The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit.
He has chosen me and sent me
To bring good news to the poor,
To heal the broken-hearted,
To announce release to captives
And freedom to those in prison.
He has sent me to proclaim
That the time has come
When the Lord will save his people
And defeat their enemies.
He has sent me to comfort all those who mourn,
To give to those who mourn in Zion
Joy and gladness instead of grief,
A song of praise instead of sorrow.
They will be like trees
That the Lord himself has planted.
They will all do what is right,
And God will be praised for what He has done.
Today is Sunday, the Lord’s day, and we have been called to speak at a couple of the local churches. Two churches had asked us to speak during the morning service, so our team split in order that we could minister to both. We brought a message of encouragement and hope. Many in these services were new Christians, most since the May cyclone. You could observe their hunger through their attentive listening, taking careful notes and never once having looked at the clock or for that matter not even worried about the power outage.
Lori shared a message about God only looking for willing hearts and having big plans for his children, while Anders spoke about God answering prayer and working in miraculous ways for His kingdom. Sharing in front of the congregation (probably only 50 people) still is quite new to us. But, we prayed, and the Spirit came through AGAIN to share with the hungry!
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| From Jan '09 |
After the service we were able to sit down and speak with the pastor of the church (also our talented translator!) of the recent discipleship conference for those entering the ministry. Someone had forgotten to make the weekly notice to the government about the training extension, so 14 students were arrested. They were held for two weeks while the church visited daily, bringing food and bribes requesting the group not be treated violently.
On another account, our teammate, tried to bail out one of the street kids out of jail for being wrongly accused. He witnessed the darkness firsthand as he saw the 16y/o boy weeping in his jail cell, knowing what abuse was to come. Can you also imagine that every prisoner (innocent or not) must be brought food daily by family or friends? Yes. If food is not brought, then the police allow them to starve. And we're worried about Guantanamo! Not only that, police strolling by at night, reeked of alcohol and some could barely stroll back to their station to join the large group drinking and playing games. The abuse of power and willingness to accept bribes seem to trickle down from the top.
This Sunday evening we also had a service at the orphanage for the safe home kids and locals in the community. The top story of the orphanage has been converted into a church, being used for regular meetings.
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| From Jan '09 |
Tonight, the kids led worship, and we couldn't help but feel the Spirit reign down! The language barrier never seems to be a problem; even when a translator's not present, it is still easy to communicate with the people through a smile or a hug. Ryan (a member of our team) shared a message directed to the children. He spoke of how God uses anyone, even they, who are still young. Ryan concluded by having the children pray for the adults.
And then we celebrated Christmas one more time! Kids are always ready to celebrate Christmas anytime of the year. And for most of the children, this was their very first gift for Christmas.
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| From Jan '09 |
Lori again shared the candy cane story and Christ’s gift to us. Each were given two canes- one for them-self and the other for another.
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| From Jan '09 |
Present time! We gave each child a new backpack filled with a bag of candy and treats, a pencil bag of school supplies, a small bag of toys, and a blanket. Their excitement was priceless! They ripped open those gifts with such enthusiasm! Most of them, upon seeing their backpacks were so overjoyed they put it on and began modeling it around the room for everyone to see! If only you could have seen their faces when they realized that there was even more inside! Here's a little glimpse:
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| From Jan '09 |
This was truly a precious day! It was wonderful to be able to love on these special children, most who had lost both parents and siblings to the recent cyclone. Hearing their stories just made me shake my head and believe in my heart that they are still here today because God had a greater plan for their lives. One child said he woke up atop a Coconut tree the morning after the cyclone, not knowing how he got there. He reported the landscape was littered with dead bodies and he too could not find any of his family. Being able to laugh and worship with these kids, one can definitely be encouraged of their great love for Jesus!
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| From Jan '09 |
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