January 2003 - Posts

• A Simple Piece of Paper

  The marvelous workings of God Rosana is a woman from South America who now lives in Spain. One night during the course of an evangelistic campaign that Paul and Karen Jonsson assisted with, she was at home talking on the telephone with her daughter who lives in Brazil. Her daughter, whose life had been completely destroyed by drugs and prostitution, was telling her all about the wonderful new life that she found in Jesus Christ. Rosana listened in absolute amazement, unable to comprehend the incredible change that had occurred in her daughter’s life. Desperately wanting the healing power of Jesus for her mother too, Rosana’s daughter ended their conversation by begging Rosana to find a Baptist church where she could learn more about the Savior. Rosana wanted the same, but knew that there was no such church in Salamanca. "Where then can I go? Where can I find what my daughter has found?" Rosana asked. Little did she realize, however, that God’s plans for her life were already unfolding. As Rosana stepped outside her home the very next morning, a stray piece of paper awaited her on the sidewalk. Rosana could not believe her eyes when she bent over to pick it up. It was a piece of literature discarded during the evangelistic campaign. It included an invitation to the Baptist Church of Santa Marta. Wasting no time, Rosana came to a special meeting that was held that very evening. Two weeks later, she became a Christian. Rosana was discipled by the pastor’s wife in Santa Marta. Because Rosana is almost completely illiterate and speaks only broken Spanish mixed with Portuguese, she needs much assistance in her reading of the Bible. Praise the Lord that her husband, Manolo, is willing to help Rosana with this at home, even though he himself is not yet a believer. God is indeed at work in the most marvelous of ways. Posted Jan 31 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• It Takes One to Reach One

  Hope comes to the slums of Nairobi Through a CBI church plant in Kigali, Rwanda, Suzanne and her husband became believers in the early 1980s. Afterward, CBI sent them for further education in Nairobi. Suzanne wanted to make a difference. She and two other women began visiting the Kibera slum. Tens of thousands of people live together there in a shantytown not far from downtown Nairobi. As Suzanne and her two friends went door to door in evangelism, they met Janet. Janet did not want to become a Christian because those who are believers do not share their husbands with others and that hurt her prostitute business. The women visited Janet numerous times. On one visit they shared John 4 and talked about the Samaritan woman and how she lived. Janet began crying, saying she was exactly like that woman. They prayed together and Janet placed her faith in Jesus Christ. They left a booklet in Swahili called The Way of Life. On the next visit Janet's daughter, who was also a prostitute, joined the group. The following time the room was too small so they met outside. After that 16 women were found waiting for the three evangelists. The group continued to increase in size, but some drifted away when they realized that there was no physical help connected with this time of sharing. Currently, 26 women meet and, of those, 18 are already committed believers. They are well thought of by their friends and neighbors in the slum. There has also been considerable improvement in the behavior of the children who have come to Christ. Posted Jan 30 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• A Greater Power

  Blessings in Jesus' name overcomes evil Over time and with exposure to the Word, a young man in Senegal came to the point of accepting the truth of the Bible and Christ as his Savior. His wife was the daughter of a sorceress. The sorceress' mother passed on to his wife certain of her powers via evil spirits. She was capable of foretelling the future, but the price for this foretelling was great weakness for a week or more afterwards. Also, she could never eat meat without severe physical repercussions. This couple was invited to the home of Mary Anne Lattin and Marilyn Escher, CBI missionaries in Senegal, for dinner. These ladies did not know any of the woman's history and for supper they served spaghetti with meat sauce. The wife did not know what to do when presented with meat to eat, since she and her husband knew the dire effects eating meat would have on her. However, before the meat was eaten, the two women prayed in the name of Jesus and blessed the food. The man told his wife that she could eat the meat without worry because Jesus was more powerful than the spirits. So she ate, though with fear and concern. To her great amazement, in the days that followed there were no after-effects from the meal--an unheard of situation. Some time later this couple was invited back to the ladies' home for a meal and again they were served meat. Once more the husband told his wife to eat since the meal had been blessed in the name of Jesus. As before, she ate and had no repercussions. Because this woman saw that Jesus had power over her evil spirits she became a believer in Jesus Christ. Posted Jan 29 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Into the Light

  They were brought out of darkness (Submitted by a CBI-related pastor) Manuel drank alcohol instead of coffee early in the morning. He grew a long beard and liked to intimidate others. When he got drunk, he felt exceptionally brave and loved to make trouble. He often hurt his own family. He would get out a knife and throw it at his wife for fun. In fact, he hit her once on the thigh and the scar remains. One afternoon, Manuel approached a pastor and told him he wanted to talk. Because Manuel was drunk at that point, the pastor suggested they talk early in the morning the next day. The pastor visited Manuel the next day, shared the gospel with him and Manuel received Christ. Immediately, he went to his neighbor's house and called to a friend. The friend told him to come again another time, but Manuel insisted that he stop what he was doing because just a few minutes ago he had been saved and he wanted his friend to be saved too. That same day, Manuel's friend accepted Christ through the help of the pastor and Manuel. Manuel, his wife and four children, together with some friends, were among 37 I baptized. Several others shared their testimonies with tears of joy, grateful to the Lord for bringing them out of darkness into his wonderful light. Posted Jan 26 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• A Leader Among Leaders

  Wanted--Men of vision and self-sacrifice Raphael lived in Mbali, Uganda. He was a church planter, a Baptist association leader, the father of three children, and husband of one wife. He worked tirelessly for the sake of Christ and his people. Raphael was so excited about the local Bible school program that for one year he taught the curriculum at five different locations to over 140 people. There were 75 graduates that year. He saw the need to train his church pastors and elders and had the ability to hold together a very troubled district of 25 feuding churches and impart to them a vision of what could be. He was a leader among leaders and I was privileged to know him and work with him for a short time. I was looking forward to seeing Raphael and once again talking with him. But it was not to be. While en route, I found out that the Lord had called him home. Death, ever present here in Africa, harvests men without much effort. He fell sick and died after a short hospital stay. I will miss him. I see no one to replace him. Raphael was unique and I pray that God will raise up more like him: men of vision, men who are not afraid of hard work, and men who will sacrifice themselves for others. Posted Jan 25 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Hope in Horror

  God's miraculous protection generates new belief (Written after the 1994 genocide.) In a remote area of western Rwanda where rebel activity abounds, we had little contact with any of the churches for a few years. We were concerned that maybe these churches were not even meeting anymore. We were blown away to hear that 700 believers were meeting. The last we knew, there were only 300 Christians. Person after person told us of the miraculous ways God had protected them as people all around them were being killed in the fighting. Now that the fighting had stopped in that area, the people were saying they wanted to serve God since he saved them from harm. They were not only saying that they wanted to serve the Lord, but they were doing it. In spite of their desperate poverty, they built a new church building and even roofed it, all on their own. They also started two more daughter churches and now have a total of four churches in the area. Posted Jan 23 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• A Prodigal Son

  Answering when God calls Levi, a 16-year-old Brazilian boy and his father had a terrible fight. His father gave an ultimatum, "Go to school or get out of this house! And if you leave, don't come back!" Levi left home and began to cry. "What is going to become of me?" he thought. "I have nowhere to go." His friends were all troublemakers and would not help him so he began to contemplate suicide. Just then a nearby public telephone rang. Levi answered it. A voice on the other end said, "Levi, God loves you. Don't do what you are planning to do, don't do it," and hung up. He said he felt something happening inside him. He had forgotten about his troublemaker friends and when he turned around he saw the police taking them away. He had been spared going to jail. Levi realized that God was speaking to him and wanted him to get away from the influence of these people. He decided to go back home. "If they don't let me in I'll sleep on the doorstep," thought Levi. He also knew God wanted him to go to a weekend evangelistic encounter for teens to which he had been invited. The last night of the Teen Encounter, Pastor Pedro spoke on "The Prodigal Son." When the invitation was given Levi was among the first to go forward. He fell on his knees weeping. "God, I'm wrong, I'm wrong! Forgive me, forgive me!" Levi's father and mother were present. His father went forward, knelt down and put his arms around his son. "Dad, forgive me, forgive me!" cried Levi. "My son, I forgive you, I forgive you!" replied his father. And they wept together. (The Palfeniers are retired CBI missionaries to Brazil.) Posted Jan 22 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Single Mom Plants Third Church

  Results of fervent prayer and great faith Maria is a 48-year-old single mom who is a fervent prayer warrior and a woman of great faith. As a result of putting what she learns into practice she has planted three churches and seems to be untiring in her desire to see people come to Christ. Even though she has the responsibility of a daughter and an ailing mother, her church work is a priority in her life. Posted Jan 21 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• A True Child of God

  Jesus had saved her and she was his child I spoke with a young girl recently after a True Love Waits presentation. She had become a Christian and her parents did not approve. The girl was seeking advice about how to "give up" Christianity in order to please her parents. However, it was evident that this was not what she wanted to do. As we talked I was able to explain to her that if she had genuinely accepted Christ, no one could make her "give him up." He had saved her and she was his child. We discussed how she could honor her parents as the Bible says. Then we prayed together that she would be able to live a truly Christ-like life before her parents without rebelling from their restrictions on her Christian activities. It seemed that in the end she was able to understand that she was truly a child of God as well as a child of her parents and she had new determination to do both well. Posted Jan 20 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Leading Them Home

  Response to invitations to follow Jesus Just a few weeks ago I was preaching in the hospital courtyard on a Sunday afternoon. I usually offer a time at the end of the message for questions. On this particular occasion I asked that those who might have any questions to come directly to my house and then pointed out my house, which can be seen from the preaching point. I was very pleased to have two men come to see me that afternoon. The first, from a village about 15 miles away, had been visiting his brother who had been hospitalized. The second man was about to be released from the hospital after several days of care. He had come from a village near Abidjan and had been sick for some time. He expressed his appreciation for the fact that his treatment at the hospital had been successful and he was once again on his feet. He felt that God had brought him to our hospital that he might follow Jesus Christ. It was my privilege to pray with both of these men as they accepted Christ as their Savior. Posted Jan 19 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Spirit-Breathed Breakthroughs

  Among the Wolof it takes time for seeds to germinate On July 26, 1998, a husband and wife were the only ones present in the church that meets in their home. The next Sunday attendance doubled. Then it doubled again--and again. The wife was thrilled that three of her unsaved relatives had started coming to the services. Below are some stories from this growing congregation. Among the Wolof it takes time for seeds to germinate. A believer told me there are many people who observe Christians for a long time in order to see if their actions match their words. Another couple had witnessed to their families for many years. When the man's father was dying he called not the oldest son, who is person, but the believer in order that he would pray for him. The oldest son announced to the funeral guests that the father had honored the believer. This same father and brother had persecuted him for converting. Since the funeral, the family dared not call the believer's children "unclean pagans," and for the first time a non-person received their full share of the memorial gifts which are given at funerals. Some years ago, I had given another woman a Wolof New Testament. Her person husband warned her not to read it. However, when her daughter ran away from home, she picked it up and gained such comfort, that she continues to read it when he is away with one of his other three wives. This woman has started attending our church. A soccer player in his early 20s came to the door one day and asked to study the Bible. He completed seven Bible correspondence courses and asked to do more. One question in the course was, "What do you think of Christ?" He answered, "He is my Savior." Startled at his confidence, I reviewed the gospel and asked him, "When did you accept Christ?" He said, "Six months ago, and my life is changed." He came to the Lord while I was in the United States, with the help of God's Word alone. He is attending church, witnessing to his family, and five of his friends have since asked to do Bible correspondence courses. This man is named after his French-Roman Catholic grandfather, but the rest of his family is person and Wolof-speaking. His mother asked a visiting pastor, "If I want to become a Christian as my son, how do I enter in?" Posted Jan 18 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Fuel for the Fire

  Telling people about Jesus "Nancy" became a believer on her own by reading the Bible. We were the first Christians with whom she ever talked. Naturally, she had a lot of questions but she had come a long way on her own. She worked in stocks, but now says her job is to tell people about Jesus. My wife has the joy of sharing with her and bringing materials for her to give to others. Since there are people from all over her restricted country working in this town, Nancy feels that if all these people were to become believers then most of her home country would be reached as they return to their villages with the gospel. Posted Jan 15 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Dancing for Jesus

  Celebrating the life and resurrection of Christ The Garba is danced in a big circle, with both men and women participating. The Dandia-Raas is danced in a circle but with partners, and each person has two round sticks about 16 inches long that they beat together in rhythm with the music. Although we held this celebration as an outreach event, it was more about celebrating the life and resurrection of Jesus. We were also trying to show people that following Jesus does not mean losing your culture. We believe God blessed the event and we were pleased with the turnout. More than 170 people came, and everyone had a good time. A good number of Christians came, but most of the people were not believers. Some English Christians were completely awed and said they had never seen anything like this before. The women wore beautiful flowing, colorful, shining outfits and plenty of jewelry, as they usually do for such events. We had substantial refreshments and a local Baptist church graciously allowed us the use of their facilities. Posted Jan 14 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• The Divine Appointment

  With God, there are no accidents One Sunday I preached in seminary chapel on Romans 1:16, all the while praying, "Lord, give me chances to witness directly to the people here in this ‘delicate’ situation, proving that I too ‘am not ashamed of the gospel.’ That night on the way home from the city our Toyota, which had never failed us in eight years, stopped dead and refused to start. Flashlight in hand, I was under the hood pretending to know something about cars when a voice hailed me from the sidewalk. "Can I help you? I am a Toyota repairman on my way home from work." Under his arm he carried a small bag. He took some wrenches from it and went to work before I had a chance to answer him. First he checked the gas to the carburetor because I was sure that was it. Next he checked the ignition system, and when he did we saw in the darkness a spark flashing out of the coil. "Ah, that's it," he said, and proceeded to remove it. Then, of all things, he took a brand new Toyota coil from his bag exactly the same size as the one he had just removed from my 1989 Toyota. The only problem was that I had just spent the last of my cash to buy medicine for a needy student. So we offered to take the mechanic home with us to get the needed money. He was hardly in the car when he asked me, "Why are Christians always so easy to get to know?" I told him that even the Koran says that Christians were their "cousins" or closest friends. From there on he let me explain the whole gospel to him, right down to exactly what happened on the cross. At my house, over tea and a cinnamon roll, we talked more. He seemed enthralled and offered no argument. Before his taxi came, I gave him a little booklet on how to find peace with God, my name, and my phone number and asked him to call me when he was ready to talk more. This was surely a divine appointment. Our car stalling for the first time in eight years and a man walking by just after the car died, carrying a brand new Toyota coil in his bag was no accident. Posted Jan 13 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• It Takes Time

  Continuing in prayer for those who struggle A family persecuted one of their sons for accepting Jesus. Then last year the older brother confessed to me that he was considering the claims of Jesus, but was concerned about the persecution he would face if he ever accepted the Lord. I assured him that he would certainly face it if he ever took this step. I know that his family would not appreciate another family member becoming a Christian. Since then I have seen nothing in his life to indicate that he is still considering the claims of Jesus, but I have continued to pray for him. When our assistant pastor and I planned a camp program as an evangelistic outreach to adults, I invited him. He was thrilled with the invitation, paid in advance so he could come, and invited a friend to come with him. During the three days, both men participated in the activities, played games and made new friends. I noticed that during the Bible study times, both men sat absorbed, drinking in every word. When our music leader taught the campers some Christian choruses, the men grabbed some tam-tams and beat out the rhythm, African style. His friend approached me just a few hours before the camp was over. "Mary, would it be all right if I came to your Sunday morning church service? I want to see if the things the men are teaching us are really in the Bible. I have never before heard such words as these men are teaching." Posted Jan 12 2003, 02:00 AM by Transformed