DAY ONE
We have started with a Holy Spirit bang—thanks to your prayers! Aleta Wendo is a small town located in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. According to the pastors, while small crusades have been held in the church buildings or compounds, we are the first ministry to crusade in the local stadium. This is very exciting. We love breaking new ground. We love reaching the unreached places. May many red-hot, fire-filled evangelists follow in our wake!
Your prayers held back the rain in a fantastic fashion. While it stormed in the afternoon and heavy rainclouds threatened throughout the service, they passed harmlessly over our heads, a light drizzle falling for a short period but nothing that disturbed the attentiveness of the crowd. The people remained focused and unaffected by the weather, their hunger for the word of God unmistakable. I preached from Isaiah 61 and listed some of the key wonders the Lord will work for anyone who calls upon Him. Most importantly, He will wash their sins away with His blood, make them the dwelling place of the Almighty and one day when they die, heaven will become their home. Now, who could resist these precious promises? When I asked who would like to call upon the name of Jesus, thousands of hands were raised. Hallelujah! Prayer for the sick followed and diseases were rebuked in the matchless name of our Saviour King. When I invited the crowd to test their bodies and raise their hands if the Lord had worked a miracle, hundreds were eagerly hoisted upward. Over the coming days, I look forward to sharing many exciting testimonies with you.
Please continue to pray for good weather. Heavy rain is forecast to fall throughout tomorrow afternoon and evening. However, we know that the miracle the Lord worked today, He can work tomorrow as well! Heartfelt thanks for standing with us. Aleta Wendo for Jesus!
DAY TWO
The Lord is holding back the rain in a spectacular fashion! We are sincerely grateful for your prayers. It stormed all afternoon here in Aleta Wendo. However, the rain dissipated as our service began and while the clouds gathered again as I preached and lightning flashed in the distance, not a single raindrop fell on our crusade field. We are rejoicing! Let us continue to pray. Heavy rain is forecast over the weekend and we need the Lord to keep the weather miracles coming—and we are confident that He will do just that! Our crowd grew beautifully tonight. Word is spreading of the meetings and thousands are flocking to hear the word of God. The people listened to the preaching with tremendous interest. I first preached a simple Gospel message, explaining how God the Father judged our sins in the Person of Jesus. If we believe that our sins have been judged in Him, we become children of God, destined for heaven. The response was splendid. We confessed our belief in the Son of God and become sons and daughters of the Most High. Amen! I then taught a short message on the Holy Spirit and how God wants to use us all for His glory. Tomorrow and Sunday, we will continue with this two-message pattern, both winning the lost and equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Thereafter, we prayed for the sick and enjoyed listening to those who streamed forward to testify. Tamiry is 50 years old. Five years ago, he lost his hearing in both ears and his chest began to ail him terribly, making it very difficult to breathe. During prayer, his ears popped open and his chest opened up, resulting in one excessively happy gentleman! He rejoiced on stage, praising the Lord with enthusiasm. The crowd responded with glee and praised the Lord together with him.
Elias is a young man of 25. Insomnia had plagued him for six months. Together with the insomnia came extreme anxiety and uncontrollable feelings of anger. He attended our service yesterday and last night, slept soundly for the first time in half a year. The anxious and angry feelings have also been replaced by an overwhelming sense of peace and joy. We thank the Lord! Tesfaye (40-years-old) had been unable to move his right shoulder for the past month. He was also dreadfully depressed. Now, the shoulder is loose and pain-free and that dark cloud of gloom has lifted from his mind. Amen! Azeleeh is an elderly lady who had been afflicted by heart and kidney problems since she was a child. “I have suffered for a lifetime,” she explained. In fact, doctors had told her numerous times that she would die soon. Yet, the Lord had prolonged her life. Now, the symptoms of those ailments have disappeared together with all pain! Thrilled, Azeleeh danced on stage to the delight of her daughter and the crowd. “I praise God for my healing!” she professed.
Tomorrow, we continue. Aleta Wendo is being saved!
DAY THREE
Jesus is Lord of Aleta Wendo! What an extraordinary day. This morning, Ev. Samuel Murrombe—our beloved Crusade Director—preached up a firestorm to the thousands who gathered to hear the word of God. The afternoon was a rainy one but come the start of our evening meeting, the downpour ceased and the people flocked to the local stadium. Thank you, Father and thanks be to you for your prayers! Our crowd grew significantly once again. The Lord is at work and He is drawing men and women, young and old to Himself. I preached from Luke 15 and how God has appointed Jesus to be the Great Shepherd and rescue us from the devil and hell. “Who would like to become His sheep?” I asked. A sea of hands went up without hesitation. Together, we asked Jesus to become our Shepherd. How spectacular it feels to belong to Him! I then continued teaching on the Holy Spirit, explaining how after we have been filled with Him, He becomes our partner in the miraculous. We need to work with the Spirit of God to win the lost and set the captives free. Tomorrow night, we will pray for every believer to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. How exciting! Prayer for the sick yielded a multitude of testimonies. Be blessed by these few. Anteneh is a young man who had injured his right arm badly last July. He could not bend the elbow or carry anything weighty. For an active and hardworking person, this limitation was extremely frustrating. Tonight, Jesus set him free from his plight! The elbow is flexible and the pain is no more. Praise the Lord! Birae is 40 years old. The vision in her right eye was exceedingly blurry. “If one person stood before me, I would see four people,” she explained. The Lord healed her eye completely, leaving Birae overwhelmed with joy. She led the crowd in an enthusiastic praise song before collapsing on stage, overcome by the Holy Spirit. Belamo (50 years of age) had been plagued by arthritis in every joint. He could not bend his knees. He could not hold anything in his hands, his fingers not being able to flex or clench. Jesus healed him from top to toe! Liberated, Belamo jumped up and down and praised the Lord. Hallelujah! Arebo (also 50 years old) had been tormented by all manner of pains for the past six years. His stomach and head in particular were never ache-free. Now, Arebo feels strong and healthy. Every agony has vanished and He is committed to serving the Lord with great vigour, so sincere is his thanksgiving. Tomorrow, we will hold a mass morning church service and then come evening, our final crusade meeting. Thank you for your continued prayers for good weather and floodtides of salvation, healing and deliverance. It is going to be an outstanding final day!
FINAL DAY
As I write this report, I am listening to the jubilant sound of people praising the Lord as they dance home along the main street that our little hotel sits on. What a day it has been! This morning, the churches of Aleta Wendo closed their doors and the pastors and their congregations gathered together on the crusade field for a mass service. I preached on the Samaritan woman and everyone was mightily blessed. Salvation reigned and miracles manifested. Certificates were awarded to the pastors and volunteers. This afternoon, the sky turned dark and the rain fell again with vehemence. But, come time for our evening service to begin, those clouds obediently disintegrated and tens of thousands flocked to the local stadium. Our crowd doubled in size. The energy and enthusiasm of the people was electric. Ev. Samuel Murrombe preached a power-packed, crystal-clear Gospel message and led the crowd in a prayer to surrender all to Jesus. I then followed with a final teaching on the Holy Spirit before we prayed for every child of God present to be filled with power from on High. What holy chaos ensued! We watched from stage as the Lord overwhelmed His people with Himself, torrents of new tongues rising to heaven. The believers of Aleta Wendo have now been wholly equipped and empowered to be used by the Master to witness and pray for those in need with power. Hallelujah! We prayed for all the prayer requests that had been submitted during the crusade period as well as for the nation of Ethiopia. We also prayed for the sick.
Among those healed was 50-year-old Ayelech. This precious lady had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident some time back which crippled her left leg and damaged the hearing in her left ear. The Lord touched her body mightily. Her leg is strong and pain-free. Her hearing is now perfect. Praise Jesus! Also healed was an elderly Heiles. He had been suffering terribly from high blood pressure and diabetes for the past five years. His sight had also deteriorated to the point that he could barely see. Now, all symptoms have vanished and his eyesight is flawless. Heiles fell on his knees on stage, glorifying God. “I can even read again!” he exclaimed, indicating the follow-up material that had been given to him by an usher during the service. “I pray that everyone else is healed as well!” Dear friend, your intercession and giving have made this crusade a resounding success. Heartfelt thanks! Let us keep every new convert and the pastors who will be following them up in our prayers. Also, the believers who have been filled with the Spirit. Aleta Wendo, we love you very much!
