Jesus loves to save people!
Following LA, our team headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is known as one the leading sending and funding counties for missionaries. There was a lot of excitement for what God would do with our biggest school of the summer, but none of us were prepared for what Jesus did that week. Over 400 students were trained in sharing the Gospel, leading people to freedom and changing the culture around them to become more like Jesus. Our nightly gatherings were open to anyone. Our first night, around 1000 people came! Where did they come from? By the end of the week, the nightly gatherings nearly doubled! Not only were numbers growing, but Jesus was working in so many personal lives. One student, Daniel, was sharing the Gospel with 5 new friends sitting on their porch. By the end of the conversation, all 5 wanted to give their lives to Jesus. There were two neighbors listening the whole time that ended up giving their lives to Jesus too! Those 7 brought 5 of their friends to the nightly gathering, and those 5 gave their lives to Jesus too! This is just a snapshot of a week I am still trying to grasp.
This summer I had the joy of spending my 2nd summer with the school of the Circuit Rider. We held four 1-week training schools in Fiji, LA, Lancaster, and Kansas City. By the end of summer, hundreds had been trained, hundreds had been saved and the Gospel continued to advance the kingdom of Jesus. There are so many stories from each location, but I will try to stick to one for each location.
First, let's talk about Fiji. Bula! This is the greeting in Fijian, but it was also a great evangelistic tool. It was amazing to see how quickly Fijians would open up to the Gospel if you would just say Bula! The story that sticks out to me the most came after the first evangelistic outreach on the streets of Lautoka, Fiji. One of the groups on outreach ended up sharing the love of Jesus with prostitutes. The Gospel struck the hearts of some and they gave their lives to Jesus! One young woman ended up coming to our nightly gatherings and to our training mornings all week! Anything can happen when we share the love of Jesus. By the end of our time in Fiji, hundreds had been saved by Jesus.
After Fiji, we had a week long school in Los Angeles. This school was not as big as Fiji, but God definitely had surprises for us. A personal favorite was getting to hear Joy Dawson teach. Joy is a Bible teacher and spiritual leader to YWAM for nearly it's entire 50 year existence. Her message went for about 6 total hours in two sessions. Hearing from such a mother in our faith encouraged all of us to believe for the greater things that Jesus desires to do in our nation and the Earth. Later in the week, after a morning training session on sharing the Gospel, we hit the streets of downtown Hollywood for evangelism. One young man, Roy, ended up sharing the Gospel with someone who was hostile towards his message of Jesus love. Roy did not get offended, but continued to talk with the man and offered to pray for his hurt back. After praying, the man's back felt completely different and he surrendered his life to Jesus! It was so encouraging to see how patience and love could turn a heart so quickly!
Following LA, our team headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is known as one the leading sending and funding counties for missionaries. There was a lot of excitement for what God would do with our biggest school of the summer, but none of us were prepared for what Jesus did that week. Over 400 students were trained in sharing the Gospel, leading people to freedom and changing the culture around them to become more like Jesus. Our nightly gatherings were open to anyone. Our first night, around 1000 people came! Where did they come from? By the end of the week, the nightly gatherings nearly doubled! Not only were numbers growing, but Jesus was working in so many personal lives. One student, Daniel, was sharing the Gospel with 5 new friends sitting on their porch. By the end of the conversation, all 5 wanted to give their lives to Jesus. There were two neighbors listening the whole time that ended up giving their lives to Jesus too! Those 7 brought 5 of their friends to the nightly gathering, and those 5 gave their lives to Jesus too! This is just a snapshot of a week I am still trying to grasp.
This past week we had our last school of the summer in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer. New friendships were born with college campus leaders around the nation. There was a clear message that America is ready for a love revolution. Many more were saved and trained too!
The summer of 2013 has radically impacted my life with Jesus. Jesus has raised my faith level as to what He wants to do and what is possible. Jesus really does want to save a lot of people in America. Jesus really does want everyone in the Church to play a part in building His kingdom. We really do get to do it all as a big loving family that simply wants to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength! Cannot wait to see what God has in store for us the rest of this year!
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