Some background to the vision
The vision that Father put on our hearts was for a House of Life, and since 2008 we have been walking with Him to bring it into existence. It was not until the end of 2009, that we realized He wanted us to build it in the vicinity of Oswiecim, the Polish city of Auschwitz. We were living in Krakow at the time, and for the next 6 years we did everything we could to move to Oswiecim. But everything was blocked!! Looking back, we realised the time was not right. In the meantime, the Lord said we should come to Auschwitz-Birkenau at least once a week to pray. It wasn’t so much about our spoken prayers; it was more about praying with our feet. This was a season of sowing that lasted 7 years. The roots went down but nothing in the natural realm was seen.
A unique Location
During those 7 years, we had been asking the Lord to give us a large house that was for sale, quite close to the camp. It was the focus of our faith for over 4 years, when the Holy Spirit told us to let go of that house and look for a piece of building land close to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The problem was there was no building land near the camp that was for sale.
We had become friends with a Polish lady in the village by the camp. She would often make us cups of tea when we walked around in her area. She knew we were looking for land to buy. One day in 2014, she called us because she had just had a chance meeting in the village shop with an elderly lady, who wanted to sell her land. There’s a “no-build” zone around the camp and this piece of land turned out to be the closest piece of land to the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau that you could build on. However, she was not able to sell it at that time. We had to wait.
Everything changed in May 2015. Suddenly the owner of the land was able to sell, and we had the money to buy it. This was the miracle of the land and the location of the House of Life. Its location is 400 metres in front of the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, with no one able to build between our piece of land and the gates!
A unique time
At the same time, we were offered another piece of land, just 50 metres behind the land for the House of Life, where someone had started to build a small house and ran out of money. We had received an inheritance just 6 months before, so we were able to make an offer on that building site, and this would become our own private residence.
After waiting 7 years, all of this happened within a few weeks of each other. It was God’s timing. You wait and you wait, and you wait, and then – suddenly – everything opens for you. It was also 70 years after the end of the World War II, which also marks the end of the Holocaust.
There are many 70’s in the bible. One that stands out is 70 years of captivity in Babylon. The Jews were kept there, unable to return home until the 70 years were complete. 70 is made up of 7 (spiritually perfect) x 10 (complete). So, 70 represents something that is “spiritually perfectly complete”.
The Holy Spirit said, “It’s the end of an era, and the start of a new era”.
We sensed the Lord was turning a page in a large book. The new page was blank and there was a hand holding a pen that started to write on the paper. God was writing something new!
It was like Father God was saying, “Now is the time to change the past! I want My Life, My Love, My Forgiveness, My Redemption to be poured out where Satan poured out his death, hatred, suffering and devastation.” After all did the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross pay for all the sin of the world? Are all the atrocities committed in Auschwitz-Birkenau within the saving power of the cross? YES! Jesus has paid the price for it all.