God is so Good

We just returned from another service. We had about a dozen people claim healings from back problems and arthritic knees! Plus there were a number of other needs met. God always honors his word! After the service the pastor told me that he knew we had an important meeting on Tuesday that may determine our immediate future on the field. He said that some people in his church have agreed to fasting and round the clock prayer from now until they here the results of the meeting! I know we are supposed to be a blessing to the people of this nation but I feel it is often quite the opposite. The people here are being a great blessing to us!

The Gift of Interpretation of the Gift of Interpretation

In a meeting earlier this week I gave a message in tongues. I was excited when one of the local pastors began to interpret the message. I have been praying and preaching that the gifts would be in greater operation this year on a local church level. While the pastor was speaking though I soon realized something. Because he was interpreting my message into the language of the people, I had no idea what he was saying! I have been in many services where a message in tongues did not get interpreted, but this was the first time that I needed to find someone to interpret the interpretation!

Take Up Your Bed and Drive

On our way to a meeting last night we noticed a vehicle transporting a mattress. The Queen Size mattress was folded in half and the pillows were stuffed inside. The interesting thing is that the two guys transporting the mattress were on a motorcycle! It was an interesting sight.

That’ll be Heaven for Me

This morning I read a great little post from Tony Morgan. He made a list of some of the things he thinks will NOT be in heaven. 

My favorite from his list: Saran Wrap. I can never, and I mean NEVER get Saran Wrap to work. It always folds up on its self and causes more problems then it’s worth. It seems my mother and my wife can just zip it off the roll like it is nothing, but not me! I think this is one reason I enjoy eatting so much. If there are no leftovers there is no need for Saran Wrap.

Tony’s list also included Brussels sprouts, country music, local news, the department of motor vehicles, snow shovels, and the checkout line at Wal-Mart. Now notice he didn’t say no Wal-Mart, just no lines at Wal-Mart. Every Pentecostal  near Fredericton knows there must be a Wal-Mart in heaven!

Anyway, his joke was not lost on me today. It was good to think about all the troubles and stuggles of this life that will be gone when we enter that city where the lamb is the light!

The Other Burden of Missions

This morning I find myself reflecting on some of the names of great missionaries that have come from Canada and specifically New Brunswick. Amanda and I have struggled a little bit with having life pass us by at home. There have been decisions that have needed to be made in our absence and we feel the struggle of being torn between doing the work of God and doing what is comfortable.

 I think every minister at some time or another faces that struggle. Feeling the burden for the work of the Lord and the natural burden for comfort, at times, seem to clash. My mind is on Bro Larsen this morning. I can hardly imagine what it must have been like to lose his wife on the field. The struggle to want a peace in this life, the desire to be with loved ones at a time of lose surely must have tugged on his heart, even if he never mentioned it. The burden of his calling was greater and he moved forward in the work making sacrifices few others would make. But the Lord was with him. And while we deal with such a struggle on a different scale it is this same hope that causes us to move forward.

 In the flesh it is difficult to be away from our family. It is not easy to be away from our home and a church and pastor who love and appreciate us. It would be a nearly impossible task for us… except for the Lord. He is our strength, our light in times of struggle.

 We are growing through this time in our lives and realizing there is a direct correlation between the sacrifices we make and the blessings we are receiving. We’ve seen more people receive the Holy Ghost in 3 months on the field then we did in the previous 9 years in North America. I am not writing this article to illicit more prayer (though we could use it) nor to make anyone feel sorry for us. I mention this today because I feel like we need to celebrate with God in all of the blessings he gives us.

 Let’s all look past the burdens the Lord has given us and remember that “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1Cor 10:13). The word temptation there can be translated as an experience or adversity.

Let’s not struggle under our burden, but let us celebrate with God for the promised victory! And, while you are in your prayer closet today, take a few minutes and pray for our missionaries around the world. We will never truly know all that they have sacrificed to take the gospel to the whole world. It has been said many times, but missionaries are truly heroes of the faith.

A New Record

Two nights ago we had the coldest night in the historyof this city. It was almost -3 C. Doesn’t seem so bad to us, but it was really bad for the locals.

 Also, this week is a busy one for us and we would appreciate your prayers. I spoke 2 nights ago and have another 3 meetings in the next 3 days. We also have an important meeting on Tuesday that will determine our immediate plans here on the field. We are believing God to come through on our behalf and invite you to pray with us to that end.

A Wild Ride

Last night we headed out for our first service in a village. It was an interesting night. When our driver arrived we were a bit surprised to note that the vehicle, built to hold 6, would be carrying 12 of us to the church! We drove about 10 minutes, and then the van stopped. The driver got out and said we needed another driver. We waited 5 minutes then were on the road again… not really though. We drove about 25 feet, pulled up to the van in front of us and the driver said “Get out.” We then switched vans and took off with our third driver of the evening. The driver said he knew a short cut, and the trip I was told would take 45 minutes only took an hour and 45 minutes! When we finally arrived we had a great service. When I got up to preach, the power went out and we had to preach the “old-fashioned way”, I.E. we just preached REALLY loudly so everyone could hear. We had altar call for about 30 minutes and about 15 people claimed to have been healed. I had preached from Acts 3 that just as the power of Jesus healed the lame man put at the Beautiful Gate EVERYDAY, He could meet the needs that plague our bodies EVERYDAY. Two of the ladies who were healed had testified that EVERYDAY for some time they had been having extreme pain, one in her head the other in her joints. Jesus healed them both! I had a Muslim leader come and sit in the back to make sure I didn’t speak blasphemy but thankfully most Muslims do believe that Jesus was a healer and that is how I presented him. When we were all done praying, the power came back on!After the service, we started to drive back home. Our driver was a bit lost and then we got half way home when we needed to stop for fuel. After fueling up the driver realized the battery was dead in the van and we pushed the van in short sprints for about 30 minutes until it finally started up. However, because the battery was dead there we had no headlights and the roads were full of HUGE potholes. To top it all off, when we pulled into our apartment, the engine overheated and the whole van filled up with steam as the engine of this vehicle was under the passenger’s seat! In all it took us another hour and 45 minutes to get home. The other passengers were another hour and a half getting home because of the problems with the vehicle.

All in all, it was quite a night.  

A Water Walker

On Sunday I mentioned the miracle of Peter walking on the water in my sermon. On Monday I got to see the miracle in action… sort of. The flat that we live in is very close to a stream that the locals affectionately refer to as the “Dirty Canal“. We’ve walked by it many times, even noting that the water bubbles all the time from the abundance of trash rotting under the water. Yesterday we drove by a particularly dirty part of the canal and noticed that the water was so thick with trash that a crane was actually walking on top of the water without sinking! This is probably an 8-10 pound bird! Not exactly a miracle but it certainly caught our attention!

Our Big Break!

I use the title sort of tongue in cheek. Recently, Amanda and I were featured in the AIM programs newsletter for the month of January. We also have our picture in the letterhead (as well as the picture with me on the horse in the article!). Our Blog address was featured so I thought I’d say hello to any new readers who are out there. I also wanted to let everyone know that you can leave comments on the Blog if you wish. At the bottom of each post is a link that says “No Comments” or “X Comments” with X being a number. If you click that link you can leave a comment about the post you just read. It would be nice to hear who is checking us out. We’ve had over 1000 “hits” and as many as 60 of you have checked us out on one day, but we don’t know who you are. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sunday Morning

We just got out of service here. It was a pretty good Sunday morning. There were about 300 people in attendance. At the end we had an altar call and about 10 people claimed healings or receiving the Holy Ghost! It was pretty awesome. It was more of a teaching day, and I taught to the church mostly, so I was very pleased at such a good response. The local pastor and I seem to be working together pretty well. The church was full. It’s exiciting to see the growth. I can’t claim any of it as my doing though. It’s all the Lord and the faithfulness of the people. One elder lady told me that she has been going to a ladies prayer meeting almost everyday since 1972! God honors that kind of faithfulness and the local people deserve a lot of the credit for what is happening here. Of course God gets the ultimate credit, it is His church.