Angacha Town Gospel Crusade, Ethiopia DAY 1:
We are crusading deep in the bush here. From our accommodation in the closet hub, it takes our team one and a half hours to navigate the 30km to Angacha Town (around 18 miles). I say “navigate” because the terrain resembles a 4×4 course, the roads having been utterly eroded into a treacherous mix of ridges and caverns. No meeting of this nature has ever been held in Angacha Town. In fact, the local believers had to build a wooden bridge over a certain crossing to allow both our team and the truck carrying the sound equipment to safely reach the crusade field. The field itself, could not be more stunning, with lush green grass and towering trees. Angacha Town is dominated by other religions and we have faced much opposition during the planning process of this soul-winning initiative. Yet, we got off to a good start today, with villagers curious to see what was going on. I preached a simple salvation message from Isaiah 61 and hands were swiftly raised across the scattered crowd to receive the Lord. Our hearts exploded with joy! We are fully expecting the weekend meetings to explode with growth and be extraordinary in their impact. Please keep us in your fervent prayers. This is not a crusade for the fainthearted.
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Angacha Town Gospel Crusade, Ethiopia DAY 2:
What a glorious day we have had! The demand for the word of God here is superb. Consequently, what would have been an evening crusade meeting, turned into a lengthier affair, with ministry being conducted by our team throughout the course of the day and culminating in the final service. We will continue with this pattern tomorrow. In the last meeting today, I preached on John 3 and the story of Nicodemus. My invitation for the crowd to call on the Almighty and become born again was met with a unified “Yes!” and “Amen!” response. What a privilege it is to lead such a remote community into the arms of the Saviour of souls. Our army of enthusiastic ushers got to work, handing out follow-up material in the local Amharic language and collecting new convert details. Prayer for the sick resulted in hundreds raising their hands to declare their healing. However, testifying on stage is too intimidating for these village folks, partly I suspect for fear of religious persecution and partly due to the mere idea being too daunting. We are working on collecting testimonies in less overwhelming circumstances and I hope to share with you soon some of the wonderful miracles that are taking place. Tomorrow, I will start teaching specifically on the Holy Spirit and how He desires to fill every believer with Himself and use them to preach the Gospel with signs and wonders following. On Sunday evening, we will pray for the Holy Spirit baptism. Heartfelt thanks for your unwavering prayers, my team and I can feel that we are being undergirded by them. Angacha Town is being saved!
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Angacha Town Gospel Crusade, Ethiopia DAY 3:
Today has been saturated from beginning to end with the power and presence of our Saviour King! Ev. Samuel Murrombe and I ministered throughout the day with passion and purpose, ensuring that all who attended left as children of God. Thousands confessed their faith in Christ and became sons and daughters of the Almighty. Hallelujah! My teaching on the Holy Spirit baptism was also wonderfully received and everyone is excited for tomorrow when we will pray for the infilling from on High. Whatever issue was holding people back from testifying of the miracles the Lord has been working in their bodies, seems to have wonderfully disappeared. Today, a long line of men and women joyously queued to share with the growing crowd what the Lord had done for them. They danced and leaped, calming down sufficiently to share their story before jiving and jumping once more. It was splendid! Alemitu is 40 years old. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with both breast and womb cancer. She had a large tumour in her womb and was in constant pain. Gloriously, during prayer, she felt the hand of the Lord touching her body and all that agony and any feeling of unwellness disappeared instantly. How terrific! “I am free!” she expressed, smiling broadly on stage, her exuberance evident. Meselech is 48 years old. For the past fourteen years, she had suffered from unrelenting bladder and kidney infections. The discomfort was intense and merciless. “During prayer, I felt something leaving my body,” she explained. “Suddenly, all the discomfort left. I can feel in my body that I am healed!” The crowd rejoiced with her. Abebeh is 70 years old. She leaped about with incredible energy, shouting and ululating as she came on stage. The sensation of a snake moving throughout her body – a common sign of demonic activity – had brought with it much pain and torment over the past eight months. She both received the Lord as Saviour at our crusade and was utterly liberated from this foul torment. “I am leaving changed!” she exclaimed. “I am a new person. Jesus has made me new!” Many testified of having sought their healing from witchdoctors and false prophets with no relief. Now, they have received wholeness freely from the nail-pierced hands of the Son of Man. Tomorrow, we continue. Angacha Town for Jesus!
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Angacha Town Gospel Crusade, Ethiopia DAY 4:
We have concluded our time in Angacha Town on a tremendously high note! This crusade has been God-breathed in every way. Due to the global pandemic, the governing authorities of Ethiopian towns remain unwilling to grant permission for large gatherings. Yet, village communities are more open, the pandemic not having infiltrated these remote locations. Angacha Town is one such community. Even with all the churches of surrounding village communities having been brought on board, there were still only fifteen churches in total who laboured with us, all small and rural. I say that to say this. While everything pointed toward this being more of a mini than mass crusade, our Jesus had other plans for these gatherings. Over the past four days, thousands have become followers of Jesus. These fifteen churches “exploding with growth” is an understatement. New churches will be planted, larger churches established and the Kingdom of God swiftly advanced. Hallelujah! This morning, we held a mass service with the involved churches and new converts. Certificates of Appreciation were handed out to pastors and volunteers to enthusiastic applause. Come afternoon and into the evening, we held our final meetings. Ev. Samuel preached the Gospel – yet another floodtide of salvation quickly following – and I taught thereafter on the Holy Spirit and how very easy it is to be used by God. We then prayed for all believers in attendance to be filled to overflowing and the results were glorious. An army of soul-winners have been equipped and empowered. How fantastic! Prayer for the sick resulted in wonderful testimonies. Worgue is 40 years old. She had an operation on her kidney five years ago which was unsuccessful. Her kidney issues persisted and the pain worsened. Marvellously, our Jesus performed an operation of His own and naturally, a successful one! Thrilled, Worgue is now pain and kidney-issue free. Abera is 50 years old. One year ago, he went completely deaf. During our crusade meeting, his ears popped open. Now, he can hear perfectly! Understandably jubilant, Abera raised his hands to heaven, bounced about elatedly and expressed his thanks to the Lord with unreserved praise. We celebrated with him! At the end of the evening, we prayed over the prayer request box into which crusade attendees have been putting their requests since the crusade began. We also declared the goodness and favour of the Lord over Angacha Town. Dearest friend, your faithful support has made it possible for this precious, rural community to be forever changed by the Gospel. Our sincerest thanks for sending us into the highways and byways of Africa. In His Name, this continent shall be saved!
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