April 5, 2009 report on all fifteen Leadership Conferences in Sri Lanka (03-07)Denniyaya with 24 attending; (03-09)Galle 114 attending from 12 different denominations; (03-10)Tissamaharama 125 attending from 2 denominations; (03-11)Rathnapura 87 attending from 16 denominations; (03-12)Kegalle 70 attending from 7 denominations; (03-13)Nawalapitya 50 attending from 6 denominations; (03-14)Hatton 60 attending from 9 denominations; (03-16)Kurunegala 60 attending from 11 denominations; (03-17)Matale 65 attending from 8 denominations; (03-18)Polonnauwa 40 attending from 8 denominations; (03-19)Anuradhapura with 75 attending from 10 denominations; (03-20)Mahiyangana 40 attending from 5 denominations; (03-23)Badulla 55 attending from 17 denominations; (03-24)Ampara 21 attending from 6 denominations; (03-25)Monaragala 25 attending from 3 denominations; (03-26)Lanka Bible College with 76 LBC students and 13 pastors attending; for a grand total of 1,000 leaders ministering in 7 of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka, representing at least 70 different church organizations in the nation of Sri Lanka.
It was in 2003 in a Badulla Conference convened by the Fellowship of Free Churches of Sri Lanka, but opened to leaders of any Christian Organization; 50 leaders from 7 different church organizations came together for a very special time of ministry and fellowship! It was at this conference that God birthed in the heart of Arlo A. Johnson the desire to minister trans-denominationally to the Body of Christ in Sri Lanka. We didn't rush back to do so, but we did commit the matter to considerable prayer.
As a result of the direction of the Lord, in 2006 we returned to Sri Lanka to conduct three conferences of 2-3 days in length with 325 in attendance; in 2007 we returned again to conduct four conferences of 2-3 days in length with 375 in attendance; in 2008 I returned to do one day leadership conferences in eight different locations with 758 in attendance; then in 2009 we returned to do one day leadership conferences in fifteen different locations with 1,000 in attendance. In four years we conducted 30 different conferences with a grand total of 2,458 in attendance from over 70 different church organizations!
What about future ministry in Sri Lanka? We have not heard conclusively from the Lord concerning our future ministry to the leaders of the Christian Church in the nation of Sri Lanka. However, we are waiting upon the Lord! We do have a sense, that there are some changes needed concerning our ministry in that nation. So, if you have been following this ministry, may I suggest to you, that you pray with us for direction. Then if you have any direction from the Lord, please communicate that to me. We have no doubt, there is continued opportunity for us to minister there in Sri Lanka, but there are changes that must come to this future ministry!
Pastor Arlo A. Johnson
March 7-26, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Father's Point of View: Traveling - March 7-26, 2009
A Father's Point of View: Traveling to Sri Lanka - March 7-26, 2009 Denniyaya - Pastor Lasantha gathered together 24 leaders for an abbreviated edition of our forthcoming conferences. These were leaders that would not have the opportunity of attending any of the future conferences being planned. It was a very good time together, and I found it helpful to do some of the teachings that I had prepared for the leadership conferences.
Galle - Pastor Rasaka has co-ordinated the conferences here in 2008-09. He is the man that was separated from his wife during the tsunami, but miraculously she was found safe. Galle was one of the hardest hit by the Tsunami, 80 people from Pastor Rasaka's church perished in the flood. Since the tsunami they have had two children born to them, they were newly married just before the tsunami. He is building a new church building on one of Galle's main streets. Pray for the meeting of the financial need for that building.
Tissamaharama - Pastor Ranjit co-ordinated the conferences here in 2007 & 2009. He has faced severe persecution, both he and his young son were beat up by Buddhists about four years ago.He told us at the conference of his need of a motorbike for one of his workers. When speaking with Kristin and Nishanthe, they told us of their desire to sell their bike in view of their coming to Canada, so we made arrangement to purchase the used bike from them for Pastor Ranjit. Today, we phoned him and told him of the plan, and he was so blessed by this provision of the Lord. It met a need for Kristin and Nishanthe as well as for the worker at Tissamaharama.It was at Tissamaharama that we prayed over the location where Pastor Lyonal was murdered on May 25, 1988. Based on Psalm 79:9-13 we are praying that Satan will lose 100's of captives from the kingdom of Satan in the Tissamaharama region. Lyonal's wife, now Pastor Lalonie is leading that same church that her marytred husband founded. She is a very special and godly lady with a true servants heart! It is imperative that we pray for an unusual release of captives from the kingdom of darkness because of the promise of Psalm 79:9-13. Can I count on your intercessory prayer? If you want more information, please contact me.
Rathnapura - Pastor Joel of the Assemblies of God co-ordinated the conference in Rathnapura in both 2008 and 2009. Westside Family Fellowship gave $4000. to assist the church there to build an addition on the building to provide housing for the pastor's family. This year Pastor Joel is traveling with us to translate in ten of our conferences. In that the pastor's living quarters were moved from the main floor to a second level, the church meeting area has been greatly expanded. Pastor Joel is giving himself to minister to his own congregation in Rathnapure, but he is also giving himself to minister to the Body of Christ and its leaders in many different denominations! That is a very noble desire that God has put in his heart. There were 17 different church leaders included in the Rathnapura Conference, and that is evidence of the blessing of the Lord upon the relationships that Pastor Joel has established with the brethren in that area!
Kegalle - Pastor Lucas co-ordinated the conference. This is where Pastor Nimal leads the Light House Church, and it is where we helped him build a house for his family. The heat was very intense at Kegalle, and I also lost my voice, it was about 90 degrees F. in the meeting place. But my voice survived and is doing better. Actually, my teachings on faith and fear were tested in the loss of my voice. But I had to come before the Lord and declare my faith in the Lord, so as to be able to overcome the fear that I had concerning my voice problems. It is a terrible feeling to experience the loss of voice, and the possibility of not being able to communicate that which God has placed upon one's heart. But, God and "fisherman's friend" came through so that I was able to complete my teaching agenda in everyone of the conferences! Praise the Lord, and thank you for your prayers!
Nawalapitya - Pastor Reggie, whom I have known since 1997, co-ordinated the conference in his church building. This is the first conference that we have ever had in this area. It was special for many reasons: We connected to an Italian young man, who married a Sri Lankan. God ministered to them in a very special way, I am sure that we will meet them again. Then we also connected to Harry and Jenny van Burik, a Hollander married to a Sri Lankan. We stayed in their home, and Marlo helped her in her coaching of a basketball team. Of course they would like Marlo to bring some basketball players from Canada and conduct a basketball training camp.
Note: The AOG congregation at Denniyaya took an offering for Pastor Arlo after he ministered to their congregation on Sunday, March 8, 2009. In responding to the Pastor Lasantha, he said, "I do receive this gift, much the way that David received the water that three of his mighty men risk their lives to bring David a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:14-17). I receive this gift for two reasons: a) So that the believers who have given their money as seed might receive a harvest of money by means of the blessing and prosperity of the Lord Jesus. b) So that I might sow this gift of money into this nation as seed. 2 Corinthians 9:10 tells us that there are two purposes for seed, one purpose is that it might be sown, and the other purpose is that it might become bread for the purpose of eating. I couldn't eat this seed, but I could be guided of the Lord to sow that seed money into the work of the kingdom of God in Sri Lanka. That is exactly what I did! I sowed it into the work of Harry and Jenny van Burik, and you can read the letter I received from them concerning that seed money.
Harry van Burik wrote on behalf of the Pastors Retreat Center: "It was a pleasure hosting you at the Pastors Retreat Center in Meepitiya, Nawalapitiya. We would like to share two wonderful testimonies as a direct result from your short stay with us. This was neither planned by you or us, but by Him who has prepared our steps beforehand (Eph. 2:10)! Seed-money for Pastors Retreat Center, God is already fulfilling your prayers to multiply the seed-money you donated to us on March 13th. Only a few days later, on March 18th, we received a message from a church in the Netherlands that the congregation decided to set aside 50% of the required funds to purchase the building! We didn't make a request for these funds -- it was the Lord who stirred up their hearts to support the Pastors Retreat Center! A special aspect was that this donation was given to you by a church in Sri Lanka, little did they know that this money would be used to serve those who serve. Meanwhile, the owners of the building came to us with an offer, which was an answer to prayer as well. We asked for a copy of the deeds, in order for our lawyer to find out if the deeds are clear, which is the standard legal procedure in Sri Lanka when buying a property. However, they didn't want to give us a copy of the deeds unless we came up with an offer. The problem is that we can't give a definite offer without knowing if the deeds are clear.Although one of the owners had a bit of a proud attitude by saying, 'we can sell the land to whoever we want', he doesn't realize that no-one can hinder the Lord's plans and purposes! We told the owners that they could always come back to us if they changed their minds.We will now wait, pray and see how the Lord is going to unfold His plans. Would you like to pray with us regarding this matter?
Arlo: We do need to pray that this house and property will become available, and that the full amount needed to purchase it will also become available! This is a very wonderful vision that these dear friends have whereby they can serve those who serve that nation with the gospel!
Hatton - Pastor Ebeniezer co-ordinated the conference. We have known him from previous years. The attendance was down considerably from last year, but that didn't lessen the blessing of the Lord. It was a very anointed gathering! It was on Saturday, and I am sure that affected the attendance somewhat. We believe that there were some very powerful impartations of faith made into leaders lives at this conference. I cannot adequately describe the powerful praying that took place following the teaching sessions. In fact, two very powerful prayertimes occurred as people were about to leave the building to go home. But it seemed that God so filled the room that people did not want to leave that atmosphere of blessing! So praise the Lord!
Kurunegala - Pastor Leslie co-ordinated the conference. We assist Pastor Leslie with his living allowance, we send him $100. monthly. Our conference was held in the Assembly of God church that is pastored by a converted Buddhist Monk. This is the second conference held in this location. It is a strong Buddhist area, and we do need to continue to pray for the release of captives from the kingdom of darkness.
Matale - Pastor Charles co-ordinated the conference. I have preached in Matale many times, beginning back in 1994. We do need to pray for the LHC in Matale in that they do not have a pastor at the present. This has resulted in the decline of attendance there. However, they do have a very lovely church facility. Pastor Charles has been involved in both conferences that we have conducted in this area. He phoned to our overall co-ordinator after the conference and spoke of the deep change that God is working in his life personally. So do pray for his ministry.
Polonnauwa is a nice, but very hot area. This was the first time that I have ever been in this area. They expressed their appreciation for the conference in that, they are in a very remote area, and conferences such as this seldom come to the area. The pastor, whose name I cannot spell or pronounce, is a very fine man with a nice young family. There have been some difficulties there with him, he is not guilty, but he and his wife were jailed because of a false accusation. They still face court charges, and our coming there at this time with Pastor Roshan was very providencial. Roshan assisted someone in Badulla with similar charges, so he will be able to get help for him. So pray for him!
Anuradhapura was the most northerly point to which we travelled. It is probably only about 100 kilometers from Jaffna. Again, this was the very first time that I have ever been in this area. We were very warmly received by the seventy-five people that gathered in the Apostolic Church in that region. There was great praise released from the leaders as an expression of their thankfulness to God for the day that we had together! We were invited to return at some future time. Following the conclusion of our teaching we went to the home of the Assembly of God pastor for lunch. It was a very warm area. From there we travelled on to Mahiyangana, after a very thorough investigation at a check point.
Mahiyangana - this was our second visit to this area. It is a very strong Buddhist area, and church leaders are faced with many very difficult challenges. The conference was held in the local Assembly of God church, and the pastor and his wife are doing a superb work in touching the community with "unconditional love." They have a daycare center, and by means of that they are touching many lives! There is a very strong sense of unity and of anointing on the Body of Christ in this region. We expect to become involved in this church and its outreach ministry in the near future! Just pray!
Badulla - this was our fifth conference in this region, and there were leaders from 17 churches in the area. This certainly speaks well of the godly leadership that Pastor Roshan has given to these conferences, not only in the nation as a whole, but also in his own region. We expect many good things to take place in the growth of the churches in this area. Pray especially that the LHC will establish a very strong base so that this congregation will be able to grow both numerically and financially. Remember that the church that shines the brightest at home, shines the furtherest!
Ampara - this is a very depressed area. It was in Ampara that Pastor Neal was murdered at the door of his church in February, 2008. There is a large open field by the church building, and 2,000 people gathered in that open field for the funeral of Pastor Neal, and upwards to 1,500 of those people were pastors from across the nation of Sri Lanka. Pastor Neal's widow has assumed the responsibility of continuing to pastor that congregation. We prayed over the exact location where his blood was shed. Not only was he murdered, but she was left for dead. However, after three weeks she regained consciousness. She suffered several bullet wounds, and one of those bullets lodged in her spine, and it is so close to the spinal cord that it cannot be removed. Based on Psalm 72:14 and 79:9-13 we are calling upon God for the release of many captives still in the kingdom of darkness as revenge against Satan's stealing of the life of Pastor Neal. This is a prayer that must not stop, we must continue to interceed for a great ingathering of the lost to Christ as Savior!
Monaragala - this is probably the poorest area in all of Sri Lanka. Westside Family Fellowship has joined with the Association of Evangelicals of Sri Lanka in financing spiritual and social projects in that region. We expect some very special things will be done to minister to the children of the area. Already there are feeding programs that include 180 that are being fed for five days of each week. Consideration is being given to the developing of programs that will assist in the education of very poor children.
Kandy - we held our very first leadership conference in Kandy at Lanka Bible College. There were seventy-six students plus a few pastors and leaders that participated in this conference.
For further information I (Arlo A. Johnson) can be contacted by e-mail (glennarlo@telus.net), or by phone at 250-964-9600, or by mail at 2805 Calhoun Cres., Prince George, BC V2N 5J8.
Galle - Pastor Rasaka has co-ordinated the conferences here in 2008-09. He is the man that was separated from his wife during the tsunami, but miraculously she was found safe. Galle was one of the hardest hit by the Tsunami, 80 people from Pastor Rasaka's church perished in the flood. Since the tsunami they have had two children born to them, they were newly married just before the tsunami. He is building a new church building on one of Galle's main streets. Pray for the meeting of the financial need for that building.
Tissamaharama - Pastor Ranjit co-ordinated the conferences here in 2007 & 2009. He has faced severe persecution, both he and his young son were beat up by Buddhists about four years ago.He told us at the conference of his need of a motorbike for one of his workers. When speaking with Kristin and Nishanthe, they told us of their desire to sell their bike in view of their coming to Canada, so we made arrangement to purchase the used bike from them for Pastor Ranjit. Today, we phoned him and told him of the plan, and he was so blessed by this provision of the Lord. It met a need for Kristin and Nishanthe as well as for the worker at Tissamaharama.It was at Tissamaharama that we prayed over the location where Pastor Lyonal was murdered on May 25, 1988. Based on Psalm 79:9-13 we are praying that Satan will lose 100's of captives from the kingdom of Satan in the Tissamaharama region. Lyonal's wife, now Pastor Lalonie is leading that same church that her marytred husband founded. She is a very special and godly lady with a true servants heart! It is imperative that we pray for an unusual release of captives from the kingdom of darkness because of the promise of Psalm 79:9-13. Can I count on your intercessory prayer? If you want more information, please contact me.
Rathnapura - Pastor Joel of the Assemblies of God co-ordinated the conference in Rathnapura in both 2008 and 2009. Westside Family Fellowship gave $4000. to assist the church there to build an addition on the building to provide housing for the pastor's family. This year Pastor Joel is traveling with us to translate in ten of our conferences. In that the pastor's living quarters were moved from the main floor to a second level, the church meeting area has been greatly expanded. Pastor Joel is giving himself to minister to his own congregation in Rathnapure, but he is also giving himself to minister to the Body of Christ and its leaders in many different denominations! That is a very noble desire that God has put in his heart. There were 17 different church leaders included in the Rathnapura Conference, and that is evidence of the blessing of the Lord upon the relationships that Pastor Joel has established with the brethren in that area!
Kegalle - Pastor Lucas co-ordinated the conference. This is where Pastor Nimal leads the Light House Church, and it is where we helped him build a house for his family. The heat was very intense at Kegalle, and I also lost my voice, it was about 90 degrees F. in the meeting place. But my voice survived and is doing better. Actually, my teachings on faith and fear were tested in the loss of my voice. But I had to come before the Lord and declare my faith in the Lord, so as to be able to overcome the fear that I had concerning my voice problems. It is a terrible feeling to experience the loss of voice, and the possibility of not being able to communicate that which God has placed upon one's heart. But, God and "fisherman's friend" came through so that I was able to complete my teaching agenda in everyone of the conferences! Praise the Lord, and thank you for your prayers!
Nawalapitya - Pastor Reggie, whom I have known since 1997, co-ordinated the conference in his church building. This is the first conference that we have ever had in this area. It was special for many reasons: We connected to an Italian young man, who married a Sri Lankan. God ministered to them in a very special way, I am sure that we will meet them again. Then we also connected to Harry and Jenny van Burik, a Hollander married to a Sri Lankan. We stayed in their home, and Marlo helped her in her coaching of a basketball team. Of course they would like Marlo to bring some basketball players from Canada and conduct a basketball training camp.
Note: The AOG congregation at Denniyaya took an offering for Pastor Arlo after he ministered to their congregation on Sunday, March 8, 2009. In responding to the Pastor Lasantha, he said, "I do receive this gift, much the way that David received the water that three of his mighty men risk their lives to bring David a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:14-17). I receive this gift for two reasons: a) So that the believers who have given their money as seed might receive a harvest of money by means of the blessing and prosperity of the Lord Jesus. b) So that I might sow this gift of money into this nation as seed. 2 Corinthians 9:10 tells us that there are two purposes for seed, one purpose is that it might be sown, and the other purpose is that it might become bread for the purpose of eating. I couldn't eat this seed, but I could be guided of the Lord to sow that seed money into the work of the kingdom of God in Sri Lanka. That is exactly what I did! I sowed it into the work of Harry and Jenny van Burik, and you can read the letter I received from them concerning that seed money.
Harry van Burik wrote on behalf of the Pastors Retreat Center: "It was a pleasure hosting you at the Pastors Retreat Center in Meepitiya, Nawalapitiya. We would like to share two wonderful testimonies as a direct result from your short stay with us. This was neither planned by you or us, but by Him who has prepared our steps beforehand (Eph. 2:10)! Seed-money for Pastors Retreat Center, God is already fulfilling your prayers to multiply the seed-money you donated to us on March 13th. Only a few days later, on March 18th, we received a message from a church in the Netherlands that the congregation decided to set aside 50% of the required funds to purchase the building! We didn't make a request for these funds -- it was the Lord who stirred up their hearts to support the Pastors Retreat Center! A special aspect was that this donation was given to you by a church in Sri Lanka, little did they know that this money would be used to serve those who serve. Meanwhile, the owners of the building came to us with an offer, which was an answer to prayer as well. We asked for a copy of the deeds, in order for our lawyer to find out if the deeds are clear, which is the standard legal procedure in Sri Lanka when buying a property. However, they didn't want to give us a copy of the deeds unless we came up with an offer. The problem is that we can't give a definite offer without knowing if the deeds are clear.Although one of the owners had a bit of a proud attitude by saying, 'we can sell the land to whoever we want', he doesn't realize that no-one can hinder the Lord's plans and purposes! We told the owners that they could always come back to us if they changed their minds.We will now wait, pray and see how the Lord is going to unfold His plans. Would you like to pray with us regarding this matter?
Arlo: We do need to pray that this house and property will become available, and that the full amount needed to purchase it will also become available! This is a very wonderful vision that these dear friends have whereby they can serve those who serve that nation with the gospel!
Hatton - Pastor Ebeniezer co-ordinated the conference. We have known him from previous years. The attendance was down considerably from last year, but that didn't lessen the blessing of the Lord. It was a very anointed gathering! It was on Saturday, and I am sure that affected the attendance somewhat. We believe that there were some very powerful impartations of faith made into leaders lives at this conference. I cannot adequately describe the powerful praying that took place following the teaching sessions. In fact, two very powerful prayertimes occurred as people were about to leave the building to go home. But it seemed that God so filled the room that people did not want to leave that atmosphere of blessing! So praise the Lord!
Kurunegala - Pastor Leslie co-ordinated the conference. We assist Pastor Leslie with his living allowance, we send him $100. monthly. Our conference was held in the Assembly of God church that is pastored by a converted Buddhist Monk. This is the second conference held in this location. It is a strong Buddhist area, and we do need to continue to pray for the release of captives from the kingdom of darkness.
Matale - Pastor Charles co-ordinated the conference. I have preached in Matale many times, beginning back in 1994. We do need to pray for the LHC in Matale in that they do not have a pastor at the present. This has resulted in the decline of attendance there. However, they do have a very lovely church facility. Pastor Charles has been involved in both conferences that we have conducted in this area. He phoned to our overall co-ordinator after the conference and spoke of the deep change that God is working in his life personally. So do pray for his ministry.
Polonnauwa is a nice, but very hot area. This was the first time that I have ever been in this area. They expressed their appreciation for the conference in that, they are in a very remote area, and conferences such as this seldom come to the area. The pastor, whose name I cannot spell or pronounce, is a very fine man with a nice young family. There have been some difficulties there with him, he is not guilty, but he and his wife were jailed because of a false accusation. They still face court charges, and our coming there at this time with Pastor Roshan was very providencial. Roshan assisted someone in Badulla with similar charges, so he will be able to get help for him. So pray for him!
Anuradhapura was the most northerly point to which we travelled. It is probably only about 100 kilometers from Jaffna. Again, this was the very first time that I have ever been in this area. We were very warmly received by the seventy-five people that gathered in the Apostolic Church in that region. There was great praise released from the leaders as an expression of their thankfulness to God for the day that we had together! We were invited to return at some future time. Following the conclusion of our teaching we went to the home of the Assembly of God pastor for lunch. It was a very warm area. From there we travelled on to Mahiyangana, after a very thorough investigation at a check point.
Mahiyangana - this was our second visit to this area. It is a very strong Buddhist area, and church leaders are faced with many very difficult challenges. The conference was held in the local Assembly of God church, and the pastor and his wife are doing a superb work in touching the community with "unconditional love." They have a daycare center, and by means of that they are touching many lives! There is a very strong sense of unity and of anointing on the Body of Christ in this region. We expect to become involved in this church and its outreach ministry in the near future! Just pray!
Badulla - this was our fifth conference in this region, and there were leaders from 17 churches in the area. This certainly speaks well of the godly leadership that Pastor Roshan has given to these conferences, not only in the nation as a whole, but also in his own region. We expect many good things to take place in the growth of the churches in this area. Pray especially that the LHC will establish a very strong base so that this congregation will be able to grow both numerically and financially. Remember that the church that shines the brightest at home, shines the furtherest!
Ampara - this is a very depressed area. It was in Ampara that Pastor Neal was murdered at the door of his church in February, 2008. There is a large open field by the church building, and 2,000 people gathered in that open field for the funeral of Pastor Neal, and upwards to 1,500 of those people were pastors from across the nation of Sri Lanka. Pastor Neal's widow has assumed the responsibility of continuing to pastor that congregation. We prayed over the exact location where his blood was shed. Not only was he murdered, but she was left for dead. However, after three weeks she regained consciousness. She suffered several bullet wounds, and one of those bullets lodged in her spine, and it is so close to the spinal cord that it cannot be removed. Based on Psalm 72:14 and 79:9-13 we are calling upon God for the release of many captives still in the kingdom of darkness as revenge against Satan's stealing of the life of Pastor Neal. This is a prayer that must not stop, we must continue to interceed for a great ingathering of the lost to Christ as Savior!
Monaragala - this is probably the poorest area in all of Sri Lanka. Westside Family Fellowship has joined with the Association of Evangelicals of Sri Lanka in financing spiritual and social projects in that region. We expect some very special things will be done to minister to the children of the area. Already there are feeding programs that include 180 that are being fed for five days of each week. Consideration is being given to the developing of programs that will assist in the education of very poor children.
Kandy - we held our very first leadership conference in Kandy at Lanka Bible College. There were seventy-six students plus a few pastors and leaders that participated in this conference.
For further information I (Arlo A. Johnson) can be contacted by e-mail (glennarlo@telus.net), or by phone at 250-964-9600, or by mail at 2805 Calhoun Cres., Prince George, BC V2N 5J8.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Traveling to Sri Lanka - March, 27, 2009
Marlo and I flew out of Prince George on Tuesday, March 3 at 4:50 pm, arriving in Vancouver at 6 pm. It was a lengthy wait in Vancouver, in that we didn't fly out until 2 am on Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong. En route to Hong Kong, apart from a few hours of sleep on the 13 hours and 40 minutes of flying time, I read 100 pages from a book that I just picked up in Prince George. The book is "The Power to Prevail" by David Foster who founded and pastors a congregation in Nashville, TN. Let me share some of the pointed remarks that he makes in the book: Speaking of the church in North America, he said: "In an attempt to attract men and women back to God and make Jesus more appealing, every Sunday of the year fast-moving discourses focus more on our happiness than our holiness." "Adversity is not an option; it is a fact of life. The fact of adversity is not our real problem, but rather the attitudes we adopt and the choices we make in the face of it. Those choices and attitudes separate those who prevail from those who don't." Throughout the book, he speaks repeatedly of three approaches Christians make to the Christian life; climbing, crawling and coasting. I think that these three words speak volumes to us, without even reading the book! David Foster spoke of his first born daughter and once she learned to crawl, she began climbing up on everything in sight. So in our immaturity, there is a time when it is necessary for us to crawl, but once we conquer crawling, there is something within us that longs to move to higher heights, so we climb! Coasting is probably a trait for those entering the senior phase of life, so those of you who are approaching my age in life, need to check that desire to coast! Then he writes: "God gave us a climbing gear and an ascending spirit in order to prepare us to prevail over adversity." So why should we settle for the prairie plain when there are mountains to be climbed? Again he writes: "Why not look out at life from the summit of a great peak rather than up from a mud hole?" "Both crawlers and coasters waste their lives looking for favorable winds and perfect circumstances. But as George Bernard Shaw said, 'The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, they make them.'" "Climbers prevail because they never lose heart. When pushed, they push back - they refuse to relent, retreat, or resign themselves to the way things are. They don't lean on emotions, because they know emotions are fickle and unpredicatable. In contrast, crawlers and coasters live out of their emotions. They see adversity as an unfair hardship. They play victim. They feel sure that the mountain is impassable and its conditions are unbearable, not because they have ever visited the mountain, but because they listen to others who stopped climbing a long time ago. Crawlers look for someone to blame for the way things are. By contrast, climbers accept reality, adjust their attitude, and align their energies to begin taking action based on what is---they don't waste their time blaming God, defaming others, or shaming themselves." "Today is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God and to the world around you! Today is the day to begin turning your adversities into your advantage! The moment you see life as a gift from God and trust his plan for your life, things begin to change. The bible makes this promise: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of live and of self-discipline (2 Tim.1:7 niv)."
Well, as I stop, we are sitting in the Hong Kong Airport waiting for 6:20 pm to arrive so we can make our departure for Colombo. It is 8:45 pm Prince George time as I write, but it is 16 hours later here - 12:15 noon on Wednesday, March 4. We finally arrived in Colombo Airport at 11:50 pm on March 5, 2009. After we completed our 21 days of ministry in Sri Lanka, we were back in the Airport again on Friday, March 26 at 11 pm, and we flew out to Bankok at 1:50 am on Saturday, March 27, 2009. We didn't get off the plane in Bankok, after we continued on to Hong Kong, arriving there about noon (HK time), after about 4 or 5 hours, we boarded our plane for Vancouver, arriving there about 2 pm. We continued on to Prince George, arriving just before 9 pm. It was so good to be able to stand up or lay down after traveling so many hours on different planes! Our deep heart felt thanks is extended to all who made our time in Sri Lanka so special.
Well, as I stop, we are sitting in the Hong Kong Airport waiting for 6:20 pm to arrive so we can make our departure for Colombo. It is 8:45 pm Prince George time as I write, but it is 16 hours later here - 12:15 noon on Wednesday, March 4. We finally arrived in Colombo Airport at 11:50 pm on March 5, 2009. After we completed our 21 days of ministry in Sri Lanka, we were back in the Airport again on Friday, March 26 at 11 pm, and we flew out to Bankok at 1:50 am on Saturday, March 27, 2009. We didn't get off the plane in Bankok, after we continued on to Hong Kong, arriving there about noon (HK time), after about 4 or 5 hours, we boarded our plane for Vancouver, arriving there about 2 pm. We continued on to Prince George, arriving just before 9 pm. It was so good to be able to stand up or lay down after traveling so many hours on different planes! Our deep heart felt thanks is extended to all who made our time in Sri Lanka so special.
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