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Archive News - 2003 First and last from Jerusalem. 8/12/03. The lifting of the veil on the Jewish Bride. Dear John, Jackie, Church and all, Last greeting from me this journey. I left Amman nearly two weeks ago and traveled by taxi to the Allenby Bridge border with Israel. The exit was smooth, but the entrance into Israel was harder than usual. The young enthusiastic immigration girl with blond streaked hair and designer uniform didn't like the fact that I had traveled through Pakistan and Iran. I asked her not to put a stamp in my passport for the reasons that any muslim country would never let me enter with an Israeli stamp. She asked me all sorts of questions about who I would stay with and what I would do, and how many times I had been to Israel before. There were important US official waiting behind me and getting frustrated at the length of my interrogation. She kept going into the superiors office and coming out again. Finally I made the mistake of asking her whether she was having a bad day( in the wrong tone!) She said to me to sit in the corner. That's when I began to pray in tongues. I went to the superiors and complained about my treatment, and she seemed to be nice and said it was just her job. Feeling like a bad boy in the corner, I was eventually called after most of the others had gone through. They gave my one month instead of three which is usual, but it was enough for me. They again made us wait at the baggage and put a weird swab over some personal items( It looked like something to collect DNA for storage in their filing system?). Then freedom across the border. My friend from the Everest trail picked me up from one of the old city gates and took me to his home in the beautiful nearby mountains. They have been very hospitable to me and even let me join them in their Shabat meal on Friday nights. We have had some interesting conversations about God during the time and I know that the Lord is doing something. The Yahoo site and the web site will still be functioning if you want to keep in touch, but be patient as the answer could be delayed over Christmas.To the Bride of Christ much love in Him. MikeX PS See you soon if you are in Blighty. First from Amman Jordan 10/11/03. One more border. Dear John, Jackie, church and all, Greetings from Amman Jordan in Jesus. Little more freedom here but not too much. I arrived a few days ago after an easy taxi trip of 4 hours and a smooth passage through immigration. The Jordanians seem to want to encourage tourists and so don't make too much trouble. I made contact with the Nazarene church and they are letting me stay on the floor of the kindergarten. Since arriving I have tried the office floor as well, and next it will be the store room for a little more privacy. There is little chance to rest when one is staying in a temporary place. I will try to make the store room livable until a better, more hospitable environment opens up. They let me sing a song on Sunday and minister to the youth last week, and there was a little movement in the Spirit. I'm still praying for a breakthrough. Last night I visited with the AoG who are much more open. They are going to let me do something with the youth and the university next Saturday. Possibilities of a radio connection here and a visit to Petra if I can find the way without a tourist package. I would appreciate prayer for more resistance to the attacks on the mind here. They come thick and fast with all sorts of weakening tactics. The whole of Amman has been built by the displaced Palestinian community, with aid from the government and the UN during the exodus at the time of the war in Israel. It is difficult to meet an original Jordanian in Amman .I have managed to get a cough in the last few days as the weather has turned cold, especially in the mountains. Amman is built on 7 mountains.The people are friendly but as yet not very hospitable. The guard at the church is Iraqi and would give me his own bed if he could. The Irani and Iraqi people seem to be very much more hospitable and caring for guests. Eating sporadically from the fast food type of places...felafal..a type of vegetarian bean and bread sandwich. Not very exciting. Also during Ramadan nothing is available during the day so I have had to secretly eat a chocolate bar now and then. It is very frowned upon to eat or drink in front of the fasting Muslim. The Nazarene church and the AoG seem to be the only possibilities of an opening, so once they are contacted and opportunities made I will be on my way to Israel. PTL! I am really looking forward to the end of this road. It's been great but I am ready to unpack my bag for a good few months and potter about my cottage in Wales for a while after seeing the family at Christmas. Thanks you for your steadfast support and all those who have prayed along the way. I know when the back-up is strong and I feel it when the support is low...during summer holiday times, and coming up to Christmas when everyone gets busy I've noticed. Please pray for a breakthrough here. satan is using all he can to stop the body from getting free and being effective. I look forward to seeing you all in the New year and some of you if not in the future then when we all get home. I will send another couple of updates from Israel before I finish.Much love and appreciation in Jesus. Love MikeX Last from Damascus. 2/11/03. Moving fast. Dear All, That was quick!I knocked on a few doors and non of them really opened enough to warrant staying much longer. I'm somewhat travel weary and fed up staying alone in my Catholic monetary( Bless them!). No fireworks at the Nazarene church, but not entirely closed. Some contacts in a town 5 hours back to the Turkey border, but it's been nearly impossible to organise. A few days ago a clear message came to go to Amman and so Wednesday I'm going 7 hour by taxi or shabby bus. ( only $10)Damascus is very crowded and oppressive in the spirit. Many mosques and at Ramadan the people are fasting in the daytime. The people are nice and friendly, but like the Turkish, don't seem to be open yet. There are many religious churches especially in the old city, but small signs of life.Most of the time has been spent prayer walking and waiting for doors to open, whilst fending off a lot of flack.NB Marmalade is nearly out as well!!!I visited Annanias' house that is now a religious shrine and walked down Strait Street. Good material for a song called the 'Strait Street Blues'... already in process.See you in Amman. Love MikeX Thanks for prayer for safe journey and the right contacts in Amman First from Damascus. 30/10/03. Strait Street. Dear All, Thanks for the prayer for the wells to be open in Damascus. Istanbul was a difficult place to live. Most of the people seemed to look very oppressed and there was no obvious openness to the gospel. All the time I was there I had very little contact with the Turkish people but worked mostly with the Iranian refugees through a contact I made in Tehran ( Thanks to Janeen). The Lord moved strongly in every service with deliverance and Holy Spirit moving. Many Iranians getting saved , delivered and filled with the Spirit very quickly. They are becoming a might Bride. The trip from Istanbul to Damascus was relatively easy compared with the Iranian border crossing. The paper work was expensive with visas and letters from British embassies costing over $100 but there was no way around the red tape. The bus was good ($50)and I slept well on the Turkish bus with the grace of a double seat. Turkish people speak little English and Syrian about the same, so it's been a trial to do everything. Many shop keepers and taxi drivers taking advantage of the tourist factor to get double portions. The first place to stay was a very 'Sad Hotel'. The owner invited me to his church the day after arriving and the only good thing was it was only lasted one and a half hours. He then left me stranded at the church with no idea of how to get back to his hotel. A nice guy helped me to get back and then invited me to lunch, as all the food places were shut for Ramadan. Thanks Ihab if you ever read this. This prompted me to move from the 'Sad hotel' and so when a friend sent me some contacts on the internet (very limited access here by the way)...excuse for the slack communication lately.... I decided to change. I met with an open pastor and he invited me to sing the next night and moved to a Catholic guest house where Paul was supposed to have been lowered over the wall near to his church in the old city. It was clean but by no means free from spiritual oppression. I would ask you to pray for my protection in this place as I have found signs of satanic curse (tape) all around the building and the area. The mind attacks have been intense and if an alternative hostel or place with the body opens up I would appreciate it. There are many idols on display in the place... even Egyptian papyrus depictions of the gods of the pharaohs time. Same spirit. One of the ruling spirits here blocking the church is the religious Jezebel, so I am praying for the Bride to unblock the well here... individually and over the town.The second night I walked up into the poor area on the mountains surrounding the city and was invited into a Kurdish house to share some tea. I gave my testimony with drawings and a translation of 'Freedom' made with Ihab and his brother the day before. The Syrians are open to hear the gospel from the experience so far, and still not too worldly. The amount of slime on the street is still limited by the culture. There is freedom to share the gospel and even change religion but no evangelism on the street.The Nazarene church I'm singing tomorrow is working with Iraqi refugees. More refugees than members. They have a feeding program and are open, but not flowing in the Spirit yet!Thanks for the back-up over the year. Sorry for the lack of personal messages. Hope to catch up when I get to a better place with more time and easier facilities. I visited Ananias' house yesterday and walked down Strait Street. Quite genuine. Love MikeX First from İstanbul. 3/10/03. Europe meets Asia. Greetings from Istanbul in the powerful name of Jesus! Although there was a lot more trouble in Iran, the body of Christ is growing so fast. Compared to here where there are mosques on every other street corner with a society pervaded by sex and hypocrisy. I'm finding it difficult to adjust quickly so please pray that I don't escape before the job is done.The trip from Tehran was full of opportunities to speak about the Lord, mostly to Iranians traveling to leave the country. I would not travel by land again as the wait at immigration was so long. The Iranian border took 5 hours to be processed and then 4 hours at the Turkish side. I had met some university students traveling back to study in Cyprus and they asked me to play some songs in the compartment. At the immigration wait they borrowed someones guitar and asked me to play again. Many gathered outside the immigration office as I played Freedom in Jesus, then the police came to stop. The people cheered at the Freedom in Jesus and the police could not do much. I had been given some doubts about getting a visa on the border with Turkey (as the Turkish embassy had told me) so it was a relief getting through. The train journey ended at a ferry terminal and we boarded in the evening and scrambled for a floor space. At the immigration wait we had met a french girl and her Mum and a Bahai couple and formed a little group. Again on the boat some of the Iranians asked me to play and this time there was no opposition. All the women had removed their scarfs (Hedjobs?) sounds like hedgehogs, and were free to look as they wanted. The men began to dance and a party under the stars on the ferry began. It was great to see a people being themselves. Some local musician took over when I ran out of the Iranian praise songs I had learned along the way, they went on for an hour enjoying themselves. The boat docked at about 4am but with no train to meet us. We sat in the cold for about half an hour and eventually clambered sleepily onto the Turkish train. The system was confusing with wrong numbers for compartments, and men and women mistakenly mixed, but eventually we were off. Breakfast was a disaster with an unfriendly Turk who only had one thing on the menu. I ended up having breakfast with the conductors (Nice Lord!). Lunch was the same with only one choice and for the rest of the two days we found food outside. The Lord allowed another little concert in the train with many crammed into the compartment. The anointing came very strongly a few times, even bringing tears to some. By this time they had all learned 'Freedom In Jesus' and sang along at full tilt. I was able to explain about the truth that Jesus was not just a prophet, and that He had to die to pay the price for us all. If some of you guys are reading this then send me an e-mail and ask some more questions. Istanbul is built around a large river estuary and many of the ways are made by ferry. It is very beautiful but the spiritual atmosphere is strong. The cars drive a little more ordered than Iran, and a lot more that Pakistan.The Lord has already begun moving in the Iranian fellowship here a few days ago with deliverance and Holy Spirit releasing at church and house groups. Not much sign of the Turkish church yet. My soul is under pressure and my eyes are under siege, so please send me a few prayers to help me stay as long as the Lord wants. Love MikeX Last from Tehran 25/9/03 Out from the control zone. Dear all, Thank you for the prayer for me during my stay in Iran. I has proved to be a very fruitful time here.From the difficulty of being outside the body in the last letter the Lord Jesus has done so much in a short period of time. The Holy Spirit touched some people at the first meeting, but the leaders seemed nervous of the manifestations. What with the fear of the government and the police informers at most meetings, I think they found it difficult to relax and enjoy the presence of the Lord. It seemed that the door only opened for a brief moment but not for me to stay. The musician friend( Qmars) invited me to his aunties house group and there were many people from the industrial community in this group. They asked me to testify and they allowed the Holy Spirit to minister. They were resistant to dancing but after a little breaking through, many received release and a fresh filling on the floor of this beautiful house.One Brother asked me about my situation with accommodation and took me back to the hotel. The next day he invited me to stay at his fathers house and I have been with him ever since. We have had many anointed conversations and times of powerful ministry. The local fellowship allowed me to play some songs and opened the door to some Holy Spirit meetings in a more low key environment. After the main service many came to receive in a small side room and the Lord touched them all very powerfully until gone midnight. Deliverance from local spirits and bondages from the past. The people are so hungry for freedom here. After this there were many invitations to houses for prayer and fellowship, so I have been so blessed with seeing so many people receiving freedom in the Spirit. There is much oppression here from fear of being taken away for changing faith, but the Lord seems to be working greater miracles in this time of hardship. Many are receiving visions and the body is getting too big for the building. I had a vision of it being like picking gold up in a mine field. I had some idea of the fear spirit when the problem with the visa occurred. When someone is connected with official trouble and the authorities start investigating, non want to be connected with the trouble. For a while I began to think about the fear of persecution for me and others that I had connections with. We prayed and the problem was resolved very quickly. Thanks again for the cover. A while back the group were threatened with serious attacks and the leaders gave them the option to stay away. Even more people than usual turned up to make their stand. The time of harvest is definitely here in Iran and from the apparent fruit at every gathering it is an open heaven at this time. The people are very hospitable and so fed up with the lack of freedom. This regime has done a great job in preparing the people for the Lords harvest I visited Estfahan,the Caspian sea and the mountains to the north and enjoyed the scenery. The food is lovely and the culture very developed. Good systems, accept the overcrowded roads and mad driving. Tehran is headed for major problems with lack of forward planning for the future mainly due to the bondage from the heads. I hope you are all well and blessed wherever you are. I thank you all for being such an encouragement to me whether we spent much time or just a short time together. I know we will see each other again somewhere, and I hope it is before the Lords return. Love MikeX First from Tehran 25/8/03. No room at the inn. Dear All, Greetings from Tehran. I'm still in a hotel, but a better one. Everyone here is frightened by the government and the secret police, so it makes being welcomed into homes very difficult. Most have stories of beatings and persecution by the ruling heads. It reminds me of Russia in the early 90's.The people are very friendly and many are open the the good news but when they change, that is when the trouble starts. The train trip from Lahore was grueling in the heat for 24 hours but no trouble. The church in Quetta were very open the the Holy Spirit and fro two days there was non stop action.The bus to Feluja(border) was full of smokers and not very friendly people. I managed eventually to get in with a group of Pakistani businessmen who adopted me and helped me get though the border with taxis and direction. They were nice. The bus station at Zhedan was a shock at how modern it was and well organised. I easily found a ticket to Tehran and enjoyed an air conditioned 24 hours to to city. The landscape was like the moon with very little growing(only with the help of drip feed water piping). Iranians don't speak English so I had a lot of difficulty with asking for food etc. (Lots of drama) In the middle of the night a man ruined my double seat sleeping position by sitting next to me and I asked he if he would move to another double seat that was available. He replied in good English and was agreeable to my request. The next day we sat together and we shared many thing of our lives all the way to Tehran. He heard a fresh version of the gospel and we enjoyed exchanging ideas. He helped me when I arrived in the city by using his mobile to call my host family. After an hour of waiting someone arrived but said I could not stay. My friend stayed with me and the plan was changing by the second. I was dropped at an Orthodox Cathedral which wasn't really my idea of heaven, and they said there was nowhere to stay there. Semi relieved, they told me of a budget hotel and put me in taxi with a scribbled address in the local language (Farsi). My friend said goodbye and I went into the north to an unknown destination. The hotel was expensive to what I had been used to, but very low compared with the others. $10 per night is the lowest of the one star. From there I began to make enquiries and the refugee folk I met in Islamabad (Edward, Edwin and Sara) sent me some contacts in the Assemblies of God here. The service was not until Friday so I had to mark time. I did some prayer walking around the city for a few days. The church was very friendly and I had good talks with the pastor and connected quickly with some musicians there. It is difficult to have involvement with foreign believers here and even harder to let them minister. But the Lord opened a door to an associate place which I won't name and yesterday we praised together. A Holy Spirit meeting has been arranged for the future days and I would like you to pray that a well is opened in this dry place. A couple of personal requests: I have been running a fever for a few days and feeling weak, so pray for the Lords strength. A lot of mind attack here also...it's like flack from the days of the air force war. Today I moved hotel to a better budget room, so I now have a fridge and a shower to myself. I will let you know what happens in the meeting. Last from Lahore 15/8/03 Trip to Quetta and on to Iran Dear All, Just a quickie to ask for some cover in the next week on the trip to Tehran. I'm catching the train to Quetta today and stopping off for a meeting on Sunday. Looking for tickets on Monday for a bus and traveling probably on Tuesday across the border. There is a town called Zhedan which is quite dangerous for foreigner and I have to change busses there, so I would particularly like some cover here on Tuesday/Wednesday and then on the Tehran by Thursday/Friday. I have one contact to stay for one night and then I have to find another place. I pray that it is the Lords place of peace.The meetings have been continuing in the anointing and the International team has been invited many places to minister with the new blessing. Half the people were out around Lahore yesterday doing spiritual war for the revival. It was good!Thanks for the prayers and I will let you know when I arrive in Tehran. Love,MikeX Lahore 31/7/03 Thirsty in the mountains. Dear John, Jackie, Church and all, I arrived back safely to Lahore a few days ago after a very successful trip to the north.We all set off in the VW van with a slightly cramped13 co-campers. There was a slight problem with a group of angry m--l-m men outside the gate shouting something but the pastor dealt with the problem and we were off. The van is very brightly coloured with ‘Praise the Lord’ and ‘Jesus’ plastered all over it, so we weren’t exactly un-noticed. Because of the height of the packing on the roof rack, every police check stopped us and eventually we had to re-pack and put more stuff inside. We traveled all night and stopped the next day to adjust the brakes in as the region where we were traveling had treacherous mountain roads with rock falls and monsoon erosion. There was a Christian hospital in the town so we called in to pick up some tracts . The Lord used us to encourage them in their work. The van was making some serious knocking noises by this time (axle problem) so the steep mountain roads together with 13 adults put a strain on the vehicle. Moazaam( pastor) nursed his old German friend with perseverance and prayers. We finally arrived in the Pakistani equivalent of Switzerland. Beautiful mountains and idyllic scenery. Unfortunately, two years before some foreign tourists had been murdered by fundamentalists and so a cloud of unease seemed to be present( I was the only foreign face). We found a good spot on the river side and set up camp. All the guys worked well together and soon we had all things in place. At sunset some of the locally stationed military men came to visit with us . We sang songs around the camp fire and the Lord set the guys dancing. Under the starry sky of Khagan we praised Jesus unashamedly. The military men thought they were going to get a different kind of drink but went off singing Jesus is good! We all felt very oppressed all the way and couldn’t seem to shake it for many hours. At the top it eventually lifted with the help of some tobogganing down one the snow drifts. We shared the gospel with a few people but felt very little liberty. Then one man came up to me and just said something told him to speak to me. He told me that his wife had died a year before giving birth to their first child. The Lords compassion came over us and I told him about Jesus and the only way to get real peace. He had been on medication for a year and couldn’t seem to get out of depression. He took some literature and we arranged to meet again in the town later. All the team gathered together and we prayed . Then someone found out that two German girls had been rapped and murdered a few years before and their bodied thrown into the lake. Now we knew why we had been so heavy and praying against the spirit of death. The spirit seemed to lift and as we walked down back to the town the Lord opened up many opportunities to share with many people on the way; Students and passers bye all accepted our tracts and one bee keeper invited us in for tea. We had a good time praying with all the guys to break all the bondages from the past and saw the Holy Spirit move on some of them in the tent. The last day I wanted to go up to the high places and pray so most of the guys wanted to come with me. Unfortunately they only took one bottle of water between them so after a few hours of climbing that was nearly gone. We were praying and shouting Jesus all the way and they were in good spirits. Towards the top they seemed to run out of energy and so just three of us continued to the top. I had given my water to the group and now we were all out and getting pretty thirsty. We considered trying to catch a goat and milking it but the goat moved much better then we did on the slopes. Then black clouds and thunder came rolling in and we were a little concerned that we might be engulfed in thick mist. The difficulty had increased and the ground was loose with the rocks were sliding beneath us, and as the rain fell it made it hard to grip. We were almost at the top so we agreed to finish the climb. With bodies spent and mouths dry we summited to find a shepherds hut right on the top. One of the guys (Fasal) had prayed for a miracle to find some water and low and behold there was a big bottle of water inside. PTL! We borrowed some water and even more miraculous was that in the lining of my bag there were 6 year old water cleaning pills. We left the shepherd some money and a gospel and waited for the cleaning pills to take effect whilst praying for the area. Then who should arrive but the shepherd. We told him about the water and in the typical Pakistani way of hospitality he welcomed us. He made us tea from goats milk and presented it to us in very less than hygienic cups. We shared the gospel with him and he let us pray for him and wanted us to come for dinner at his brothers a little lower on the mountain. We were a little short on time so we declined and after praying for the Northern areas and the troubles he told us a better way to get down. One hour he said! Three and a half hours later we were still following goat tracks on steep slopes trying to get closer to the ground. We met one other person who turned out to be his brother who invited us again to stay for dinner. We found a beaten track and enjoyed knowing that someone had been there before us. The Lord showed me something in the next situation. The track began to take us away from the direction we wanted to go so we had to go back to the rough, uncharted way again to get back to the right direction. He said to me ‘it doesn’t matter if you are on a good road that many have traveled before, if it’s going in the wrong direction find MY way. I am the Way’. After slipping a sliding down quite a steep slope we found another path going the right way. Another thing He said was that if we are determined to get to the top, there, He will give refreshment, but we must stay the course and persevere to reach His place of destiny breaking through all the opposition that comes from the flesh and reason.The meetings in Islamabad were mightily blessed and I led a team from the International church to minister to many groups during the week; Iranian refugees and local pastors, poor churches and para-groups needing refreshment. The Holy Spirit fell every night and the team worked well together. God is helping us to reproduce His model of church where everybody is involved. Some of the Iranian people received the anointing and were ministering within days to others. Many received joy and were able to let go of the past struggles in Iran. We went to two places were fundamentalists had killed Christians with bombs in the last year and asked the Lord to break the spirit of fear and release forgiveness. Back in Lahore last night in the International church the Lord is increasing revival and many of those touched are seeing the anointing moving through their prayers. Love MikeX PS This Friday Holy Trinity Church here is moving all the pews and we are going to dance together with the international church. I pray for a breakthrough in the Church of Pakistan. Heatwave in Lahore 12/6/03 Swinging in the rafters and rolling on the carpet. Thanks for the words.The temperatures went as high as 47c earlier this week. It was even difficult to breath out on the street. I've been drinking water like a Ikthus fish and taking many showers a day. The Lahore belly is still continuing because I'm finding it difficult to refuse peoples hospitality when they offer drinks as a sigh of hospitality. Most of the houses don't have filtered water and we've been going to some slum areas to do meetings.We had breakthrough. Anglicans on the carpet in the special meetings. One on the floor in the main sanctuary. I fasted for three days because of the strong opposition and the meeting on the third day experienced the anointing. The Priest had a vision and his very pregnant wife felt her baby get filled before keeling over herself. The stadium meeting want me to do a longer ministry time and a Catholic group invited me to minister. The Holy Spirit moved again. I've been keeping busy helping to hang a speaker system high up in the special Anglican altar place. The sound is amazing. They invited a new worship leader to come and lead this Sunday who is the main leader at the stadium meetings (very anointed man) so I'm looking forward to what the Lord will do. We swung around in the rafters about 30 meters up on a creaking bamboo( home-made) ladder, so I hope it will bear fruit. My prayer life took a leap! There are many things to fix in this old building so I have plenty to keep me amused in between meetings. They have asked me to go with them on a camp evangelism trip to the mountains of the north in their VW bus. I would appreciate some prayer concerning this. I found some marmalade but it's not really hitting the spot, but I got some corn flakes today. All the food is hot so I'm eating and stocking up with antacid.They are looking after me well and are very open the the move of the Spirit.NB I had another swim with the buffalos last week. The canal was a brown colour but was very cold but refreshing. The priest Mozaam, is a lot of fun and a great influence on the youth. We sucked mangos from the skins and dangled our feet in the water. Missionary suffering! Delhi to Lahore 3/6/03. The Anglican experience Dear All, Thanks for reply. Hope you are well in whatever part of the world you are in at the moment. I was invited about a week ago to stay and minister in the oldest Anglican Church in Pakistan built by the Brits over 100 years ago. It's been closed for years at a time but a young priest has opened it again and has some fire in him to get things moving. The Lord put us together and within a few minutes we knew it.The priest has had some encounters with the Holy Spirit but wants more, so we are planning to have some revival meetings soon. Last night they introduced me to a large gathering in a stadium with 8,000 Christians letting go to the open heavens. I struggled with a fast translation in Urdu (no idea how to spell that!) but they were very responsive. All different denominations present. Little hot at 45c.I am experiencing a fair measure of opposition in mind and body (Lahore belly!) with all the things you can imagine here, so please cover me over the next few weeks and pray that the breakthrough will come in this church so that the anointing will spread amongst the youth of Lahore. We were up dancing last Sunday, all the kids running down the isle and now the priest wants me to teach him guitar. It is so hot that it's difficult to do anything during the day apart from try to keep from cooking. I think I'm about medium-well at the moment. They say that Sunday it will be up to 50c. I spend most of the day looking for things to fix around the rectory. The food is still hot and spicy and no chips yet.....but! there is a McDonalds down the road but it costs what I normally pay a hostel for the night. Either it's a cheap room or an expensive Big Mac! I got the visa from Iran just before I left India so thanks for the prayers for that.The TV show from India will be shown here in a few weeks so I'm hoping that a door might open here for some of the same. NB. A friend in Delhi is working on a youth/ information link site to connect people who visit the site with more in-depth help with the Christian walk. Please pray that this is useful to the connection I meet. (Thanks Sachin) Joke. Clean bible.......dirty Christian Dirty bible......clean Christian Barry Smith 1988. Through the border 25/5/03. The connection. Dear Mike Last from Delhi 14/5/03. Indian air waves.This will be the last news from India. The visa for Iran is just about to happen after weeks of phone calls and e- mails to get invitations sent from Tehran with many prayers. I am praying for some good contacts in Pakistan to open doors there and also that the transport links between the two countries will be re established before I travel. They are still in negotiations. Health good in general apart from Delhi belly the day of the TV interview (typical), and just the normal cold due to hot and cooling. Thanks for your valued prayers Delhi to Rajishan and Lucknow 22/4/03 Putting my foot in it ! Sorry for the long break. Thanks for the prayers over this last month. It has been intense at times so if you have had me on your heart over the last month, know that that your prayer have been well used and well received. From the last letter in Madras I traveled back to Delhi and met one of India’ top boxers who was sleeping in the bunk below me. We play 'Rummy' much of the way back to Delhi. I arrived a day earlier than I had been told, so there was no one to meet me. The boxer helped me to get back to a friends house, through the crazy Delhi crowds. Straight into meetings and leading worship in a city wide prayer and fasting meeting for many pastors in Delhi. Quite a struggle at first but we broke through by the end of the 21 Day fast period. During this time I was invited just out of Delhi central, to a town called Gaziabad. This has been my base for most of the time. A very prophetic minister who connected me with the pastors in the south invited me to minister at his church and the anointing was so strong that he wanted me to stay. That was about 5 weeks ago now and I have visited Rajisthan, and Lucknow for short-term missions. Every service has been full of anointing and new things to learn. Demons are very close to the surface in people’s lives, so when the Lords anointing comes to break the yokes, there are many manifestations. I have learnt so much during my time here. One story. In Rajisthan a friend took me to his fathers house to stay whilst ministering in the local church. He mentioned that his father had a few spiritual problems, but didn’t say that he had a big sword and thought he was the king of Rajishan, and would sometimes terrorize his family with an out of control sortie with his sword! This, plus the added fact that I had no door on my room made for some heavy requests for spiritual binding and protection. He and his wife were saved, but he wouldn’t go to church or give his life. In the morning he would come into my room and rant in un known languages (demon tongues) and I would try to look interested whilst praying in tongues myself and hoping his sword was not sharpened. He did let us pray far him a couple of times, but he wouldn’t submit to Jesus. The pastor was amazing and we had a mini revival in the church. Everyone dancing and receiving the fire of the Spirit, seeing visions and beginning to minister to each other. He was into spiritual warfare, so we got on like a church on fire. We went around all the local shrines carrying stakes with scriptures and drove them in whilst pretending to be tourists. I worked because the day after the breakthrough happened. On the way out we went to a very strong enemy site with many years of bondages between muslim and hindu. When we prayed there the presence of the demonic was the strongest I've ever felt. We let a good scripture right in the middle of the strongest 'kali' temple. He's a really nasty demon. The trip to Lucknow began with a terrible train journey. Crammed into a sweaty carriage for 10 hours on a so-called express took me a while to produce good fruit. Eventually the Lord allowed me a situation to begin talking to some people and I was able to share some good time with fellow travelers. The week was full of rich ministry and also good social times with my friends Nora Shyam and Robson who ministered with me for the time. We made it to a water park one day and all enjoyed jetting down water slides in the middle of Indian surroundings. The family where we lived received special release during that time and I pray that the release will continue so that the promised revival will flow to all parts of Lucknow.
Dear Julie and Paul, Thanks for the messages. They are always welcome. I can't remember if I answered your last personal.Back in Delhi and ministered to a bunch of Iranian and Afghan believers this morning. Lots of tears and Holy Spirit responses. They were all very young believers, but open to ministry.One story from Madras: I woke up in my roof top sauna one morning after another night of battling heat, mossies and stinging ants who wanted to eat everything in my bag. They ate through the plastic bag and were determined to get to my emergency noodle supply. I case of hot curry houses. I went to the roof top loo and washed my hair in a bucket. I grabbed the towel and began to dry myself when I had a strange burning sensation all over my body. The ants had crawled over the towel in the night and I was rubbing them into my skin. I tried to wash them off but it was too late. Their nasty stings had been administered all over me. I was not a happy camper!! One got me in the eye and within a few hours my eye came up like a boxers shiner. The ant’ revenge. I had been killing many hoards that had been at my noodles. They finally beat my by getting to the rest of the supply. I didn’t know ants liked noodles so much.( Chinese import?)Good ministry in Madras with many dancing and falling over. (Not at the same time)...Maybe the next new Christian fad. On the way back on the train I met one of India’ top boxers and we played rummy all the way to Delhi. He admitted to a faith in Jesus, but also had some other gods around his neck. We are still working on that one. We will meet again soon in Delhi.Hope all is well in Blighty. Madras 8/3/03. Holy rolling Dear Phil and All, Thanks for the mail. I had a great time with Martin and his father-in laws churches. Various degrees of anointing, from first time that anyone has ever danced in church, to holy rolling around the floor. That was a good one! It was difficult for the first 8 days as the town I stayed had a bad reputation for persecuting the church and the last guy from England was banned from returning. They have a political leader here who has made it an offence to become a Christian. One year in prison for the pastor. She is a real Jezebel. I'm fighting with mossies and biting ants in the places I'm staying. Body covered with red bites that are very itchy. I put my trousers on a few days ago not realizing I had company and went to do a meeting. They started biting at just the wrong time. All the Internet places here are just a cover for porn viewing. This one is OK and so I have been able to have relative peace here. Last night I tried to write you a reply and all sorts of thing were 'popping up' on the screen. In the end I gave up as the whole place was heaving with nasty spirits. Hope your first day in prison was a blessing. Working that is! I gave your e-mail address to Martin, so he will send you a report.Keep warm. I will pray for your breaking through in the prison. Madras (Chennai) 2/3/03. Imprisoned in the church. Thanks for the news. Good to hear all is going well with you all and the kids. I'm fasting today so am trying to get to bed as soon as possible to deal with my hunger. I had a good pray for everything today and will continue tomorrow (03/03/03). Breakthrough here in Madras this morning at the fairly large church here in a very hindu stronghold. I have to hide from sight in the church all day and then nip out at night to the various meeting they have arranged. The last missionary was seen outside and questioned by police. His details were taken and when he tried to enter India last month he was refused entry after he had come all the way here.The Holy Spirit whomped many people this morning. Many demons coming out, and people being filled. They haven’t seen anyone falling in the Spirit before, so it was a good breakthrough to experience something new. Orphanage last week and many crying and a few out in the power, some visions too. This town is a strong hold and this area, has a strong hindu woman leader who is bringing all sorts of new laws to stop the believers. One year prison for a conversion. She has relaxed drink laws and provided money for the repair of temples. She is said to have a drink problem herself and also unnatural sexual relations. I prayed against the Jezebel spirit today.The time in Trivandrum was unforgettable, with many great times of ministry. One particular situation that happened. One young girl had a spirit throwing her around the room, so after the meeting we gathered around her to break the stronghold. She forgave uncles for abuse and eventually got free, but we prayed for her sister who had the same problem, and she became unable to speak. The spirit held her tongue. We could actually see the tongue being pulled down, away from us. She was very confused. She saw a hindu spirit and became very frightened. For the next few hours she wrote out her answers to ministering questions, and we found she had been abused three times and even threatened with death in a hindu temple where she was learning to dance. Still no words. Mother came and we prayed to break all the generational curses and the boys went round to destroy all the idols still in the house. Sunday and she still couldn’t speak so the pastor and the whole fellowship prayed and he got a prophetic word about speaking for God. At 1 pm while the ladies were praying she got her speech back. PTL!The evening before, the doctor upstairs began to beat his wife up. (Regular occurrence according to the guys here). She began to scream, and I couldn’t help myself. I charged upstairs and hammered on the door. The daughter let me in and I told him to stop or I would call the police. The woman was in pieces with things smashed all around her. She had been wounded on her arms. The doctor asked me what right I had to come and tell him to stop, and I told him!!! Then the pastor told him. It was like a gang of rent a church from downstairs. The landlady was informed and the situation is still going on. We are praying for the doctor to get saved. The wife got saved downstairs in the church but is not allowed to attend. Never a dull moment! I had a beautiful swim on a beautiful beach and got beautifully burned. My skin is still pealing.They asked me to play and sing on the beach and many people gathered to listen. We sung them the truth in their language. Tennis elbow still bothering me. Tried to get a steroid injection, but gave up after the third hospital registration payment. I will try again here, or Delhi.Haven’t heard from Richard from Japan yet , but keep praying. My nephew Richard is reading the bible, but has all the same old complaints about a vengeful God, and how were all the people born from Adam and Eve. Keep praying. He noticed a change in the last two weeks.Yes by all means bring the gang to Delhi, or Lucknow. If you can organize a place for them to stay in Lucknow, I will meet you there. I don't know is I could get that many accommodated in Delhi, especially when I don't know where I will stay yet.Last meeting in Trivandrum and a little 10 year old boy went out in the sp--it and stayed out for 4 hours. The pastor phoned and said he was speaking visions of heaven and hell. Last from Trivandrum, South India 19/2/03 Old wells unblocked. Dear Nora and all, Thanks for the news. Sorry to hear about the bruises.This will be the last week here in Trivandrum. The Lord has done many amazing works here in the short time I have been here. The church that has been hosting me has been doused with the Holy Spirit. Many of the leadership are now seeing the power of the anointing moving when they pray . Last weekend we were invited to a traditional CSI (Anglican mould) church close to Trivandrum. The conference was well attended by about 1000 people for the three nights. My friend, the leader of the fellowship I'm staying with, preached and he asked me the sing and minister. The first night about 300 people received salvation and the second night, the |Lord touched one lady, who went through a dramatic deliverance. This caught the attention of the vicar and the people. Many came forward for prayer and some were also touched and went down in the Spirit. This was the first time anything like this had ever happened. The vicar was pleased and the people inspired. My friend asked me to change my plans and come again for the third night as the Lord was moving in the place. When the final call was made on the last night, most of the church responded and the Lord filled, delivered, healed until about midnight. This place was 20 miles from where a month ago a white missionary was attacked with a sword and nearly lost his hand, so we were a little careful about doing anything outside. Right at the end, there seemed to be some trouble brewing with some of the men. We were still praying and I could hear angry voices around the door. I carried on, trying not to think of the worst. It turned out to be an internal problem that soon died down with some prayer. Then on the way to eat, the car was flagged down in the middle of the jungle by the vicar who brought a couple that could not have a child. They asked for prayer and so we got out and prayed right there in the road. They went down right there in the road at about 1 am and a spirit came out. The Lord can do anything at any time. I really love to see these spontaneous, divine appointments. Three more churches this Sunday then off to Madras for next weekend. Twelve hours in a boiling carriage. It took 40 minutes to queue for the tickets. Still having trouble with my tennis elbow, so please keep praying for that. Also would you pray for my nephew Richard? He has begun to ask some deep questions about life. One of the first breakthroughs in my family. Going to the beautiful beach today after visiting the local radio station. Greeting from sweltering Trivandrum. If you didn’t get the last message I'm sorry but there seems to be a difficulty with sending hotmail from this part of India. I just had the same problem at this place.If you want a catch up, the last letter is posted before this one.The meetings at a small town outside of Kottyam were very strong with everybody receiving powerful touches of the Lord. Many delivered and healed in His presence. So good to be witnessing Gods power in this place. I have found the fast stream again down here with another bunch of on fire young men with a real strong vision for the Lords mighty outpouring in India. I can't wait for the first meeting.They have invited me to take part in an outdoor campaign in a few days.. so I would appreciate your prayers as only a few week back a white preacher was badly attacked by the opposition after a meeting. He survived but was sent home.Many prophetic words have come in the last few weeks from complete strangers, which the Lord used to confirm His purposes in bringing me here. Exciting! I'm close to the beach so I am going to get a swim before I go on too...Maybe to Madras in His timing. Thanks for the continued prayer. They have curry morning, noon and night. I'm eating a lot of toast. They people of Kerala are so hospitable it puts us to shame. They have been bending over backwards to cook western style for me. Dear Pug and family, Thank you for the message. Many blessings to you, and all the family. The pastor Indra and the church and friends gave me a very nice send off with presents and prayers. I will miss them all. The last day was my birthday and I'm still enjoying all the chocolates. I left Katmandu on a very cold morning, wrapped up in coats and a woolly hat for the draughty bus rid to the border. My friend Shaym came along to help me with a little Hindi and some prayers. The journey was smooth until the border and then as usual the border community makes things difficult. A rickshaw ride, then the checkpoint, and then the changing money fiasco. Finally got that over and then urged to buy a reserved train ticket before the Indian computer closes down for the day. This turned out to be a fib and we paid double for the tickets....( but it was only $5 lost!)A two-hour taxi ride for $2 and then picked up the tickets from a shady guy waiting outside a shabby cafe. Wall to wall people everywhere and all seemed to want to attract my attention for anything. I escaped into a cafe and hid from the street. At 12 midnight we carted all our stuff over to the station and found our way through the throngs of people. Bodies everywhere waiting, sleeping or begging. Welcome to India! After waiting for an hour or so we found out that the train was delayed by 8 hours. 8 hours!! . At that moment it all became a little too much and I lost it slightly. Too many people, too much discomfort and no security other then my friend and God. After ranting and complaining for a while we tried to find somewhere to sleep. All the hotels and hostels were full because of the delay and so I lost it again. My Christianity was being proved, (a little lacking I'm afraid!) Finally found a real dump after a while and tried to sleep as soon as possible to escape this trial and wake up in a new day. I did cool down and had a pray. Next morning we were up at dawn so as not to miss the train. At 11 am it eventually crept into the station. Trial over and then 17 hours of rocking and rolling in a second-class sleeper. Not very eventful. Arrived in Old Delhi station at 4.30 am and again ran the gauntlet of taxi drivers and night people. We walked away to find a little shelter in the light somewhere in this strange place. Found a tea shack and put the bags down. Tea and a bowl of cold mash potato before they put the curry in for early breakfast. Telephoned the only contact I had and they offered my some help to make some connections. Lovely breakfast and a palatial house of someone working with the Washington prayer breakfast and then off to find some connections. Shyam had to return to Katmandu that day to do some work and I went to find a place to stay. The people were decorating their house and had other friends arriving so could only let me stay for one night. Found a reasonable hostel in the tourist area. Absolutely mad with people trying to sell to the tourists. Played in a Christian coffee bar the next night and felt Gods power in the place then found my way to my little room. From there to a church on Sunday to play and stay with the pastor for a few days. Thanks to a Nepali called Satish. Finally met a brother from Kerala who knew people in the south that would receive me to work. As no solid doors opened in Delhi I decided to go south and return to Delhi on my way back to go to Pakistan. After a small service in his house, which turned out to be very powerful, I left for the south. Sixty hours later I arrived tired and sore but much warmer. Delhi is very cold at this time. Kerala is very hot. From freezing in woollies to sweating under fans in a few days. I've seen the sea for the first time in ages. Can't wait to try the water. Every meal is curry-- even breakfast. I got so hungry on the train I tried to eat the curry, but with tears rolling down my face and nose running I gave up. It took ages for my mouth to stop burning. Katmandu 5/1/03 Last from Nepal...Happy New Year! Dear All, ‘Happy New Year’ first of all. I hope Christmas went well.My Christmas was full of laughing and games thanks to some good friends I have here.New year was my first experience of a Scottish Kylie (dance) . After the initial country dancing flashbacks from school I enjoyed myself. We saw the New Year in at a leprosy hospital about an hour out of Kathmandu. Thanks for all your prayers regarding the media breakthrough. The TV program was recorded at a local venue a few days ago and the radio broadcast went out live on Christmas day with a good news message across half of Nepal. The national press also did a piece on music and a message, which went out around the same time.The local church gave me a lovely send off yesterday and I was given a word over the fellowship about increase. I will miss them.Off to India in two days (7/1/03) the day after my birthday(I can tell you now). My Nepali friend has been released to help my to travel across the border and find tickets, which will be a great help. I'm looking forward to the heat when I eventually get down south. Thanks for all your messages!!! |