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Spring is here!

I know I say this every time, but it’s true: I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALREADY APRIL! While I loved the unusually snowy winter we had, I am so thankful that Spring is here.  There’s nothing like walking outside on one of the first days of spring and hearing the birds chirp and seeing all the green and colors start to come out and, most importantly, feeling the warm sunshine! We’ve had, as usual, an incredibly busy month.  I’m excited to tell you about everything that’s happened!

40 days for a generation:

We are currently on a 40 day Daniel fast (taken from Daniel 1:7-20). It ends April 9th, at which point many of the participants are heading to New England to pray on the most reputable college campuses in our nation.  We are praying for a 3rd Great Awakening and revival to break out in our country beginning with our youth.  Join with us for this last week as we pray for God’s power to be unleashed!

A New Sound System for a New Sound:

We’re so excited to announce that The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace is in the process of upgrading our sound system! This might not sound like a big deal, but let me assure you it is.  Randy has worked tirelessly comparing prices, finding the best equipment, talking to experts and researching sound systems over the past month.  This weekend we are going to be completely revamping the Prayer Room.  This is so important because the sound system we are currently using, while we are grateful for it, is borrowed and not the highest quality.  I don’t know much about this kind of stuff (Randy’s the expert here), but I do know that with the new system the singers and musicians will finally be able to hear themselves (which even I know is important!). Also, the sound will be better quality therefore we won’t have to blast the volume which is a real blessing for the rest of the building and for our neighbors.  We also strongly believe that as Christians we should be the ones creating the best, most creative, highest quality music because we are the ones who have the best inspiration! We believe that creativity and talent comes from God, so how much more should we who have the Holy Spirit be producing great music than those who don’t? Just as many churches have beautiful stained glass windows and architecture and detailed crosses and woodwork (which I LOVE by the way) as a tribute to God’s greatness and holiness, so we desire to make the most beautiful sound possible to honor and bless the Lord.  I mean, isn’t He worth it!? So needless to say, we’re excited! Please pray for us as we set everything up and ask the Lord that funds would continue to come in so that we can finish this huge task.  The overall price of the sound system overhaul is about $30,000.  That’s a lot…but we know God will provide!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock…the countdown continues!:

So, I’m currently just over 30 weeks pregnant with only TEN WEEKS to go.  Oh my goodness!! That’s sooo exciting (and slightly nerve-wracking!).  I just want to say a big “THANK YOU!” to everyone who has been so diligently praying for me over the past month.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much better I’m feeling! I’m so grateful for everyone’s love and support and for the Lord’s faithfulness.  I’ve been resting and taking care of myself but I know that the credit goes solely to Jesus for my improvement.  I feel great! Please keep praying that the contractions stay away (well, until June 4th that is!) and that the remainder of my pregnancy will be problem free.  Randy and I are so ecstatic to meet our precious little son; please continue to pray for his emotional, spiritual and physical growth as the Lord finishes forming Him in my womb. Also another thing to be praying for is a house for Randy and I.  We are currently living in a wonderful basement apartment that has been so generously opened up to us, but as Samuel Asa’s arrival approaches we are looking for a bigger and more permanent residence.  Currently there is a possibility that the Lord has opened up for us; a cute 2-bedroom fixer upper in town.  It’s an amazing deal but it does need quite a bit of work and we would also need to be sure we could pay the mortgage.  Please pray for the Lord’s provision for us as we seek to find a home to raise our new family in.

Here’s a picture of the house:

A new job, a new project, a new season:

An exciting new opportunity has opened up for me at FPF that allows me to work mostly from home!  I’m coming on as the Coordinator for our brand new Partner’s Program.  The program basically aims to raise financial support for FPF while keeping the surrounding community involved with what’s going on even when they can’t be here on a daily basis.  I’m very excited! Please pray that the Lord will provide me with the ability and resources so that I can efficiently fund His kingdom.

Randy is also preparing for Awaken the Dawn (it’s May 12-15, be sure to attend, it’s gonna be awesome!…go to: http://www.theprayerfurnace.org/ministries/atd to register and learn more about the event) where he’ll be speaking.  But he’s also been feverishly working on finishing a compilation CD project to be ready to sell at ATD.  The CD will feature one or two songs from several of our main worship leaders (including Randy).  We hope this is just the beginning of recording and selling music that comes out of FPF.

With Love:

We love you guys so much! We are so grateful for your love and support and prayers.  Thank you for continuing to stand with us.  I’m so overjoyed (and sometimes overwhelmed!) at all the Lord is doing and I feel the kindness and reinforcement of each of you as we daily undertake all these projects, tasks and challenges.  We couldn’t do it without you and we’re so unbelievably thankful for your friendship.  This is all about Jesus, this is all for Jesus! To Him be the glory, honor, love and power forever. We pray that God would richly bless you as Easter approaches; that you would partake in the sorrow of Christ’s death and the extreme joy of His resurrection.  What a beautiful, merciful God we serve!

Until He comes,

Randy & Kaitlin Martinez (& Samuel Asa!)

February has certainly been an interesting month! The Lord has done a lot and we’re excited to share an update with you all.

February started off great…and with a giant snow storm! In fact the storm hit the weekend of Randy and I’s first anniversary! It was certainly a memorable way to celebrate our first year of marriage together.  Thankfully the Lord allowed us to have a weekend together away in Richmond so we avoided the brunt of the storm.  We are so grateful to have been married for a year (it seems like such a huge accomplishment!… even though I know it’s just a drop in the bucket!!).  God has truly blessed us and we are so thankful that you all have been a part of our lives over the past year.

Program Updates:

As we mentioned in the last update we launched several programs in the beginning of this year.  The two biggest ones were The Introduction to Staff Program and The College of Sacred Scriptures.  Randy and I are so happy to report that both programs are really thriving.

College of Sacred Scripture:

Randy has been teaching two classes a week and it’s been incredible.  A lot of people from the community have been attending.  In fact Randy’s “Intro to the End Times” class is completely full!  Also we’ve been doing a series on the end times on Friday night at the Burn Service and Randy preached an amazing message that is available on our website, you should check it out.

Intro to Staff Program:

The Intro to the Staff Program is also doing really well.  All the participants are really diving in deep.  All the leaders are excelling in their positions and really taking a lot of initiative; not to mention the fact that we’ve been able to fully staff the prayer room with LIVE prayer and worship for 12 hours a day! The ministry to the Lord has been the biggest accomplishment of the Intro to Staff Program and we are so excited that God has been continuing to staff our house with people dedicated to worshiping the Lord and bringing glory to His name in the Fredericksburg area.

Partnership with JHOP-DC & Bound4Life:

There haven’t been too many new developments during February, we are just maintaining all the of things we began in January.  The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace and the community around it is continuing to grow, and as we grow we are able to see the impact we are making both in Fredericksburg, DC and around all of Virginia.  In fact, as some of you may know the head of Bound4Life, the prolife group, Matt Lockett and his team moved to Fredericksburg about a year ago and recently we’ve began to partner with them more strongly to see the ending of abortion and revival in America.  Matt Lockett also is the head of JHOP-DC  (Justice House of Prayer-Washington, DC) and we’ve been sending up teams to help support him and his group in DC as they stand in the gap on behalf of the nation’s capital.  We have a strong burden and desire to see the Lord’s power and love released and we know that there’s few places with greater national impact than DC.  Please pray for us as we stand with Bound4Life and JHOP-DC.

Building Update:

We are still continuing to look for a new building although we’ve hit some minor setbacks.  The building that we had in mind has been put on hold due to zoning and permitting reasons.  Please pray that the Lord would open the door to a new facility that would allow us to better equip, support and minister to the community.  We are quickly outgrowing our prayer room and our friday night Burn Services are pretty much at maximum capacity! We are grateful for how much the Lord has grown our ministry over the last year but we are also in desperate need of a new building!

I am excited to update you on a program I am heading up this new year called the “Introduction to Staff” program, or “Intro Staff”. I feel like we are just beginning to build the Prayer Room in such a way that will be sustainable long-term for The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace. This is a 6 month program in which we are providing participants with housing and food for a minimal monthly fee while they are being trained in the lifestyle of an intercessory missionary. For many this is their first time being in full-time ministry. They will be trained in worship, intercession, theology, leadership skills, fundraising, and practical life skills so that they will be able to sustain their life as an intercessory missionary here at FPF, or elsewhere, after the 6 months are finished. Their time will be predominately served in the Prayer Room accompanied by classes from the College of Sacred Scripture, different administrative responsibilities in FPF, personal discipleship, and the weekly Burn Service.

I am personally discipling six section leaders who serve as the leadership of the Intro Staff Program. Each of these individuals will lead and administrate a 4-hour section of the Prayer Room schedule and will have 4-6 Intro Staff men and women in their sections. These section leaders will also personally disciple and train each of the Intro Staff members that are in their section.

These Intro Staff will be giving themselves to the work of “keeping charge of the sanctuary” like the sons of Zadok in Ezekiel 44 who, when all of Israel went astray, tended to the presence of the Lord. And like Asaph and his brothers, along with the 4,000 others whom King David paid full-time to “stand before the Lord and minster to His presence”, they are taking charge of their 4-hour section every day to keep the fire on the altar so that others can come and sit and be blessed. In addition to ministering to the Lord in worship and singing the Scriptures, they have also taken up the incredible task of intercession for the Body of Christ and this nation in this hour. Teams of them gather corporately twice a day to pray for justice to be released, the kingdom of God to be advanced, and the Body of Christ to be strengthened and encouraged.

We have restructured the Prayer Room schedule into 4-hour sections in which the current staff and Intro Staff will serve by participating in different “sets”; these sets are: Prophetic Worship (one or two people singing & playing music to the Lord), Worship with the Word (a team of singers antiphonally expounding on a scripture passage) and Intercession (prayer for our core mandates and values). With three 4-hour sections a day we will be able to go 12 hours a day with unbroken ministry to the Lord as we work towards our goal of perpetual worship and intercession in Fredericksburg.  Also, a few months ago we created positions for part-time and community staff who commit to 2 hour sets during the week in coordination with their work and family schedules. We are quickly approaching 50 staff members who are giving themselves to worship, intercession, and radical acts of justice and compassion with the power of the Holy Spirit! Praise God and thank you Jesus!

It’s a new decade and we don’t have any plans to slow down; or should we say the Lord doesn’t have any plans to slow down! J There’s never a dull moment in our lives and after a short rest around Christmastime we are hitting the ground running in the New Year.  So much has already happened this month.  On January 9^th we celebrated the one-year anniversary of The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace.  January 15^th marked the launch of our new Intro-Staff program that Randy’s heading up (he’ll talk more in detail about that later!).  Then the newest installment of the Burn Internship began Monday, January 18^th. There are an astounding 23 interns for this internship, many coming from different states!

We have also launched the College of Sacred Scripture with the vision to “establish a theological community of learning centered in the knowledge of Christ and Him crucified in the experiential context of night and day prayer”. Randy is one of the teachers at the College of Sacred Scripture; where he is currently teaching  “Studies in Christology” and “Introduction to the End Times”.  The classes are open to the public and we are working towards becoming accredited. It’s really exciting!

Also in January was the annual March for Life in Washington, DC.  The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace takes an active role in the March for Life.  We help pass out signs and march with 300,000 other men, women, children and youth who desire to see abortion ended, life upheld and revival come to America.  As in past years Randy lead prayer and worship with his team in front of the Supreme Court, which is where the March ends.  Hundreds of thousands of youth and adults joined in as we all corporately cried out to God for the ending of abortion. This year Randy’s band, Hope at Hand, played a concert, hosted by the prolife group Rock for Life, on Friday night after the March.  It was an amazing show were countless kids were touched by the love of God, many of them also got healed!

We are currently pursuing the possibility of re-locating FPF! Due to the growth and expansion of the ministry we have become unable to accommodate the community of people that desire to be part of day and night worship and prayer in Fredericksburg. We are working with the City of Fredericksburg towards obtaining a facility that would both double our size and bless the city. Pray for us as we work through the details of this process!

Randy and I also went to the doctor this month and found out that we’re having a baby boy! We couldn’t be more excited about having a son and we are so grateful for God’s love, blessing and provision.  Both baby and I are doing well, but we’d greatly appreciate your prayers for continued health over the coming months!

I think Randy and I can say with confidence that 2009 was the most incredible, most life changing, most intense, most challenging year of our lives.  This year was definitely a MOST year! Looking back on everything we’ve been through and all the things the Lord accomplished in just 12 short months is amazing.  Truly, only our God could’ve orchestrated all the things that happened in 2009!

Here’s a snapshot rundown of 2009:

• January: The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace was officially launched; the Burn Internship began. We had 16 interns and a few full time staff.
• February: Randy and I got married! (…and then got robbed on our honeymoon!)
• April: Awaken the Dawn conference, Randy spoke and lead worship.
• July-August: Hope at Hand goes on tour: 15 states, 7,000 miles, hundreds of kids healed, saved and delivered!
• August: A new Burn Internship begins. 16 new interns join us for a semester and we make provisions for part-time and community staff.  Our staff now grows to around 20.
• September: Randy gets the swine flu & ends up in the ER (September was a little crazy!)
• October: SOZO conference; we find out we’re pregnant!
• November: Randy speaks at a conference for youth in Newport News, VA where God released physical and emotional healing for many!
• December: We begin to develop “Intro Staff program” and attend One Thing conference @ IHOP-KC

Thank You!

Randy and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued love and support over the past year!  We are so grateful that you have faithfully stood with us; providing for us financially and, more importantly, standing with us in prayerful love and support.  We could not have done any of it without you. Because of your kindness and generosity you have enabled us to pursue the Lord’s calling for our lives and to give ourselves fully to it! Because of you we have raised up 12 hours a day of sustained worship and prayer in the northeast and countless people have been healed, saved and delivered. We love you!

I can’t believe it’s almost December; it seems like time keeps moving more and more quickly.  And, as always, so much has happened over the past few months! When we last left off we had just returned from Hope at Hand’s tour and we were just getting back into the routine of things—thankfully the Lord is never dull and things have been anything but routine. We have many exciting things to share with you and hope that you are blessed as you read about how the Lord is moving.

We are closing in on one year of consistent prayer and worship here in Fredericksburg. Teams have been running 12 hours and day 5 days a week crying out for justice, lifting up the name of Jesus, releasing the kingdom and shifting the atmosphere over this city and the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. region. In addition to that we have seen an abundance of healings, deliverance, salvations, signs and wonders.

We are gearing up for another expansion of the schedule and staff at the beginning of the year. We are aiming to be open 18 hours a day Mon-Fri starting January 6, 2010. This is only a few hours a way from God’s dream of day and night prayer and worship covering the northeast! Can you imagine what will being to shift and change over this region and the nation when, in the grace of God when we have teams of intercessors and worshipers and evanglists operating around the clock?

We currently have about 25 staff which will nearly double within the next 3 months as we graduate this group of interns and more and more are hearing the call to a radical lifestyle of standing before the Lord. With this in mind we are aggressively pursuing a new facility that will be able to accommodate 24/7 prayer, classrooms, offices, large group meetings, practice rooms, and warehouse for emergency supplies and ministry to the poor.

Internships and Training Programs

In a few weeks we will graduate our 3rd cycle of Burn Interns! I am so proud of the way this group of young people have given their lives to search out the knowledge of God and be set apart with blazing fire. These ones are signs and wonders in their generation, the same ones likened to Noah in his generation. They are emerging out of this internship with a lifestyle of intimacy with Jesus, contending intercession, radical compassion for the poor and the power of the gospel with signs and wonders. Out of the 15 interns that will complete their 4 month internship, many will return to give their life extravagantly to Jesus in the place of prayer and giving themselves as intercessors for their generation. We are now accepting applicants for the upcoming internship this January.

College of Sacred Scriptures

In addition to the expansion of schedule and facility we are also expanding our teaching and training programs. In the beginning of 2010 we are launching the FPF College of Sacred Scriptures. The initial semester will offer seven 12 session courses and will continue to build each semester. Our first courses will consist of studies in Christology, Intro to End-Times, SOZO course, Foundations of the Faith, Book of Acts, Song of Solomon, Book of Ephesians, and more… I will be teaching two of these courses.

SOZO Conference

At the end of October we hosted a conference called “SOZO”, after the greek word for “saved” meaning fully saved, healed, delivered, protected, restored, and provided for. This gathering was specifically focused on training and equipping in healing, deliverance, and power evangelism. I had the privilege of speaking and ministering at the conference along with David Bradshaw, Eddie James, Che Ahn, Duncan Smith and more. We saw numerous people healed, delivered and equipped to walk in a supernatural lifestyle.

Jesus Stories

Here are a few stories of what the Lord has done in the past few months.

• Fruit that remains: If you remember back in August while we were on tour with Hope at Hand, we played a show in Richmond, VA.  That night we felt strongly from the Lord that the He wanted to break addictions to pornography and strongholds of perversion and Jezebel’s influence. From stage that night I had a word of knowledge about addictions to pornography. After the show we prayed for a number of people who responded to the word and went through intense deliverance right in the middle of the club. Three months later a young man found Aaron C .(Hope at Hand’s drummer) while he was eating lunch at school and proceeded to tell him that He was one of the people that I prayed for the night of that show and for the last three months he not only has he not looked at pornography but he hasn’t even had the temptation to look! Come on Jesus!
  

• I am 71: On October 31st concerned Americans gathered in Washington, D.C. on Pennsylvania Ave on front of the White House to tell our president that 71% of the tax-paying citizens do not support the destruction of our children in any tax payer funded piece of legislation and to take our stand  in intercession to see a shift in our government . Kaitlin and I helped her dad, Pat Mahoney, organize this event called “Operation: Lay Down Your Life” in which those that participated laid down their bodies on the street in the shape of a giant 71 to represent the millions of American who oppose tax-payer funded abortion in the new healthcare bill. In the weeks ensuing we saw a dramatic shift in congress with the Stupak amendment that restricted all government funding for abortion! Hallelujah! Our battle continues in  the Senate, but don’t shrink back now beloved– the battle is at the gate!

• Glory Zone: I recently had the opportunity to speak at a youth conference in Newport News, VA. On Saturday night my good friends St. Lorel led worship. At the end of worship I felt a strong angelic presence in the room and felt like the Lord wanted to pour out the love of the Father by releasing healing and deliverance. I asked everyone to begin to sing in the spirit and simultaneously the Lord began to increase His presence so tangibly. Suddenly Holy Spirit began releasing words of knowledge and that night a man that was 75% deaf in his right ear was healed completely! Another man who came to the meeting with 30 years of chronic back and neck pain was totally healed and felt no pain for the first time in three decades! A young man who had severe TMJ and wasn’t able to open his mouth was healed and could open wide his jaw without any pain. A woman who had hurt her knee and was walking with difficulty was healed as well as a young man who had a torn rotator cuff. A little later on I called for everyone in the room who had digestive diseases or eating disordered connected to physical, sexual, and verbal abuse in their past. Almost 20 people came forward and a Spirit of Deliverance broke out against self-hate and the accuser of the brethren. Many of these people have been living under torment and sickness for years and years because of an open door to the enemy due to the trauma of their abuse. Jesus did in one night what years of counseling and suppression could not do. Go Jesus!

   

• Sovereign Saving: Last week at our weekly Friday night “Burn Services” a young Hindu man came per the invitation of one of our interns on an outreach to one of the poorer neighborhoods. This young man spoke a very small amount of english but during the ministry time after worship he was miraculously healed! After he realized he was healed he found one of our leaders because he wanted to know Jesus. No one could communicate with Him but to our surprise a young lady was visiting from out of town who was from the same province he was! She spoke with him and he believed in the mercy of Jesus and gave his life to the Lord. Amazing!

Personal Update

When we returned from tour I felt strongly from the Lord to go on an extended fast to seek the Lord for the next season.  About a week into the fast I suddenly got incredibly sick and, as many of you know, ended up in the emergency room.  Soon my fever was down and the test results were returned to us confirming that I had H1N1 (aka the swine flu).  Even though it was quite a scare, God was kind and gracious and I get well very quickly.

After the swine flu scare things were starting to get back to normal when we got the wonderful news that Kaitlin was pregnant! We were quite shocked but so excited that the Lord would bless us with our first child.  Kaitlin is currently 13 weeks pregnant and our little baby is healthy and happy.

“Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” –Psalm 127:3

Baby Martinez is due June 4, 2010! We would greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers for the developments of our little, beloved child.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.  While we greatly missed my family, Kaitlin and I were in NJ with with her side of the family and her father took us into NYC on Thursday morning to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it was a lot of fun!

Support Us!

We need you help to continue in the ministry the Lord has called us to.

I serve the this local missions base by:

• directing the Prayer Room
• teaching and developing two core classes: Christology 1 and Intro to Eschatology: a study of end times
• personally discipling and raising up your ministers of the gospel
• leading worship and prayer for “sets” and Friday Night Burn Services
• Preaching on our main Friday Night Burn Service
• Traveling and ministering

We started a partners program a few months ago called “1 of 100″. We have had a favorable response but we still are needing to reach our goal! Maybe you can help!

These are the ways you can partner with us:

1. Stand with us in the place of prayer.

2. One-time tax-deductible gift

3. Monthly support (tax-deductible)

((please click on our support page for more info))

Thank you for all your continued prayers and support. We would not be able to do the things the Lord has called us to do without your help! We pray that the Lord would bless you and your families during this beautiful Christmas season and that He would refresh and replenish you by His Spirit as we approach 2010. We love you!

In His Love,
Randy and Kaitlin