Newsletter #3- Retreat
Wow! So many amazing things happened during the pastors’ retreat. God was truly present in all his holiness and the expressions of his working took many forms. To quickly mention a few:
· 28 pastors and leaders united for three days and two nights to pray, fellowship, worship and to listen to preaching. For security reasons, I was the only white person allowed in the meeting, however the people went out of their way to make me feel included.
· The first item of business was that the participants were required to turn in their cell phone sim cards. They were placed in tiny clear bags and a chart was made and stored separately that identified the owners. This precaution was necessary in case there was a police raid. This way only the pastors will be exposed and not all their congregations whose numbers are on the cards.
· Each participant gave their testimony and there were many amazing stories. Most resisted Christ for years before finally yielding. Once they began to follow Jesus, they held nothing back and gave their full time to service in the kingdom of God. Many began ministering and gained what training they could along the way.
· One older sister said, “I am a third generation pastor. My grandfather was baptized by Watchman Nee. My Father was also a pastor and put in prison. After two years he died in that place. Now I run a Christian bookstore. The police watch me but somehow by God’s grace, it is still open. I preach the gospel to those who come in.”
· I was privileged to alternate the pulpit with a pastor from Korea; for now, we can call him pastor Chong. He was an anointed speaker and told of his experience of fasting for 40 days and how it changed his life. He spoke in Korean, then a Chinese interpreter repeated each sentence. While pastor Chong continued with the next phrase, an English translator whispered the English to me.
· I wanted to give the pastors a gift of a newly translated Chinese Bibles we brought from the US. When we packed the Bibles, we had no plans for how to use them or what number to bring. When I asked for one representative from each church to stand, there were enough for each church, except for one I can mail to my close friend.
· At the end of pastor Chong’s first message, he broke into a passionate song in beautiful tenor. Only a handful could understand the Korean lyrics, however, it brought on the Holy Spirit and several began to go to their knees in prayer. Soon the room was filled with the sounds of worship in the Spirit and a young woman at the back started to cry. Her wailing turned to gagging and she ran for a bucket to vomit.
After the service, I was able to minister to this daughter of Christ along with several others suffering from demonic oppressions. My goal was to impart the tools necessary for victory so they could conduct their own ministries to help others trapped by this prevalent problem.
At the root of these particular cases was un-forgiveness of others and prior worship of buddhas. It took a couple of sessions, but they had release and received the new ministry with confidence and joy.
One girl in particular was so relieved she was like a puppy dog the rest of the retreat. She followed me everywhere and looked for every opportunity to help me with my shoes, or chopsticks, or just beam her newfound smile.
· A pastor received an urgent message that the government controlled church was insisting that the house church come under their control. The pastor was called in at 2:30 in the afternoon to meet with the Bureau of Religious Affairs to discuss the problem. The pastors all broke into heartfelt prayer on behalf of this meeting. I have yet to hear the outcome.
· A sister was asked to sing a solo for the group and after the song, she told pastor Chong that the Holy Spirit was prompting her to repent in front of everybody and have him pray over her. Many were in tears or shaking like leaves over the holiness of God’s presence and our impurity.
· In an open sharing time, many told how this first-ever retreat changed their lives and gave courage to trust God at whole new levels (myself included). After hundreds of years of idol worship, this was the first time so many pastors have met for the gospel in this city.
· We studied about the times men had encountered God’s holiness: Moses, Solomon, Daniel, Ezekiel, and John. They all fell onto their faces as dead men. We then went facedown and worshiped in silence. When I finally peeked, every participant was pressed to the ground. No one wanted to move for a long time. When we finally rose, we had tears running.
· When I got home, tired yet joyous, we looked into the gift-bag of tea the group gave me for speaking. There was an envelope with 1,000 Yuen ($150) inside. This is a large amount for these Christians and I was blown away. I have taught pastors in nine foreign countries and this is the first time I was not asked for money, but given money. Not only are the Chinese self-sufficient, they are generous and zealous to send missionaries to foreign countries. That shows us the maturity that 100 years of persecution has developed.
While I was away with the pastors, Dani was busy with Denise buying pearl jewelry and silk scarves to set up an on-line store and do presentations and parties, to make money for missions. Specifically, they are raising money to send Monica, a young woman from a tiny village in Northern India that has no medical services available, to Zimbabwe. There she will learn from Judy Ervine and staff about the herbal treatments that have been used successfully there. Denise and Steve went to that village in India and feel the Lord is leading them to do this. We are bringing some amazing bargains home. If you are interested in seeing these treasures, or would just like to donate to Monica’s trip, let Dani know.
‘nuf for now.
Love and peace,
JDC--
PS The Holy Spirit rocks!
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