March 2009

(That's Aussie for "Hard WORK" for those of you who don't know )

"Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up." Gal 6:9

It was late January when most of the team left Australia to begin the five day journey to the destination of the first crusade. Ahead was a long five weeks, including 42 hours on planes, 25 hours in airports and nine days of driving the 2700 km on some of the most treacherous roads in the world. We were going to do four crusades, four faith conferences, and some church services, involving 48 meetings, all before we would return home.

  Gotta love the roads...not! The boys bolting up the stage Carl, Nev, Herman, Paul, Daniel

Along the way we would be challenged by a city-wide epidemic, unseasonal rains, witchdoctor's curses, numerous mechanical and electrical breakdowns, plus some sleepless nights to test our resilience. But hey, when God is on our side and in control these are minor things really. Plus, once again God had pulled together a great team to get the job done. Pastor Paul Pires from Springsure AOG was primarily driving Miss China (so he named the truck) and keeping the 20 KW generator ticking along and in one peice (it tried to shake itself to pieces constantly). Nev Woodbury a builder from Bayside City Church Hervey Bay knocked up five new wooden stage platforms for us to go with the five we already had. Herman Sprong, a sound technician from Dalby AOG, repaired the sound desk and blown amp along with numerous power boards and plugs that burned out. He also hooked up, fired-up and kept the sound system pumping out the worship and the Word in the crusades. Daniel Carkeet from Calvary Family Church Springwood was with us for two weeks putting his hand in wherever it was needed, plus taking some great pictures. Not to mention John Karanja from Kenya, who was coordinating all four crusades simultaneously for two months before we arrived and working tirelessly when he was on location with us. But to say that was all they did would be selling them short. At every location all hands went into bolting up the stage platforms and leveling them in place, with the help of a few locals. Every night the sound system and lighting had to be dismantled and stacked back in the truck only to be set up again the next day. On Sundays, whoever had a message to share, would preach in local churches. Then there are all the other little things that needed to be done which all got done, and the acts of kindness God moved them to do for needy people in each place. Needless to say, the guys slogged it out and all deserved medals for their efforts. I was blessed that God had pulled them all on board to run with the vision, and proud to have them on the team.

Before we left Nairobi for Uganda we waited most of a day for Miss China to have her fuel injection system completely replaced. She'd already had a complete new clutch assembly and every single suspension bush replaced after only 1300 km. The poor girl. She got knocked around a bit this time too. After we came home, she went back to the mechanic along with a list of 16 repairs needed, including upgrading the radiator, replacing the gear cable, installing additional springs, and several of the bushes which had to be replaced again. I won't say to much about the geni, except that she blew her air cleaner to bits in the first crusade and needed a crack welded up in the radiator during the second. That was just a couple of its woes which seemed to be ongoing. Remember, both the truck and the geni were brand new just six months ago!

So here's how the crusades went;

Just before hitting the road to Uganda, we got the news that our first crusade there in Arua from 28th Jan to 1st Feb had to be cancelled due to a meningitis epidemic which shut down public meetings in the city. But some quick work by the coordinator and the chairman along with the prayers of 10 pastors in a small town called Kigumba led to a Divine appointment. The town was little more than a T intersection on the main sealed road, a street or two of shops leading up to the crusade ground and a few dirt roads everywhere else. But we found a high level of expectation. Before the first meeting, we'd been building platforms and setting up the sound system all day, so the crowd quickly began to gather excitedly. Then as we were just ready to start the meeting, a storm, that had been brewing in the background, let loose and down came the rain. So we were forced to reload the PA back into the truck while holding tarpaulins over everything to keep some water out. Sadly, the plywood tops of some of the platforms, which we hadn't had time to paint, were partly destroyed by the rain. But the next night, with another storm threatening, we began the meeting on time and wrapped up early with a couple of hundred souls saved just as the rain began to fall again. We persevered and the weather improved as the crowds built to about 3000. 1166 people were saved and received their 'New Life with Jesus' books in this town. Plus, close to 1000 people were wonderfully filled with the Holy Spirit on the Saturday night and there were numerous testimonies of healing and deliverance during the meetings. Not bad for four days preparation in a small town. ...

  The Kigumba crowd eagerly hearing the gospel Hundreds filled with the Spirit

From Kigumba we travelled two days via Kampala to Mbarara. It is a large town where I was expecting a huge crusade, but it seemed the enemy was doing all he could to frustrate the work. The attitude and motivation of a number of the pastors appeared to be compromised, though a few did work hard with us. At the same time, an uncooperative group chose to run their own crusade on the other side of town which split the local support for our crusade (and breaks your heart!). To top it off, the unseasonable rain lingered through most of week so the crowds were disappointing. The first night, we were forced to stop the meeting shortly after it started due to rain. But on the second night, when the storm rolled in and the rain began to fall again, we stood our ground rebuking the weather, the devil and the curses of the witch doctors (who call in the rain). Then, miraculously, the rain eased right off as a beautiful double rainbow appeared right over the stage. It remained there for the next hour or so as the storm split around us and the rain ceased completely. Needless to say, that meeting finished with great excitement and a sense of victory. The second miracle with the weather occurred on Sunday. When we went to set up the sound system in the morning, the storm clouds came rolling in again. We opted to leave the equipment in the truck, and sure enough, soon the rain bucketed down. In fact it rained for a few hours while I (Paul and Nev) preached in local church services. When the rain finally stopped at about 1.30 pm, we went to the ground to see if the stage was OK, and to our amazement we found it bone dry. So we were able to set up, and we finished the crusade on a high note, with 499 souls added to the Kingdom of God and a similar number filled with the Holy Spirit. The faith conference here had about 400 in attendance by the Friday. The people were challenged, inspired and encouraged.

  Another storm rolls in A promise from Jesus A victorious meeting

Then we headed back across the border into Kenya to a Northwestern town called Kitale. Though it is a large town, we had chosen to work with only 12 pastors (with a good spirit and right attitude). Sadly, a cult had kept us from hiring the stadium near the centre of town, so we opted for a field on the edge of town near to a large residential area. A determined crowd gathered, sang and danced in the rain the first night and we pressed on until the skies cleared. That was the end of the rain. By the Sunday, the crowd was close to 5000, 1200 souls had been saved and follow up books distributed. Again on the Saturday night, a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit led to hundreds being baptized and speaking in tongues.

  The Kitale crowd gathered on a vacant field to hear the gospel Giving them the good oil

Finally we headed to the border town of Busia. It was an exciting arrival as we were welcomed into town with a procession of vehicles, motor bikes and push bikes, all covered with crusade posters. The crusade was held on the Kenya side of the border in the football stadium. The meetings got off to a good start, and the crowds built up to about 4000 in attendance by the last night. A total of 987 received Jesus as their Saviour, and several hundred were baptized in the Holy Spirit. There were quite a number of good testimonies of healing etc in this crusade also.

   A colourful end to a long week Preach the Good News... . ..and hundreds get saved!

So by the time we had finished the four crusades, more than 3850 people had made commitments to Jesus and were ready to be followed up by the local pastors and gathered into their churches. Plus, about 2000 people have been filled with the Holy Spirit and numerous people had been healed and set free. Pastors have been encouraged, people's faith has been built up, and the spiritual climate in these communities has been significantly impacted. So all the hard yakka was worthwhile aye?! I am grateful to the team, the local pastors and missionaries, along with your prayers and financial support that made this all possible. I am praying and believing that God will continue to greatly increase the size of the crusades, the fruit of the ministry and the impact on the communities as we keep pressing on building His Kingdom.

The next series of crusades we'd like to do in Africa (Kenya and Uganda) will be in August this year. For a series of crusades to be possible, God will provide the finances and the team members. The basic team must include a truck driver, a mechanic, a sound technician, a builder (or handyman) and a tour manager/book keeper. We also welcome pastors, children's workers, medical personnel, and will consider anyone else who is willing and able to help in any way. If you would like to join us on a trip to Africa or support us in any way, please feel free to contact me soon (or see below). I would love to hear from you.

   Here's a few shots of stuff you don't see every other day. Unless you join us in Africa of course!

Australia: While home in Australia, I'm preaching primarily in Queensland, though my itinerary will take me as far as Darwin in July. I will also be taking the opportunity to attend the National ACC and Hillsong conferences. I currently have a few weekends still available in my itinerary before the middle of the year, so if you would like to have me preach for you please contact me asap.

New Zealand: Hey when you were born in the most beautiful country in the world it's hard to ignore it. I will be popping over to NZ in April for three weeks to preach in a number of churches there.