Kupang, Indonesia Gospel Campaign
Esther and I are rejoicing about all that the Lord did during the West Timor Jesus festival. Even though, we were on the brink of disaster, the Lord came through and we had a victorious campaign.
The festival was planned to be held in a city called Atambua but two weeks from the scheduled start we were forced to move it to another city. The local pastors did not want to hold the event on a field because they were afraid it might rain. If we move the event into a Church, we would only get church going Christians and that is not the purpose of the event. We want to win new souls. Later I found out it was a financial issue. They did not think we can have a festival with the budget we gave them and they were not willing to contribute financially. So with just 14 days left, we had to abandon our plans in Atambua and move to a city called Kupang. It usually takes up to 3 months to set up a festival. Fortunately we had a better team of organizers in Kupang that were committed to make it happen.
After trying to secure a field twice and failing twice, we were able to get a permit for a small field just 4 days before the event was going to begin. This gave us only 3 days to advertise the event. We usually start publicizing the event 3 weeks before the start date. The police permit for the event came out the same day we started the festival. We did manage to do a few publicity events including a parade around the city the day before the festival started.
When the day came, everything was ready to go. The stage and sound system was on the field and everyone including the worship team, festival councilors were ready to go. Our ministry partners Pastor Tom and Monika flew in all the way from Finland.
The first night of the festival, a young man was healed from epilepsy. Another young man was healed in his ears. After all the chaos of the past few days, things were starting to settle down and we had a good start to the festival. The following night more people got healed. A lady testified that a tumor in her breast had disappeared. She was scheduled for surgery but Jesus removed the tumor that night. Another lady also testified on stage that the tumor in her nose was gone! A young woman who happened to drive by the field was drawn in and she got healed from migraine headaches. She said she is from a non-Christian family and that night she decided to be water baptized. Another lady was healed from an accident injury. We counted close to 15 people that came up on stage to testify of healing.
The third night was even more wonderful. Many more people received miracles in their bodies. Two young boys who came to festival together got healed. One was bitten by a wasp on his eye and the pain left him instantly and the other was healed from leprosy in his arm. Another young man was delivered from demons and he has been suffering for 5 years. Another lady testified that the tumor in her breast had disappeared. As a result of seeing these miracles every night, many were turning to Jesus. On the second night I preached about the need to reconcile ourselves back to God. Almost everyone on the field responded to the call. Many were coming to a living relationship with Jesus during all the three nights.
There was also a teaching seminar that was happening during the day time. It was attended mostly by the leaders from the traditional church. Pastor Tom and I had a great time teaching about our new reality in Christ. There was also a time of prayer. It was such a wonderful moment as the Holy Spirit ministered. One of the leaders was baptized in the Holy Spirit and started to speak in tongues. That was a big moment for someone who comes from the traditional Church. During the week leading up to the festival, I spoke in a couple of Churches and a house fellowship. I have attached more photos of the event at the bottom of this email.
So overall the festival ended up being a success. We plan to make more visits to West Timor and the surrounding Islands next year. Thank you for praying for us during this time. The Lord answered all our prayers. Praise and glory to His name forever more.