To the Nations

By Dr. Mary Craig

July, 2003, marks ten years of Mary Craig Ministries, Inc. We have sent 23 people, many going more than once, on 25 mission trips since August of 1994. Teams have ministered in fifty nations of the world and on all seven continents. Of the 27 nations given on "the list," 21 have been ministered to according to God’s directive that came out in a prayer meeting in 1994.

As we were faithful to call first cities and then the USA and then nations to "repent or perish," the Holy Spirit sent us to regions and all seas and finally to all seven continents to call them not only to repentance, but also to resurrection. This assignment from the Lord fulfilled Acts 1.8, to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, an assignment that began in Jerusalem in March 1999. The strategy given to us became an instrument in the hand of the Lord to "break the blood curse."

As we were faithful in the beginning steps, God increased our authority and territory. MCM’s motto is: In His Name, by His grace, for His glory. We have gone forth in His Name as His messengers and servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the Name of the LORD!

As I reflect on the past ten years, I marvel at what God has accomplished through ordinary individuals dedicated to His desires. I had been teaching Bible for some 17 years, sometimes four times a week, and conducting conferences and seminars when a change occurred in my Christian life. It proved as dramatic as when Jesus apprehended me in September 1972. I found that I could not go back, just as I could not have gone back into the place of the unsaved. The Holy Spirit came into my life in such a way that from then on it would be: Henceforth to do Your will, O God. It was as if the Holy Spirit said to the Father, "A body I have prepared for You." That "body" was me!

Up until 1989 I would pretty much control my Christian life. It seemed as if the Holy Spirit "hanged" with me. I decided when "we" would go to church, read and study the Bible, pray, witness to someone, fellowship with other believers, etc. But one day that changed. The Holy Spirit came to me. A strong wind blew in the living room where I sit and pray. The windows and French doors rattled, but all was quiet outside. I heard the Holy Spirit calling me to the gospel ministry and commanding me to "go wash in the pool of Siloam." I sensed the Holy Spirit groaning, desiring the consummation of all things, to be free of the burden of sin, His woundedness. He said to me then:

Run with Me. Enjoy Me. All of heaven and earth is Mine. I am not confined. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Is not the earth the footstool and heaven My throne? Where can you go where My presence is not? Am I not a God who is both near and far? Run with Me. Run with the message of hope. Prophesy. Say to the People. Despair for the days, the hours, the moments lost that you could have shared openly with Me, aware of My presence. Be miserable and mourn and weep for those times when your pride and lust and care for the passing things of the world kept you from enjoying Me. Eternity, the Eternal One. Run…to the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. Ride on the wings of My glory, on the wings of the Dove. Fly and Soar with Me, My Holy Spirit. Do I tire? Do I lose power? Or weaken? Do I not restore and refresh My people?

Look at Me and live. Bask in My glory before My glorious throne. Join in with the worship of My holy angels. Do they not worship the Lamb? Are you not made for worship of your Creator? Wait upon Me and renew your strength to rise up on wings of eagles. Serve Me. Sit with Me awhile. Stay with Me. Remain awhile. Recline here.

I am full of peace. I am full of peace…peace that is a soul at equilibrium, centered, stabilized in Me. Tarry here. Do I not love you? Am I not worth your time? Do I not bless you?…I call you to the deep, the depth of the riches in Christ Jesus, to the height, and depth, and breadth of My love for you.

All I can say, folks, is that this began an adventure of a lifetime. The Holy Spirit has no fear, no fear! He loves all kinds and sorts of people. He has you intercede with groans and wailing for people groups you don’t even know or care to know. He sends you here and there with His words and messages…of judgment, of hope, of indictment, of mind-boggling personal knowledge.

I have found myself sitting in the jungles of Venezuela and in the out regions of southern India wondering, "what!" The way I grew up, I never went camping or even stayed in a Days Inn. My "missionary closet" is now filled with handy items like mosquito netting, repellents, first aid kits, eye masks, all kinds of travel gear, handy packets of drug store items, etc.

I have worn out several suitcases now, and that is really funny because in 1989 a pastor prayed for me with a very strong "To the nations!" Then another woman said to me, "Have suitcase will travel." I went nowhere for five years. During those five years came seminary and starting MCM. The travel began in 1994. I just hung onto the words during the interim, with no opinion either way.

I saw God’s love pouring forth for the nations. He sent me as a messenger. I remember that as I boarded Avensa flight 6001 from Miami to Caracas, Venezuela, and on to Santo Domingo, I wondered why I would ever leave the comforts of my living room to go to some remote area, not as a tourist, but as a missionary/evangelist. "I am going for God," I thought. "Only for Jesus would I ever do this."

I bear witness that Jesus is alive, that His blood atonement cancels sin, carries us into the Holy of Holies, comforts the oppressed, cries out on the mercy seat over the Law, satisfies divine justice, and closes the door to the devil. I have seen the truth of being touched by the love of the Lamb slain, of being touched by the testimony of Christ. The Holy Spirit set me in motion to share the way, to share Jesus…even in the face of possible suffering and persecution. I have returned from places like Haiti, India, Madagascar, and across town after intense spiritual warfare thinking, "I’m still here!"

I have discovered along the way that faithful witness often leads to suffering and persecution as one is opposed by an unbelieving world and hostile spiritual forces. Such opposition, however, can mean opportunity to bear witness and receive the acknowledgment of Christ in heaven. I bear witness in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, who actively challenges the world with truth. The Holy Spirit works outwardly in signs and wonders to confirm the testimony of Christ. The Holy Spirit works inwardly to convict, convince, and convert. I have seen God heal people, deliver them, break down their resistance to His grace and love.

In the war-torn nation of Poland, I saw God work in a people daring to hope, believe, and cling to faith in God. They are overcomers in spite of their sufferings. I was the first woman to preach in the pulpit of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith in Lublin, one of 20 churches under Pastor Edward Rutkowski. I taught on wholeness, a concept new to them because of their language structure. I saw God stretch them as people broke into small groups and prayed for Poland, a first in the history of their church. I witness true fellowship and heard talk about change. I saw God break through with His living hope into hearts of people numb from "too much pain." I saw the Body of Christ come together as one to help a woman forgive her greatest enemy and be physically healed as a result.

Poland was on "the list" generated during a prayer time—"every nation where you want to go and see God work, write that down."

We marveled at the Pybus family in Llangollen, Wales, and their Christian Home Fellowship church. We met with Rev. and Mrs. Tom Richtors, our hosts at Lightfoot Grove Church, Stockton-on-Tees, England, and found we had common connections with pastors back home in Fort Lauderdale. We met people who radiated with the love and life that comes from God the Father. We saw the Holy Spirit unite us as we called England to repentance and gave ourselves to intercede and declare Jesus to be "Name above all names," exactly what was written above an entrance to the church.

In Costa Rica we saw God’s power in the city of Escazu, the city of witches. While we were having church and preparing to call in Costa Rica to repentance, the witches and the priest were celebrating an open festival of darkness in the city square. Our host pastor, Jose Murillo of Centro Cristiano de Escazu, a true servant of the Lord, has taken a public stand against the witches and Halloween. I preached and gave the call to Costa Rica. A witch came forward who had previously been warned, "If you do not stop what you are doing, you will die." She had lied to my face and walked out of the church, but then when the anointing came, she broke down before me. As our daughter Joanna said, "She melted in the heat of the Holy Spirit just like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz." The Lord moved powerfully in that service as also in Tibas in the Templo Hosana Assemblies of God church where many received prayer and many came forward to receive Christ. In this latter church we saw God move especially on the children, setting them apart as chosen vessels for the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming upon the earth.

In Puerto Rico, God moved mightily with a strong word of indictment followed by a message of hope. At Centro Cristiano de Restauracion in Cabo Rojo, under the leadership of Pastor Alfredo Pabon, 100 intercessors went up to the high mountains to pray over Puerto Rico and to break the strongholds present there. The battle raged during our time there, but God had the ultimate victory, with many people healed, delivered, and coming to Christ.

There’s so much. God moved through four years of radio ministry in our program Divine Appointment. Many of you are still on the mailing list and supporters of MCM because of that outreach. The Board decided to terminate the radio ministry in order to launch our web site, www.marycraig.org. This decision increased our media outreach worldwide and has resulted in much fruit for the Lord, as many of you can attest. People contact us, email, visit Craighouse®, and even make plans to move here to sit under this apostolic and anointed ministry.

As we were faithful to go to the nations, the Holy Spirit expanded the call to regions, seas, and then the continents. In November 1999, we were commissioned to go to the continents to call the nations to resurrection. We began with Brazil in South America in March 2000. After distributing clothing and toys to families along the Amazon River system, we found ourselves by the power of God on the platform of Ministerio Internacional da Restauracao under Pastor Rene Terra Nova in Manaus. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully as we called in the nation and Pastor Terra Nova led the people to intercede for Brazil and South America. The other continents followed, culminating last year with mission trips to Australia, Asia, and finally Antarctica.

We still have six nations left on "the list." Our next target nation is Zimbabwe. This nation is one we believe the Lord has targeted for breaking the strongholds of the curse. He wants to bless that nation. Already, we are encouraged by the prayers and results of those prayers in Zimbabwe.

In addition to mission trips, conferences, media ministry, and publications, the Lord allowed us in 2002 to move out with the vision of Craighouse. Craighouse as a Christ-serving refuge is based on scriptures of God as refuge and rock (Deuteronomy 33.27; Ruth 2.12; 1 Samuel 22.2, 3; Psalm 9.9: 31.2, 3; 46.1; 62.2, 6; 71.3, 7;91.2, 4; 94.22). It is a Christian community refuge for those seeking help and hope in Jesus Christ. It exists to offer refuge, times of refreshing, and restoration to the spiritually orphaned and wounded of the Christian community in an atmosphere of grace. It aspires to minister the resurrection power of Jesus Christ through worship, witness, the Word, and the Holy Spirit to those God brings to its door. Craighouse purposes to present the truth of Christ in a paradigm for living by the Word and by the Holy Spirit. The name "Craig" is an ancient Scottish name originally given to the peoples who dwelt among the highland rock clefts and crags of Scotland. Craighouse is an appropriate name for a place of spiritual refuge.

"The conies (rock badgers) are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks…" Proverbs 30.26

"She (the eagle) dwells and abides on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place." Job 39.28

The motto of Craighouse is: people bringing people to help and hope in Jesus Christ.

Many have come seeking that help and hope and have found God waiting and willing to bring them the healing, deliverance, peace, and salvation they seek. They feel God’s love and learn about the so great salvation we have in Jesus.

As I looked through the newsletters from the past ten years, I quietly praised God for the wisdom, the revelation, the people, the testimonies of His grace, the growth of MCM, and His anointing on my life. I thanked Him for hanging in there and keeping me by His mighty power. I thanked Him for giving me a husband who can be a pastor and still allow God to move and minister through his wife. I thanked Him for all of you on our mailing list, a list that spans the nation, and for all the people who read MCM NEWS because someone left a copy in the hospital waiting room, or gave a copy to a friend, or handed a copy to someone who needed encouragement. God is good. God is love.