7 Thunders Newsletter
August, 2006

July was a very busy/intense month for ZHOP. For about a month, around 30 teenagers from around the nation came to be a part of Camp David, a youth internship that ZHOP hosted. The youth spent 4-10 hours a day in the place of prayer before the Lord. It was an amazing 3 and ½ weeks. The plan for Camp David was simply to put the teens in a place where they could encounter the Lord and it happened! All of the youth who came to the internship left changed, with hearts on fire for the Lord. To read some testimonies from some of the youth see the “internships” section below.

From July 5-26 ZHOP held a 21 day fast called “The Call to the Wilderness”. Kirk felt like the Lord called ZHOP to fast for 21 days even though it would be during the same time as Camp David. After Kirk called the fast he spoke to Bob Jones who told him that the fast would be around the same time as the “dire straights” which is a 21 day time period every year where oppression increases in Israel. The first day of the dire straights period, Israel went to war with the Hezbollah. The rest of the fast we focused on praying for Israel, for safety and for revelation to fall on the hearts of the Jewish people. When we started the fast we had no idea that we would end up focusing mostly on Israel. Many of the ZHOP staff and Camp David interns came out of the fast having a heart for Israel and more understanding on Israel’s key role in the end times.

Recently ZHOP held a month long youth internship called “Camp David: contending for encounter.” Around 30 youth from all over the nation came to the ZHOP base, giving up a month of their summer to minister to the Lord and encounter Him. Here are testimonies from 4 of the interns:

"My time at Camp David messed me up! Coming into it, I had no idea what to expect, except for tons of time before God, and there was a lot of that! I can see now that God put me at ZHOP for a season of my life to ruin me for anything else but Him. All my other “lesser lovers” of this world have been stripped away from me to where I am lovesick for God alone. I have been encouraged in my pursuit of Christ by my friends and leaders who became my family over the past month. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, I was made for this!" - Ethan S. (Nebraska)

"The reason I came to Camp David was to develop a lifestyle of prayer and fasting before the Lord. The leaders at Camp David not only taught me how to do this, but also showed me a glimpse of the deep love that my Bridegroom has for me. I give honor and glory to Jesus for leading me to ZHOP, and a big thank you to the ZHOP staff for being faithful to the Lord by teaching and serving me and my fellow Camp David Interns(my new family)" - Melissa B. (North Carolina)

"Over the 3 and ½ weeks that I spent at ZHOP God plowed through my heart, exposing my motivations. It was one of the most intense seasons of my life. As my flesh is beginning to become crucified, my heart is being awakened to God’s unconditional love. This short internship has spurred me on in my pursuit of God, becoming a man of one thing. Being a priest and lover of God is truly my highest calling." -Jason S. (Texas)

"I am so thankful that God sent me to Camp David this summer. I learned most about God’s love for me as His 'little girl' and also His bride. He told me one night that He was taking the veil off of my face and since then I feel so much lighter and such a release of who I am. Going to ZHOP made me see that I don’t really know Him, but He has set a passion in my heart to want to find out who He is. Every one of the staff members and interns at ZHOP showed me this crazy, insane love and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it!" - Rebecca G. (North Carolina)

On July 28th the second day time internship called the Zadok Internship started. There are 9 interns who have committed themselves to live a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. For more information on the Zadok Internship, see the events section below.

We believe that meditation is key for understanding and going deeper in the word. What we do is we have one verse that we will meditate on for about 3-4 weeks at a time. We have meetings each week to share what we have received from the Lord. Right now we are meditating on Jeremiah 29:11-13: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Here is some insight from one of our team members Zach Archer:

God is telling us through these scriptures that He wants you to hope in Him, to search Him out in the place of prayer. His desire for your life is not that you become something extraordinary in some kind of trade or the smartest kid in class or the best athlete on your team. He wants your full life before Himself seeking Him and desiring Him. We get so confused in thinking that who we are is what we do or even what we excel at, But the Lord God is calling us to lay it down; lay down the gifts and talents God has lavished before you. He wants to know if you really love Him the way He is crazy about you. For the thoughts He thinks towards you are of peace. He is thinking peace over your life. What is peace then? Is it opposite of war or is it a state of utopia where nothing can go wrong? Peace is safety through the storms of life. It is happiness in the midst of chaos. It is favor and health to body and soul. God is thinking thoughts grounded in His son. The Prince of Peace is Jesus Christ. He knows that even back in Jeremiah’s day that Jesus Christ His son is the bringer of peace to the souls of men. He is thinking of His son Jesus towards us not just a quiet and boring life that has no confrontation. He not only has thoughts of peace and not of evil, He also speaks of a future and a hope. We as humans live about 70 to 80 years on average in the earth and God cares for our time here on earth, but the time we spend here on earth is nothing compared to the rest of eternity. I believe God is thinking of our future in Him, He is thinking of the time He gets to completely dominate every part of our hearts. This is the ultimate future we have in our lives, to know and dwell with our God forever. Then He speaks of a hope that He thinks towards us and I can't help but wonder what kind of hope? It's the hope that knows and trusts you are going to love Him and be His forever and ever.

July 29-31, a team from 7 Thunders went Bedford, Virginia. Here is a report from Sarah Youmans, one of the team members who went on the trip:

Kirk led a small team of us that went to Bedford, VA from July 29-30. It was a great trip for all. There was a conference held at the Loin of Judah church where Kirk spoke on the song of the Lord and about the house of prayer. We ministered and made friends and fell more in love with Jesus.

Upcoming Trips:

• August 30-September 5 – Salem, OR
• September 26- October 6 – Südwerk Bürgerzentrum in Germany
• October 20-24 – Fort Wayne, IN/Elkhart, IN
• November 3-4 – Council Bluffs, IA

PRIESTHOOD CLASS

When: Friday nights at 9pm
Where: ZHOP
What: Every Friday night for the next year, Kirk will be teaching on the priesthood, covering topics like Melchizedek and Zadok. Katie Bennett and her team lead worship starting at 7pm and the class starts at 9, lasting for about and hour. If you want more understanding on the priesthood of the believer this class is a great place to start.

THE AWAKENED INTERNSHIP

Who: Those ages 18-25
When: Term 2 September 8- November 16
Where: Located right on the ZHOP Base.
What: The Awakened Internship is a call to young adults to set themselves before the Lord at night (10pm-6am) for 3-6 months. Our heart is to awaken a day and night priesthood culture of life that burns with intimacy and that is equipped with the urgency of the times.
Contact: theawakenedinternship@zhop.org

ZADOK INTERNSHIP

Who: Those ages 18-25.
When: January 6- June 10.(These dates are not final)
Where: Located right on the ZHOP Base.
What: For ages 18-25. The Zadok Internship is a charge to young adults who will voluntarily set themselves before the Lord to encounter Him and minister to Him unto establishing a day and night priesthood culture of life that is gripped with urgency for the hour we live in.
Contact: zadokinternship@zhop.org

• The 7 Thunders staff - Luke Ahrenholtz, Katie Bennett, Andy and Bek Hickman, Rebekah Myers, Jonathan and Heidi Mills, Isaac and Morgan Bennett and the Zadok House of Prayer team. That the Spirit of grace and supplication would continue in them to pray and prophesy; especially as they are setting themselves in Fort Mill, SC.
• Kirk - Pray that he has understanding and revelation on leadership and fathering the next generation
• Dee - for increased revelation as she leads the young ones.
• Isaac and Morgan - that God gives them grace and strength each day as they lead the internship.
• Katie - for grace and strength to lead, as she is one of the main worship leaders at ZHOP.
• Abby - Increased joy and zeal for God as she moves to a new environment. Something of real power is continuing to happen with our children, and we’re asking for the Spirit to guard and disciple them in it.
• The I.H.O.P.s - There are houses of prayer springing up all over the world. We have had the extreme privilege to be friends with an amazing number of them. Pray for ways to keep those friendships available and strategic.
• The Night watch - for strength to keep pressing in. The night watch is key to a House of Prayer. We believe that the night belongs to the Lord and we are going to take it back. The main leaders of the night watch are Jake and Lacy Ferrell.
• The Bennett’s - Pray for the health and well being of our family
• The Bound4life Red Riders(www.redriders.org) who are traveling across the country July-September
• Pray the 22 word Prayer 7 times daily - Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation, God end abortion and send revival to America!
• Trips - guidance and direction concerning this year.

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This newsletter is written and sent by Andy Hailstone.

You can e-mail Andy at andyhailstone@zhop.org