Kerala, India Crusade Report    (Click any image to see a larger version.)

Wednesday, opening night was AWESOME. Over 1,100 people packed the 1000 seat tent (actually bamboo poles with thatched roof).

A fisherman testified that his hip was healed. He had a bad fall in his boat and severely injured his hip. He has suffered every day for 17 years! He was instantly healed. The look on his face was worth the 39 hour journey it took our team to get here!

A lady testified that she had boils throughout her mouth and throat. For several months she has been unable to talk or sing without great pain. She said the boils literally disappeared when we prayed!

India is VERY hot! The food is VERY hot! The Power of God is VERY hot! Hot is GOOD!

Thursday, we expanded the tent to seat 1,200 and over 1,400 people packed in!

A young lady about 25 years old, testified that her ear & jaw had severe pain for over three years. I suspect it was TMJ. She opened and closed her jaw several times to demonstrate there was NO MORE PAIN.

A young man about 30 years old, had lost his hearing in his right ear about six months ago. There was a roaring/ringing sound that often caused severe discomfort. He had little to no hearing. I turned my mic off and stepped nearly 10 feet behind him and began to speak to him. He repeated everything that I said. He did not speak English, so it was a very difficult test for his hearing. Praise the Lord!

A lady about 40 years old, testified that she had chest pains for over 17 years! She had seen many doctors and they could not find a cure. The pain was so severe that she had trouble breathing. It would wake her several times during the night causing her to not get a full nights sleep. She had not been able to work. She took several very deep breaths to demonstrate that the pain was totally gone!

Another lady about 30 years old, testified that she had severe headaches for over 12 years. She almost missed the meeting tonight, because of the pain. She also had pain in her upper chest and neck that was also healed. One of our team members, Lisa, had a word of knowledge that it was a tumor that was cutting off the blood flow to the brain causing the headaches. The PAIN is gone and what ever was causing the pain IS GONE!

A young boy, only 10 years old, had been deaf & mute since birth. His mother demonstrated how she could only communicate through “home-made” sign language. I began to snap my finger in the boys ears… they were OPEN! I touched his tongue with my finger and commanded it to be loosed. She motioned for him to speak what I said. His very first word was JESUS! Then I had my interpreter to teach him to say “I love you, mama!” in his native tongue!

We interviewed the mother. The child had NEVER formed a word of any kind in his life!

On Friday, we were totally surprised to discover that the Governor of Southern India was eating lunch next to us in the hotel restaurant. He was meeting with the Rotary Club. We greeted him and told him we were enjoying his country. It was our intention to leave so they could proceed with their meeting, but instead, he introduced us to everyone. He asked us questions about what we were doing. He shared with us about his recent trip to our home state of Florida. The conversation lasted for about 20 minutes. We concluded by exchanging business cards.
I immediately went to my room and emailed him a thank you for giving us so freely of his time. Within several hours, he emailed me back and told me how much he enjoyed meeting our team and told us he would be more than happy to help us in any way! A DIVINE APPOINTMENT!

Friday night, over 1,700 people packed the tent!

There were two notable miracles tonight! An older lady was excited to tell everyone that her migraine was gone! The migraine had lasted for over three months! She had been confined to her bed for many of those days. She was determined to come to the meeting tonight! While she was testifying, she realized that her back was also healed! She began to twist and bend with great delight!

Three years ago, a man had broken several ribs above his heart, on his left side, in a car accident. The ribs did not heal correctly. Large lumps developed across his chest where the bones had been broken. His shoulder was also injured so he could not raise his left arm. He had suffered for three years! During the healing prayer, I instructed the people to place their hand on the injury. Was he ever surprised to find that not only were the lumps gone, but now he could raise his arm straight up in the air!

Saturday. The day began with graduation ceremonies at Jesus & Friends Bible College. Founder of the College, Dr. John Samuels is a native of Kerala, India, and a member of our church. I told those graduates that they were part of the POWER GENERATION. When the words crossed my lips, the power of God hit me! I nearly began to weep as I repeated the proclamation. I concluded by joining hands with Dr. Samuels and prayed an apostolic blessing over the students.
After a short break, we proceeded with a minister’s conference with 325 registered pastors and a total of 1,000 people attending. The meeting concluded by giving out 30 educational scholarships and 20 sewing machines donated by Dr. Samuel’s children. The college students fed over1,000 for lunch!

We went to our hotel to rest before the evening service. All of a sudden, we were awakened by lightening and thunder. Wind and rain hammered into our windows. Suddenly, we heard a large clap of thunder followed by an explosion of glass smashing into the lobby just down the hall. We discovered that the lightening had hit the front door of our hotel and knocked the nine foot glass door off it’s hinges and it smashed into the marble floor.

Within an hour, Dr. Samuels came to our room to tell us that the Tent structure had been totally destroyed by the high winds. Trees were down. Several buildings in the town had been damaged. The Saturday Night meeting was cancelled. While we were talking, the message came that a 1,000 seat auditorium had been rented and the crusade was back on schedule.

We rushed to the building to find standing room only and over 1,200 people crammed into the second story room. Hundreds were turned away. The second floor room became an upper room as the power of God filled the place. I was not scheduled to speak, so they asked me to receive the offering. The people began to shout as I broke the curse of poverty off of their lives.

The Indian evangelist opened his message by declaring that he had never seen anyone praise the Lord and shout over the offering like they did tonight!

The Sunday morning service was held in traditional Indian Pentecostal Church fashion, in a local church: simple concrete construction; wood slat windows; no carpet – just rugs to sit on. No A/C. Six ceiling fans - only four worked. Woman seated on the left. Men on the right. Children in front. Everyone on the floor. Shoe’s left at the front door.

No musical instruments except for a small bass drum playing a simple beat. As the praise song begins, we notice that everyone is clapping enthusiastically. As the song is sung, over and over, the beat becomes faster and their voices become louder. The song becomes so fast that the clapping becomes like applause. Voices are lifted up in a concert of “Praise the Lord” and tongues. This process is repeated for two more songs.

About a dozen people were called upon to testify. One man stood and testified that just about a month ago, he was worshiping many gods as a Hindu. Now he believes in the One True God!

My message was on giving. I shared on Malachi chapter three regarding tithing. We emphasized the blessings that come when we give our tithes and offerings. The pastor asked me if I could come and take the offering every Sunday morning!

After church, we visited the home of Dr. Samuel’s brother, Varghese Marathinal, a well-respected Elder in the church. He had just had a five by-pass heart surgery two weeks before. He was not doing well. Weak. Labored breathing. Infection running from his leg where the doctors had taken the vein for grafting in the heart.

They helped him move into a chair on the back porch. The power was off inside the house. We gathered together with our team and his family. I spoke of the power of prayer when it’s done in unity.

The moment we began to pray, the power of God filled the porch. Several of us began to weep as the power of God saturated us. We reached out and touched the man. Tears flooded his eyes. WE DECLARED HIM HEALED!

Sunday night, imagine our surprise when Brother Vargese came walking onto the stage and sat beside me! We were now seated in a 1200 seat auditorium with about 1500 in attendance. Standing room only. Hundreds left outside or turned away.

There was an increase in expectation in the service. I told them about Dr. Samuel’s brother. I reminded them about the ten year old boy born deaf and mute being healed the first night. I told them about several other miracles. Then we lifted our hands and prayed. The miracles began.

The people were instructed to come to the front when they were healed. When they saw the miracles, the sick began to flood the front. Someone grabbed my arm in desperation. I turn to look into the face of a 30 year old handsome young man.

They told me he was born deaf and mute. I simply placed my hands over his ears and commanded his ears to open. When I removed my hands, HIS EARS OPENED! His friend began to kiss his face, then kiss my hand. The crowd around us began to shout! I had the man to repeat the alphabet. His voice was squeaky… but it sounded good to me!

The smile on his face was worth the 48-hour trip home! (My luggage is still somewhere out-there!)

But now, “FOR THE REST OF THE STORY?”

We had been home just a few days when Dr. Samuel’s brought us the report. The deaf mute was part of a RADICAL HINDU SECT! He and his friends had come to “see the show.” They may have even been up to mischief!

The younger friend that had been kissing my hand WAS THE HINDU LEADER OF THE WHOLE GROUP!

This miracle could bust the whole city wide open! Pray for the Bible School students as they follow up on this man and his friends!