Rainbow_House

In 1950, Ed and Bessie Bergman, Sister Gwen’s parents, decided it was better to live on the New York side of the Niagara River so Ed wouldn’t have to commute every day across the Rainbow Bridge to his factory job. The big, old boarding house at 222 6th Street became their home and they made it a place of warm welcome, especially to the saints of God. Bessie would always come from the kitchen with good food as Ed welcomed their guests at the door. They always held special meetings when missionaries would come to town.

Sister Gwen and her family always made this place their home when they were on furlough from the mission field. Sometimes they lived in the attic when all the rooms were rented. One time when she came to visit, she felt the Lord spoke to her from the scripture, 1 Kings 17:14, “…The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.” She felt this was the Lord’s promise that there would always be provision there. Another time she saw a huge angel standing near the stairs and knew that the Lord would always keep the place safe.

When Jesus came and took Ed home in 1972, Bessie (better known as “Mom” Bergman) stayed on and continued the hospitality, hosting “Prayer and Praise” meetings along with End-Time Handmaiden and Servant Dora and Hank Horbinski. The house was filled with intercession and worship, lifting the mighty name of Jesus in praise.

Then Mom began to consider selling the house and eventually moved to Arkansas without having been able to sell it. Mom said, “Gwen, why don’t you buy it? I think the Lord wants you to have it.” But Sister Gwen felt she had her hands full just running Engeltal, the End-Time Handmaidens and Servants Headquarters, and didn’t want to take her mother’s advice. As time passed and no one bought the house, the Lord spoke to Sister Gwen and said, “There’s not enough money in Niagara Falls to buy that house, because I want you to have it.” Finally she said, “Lord, if you’ll give me the whole amount in one cheque, I’ll know it is Your will.” Within weeks the one cheque was on her desk and she bought out her brothers’ portions of the inheritance and the dedication of Rainbow House to the Lord came to a new level! Renovations and remodeling began and just a few months later the first Rainbow House Retreat was held in the Fall of 1983.

The Lord gave the vision for Rainbow House of Prayer to be:

• An extension of Engeltal.

• A place for Bible study, prayer, praise and worship.

• A place for retreats, for people to get away from the “normal” and get into the Presence of God and enjoy the wonder of His creation at Niagara Falls.

• A place of launching for ministry into Canada. The Rainbow Bridge that connects the United States with Canada is only seven blocks away.

In the succeeding years, the Lord enabled End-Time Handmaidens and Servants to purchase the lots surrounding Rainbow House, which included a two-bedroom cottage.

The stewards of Rainbow House of prayer have been a real blessing over the years. Randy and Kathy Smith opened and watched over the ministry in its early years. The late Marilyn Whalen stood in the gap for a season and Bill and Valerie Devlin carried the load for some years. When the Devlins transferred to be Engeltal staff, William and Esther Cherry took the helm. All served the Lord there with all their hearts and we appreciate how the Lord used them to do His work in Niagara Falls, redeeming the land and helping keep the intercessors informed and praying.

A Flood of Iniquity

Many years ago, Ed Bergman had a dream from the Lord. He saw a terrible flood of water all around, but the old house stood alone like an island and was untouched by the devastation. While Bill and Valerie Devlin ran Rainbow House, their young grandson Joshuah, then about four years of age, also had a vision. He saw a tremendous earthquake that changed the route of the Niagara River and Rainbow House was surrounded by water.

In 2001, Governor Pataki began negotiations with the Seneca Indians that ended with the Senecas receiving the Niagara Falls Convention Center (one block from Rainbow House) becoming the Seneca Niagara Casino in December of 2002. Rainbow House came under attack as the governor promised the Senecas that if the landowners of the 53 adjacent acres would not sell to them, the State of New York would condemn it by “eminent domain” (usually reserved for taking property when the state needs land for some public purpose such as building a highway or park, etc., not to give it to a sovereign nation for gambling). Without a miracle, Rainbow House would be lost!

The Senecas made several offers to buy Rainbow House, the Rainbow Cottage (Annex) and the vacant lots the ministry owns around them. When Sister Gwen looked at the needs in Engeltal to build a new dormitory, she took the offer to God to ask if she could sell Rainbow House. His reply to her came from Leviticus 25:23 “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.”

After the passing of Bill Cherry, the Board of Directors felt that a couple from headquarters should be sent to run Rainbow House, so Philip and Sharon Buss volunteered. They arrived, along with Philip’s mother Dorothy Buss, January 10, 2006 and have been doing renovations and ministering since then.

Thank God, through much prayer and a good lawyer, Rainbow House has been excluded from the eminent domain acquisition, so we will not lose God’s land. One by one, however, the houses and buildings around are being leveled for the casino development.

In the meantime, God is getting ready to do something big here in this area. Our team at Rainbow House is in fellowship with a group of local pastors who are praying and believing God for city and regional transformations for the Kingdom of God. Cindy Jacobs was in the area about three weeks ago and gave these two words:

1) “The Holy Spirit is brooding over this city and this region. God is using intercession and intercessors from this area, joining with intercessors from outside this area [that’s you!]. The Lord is saying ‘Now is the time.’ The Holy Spirit is bringing revival to this area. Now, now, now. The Holy Spirit has been brooding for a season. Now is the time. There is urgency and expectation, for the Holy Spirit is bringing something special to the churches of this region.”

2) “The Lord says look to the north of America to the Niagara Falls area, even in the Peace Bridge area for there is a hotbed of terrorism in that area . . . listen, anyone that lives along the northern borders of the United States, the very northern border, God is calling us to pray. God is calling for Canadians, God is calling for those in the U.S. Let us join hand to hand and let’s intercede and let’s protect our nation.”

Our adversary seems to be aware that God is about to do something big here as he is sending his big guns to this region. There have been arrests of terrorists already, but there are still more to be exposed. End-Time Handmaidens and Servants will be praying and guarding the gates—please stand with us in prayer!

The Dalai Lama recently came to the University at Buffalo, just 20 minutes drive from Rainbow House. Our team joined the intercessors from different churches of the region to stand for the land, to keep it from being defiled by the devilish ceremonies the organizers planned for the purpose of bringing thousands of demons to the area. The blood of Jesus cancels their plans!

Maintaining the Gates

Our team continues to stand in intercession for this region while doing the practical things like maintenance and making improvements on the houses. The Lord is moving us to have retreats and “Worship Weekends” to continue to build His Kingdom by ushering more of His Presence into the region and driving out the darkness.

About two months after they arrived, while worshipping during their Tuesday meeting, Sharon saw in the Spirit a “ladder” like Jacob saw, with angels going up and down. Truly this is a place where the Lord delights to dwell! Worship music is playing 24/7.

In the natural, lots of maintenance is still needed: The roof that was new 23 years ago now leaks and must be replaced, the basement windows need to be replaced, other windows need to be overhauled, a couple of remodeling jobs need to be finished and nearly everything needs a new coat of paint. The carpets that were new 23 years ago have become worn and the basement and attic need major cleaning! Please pray that the Lord will send the finances, helpers and strength to get the jobs done.

Think about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is promised for these last days in Joel 2:28-29 and imagine Niagara Falls pouring at a rate of 748,000 gallons of water per second. We are on the verge of seeing God pour out His Spirit like Niagara Falls! Come, visit, pray, and see a prophetic sign of the next move of God