19 April 2010
I am back from a very very busy and ministry packed time in Mafra, Santa Catarina, Brazil. This is a much longer flight than I first thought. The total time in the air to Southern Brazil from Minneapolis is 14-plus hours. The day after arrival, and the long drive, we started meetings. I had a total of 6 meetings which lasted for at least two hours each. I also went to two homes where people had gathered for me to do 20 minutes to a half hour of ministry. God's Spirit moved in the hearts of people. One 15 year old boy was convicted of things in his life he needed to change. After we talked for a long time he surrendered those parts of his life to the Lord Jesus. He was truly repentant. Many couples needed to give their marriages to the Lord. One couple admitted their selfish living and decided to let Jesus live His life through them. One other couple had to let go of their wayward son and let God have him. This, I believe is part of the meaning of the verses in Mathew 11: 28-30 where as a child of God, our burden is light. These difficulties are His burdens, and that's the reason He died and was resurrected so He would carry this for us. For many of us, our own will prevents this. We'd rather try to struggle through our difficulties on our own. This is part of our pride. These are just a few of the things God did in people's lives in Brazil.
I thank God for a letter I received 2 weeks ago from a man in Kansas City. I did a concert/meeting there over 4 years ago. He wrote how he then gave his life to Jesus Christ and is now living a victorious Christ-centered life. He's involved in a local church, belongs to a Bible study, and tells others of his new-found faith. He's having a hard time at work because of his testimony. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Mathew 5:10. Praise God for this man now living to God's glory!!
Please pray for me as I go to Ohio this week, and then to Mountain Lake, MD for a Deeper Life Conference, and then I go to Northern Wisconsin, and on to California. God is opening places for ministry I could never open on my own. Thank you for being a big part of this outreach as you continue to pray.
Wow! What a trip to Nagaland. I could write more pages about this trip than anyone would have time to read. It was a gruelling and exhausting time- BUT extremely rewarding and fruitful. I flew from Minneapolis, MN to Newark, to Delhi, to Gawahati, Assam, to Jorhat, Assam. Then we took a hair raising drive 4 plus hours into the mountains to a town called MOKOKCHUNG. The event for five days was very well advertised with churches involved and many many workers for stage building, bench building, counselling, PA system, and the other things involved in a city-wide event. I brought the message and sang at each service. The last day we had over 7200 in attendance with over 80 people coming publicly to profess Jesus Christ as their Savior for the first time! Many others came for prayer needs in their lives. The Holy Spirit moved in hearts of many people. 