More Testimonies of God's Goodness

Our days are packed with activities, so by the time I get ready to write in the evening I'm tired and my mind is fuzzy with all the events of the day. The last couple of days I opted to go to bed, rather than write, so I have some catching up to do. I'll try to summarize and just hit the highlights, as I find I always write more than I intended. Also, before I get into any stories, let me throw out a few prayer requests. There is some sort of cold/flu type sickness that is going around. Michael started feeling bad last night, running a low fever and is still not feeling well today. Please pray he will recover quickly (by tomorrow since it's the highlight of our trip to get to go to the mission church here), for the others who are sick, and for me, that I don't get it. I feel it coming on, but I'm praying I'll be spared since I can't take the medicine he's taking.

Thursday evening we had a concert of prayer. The worship was amazing. We sang praise songs in English and Hindi. Many of the church members came to share testimonies and worship with us. I'm terrible at remembering names in other languages, so I don't remember the names of those who shared. There was one lady who shared about the joy and peace she felt since she began following Jesus. She said she had renewed strength each day and was eager to share with her neighbors the joy she found in Jesus. She suffers from medical conditions which cause her to be in pain often. She said she pleaded with God to take it away, but he told her it was like fire for her. The gold can only come to the surface in the midst of the fire, and without the pain she would not fully know his love and be able to sympathize with others who suffered. She had such passion when she spoke and gave testimony to her love for her Savior. It struck me that God is the same in all nations and languages. He is teaching things to his children here in England that are the same lessons he is teaching his children in the US and all over the world. Regardless of the language, he is God and he doesn't change.

Her brother also gave his testimony. He has been following Jesus for 8 or 9 years, but he has never publically shared his full testimony. (You'll notice I don't say Christian, because here they don't call themselves Christians because of the history of England and people thinking England is a Christian nation. The connotation here is that becoming a Christian means becoming English, she they say becoming a Jesus follower instead.) He wasn't even on the schedule to share, but felt God was calling him to give testimony of his grace. He told of how he had been in prison because he got caught up in some illegal ring, and his father came from India to visit him when he was released. He father was so shamed by him that he would not even look at him for the first three visits. Finally, he father came back and told him he had found Jesus and had learned how to forgive. This man was so amazed by the change he saw in his father that he also began going to church. That Sunday the preacher said, "If there is anyone in here who is not a sinner, leave my church." He said he was sitting toward the front, so he turned around and noticed that no one moved. He decided that if all the other people were sinners and had found forgiveness in Jesus, then he needed Jesus too. His religion did not offer forgiveness, but in Jesus he had hope. He said his life is now changed forever and he lives to love Jesus.

Another man shared about a ministry he and his wife had started this year producing Christian television which is broadcast in Europe and North Africa. They show the Jesus film in all the languages in their calling area and give people a telephone number they can call if they want to talk to someone. They receive hundreds of calls a day from Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs who have seen their programs and want to know more about Jesus or get a Bible. Daily they are reaching millions who would never talk to a Christian, but hear about Jesus on their TV. The station is called Glory TV and their website is www.glorytv.uk.co if you're interested in finding out more about what they do. I can't remember all the stories they told about people who had called to find out more about Jesus after watching. They said that many Muslims tell them they watch Glory TV because they are fed up with all the bad things on regular television and would it matches better with their convictions. Through watching they hear the gospel. He and his wife began the station by selling their house and using all the money they had to float it for the first few months. They stepped out on faith to begin something that is bigger than they are capable of. Please pray that they would find supporters and people who want to buy time on the station to cover the cost. We were all inspired by hearing of their faith and the miraculous stories of people reached in just last few months.

Yesterday was our free day, so we went back into London and went inside Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral which were both closed last weekend. Everything here is so old and historic that it blows my mind all the history that has taken place in the places we have seen. William Wilburforce, Queen Elizabeth I, a whole host of other kings and queens, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Chaucer, Handel and others are buried at the Abbey. Princess Diana laid in state there as well as Winston Churchill and many others. The disturbing thing about both churches we went to was the fact that they have become shrines to people. All the little "chapels" along the outside of the Abbey are filled with statues and shrines to the men and women buried there. They do have worship that meets regularly at both churches, but it has become more of a museum than a place of worship. So many of the churches here have been sold to become Mosques, restaurants and hotels. This country is overrun with church buildings, but very few followers of Christ. In the whole country we are told only 7% attend worship at a Bible believing church.

Tonight we have our second day of door to door evangelism. We are less scared than the first time, although we are very aware of our need for prayer and for courage.

Thank you for your continued prayer. The feedback I have gotten is so encouraging. We are truly not here alone, because there are so many back home praying for us. God is so good to us. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing here and what he is teaching us.