the time of salvation is now. what if Jesus returned tomorrow? how could we say, “Lord, it just wasn’t the right timing. I was going to wait for a good time to share the gospel.”
Brothers and sisters, the time is now. If you lack the courage to share the gospel, pray for that person. today. tonight. the time is ALWAYS now.
I must confess, I am one of those people who lack the courage to share the gospel boldly to those around me, but I am on my face tonight, praying for their salvation, hoping one day I will get the opportunity to share the gospel, to share the testimony of my savior, Jesus Christ, who saved me from death and gave me eternal life.
to get to that place, I must first kill my flesh. my flesh is scared, insecure, and timid. I must be ready. I must be moved by the spirit.
Lord I don’t want to miss another chance.
for those who have been saved, but are stuck in depression, sadness, insecurity, and fear, the Lord says the time of your deliverance is NOW! Let us run tonight to the God of mercy and grace. He will never leave you, nor forsake you, he is here tonight to comfort you and me. It’s time to find deliverance in his embrace. In his arms will we find our freedom!
[Yes, you’ve scanned this entry and it’s long. Yes, you don’t like to read. If your anything like me you’ll probably scroll to the end and see the embedded youtube video. Click it - if you’d like to know more details about what your seeing and its context… your going to have to read :)]
ETHIOPIA, MAY 2011
CRUSADES
The first week of our trip was amazing. We took a bus eight hours south of Addis Ababa, the capital city, to a region known as Sidamo, in a city called Daye. For two months evangelists had come to this area and sown the seed through outreaches, prayer meetings, and revivals for the impending harvest and crusade. They had flown helicopters into remote mountain villages and scattered thousands of flyers to the winds, trusting the Lord to deliver them into the hands of the villagers - and God rallied the people! We estimate that over 200,000+ people were in attendance. They walked great distances, some even days to get to the crusade, and slept in the fields at night.
I remember the first day of the crusade we came upon the scene of a hundred thousand people jumping up and down worshipping God. It was like watching the waves rolling in the ocean. The crowds were incredible!
[Umbrellas.]
[The choir.]
The first day we saw many people get healed. The deaf heard and the blind saw, and over the course of the next three days many more people were delivered from physical and spiritual bondage. One man in particular was led on stage because he was blind. I remember looking into his eyes - they were cloudy and glassed over. As I moved about the stage taking pictures I heard a commotion and came back to the man. When I looked into his eyes… they were clear!
Throughout the crusades many people experienced instantaneous miracles while others were left to God’s perfect timing. One testimony that was greatly encouraging came from a man who later testified to having left the crusade not healed, but then having his sight restored upon entering his home. Praise God!
So much happened in those four days. The most memorable for me came on the last day. There was a demonically possessed man who had been chained because he was no longer in control of his body and had become violent. For three straight days I had seen his wife praying passionately to the Lord and crying out for his deliverance. On that day something miraculous happened. He was set free! The same, demonically possessed man, walked on stage with his former chains clutched in his hands, and threw them to the ground! It was so powerful! The crowd erupted into praise and worship. One of our teammates commented on the fact that he could not recognize him as his whole countenance had changed! But God delivered him. Hallelujah!
[The formerly demonic-possessed man on the left and our pastor holding the chains to the far right.]
On this trip the enemy really used the rain to try and distract us and keep us from doing God’s work. We had just driven up to the event site one day when the rain had begun to pour. We stayed in the bus as the crowds began to disperse to find shelter. Some of us began to rebuke the rain immediately while others watched the sky for any sign of the sun. Nothing.
As time passed the team began to lose focus and we sat around chatting and goofing around. About fifteen minutes later we noticed that one of our teammates had slipped out of the bus. When we looked out from the windows we saw him and a translator on the platform preaching to some 200-300 villagers. They had stayed despite the rain! We immediately got a hold of our spirits and marched unto the platform to begin praying for the sick.
There was a boy there that was a deaf mute who was prayed for and God healed. It was amazing! He had never before in his life spoken as we witnessed him beginning to form words for this first time! He was so excited that he began praying for the others around him to be healed. It was amazing! Soon hundreds of people began storming the stage for their healing. They almost started a riot! People were shoving each other off the ramp so we were forced to leave quickly.
[Praying for deaf ears to hear in the rain.]
[Children transformed by the power of God, laying hands on others to be healed!]
In the end, we handed out close to 50,000 booklets, which we made available to new believers - and we didn’t just shove them into the hands of random people. People came to us for these booklets. Amazing!
[Walking through the streets of Daye!]
[The Team.]
MERCY MINISTRY
God did amazing things at the crusade and so much more. In the capital city of Addis Ababa there is an organization called Joshua Campaign that runs a program called Mercy Ministry. This program shelters abused women, many of whom have been raped, and equips them with job skills like making coffee, sewing and weaving baskets. They then graduate individuals from their program with letters of recommendations for job employment opportunities. While we were there we got to hear their testimonies.
[Mercy Ministry products including coffee, tea, and crackers.]
The first girl to share her testimony was Fanus. Fanus was raped when she was only 14 years old. Growing up she did not have her mother and father and so she began working as a housemaid at a young age. Her employers, an older man and his wife, were kind to her and would occasionally let her eat the leftovers from their meals. Yet, there were times when she would be so hungry that she would drink boiling water just to numb her hunger pains. Still, the man and his wife gave Fanus a roof over her head and she even began to see the husband of the house as a father figure.
One day when the husband’s wife had left on a trip the man called Fanus to his room and forcibly raped her. She fought against him but he wouldn’t stop. She felt betrayed, violated and confused. When his wife had come back and discovered that Fanus was pregnant, she kicked Fanus and her unborn child out onto the street. It was difficult for Fanus to say the least. Many people told Fanus to give up her child and have an abortion but she wouldn’t, she kept the child. Then at the age of 15, Fanus traveled to Addis where by the grace of God she was taken in and found by Mercy Ministry.
[Fanus sharing her testimony.]
[The women listened as others shared their testimony.]
[So did we…]
The lord broke our hearts for these women. As a man it’s sometimes hard to empathize with the struggles women go through, but their stories go beyond any gender wall. It’s about humanity. God was aligning us all with his heart and his will for this generation.
[Mercy Ministry also provides daycare services for the women.]
[White Elephant! Mercy Girls get bags, scarfs, and make-up.]
VILLAGE OUTREACH
After God had led us south into Sidamo and then back to the capital city of Addis, he led us north, eight hours through the Mountains. The scenery was absolutely beautiful.
In the villages we were more intentional about building relationships with the people and encouraging the local churches. Everyday we held small VBS’s for the children, did visitations during the day, and held revival services at night. We ministered powerfully through drama, personal testimonies, and I even got to preach which was an amazing experience. We were also able to make large financial donations to the local churches.
[Playing goat, goat sheep aka duck duck goose. We strive to stay relevant.]
[Crafts!]
[More crafts!]
[Drama.]
[My first message!]
One thing we noticed while ministering in the villages is the spirit of fear possessing the people. With a strong historical tie to witchcraft and shamanism it came as no surprise that we encountered many people who had been demonized or oppressed. One man shared his testimony about how he had once been a slave to the devil. People had once traveled far distances to come worship him because of his demonic power, but God delivered this man and he was now faithfully serving the Lord!
Still, for me this experience was quite new, so I was thankful that the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through our pastor. She helped deliver many individuals out of oppression and established them in their identity and authority. I watched and learned.
[Our village outreach leader/pastor left, and translator right.]
[Village church.]
[Another village church.]
It was very important to us that the people knew that they were not alone, and that God was thinking of them. Especially in a mountainous region so isolated from the rest of the population our mere presence testified to God’s love and the importance of sending out short and long-term missionaries. We knew that God had ordained our meeting.
On the last night of our village outreach the leaders gathered to honor us. They presented us with gifts, invited us into their homes, and then shared something very encouraging. Several months prior to our arrival, God had given them a vision of foreign missionaries coming to visit them. They said that we were the fulfillment of that vision, making me the first ever Korean to set foot in their village! Hallelujah!
Here’s a video compilation of pictures and videos taken during the trip. Enjoy!
