned at Hanukkah.

OUR SUDDEN LOSS JUST FIVE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS:   It was while we were in Chicago we received the shocking news from Engeltal that our beloved Sister Valerie Devlin had suddenly been called into the Presence of the Lord. We could hardly believe it. This has left a great gap in our staff because she was the Director of Intercession, and editor of our weekly Prayer Letter. She carried everyone in her heart, and prayed for you daily. Pray for her husband, Bill and their family.

MY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE:   When I arrived home, the staff insisted I see the local doctor. After X-raying my back and my wrist, the doctor said he could find nothing wrong with my back but the bone in my wrist was broken on both sides; He put my arm in a heavy plaster-of-paris splint, and made an appointment for me with my old orthopedic doctor of last year. I was so upset. I insisted on going to see him the following day. Twenty-four hours later, he looked at my X-rays, shook his head, and said it was broken, and he would have to put me in a cast for six weeks, but first he would take more X-rays. Being three days before Christmas, I told him, I hoped he would give me “Good tidings of great joy.”

Well, he did! When he read the X-rays, taken 24 hours after the first X-rays, he could find NO trace of a fracture! He told me I didn’t need any bandage of any kind. The doctor took many X-rays of my back, but could find no trace of damage. Hallelujah! So that was MY best Christmas gift. The devil came in like a flood; but the Lord lifted up a standard against him. Yes, there will be many powerful evil attacks of Satan against us in the coming days, but the victories will be greater than we have ever seen before. We will see many great and marvelous miracles and signs and wonders this year, and the following years, until Jesus comes!

ARE YOU AN INTERCESSOR? DO YOU WANT TO JOIN US IN PRAYER?   I know that many of you would like to receive the weekly prayer letter with the news of what is happening in the ministry and around the world. If you do, please contact us at:  prayer@eth-s.org.  We will be glad to put you on our mailing list. The letters go out every first and third Friday of the month by email, through fax, and by post. We would prefer to send it by e-mail because it is less expensive. If you had been receiving it, but have not heard from us lately, it could be that we have lost your address. Please contact us again! We will be glad to put you back on...if you will pray for the prayer requests.

ENGELTAL:   The staff is loaded down with work because of the shortage of laborers. Please pray that God will send helpers! We thank God for the volunteers that came to help with inventory.

EVERY DAY IN ENGELTAL IS A MIRACLE DAY BECAUSE OF YOUR FAITHFULNESS:   I also want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love offerings. We live by God’s provision through your generous and loving support from month to month. Every day in Engeltal is a miracle day!

I remain your ambassador to the nations! Love and blessings from all of us here at Engeltal.

Sister Gwen