After around three weeks and ministering in around a dozen churches I have seen 25 people give their lives to the Lord and 20 testify of healing {There may be many others healed that I don't yet know about.} God has done much in my life and certain things that were on my mind for a long time have been clarified. We we've seen God do many good things during our time here and I am determined to return {God willing}. Not only have people in many churches told me they have been greatly encouraged but I myself have been encouraged and emboldened by what I've seen.
I want to thank all of you who have been faithful to stand with me in prayer. Your efforts have made a great difference to peoples lives here. Only eternity will tell just how much.
God bless you...Steve
Monday, 21 July 2008
Final two days.
We had two seminars on Saturday with many of the leaders staying for the weekend. Everything is going so well and the word of God seems to be hitting the target every time. Two or three more people came forward for prayer for healing and said that all pain had gone.
Please remember one particular man in prayer. He came forward saying his whole family was sick.
On Sunday we went to Bungoma prison but because of a delay in sending the relevant paperwork we could not get in to minister to the prisoners. We went instead to the prison staff church where I spoke on how to overcome discouragement and condemnation. It was designed with the prisoners in mind but was very well received by the church and the chaplain. We had a final service in the Bungoma church which went very well. It has only been three days but it has been three days I have seen much. I prayed for a man in the prison serving who has been in two vehicle accidents in the past in which he survived but others died. He struggles under a sense of fear and of condemnation. Please remember him in your prayers.
God bless you...Steve
Please remember one particular man in prayer. He came forward saying his whole family was sick.
On Sunday we went to Bungoma prison but because of a delay in sending the relevant paperwork we could not get in to minister to the prisoners. We went instead to the prison staff church where I spoke on how to overcome discouragement and condemnation. It was designed with the prisoners in mind but was very well received by the church and the chaplain. We had a final service in the Bungoma church which went very well. It has only been three days but it has been three days I have seen much. I prayed for a man in the prison serving who has been in two vehicle accidents in the past in which he survived but others died. He struggles under a sense of fear and of condemnation. Please remember him in your prayers.
God bless you...Steve
Leaders meeting in Bungoma.
The leaders meeting in Bungoma went very well indeed. We arrived as the previous minister was summing up. It turned out that the message I had followed on from the passage he was preaching on {1st Samuel ch16}. I spoke about David being a man after God's own heart and the kind of man God looks for when choosing a leader. The response was very positive indeed and many came forward for prayer afterwards for miscellaneous needs. I led most of them in a mass prayer and prayed specifically for individuals who needed healing. I think their were about 6 or 8. Every one who said they came with physical pain testified that the pain had gone after prayer. I'm told that this is very common in this particular church. The church has developed with much prayer and fasting and they are seeing great favour and power of God here.
Please pray for one woman who told me that everyone of her children were sick and she did not know what was wrong with them. Pray that God would completely heal all of them and keep them well {If he hasn't already done so}
It is hard to know in these stuations just how many people have recieved healing as I can only count those who can testify of immediate healing there and then but I believe there are many more cases than I have counted.
I felt such a liberty in praying for people there. There is such a sense of God's presence and it seemed harder not to believe that God was going to do something when we prayed.
regards...Steve
Please pray for one woman who told me that everyone of her children were sick and she did not know what was wrong with them. Pray that God would completely heal all of them and keep them well {If he hasn't already done so}
It is hard to know in these stuations just how many people have recieved healing as I can only count those who can testify of immediate healing there and then but I believe there are many more cases than I have counted.
I felt such a liberty in praying for people there. There is such a sense of God's presence and it seemed harder not to believe that God was going to do something when we prayed.
regards...Steve
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Storms,Sickness and souls saved
Tuesday evening in Kisumu threatened to be a washout. We got near the end of the open air song service and the heavens opened. The rains continued unabated until we decided to carry on anyway, sheltering under someones porch. The Wednesday morning event was put off until evening as something I ate had a bad effect on me {I won't go into any more details on that one!}.
By the evening however I was feeling fine, the sun was out and we had one last meeting. It went superbly. A good crowd gathered to hear the singing and by the end of the sermon when I asked for people to come forward for prayer a group of people came forward including many small children that had gathered when they heard the music. The group of children must have been aged around 4 to 8 and I didn't want to disregard them so at the end we prayed for them first. We asked them how many of them believed in Jesus and most of them put their hand up. {I'm hoping there has been a good seed sown for the future in their lives. One young boy couldn't have been more than five and was unwell and in pain so we prayed for him in the presence of all the other children who gathered round closely to see what would happen. All the pain went straight away and my interpreter questioned the boy to make sure he was healed. He was completely serious. He felt no pain at all and he had been unwell for some time.
We saw four more people come to the Lord making a total of eight in Kisumu and 24 during the mission in total so far. Please pray for everyone that has made a decision for Christ that they would follow through with that commitment. We also visited the neighbour of the Kisumu church pastor to pray for her after the event. She wants to see her husband come to the Lord. She is also without work and needs employment and her mother and sister are unwell. {Her mother is still in hospital}
Today is a free day as we travel back to Eldoret. Then on Friday I am involved in a leaders seminar in Bungoma {You really need to pray for that one because I have never done anything like this!} followed by an evening revival service. Saturday will be an all day seminar followed by an evening revival service and Sunday will be the prisons ministry in Bungoma.
God bless you....Steve
By the evening however I was feeling fine, the sun was out and we had one last meeting. It went superbly. A good crowd gathered to hear the singing and by the end of the sermon when I asked for people to come forward for prayer a group of people came forward including many small children that had gathered when they heard the music. The group of children must have been aged around 4 to 8 and I didn't want to disregard them so at the end we prayed for them first. We asked them how many of them believed in Jesus and most of them put their hand up. {I'm hoping there has been a good seed sown for the future in their lives. One young boy couldn't have been more than five and was unwell and in pain so we prayed for him in the presence of all the other children who gathered round closely to see what would happen. All the pain went straight away and my interpreter questioned the boy to make sure he was healed. He was completely serious. He felt no pain at all and he had been unwell for some time.
We saw four more people come to the Lord making a total of eight in Kisumu and 24 during the mission in total so far. Please pray for everyone that has made a decision for Christ that they would follow through with that commitment. We also visited the neighbour of the Kisumu church pastor to pray for her after the event. She wants to see her husband come to the Lord. She is also without work and needs employment and her mother and sister are unwell. {Her mother is still in hospital}
Today is a free day as we travel back to Eldoret. Then on Friday I am involved in a leaders seminar in Bungoma {You really need to pray for that one because I have never done anything like this!} followed by an evening revival service. Saturday will be an all day seminar followed by an evening revival service and Sunday will be the prisons ministry in Bungoma.
God bless you....Steve
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
God's favour in Kisumu.
Last night we saw two decisions for Christ and two healings after prayer. This morning we visited some people in the church. One of the main problems here for christians is condemnation and discouragement. It's seems that the oppressive spirit caused by the high level of witchcraft and cult activity here works against the churches {I've seen and heard of the same kind of thing before}. I have a message which I haven't finished yet on overcoming condemnation and discouragement. Pray for the final day where I hope it will help many people.
We saw unusual favour this morning. Sometimes when the church does door to door people are very resistant and are even angry at the very mention of Jesus. Today couldn't be more different. We kept being invited into the homes of non christian neighbours and in two separate homes a person gave their life to Jesus {That's four so far and we haven't even been here 24 hours! There are some other prayer needs I want to share with you.
One woman has a sick child and her husband is showing signs of unfaithfulness. Another woman has been suffering from a stomach illness for the last two weeks. We also prayed with a woman who has been struggling under a sense of discouragement and a couple who are going though the same thing. As I type this it is 3:30 in the afternoon and we were going to start our open air event in a hour and a half but another thunderstorm has started. This morning in prayer however I sensed that God wanted me to understand that he is in control and I was to trust him. Having seen what he has done in this short time I'm very much encouraged to believe so.
God bless you...Steve
We saw unusual favour this morning. Sometimes when the church does door to door people are very resistant and are even angry at the very mention of Jesus. Today couldn't be more different. We kept being invited into the homes of non christian neighbours and in two separate homes a person gave their life to Jesus {That's four so far and we haven't even been here 24 hours! There are some other prayer needs I want to share with you.
One woman has a sick child and her husband is showing signs of unfaithfulness. Another woman has been suffering from a stomach illness for the last two weeks. We also prayed with a woman who has been struggling under a sense of discouragement and a couple who are going though the same thing. As I type this it is 3:30 in the afternoon and we were going to start our open air event in a hour and a half but another thunderstorm has started. This morning in prayer however I sensed that God wanted me to understand that he is in control and I was to trust him. Having seen what he has done in this short time I'm very much encouraged to believe so.
God bless you...Steve
Rough ride to Kisumu
On monday {yesterday} we travelled to the city of Kisumu in a 'motutu' which is a small minibus. We went over very rough roads and potholes for the best part of four hours along with intermittant thunderstorms and flooded roads. When we finally got there I was taken to a piece of land in the middle of a village where a stage was erected and a song service was already underway. The sermon I had prepared was not really appropriate for an open air meeting so I preached an old sermon I've never written down but was formed in the back of my mind. I call it 'the wedding garment' and it's based on the story told by Jesus of the wedding feast where a man was found without a wedding garment and the main point being that it is only by the blood of Jesus that we have access to heaven and our own righteousness {our own garments} won't be accepted.
We concluded in the dark {We did have one lightbulb lighting up the stage} and I gave a call for any who had needs to come forward for prayer. About eight came forward and two gave their lives to Jesus. Two more people were healed. Another man came forward saying he wanted to be a preacher but he wasn't even saved!
Kisumu is a city where much of the so called christian testimony is compromised by cults and the occult. It is a city traditionally known for it's rioting, looting and violence though it has been very calm while we have been here. We managed to find a half decent hotel at the last minute without being ripped off by the price {It even has hot water!} so God has helped us and answered our prayers yet again. The children either keep shouting out 'musungo' {white man} or 'Rooney' {I'm told I look like the England footballer though I insist that because I was born before him he looks like me! LOL}
The next two days we will go door to door visiting members of the church and praying for needs and each evening we will have another open air event with a main seminar on the final afternoon. I very much appreciate your prayer support. This area has some resistance to the gospel so prayer is even more important here.
God bless you...Steve
We concluded in the dark {We did have one lightbulb lighting up the stage} and I gave a call for any who had needs to come forward for prayer. About eight came forward and two gave their lives to Jesus. Two more people were healed. Another man came forward saying he wanted to be a preacher but he wasn't even saved!
Kisumu is a city where much of the so called christian testimony is compromised by cults and the occult. It is a city traditionally known for it's rioting, looting and violence though it has been very calm while we have been here. We managed to find a half decent hotel at the last minute without being ripped off by the price {It even has hot water!} so God has helped us and answered our prayers yet again. The children either keep shouting out 'musungo' {white man} or 'Rooney' {I'm told I look like the England footballer though I insist that because I was born before him he looks like me! LOL}
The next two days we will go door to door visiting members of the church and praying for needs and each evening we will have another open air event with a main seminar on the final afternoon. I very much appreciate your prayer support. This area has some resistance to the gospel so prayer is even more important here.
God bless you...Steve
Saturday, 12 July 2008
1st day in Eldoret
Today we visited several members of the Gospel Fire church in Eldoret to pray for them including a woman who is having marital problems. Her husband is not a christian and he has a drink problem. Pray for a turnaround in her situation.
The service today stared very badly. We had no power and the heavy rains kept most of the people away and we had to cancel our afternoon street crusade. We started the evening service with a total of five of us in the building! Soon things picked up though and others came making a total of thirteen.The sermon was well received and most of the people came forward for prayer. Some with regard to what was preached {'overcoming fear'}. I didn't realise this until shortly before the service but the dirt street where this church is situated {it's actually a main road} was a focal point of the violence a few months ago. Dozens of bodies lay strewn along the road as gangs attacked anyone they could. Again it seems like this was a word in season.
The church was greatly affected as the congregation were almost all from the Kikuyu tribe. Many of them fled the area leaving very few members of the congregation left. Despite this however the church has grown significantly in the last few months with between 50 and100 coming to a sunday service. On one occasion 20 new people came into the church in one morning!
Last night we prayed with people with issues related to fear and one woman was healed of a stomach complaint which kept her in pain. {the pain disappeared immediately}. Another woman came forward for prayer because she was worried about doing things in the church and whether God would accept her. I had hardly started talking to her and tears came down her face. By the end her face had changed into a look of joy. This is the kind of thing that encourages me as well. Despite a slow start it would seem that the same God who met with us in Nairobi is here with us in Eldoret too.
Please pray for the saturday and sunday meetings, for good dry weather and for God to touch the hearts of the congregation and for myself also that God would give me the right words to say.
regards...Steve
The service today stared very badly. We had no power and the heavy rains kept most of the people away and we had to cancel our afternoon street crusade. We started the evening service with a total of five of us in the building! Soon things picked up though and others came making a total of thirteen.The sermon was well received and most of the people came forward for prayer. Some with regard to what was preached {'overcoming fear'}. I didn't realise this until shortly before the service but the dirt street where this church is situated {it's actually a main road} was a focal point of the violence a few months ago. Dozens of bodies lay strewn along the road as gangs attacked anyone they could. Again it seems like this was a word in season.
The church was greatly affected as the congregation were almost all from the Kikuyu tribe. Many of them fled the area leaving very few members of the congregation left. Despite this however the church has grown significantly in the last few months with between 50 and100 coming to a sunday service. On one occasion 20 new people came into the church in one morning!
Last night we prayed with people with issues related to fear and one woman was healed of a stomach complaint which kept her in pain. {the pain disappeared immediately}. Another woman came forward for prayer because she was worried about doing things in the church and whether God would accept her. I had hardly started talking to her and tears came down her face. By the end her face had changed into a look of joy. This is the kind of thing that encourages me as well. Despite a slow start it would seem that the same God who met with us in Nairobi is here with us in Eldoret too.
Please pray for the saturday and sunday meetings, for good dry weather and for God to touch the hearts of the congregation and for myself also that God would give me the right words to say.
regards...Steve
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)