Shalom All:
We want to share several letters from a number of people who attended our recent AMI 2003 Conference last week.

The first one focuses on our need to be led by the Ruach HaKodesh, and it points out what happens to us when we focus on "head knowledge."

The other letters are reports from various perspectives.

We hope that you will be blessed and enriched as you read these letters. For those who attended you will be reminded of the many highlights of the conference. For those who were unable to attend, this is one way we can share the experience with you.

Love in Yeshua,
Angus and Batya

Dear Mr. Wootten,

We really enjoyed the conference. We write to tell you of our gratitude and appreciation of all the hard work you and Batya have done to provide such a feast of encouragement. As we have spent the last few days reviewing the conference several things have surfaced. The seeds of these thoughts started to come together while we were attending the post conference meeting Monday morning about trying to establish unity among those of us who have an understanding of WHO IS ISRAEL.

Unity is one of the most precious things that we as a nation can experience. But the unity that is good and pleasant comes from the presence of the Ruach - not from good scholarship or even right understanding of doctrines. In the book of Acts we see an example of striving to bring unity among the believers of Messiah. There were certain things that every body must do just to fellowship together. But the attitudes of the Apostles illustrates the fact that as we sit and learn together that we can grow in unity. Divisions among us are caused by our self - our carnal nature that leads us to exalt our own scholarship, our own doctrinal interpretation, our own understanding of the scriptures (1Cor.3:3). We are specifically warned that prophetic scripture is not for private interpretation (2Pet.1:20-21 &2:1-3) and that those who teach their own interpretation are out to use us for their own gain. Unfortunately we have seen this happening to Ephraim today.

The fact that most of those who convert to traditional Judaism do so from the basis of scholarship and translation is the best indication of how desperately we need the presence of the Ruach to bring us to unity.

Prophecy tells us that in the end times knowledge will be increased or as you said "a flood of words" [will come forth from Satan’s mouth to carry Israel away]. Knowledge puffs up our carnal nature and we start depending on our own understanding to build relationships instead of depending on the Ruach to lead us into right relationships.

When we depend on knowledge to increase our understanding of YHVH's kingdom we lose sight of HOW Yahshua will restore the kingdom! We lose sight of our responsibility to be a people He can restore the Kingdom to. When what we know becomes too important to us, we especially lose the ability to see and dream in the Spirit realm. In a disorderly and confused world where boundaries are dismissed based on selfish...desire, the possibility of realizing a dream is not good...because no one has the vision, the passion, or the discipline necessary to achieve a dream....

A burning passion - a dream in my heart is that the Ruach ha Kodesh will use us to communicate the absolute reality of Our Father's Kingdom and Yahshua Ha Mashiach as our King and the Restoration of All Things- a reality that is so passionate within us.

Communicating the reality of the Kingdom is what will cross all boundaries - cultural, national, racial and even religious. It is the same question that the disciples asked the Risen Messiah - the same one that burns in our hearts - will You restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time? It is the dream of the Kingdom that we hear whispered in our ears. It is the desire to be the chosen people of Elohim that makes the dream possible. I'm not surprised at the numbers of people who have converted to traditional Judaism trying to become the chosen people. The discipline of Judaism is a false means to an end - it is a self based effort to obtain the dream of the kingdom. When we speak of unity and how to achieve it we have to ask what unifies us. Is it what we know? Is it our doctrine, our scholarship, or our worship? No! The common ground that we can find to build unity is very simply the dream of Kingdom Reality!!

When you spoke at the conference about the army of Ephraim - did you hear the yes and amen that came from those listening? Did you feel the hunger in our hearts to have the Kingdom restored at this time? Indeed the name and call of the conference was the right one: Seeking The Father's Face.

Only by His Ruach will the kingdom be restored (Zech.4:6). Every one of us - regardless of what Tribe, congregation, organization, synagogue, or whatever group we belong to - have in common the desire to see the Kingdom restored. Every one of us have a dream in common.

How can we speak and teach the reality of this dream?

It is only by the drawing of the Ruach that we are able to come to the knowledge of the truth. And it is only by the fruits of the Ruach that we will see that Kingdom restored to us. As we identify what grows Spirit life in us and what drives away or grieves the Spirit of Elohim we are able to take direction to live in unity with our brethren.

I don't care if my neighbor wears long dresses or head coverings. It is not an issue of division for me to hear or speak either the true names or the blended names that comes from our Ephraimite heritage. The most important thing is what we have in common - not what is different! It is the job of the Ruach to bring to each of our hearts and spirits what truth is. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to correct error in us.

It is my job to refrain from destroying the Kingdom with lashon hara or my definition of food and drink(Rom.14:17). It is my job to grow in the presence of the Ruach and to manifest Kingdom life in my daily walk and relationships. It is my job to yield myself to the presence of the Ruach to be a willing vessel in my Father's hands. It is my job to sleep, eat, drink, walk, breathe, and BELIEVE the Kingdom into reality. It is my job to believe the Kingdom into reality by doing the will of my Father even as Yahshua did.

We pray for the inspiration - the breathing in of YHVH's Ruach- into your hearts and minds.. That you [might be]...led by the...Father to bring unity to our diverse tribes - to walk in the lead as His Kingdom becomes our reality.

B'shem Yahshua
Calvin and Judith

P.S. - Thank you for praying for and anointing us with the oil of blessing Friday evening.

Grace and peace from our Lord Yahshua be with you all.

It is taking awhile to come back to earth, for truly Ruach Ha Kodesh moved mightily at the conference. Over and over and over there was confirmation by the Ruach of what He has spoken to me, He has spoken to many others, most of whom I have never seen and who are scattered over the nations. We were blessed mightily in the corporate celebration and worship of Yahweh and our beloved Lord and Savior, Yahshua Ha Mashiach, was exalted and worshiped.

While sitting under the teaching of a precious sister, Terrye Seedman, there was a sovereign move of the Ruach, and Yahweh, our Father, embraced us with the most powerful manifestation of His presence I experienced while there. I do not know if it was a result of the anointing of the teacher, or the subject matter, or the fact that all who were in attendance were divinely led to be there...perhaps it was a combination of all of the above. It was powerful and it was awesome. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is what our Father wants to give us every time we assemble together. Unfortunately, even though we were there about two hrs. and I felt strongly He had more, we had to dismiss because our lives in this world are governed by our timepieces and schedules.

We were invited to attend a township meeting at the close of the conference. After invoking the Ruach Ha Kodesh to take over, it was then opened to all who were in attendance. Again, the Ruach began to fall as we began sharing and ALL whose hearts were open to receive from Yahweh corporately through one another, were blessed mightily.

Yahweh revealed that He has anointed servants whom He has been preparing as His watchmen who were hearing and speaking in unity what The Ruach was saying. Fellowshipping in the Ruach and drinking of the Living Water from one another must have been pleasing to our Father, for I felt at that time we were truly a mishpakha (family).... It was the most awesome time I experienced while there.... It might have been the anointing from our teacher....it may have been the subject on which she spoke....it may have been that all who were in attendance were divinely ordained to be there because we were all hearing and seeking in the Ruach the same thing, but probably it was a combination of all. THIS is what our Father desires for us every time we come together in the Holy Mighty One....

On Sunday morning, Angus and Batya graced us with their presence at breakfast. Besides them, there were four others of us who had posted on this board...we had a lovely time....good food, too. A heartfelt "thank you" to ALL who participated in making this conference possible....what a monumental task. We thank you, Father, for your blessings of mercy, grace and wisdom to all involved, and thank you for pouring out your precious Ruach upon us as we gathered together....ALL made possible to us through our beloved Lord and Savior Yahshua Ha Mashiach for it is in His holy mighty name I pray. Amen

Edna

OK Everyone,
There is no way mere words can describe or convey the emotions and joy and exhilaration and fellowship and awe and beauty and majesty and excitement and anticipation and LOVE that was experienced at the conference. Truly the most INCREDIBLE time spent with the Lord in my life. Should I talk about the anointed teachings first or the incredible dance teams or the awesome praise and worship/Lenny and Varda/congregational dancing (which was all geared toward seeking HIS face and I am here to testify that His Holy Spirit was there MIGHTILY!) or the "chocked full of meat" workshops or the awesome teachers or... ?

Picture if you will the valley of dry bones and Ezekial walking through the valley with the voice of the prophecy with him and exhorting the dry bones to life! Talk about getting a crowd of Messianic Israelites excited! The dance praise team was absolutely anointed as they performed scripture and praise in dance after dance that were absolute feasts for the eyes and food for the spirit. But the MOST incredibly AWESOME performance was Sunday night at the close of the conference when the Bride of Yeshua was dancing before the Ark of the Covenant,( the veil having been removed after covering the Ark all the previous nights)and the Cherubim now on either end of the Ark with their wings covering the Ark and their golden bodies shimmering as the "presence of YHWH" comes down and hovers over the Ark and now the Cherubim turn slowly and face the Bride as she stands in awe and dances before YHWH. I don't even remember the name of the song they were performing to...the scene was so glorious that the whole congregation was in absolute awe and when the music stopped you could have heard a pin drop then everyone realized the performance was over (although no one wanted it to be) and we clapped as though we were in a daze (a glory daze) and the Holy Spirit was ALL OVER THE room we were in.

The wonderful praise team began singing "You are the air I breathe..." and everyone worshiped and worshiped and worshiped...it was GLORIOUS! You could almost swim in the Holy Spirit...His SWEET, SWEET presence was sweeping over us. Before this we had been worshiping as Alyosha and Jody Ryabinov ministered in music that was totally Spirit led so you can just imagine the climax of the evening. (But this wasn't the only night the Holy Spirit was present, He was there every night and it was wonderful!).

Friday night we were ministered to after Scott Diffenderfer and Batya had given an anointed word and people were prayed for and anointed with oil from the Mount of Blessing. What was so wonderful is that people were worshiping in their own way, with song, with dance, with exhortation, with meekness, under their tallit, with no tallit, with their shofar, with their sweet voices and ALL with joy and love for the Lord! Oh, I did I mention that my best friend Johnnie was baptized at the mikvah in the pool on Sunday afternoon, along with many others and even some who were not with the conference!!?? Praise Yeshua that's a whole other story!

Thank You Father, Thank You Father, for that time of refreshing as I was able to witness Your Awesome move of the Spirit with fellow Israelites. Now now that I am back in the "real world" I am still feeling the "Joy of the Lord" in a powerful way as I continue to seek Your Face and pray and praise and draw near to You as You draw near to me from the moment that I rise to the moment I fall asleep 24/7....

Batya, I really enjoyed meeting you and Angus and the work that y'all are doing for the Kingdom is immeasureable and I thank you, thank you, thank you and the other hard workers that YHWH has placed in your fold. Everyone did a beyond awesome job. I could go on for hours about the conference but I will sign off for now....

From the "southern Israelite"
Rebecca

Dear Batya & Angus,

It is Tuesday about 3:00pm the day after our return from AMI 2003. I have tried all day to put all that went on into proper perspective. I had mentioned to you both that I had very high expectations as to what was in store for us all at this year's convocation of Israelites, but I had no idea how great it would be. Jeannie and I spent most of our time preparing physically and spiritually for the praise and worship in dance. I can't even begin to tell you what it means to us South Carolina Israelites to be a part of the MIA Dance team. To work with Chester and Traci and to see the love and passion they have for true Worship is beyond what mere words could ever express. I keep recalling the many people (Israelites) that shared with me their awe for the moving of the Ruach Ha Kodesh and how different it was from past years in a very positive way.

Jeannie and I listened to some of the tapes on our way up. And I guess after the third time of listening to Hale Harris' Thursday night service we realized that there has truly been a change of the spirit of MIA. I believe strongly in the foundational points of the MIA and I thank Yah for having burned in both of your hearts, Angus and Batya, this message for all of Israel to realize who we really are. The many years of research and sacrifices, which you have both paid for the sake of Israel.

“Does anyone no what time it is?” As the dry bones song asked, is truly the question of the hour. There is much work that lies ahead, still to be done. We must, as you said Angus, continue the process. That none should perish for our sake. Thank you both for making this "Mountain Top" experience possible for Jeannie, Bonnie and I, and all those who were present. For having the foresight of making these teachings possible for everyone to take home and share with others, for taking painstaking care of what goes into our ear gates. We will hold on to these past few days dearly, and pray for and uphold you before Abba, until we meet again in December in Nashville.

Manny, Jeannie and Bonnie Jean
The Avilez - Lexington SC

I met a lovely young couple and their two beautiful children who were vacationing. They attended a non-denominational fellowship and inquired about our group. We had a real nice conversation.

During the mikveh baptism outside in the pool, a man approached the pastor baptizing, and asked him who they were. After a brief explanation, he asked if we celebrate Christmas and Easter....he was told "no". This man had been a pastor and had just spent the last ten years in prison. He asked to be baptized, after which he called a group of people over (12 or so) who were his congregation. They, too, were baptized. Hale Harris who participated in the baptism, shared this with our group Sunday evening, and said his legs were still trembling from the anointing of Yahveh....glory to His holy name.

Blessings! Edna

I think the conference was awesome...the Ruach showed up...and many wonderful things happened to many people.

If I had to try to define our greatest blessing from the gathering I would say that it is the fact that we were able to say "I'm Messianic, Spirit-filled, and I'm OK."

We boldly declared that it does not have to be either/or, but that we can have both.

We had both and it was wonderful.

We had an anointed Torah Service, and we had singing in the Spirit. We had Shabbat and Havdallah celebrations, and we had people anointed with oil for healing.

We had an awesome time of laying on of hands for some new ministers of the gospel (this was my personal favorite because I felt the Spirit was so strongly present and that the Father was very pleased with the fruit that was being offered to Him).

We had wonderful worship and dance presentations that were incredibly anointed. You had to be there to see them.

We had a Jerusalem Marketplace that was opened with a prayer of dedication and filled with people who were ready to serve.

We had strolling minstrels and lots of awesome teachers.

Most important, we had unity of purpose.

No one jockeyed for position, no one sought to be exalted, but all asked about how they could best serve.

I must say that the event was well attended, and that it was the best gathering we have had so far.

We now feel we have a team that works together very well, and that we have to decide exactly what the Father wants to do next.

I really wish all of you could have been there.

That would have made the meeting even better!

Blessings,
Batya

Shalom All!
The conference went by so very fast. We spend so much time preparing for it - I can't believe it is gone now. I wanted to thank the leadership of the MIA (the Woottens, the Diffenderfers and the Harrises) for allowing me the opportunity to serve this group of wonderful people.

Chester, thank you for all of your hard work, creativity and support and friendship during all of this. I know you poured much of yourself into many!!

Tonya and crew - Thank you seems so inadequate for all that you all did. The countless hours of sewing (with me, no less), your ideas, your hard work in building new things, bringing your articles to share with everyone and even making sure Chester and I ate dinner. I pray Yah will pour out on you for your giving spirit. May HE send provision from on high for you!

To the other dance teachers: Theresa Bates - for Tambourine class - thank you for learning so much so quickly and for being able to step in and help others. Hardy Brown and Mark Sides - you guys do make Real Men Dance and it is a gift. Thank you for your passion in worship and not being afraid to try about anything. Dan and Sylvia Calderon - It would be hard to meet two sweeter people than you - you bring people to the next level in congregational dance. Sylvia - the vision of the Tabernacle articles for the main ballroom started with you and my how you had to pray it through. That is your passion - may it continue to grow in you. We also want to thank Shoshana for making everyone feel they can dance before their Creator.

Najelly, Amanda, Kate and Angela - thank you for learning things so that you could teach others and continuing to practice with them. You all are a blessing to all of those around you.

Sarah Diff - you should have the men's poet shirt pattern memorized by now - after making 5 new ones for me. Thank you for offering to help and for doing a beautiful job with it. It was such a blessing to Tonya and I for us to be able to concentrate on other things. Also, thank you for bringing "Offering" to us and doing a beautiful job with it.

To the many who prayed and fasted for us (and I know you well enough to know, you don't want your names listed) - Yah will reward you for your service to HIM.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work, long hours, for working in less than ideal conditions, yet giving it your all for HIS glory. No matter what things happened that went wrong - we gave the best we could, we freely poured out our worship on HIM and I believe it was a pleasing aroma before HIM. That must be our focus, not where we "messed" up or where others things went wrong - let's focus on HIM. HE knows what we carried in our hearts and that is what matters most. Thank you for allowing yourself to be stretched to to grow beyond what you thought possible.

May Yah bless and Keep each of you and may HIS face shine on you!!

Much love,
Traci