MISSION JOURNAL - NOVEMBER 2007

Saturday, November 17, 2007 As the day began, it became apparent that we had a problem. Our team was dropping like flies with the vomiting and diarrhea that had gotten several the night before. And as the day progressed more succumbed to the apparent attack. Calls were made back to the states and prayer chains activated. Some folks just seemed to get a touch of the "bug", while others were laid out flat. CarolMarie even passed out in the shower, fell and hurt her back. Even our photographic documentation for today will be limited, as our main photographer Stevi, fell victim to the "Nellore Nasties".

The Pastors' Conference went on as scheduled, (although without CarolMarie). Jeff was feeling better, Dave had just a slight touch, and Tony waited till after the end of the conference to get sick. The pastors, their wives and the widows came with an air of expectancy following yesterdays incredible meeting, and God did not disappoint. Dave spoke about our relationship with our heavenly father and sat a young boy on his lap as he illustrated his point, then he brought Pete up on the stage as he spoke about his relationship with his son. It was powerful.

At the end, Tony had all to come forward and he prayed over them for a special anointing from the Holy Spirit. It was a powerful way to end this time together.

As the day progressed we saw less and less of each other. The sick were laying low in their rooms with the shades drawn just praying to feel better. Those less affected tried to rest to avoid getting worse. And those who were spared the "plague" hid out in hopes that the curse would pass them by. We even cancelled the team prayer time in hopes of stopping the spread of the illness. When all was said and done, 12 of the 15 team members were affected in one way or another.

The crowd on the field was the biggest thus far in Nellore. Word was spreading and the curious and the faithful were coming in droves. The field itself is quite huge, so it is hard to tell exactly how many were there, but there were a bunch.

Dr. Pete's message was loud and clear. He spoke about the woman caught in adultery and compared each of us to this one whose sin was exposed. We are all sinners and it doesn't matter if we have committed adultery, murder, greed, or gluttony... or whether we just gossip over the back fence. Sin is sin and the result is that it separates us from God. Pete explained that according to Jewish Law, Jesus would have been in his rights, and probably even had the responsibility to pick up a stone and kill her... but he did not... Why? Because he was on his way to the cross, where HE would die in her place... and that is what he did for each one of us. He emphasized our need for a savior when he told the Pharisees "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"... and he shared Christ's love for us, reflected by His words to the woman as her accusers departed. He told her that there was no condemnation with Him and to "go and sin no more".

Like for most of us who hear that message for the first time, there is almost a sense of disbelief in the implications. But when it finally settles in on us that no matter what we have done, or will do, that there is forgiveness and restoration in Jesus, we just have to respond in some way and respond they did. Once again, thousands of these beautiful Indian people came forward to accept Christ as their savior.

You know, no matter how many times you have been on one of these crusades, you can't help be moved as you see people coming like waves to the beach, one after the other, determined to say yes to Jesus and begin a new life.

And once again when Dr. Pete prayed for healing, God's hand fell gently across the crowd and his touch opened blind eyes and deaf ears, pain left the bodies and health was restored. One woman who had been unable to stand up straight for many years, walked unassisted to the stage, perfectly upright physically and now in right standing with her creator. Praise God!

On our return, we found our teammates in still worse shape than before. It was apparent that we needed to seek medical assistance. But just let me tell you how good God is... and friends, don't you DARE call this coincidence. As we were leaving the stage and heading to the bus, we heard the words, "Sister, Sister!". A woman in the crowd was reaching out to Darlene. It was a woman she had met in Severville at a widows training session with CarolMarie. Her name is Dr. Jeriani, a medical doctor serving here in India. She had come to be here at the festival. Darlene greeted her quickly as we were ushered onto the bus. (because of the crowd situations we are promptly escorted by security from the stage and to the bus) On our return to the hotel and seeing our friend's situation, Darlene began the process of trying to track her down. She was able to reach the doctor just as she and her husband were about to board a train to leave town. The doctor came right to the hotel and graciously offered treatment to each of the suffering team members. ONLY God could have made that provision and orchestrated this treatment. She felt that it was a bacterial problem, probably from some food, prescribed antibiotics and hydration. Our hosts from Manna Ministries picked up the prescriptions started our team back on the road to recovery.

We praise God for his grace in this foreign land and we look forward to our last night tomorrow, hopefully with our whole team back on the stage.

Thank you to all who prayed for us. God truly answers prayer.