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Feb 2004Beloved Partners & Friends, It is time for change again and for the next move. The question is always where is it that God wants us to go and how does He want us to get there? If there is no movement in our lives—both spiritual and physical then we are stagnant. If a dam does not have any rivers that run off it then its waters become stagnant. Why is the Dead Sea dead? Because there is no outlet and no movement and so it is with us. If we do not experience change and movement in our spiritual lives then we begin to smell of death and all those who drink from us will not experience life or will die if they partake long enough. The Bible talks of us filling our lamps with fresh oil. There is nothing worse than the smell of old oil—it stinketh . Have you ever walked past a fast food shop, especially one that sells fish and fries. If that oil has not been changed the smell that comes off that old oil is awful and it definitely taints any food that is cooked in it. If you stinketh then it is past time to do something about it. If you cannot hear from God then do something drastic like sign up for a missions trip whether it be to the inner city in your own town or to a foreign field. Believe me, once you have done that with all sincerity and commitment you WILL definitely begin to hear from God as He prepares you to go. If you are concerned that you cannot hear from God then do something drastic to change that like going on a fast for a couple of weeks. That will definitely put down the flesh and cause your spirit to be more sensitive to the Spirit. You will hear Him. As the season is beginning to change so should the season of our lives. In the northern hemisphere the days are beginning to get longer and we can wake to sunrise in the mornings instead of going to work in the dark. The snows are beginning to melt or have already melted and we can walk outside with the sun shining on our faces. While you are walking talk to Him and allow His Son to shine upon your face. When you breathe in breathe in His Spirit and allow Him to fill you anew with life and love not just for Him but for all of His creation. Spring is a wonderful time to experience His creation. You do not have to travel far to see deer or to see the spring flowers as they begin to open up just as we should in the light of His love. Psalms 2 tells us to “Kiss the Son…” It is time to lay aside our inhibitions and if you cannot do that in the presence of others then get out somewhere by yourself where no-one will hear you except Him. It is time for our relationship towards Him to move onward and ever upward until one day we will meet Him in the air. Do not allow the busyness of life to take over and consume every waking hour of our lives to where we do not have the time to have daily intake from the Living Water and to where we do not have any outlet into the lives of others. Nothing is more fulfilling than to see lives changed and impacted for the Kingdom because we took some time out of our day to be loving and hospitable to others. It will change our lives as well and make us ever more effective for the Kingdom. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST This office has been inundated with calls and emails about the latest controversy to hit the church, ‘The Passion of the Christ.” Because of this we have watched the interviews, the making of the film, read internet articles and whatever else the media has thrown at us for the past year. One of our major concerns was the accusation of Anti-Semitism. I was excited to hear that Mel Gibson talked about not acting in films again and to hear that there had been definite positive changes in his life which he attributed to “hitting his knees” when he reached his lowest point. I went to see the film last week. I know what many of the church leadership in the United States are saying about the film, however it left me feeling strangely unmoved and since then with the feeling that something was very wrong although I cannot express exactly what the basis of that feeling is. There was definite license and much Catholic mysticism and while I am sure that the devil was present and watching during those last hours before the crucifixion the portrayal was none the less, very disturbing. What does concern me are the “unknown” actors. I believed along with most that Monica Bellucci was an unknown. The only film I was aware of her playing any part was in “Tears of the Sun” which was a recent film about war in Africa. During 2003 she starred in a film called “Irreversible.” The cover of the DVD/Video is a photo of her shown bare breasted and according to reports there is an extremely violent and explicit rape scene which lasts ten minutes and caused people at the Cannes Film Festival to leave the theatre. Now Mary Magdalene was an adulteress before Jesus came into her life but afterwards her life was totally changed. Monica made this film after already being cast for “The Passion.” She, Pilate's wife, and the woman who plays the part of satan in “The Passion” are all European porn stars. Remember however, that we are dealing with Hollywood and these are all Hollywood actors. To get back to the Anti-Semitism, I did not feel it was there and for Christians going to watch, I do not believe that there is anything that would affect them but any non-believer who already holds any type of anti-Semitic feelings could definitely be influenced by this film. I do not understand why film makers who make films about the life of Christ are not more explicit about His statement: “I lay down my life that I might take it up again. No MAN taketh it from me but I lay it down of myself.” To many who have called asking my opinion, I have told them that this is a “Hollywood” movie made by a Hollywood Director and starring Hollywood actors. If they went to movies such as, “King of Kings,” “Jesus of Nazareth,” “Ben Hur” and others that depicted the life of Christ then why would they not go and see this? Having studied scourging and crucifixion I already appreciate what my Jesus has done for me so did not have to sit through the visual effects of the “Passion.” What really did concern me was the “play down” of the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection there was no point in the Crucifixion. For us believers, we would have realized what the last minute of the film portrayed but unbelievers would have no conception. So, what would make this Jesus any different to their Buddha or Mohammed or any other god out there? If I were an unbeliever I would walk out of the “Passion” asking myself two questions: 1. Why was such a good man condemned to death? 2. What was achieved by His death? There are no real answers for them in the film. (Roz Heyns Ed) SUDAN TESTIMONY This is my report from the mission I started in Kendila. I preached the Gospel of Christ Jesus in the market. It is really a wonderful thing which has happened during the preaching. Great numbers of people gave their lives to Christ. Those who were sick received healing that day. The message was based on Matthew 3:1 about John's preaching repentance for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and really many people came with hearts of repentance before their living God. In the School compound I preached how God created the world and how sin came in and the wages of sin is death and salvation came through one man that is Jesus Christ who suffered, He was bruised, crucified and beaten for our sins. Submit yourself to God and resist the devil then turn from your wicked way accept Jesus as your Saviour and you will be saved. The headmaster gave his life and some of the teachers too. They said they had never heard a wonderful teaching like this before and the headmaster said he was eager for the Word of God to come to His school at any time. In one of the villages I was going door to door and sharing the Gospel. In the streets I began to shout out like John the Baptist about repentance. In many of the distant villages they were not hearing the Word as no-one would reach out that far so I decided to reach out to those villages. As I went from village to village more and more people began to gather for the preaching of the Word. In one village two people really came against me. I took authority over them and continued to preach the Gospel. After I had finished they raised their hands and I asked them to speak what was on their minds. They repented and we prayed for them as they gave their hearts to the Lord. We are seeing these things happen in all the villages as we travel from one to the next and many are being saved and healed from their sickness and disease and from their sin. If you are forgiven down here also up there you are forgiven and there is no big sin or small sin—sin is sin. Bidal Peter VICTORY IN DEATH For a number of years we have enjoyed fellowship with a group in Kitchener/Cambridge, Canada. They have always held a special place in our hearts and they are some of the most hospitable, kind and loving people we have ever met. In August we were honoured to be able to spend some quality time with them—dinner one evening and a meeting the following evening. The group was headed by Verna Bast who was 87 and I am sure not more than 5' in height. Her ministry for some 35 years has been to take in young men and minister to them. Kitchener is a university town and many young people used to arrive there with no place to stay. She would house them and minister to them and if they were not saved to begin with it did not take long for them to learn of a Jesus who loved and died for them and who rose from the dead and has gone to prepare a place for them in heaven. Countless lives have been touched and changed over the years by her and the fellowship. Recently a young man of 26, a body builder and martial arts expert, attacked Verna and two men who were living at the house. One of the men, Randy was badly hurt. The young man, Michael was released by the Magistrate but came back again one night soon afterwards and beat and knifed both Randy and Verna to death. I was able to attend the funeral in Kitchener and what a glorious time it was for the over 1,000 people who were also in attendance. The service lasted almost three hours during which time we sat as people related stories about Verna and Randy. It was a time of both laughing and crying but more than that, a time of great rejoicing as we knew that they were in a far better place and in August Verna had told me she felt it was time for her to be with her Lord and she looked forward to that day. Verna's family were rejoicing and it was wonderful to be around them. Many of Randy's family do not know the Lord and it was apparent that they were truly touched by the service and that a great impact was made that day. The fellowship group are going to continue with the work that was begun by Verna and we pray that in the future the harvest will be tenfold what it was in the past. For all those I spoke with after the service and myself as well, we felt that what we were doing in terms of hospitality and loving our neighbor was totally inadequate. How sad to think that because we were not loving and hospitable many may not have really experienced the Kingdom here on earth and because of that many may have slipped through the net. Many resolved to change that for the future and we pray that resolve would stay with them and that they would put it into action. It is no good for us to talk and then not act it out. I have been in many churches where people have traveled long distances to come to the services. Some of them have had little money and have requested somewhere to stay as they could not afford hotel rooms. No-one in the church has stood up to offer a room. Recently, in Malawi we asked a missionary couple if they would put up two of our Finnish missionaries for a couple of weeks (we were paying the rent on the house that this missionary couple were staying in) and they flat out refused to host them. It would not have entailed meals either as they were eating at the main mission base—just a bed overnight. It is time for us to examine ourselves and see where we lie in the area of hospitality. If we cannot even offer our homes to the saved then how do we open them to the world? Our love and thoughts are with Verna's family, Randy's family and John, Carol, Suzanne, Scott, David and the fellowship. MICHAEL HOWARD'S 2004 ITINERARY April 15/16/17 – FINDLAY, OH – New Life Assembly - Pastor Dutch Vander Vlucht 419.423.8465 April 18 – FREDERICKSBURG, OH – Mennonite Christian Assembly - Contact: Michael McDonough – 330.674.6133 April 19/20 – GLENWOOD, IN – Christian Mission Outreach – Contact: Mike/Linda Heimsoth – 765.679.5887 April 23 – ELKHART, IN – Spirit of Prophecy – Contact: Gary Rogell – 800.717.7665 April 24 – SPENCERVILLE, IN – Dennis Reed's Home Group – 260.238.4077 April 25 – MIDDLEBURY, IN – River of Life – Pastor Gordon Henke – 574.825.3693 April 26/27 – LAKEFOREST, IL – Grant Noble's Home Group – 847.615.0249 April 28/29/30 – WOLFORD, ND – Island Lake Chapel – Contact: Greg Graber 701.583.2271 May 11/12/13 – LAS VEGAS, NV – Contact: Ron Hartman – 702.247.1484 May 15 – HOUSTON, TX – Debbie Russell's Home Group – 281.687.8300 May 16 – HOUSTON, TX – Encourager Church – Pastor Bob Phillips – 713.722.4300 May 17/18/19/20 – SAN ANTONIO, TX – Contact: Bill Fury – 210.723.4703 May 27 – MASSENA, NY – New Testament Church – Contact: Phil Neville 315.322.0229 May 28/29/30 – MADRID, NY – Christian Fellowship Center – Contact: Phil Neville 315.322.0229 May 30 – WEST MONROE, NY – New Life Church – Pastor Brent Culver 315.668.7320 June 1/2/3 – CHARLESTON, SC – Contact: Pastor Seymour Cook – 843.873.1098 June 4/5/6 – BLYTHEWOOD, SC – Threshing Floor Ministries – Pastors Ralph/Patti Walden – 803.714.0050 June 10/11/12 – OAKTON, VA – Church at Northern Virginia Chapel – Contact: Martha/John Moshides – 703.560.2896 June 13 – BRISTOW, VA – Manassas Assembly of God – Pastor Kim Buckman Please note that there are more available dates and if you would like to have Michael contact Alice VanLandingham via email at: shekminusa@aol.com UPDATES Bwana leaves for the UK in a week and from there he will go on to Finland. Please pray for him in Finland as he will be holding an Easter Convention there on Praise and Worship. What a wonderful time to celebrate Praise and Worship as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. There will be two new books out when he arrives in the United States. The new book on the moving of the Lord in Southern Sudan which is called: “To Save a Nation” And a book on Praise and Worship will also be out by then. We are working on duplicating CD's of Bwana's messages thanks to the hard work of Jay Geraldi and Roy Killian from Las Vegas. These too should be available on the book table by the time Bwana arrives in the US. Our grateful thanks to all those who work and help out behind the scenes. If we ever forget to mention you it is not a slight and always remember that God sees everything that you do including the prayers and the giving and the faithfulness of all those who stand with us and beside us. We are ever grateful that we have such a powerful team world-wide because without you all there is no way that we could manage to operate in one nation let alone in all the nations we are working and building in. You are certainly a blessing to us and you surely are a blessing to God.
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