Our dear friends,
We are writing to give you an update about our lives and especially to give you a personal invitation to partner with us in ministry.
Since being married in August, we have felt the Lord leading us into a season of transition and taking a great leap of faith into the unknown. For the past four years, we have been ministering at Grace Church, a local church here in St. Louis. The Lord has done amazing things in both of our lives in this season, and we could not be more thankful for the opportunities He has presented over the last four years through our friends and spiritual family members there. The Lord has done a mighty work in both of our hearts during this season, drawing us closer to Him than ever before and, little did we know, drawing us closer to one another.
We met each other near the beginning of our time at Grace in 2018, and just a few years later, we found ourselves spending time together as friends and eventually realizing that we wanted to be together! The Lord is so good, and we didn’t imagine when we met each other that we would fall in love and be joined together in marriage to build a life together and to serve Him as one. This journey has just begun for us and the dreams and visions the Lord has placed on our hearts fill us with excitement and direction for our future. The road, however, is not always clear. In fact, in many ways it is very uncertain.
Do you ever feel like you are walking along through life, and then the lights go out? Suddenly all you can do is just hold the hand of the Lord and trust that He will lead you because He is the only one who knows the way. That is a pretty fair description of how we feel as we embrace this transition. As 2022 has just begun, we have been overwhelmed by the Spirit of the Lord, knowing that He is leading us out of our church and into something new, yet without any clear knowledge of what is next. The psalmist writes some words that are comforting: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” We cling to this truth and the truth of God’s everlasting promises. His word never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation or have been there before. We both certainly have at different times, and the beautiful reality is that our Heavenly Father has never once left us alone in the middle of the dark. Every time we have been in a similar situation in the past, we can look back and testify that the Lord was always faithful. His plans and His timing were always perfect, not missing anything.
So as we face this transition now, newly married and ready for the adventure, we find ourselves with a unique opportunity ahead. The Lord has opened the door for us to spend some time at a very special place in Kansas City, Missouri. The International House of Prayer (IHOP) is a ministry that has facilitated day and night, 24/7 prayer unto the Lord for the last 22 years without any breaks. The significance of this ministry cannot be overstated. Both as single individuals and now as a married couple, our hearts have been captivated by the supernatural work the Lord has been doing at IHOP. We both have a number of friends who have gone before us and spent decades in this ministry, serving the Lord as intercessory missionaries, and now we find ourselves feeling moved to do the same.
Before learning of IHOP, I (Stuart) had never heard of an intercessory missionary. The concept is something that the Lord has awakened to me in the past few years at Grace Church, and I have had a small taste of this lifestyle in our own ministry context at Grace. The role of the intercessory missionary is that of a prayer warrior, a prayer leader, a worship leader, a man or woman who seeks the face of the Lord in the long hours of the night, physically weakened by fasting to bring forth requests on behalf of the nations. At IHOP the missionaries regularly lift up prayers for revival across the nations, the ending of abortion, protection for the sovereign state of Israel, the return of the King, and the fulfillment of prophecies in Scripture that have yet to be fulfilled.
For the two of us, this presents an amazing opportunity to grow much closer in our walk with the Lord, living modestly with no salary or pay, to contend for our marriage and the ministry that the Lord has called us to as a family. Our days and weeks will be spent in the prayer room, amidst the IHOP community, and in the local mission field of Kansas City. We do not know how long the Lord is calling us to stay in KC, but we know that He is opening this door.
And this is where we need your help. We cannot do this without you. As intercessory missionaries, we must raise the money we will need to cover living expenses on a month to month basis. Furthermore, we are in great need of prayer. Even if you cannot support us financially, we urge you to pray for us and keep us in your daily prayer list. Please pray that the Lord will sustain us and provide for all of our needs. Please pray that we will be protected from sickness and accidents during our time at IHOP to mitigate other expenses. And please pray that the Lord visits us in dreams during the night, that He speaks to us through His Word, and that He fills our hearts and minds with clear vision regarding the ministry that He desires us to step into in the future.
Our plan is to live in Kansas City for the next year, volunteering and serving at IHOP as intercessory missionaries and fully immersing ourselves in the culture and spiritual community. Not knowing how long the Lord will sustain our time at IHOP, we are praying for His will to be done with the simple prayer from the prophet Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.”
It is our desire to maintain close connections with all of our friends in the months and years ahead. In many ways, leaving St. Louis is hard, and we do grieve it because we have so many friends and family whom we love dearly. St. Louis is our home, and we will always be coming back to visit, but as the Lord has made clear to us, we cannot stay while there is so much work to be done outside of our home.
If you are reading this, know that we love you so much. We thank and praise God for the gift of your love and friendship. We would not be who we are today without your influence on our lives and the joy that God has placed in our hearts because of who you are to us.
Thank you for praying for us.
Thank you for supporting us.
Thank you for being our friends.
Thank you for loving us the way you do.
Thank you for being the light of Jesus in our lives.
Thank you for forgiving us when we fall and make mistakes.
We love you.
In Christ,
Stuart Isaac & Vesta Benze Harrier
If you would like to support us financially, we are praying for individuals and families who will support us on a monthly basis with whatever they feel led to give. Please call us if you would like to join us in this step of faith or click the link below.
You can follow us on Instagram @theharrierfam & Subscribe to our YouTube Channel “The Harrier Fam”