Welcome to the Eternal Crown Lifestyle podcast this is Episode 16 or double 8 ( you will understand that reference soon) titled “ I’m moving to Africa, no really I am. I’m your host Courtney Dukes the owner of Eternal Crown Clothing and your teacher for how to live the Eternal Crown Lifestyle! This is my story that is still being written & the adventure that I’m on. Thanks for joining in and riding along today!
Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse a lot of people like to quote, but I’m about to tell you my story ( that is still in progress) that demonstrates what this scripture actually looks like.
For those that don’t know it, Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
This story begins in 2016. That year I decided to start the first 16 days ( double 8) off with a water only fast to help me hear Gods voice more clearly for my life. Well on Feb 6 2016 I met a man named Ray at a city wide prayer gathering in Austin Tx. A group had been hosting weekly prayer meetings every Saturday to prayer for our city, state and country and it’s leaders. I had been attending weekly with Robert( who from this point forward I will refer to as Rob) a brother in Christ of mine. On this day I didn’t plan to go and neither did he. Until Rob who gets a lot of prophetic dreams from God ( he is actually the one that God used to first open up dreams to me & began my ability to hear from God in dreams too) and I’m care you don’t believe God speaks to people in dreams just look at what is said in Job 33:14-15 “For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.” You can also look through the Bible to see all the times God spoke to people in dreams such as: Daniel, Solmon & Joseph just to name a few.
Anyways Rob had a dream and he called me early that morning and told me based on the dream he felt we needed to be at the meeting later that day. We go and towards the end we decided we would leave a bit early, we were both pretty tired. As we left a man ( who we later learned was named Ray) came running behind us. He came to me and asked my name. Then he proceeded to tell me that his wife who hears a lot from God pointed to me and said to Ray you need to meet that man. So when he saw me leaving , he knew he had to get up and talk to me. We talked for a while and learned like us Ray had not planned to be there that day, but was led to come last minute through some circumstances. We made a great connection and Ray is a very close friend and brother in Christ to this day.
A little while later Ray reached out to me and tells me he is having a Kingdom business meeting at his office and invites me to join. I decide to go and on April 15 2016 I met with Ray and several other men in Rays office at his business. We did a streaming call with a man named Gary ( that I later learned was a prophet friend of Rays). Gary gave a great message about perseverance and endurance that was both tough to hear and great at the same time. Afterwords Gary began to prophesy to each of the men in the room. He gave me only my second ever prophetic word and it was about the growth and expansion of my business. That word is unfolding as we speak and I’ll share about it in the future , but it’s not what’s important right now. What is important is this is how I first met Gary.
Over the next year I would regularly meet online with Gary and several other men on Saturday mornings for what Gary called mens coffee connection. Gary would teach a less from God and then a lot of times he would prophesy over the men at the end. Over the course of the year I received many prophetic words from Gary, but one of those words would completely shift the direction of my life. Over the course of our friendship Gary became someone I would regularly go to for wisdom and council for my life and big decisions I needed to make proverbs 11:14 says “Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.” And Gary was one of those advisors for me that I trusted to only tell me what he was hearing from the LORD.
I had no idea that in 2017 I would receive a prophetic word from Gary that would start this African journey and put my life on a brand new trajectory that I had no idea where it would eventually lead.
On March 2 2017 I reached out to Gary with this message
Gary I had a quick request I just felt led to send to you. I’m in big season of transition and change and I have a lot of decisions to make in many areas. I just wanted to see if the Lord has or would give you any words of wisdom for me towards any of the decisions or prophetic words I have received.
March 6 2017-Gary’s prophetic word
Courtney, this may be a ways down the road or closer than you think. You have a heart for people that have been robbed from, downtrodden, stricken with major lack and this is what I sensed..
You would never have chosen to relocate so very far away. You would never have chosen that country to rebuild your life, but for sure, it is will be the door that will open. You have not ever considered this opportunity because it had not presented itself to you. These people will become your people, and you will become a defender. Your gifting will be a wall to which they cling. You will never have this opportunity where you reside now. I will give you a heart for them. You will find much love and acceptance. You will know this opportunity for it will present itself in the 8th month (August), a time of new beginnings for you. Note: I didn’t hear that it would or would not be this August, but I did hear August.
July 19 2018 – Receive my passport in mail
Journal entry – There is something about the 3 o’clock hour & how it connects to resurrection promises for your life, so do not miss out…. I will clear the obstacles & will move you forward with the right motivation & signs when the perfect time has aligned! Don’t forget about 3 o’clock
At 3 pm that day I opened my mail and held my passport in my hand!
August 11 2018 ( which I later found out was my friend Scotts son Jordan Asher’s birthday. Jordan also being the name of the River the Israelites had to cross to enter their promised land & Asher was the and of one of the 12 tribes of Israel that Moses blessed in Deuteronomy 33:24-25 but we will come back to that later)
I wrote this in my journal:
Dad ( speaking to God) I truly want my life to be an adventure with You & I trust You!
God’s response:
Courtney Dukes I’m excited to hear this cry coming from your heart so loudly! This is what I have always wanted for us & what I have been preparing you to enter into. Get ready, because the adventure ( that word adventure will be even more significant later in the story) you have been crying out for is beginning. You will go places you never expected, you will meet people you do not know, you will say words that you have not planned & you will take great leaps of faith! I will give you the ability to climb large spiritual mountains & you will also led others as they climb there own ( that’s you who are here listening to my journey).
You once said you wanted to have beautiful feet ( a reference to Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
but I’m also going to read you Romans 10:9-15 “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”) back to the journal.
You once said that you wanted to have beautiful feet & you will! Beautiful feet come from walking the unknown paths of life with Me & allowing Me to lead you to unexpected destinations. Tanzania have you ever dreamed of going there? Well you will be & what I do through you there will be incredible & life changing for you & those whom I will lead to you. The days of being stagnant & in one place of safety & comfort are coming to an end! You will be out experiencing the depths of this amazing world I have created for you to explore and take dominion over.
There’s more to that journal entry, but I’m going to stop there for now. So now we fast forward to a full year later to August 6 of 2019. My friend Scott whose son Jordans birthday was the same day as the journal where I was told I would go to Tanzania send me a text message and asks if I had ever considered doing missions work. I tell him I had not really considered it, but I share with him about the 2017 prophetic word about the door to me relocating to another country being presented in August & that I felt this is the August the door would open.
He goes on to explain to me that during his time with the LORD he had a vision of me going on a 10 month mission trip. In the vision he saw me taking pictures with my camera & said the trip would create imprints that would prepare me for my destiny and calling!
After this conversation I began to search by faith for missions opportunities that were 10 months in length. I looked at missions opportunities with YWAM ( youths with a mission), Heidi Bakers Global Iris & a few others. I did not however find anything that lined up.
Then on August 8 ( or 8/8 double new beginnings) 2019 I wrote this in my journal.
Holy Spirit this is the promised month of new beginnings for me. Is there anything You want to tell me about it?
Courtney Dukes your intentionality is about to pay off big time! new beginnings is so much bigger than what you are even anticipating. BIG is a word for you, BIG change! BIG opportunities! BIG! ( notice how the word BIG is used 4 times? That too is significant as the number 4 has been a prominent and important number in my life for many years. I see the number triple 4 [444) very often and maybe I will discuss that in another podcast episode some time). Ok back to the journal entry
Do not become impatient of you will feed the lies of the enemy ( I once did a little video teaching called impatience is the friend of lies, but I won’t go into that today). Stay at peace & stay at rest. You will not miss this door! ( referring to the door prophesied back in 2017). It will be made abundantly clear that this is the way to go. The timing will perfectly align & you will see your sign ( it actually would take multiple signs and confirmations for me to know the right door when it appeared as you will learn during the rest of this story). The cloud will signal the moment & unexpected rain will follow shortly after ( not sure what that means yet) Continue to guard your tongue & speak out what Father has given you.
Proverbs 18:21 says the power of life and death is in the tongue and Job 22:28 says “You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.”
There’s more to this journal entry too, but I’m going to skip some of it and share just another important section for this story. So this is still from the same journal entry on August 8 2019. You have always enjoyed watching the monkeys ( monkeys are my favorite a animal to watch whenever I would go to the zoom as a child) well that is not random either.( hopefully you have begun to notice how intentional God really is with the details of our lives). You will soon be seeing them in their natural environments soon & very regularly. Can God use the symbol of a monkey to bring you into your promised land? ( also don’t forget Israel crossed the Jordan river to enter their promised land & my friend Scott who had the vision his son is named Jordan) the journal continued whee is the primary location of the Baboon? You should look & find out. ( I discovered it was Africa and this is what really caused me to shift all my attention to a missions trip in Africa). Also do not be surprised if you see a monkey again soon & it marks the start of the path & beginning of your new adventure ( there’s that word adventure agin! We will come back to it I promise). God knows how to have fun & see you smile! You will be smiling a lot soon & especially as you finally see all the puzzle pieces fit together & get to view the map & destinations they reveal. Adventure ( there it is again) & travel is what your heart has been crying out for & it is what you will have! It will all begin with one specific step in a new direction.
[For the Rest of the Story Listen To Part 2]
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