Thanks so much to those of you who prayed while I was in the Congo! I had a great team and everything went so well! You may know that the Congo is a pretty crazy place, and many have described the atmosphere as “heavy” or “oppressive”, and those descriptions are certainly accurate considering the violence and general instability that has reigned in that area for many years. To be honest the Lord gave us so much grace to be there and to bring the Joy and Peace of heaven that it wasn’t “hard” to be there at all. I know this was largely because we had so many of you guys lifting us up in prayer. We couldn’t have done it without you!
This trip seemed to be all about training. So we partnered with Cassandra Basnett and the Global Children’s Movement in Goma, Congo, and it was really cool to see what the Lord is doing there! We got to be a part of ministering to the children at their school and everyone on my team fell in love with these kids! We also got to do a pastors and leaders conference with people from around that city and region. We actually bussed a bunch of pastors and leaders in from an area that is in the “red-zone” which means it is very dangerous there and getting raped and attacked is part of their daily life. Most have family members who have been murdered by rebels and almost all of the women have been raped at some point. Its almost inconceivable to really connect with what they go through and it was very humbling to be able to speak to them about the goodness and love of God. It was a great time and we learned a lot from being with them. My favorite part was seeing my students get activated to preach and teach, impart what they have been given, and then activate the African leaders to walk in the same things. We got to teach on the father-heart of God, our identity in Him, intimacy with Him, and living a naturally supernatural life of encountering God and being a God encounter to those around us. We were also able to minister and preach at 4 different churches for Sunday services and also got to minister at a military hospital and doing a mini-healing service there. As is with pretty much everywhere we go, we got to see God heal peoples hearts and bodies. One of my favorites is when we prayed for a lady who was a victim of violent rape and she was waiting for surgery along with dozens and dozens of other women. When we prayed for her, she felt something changing, and all the pain going away, and then she got a big smile on her face because I’m not really sure if she expected it to work. So we had her go around with us and pray for a bunch of the other women in the room. It was fun to see how she got a touch from God and was willing to go around and give away what she had just received. Thank You Jesus!
Pouring into leaders in these kinds of settings is one of the biggest things that really excites me, because I know they are going to take what they learn and make it part of their life and teach it to the people they influence. The Lord really spoke a lot to me on this trip about training leaders and also training and raising up the leaders of tomorrow. I know this is an area that I will probably be spending a good chunk of my life involved with, and this trip really inspired me to go after it. Probably one of my favorite parts of the trip was being able to hang out with a couple of the main pastors from the region and get to know their hearts a little and see the sacrifices they have made to be leaders in the body of Christ there in Congo. These guys are so awesome and I truly learned so much from being around them. One of them actually recently raised a woman from the dead. These guys walk in humility but they also really walk in power!
Hey, please pray for us for this next season as we are planning on spending more time in Africa in the upcoming years. We are in a season of preparation as well as team building and seeking the Lord for strategies to see real transformation in these nations. We are very excited about the relationships that are developing and our goal is to begin to take apostolic teams over there who would bring the culture of heaven and begin to train leaders and revivalists to start a love revolution! We are in a very strategic season right now, and as the body of Christ we need to be the ones that are aggressively releasing hope to a world who is looking for answers. We have an obligation to throw aside all the distractions and begin to really seek first his kingdom in every area of our lives. The Lord is just looking for people who will believe Him to move and be powerful in their midst. LET’S GO AFTER HIM TOGETHER! HOLY SPIRIT MOVE IN US and THROUGH US!!!!!!!
WE LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS! THANKS AGAIN FOR PRAYING FOR US!!
Aaron, Crystal and Judah
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