When a dear friend from St Louis called to say she saw me prayer walking with her in Forest Park, I prayed about it and that night I had the same dream! Since I was going to purchase my ticket to LA the next day, I chose to fly to STL first.
A week later I heard that our dear friends from Return Ministries planned a Sukkot festival in Forest Park, so of course I joined them in celebrating the last few days of Sukkot!
But before flying to STL, Adonai gave a commissioning through a dream, showing why I was really called to go. In this dream I saw a legal contract that was buried in Forest Park. The document was labeled “Failure to make Aliyah.” Then Adonai dangled two pink ballet slippers in front of me. When I asked what these were for, He said to place them in the park because He was going to dance on the failure to make Aliyah!
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On my first day in STL, my friends took me to the park’s history museum where I found this motto:
“Open ye gates, swing wide ye portals…for man’s greatest achievements!”
This opening statement from the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair was taken from Psalm 24:7a, but it failed to disclose for whom the gates should swing open:
“THAT THE KING OF GLORY MAY COME IN!”
However the World’s Fair founders chose instead to highlight man’s accomplishments in art, architecture and new inventions. They also displayed indigenous people from distant tribes, whom anthropologists deemed less desirable than classic European features. Hitler would have been proud…
An amazing 1:1 scale replica of the Old City of Jerusalem was built in the park, over which the Israeli flag was flown, long before the modern state of Israel was born. Shimon Goldman, a Jewish man from St Louis, was so inspired, he gathered others in the Jewish community to settle the real Land of Israel. Thus “practical Zionism” was born.
However the new settlers weren’t able to overcome the stark living conditions of the malaria infested region and staggering heat in Poriya Ilit (which happens to be the next village to ours) So they returned to America, most likely disappointed. The only remains of their presence in the Galilee are two houses in ruins.
In the museum I realized the main purpose of this mission and 11 intercessors joined me for a prophetic act on site where the 1904 “Temple Mount” once stood. The 12 people on the ground concluded the assignment with 24 people on the Altar of Prayer by building an altar of 12 stones. Then Dean reminded us of the date – Simchat Torah, which is a day to dance and rejoice in the Torah! So we danced with great joy in the park, expecting Adonai to reverse the curse of failed Aliyah and pour out successful Aliyah instead!
I had other prayer assignments with smaller teams, including one at the Missouri State Capitol building. I’m so grateful for how Adonai leads and it’s all about discerning His voice and submitting to His plans, not ours!
Next chapter coming up in LA…