It feels strange for one person to be writing this report; the past week has been such a kaleidoscope of activities that no one person’s writing could do it justice. Nevertheless, here are a few highlights from one man’s perspective:
No one knows how many have come to Christ; likely over a thousand and even more than that have been healed. Walking sticks have been thrown away; cataracts dissolved before our eyes; the deaf heard and the mute spoke. Fevers have disappeared; pain of every sort (some so excruciating that the people came to us in tears) left, usually instantly. In just the first two days we saw over a hundred Muslims give their lives to Jesus.
In the midst of this, over 1500 were treated in the medical clinics––including one of the biggest clinics we ever conducted, with over 700 treated! We distributed 50 water filters. Instead of our usual pattern of placing water filters in individual homes for them to share with other families, this time we worked with distribution centers and schools. The result was that almost 10,000 people now have daily access to clean water. Five thousand of these are school children.
On Saturday we went to three Masai communities. The first was only about 30 minutes from the city. We were able to minister to a courageous couple that walk each day from the city to care for their young church. Before praying for the leaders, we asked if anyone wanted to give their lives to Christ; several prayed. Following that, we drove for a long time out into the countryside, finally stopping at the bottom of a long incline. The whole team hiked up the hill, and around the corner we encountered a small Masai hamlet. It was like something out of the African movies I watched as a child. The view of the African savannah below us was fabulous. There were a few round huts and two “kraals”, corrals made with long, thick sticks forming a circle. I assumed this was to keep the goats and other animals in; however, they told me that the purpose was to keep the animals of prey out. The ladies went into one of the huts to see a young baby. According to their tradition, a newborn must not come out of the hut until it is six months old. On our way home, we stopped at a Masai market. The team jumped out of the bus and started singing. Soon, I counted 150 very curious Masai watching us closely. Katie, our medical leader, preached the Gospel to the crowd and most of them gave their hearts to the Lord right then and there. (The next morning, the local pastor called Mike and reported that 84 of these people were waiting outside the door of the church when he arrived!)
On Sunday, we split up into teams and went to six churches. This is something I always look forward to, as it gives some team members their first ever opportunity to preach and teach. In the afternoon, we found ourselves being driven to the home of a Member of Parliament, the daughter of the late Prime Minister of Tanzania. A very fancy meal had been prepared and was set out beautifully in her front garden. Besides our team, a number of government dignitaries were invited. After a wonderful meal (I was sitting beside an Anglican bishop, with whom I had an excellent conversation), there were a few speeches. Following this, Mike stood and asked how many of them had ever invited Jesus into their hearts. To our great surprise, both the dignitaries and all the people serving our meal gave their lives to Christ. Randeep, Mike and a few of us prayed and prophesied over a number of these people. Once again, the Lord has surprised us with the incredible favor He had given us. These are the decision-makers, the ones who will open up villages and whole regions for us in the future.
On Monday and Tuesday, we were back in the Masai region, conducting two medical clinics. Once again, there were many miracles. On Tuesday, the prayer team kept reporting how the Lord was opening blind eyes, dissolving cataracts and clearing severely blurred vision. It is always interesting that there seem to be certain times when the Lord focuses on one condition more than others. Last night, Randeep preached at a conference where he prayed for an eight year old girl who was born deaf and mute. After prayer she heard and spoke.
Today, the team went in two directions. One of the team went to a village for orphans. The other team went to a small rural orphanage that I visited last January when I was scouting for this Journey. We were delighted to hear that, since we put in the water filter last January, all stomach sickness has stopped. These filters really are amazing.
Tonight, some of the team have joined Randeep as he speaks again at the conference. Later the whole team will go out into the streets for a “Daughters of Destiny” night. They will talk with prostitutes, inviting them back to the restaurant for a meal. Also, each will receive enough money that they will not have to sleep with anyone tonight. Each time we have done this, many, many women have turned to Christ.
One of the members of Mike’s team is a young man, now named Gift. He is bright, articulate and a great prayer. (When he prayed at the reception on Sunday, the presence of God came down.) Gift is going to university. He is also one of the 6 people who, last January, came off the street the night that Mike, Cynthia, David, Richard and I invited them for a meal. His life it TOTALLY turned around. This is the power of the Gospel.
Tomorrow, Randeep, Richard and I leave the team and fly to Uganda where we will do a conference on house church and discipleship in Kalonga. We are hoping for a real breakthrough of revelation for all the people who attend.
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