Tag: children

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Family

Holding On to The Promises

Two weeks ago I went on a mission trip to Europe. I traveled together with my wife Karen and my son Hector and his wife Nashali, visiting Denmark, Sweden, France, Belgium and Holland. Remember, Europe is small compared to the USA, so it is easy to get around!

Ministry in Denmark

In Denmark we came to minister for three days of Pentecost revival in a community center in the country side. This was a non denominational gathering. More than 100 people had signed up for the weekend, and I think another 100 dropped by during the conference. Some people had traveled 3-4 hours just for one meeting. There was such a high level of faith!

Three Generations on Stage

I preached on Friday night, and Saturday morning my father who is 86 years old shared how he got saved as a young man and had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. He was in a prayer meeting when he was liftet up by the Spirit physically. This happened several times, and this experience has followed him throughout his life. He has such a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. Some people should think that it would decrease over the years but it has only increased!

People loved my dad’s testimony and so did I! In the afternoon my wife Karen was speaking, and in the evening my son Hector was asked to preach instead of me. This was the first time my son spoke in Danish in front of so many people, but he did well. He shared what was on his heart, and I finished by calling people forward for prayer!

It was not before after the conference in Denmark that I realized how God had used our family to speak to this gathering. We were three generation on stage. I can’t remember I have seen this before in my life as a preacher. It was very powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness in our family.

Steadfast Promises

As a preacher I meet many parents who come to me with pain in their hearts because their children no longer walk with God. They have turned their back to God and some have turned their back to the parents as well. This was our situation as a family only two years ago but by the grace of God we now see how all our children are following God.

My parents have always trusted in God and I believe that is why they can see the promises of God being fulfilled in their lifetime. There is a blessing that runs from generation to generation, not only to their children but also to their grandchildren. Don’t loose hope. God wants to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. The promise is for for you and me and the generations to come.

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Mission

Changing Lives at the Beach of Esmeraldas

On my recent mission trip in December 2018, we crossed the Andes to go to Esmeraldas which is a coastal city in the northwestern part of Ecuador. We had a day off, so we went to a breakfast restaurant at the beach, and as I saw the water, I thought to myself, “today we should go fishing”. As I look up, a guy walks in, and I ask him if he knows somebody who would take us out on the ocean, and 30 minutes later we were already ready to go fishing in the Pacific Ocean.

I live what you can call a “predestined lifestyle”, I believe that my steps are ordained by God, that “we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good deeds that we should walk in” (Ephesians 2.10).

We went through the waves across the reef and cast out the lines in more calm water, waiting for the fishes to bite. It was an awesome experience. We spend the whole day fishing, and when we came back in the evening, I asked the fishermen if they could prepare a fire so we could BBQ the fishes on the beach. I paid for the party and the fishermen brought their families, and right there, as we were eating, we had the opportunity to share the gospel and lead the fishermen to Christ.

Revival Among the Fishermen

We had revival, right there on the beach. What we experienced there was more authentic than a regular church meeting, it was so beautiful to see these men receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and the same night we prayed with them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, so that was what we did, right there with the fishermen on the beach.

I will never forget these fishermen and their stories. As we were sitting around the fire, we were connected in a special way. Even after we left, I kept praying for these people. One of the men had seven kids, his wife had left him, and he was the sole provider of his family. They were very poor, they were trying hard to make a living, but they did not have the resources. They needed a bigger boat in order to get a bigger catch out on the deep ocean, they paddled in a canoe so they could not cross the reef and take them to the deep waters where we had been fishing during the day.

Two New Boats Can Change the Lives of Many

I want to start a project in Esmeraldas, right there on the beach. I believe this connection was God-given, and I already have talked to one of my attorney friends in Ecuador to set up a fishing consortium so we can invest in this community and buy bigger boats.

Where I go, I will bring the gospel. Luke 4.18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.

What is good news to the poor? Is it not that they shall not be poor anymore? Let us preach the gospel, not only in Words but also in action. Our little can help a lot. For 6,000 dollars we can buy two boats and two engines for the fishermen in Esmeraldas. Several families can fish on each boat, with fish comes money and school for the kids and even more open hearts for Christ.

Your Kingdom Come!

I want to see the Kingdom of God manifested on that beach in Esmeralda, Equador. I remember many years ago when I first brought the gospel to the Eskimos in North West Greenland, immediately after having received Christ they started to catch more fish and animals and they were so successful in hunting together that more hunters started to ask if they could go out hunting with them. That village is still developing til this day. I believe the same thing can happen on the beaches of Esmeralda. If you want to partner with us in this project, click on this link. May God bless you for your prayers and support! https://evangelistministries.international/contact/donations/

Categories
Mission

Bringing Healing to Greenland

 

In 2003 I was invited to preach the gospel in Northern Greenland. A school teacher in a place called Kullorsuaq (meaning “The Devils Thumb”) had read my book “Conquering Demons” online, and I had received an email from him, asking for help. The school teacher had translated my book into Inuit language so that his wife could read it, and he also made extra copies for friends and families. He had found faith through my book, and now he wanted me to come and preach the gospel for the rest of the village.

I traveled several days by plane and helicopter to get there, and when I finally arrived, revival broke out, together with heavy persecution. People were getting saved, healed and delivered, some of them decided to get baptized which is not in line with the traditional beliefs, and the opposition arose to a point, where they were making plans to assassinate me for introducing a “new religion” different to the Lutheran belief that is dominant in Greenland.

When I left Kullorsuaq I was banned for entering into North West Greenland. I don’t think you can do that legally, but I was told never to return. Over the years I kept contact with the new converts up there, I was happy to hear how they survived the heavy persecution, planted a church and traveled up and down the coast to spread the gospel into the villages on their hunting trips.

Today I received pictures and greetings through Facebook from that same village, where people had been persecuted because of their faith. It was very touching to see how one of our former Powerschool students, Tuparnak Berthelsen, is having a revival in Kullorsuaq. This lady is a walking, talking miracle. She has a wild testimony. At one point she was beaten to death by a drunk guy and was revived by the ambulance crew. After having been dead for several minutes, she woke up with a severe brain damage and was left handicapped for life, until one day in 2001 where she was healed in a meeting with an African evangelist.

I have seen how this lady, over the last couple of years, at her own expense has traveled to remote parts of Greenland and preached the gospel with money she has saved up herself. This summer she went to preach the gospel in Alluitsup Paa which is a remote village in Southern Greenland, and after this, she visited Quarqatoq where she was invited to speak in the local church during a conference. As she shared her testimony and prayed for the sick, many people got saved and healed.

It is such a testimony when I see how God uses this woman in a place where I cannot go anymore. She has supported our ministry for many years every month, and I have seen the fruits of her ministry in Greenland this summer. Not many people can go to the most remote parts of the world, with helicopter and boat, preaching the gospel to tribes of hunters, sleeping in private homes. God has anointed her to do this. She loves it, and she is respected by the Inuit where ever she goes.

God has told me to support Tuparnaq Berthelsen in her traveling ministry in Greenland and also help her to reach out to the Inuit people in Denmark. Greenland is a beautiful nation and the Inuit people there have suffered a lot as they were colonized by Denmark for centuries. Pray for grace and pray for change, that many people will be saved.

Categories
Family

Celebrating Our Three Prodigal Sons

28082082_10214711779566339_504718714_oThis week on Valentine’s day we had a very special celebration at our church in Orlando. There were roses in vases, chocolate covered strawberries and some kind of non-alcoholic champagne at the table, but the party was not for Valentine, it was for our family and the homecoming of our three prodigal sons who finally have decided to surrender their lives to the Lord.

It has been a long and winding road, a detour down the darkest alleys where no parents want to see their children go. We have spent nights awake in prayer, reminding God of his promises, that “Me and my house will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24.15), and that “all my children will be taught by the Lord (Isaiah 54.13). There have been days where the battle has been so intense, where I had no tears left and my heart was broken into pieces, and there have been lonely nights where I have cried out in the laundry room and in my closet where I thought nobody could hear me except for God.

Our oldest son in Las Vegas was the first to surrender. He is 25 and used to be an atheist, on drugs and alcohol, doing magic in the street. At one point he got involved with a witch and that brought him to his knees. He was delivered from witchcraft and substance abuse, was baptized and blessed with new business opportunities. He got away from the street, started his own social media company and is now traveling the world doing social media and food trading. The past year he has visited 17 countries and seen things that most of us will never experience in a lifetime. The change in his life started the chain reaction, that eventually changed the life of his brothers. They finally came to the conclusion that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him!

Seeing this as parents it the greatest you can ever experience. I had to take an extra look in January when our youngest son who has been an agnostic attended our communion service. The same day he told us that he had decided to follow Jesus, and the following week he started interceeding for the other brother who had been suffering from depression over the past two years. This young man had been running away from home, taking drugs to calm the pain in his heart. God answered the prayers within a week and now we received a text message that the depression was gone!

We were like dreaming when it finally happened. We were hoping against hope, but now our hopes were fulfilled, so we called our boys together for three days and send out the invitation to the party at the church. We wanted to share our joy, we wanted to give Jesus glory, and we wanted to make a declaration in front of spiritual powers and principalities, that we as a family have decided to follow Jesus together. Sitting with the three sons, talking, sharing and praying together, was epic. We knew we were writing history and we went out  to do ministry, just to proclaim the good news, that our sons had been dead but now they are alive!

Never give up. Keep praying and keep believing, even when there is no hope in the natural, there is still hope in the spiritual. Do like Abraham, our Father of faith. Hold on to the promises, hold on to his faithfulness. He who is faithful will never fail. Remind Hime of his Word and know that his Word will not return void. Like the Father was out there waiting for his prodigal son to come home, he is still there waiting. I believe there is a lot of prodigal sons coming home this year. If He can do it for our family, He can do it for yours. Our children are like arrows in the quiver, ready to be sent against their destiny. As God is sending them towards the target, I know they can never fail.

Genesis 50.20. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”