DAY ONE
We are in yet another small town in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. The pastors are eager and the people hungry for the word of God. What a privilege it is to minister in these locations. Our banners here have been stolen and posters vandalised by opposing religious groups. Yet, the Gospel cannot be stopped! Already, thousands are calling upon the name of the Lord and being liberated from all manner of bondages. The mayor opened the crusade, his gracious speech being followed by one given by the head of the evangelical fellowship for the zone in which this town is located. They both warmly welcomed In His Name to Boditi. After all this very necessary protocol had been duly observed, I kicked off our first service with a zealous Gospel message from Isaiah 61:1-3. I love this passage. I always explain how it is the job description of Jesus. It is a passage that highlights some of the key wonders He will do for anyone who calls on His matchless name. The response was fantastic. Those gathered called on Jesus with one accord and men and women, young and old became children of the Most High God. It was glorious! Prayer for the sick yielded splendid testimonies. Elderly Woletu had been tormented by all manner of pains for the past year. She had – like the woman in the Bible with the issue of blood – visited many doctors and was still no better. Her back and kidneys had pained her terribly, her entire body ached constantly and her right arm could not bend. Tonight, the Lord worked a mighty work, liberating Woletu from top to toe. “I can now move as I want,” she voiced with glee. “Praise Jesus! He is my God forever!” Getachew is a 44-year-old gentleman who had been plagued by a severe toothache for several months. In fact, his entire head had hurt day after day, the ache was so intense. He had eventually agreed to visit a doctor when a friend invited him to attend our crusade. Today, Jesus dealt with that stubborn tooth and Woletu is pain-free. “Jesus heals those who pray and believe!” he shared with enthusiasm. Amen, Woletu, amen! Heartfelt thanks for your prayers and support, dear friend. Boditi is already being transformed by the Gospel and our crusade is just out of the starting gates.
DAY TWO
Boditi is being bathed in the glory of God! Tonight, our crowd exploded in size. I ministered on Luke 15 and the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. The attentiveness with which the people listened to the Gospel message would thrill the heart of any preacher. Together, we called on Jesus – the Great Shepherd – and asked Him to make us His own. He did just that, responding to the sound of our voices and the faith in our hearts.
The Saviour of this world did not stop there. Prayer for the sick revealed Him as Healer as well – and what a proficient healer He is! Almaz is an elderly lady of petite stature. For the past year, she had been unable to bend or flex her feet without excruciating pain. This had made walking a torment. Tonight, the Lord liberated her entirely. Ecstatic, Almaz took off running laps around the stage, moving at an impressive pace and with great dexterity. The crowd rejoiced with her. Zenebech is 30 years old. For the past three years, she had been from doctor to doctor, trying to find relief from unrelenting womb pains. She had come to our service tonight filled with the expectation that Dr Jesus would come to her aid – and that He did. Now, Zenebech is pain-free and joy-filled. Hallelujah! Joftahe is 12 years old. Since birth, his sight had been poor. He could see neither objects nor colours with clarity. Tonight, the Almighty worked a mighty miracle. “I can now see everything!” he expressed. “I am so happy!” Bazite – at 80 years old – is what the people here call a grand-grandmother. It sounds as if she had suffered a stroke just over one year ago as since then, she had been unable to move the one side of her body freely. Her eyesight had also deteriorated. This evening, the debilitating paralysis disappeared and her vision was restored. “My life has completely changed!” she voiced, jiving for joy. Tomorrow, we continue. Your fervent prayer support is being dearly felt by our entire team. Boditi is truly being saved!
DAY THREE
Boditi continues being transformed by the power of God! I preached on the necessity of being born again and the conversation in John 3 between Nicodemus and Jesus. The result? Thousands of hands raised to heaven and the Almighty God petitioned: “We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We want to be born again!” It was magnificent. Thereafter, I taught on the Holy Spirit baptism. The message was incredibly well received. Tomorrow, I will give one final teaching on this fundamental topic before we pray for every child of God in attendance to be filled with power from on High. Once again, prayer for the sick resulted in a steady stream of outstanding testimonies. Almaz is 43 years old. For the past ten years, she has been unable to see clearly. Tonight, Jesus gave this precious woman back her sight. “I can see!” she expressed, breaking out into an exuberant dance. Workineh is 35 years old. For over a year, he had suffered from a relentless infection in his left ear. It had seeped and pained incessantly. In fact, this young man could never be without tissues in his pocket that he used to quench the watery discharge. This evening, the Lord touched that ear, clearing up the infection instantaneously. The pain is gone, the discharge has stopped and the hearing in that ear has returned. Elated, Workineh pulled all the tissues out his pocket and threw them down on the stage. “I no longer need them!” he proclaimed. How fantastic! Mrs Wotango had been short sighted for several years. “I heard that people were getting healed at this crusade,” she said. The expectation of this precious 65-year-old lady was duly rewarded. “I can now see near and far,” she exclaimed. A teenage boy name Tamirat had broken his leg playing soccer six months ago. The leg had never healed properly and he could not walk on it with any confidence. Now, he can jump on that limb without pain or trembling – as he demonstrated with tremendous enthusiasm! Almemayeh is 24 years old. His one leg was an oozing mess of exposed flesh. He was unable to walk on it at all, being assisted onto the crusade field by others. During prayer, he was delivered from serious demonic activity and with the leaving of those foul spirits, came the liberation of his tormented limb. Right on our crusade field, that leg started healing and Almemayeh could quickly walk on it without any pain. Thrilled, he marched up and down in front of the platform with unmistakable delight. Hallelujah!
Tomorrow morning, we will hold a mass service with all involved churches and then come evening, we will hold our final crusade meeting. Your continued intercession will help us finish strong. Our deepest thanks!
FINAL DAY
Today has been extraordinary. It was Jesus-saturated and Spirit-filled from beginning to end. This morning, we gathered together with the involved churches in celebration of what the Lord has achieved in the crusade meetings. Ev. Samuel preached powerfully from Isaiah 55 and everyone was mightily impacted. Tonight, tens of thousands gathered, zealous for the word of God. We awarded certificates to the local pastors and volunteers, presenting them to their chief representatives on stage. They were received with such warmth and gratitude, we were deeply touched. Then, I started with the first of two messages, preaching from John 4 and the story of the Samaritan woman. I spoke about the gift of God that Jesus has been appointed to give and what someone gets when they receive it from Him. First, the recipient is given God Himself, the Almighty making His home within them. Second, they receive heaven, such becoming their final destination. When I invited people to ask Jesus for this matchless gift, the response was overwhelming. How could one not want something so spectacular? We called on the Lord together, confessed our faith in Him and asked Him to give us the gift of all gifts. It was an exceedingly priceless and precious moment. Thereafter, I preached my final message on the Holy Spirit, explaining how to work with Him to win the lost and heal the sick. The teaching was embraced with great gusto. Then, we prayed for all believers to be filled from on High with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. The power and presence of our Lord invaded that field like a floodtide. Demons manifested, bondages were broken and thousands of believers were baptised with the Spirit of God and empowered to win their communities for Jesus. We could not be more thrilled! An army of soul-winners has been birthed. Prayer for the sick was followed by many wonderful testimonies with all manner of ailments having disappeared. We also prayed over the prayer requests that had been submitted during the four days of meetings as well as over the town itself and the entire nation of Ethiopia. It was a power-packed time. The local pastors are now eager to start the important work of following up each new convert. Please keep them at the forefront of your prayers. Dear friend, we are incredibly grateful to you for having made this crusade possible. Please rejoice with us. Boditi has been forever changed!
