The Prophesied Promised Land

In the early 90s my friend Robin Rieder took me to a Rick Joyner conference. Attendees were invited to receive personal prophetic ministry offered by their first prophetic school students. I am not one to seek personal prophecy. I believe if you want to hear from the Lord you ought to start by asking him yourself. I didn't realize how much that particular day would really blow me away; until about ten years later!

I remember what two of the people in the room that day said to me. The first: "Do you have any brothers? I don't know why but God is saying, 'your brothers I will use to take care of your son.' Nothing was wrong with Evan so I was a bit concerned but thought perhaps it had to do with our decision to go into full-time ministry- that my brothers would be there for him. When I thought of my own brothers I didn't know how they might help. Looking back now I think God meant my spiritual brothers as many of them have had a great hand in helping him into his destiny... from Mike Lawrence who gave him his first guitar, to Scott Thomas and Jim Arrendel and more recently Dr. Nancy Eriksen who's spoken volumes into Evan's spirit. All those who joined BNF, committed, volunteered and gave to the ministry through support, prayer and fellowship are also testimony to Evan that his mom and dad were on the right track in choosing to sell our home and allow God's life transformation in our family which made room for hundreds of strangers who God wanted to put into family.

The second person said: "I see you somewhere, it isn't around here. I see you in a house surrounded by flowers. You are standing at what might be the door, it's glass all around and you are looking through it at a round body of water." We'd just sold our home and all our belongings to move into a duplex in the inner city of Atlanta to serve the poor and homeless. I wasn't sure what God was saying here!

November 28, 2000 The Hill family moved to Cape Town, South Africa. Our first three years we rented in an area close to town called Walmer Estate. In the mail and out of the blue came an announcement of a celebration of Mahanaim. We lived in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, why would such a flyer be in our mailbox? We didn't go to the celebration but the name mulled over and over in my mind. I looked it up in scripture: Genesis 32:1: "Jacob also went on his way and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, 'This is the camp of God!' So he named that place Mahanaim." See verses 9-12 & 22-28.

From Walmer Estate Ned, Caitlin and I moved into a beautiful loft Ned had built for us through provision God made possible by our spiritual family, Blood N Fire. The loft was located in the City Bowl District of Cape Town. It was a lovely place to pray and hear God; we had a spectacular view of Devil's Peak and District 6. It was modern and perfect in every way, except for when the others who'd come out from Atlanta to work with us for a season went home! Then Evan and Laura moved into the loft with us. Our two bedroom loft quickly became very crowded for 5 people! So we put it on the market and began to look around for where God would take us next. Boy were we surprised!

Every Sunday we'd clean and shine and pray over the loft and leave for the day while it the estate agents put it On Show. Ned and I looked for the better part of a year to find the place God had for us. While viewing a house we loved but couldn't afford the agent said she thought she was about to have a listing that was perfect for the five of us. She called the next day inviting us to take a look at a home in Newlands. Standing inside the living room looking out into the garden a suddenly occurred. Suddenly the prophecy from the 90s rang loudly! I was gazing through a door made of glass with windows adjoining and flowers surround the house! I'd nearly forgotten but God hadn't! And the round body of water was a lovely pool! How could missionaries ever be able to get a house like this? Impossible? Jesus taught that nothing is impossible for those who believe! I believed! But how could this happen? Incredulously I sensed God telling me a figure to tell Ned to offer. We told the agents, they asked what we were doing in Cape Town. When we told them they told us they were Christians, too, and we prayed for God to make the way. He did! And everyday since then He continues to be the Way! We have not the means but we have put everything into believing God said this was our Promised Land. It's not about the material of it all- it's about how we can use the house for God! It's where our house church meets, it's where we are gathering spiritual family from all around Cape Town monthly to pray for the city, nation and the nations of Africa. It's a home to those in need, it's an art school for kids, it's a place where others can come and spend time and be surprised by God who's in their midst. It's a testimony to the poor, and to those who are just beginning to rebuild their lives in Cape Town. I'm not justifying it, I'm just saying it's Promised Land to so many!

I had already begun writing in 2005 when we moved to the loft yet had no idea what form God would give to that writing or how he would use it. We were and still are weak knee-ed and trembling but we took possession of our promised land as a testimony to all God's children. And like Jacob we are in awe and wonder as to what might happen next but continue to use our home to show others how He makes a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

In 2005 during prayer with our house church I saw a vision of a stopped up river. It had been dammed up by a great many obstacles. We tried to move some of these boulders physically but to no avail. As we prayed very large angels would come down to remove the obstacles so the water could flow freely. As soon as it did the beavers would get busy building more dams that would become traps for the larger boulders that would come and stop everything up again. And like clockwork it would continue- we would pray and the angels would come and the water would flow and the beavers would come back with a vengeance. I began to see it was our own perpetual doubt, fear and unbelief that made way for the beavers building the dams, becoming the obstacles to our faith and the grace God had intended.

This is the year of New Beginnings! Yesterday Edith sent me a message from the Lord for us: A year for ministry and possession of the promised land, Exodus 3:8. 2008 is for you and your family, flowing in the blessings, in Jesus' name.
Exodus 3:8: "So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

"And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me and I have seen the oppression of the Egyptians upon them. So now go, I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said, 'Who am I?'..... And God said, 'I will be with you.'

I feel like Moses but God said to him, "I AM Who I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you."

I've written obediently as Holy Spirit inspired and downloaded to me. We've shared with others God brought on our path to shine His light of truth and we say to you now: "Go! Possess the Promised Land He has set before you!"

At Blood N Fire in Atlanta David used to say, "my ceiling is your floor, launch out into the destiny prepared for you!"

This is your year! Believe it!



Susan Hill
Blood N Fire, RSA
Cape Town, South Africa
bnfrsa@sentechsa.com

Creation Waits by Janice VanCronkhite http://www.jvcartworks.com