Long History

Let me tell you about the continued unfolding of Capturing Courage International Ministries (the Short Version is HERE). This journey with the Lord has been as unwrapping packages of God’s thoughts and directions, of courage and strength. For myself it has been a very personal process of God’s inviting to pour through my life, and then as we leave open the work for many others. In many ways CCIM has developed in a backwards kind of way. We did not begin with a full vision and work back from there. The big picture was given and then the lines and colours have been filled in as we go. Let me tell you a bit more of what I mean:

Mid 1980’s – SNAPSHOT

I continued to wonder about a snapshot picture in my mind’s eye of preaching and praying in stadiums full of people in Africa.

1998 – CHALLENGE

Isaiah 58:6-12 was seared into my soul. It became my guiding light, and a test, for a number of years, as well as a prophetic word over my life to come. Today we look back and the last parts of this passage are beginning to be played out.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

11 And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.” Isiah 58:6-12

1999 – SPURRING ON

This quote below, is what I was learning deep in my being, and committing myself to: being broken for the benefit of many others.

“If my life is broken when given to Jesus it is because pieces will feed a multitude, whereas a loaf will feed only a little lad.” Ruth Stull

2000 – VISIONS

The Lord took me (in a vision, multiple times)  to a cliff overlooking rolling hills as far as the eye could see. each hill was covered in trees and he said to me,

“Each tree represents a life whom your words will touch.”

2001 – ABIDING

I had the very strong sense that the level of my abiding in Christ directly correlated to his work in others lives, somehow.

2002 – GOD’S HEART

October– what I sensed the Lord saying to me as written in my journal:

“They don’t need your words they need mine, so abide in me. The words you are speaking now into the lives of others are touching hearts, but they are only the tip of the iceberg. I desire to use you more than I can imagine. Only abide in me, welcome brokenness, weariness.”

2003 – LIFE VERSE

December – I read the following verse and wept and wept, as it touched a very deep place and signalled what my life is to be about. It continues to be CCIM’s core verse summarizing the core way and manner and impact of all we do:

“They preached with joyful urgency that life could be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.” Mark 6:12-13 MSG

2004 – GOD’S WORDS

I began to record what the Lord seemed to be saying to me:

“Now is the time. Pray that the way be opened. Seek my face. For all over the world do I choose to use you to bring strength to many.”

The sense for me during that year,

“It is as though every small area of life that I am responsible & faithful today, is one more life standing before God’s throne tomorrow.” June 2004

2006 – COMMITMENT

October – during introspection time and recorded in my journal. The Lord showed me the rolling hills as far as my eye could see, with the multitudes of trees that represent the lives my words would touch and asked me,

“Do you want this? You can garden and do family for the rest of your life and I would bless it. But this is yours if you want it.”

I thought about it for two weeks, realizing the vision would take my very life, and then said, “Yes.” Immediately after this, a momentum of the Lord began.

2007 to 2009 – RESEARCHING

For a number of years I attended Missions Fest for the express purpose of looking around all the booths to find out who was working with indigenous pastors. There was a strong compelling in my spirit to bring healing prayer to indigenous congregations. I didn’t find anyone that seemed interested in this possibility.

2008 – TEAM

I had been waiting on the Lord’s timing to invite a team of folks around me. The summer of 2008 I asked 6 people to be a prayer support team, really a personal board of directors, around me. They all said yes.

2009 – LAUNCH

January we launched Capturing Courage International. This year was about website work, starting to blog, and joining facebook. I had an assistant with all this. We had a few public events called Femininity Events, and we began hosting Femininity Renewal Weekends with good success  for 2.5 years. About 50 women were blessed through these weekends.

2010 – ORGANIZATION

We continued to add people to the ‘roster’ of CCI and trying to figure out just exactly what kind of an organization we were. I have always been keen on ‘we’ and even in the early years wanted collaboration in this work of the Lord; everything the Lord had been showing me about the work to come indicated we would need quite the team of folks!

Summer of 2010 and I was given a vision of standing on the threshold of eternity, it was running over packed full of grace, and I had a dipper and it was given me to tromp all over the world passing out dippers full of God’s grace.

The Fall of 2010 the Lord said to me,

“Get ready you are going to begin travelling”

2011 – INTERNATIONAL

January – There were numerous prophecies and confirmations within a weeks time confirming that Africa was coming up shortly.

In May we met as CCI team (as we had been doing monthly all year) and during our prayer time and as people spoke out this is what I recorded,

“Now is the time, pray that the doors are opened.”

“The Holy Spirit will move out from CCI all over the world.”

June – Geoffrey invited me to Uganda

November – 1st trip to Africa – the international launch of CCI. I brought inner healing teaching as well as leadership development principles to two pastors conferences in two communities in Uganda.

2012 – INCREASE

We began to realize the scope and call to invest even deeper with overseas pastors. I began writing a small topical Bible study that is now known as Capturing God’s Heart.

March to April – 5 weeks in Uganda to some 13 pastors and their churches and communities.

We realized the mission and values of CCIM

August – 2 weeks to Uganda. During this trip one of my primary translators said to me,

“Cyndy, you have been here three times now. You must make it official. Take what you do and put it into writing so that we can learn it also.”

Just prior to this trip a friend at home had asked me,

“Cyndy, can you write about spiritual authority?”

To which my guttural integral response was, “Yes!” Out of these two compelling by others, I began to write and write what has now become Module TWO of our College Course, Walking in Spiritual Authority. I did not at the time know who I was writing it for. I only knew that I was supposed to be writing it.

As the year went on the Capturing God’s Heart topical Bible Study was being used by many pastors and we began to experience unexpectedly good favor with it.

2013 – FAVOR & PROPHECIES

Great favor and open doors with many pastors around the world. More than 27 individual invites, from 10 countries and 3 continents. The correspondence continued to increase so much that we could hardly keep up. My focus was simply trying to be faithful to these relationships and to the Lord’s call.

May – a prophecy spoken over me,

“I don’t know about your situation but I’m praying for full finances so that you can go to the world. I pray that the future is now. I see you going back and forth and back and forth. This is not a onetime trip but the start of a new phase of your life. Every time you go out and come back the anointing and influence for here will increase. I see you going to nations bringing new levels of healing, and new levels of deliverance.”

September – a prophecy from a pastor in Kenya:

“This is a new time.  A new time on the face of the earth.  A new time in My Kingdom on earth.  Listen to Me, Please Listen to Me.  You must listen to My voice.  Do not train the sheep to follow you.  Do not train the sheep to listen to your voice.  Equip them to be sent forth, prepare them for the journey.  You must not hold back.  Do not hold yourself in reserve, this is not about you.  It is not about your kingdom, your ministry, your efforts, or your work.  For I am doing a new thing.  It is like the old, it is like the New Testament.  The pastor did not do the work of the flock.  The pastor encouraged My body, tended My body, prepared it for the work of My kingdom.  He who would be greatest as a pastor in My flock must be the least.  You must be servant of all, just as I have been, just as I still am.

I am protecting and feeding the flock.  Recognize that these [in your church] will go out and do the work – greater works than I am doing.  It is Jesus’ ministry He is doing this to blossom and come forth.  We need the attitude of John the Baptist –  He must increase and we must decrease.

I am the God of the living, I am not a God of the dead nor am I dead.  All who come to Me will live and I will give them eternal life that they will live forever in the kingdom that I am establishing.  My Kingdom will soon be evident in the earth and you will see those who are propelled by the life of God.  You will see holiness and purity emerge in the people who have allowed the refining fire to purify their hearts and minds.  I am a refining fire and I refine all who would come to Me and say, here I am, refine me.

(for Cyndy in particular) On Sunday night the Lord gave me a vision, I saw you being encompassed by a bright, fluid gold band (circle) that continued to flow around you. Nothing, no nothing came near that fluid gold band from either outside or inside.  Then I noticed that the gold band was sheathed in a rusty colored substance that was peeling away but not falling away from the ring.  I had two thoughts that came to me.  One, that this color meant something to you and I should pass it on, or that it looked like dried blood peeling from around the gold band. Then  Jehovah said, Yes, it’s the blood of my Son.  It is through the spilling of His blood that the gold band can exist and it is the blood of My Son that has made it possible for her to be surrounded by heavenly protection and peace. she walks in Me, therefore she has my protection. May God bless you as you also pray about the same vision.”

November – I was in Mozambique for three weeks.

A friend had a prophetic dream about that trip,

“I was somewhere with you, a place I did not know … there were people around,  big ugly people that were chasing people and when they caught them … they would throw them in this muddy river… You Cyndy were standing on the shore and I was standing beside you watching … Then Cyndy you bent down and reached and caught one of people in the river and pulled him/her up. I could not tell if men or women or child was being pulled up with only one hand — so strong you looked, so strong you were. I was afraid for you Cyndy you just kept pulling and pulling crying out “I can’t let go” over and over, and when you pulled we saw that the people were all attached to each other so that that there was a long line of them  coming up … how many we did not know? It seems like never ending … Then we heard a loud noise coming from where the ugly big people were, and then everything got quiet, and they had disappeared … we saw the water become clearer and all the people you had pulled out started to walk away from you and I. They were singing … loud singing and walking away. You turn to me and said, “You must go home now” and then I woke up.”

2014 – TRANSITIONS

Corners were turned and difficult times came to an end, there were many prophecies of new pleasant lands. We went from being CCI to CCIM, Capturing Courage International Ministries. With invites to 20 countries, the God’s Heart Volumes were being used in 14 countries

January – I began asking God to teach me about revival

May – there was a real lifting in the compression and difficulties of the previous years

July & August – I began wondering how we disciple nations

July & August – I was writing the CCIM Discipleship Focus

September to December – three months to Uganda where our core content and core learning outcomes were realized and where pastor after pastor implored me,

“Cyndy, we want a CCIM presence in the country even when you are not here. Would you please take what you do and put it into a course that we could learn from.”

October – I began working on College of Capturing Courage International Ministries

2015 – WRITING

Crazy writing pressure as I worked on the curriculum to class deadlines overseas. Meanwhile God continued to pour in bigger picture thinking. We learned about stewarding movements as contrasted with building an organization. Discipling nations began to feel normal,

“Of course this is what we are doing!”

February through April –  Nine-week ministry trip to India with further clarification of course content and framing and much healing to hundreds of people. I received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from a Bible School in India.

February – A pastor in Uganda begins nine locations of CCIM Colleges with an immediate student count of 200.

May — Two fellows in India take on CCIM College to teach it and to translate it into Telugu. Once home from my India trip the Lord said to me,

“Okay, now we are beginning.”

September — short trip to Uganda and then to Wales.

In Uganda I heard amazing testimonies and witnessed the joy of the students as they shared how God had been impacting them through the college course. Pastors and Bishops continued to affirm and request our college course.

I met a pastor who needed a curriculum to train the 24,000 pastors that he was responsible to train. CCIM College seemed a work of the Lord for him — I was so, so thankful that I kept writing when I was to keep writing all those years.

In Wales I met and stayed with a colleague and his family. Learning from him there was increased and great clarity brought to ccim, namely realizing we are stewarding an apostolic movement.

November — recorded in my journal the sense from the Lord was his saying,

“I am going to give you the nations for I know you will lead them to me.”

2016 – CLARITY

January – At our annual CCIM Gathering at home base in Canada I began to pray,

“God, bring your wildness. Be wild among us!”

March – I and another, had three weeks of ministry in the Philippines. We were asked if our name could be used as a denomination on that particular island in the Philippines, with an immediate twenty churches, then another forty to be added. There would be reporting and oversight requirements and submissions etc. After a month of prayer, discernment, and conversation, we said no,

“We are not an oversight organization.”

Yet, out of that trip the Lord revealed to us the strategy of lifting nations to the Lord, that continues to inform our thinking going forward.

June – I was in Kenya for one week to two communities, as well as stopping in to see one of our primary pastor friend in the country. We came away from that one week with 70 requests for our course.

The remainder of 2016 was much writing of the course, working to finish it off. There was also the indexing that took a great lot of time. Then too, the chapter review test were created that year.

October — I was in Uganda for six weeks where, among other trainings and conferences, we had our very first Teacher Training for those wanting to teach the course in their areas and via their ministries. It was a great success. The content was spot-on. The rhythm and flow to the three days was amazing. Our host pastor did a fantastic job. We were so delighted.

November — I was in Pakistan for three weeks. Again, to many churches and faith communities. It was a good time, a beautiful country, with blessed work.

2017 – MINISTRY

March through May — three months in Uganda. I hired our CCIM College Co-Ordinator for Uganda and East Africa. He and I began to plan and discern how we might respond to the vast invites within the country for the course. We were asking,

“What might our support systems and roles be, in order to help pastors take on this course successfully?”

Out of that trip and again, the dozens and dozens of requests for CCIM College, we brought another few folks on board to read the course and to be trained as Teacher Trainers alongside myself.

August – We secured our home and ministry base in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.

In August I was also 10 days in India with our CCIM Co-Ordinators there. We visited one of the classes that was taking our course. It was a good reconnection time as I had not been in India since early in 2015.

September to October – I was six weeks in Uganda once more, with team building training at ministry base in the city. We were then at numerous conferences, also with CCIM College Teacher Trainings in various locations, with some hundred folks.

November – Back to Uganda for the purpose of buying cows as sustainable funding for ministry within the country, scheme.

2018 – PAUSE, TRANSLATIONS, PRODUCTIVITY

February – India once more. We attended our first CCIM College Graduation in India. What a great day we had!

February through March – Uganda. With further Team training, conferences, CCIM College Teacher Trainings. We had a mix of success and failures, or mis-steps. We learned a lot and continued discerning the exact way and manner and how of support systems around the course.

May – I realized that I had compassion fatigue and put a one-year hold on all overseas ministry in order to rest and refresh, and to work on foundational behind the scenes needs at CCIM.

May – Translation work began in Uganda into Lugandan. Translation work begins in India into Telagu.

August – I began to work on a summary book alongside an artist to produce a pictoral manual of the key principles that we teach at CCIM.

September – Translation work began in Kenya, of the course into Kiswahili.

2019 – CELEBRATION & RE-CALIBRATION

God, we come before you in the name and the blood (life) of our Lord Jesus Christ. We give you all the glory and the honor and the praise of our lives and of this work. You are good, we love you, and we trust you. Pour your life in and over and through us. May your goodness supersede all the other realities of our days. May our lives reflect your glory. and may our intimacy increase as a sign of our love. We bless you this day God and we thank you for the awesome and mighty privilege of being alongside this dream of your heart to restore all peoples of the earth to your heart and life in fullness and as whole people. We give our lives to you and to this work in the name and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen!

February – I was 5 weeks in Pakistan. It was a good and blessed time with the body of Christ in Lahore and the surrounding areas. We’ve come away with greater wisdoms and insights into how we navigate forward. The biggest challenge we have at this time is the ever-expanding requests and invites and responses to the work we are doing. We are learning how to navigate this in the years to come.

“They preached with joyful urgency that life could be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.” Mark 6:12-13 MSG