April 4, 2005
Hello Everyone!
Well we have a lot of catching up to do. For starters Musy and I are doing great. Today we are taking a long anticipated break and doing absolutely nothing this weekend. We both just came off of a few weeks of travel and are happy to have some down time with each other.
February 17th I went south to Medellin and Cali, Colombia, with Gary and Kathy Oats and a Global Awakening team. We had a great time praying for the sick and ministering to the beautiful Colombian people. I love visiting South America; the people have so much hunger for the things of God.
While I was in Medellin, Gary gave me the opportunity to take one of his services and speak to the youth. I talked to them on ministry and how it is not something that we do on the weekends or when we have a church outreach. Ministry is a lifestyle of constantly loving the people around you. So often we go into ministry mode on the weekends or only at our church. Jesus, our model, was constantly in a relationship with the Father. Wherever the Father told him to go, Jesus would go. We know this is true when Jesus said, "I can only do what I see My Father doing".
Wherever the Father told Jesus to go Jesus would follow. Jesus was in such a close relationship with His Father that He recognized His voice and followed accordingly. So many times we hear the voice of our Father saying stop for that person on the side of the road. Pray for that person behind the cash register, or whatever it is in your life and we shrug it off as ourselves. I could go on about this for the rest of the letter but I need to get back on track here.
I spoke to the youth group, which was around 800 youth. Then on Sunday I went and spoke to the children. It was such a precious service and the Holy Spirit came in power, and many of the children were touched. I have some pictures of my time with them that I will try to post on our web page soon. The trip was such a blessing and the team that was with us was incredible.
I went home on the 28th of Feb and came home to a wife with open arms. At the beginning of this year we had set up our schedule with trips where we were not traveling together. This is a lot harder than we thought it would be and has been a struggle for the both of us.
We were together for two weeks and then Musy took off to Mexico with Global Awakening and another team. This was the first time Global Awakening has been to Mexico. Musy described it to me as a groundbreaking trip where the fire was turned up in the churches they visited.
A few days after Musy left for Mexico, I went to Wooster OH to a church that is having an outpouring. People are getting touched, healed, and most importantly saved. They are doing five services a week and people are packing out the church each night. It was a blessing to spend four days with these precious brothers and sisters. I had such a great time with them. My best friend and fellow intern, Jamie Galloway, is frequently ministering at this church and fanning the flames of revival that God is pouring out in this church.
I flew home on Monday; and Tuesday, early in the morning, I flew back to Medellin, Colombia to speak at the same church I was in just a few weeks before. I was invited back to their yearly youth conference called GANAR. I focused on power evangelism and training on how to operate in the gifts of the spirit. They were so hungry and we hit the streets every day to operate in everything they were just trained in.
I could talk about this experience for pages and pages. We have so many testimonies of healings that took place on the streets. At the end of the three days we had over 2500 salvations. PRAISE GOD!! Not only did the people dedicate themselves to Jesus but also each one of those 2500 people is going to be contacted by someone in the church and visited. It is great to see a system set up to do follow up with each one of these precious people who entered into the greatest relationship of their lives.
Well, as you can see we have been busy, and this month looks just as busy. Thank you for all your prayers and support. We are truly blessed to have a base of people who love and care for us. Thank you so much for blessing our lives. We are so excited about what God has ahead for us.
There is one more thing that I wanted to tell you. Right after I got saved I felt drawn to a few ministries. One of them was Rienhard Bonnke's Ministry (www.cfan.org). For those of you who have never heard of him, he has a huge crusade ministry all over the world. Millions of people attend his meetings in Africa and he is powerfully used by God. I used to pray that I could go to one of his meetings and be prayed for by him.
In January, I was flying to India and was transferring planes in Germany. I was about to enter a tram that would take me to my gate, and as I am walking onto the tram, guess who comes walking out... I stopped him and talked with him for a few minutes. I was so nervous and I don't even remember what I said to him. And before I knew it, he left and I was on my way to the gate.
When I was on the plane to India I realized I never asked him to pray for me. During that long flight I beat myself up and was upset that I had let this once in a lifetime opportunity slip through my fingers. I prayed and asked God to give me the chance again.
So, I am in Miami running to my flight to Colombia. And I almost ran right into this man. I stop and see that it is Reinhardt. The first thing out of my mouth was PRAY FOR ME!! We talked for a few minutes about where I was going, and he laid his hands on me in the terminal and prayed over me. That one encounter blessed me so much. It is those small things in life that Jesus loves to dump on your lap. He loves the desires of your heart.
WHAT A BLESSING!
Blessings to everyone