Dear friends:
There is a change in plans. Dani’s MS is acting up and so she is flying back to the US with Steve and Denise. She will be with our son and daughter for mother’s Day and spend time with family.
I will travel on to India and spend five weeks in ministry in three locations. India has been making the headlines with record-breaking temperatures reaching 112, so it is a good thing Dani will avoid that stress.
As we close out China, let me touch on a few recent highlights.
· The pastors held another monthly prayer meeting last week and 20 were present, including two churches that had not previously attended. I felt led to stay away, but heard great reports of the continuing love, unity, and bold plans for the future.
· After our conference of two weeks ago, my Korean co-speaker, Pastor Chong, traveled to another city in northern China for a pastor’s conference. Over 70 pastors came together and there was a great anointing from the Holy Spirit. There were healings and one man paralyzed since childhood stood and marched about praising God.
These miracles are ancillary to the bigger miracle of first-time unity between underground churches and the move of revival. God is clearly at work in China.
· Dani and I had the privilege of counseling several who are seeking the truth of Jesus. One was an Indian medical student we will call Meeata. She was raised Hindu but last year she was told about Christ and began to investigate his legitimacy.
“Every time I try to read the Bible or pray, I have nightmares of snakes coming to kill me. I expected peace from Jesus, not turmoil, so I stopped following him.”
We read 1Cor 10:20 to Meeata which says:
“No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”
Then we explained how the Hindu gods are really demons and they do not want her to follow Jesus so they are trying to scare her away with dreams.
For Meeata’s entire life she has been told that the Hindu gods are good for her, so it means a major change for her to realize they are demons. In the end she agreed to pray to Jesus for 40 days and ask him to reveal himself in some special way. She eagerly agreed and wept freely as we prayed over her.
She seems close to a decision, so please pray for Meeata. God knows her real name.
· Another special girl was Ann. After I preached last week from James 5:16 about the importance of confessing sins to a fellow believer, Ann made an appointment with Dani to unburden her soul. Ann knew she was already forgiven by the blood of Jesus, however, she longed to get out from under the power of her secret.
After counseling with Dani, Anne said, “When I was baptized one year ago, I only did it to please my boyfriend. Should I be re-baptized?”
After her false baptism Anne later received Christ but knew she had not been truly obedient during her baptism.
I explained, “When you first trusted Christ, God saw the change in your heart and that day became your spiritual birthday. Getting baptized again will be much like what happens with a couple elopes but later decides to hold a formal wedding ceremony before friends and relatives.
“You made a private decision, now you are ready to go public and announce to all that you are united to Jesus.”
I asked two elders of Anne’s home church to exercise their anointed authority by helping with the baptism.
I said, “We now baptize you in the name of the Father…”
One of the elders said, “and the Son…”
The final elder said, “and the Holy Spirit.”
Then there was a bit of crowding and confusion as we all three helped to pushed Anne under the water in a neighbor’s bathtub. The girl would not fit in the tub so she had to scrunch her legs against her chest while an elder bent her head sideways so she could go under the water with barely an inch of water washing over her face.
I had to hold in my laughter to maintain the solemnity of the moment.
Anne came up beaming, knowing she had made the right decision.
For India, please pray:
· For guidance on how we can help child prostitutes.
· For wisdom to minister in the face of many needs to the right people at the right times.
· That I might serve from a position of repentance and dependence on Christ.
Blessings and Joy,
JDC--
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