Day 1
On the threshold of something unprecedented
These are exciting and historic days we are living in! I really believe we are on the threshold of something unprecedented. Please keep reading to the end – there is a very special story I want you to hear.
Tonight, our very first meeting here in Ogbomosho, Nigeria was massive. From the platform, the crowds stretched as far as the eye could see. The platform is at the bottom of a sloping hill and, in times past, everyone on the other side of that hill would have been unable to see. But now, with our massive screens (that you’ve helped us to obtain), tens of thousands – maybe hundreds of thousands more – will be able to see and hear the Gospel this week!
Brand new mobile campaign trucks
Also, something brand new has happened in this campaign. As part of our “Decade of Double Harvest” initiative, for about 10 days prior to the crusade, we sent out a team of evangelists (Paul Maurer and Quentin Harrup) into the surrounding villages to conduct mini-campaigns. If you look at the attached pictures, you will see our mobile campaign truck that carried the meetings easily from village to village. Before the campaign had even begun, thousands had already heard the Gospel, and many had been saved and healed! This is a prototype that I envision will soon involve dozens of similar trucks and hundreds (maybe thousands) of evangelists helping us to reap the harvest in season and out! These will both contribute to the big campaigns and multiply the harvest.
Thousands receive Jesus, dramatic healings follow the Word
Tonight, many thousands responded to the simple Gospel message. What a joy it was for me to lead tens of thousands into the arms of Jesus. Afterwards, as I prayed for the sick, miracles took place all over the massive field. The last one is my favorite.
Many testified of various kinds of pain vanishing from their bodies. A woman, partially blind for 10-years said her vision became perfect. A woman whose legs were paralyzed for 12 years suddenly was healed to the point that she could literally leap into the air as she demonstrated on the platform. Another woman, whose body was bent over sideways at the waist, suddenly straightened up perfectly. A boy whose arm had been severely injured in a construction accident (with a massive scar remaining) had not been able to use his arm for years. Tonight, it was completely restored and had full range of motion.
A Muslim woman comes to Christ – saved, healed and delivered in Jesus’ name!
There are several others as well, but one that I wanted to emphasize. A woman came forward weeping profusely. She explained that she was a Muslim who had years earlier been demon possessed. In addition, her body had been racked with inexplicable pain, including sharp pains on her side. The night before the crusade (in one of the mini-campaigns in the village) Quentin Harrup (one of the young evangelists here in training) preached his very first Gospel message and this woman received Christ and was subsequently healed! Tonight, as I was praying, she was delivered from those demons and completely set free. She testified tonight on the platform that she was both delivered and converted – publicly testifying, with tears, that she is now a Christian! I asked Quentin to come up and she identified him as the one that had led her to Christ. This was not only the first evangelistic message he had preached, but her healing was the first he had ever witnessed in his own ministry. What a precious moment (see picture).
This is part of the “Decade of Double Harvest” initiative. I believe God is going to send hundreds of young men and women like Quentin who will be raised up as evangelists and this decade will be the beginning of an evangelistic movement that will continue until Jesus comes.
There is so much more to tell you, but please know that God is moving here in wonderful ways – that your prayers and support are paying eternal dividends. Thank you – and please continue to pray for us.
Yours in the Gospel,
Daniel Kolenda
Together with the whole CfaN team
Pictures by O. Volyk
