Greetings from Guatemala. It it good to be back after a tremendous time of ministry in India. Thank you for your support and prayers during the 2 weeks I spent there working with Oasis Ministries. It was an incredible time of ministry in which there were thousands of people giving their lives to Christ and hundreds were healed of sicknesses, diseases, pain, blindness, deafness, diabetes, lameness abnormal growths and demonic possession. This was my first experience seeing these type of healings in among so many people at the evening crusades that were attended by 5-13,000 people each night. India is a harvest field and it was a privilege for me to be able to help gather in the harvest of souls and see people set free. I had the privilege of praying for 3 ladies who were possessed by demons. One lady had been possessed for 10 years another 1 year and the third for 10 months. Each case was different but in 2 of the cases the demons manifested themselves by taking control of the ladies bodies and voices. Several of us prayed for what seemed a long time before we were able to see them set free. Two of the ladies returned the next night to give testimony of what Jesus did for them. They were so happy to be free and their faces radiated joy. The evening crusades grew in numbers each night as the people heard what was happening. During the second week people were taking turns coming to the meetings as there was not room in the vehicles provided for everyone to come at once. After the service people came forward for individual prayer for needs. They were so desperate to see God move in their lives that they crowded around me and were grabbing my hands to be able to lay them upon them and pray for them. Many times I felt overwhelmed by the crowd but could only call out to the Lord that He would hear the cries of their hearts and send the response in a way that they would know that He was the one who loved them and wanted to meet their needs.
I was also able to teach at the pastor's conference that was held in the mornings in conjunction with the crusade. We had 200 pastors attending and they were very receptive to the messages given. The crusade and conferences were held in areas that have not been reached in this manner before so the pastors were very grateful that we had come to work with them. Another part of the outreach I participated in was dedication of wells in areas were there was a great need for clean water. In one area the people could only get water on Sundays and then only if the electricity was working to pump the water. The water often caused sickness but the water from the new wells had improved the health of the people a great deal. At one well dedication we were met by some people from a local church and they formed a parade with drums beating to call attention to the rest of the people that something was going to happen and they invited people to come with them to the dedication. Before the dedication we presented the gospel message and invited people to pray for salvation. Several people gave their lives to Christ. I also spoke in 2 churches on Sunday mornings before the evening meeting and I had the opportunity to speak at a Bible school during their chapel service. It was a very busy time for all of us but none of us complained.
The Indian people showed great honor to us and always gave us food, flowers and a shawl. Even though English is the language of the country most people speak their native language which I did not know any words. We always had translators to help us with communication as well as understanding customs. One of my most interesting cultural experiences was getting a haircut. I thought I was all done with the haircut but then the barber started thumping my head, massaging my scalp, then my neck,back and arms and finally he grabbed by head and cracked my neck! All this for 50 cents.
Our ministry in Guatemala with the local children is going well. Our staff have been hosting a Kid's Club on Saturday morning and we have shown a couple of movies on Saturday nights the past 2 months that have been well attended. We are planning a special Christmas party for the children in December. We also hosted an Evangelism seminar at the end of October and did a special outreach on Halloween in which 14 people gave their lives to Christ. We are planning to host a Men's Seminar in January and we will be hosting teams in December and January. We are praying about starting an English program soon as it is a great way to reach out to the Guatemalan young people as well as adults.
I am still planning on doing a construction project the last week of January 2009. We will be helping Pastor Efrain with the construction of the health clinic in San Pablo La Laguna and possibly construct a home if funds are available. If you would like to be a part of this outreach please let me know and I will send you information.
Next week we will be hosting a special Thanksgiving meal at the coffee house for our staff as well as students and tourists who are in Antigua for the holiday. We are all looking forward to the turkey meal and the celebration of God's goodness to us throughout the year.
Thank you for being part of the ministry in Guatemala through your prayers and gifts of support. I am grateful for the opportunities God has given me to be a part of what He is doing here as well as in India. Please continue to pray for our coffee house ministry and the needs we have to keep it operating. Our financial situation is difficult at this time as business has been slow and we have depleted our account. Please pray that God will give us wisdom to make good decisions and provision for our needs for the ministry.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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