On the Homefront

So much has happened recently here at our home church that it’s difficult to keep up with. So what I’ll do is just tell you what we have been doing recently in our community and let you in on some of the miracles.


BOYZ (AND GIRLZ) IN DA HOOD
First of all, in the last couple of weeks we have made a transition from a routine we developed in the last couple of years of visiting local area trailer parks. We made the change because we realized that many of the people that we have been ministering to over the last couple of years do not have a hunger for more than just a “blessing” at their door. They would happily receive us and receive their healing, deliverance or salvation, but when it came time for them to make changes and pick up their cross and walk with Jesus, they simply didn’t want to move.

Over the last few weeks we have been going through all of our neighborhoods and trailer parks that we have been in over the last couple of year sand pretty much finding more of the same; very little spiritual hunger. You can tell these people everything about themselves through prophetic words, get them healed of impossible sicknesses and diseases or get them delivered of things that have hounded them for decades and it doesn’t seem to make a dent in their religious mindsets. When it comes time for sacrifice, serving Jesus, going to church, reading the Bible, worshiping God, etc. they fall flat.

So we have been scouring our community for another demographic to preach the Gospel to and give them a chance to respond and change! We have annihilated the poor, white trailer folk that dominate the Woodstock area and are making progress in the poor Spanish speaking communities little by little. So what does that leave us with? Government housing, otherwise known as, the Hood! I’m excited as we have gotten in there over the last couple of weeks. In many of our outreaches in south and central Atlanta, we have had great results in the hood and I am looking forward to seeing what these folks will do with the Gospel. Already we have had salvations and miracles, but I am looking forward to the stories of disciples coming out of the Hood!

Now, on to some of the recent miracles…


EPILEPSY AND BI-POLAR DESTROYED
On one of our recent outreaches into a local trailer park (and probably one of the last visits we will make there for awhile) we encountered a family of good Baptist people that didn’t really believe in miracles and the supernatural. However, they told us that their son (who was sitting right there) was epileptic and has seizures every day. Their discomfort towards miraculous healing was obvious, so we went about it by saying, “so, do you believe that God answers prayer?” “Of course we do! God’s answered lots of our prayers!” they replied. We responded, “Well, here’s how it works. We ask God to heal your son (we actually don’t ask God to heal the sick, we just heal the sick) and if He answers our prayer, then he will be healed!” They all agreed and allowed us to pray for the boy. He was maybe about 8-9 years old.

Then they said, “While you’re at it, Grandpa lives in the trailer next door and he is diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder, you need to pray for him!” So we went next door and asked Grandpa what the symptoms of the Bi-polar disorder were and he said that he had severe depression and he heard voices all the time! He allowed us to pray for him and as we prayed, the Presence of God descended on Him. His entire countenance changed as we proclaimed freedom over him.

Fast forward two weeks. We went back to check on them and we find the young boy who had epilepsy and ask how he has been. “Great! Not one seizure in two weeks! He’s been well since you prayed for him!” They said it so matter of factly that you could have missed the miracle! So we went next door and checked on Grandpa. He came to the door and you could SEE the difference! He looked like a different person! I asked him how he was and he said, “Great! I have been happy every day and not depressed at all”. “What about the voices?” (Mind you, this was a guy who couldn’t sleep because the voices would haunt him 24 hours a day.) “No voices” he said.

Epilepsy and Bi-Polar disorder, healed by the blood of Jesus!


MIRACLE WEIGHT LOSS
This isn’t the first one of these that we have seen in the last couple of years, but it is pretty dramatic… A woman in our church prayed for a lady who was suffering with problems with diabetes and other thyroid conditions. She was overweight and having difficulty losing weight. This happened two months ago. The lady from our church saw her at an appointment and was shocked at the transformation. The lady she had prayed for had lost 50 pounds in two months, all while eating normally!


BLIND EYES OPEN ON THE JOB
One of the gentlemen in our church works for a local cable company. He was at a client’s house and was having to inform them that their cable would be cut off due to improper installation. His sales training at the company conditioned him to never take no for an answer; "everyone needs cable" is their mantra. When he informed the lady that their cable was going to be cut off she said, "Go ahead and cut it off, I'm legally blind and can't watch it anyway." Inspired by his sales training his immediate response was, "That's no problem, we can take care of that". He then realized what he had just said and then inspired by the Holy Ghost went on to say, "Let me pray for you." She allowed him inside of the home and laid hands on the woman, praying for the complete restoration of her sight. After prayer, she opened her eyes and said, "I can see!" After verifying the miracle and praising God, he went on to complete the sale!

Now that’s service!

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Onward and Upward

I know that I have been sparse with the updates concerning the work here at the church. If you assume that’s because nothing is happening, then you would be wrong! Tons of awesome God stuff is happening all the time! In fact it’s overwhelming just to come up with a few stories out of the many that come in every single week.

AN OVERVIEW
Late last year I surveyed the work that we were doing in 28 different neighborhoods in and around Woodstock. What I found out was that we had a highly committed core team of evangelists that had blanketed these neighborhoods and in most cases, knocked on every door and talked to every willing person in the neighborhood. The average neighborhood had 4-6 months of work done in it and some of them had over 2 years, sometimes going every week but definitely every other week. We had scores of new believers and pages of miracles and healings that the Lord had done. The breakdown came when we tried to get new believers to make the next step; discipleship.

In discipleship, we hit a wall. We discovered that there are a bunch of people that want the benefits of the Kingdom of God, but don’t truly want to give their lives to Jesus! In many of the neighborhoods we would eventually get a meeting going, sometimes after weeks and months of begging and pleading with people to come. In all of the neighborhoods, maybe half of the new believers would actually even show up! The bottom line is that many of the people we were working with were simply unwilling to take up their cross and die daily. In persisting with them for sometimes up to two years we ran the risk of burning out our team! Nothing is more difficult and tiring than investing your life into people that don’t care about what you are living for.

So, throughout the work only a small percentage of people were willing to go to the next level and many of them are walking with us today. They come to church with us, read their Bibles and live devoted lives, worshiping Jesus. Many of them have started to lead others to the Lord and pray for the sick with remarkable results. The ones that decided to not go forward have our phone numbers and know where our church is, but we cannot continue to sow seed into bad ground. The Bible says to not throw your pearls to pigs. The pearl is the pearl of greatest price, the Kingdom of God. The Lord says that, “…as a sow (pig) goes from the washing back to her mud…” Meaning, pigs are people that get spiritually clean, but go straight back to their filth. Jesus says that “to whom much is given, much more will be required”.

This year we start afresh. With new eyes to see hunger or lack thereof, we first hit all of the old neighborhoods again and see if there are any who are desperate for Jesus. If there are, we will work with them. If not, we will move on. So far, in just a few short weeks we have worked through most of the old neighborhoods and not found many willing to pay the price and serve Jesus. We already have scouted out some new neighborhoods with a different demographic and we are praying that these will respond with hunger and thirst for the Kingdom of God.

But even in the midst of lukewarm people, we have seen some awesome miracles.

GRANDPA AND GRANDSON
We were in a really rough trailer park; one that we have been in for awhile. We were working our way through, looking for hungry people when we came on a trailer full of folks. After talking to them a few minutes we found out that they were good Baptist people that didn’t really believe in miracles and the supernatural. This came up because I tell people that the Kingdom of God is at hand and we will show them by giving them a demonstration of God’s power, especially with those who are sick. So they told us that they really don’t believe in all that. I asked them if anyone in the house had a sickness, disease or condition that I could pray for. They told me that their son (who was sitting right there) was epileptic and has seizures every day. I told them that this was a perfect opportunity to see the Kingdom.

There discomfort towards miraculous healing was obvious, so I went about it by saying, “so, do you believe that God answers prayer?” “Of course we do! God’s answered lots of our prayers!” “Well, here’s how it works. I ask God to heal your son (I actually don’t ask God to heal the sick, he told me to do that!) and if He answers my prayer, then he will be healed!” They all agreed and allowed us to pray for the young man. He was maybe about 8-9 years old. Then they said, “While you’re at it, Grandpa lives in the trailer next door and he is diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder, you need to pray for him!” We happily obliged and went to the trailer next to them. We talked with the gentleman and it was obvious that he was troubled. You could see it on his demeanor. He didn’t look balanced. I asked him what the symptoms of the Bi-polar disorder were and he said that he had severe depression and he heard voices all the time! He allowed us to pray for him and as we prayed, the Presence of God descended on Him. His entire countenance changed as we proclaimed freedom over him. We asked if we could come back and check on him and he agreed.

Fast forward two weeks and we show up at their house once again. We find the young boy who had epilepsy sleeping in an easy chair and ask how he has been. “Great! Not one seizure in two weeks! He’s been well since you prayed for him!” They said it so matter of factly that you could have missed it. This was a young man that was having seizures EVERY DAY. Now, it had been over two weeks and he had not had one seizure since we prayed! We walked over to the house next door to check on Grandpa. He came to the door and you could SEE the difference! He looked like a different person! I asked him how he was and he said, “Great! I have been happy every day and not depressed at all”. “What about the voices?” (Mind you, this was a guy who couldn’t sleep because the voices would haunt him 24 hours a day.) “No voices” he said.

Epilepsy and Bi-Polar disorder, healed by the blood of Jesus!

Update On Edouard

I’ve had many people asking me about how Edouard is doing since we returned from the Congo last month. We have been in constant contact with Edouard and just recently have received some disturbing updates, full of both good and bad news. First I will tell the good news.

THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that Edouard and his church are doing the Gospel! Almost every day there are reports of miracles, healings and salvations. Edouard reports that since we left and the persecution that followed, several uncommitted members of his church have left. However in a very short period of time, their absence has been filled with highly committed and highly motivated new converts! Several in his church have taken what we brought them to heart and now bringing the kingdom is part of their daily lives! The pastors that were there when we were have taken the Gospel of the Kingdom to their cities and the work is growing!

Here are a few recent testimonies that Edouard told to David:

INSTANT HEALINGS!
Recently, a lady came to Edouard that had severe stomach pain. It was so painful that if you touched her belly she would writhe in agony. Edouard told her the Gospel of the Kingdom and as soon as he finished telling her he asked her to check her belly for pain. The pain was instantly gone. He said he did not even have to pray, the Gospel was enough. Another woman was having severe ankle problems and Edouard asked one of his leaders to pray for the young lady. When she prayed the lady was instantly healed.

MALARIA HEALED!
A young man who had suffered with a severe case of malaria was brought by his family to the church because his fever was so high that it was scorching to the touch. He had also showed many signs of madness. If this man did not receive healing, he would be dead in a short while. They rebuked the fever and it instantly left. They also cast out the devil that was causing the madness. That night he stayed in Edouard's house so that they could watch him. His sanity returned and he was miraculously healed.

MORE WITCH DOCTORS
Edouard found a man who he said was surrounded constantly by calamity. Nothing seemed to go right with this man; he was constantly sick, terrified, and stolen from. When Edouard and one of his leaders began to pray for him, the form of a man appeared in the room! The form of the man said "This man is mine, he belongs to me, leave him alone!" The man quickly acknowledged that he had been controlled by this witch doctor for years. Edouard rebuked the manifestation saying that this man now belonged to Jesus and the man was instantly delivered and has already begun to show fruit.

So, all in all, the Gospel has been rolling forward, full steam ahead! But this has not come without a price. The enemy has stepped up his attacks on Edouard and launched a full frontal assault to abort the move of God there.

THE BAD NEWS
The bad news is that Edouard has had to fight for his life. I already told you of how he lost his only child to the attack of the enemy that his wife had left him and his church was destroyed. As of this moment, his wife still has not returned and they have had to look for a different place to meet. Ultimately they need to purchase their own compound so that they can have a base that is protected and we are praying about how we can help them do this.

Immediately after our departure, the persecution increased. The accusations that Edouard and his church were involved in witchcraft reached ridiculous levels. People all over their city are calling them names and persecuting them. This did two things; it sent the uncommitted church folks packing and strengthened the rest of the church. What we don’t talk about here in the west, but what is known all over the world is that the persecuted church is the strongest church, so the enemy’s plan backfired. Edouard was actually brought to court on charges that he was practicing witchcraft, which is just crazy! He was cleared on that charge, but it did cost him a great deal of money to defend himself.

His wife still hasn’t come back. In fact, she recently has gone on the attack, rallying her family members in opposition to her husband, accusing him of witchcraft. What’s ironic is that many in her family are involved in witchcraft themselves. Since the accusations of witchcraft have not succeeded, she has switched her accusations to something even more debased. Now, Edouard’s wife is rallying her family to accuse Edouard of selling corpses to us Americans! Edouard had the authorities come and accuse him of this and he actually had to take them to the grave site of his son! He is now embroiled in his defense to clear him of the latest charges and needs our help!

HOW WE CAN HELP
Edouard’s integrity is above reproach. He has proven that he will not back down from opposition, but has pressed in regardless of the situation he is facing. He is already planning on reaching other areas near Brazzaville and wants us to come back soon! Throughout all of this, he needs our support, in prayer and in finances. So I am asking you two things:

#1 - Would you commit to pray for Edouard and the work in the Congo?
If so, let me know by replying to this posting.

#2 – Would you consider donating to help Edouard financially?
His recent legal defenses (for the sake of the Gospel) are costing him money that he doesn’t have and he could use our help. We have a system for him to get 100% of the money securely. He could really use regular monthly support, as well as a one time gift, whatever you can do.

*You will be giving through NorthGate Church of Atlanta Inc. which is legally registered as a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Donations are tax deductible and you will receive an official giving statement for all contributions over $50.

Click the button below to make a donation to the work in Congo.

The Donation Links are in $10.00 increments.
To donate $50 put "5" in the quantity.
To donate $100 put "10" in the quantity.
To donate $1000 put "100" in the quantity.

In Memory of John Wesley

Many have asked what my thoughts and feelings about such a traumatic trip are. I think the one word that describes how I feel after this trip is, “Resolved”.

Never before have the guys who were with me and I been so resolved to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom with power as we are today. Watching the enemies’ response to our message has shown me how big of a threat we are to his kingdom. I believe that the aspect of our ministry that the enemy fears most is the multiplication of ministry. When we arrive at these places, many times there are only a few people, if any, walking in the power of the Kingdom. By the time that we leave, there are dozens actively walking in the power of the Gospel as a lifestyle.

Kingdom multiplication is this: one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight. That means that a small group of even just 10-20 can route the enemy in their community. No wonder the enemy hates the Gospel! When we’re building orphanages, handing out food or having crusades, there are still just a few operating in power. But when you equip the church to pick up their swords and start hacking away at the kingdom of darkness, you become a major threat.

DEALING WITH DEFEAT
Make no mistake about it; the death of John Wesley was a defeat. Sure, God can turn tragedy into triumph, but we lost a soul to the enemy’s power. What we know is this, the witch doctors in the district began cursing us when we started equipping the people and the quick sickness and death of Edouard’s child was the immediate result. Although we prayed our guts out, he didn’t come back. I can’t hear from anyone that this was somehow God’s mysterious will. God is mysterious, but He’s mysteriously good! He’s not mysteriously evil! To me, there’s no mystery about it. I have no questions to ask God. The enemy is bad and God is good. Jesus brings life and the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. The enemy won this engagement, but he has lost the war.

To many folks, a defeat like this would cause them to change their theology. But in the fire is no place to alter your theology. I remember David Hogan preaching that Americans think that when something goes wrong, they have departed form the will of God. Their view in Mexico is the exact opposite. They believe that you aren’t doing right if you don’t encounter difficulty. They believe that a pain and problem free existence is a sign that you are ineffectual and not a threat to the enemy. Here in the states, our popular theology is the exact opposite. The motto here is, “no pain, no pain”.

And then there is the opposite extreme; the people who thrive on tragedy and live in poverty, apart from the blessing and protection of God. That’s crazy. I don’t want either extreme. I believe a balanced view that the scriptures teach is this; God is good, but His wonderful, perfect will is sometimes thwarted and always resisted by a profoundly evil enemy, the devil. I mean why would Jesus tell us to pray, “Let Your Kingdom come, Let Your will be done” if God’s will is always done? In fact, it isn’t. God’s will is being actively resisted by the enemy of our souls. It’s our responsibility to enforce the will of God here on the earth.

Sometimes we have great success and sometimes we do not. When we have success, it’s a party, but when we fail, it hurts. Sometimes holding on to the truth apart from the manifestation is painful and difficult. But it’s worth it. It’s worth it to seek God to raise the dead and give yourself to the manifestation of it, because when they get up, the world sees the greatness of God.

No, it was not God’s will for John Wesley to die at such a young age. But it is not God’s will that the people of the Congo live in darkness, fear and superstition either. When we were there, many met the Lord of Light and through the witness of the newly empowered believers of Edouard’s church, many more will. It’s not God’s will that the people of Congo live in sickness and disease. When we were there, many were healed and through the effective witness of the newly empowered believers, many more will be healed and delivered from their sickness and disease.

In all things I pray, “Father, let Your Kingdom come and let Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven!”

Amen!

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This is a short slide show that Nathan Martin put together from the trip. It’s a tribute to John Wesley. The first shot is John Wesley and his mother and the last shot is Edouard and John Wesley.

Be Blessed,
Ryan

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Adventures In Africa! – Part V

Another man walked up to Edouard and whispered in his ear. Edouard turned to us and said that they would have to have the casket in the ground within thirty minutes or there would be no burial! We asked how much time we had to keep praying and he said ten minutes! We had thought we would have hours and here we were just told that we would only have ten minutes. We had only been praying about 20 minutes at this point. Without hesitation and in total desperation we threw ourselves on the ground and prayed with all of our heart, crying out to God to raise John Wesley from the dead. But we didn’t have ten minutes, we had one minute. Just a few seconds later they began to seal the casket. We were heart-broken; John Wesley hadn’t come back to life!

As the men closed the casket and began to carry it away, Edouard assured us that we would have a few more minutes on the way to the cemetery to pray and believe God. We got up from the floor and followed his men out of the house into the courtyard. There were two taxis waiting in the alley, one a small Toyota Corolla and a little van, about the size of a little VW van. David and another of Edouard’s pastors got in the back seat of the little Toyota and placed the casket on their laps. David began to pray. We started towards the van with Edouard’s brothers and a few people from his church. As we stepped towards the van we looked about fifty feet down the alley and saw a huge group of people, obviously fighting with each other. I asked our translator, the one who always had the goofy grin what was going on and he told us that it was the two families fighting about the death of the child. We actually had to walk towards the group of people to get in the van. As we stepped closer however, things got worse.

RIOT!
People in the crowd were picking up sticks, rocks, bricks and knives. Men were taking off their belts and beating each other with them. Men beat women in the group, showing absolutely no regard for the opposite sex. As they saw Edouard and his white friends heading towards the van, several in the mob broke free and started running towards us! My translator looked at me and with his trademark goofy grin said, “You are in great danger!” Instead of walking towards the van we started to back away. Edouard’s family was the only thing standing between us and the mob and they had to use physical force to keep them from attacking us. Seeing us, they went into a frenzy and made a push to come for us. Our translator looked at me and said without his trademark grin, “RUN!” So we ran for our life. David was still in the back of the little Toyota as Danny, Nathan and I ran as fast as we could. We ran down the alley and made a quick right hand turn, heading down the road away from the house. The two taxis, seeing the angry mob running after us, threw it into reverse and took off down the alley towards us.

Edouard’s family and the brothers from the church swarmed us like Secret Service agents would swarm the president and moved us quickly away from the angry mob. The taxis eventually caught up with us down the alley and we were thrown in the little bus. Now I know that we were concerned, but we didn’t really know what was going on due to the language barrier. But when you see native Africans FREAK OUT, you know you’re in trouble. Edouard’s brothers and the men from the church were screaming at the taxi drivers and totally losing their stuff. We started driving at breakneck speeds down the tiny little alleys, trying to reach the main road. The only problem was that many of the little alleys were obstructed by trash, deep mud and tree branches, so we had to work our way through the maze to hit the main road. At one of the intersections we got stuck in a little bit of deep mud for a second or two. I looked to our right and about two streets over; part of the angry mob was walking by. They saw our truck and started running towards us! We broke free of the mud and headed towards the main road. The mob was fanning out, trying to block our exits and prohibit us from escaping. Thanks to the amazing driving ability of our taxi drivers, we escaped and made it to the main road.

A DEFEAT
We had made it away from the mob, but we had a serious time constraint to get the body in the ground legally. John Wesley was to be buried in a state burial plot by state workers and we barely had 15 minutes to make a thirty minute drive! The taxi drivers drove at ridiculous speeds down the wrong side of the road, many times narrowly missing oncoming traffic! I just put my head into my bag and prayed with all of my heart for the angels to help us. Edouard’s phone started ringing as the in-laws were calling him. Through our interpreter we got the story.

In witchcraft, one of the highest sacrifices that you can offer is your first born son. Edouard’s in-laws, many of which are unbelievers, now believed that Edouard had offered his son to the devil. They assumed that because he had been hanging with these strange white guys who had been preaching a strange message, then we must be up to no good. In fact, they thought that we were performing a satanic ritual with the body before he was to be buried! When the in-laws were dismissed from the wake as we were praying, it was the spark that set off the fire. They flew into a frenzy and decided to kill Edouard and his Mondelis (white people). So, this wasn’t a crowd that just wanted to beat us up, they were after us to kill us! They were now telling Edouard that he could run, but he couldn’t hide. They told him that they would be waiting for us wherever we went.

We raced off and arrived at the state cemetery. There were lines upon lines of freshly dug graves and mourners coming from burial sites. I have never seen so many graves in my life. We found the place where John Wesley was to be buried and brought the casket to the grave site. They lowered the casket in and we opened it one more time, praying and believing that he would be alive. He wasn’t. They resealed the casket and Edouard took a shovel-full of dirt, spreading it over the casket of his only son. When we realized that it was over and that we had failed to get him back from the dead, we lost it. All of us Americans fell to pieces and wept openly. What a terrible price Edouard had paid for the Gospel! But as we wept, Edouard looked to heaven and lifted his hands, praising and worshiping Jesus with all of his heart! He sang a song that said, “Goodbye, I’ll see you in Heaven”. Edouard had to sing alone, we were too busy grieving and weeping to sing with him. Some brothers form the church gathered around us and comforted us!

GET US OUT OF HERE!
After the burial, they put all of us into the little Toyota and sent us to our hotel. Our flight left in a few hours and Edouard said that he would go the church, encourage his people to press on and then come and see us off before we left. A few minutes into our drive back, Edouard pulled us to the side of the road and split us up into two taxis, putting one of his guys with us in each taxi. In our grief we had forgotten that we still had an angry mob trying to find us and kill us! They were calling Edouard and telling him that they would be waiting for him and they knew where we were staying and that they would be waiting for us. Edouard’s guys were in the taxis with us to show the taxi driver a way of escape if the mob found us! It was a very tense drive back to the hotel as we did not know if they would be waiting for us or not. They took the taxis down back roads to avoid the mob on a main road where we would be expected to travel. We arrived at the hotel and found that there was no one there.

Edouard’s guys rushed us out of the taxis into our hotel rooms and told us to lock the door. They would wait in the lobby should anyone show up intent on hurting us. We went to the room and got completely ready to leave the country, not knowing if we would have to run for our lives. We devised an escape plan to hide out at another large hotel until our flight left that evening and called our families, asking them to pray. I wept with my wife over the phone as we were heart broken that John Wesley had not come back and due to the tension of the mob coming after us. About a half hour later, we received a call from Edouard saying that we were out of danger. The mob had ended up at his church facility and had taken out their anger by destroying his meeting place. Now, not only had Edouard lost his son, but his wife was being held by her family and his church was in ruins! Edouard met us at the hotel a little later and came into our room simply saying, “Pray for us”. We all fell on our knees together and prayed for him, we prayed for the work there in his district and we prayed for his church. The presence of the Lord was near to our broken hearts. Edouard then asked if he could pray for us and we fell at the feet of this great man of God, receiving everything he had to impart.

We literally had to tear ourselves from each other as we prayed and wept together, asking the Holy Spirit to take the life of John Wesley and make it a seed unto a great harvest in the Congo. A few hours later we caught our flight back to the USA. On the plane home I tried to listen to some worship music on my IPOD, but quickly fell to pieces and started shaking and sobbing, just crushed by what we had witnessed; the terrible retaliation of the enemy on the innocent and a great man’s godly response to terrible persecution. As of this moment, Edouard has lost his child, who he said he loved more than any other person on the earth, he has lost his wife, who still hasn’t returned from her family and he has lost his meeting place, which the mob destroyed on the day of his child’s funeral. But has this stopped the work?

No way.

Edouard and his guys are preaching the Gospel in their district every day, seeing God heal, save and deliver, working with them as they preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Gospel rolls on, unhindered by persecution.

Pray for Edouard and the work there in the Congo.

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I’ll write more soon about my feelings about the trip and also post a tribute slide show that Nathan put together for John Wesley.

Blessings,
Ryan

Adventures In Africa! – Part IV

We sped off into the darkness behind the hospital. We were secured into the back of the truck by 6 armed men. Ak-47’s were in our face and we didn’t know where they were taking to us or what they were going to do with us. Thankfully, the suspense didn’t last long. They asked us how we arrived at the hospital and we told them by taxi. They drove around the hospital to the front driveway, which was now totally cleared of people. They began to tell us through an interpreter that we would have to pay for their time and effort to come out. We agreed and asked how much. $60 for our release. I saw Edouard bristle. He had some righteous indignation that we would have to pay them to be released, but my thought was, “pay them whatever they want!” So we paid them the $60 and a minute later, a couple of the police officers from behind the hospital showed up. One of them realized what we were doing there at the morgue (going to raise the dead) and was impressed. He asked Edouard where his church was so he could attend Sunday service! We hailed a couple of taxis and got the heck out of there!

At this point, we were all elated that the Lord had delivered us from such a hairy situation. We called our families and we rejoiced together. We were getting a quick bite to eat when the reality of the situation hit us. Edouard’s baby was still dead. We had preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and there was instant retribution. Edouard and his guys were getting all the details together of when we could legally get in there to pray for the baby. Edouard agreed to come by our hotel early in the morning on the way to the morgue. We decided to stay awake and pray all night. If we were going to have a chance at the child, then we wanted to be as ready as possible. We worshiped and we prayed our hearts out that night. We wept and called out to God for grace and mercy. At home in Atlanta the church was praying, they even had an emergency prayer meeting. Several folks stayed up all night with us, praying for resurrection power to come to John Wesley. We communicated the urgency of the situation. This move of God in this location was in its infancy. It was necessary for God to raise this baby from the dead. We were asking ourselves, would they be shaken and back off the message if the baby didn’t get up?

THOUGH HE SLAY ME…
Our emotions were toast. We had run the gamut of emotional highs and lows in the last 24 hours. Edouard showed up early the next morning with all the details on how to get the baby out so that we could pray for him. They needed money, a lot of it, about $600. For them, this was a very steep price but we took up an offering to cover the expenses for them to release the child to us. Edouard and his guys were tired from praying late into the night but Edouard declared, “We will get the baby and return him to his mother”.

Unshaken.

The Lord had shown them in prayer that the witch doctors in their district had cursed his child, causing premature death. We agreed, in prayer that night I had seen a demonic assault on the child. Over the phone we were given the message from Bob Jones that the water spirits in Africa drown people in their own fluids (pneumonia). The witch doctors did not like the message that was being shouted to their district, but they HATED the fact that the church had been released into power ministry. Ministry had been multiplied and the Kingdom of darkness in that territory was crumbling. John Wesley went from healthy to dead in 24 hours from pneumonia, which simply does not happen! Here we were faced with a startling reality; the curses of witch doctors had killed Edouard’s child because of the Gospel we preached.

Edouard and his guys headed off to the morgue while we waited for the call to come and raise the baby from the dead. A few hours later the news came in that because it was a Saturday, they could not release the body to us, but it would have to wait until Monday morning, two days later! We talked with Edouard about how this would affect our plans for the weekend meetings and outreaches. He told us that many from the church would not be there so they could be with his wife in mourning. But he also insisted that we move forward and preach the Gospel!

That Saturday afternoon we had a service. Understandably, many from his church weren’t there. Even his worshipers were in shock and grief, but not Edouard. Edouard had to start the song service and worshiped and praised God with all his heart! Just watching him, we all fell to pieces, weeping openly. Here was a guy whose child has been dead for less than 24 hours, worshiping and praising God with all his might! The church started to fill up, not with church folks, but with new believers and people from the market the night before! In the insanity of the day’s events we had almost forgotten what we had experienced in the market the night before. They were eager to hear more about the Kingdom of Heaven and we were more than happy to tell them. Through tears, we told them of the King and His Kingdom, calling them to give their lives for the sake of the Gospel. The power of God fell in that meeting and it was one of the most powerful meetings we have ever been in. The worship of God in the face of tragedy was the purest and most intense worship we had ever experienced. They brought us the sick at the end of the meeting and every sick person that we prayed for at that meeting was healed.

As we were leaving the meeting we spoke with Edouard, He told us that his in-laws, most of them unbelievers, thought he was crazy for not mourning the loss of his child. His response was, “I will not mourn until God has had the last word! And if the baby does not come back, I will weep and I will shout saying, ‘see you in Heaven’. But then, the Gospel must be preached!” We were in awe of the strength he was displaying in the face of such a difficult circumstance. What else can you do? How can you mourn when you are actively engaged in believing God to bring your child back? His in-laws also accused him saying, “You must not love your child”. Edouard told us, “No, that’s not true; I love John Wesley more than anyone on earth”.

WE PRESS ON
Sunday came and went. At that service we encouraged the church to press on, in spite of circumstances. We told them that our Gospel is based on the raising of the dead, in fact you must believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved! We also commissioned several pastors there to take this Gospel of the Kingdom to their churches and to their cities. Edouard asked us to pray and impart to him. Never have I felt so unworthy to pray for someone than at that time, but pray we did. We worshiped, we prayed and we wept together. But not Edouard; he was a rock, even in the face of growing persecution of his decision to pray for his baby to be raised from the dead. The in-laws were getting very irritated that traditions were being broken. Normally people mourn and gather for the funeral at the Father’s house. His house was also where the church met and Edouard said, “No, they can mourn at my brother’s house, for the house of God is to be a place of prayer and praise, not mourning”.

Monday was the day that we were going home. It was also the day that we had to pray for John Wesley. From what we understood, we would have several hours to pray for the child once they got his body from the morgue and before they would have to bury him. We packed our bags and dressed, ready to pray for the child and we waited for the call from Edouard. They had gone early to the morgue and were doing all the necessary paperwork, as well as paying the cost for the state funeral, etc. The call came in about noon, they had the child and Edouard was coming to take us to his brother’s house, where they would be holding the wake and where we would finally be able to pray for John Wesley, nearly three days after his death. We got in a cab and sped off.

His brother’s house was a few miles from where Edouard lives. It was off of a main road, in a maze of alleys, many of which were blocked by piles of trash, soft mud and tree limbs. We worked our way through the neighborhood and finally arrived at the wake. There was a large gathering of Edouard’s in-laws, waiting on the side of the home. The courtyard was jammed with people from Edouard’s church and many friends and extended family. Many were weeping and crying. Edouard led us into the main room of the house where there were about 20 mourners, weeping and wailing. There was a small, open casket sitting in two chairs and for the first time since his death we could see the face of John Wesley. Edouard walked us into the room and addressed the crowd, telling them that there would be no mourning allowed in the room where John was and that we were going to pray for the child. The mourners shuffled out, leaving Edouard, a few of his men from the church and our team with the body.

We gathered around the casket and without hesitation, Edouard started worshiping Jesus! We all joined in and began to pray with all of our heart and worship Jesus. I can tell you that I felt more of the power of God in that moment than I’ve ever felt before in my life! We were not hoping that the child would arise; we KNEW that he would get up. For the next twenty minutes we prayed and worshiped with all of our heart until we were interrupted by a very angry young man charging into the room, one of Edouard’s in-laws. He walked straight up to Edouard and began berating him for not letting them mourn in their custom and asking him what was he doing. Edouard’s brothers swept in and removed the man without a word, but that was the spark that started the fire.

A riot had begun.

Adventures In Africa! – Part III

Standing behind us were about 20 of Edouard’s church folks, along with a bunch of neighborhood children. When they heard what had happened, almost on cue, they all fell to the ground and started weeping, wailing and mourning. None of us had ever seen anything like it. I turned to my right and shined my flashlight to see small children as young as four and five years fall to the ground and start rolling, writhing and shrieking. They tore their clothing, they put dust on their heads and they wailed! It was the eeriest sound any of us have ever heard. And it grew louder because in Africa, they mourn as a village and the whole village began running to their house to mourn with them. Edouard and David said, “Let’s go!” and we ran in the opposite direction as everyone else so we could go to the hospital and pray for the baby to be raised from the dead. We had been preaching Matthew 10:7-8 all week and our Gospel commands, “Raise the dead”. Now, the pastor’s son had died. What else were we to do?

We ran up the alley and as we ran the sound grew louder and louder. More people had joined in the mourning and you could hear the sound all the way up the alley. We ran to the street and hailed a couple of cabs, split up and headed off to the hospital, about a 20 minute ride away. I was in the cab with Edouard, David and his worship leader. We prayed in the Spirit and without flinching, Edouard looks at us and says, “We will give the baby back to his mother”. We arrived at the hospital and raced to the infant ward where John Wesley had been earlier in the day. He wasn’t there. Another baby had taken his place. We asked some hospital employees where he would be and they told us that he would be in the morgue, but to get into the morgue we would need the death certificate number that they gave to Edouard’s wife. We ran outside, recharged our pre-paid cell phones at a local merchant and called his wife, getting the information we needed. The morgue was just behind the hospital so we took off at a brisk pace to go see the baby.

A MESS IN THE MORGUE
The morgue is a large rectangular concrete block building with entrances at either end. The entrances are iron gates that they unlock to let you in and lock as you come in. Edouard showed the attendant his id and told him that he was here to see the baby. They unlocked the big iron gate and let us in. The attendant was very surprised to see eight of us (4 of us white guys and Edouard plus three of his guys). In Congo, they are very distrustful of whites. In the past, whites (or “Mondeli” in Lingala) have conquered and cheated them for years, so you can understand the bias. He went to the giant freezer in the morgue, opened the door and walked in to open a pull out drawer. Several of us piled in behind him and we had never seen so much death! Dead bodies were everywhere! The freezer was totally full, the drawers were overfilled and there were even dead people on the floor. The attendant opened the drawer, made for one child and there were 4 little bundles in there. We couldn’t see John Wesley because they had bundled him up. The attendant compared the number Edouard had to the number on one of the bundles and confirmed that indeed this was his child.

This is where it got interesting.

Edouard told the attendant that he would like to bless his child and this is part of his religion. He also told him that all of us were pastors and could we please have a few moments with the baby. The attendant shook his head no and quickly slammed the drawer with John Wesley shut saying “No!” Edouard appealed to him as a father but the guy would not relent. He led us out of the freezer and was beginning to shut the door when David stood in front of the door and told him that no, he could not close it and would they please give us a moment with the baby!

After this, it was all a blur. The attendants became very agitated very quickly and started arguing with Edouard and David. Edouard, obviously hot because they wouldn’t allow him to see his child just couldn’t walk away. I also believe that because David was white, his act of not allowing them to close the door sent them into the stratosphere. Out of nowhere some guy in a Circuit City shirt showed up and jumped right in the argument. He actually started getting physical, pushing and shoving Edouard and getting right in David’s face. With the little French I know, I could understand that he was telling them that all he wanted to do was see his child. They threatened that they would call the police. A few minutes later all of the attendants walked out of the morgue, locked the iron gate behind them (locking us in) and called the police.

One of Edouard’s guys was our interpreter and he was so happy to communicate with us in English that he always had this dumb grin on his face, no matter what news that he would convey to us. I asked him what they were saying to the police over the phone and with that dumb grin on his face, he told me that they were telling the police we were destroying the place and causing anarchy. They also told the police that we were violent and that we had come to the Congo to cause trouble. They hung up the phone and assured us that the police would be there to remove us by force and take us to jail. I asked Edouard I this was true and he said that yes, they would come in, beat us and take us to jail. He also said that if the Captain was a wicked man, we would be in a great deal of trouble, but if the Captain was a true Christian, we would be ok. We started praying fervently for a true Christian!

I got our little pre-paid cell and sent my wife back home a frantic text massage saying, “Pray, under arrest”. Here at home they sent out the word and instantly we had a bunch of folks praying fervently for our deliverance. We were praying in the Spirit and asking God to bail us out. On the plane ride over to the Congo I had read an amazing book by Brother Yun called, The Heavenly Man. It’s about 400 pages of graphic descriptions of being tortured in third world prisons for the Gospel. As we sat there awaiting our beating and imprisonment I thought, “That’s why God had me read that book, to prepare me for this… gee, thanks God!” All we could do was pray in the Spirit and think about our families back home.

I grabbed Edouard by the shoulders, looked him in the eye and told him what the Lord was giving me which was the Proverb, “A gentle answer turns away wrath”. An armed guy showed up and he was carrying an AK-47. He asked the morgue attendants waiting outside what was going on and through the gate they were pointing at Edouard and David, explaining the story. What unnerved us all is that when he pointed at David, he did so with the barrel of his gun! He also assured us that we would be beaten and sent to jail. We were scared. That was by far the longest 30-40 minutes of our lives.

DELIVERANCE?
A couple of police vehicles raced into the morgue parking lot. They were like big army trucks with benches in the bed of the trucks. They were filled with police officers. They were decked out in all black jumpsuits and were sporting nightsticks and AK-47’s. They were angry. When they jumped off the truck they were expecting an angry mob destroying the place and were prepared for a fight. At that point we thanked God that they had locked us in behind an iron gate because if that gate was standing open, we would have bled. They raced up to the gate and stopped. They looked at all of us standing there on the other side of the gate and did a double take. They were expecting crazed anarchists and instead they found a bunch of doves! They looked us over and stepped back to interview the attendants. After a few minutes they ordered us out of the morgue and into the back of the trucks.

They had their guns on us the whole way.

We climbed into the back of the trucks and they started asking some questions through an interpreter. They wanted to know if what we had done was legal in our country. We assured them that yes, we had been with the family many times to the morgue. He couldn’t believe it and ran off fuming. He came back a few minutes later and told us that what we have done is illegal! As we later found out, we had broken the law by trespassing in the morgue and what we deserved was a beating by the police, imprisonment, a trial and jail time.

After more conversation the Captain came back to us in the truck and simply said, “We will not beat you”. We thanked him profusely, “Merci Mingi” (Thank you very much!) He came back and said that they do not have a problem with us and if they had, we would have been beaten and handcuffed face down in the back of the truck. Then he said, “Even though I wear the uniform in the outside, I am just like you underneath, I am a Christian too!” We thanked God and breathed a sigh of relief. We would be ok. He explained that we would be taken to the chief to explain the situation.

Just as we started to relax a bit, another truck pulled into the parking lot. This was an army truck and the men inside were all in camouflage and armed with AK-47’s. Without a word they kicked the police off the truck and commandeered the vehicle, securing us inside. They stood at either end of the truck bed and there were two guys in the middle. They had their guns trained on us and I actually looked down the barrel of an AK-47. Nathan had a rifle barrel jabbed in his side. They sped us away from the hospital and the now friendly police into the darkness.

Where were we going and what would they do to us?

Adventures In Africa! – Part II

The first few days there found us having meetings with the church there and doing limited street ministry, due to our only having one interpreter during the day. The first couple of days there we had a light schedule and we all remarked that we didn’t get this much sleep at home! We were well rested and enjoying the meetings with Edouard, his leaders and the church there. At the meetings Edouard rented a sound system and turned the speakers out to the community, blaring our preaching throughout the entire district.

As we would find out, the witch doctors didn't like that.

AS YOU GO…
After lunch one day we went with Edouard looking for some authentic African clothing to take home with us and on the way we ran across a beggar on the sidewalk. His legs were withered and his back was very crooked. He could only sit up by leaning on a nearby wall or by supporting himself with his arms. We asked if we could pray for him and told him about the Kingdom of God. As I put my hands on his back I was aware that his spine was in an almost “S’ shape. No sooner had I realized this than I felt intense heat in my hands and then I actually felt his back pop and crack! He sat up several inches straighter and could suddenly sit straight up without the support of the wall or his arms! After a few more minutes of prayer he could support his weight for a few seconds without help, but he did not get up and walk away.

While praying for him, a few people stopped by and wanted to see what we were doing. One of the people that stopped was a runaway young boy who the Lord gave us words of knowledge for. We had him kneel down and give his life to Jesus on the spot! He actually came with us to church that night!

We went to a service with his leaders and we were training them to minister the Kingdom of God. We were preaching out of Matthew 10:7-8 and giving very basic instructions and telling testimonies of “doing the stuff”. It was cool because it was Africa hot, it’s a dirt floor, outside, no roof, the stars are shining and we are equipping people by lantern light. I told my wife on the phone that night that it was probably the second coolest thing you could do in ministry, the first being preaching to Gospel to a people that have never heard the name of Jesus.

RETALIATION
Within a few hours of that we received a phone call from Edouard saying that they were rushing his baby to the hospital with breathing difficulties. We were surprised and shocked because just a couple hours earlier at the meeting we were playing with Edouard’s baby, little John Wesley and he was perfectly healthy. An hour after that, Edouard, his wife and one of her sisters and little John Wesley show up at our hotel room. We bring the baby in and take a look at him. He was definitely working for breath, but all four of us, all daddies to little kids, were not concerned. We prayed over the baby, taking turns holding him and just worshipped together, believing God would heal him. They had just come from the hospital and instead of treating the illness they gave them some medication to put the baby to sleep! Let me put it this way, you DO NOT want to get sick in the Congo! After a couple of hours of prayer, the baby and his parents had calmed down considerably and we all had a sense of peace about the situation. Truthfully, my kids have had breathing trouble in the past and were far worse than this child. I wasn’t worried.

The next morning Nathan and Danny went to the church early in the morning to go and minister to their worship leaders and worship team. When they arrived, none of the worshipers were there! One of the ladies from the church was there waiting and told them that the worship team and Edouard’s wife had rushed little John Wesley to the hospital. We all headed to the hospital and found John lying in a hospital bed. He was a little worse off than the night before but again, nothing terribly concerning. He was very obviously having pain when he would inhale. They did some x-rays and found pneumonia in his lungs. We and many from the church were at the hospital praying. As we continued to pray throughout the morning John actually improved and began vomiting the fluid and infection out of his lungs. Things were looking up.

IN THE MARKET
We were scheduled to be back at the church in the afternoon and take his leaders out into the market to preach the Gospel with signs and wonders. We were debating what to do since many people were there at the hospital with the baby and we were already late, our daylight wouldn’t last long. Edouard settled the issue by saying, “Even if I have only thirty minutes before or after work, I preach the Gospel. Why? Because those thirty minutes could mean one soul for the Kingdom of God!” That settled it. We arrived at the church and there were about 20 of his people waiting for us, along with three English speaking interpreters. As a group we headed out into the market.

God was waiting for us.

David had an interpreter with him, Nathan and Danny had an interpreter with them and I had an interpreter with me. We walked for a couple of minutes in the market as a whole group. David saw a sick person and stepped aside to pray for him along with several folks from the church. They didn’t move for almost two hours! I took a few steps past David and saw a guy with a cane and started praying for him. I didn’t leave my spot for two hours! Danny and Nathan took a few steps beyond me and started talking to someone. They didn’t move from that spot for two hours!

Why didn’t we move from the spot? Because it was impossible! As we started to pray for the sick, they started to get healed. As we started to prophesy over unbelievers, they would get saved! They would bring their friends back for prayer and curious onlookers would stop by. Each of our three groups had dozens of people around us, pressing in to see what was happening and as someone would get healed, the crowd would get bigger! A couple of folks from the church jumped into the crowd and brought us the sick. Every single person I prayed for was healed! There was not one person that did not walk away perfectly whole! In my group I saw literally dozens of miracles and healings, everything from broken and sprained bones to bent limbs and backs healed, scoliosis, liver problems and pains of every kind vanished by the fire of God! The healing anointing was so tangible that I asked my interpreter where the blind and the lame were, I just knew they would be healed! He told me that they would not come into the market so late in the day (it was almost dark).

I looked to my left and saw Danny and Nathan leading person after person to the Lord, kneeling in the mud! David was a few paces behind me and the church folks in his group began doing the stuff, casting out devils and healing the sick! As someone would get healed we all would address the crowd, telling them that Jesus is healing people and the Kingdom of God had come near to them! One father brought me his daughter, who was demonized and mute. She could barely speak a word, even her own name. We prayed over her and cast out the devil of fear that had entered her as a young girl. A few minutes later we commanded her to say “Jesus is King and His Kingdom is on the earth” in Lingala, her native tongue. She started shouting it, no longer mute and set free by Jesus!

It was awesome. Not only were we seeing this and doing this, but the church folks got on the bandwagon. They were doing the stuff and they were inviting people to church and following up with them. Ministry had multiplied! Instead of the lone man of God syndrome, the church was activated! As it grew darker, the church folks urged us to wrap it up, we would come back tomorrow. We met back at the church, telling testimony after testimony and the faith couldn’t have been higher. Edouard was there at the church, he had come from the hospital and stripped down to an undershirt, praying fervently his son at the hospital with his wife. He told us later that he was interrupted from praying several times because folks in his church kept calling him and telling him what God was doing in the market. We prayed over a handkerchief for little John Wesley and started down the alley to catch a cab to get something to eat.

On our way down the alley, just a few steps from the church we heard the most horrific scream that we’ve ever heard. Mind you, it is pitch black out, so we bust out our flashlights from our backpacks and point them to the noise. I look up and see Edouard’s wife coming down the alley with two men at either side of her, holding her arms and restraining her. I thought they were attacking her! I look over towards David and ask him what's going on. He was was standing next to me and Edouard and simply says, “Oh No!” I hear Edouard’s wife scream, “JOHN!”

Edouard turns to us and says, “John has died.”

Adventures In Africa! - Part I

We just returned from our trip to the Congo in Africa a few days ago and all I can say is… WOW. By far, this was the most intense ministry activity that I have ever been involved in. Several times during the trip our lives were in terrible danger. There was an angry mob that tried to kill us and we had to run for our life. The Lord moved dramatically in the market and we saw salvations and a 100% healing rate on the streets. There was life and there was death. We rejoiced with the people and we also wept as we have never wept before. When asked how we would share our experiences with our church my response was,

“It was the best of times and the worst of times”.


WHY I WENT TO THE CONGO
It actually started with a good friend of mine, David Dixon. About five years ago he received a call from God to go to the Congo. So he, his wife and two kids sold everything that they had, raised a little support and just went! They were there about a year and having very few contacts there and limited support, the time there was tough. In that time however, David met a young African man named Edouard who spoke English and they traveled all over the country together preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. Their friendship blossomed and Edouard became a sponge for the things of the Kingdom. Even after David and his family left to return to the states four years ago, Edouard took what he learned from David and has put it into practice, planting churches and “doing the stuff!”

So, for the last several years David and I have been talking about going back there, armed with our new revelation of the Kingdom and equipping the entire body to be messengers for the Kingdom. Each time we would talk about scheduling a trip though I would ask the Lord and not get clearance to move forward with it. But that was soon to change.


AN AFRICAN EMISSARY
Last year, my wife and I were praying together at the church before an outreach and she had a wild experience. She was suddenly aware of an angelic presence standing in the room. She looked and saw a large African man in a white robe standing in the room with us. I was totally lost in worship and completely oblivious to the scene. The angel spoke to her and brought to her a Macedonian type call to three places in Africa, pointing at a map of the globe. He also indicated that he would like to speak with me. Then he left.

She told me about the experience and my awareness was piqued. A couple nights later we were getting into bed and she said, “You need to talk to this Angel, he’s in the room right now”. I looked and didn’t see him, nor was I aware of his presence. We started drifting off to sleep a few minutes later and as I was falling asleep I was suddenly aware of a presence standing at the foot of my bed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got goose bumps all over. I opened my eyes and I could see a man standing at the foot of my bed. Without a word he reached towards me and handed me a scroll. I unrolled it and looked at the writing, but I could not read it! Without a word, the man disappeared and so did the scroll.

This happened to me two more times over the next couple of weeks and I became frustrated that I could not read the writing on the scroll. I told a couple of friends about the experience and one of them recommended that I pray in tongues to read the writing. A few days later I was in the prayer room praying before an outreach and the angel appeared again. In the lighted room I could see his form very well. He was a large African man and very tall. He handed me the scroll for the fourth time. Instantly I started to pray in tongues. As I prayed in tongue I could read the writing! It said:

“Messengers have brought us a message but we need a warrior to show us the way.”

It wasn’t until we had been there for some time that I realized how on target that this word from the Lord was, but that is definitely the case. Evangelists have come through the Congo for years, leading many people to the Lord. People like T.L. Osborn and Reinhard Bonkke have been through there several times, leading mass crusades where thousands give their lives to the Lord. What is left is what I call “crusade Christians”. They know how to get saved, healed and delivered, but they really don’t know how to live and walk in the Kingdom of God. That would be our mission, show them how to walk in the power of the Gospel in their everyday life and how to take Jesus with them to work, to school and to their families.

The angelic encounter was all I needed. We booked the trip, made our plans and left a couple of weeks ago for the Congo. Edouard had been hearing the stories of what the Lord had been doing here and he was hungry! We would be working with Edouards’ main church there in a city called Brazzaville, equipping their people to “do the stuff”.


BUSINESS AS USUAL
It’s hard to describe what the Congo is like. I have been to some pretty rough places in the world, but this was different. It was hot and incredibly humid. I was prepared for it to be dirty and trash everywhere, but I wasn’t prepared for the smell. We were in Brazzaville, a city of about 800,000 and I hadn’t seen the effects of not having a sanitation department or a sewer system on such a large city. When you don’t take your garbage and human waste away from where you live, where you live smells like a garbage dump and outhouse… all the time! Add heat and B.O. from having no air conditioning and viola’, the smell of Congo.

After arriving at night, getting to bed and getting some rest we got with Edouards’ church leaders, as well as a couple of his other pastors that had come from nearby cities. The guys shared with them some of what the Lord had been doing with us and started prophesying destiny over the leaders. They loved it! You got the feeling that prophetic ministry had never been done there. They have prophets in the churches that tell people what God is going to do and they foretell events, but personal prophecy was unheard of and welcomed! Actually, the African’s reception of prophecy was entirely different than it is here in the West. Here in the west, our attitude with prophecy many times is “well, we’ll see what the Lord does” concerning prophetic promises that the Lord gives us. There, when we prophesied over their church they responded, as one, “we will give ourselves to fulfill the word that you spoke that your words come to pass and that you be known as a true prophet!” Very impressive.

So over the first couple of days the guys prophesied, preached the Kingdom of God and told testimonies of what God is doing at home. The people’s faith was building, as was their comfort with these strange “Mondelis” (their term for white man).

Little did we know that the bottom was about to fall out.