Update from Grand Rapids |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Sep 30 2005 at 8:19 PM |
Home again! The trip to Grand Rapids was once again a blessed time. It seems as though the Lord has brought us another young bull rider that loves Jesus. This young man did great at his first event and has already made a stand for Christ. Bring them on! The Bible study was especially good as we celebrated the Lords supper for the first time in a couple years. I am not sure why I have let it be so long but I am confident that it will now be a standard part of our shared time together. We sang, prayed, cried and celebrated as the holy spirit ministered to us on a very personal level. There was twelve! The worship service was well attended and God met his people there. We had a group of about forty people come from a small church up in Saint Ignas, Michigan. If you remember, Mike Lee, Brooks and I visited the church earlier this year. It was like a family reunion. After the service I was able to pray with six individuals who wanted to surrender their lives to Jesus. There was one however that captured my heart. She was a teenage woman who had attended with her mother and neither of them were church attenders. When I first began to talk with them I could see immediately that they had just had their hearts transformed and they were trying to find a way to explain it to me. The young lady had been ravished by a culture that has continually beat her down because of her weight. Although the pain was to be expected, the joy she was now experiencing was a surprise to her mother and herself. I was amazed at how this beautiful young lady had been so deceived that she had completely placed her personal value on how she compared to our cultures depiction of beautiful. I reminded her of Psalm 139 that tells how we were wonderfully made by our Father and how a life lived without the knowledge of his love and acceptance of us is vein. I encouraged her to speak the truth over her life and how she no longer has to live her life to impress people, rather live a life pleasing to her Father in heaven who sees the heart. Although I am sure all the problems of their lives were not instantly healed, they now have a counselor who will lead them in truth, "The Holy Spirit" Last night I had nine people from Russia come to my parents house for dinner. A man named Seirge who is a pastor in Russia contacted me about six months ago about having an American cowboy type outreach in Russia. He and his team are now on a tour of the US and after leaving Idaho today I will meet up with them again this weekend in Laughlin. Please be in prayer as we spent several hours sharing with each other on where the Lord has brought us from and how he is now lead us together to do this crazy event in Russia. Can you picture a bull riding in Russia? This man is of great reputation and has one of the most amazing testimonies I have ever heard. Remember that until 1989 it was illegal to talk of Jesus in Russia. He has been a pastor for twenty five years and is the son of a decorated natzi military man. He has a working relationship with the leaders of his nation and believes this would be the kind of event that would bring people from all across Russia. Please pray about this work. Also please continue to go before us in prayer as Laughlin is this weekend and is a very difficult place to be a shepherd. Also it has become far to common to have sickness and accidents around our home when I leave. Please agree with me in prayer as I pray protection over this family. In the name of Jesus, Todd and Leslie
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