The impact of The Elijah Challenge

Since our founding in 2000, the Lord has been gracious to use The Elijah Challenge to train tens of thousands of believers on six continents for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Here are just a few of many testimonies and reports from the field: 

• In Africa alone, we have trained pastors, leaders, and believers in 13 countries.  
   
• Our Training Centre Director in New Delhi has reported to us that churches trained by The Elijah Challenge are now the fastest-growing congregations in North India.
   
• Between July 2007 and July 2010 in North India, 42 churches were planted and 11,346 people (predominantly Hindus) accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in mostly unreached villages through Elijah Challenge Healing & Feeding Events.
   
• In the Philippines, Elijah Challenge-trained servants of God witness New Testament miracles consistently as they proclaim the kingdom of God.
   
• In New York, over 850 people were healed in the streets, in stores and in homes in the two months following the training of a local ministry in 2009.
   
• In Brazil, Elijah Challenge-trained disciples went from home-to-home and to the streets over a period of six days in July 2010. During that time 1,920 people were healed of infirmities and 1,440 people accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
   
• In various nations of the world the Lord has raised up regional Elijah Challenge Coordinators to teach the Basic Training to local churches and disciples.

• Videos of The Elijah Challenge Basic Training have been downloaded from the internet well over 3,000 times without charge.

Earlier this decade we held historic Campaigns like those in Vietnam and Egypt, but now our work is following Scripture closely and conservatively to train nameless disciples how to use authority to heal the sick as Jesus taught and commanded His disciples in Luke 10:9 when He sent them out. "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.’" The sick are healed to demonstrate to the lost and backslidden that Jesus is the only way to the Father and to bring them to repentance.

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Our overhead is minimal
With the Lord's help we have been able to be very efficient with the finances He has entrusted to us. We keep our operating expenses very low.

• We do not have the expenses of operating a "bricks and mortar" office or facility. Our office presence is on the internet.
   
• We do not have a staff to pay.
   
• We do not operate a jet airplane (or any airplane at all for that matter) for ministry travel.
   
• We fly Economy Class when we travel, and do not ask for 5-star hotel accommodations.
   
• We do not spend funds in order to raise more funds.
   
• We do not pay any mortgage.
   
• We own one automobile which is very fuel-efficient.
   
• We have not needed to take a formal vacation in four years.
   
• We do not have health insurance coverage, but instead take very good care of our physical bodies with proper diet and exercise.
   
• We do not set aside funds for retirement at this time although we are not far from retirement age. We will serve the Lord actively until He takes us on from this life.
   
• Our personal income from the ministry is minimal and commensurate with our modest standard of living.
   
• We have lived by faith for many of our 31 years in full-time ministry, the first nine years of which were spent as missionaries in primitive, unreached regions of Indonesian Borneo.
   
• We have chosen to store our treasure in heaven for the age to come. Luke 14:33 "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

• Although The Elijah Challenge has had significant impact in areas around the world in equipping the Church for the Great Commission, we can have even greater impact when greater financial resources are available to us.

 

If you are looking for a high-impact yet low-overhead ministry to support financially as part of your obedience to the Great Commission, do consider The Elijah Challenge ~

Write us at info@theelijahchallenge.org if you'd like to know more.

The Elijah Challenge is a 501(c)(3) non-profit church organization and all donations are tax deductible.

Rev William Lau

Founder and Director of The Elijah Challenge

An Ordinary Believer Heals Deaf and Mute in the Name of Jesus

The Elijah Challenge Seminar, conducted by Pastor William Lau, is held at The Latter Rain Conference in May 2010. The venue was Thien An Vietnamese Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington.

Christine (left) trying vainly to open up Ilona's deaf ear in Christ's name

There was also a 63-year-old Vietnamese sister at the Training named Christine. The Lord had called this fiery woman to heal the sick and preach the gospel, but she had not been trained how to do it. On Saturday during the Training, Christine ministered to Sister Ilona who suffered from complete deafness in her right ear as a result of a needle being inserted into the ear when she was a young girl. Christine ministered to her three times, but there was no improvement at all in Ilona's hearing. But read on to find out what happened later in the evening.

A woman feels God's healing power over her as Christine lays hands on her.

Later that Saturday evening after the Training, Christine was ready for war at the evangelistic healing meeting. She ministered to Ilona again, and this time the Lord opened up her ear and she could hear Christine whispering into her right ear. Another woman testified of experiencing God's healing power come upon her as Christine laid hands on her. See the photos below.

Christine was persistent and continued to command the ear to be healed

Amazing miracles: two deaf & mute women healed

On Sunday evening the following day, Christine ministered to two women who were both deaf and mute, the older woman completely so since birth. The Lord healed them both. It was amazing for me and the crowd to hear someone deaf and mute since birth repeating words after Christine. She could not contain herself and was screaming and dancing around after the Lord used her so powerfully. 

The deaf ear was opened and could hear a whisper

Christine is now making plans to heal the sick and preach the gospel openly at a shopping mall, and even to make announcements on the radio offering "free healing." Christine was just one of many of the Lord's disciples who was trained during that weekend to heal the sick and preach the gospel as Jesus commanded his disciples two thousand years ago.

Healing Miracles @ Mae Sai, North Thailand

In Mae Sai, I was privileged to teach 16 students. 9 of them are currently in Year 1 of a 2-year programme at the Bible School. The remainder were co-workers from Burma side. With the grace of God and help of my translators, I manage to communicate the three sessions on Evangelism Model for End Times with demonstrations.
On the first day, 3 people were healed! After the sessions, they also put to practice what they have learnt - especially one of my translators, Arthur. He took us to his village and by divine appointment, 5 people were ministered to! En route to Chiangmai where I would board my plane back, Arthur took us to a coffee plantation and factory.  After drinking lovely coffee, we ministered to the owner and he received God's healing! Great is the Lord and most greatly to be praised!
Regards,
Pastor Timothy Lam

 

No Longer Welcomed In Romania After Healing Miracles

Houston, Texas
October 11, 2010

Dear Friends & Partners in the Great Commission,

Two months ago in August we held the Basic Training in Louisiana. One of the brothers from the group which hosted the event was Thomas Keiffer, an attorney who is about to go into full-time ministry with e3 Partners. Shortly after the Basic Training, Thomas and a team of trained disciples went to Romania on a mission trip. Below Thomas shares some of the miraculous healings they witnessed on the trip. Equally significant is the mysterious reaction to the miracles on the part of the Romanian church leaders who hosted them. Read about it below ~

Thomas' Report:

"There are numerous stories to share with you concerning Romania. People were healed, delivered and saved. Here are only a few:

* A 10-year-old was instantly healed of a vision problem. When asked to explain to a bystander what Jesus had done for him, the boy simply said, “He made my eyes good.”

* A woman walking with her husband of 46 years was on her way to market, carrying a load of socks and shirts to sell. She had a back injury from an automobile accident. She was instantly healed of pain while her husband wept tears of joy. Both were saved.

* A woman leaving a makeshift medical clinic was instantly freed of arthritis pain in her legs (yes, before taking any medication). She put her faith in the Lord as her savior.

* A pastor still suffering pain after back surgery was instantly relieved of pain. He exclaimed loudly, “This is very interesting! What are you doing to me? That pain is gone. You must explain this to me!” And we did.

* A nervous woman reported hearing a voice at night, telling her to commit suicide by throwing herself down a well. She was delivered of that evil spirit. Asked how she was doing, she responded, “bene (good)!”

Miraculous demonstrations of the power of God based on the authority of Jesus Christ – or delusional anecdotes?

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also ….” John 14:12

After sending you the last e-mail about the grip of religion on Romania, I received a phone call confirming that we are on the right track.

I learned that I am not welcome to return to Romania because local religious leaders are not comfortable with my taking the initiative in regard to healing and spiritual warfare. Although I was told I had done nothing wrong, I nevertheless “blew some fuses.”

My friend Gary made me laugh when he said to me, “What happened – you got caught healing on the Sabbath?”

My daughter Charley put it this way – “You mean that they are more comfortable with disease and demons [then with healing and deliverance]?”

We love Romania. The people, history, culture and food. I've been there five times, and was looking forward to bringing my family there next summer. We have had two Romanian students live with us. We helped build a house to establish a local village church. We have a Romanian flag in our home, and even named a stray dog that we recently adopted, “Gypsy.” We were really looking forward to the privilege of serving in Romania.

Where does this leave us? On an adventure of course!

I've been asked to take on the role of country strategist; meaning that I can choose from a list of target countries and start church planting from scratch. So, I've gone from a team leader to a country leader in one phone call (and still don't know exactly what a “church planter” is). Could this be the Peter Principle at work? Perhaps, but I'm not the one who's going to accomplish anything anyway. It's all up to the Lord. My goal is simply to be turned over to Him.

I certainly have some mixed feelings, especially since I don't know where to go next. It's like being dumped by your first girlfriend, and the right one hasn't come along yet. Please pray for (my wife) Lisa and me to know the Lord's will for us."

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer, dear ones!
 

Pastor William & Lucille

Founders and Directors

The Elijah Challenge
www.TheElijahChallenge.org

Why So Few Miracles In Today's Churches?

A Lutheran missionary to Cambodia visited me in Phnom Penh to ask for some advice about casting out demons. He did not know what to do with a demon-possessed person in his congregation at Siem Reap. He said that in his denomination and Bible College, he was never taught how to cast out demons. After showing him how to use his God-given authority to cast out evil spirits, he was able to return later to tell me that he had successfully cast out the evil spirits from the afflicted person.

For many Evangelical denominations, miracles do not exist at all because according to their leaders, the Bible teaches that all miracles have ceased. They based upon the assumption that God did miracles in the past only for the reason of confirming God's word. To them, not only miracles have ceased but the spiritual gifts particularly tongues and prophecy have also ceased.

Taking 1 Corinthians 13:10, they interpret the Greek word, 'tevleio' which means 'completion' to mean the 'completion' in writing the Bible rather than the completion of the Age. The context of this verse has no indication that Paul even had this in mind when he wrote to the Corinthian Christians.

The basic rule of interpretation is always the Bible never says what it never did say. However, this traditional argument depicts the 'completion of the Bible' has been accepted by most Evangelical mainline churches to such an extent that it has become almost synonymous to biblical truth.

What Does "Perfection" Of 1 Corinthians 13 Mean?

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10 - NKJV)

Paul was referring to the gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge as 'that which is in part'. Unlike love, these sign gifts will cease when the 'perfect has come'. Paul had in mind something better would come to replace the temporal gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge.

The interpretive difficulty is around the word, 'tevleio' in 13:10.

One interpretation leans heavily on the following verse 11 which was Paul encouraging the Corinthian Christians to mature by using the imagery of a child and an adult. Such interpretation claims that 'tevleio' is used to indicate the distinction between immaturity and maturity.

This interpretation cannot stand because firstly, the distinction made by Paul was that the gifts were partial and not the people. Therefore when the 'perfection' comes, the temporal gifts will be done away with and not the people.

Secondly, the Bible is clear that spiritual maturity will never be able to achieve what Paul had said in verse 12, "Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." To attain the kind of knowing and being fully known, it has to be something more than just spiritual maturity.

What would allow the Corinthian Christians to see "face to face" and to have perfect knowledge? The common cessationist interpretation states that this will happen when the Bible is completed and canonized. However, the Bible does not allow us to see "face to face" or to acquire perfect knowledge.

Another evidence that this interpretation is flawed is that Paul and his audience had no idea about the canonization of the Scripture. Moreover, the Bible mentions that knowledge and prophecy continue to be in operation beyond the present modern age.

And it shall come to pass afterwardThat I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2:28)

In the Acts of the Apostles, the prophecy was claimed to be fulfilled. Literally, people of very low status in society were being filled with the Holy Spirit. Unlike in the Old Testament, where only the leaders and prophets were sporadically filled with the Holy Spirit, God now gives His Holy Spirit to the whole Church.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams. (Acts 2:17)

To deny that the power and gifts of God continue to this day, is to allow our prejudices to limit not only our ministry but the working of the Lord in our churches. That is the reason why today, Western churches are on the decline because they do not encounter the reality of the power and presence of God. The Western churches have taught that God's miracles and spiritual gifts are no longer in operation and thus cause their church members to be deprived of very authentic spiritual experience endorsed by the Bible.

The only way to rectify this is for the church leadership to sincerely read the bible again without the artificial restrictive categories developed by man. Let the bible speak and do not keep saying, this miracle or that sign will never happen today. Try to heal someone in the name of Jesus and once there is good result, you will stop justifying or explaining why miracles cannot happen today.

Misconceptions About Modern Miracles From God

Benjamin B. Warfleid

We are all affected by our church traditions and cultures. Depending on our denominational or church backgrounds, we will have different concepts of miracles. This is inevitable because we do not all study the bible by ourselves. Most of the time, we depend upon our elders, bible teachers and godly leaders to show us what the bible says. We make the assumption that they are more knowledgeable than we are and so we simply trust what they have taught.

Our church traditions have their positive aspects but some of these are producing negative results. Therefore, it is not whether my church tradition is better than yours or vice versa. The key is to find out which aspects of our traditions are in line with what the bible actually teaches and which are not. It is dangerous to simply take things for granted.

Through The Elijah Challenge ministry, we have taught many nameless and faceless believers from both the mainline evangelical and Pentecostal / Charismatic churches. We thank God that many of these mainline evangelical churches are receptive to divine healing and the practice of healing the sick.

There are some churches that believe miracles have already ceased and therefore they cannot happen today. Through their teachings, essays and books, quite a number of these church leaders have buried divine healings and miracles in the grave of cessation. In spite of many modern evidences of healing miracles they try to justify their belief by rejecting all these as counterfeits.

The cessation theory expounded by Benjamin B. Warfield, a professor at Princeton Seminary from 1887 to 1921, continues to affect many churches. Echoing Warfield, these Christians claim that God only allow extensive miracles in three periods of history, namely from the time of Moses to Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. The third period was from the time of Jesus to the Apostles. The final time when miracles will become rampant would be the time of the Antichrist and the great Tribulation.

The churches that adhere to the professor's assumptions and arguments ultimately put on theological blinders - God will no longer perform any miracles outside these periods. According to them, all the claims of healing miracles in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are therefore either fakes or false miracles.

Like many of the modern cessationists, Warfield was not anti-supernatural. He believed that all the supernatural activities found in the bible were true. However, he strongly believed that all the biblical spiritual gifts and miracles had ceased since the time of the Apostles. Signs and wonders cannot occur in our era simply because God apparently has no reason to make them happen.

I studied an 18-page transcript of a class lesson taught by a popular proponent of cessationism. This famous bible teacher begins with the story of Hobart Edward Freeman, a professor of Hebrew, Old Testament Studies, Philosophy and Ethics, who was later influenced by the Word of Faith movement. Freeman subsequently became very extreme in his teaching on healing and created storms of controversy by disparaging medical institutions, doctors and medicine. His faith-formula theology has caused him to teach that God is obligated to heal every disease and infirmity if the believer were to response in genuine faith. He believed that if anyone who claimed healing and still continued to take medicine, the person would not be expressing his faith with matching action.

Later, Freeman was charged by the government for 'negligent homicide' when some members of his congregation died due to the lack of medical care. Women were told to give birth at home, assisted by midwives, approved by Freeman's church. Dead babies were prayed to be resurrected at the altar. Apparently, about 90 parishioners died during Freeman's tenure. Two weeks prior to his appearance in court, Freeman passed away.
The bible teacher then listed his own choice of so-called extreme faith healers ranging from A. A. Allen, Kathyrn Kuhlman to John Wimber. In careful calculated mockery, he says, "Now, it seems obvious, at least a curiosity to all of us that so many leading advocates of faith healing are sick!" He is careful to point out that many of these faith healers also died of chronic diseases.

After presenting a whole host of weird and ridiculous events that were considered miraculous by the naive, the bible teacher hopes to convince his audience that people who experience or believe in modern miracles are of similar category of naive people. Sounding benevolent, he warns that false signs and false miracles are the primary tool of Satan in the end times.

This cessationist claims that he believes God can still do miracles because God's power has not diminished even in modern time. As soon as he finishes that, he quickly emphasizes that none, absolutely none, of the so-called miracles experienced today is of biblical standard. He then reiterates his persuasion that both history and the Scripture support his belief that the gift of miracles, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, has ceased operating today. He challenges the Charismatics to produce at least one person who is raised from the dead. Most of the healing miracles, according to this teacher, are partial, gradual, temporary and on occasions, become reversed. They are impossible to verify and apparently the only instant miracles are those that have to do with psychosomatic diseases.

With heavy mockery, this teacher says that even if the Holy Spirit wants to release His power to heal, why does He choose to release it on people who are teaching bad theology. In true pharisaic approach, he declares that surely if the Holy Spirit wanted to authenticate anybody with miracles, He would have chosen people like the cessationists because according to the teacher, they were supposed to most skilled and teach the truest, purest, most profound and biblical form of theology. The arrogance of their theological prowess is evidenced but it is good for us to note that when Jesus first came, He did not approach the so-called skilled teachers of the Torah to share the Good News. He instead called those who were not theological trained people such as fishermen, tax-collector and even ex-prostitute.
In a conversation with a proponent of the cessation of miracles, I asked him whether the miracles, that we are experiencing in our ministry, from God or from the devil. He was hesitant to reply because he did observe that people were instantly healed after ordinary believers took authority in the name of Jesus and healed the infirm. This man knew the danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31).

As most cessationists cannot refute the reality of present-day miracles and so they say that even if there were miracles, they are not normative. According to them, these are extremely rare events. If that were to be the case, then the cessationists cannot consider themselves to be true cessationists. All their arguments about miracles that could only happen in the three periods in history have failed to hold water.

All it needs to prove the cessationists wrong is one modern-day miracle occurring in the name of Jesus. In order to be proven accurate, the cessationists, on the other hand, need to prove that every modern miracle is a fake. The truth cannot be both ways. It has to be either God-given miracles are still in operation today or there is absolutely none. To allow one's theology to lock God in a box is ultimately to deny God of His true sovereignty and power.

Healing Miracles at AGSOM, Cainta Campus

September 22, 2010 

Healing Miracles at AGSOM, Cainta Campus

Our final day of ministry was at the main campus of AGSOM at Cainta. Apart from Filipino students, there were four students from China. In a simple session, I shared about how ordinary faceless and nameless believers have been given the authority and power to heal in the context of evangelism. 

Once again, God confirmed His words through signs and wonders. About ten students and faculty members sat on the ‘healing chairs’ to receive healing. The rest of the student body and faculty were briefly taught how they could lay hands upon the infirm and heal them with the authority and power of Jesus. 

One by one, the infirm were healed by the evidenced power of God. Pastora Mercy Esguerra Peregrina, the Academic Dean of the AGSOM, received healing for her left knee. A sister with ailment in her eye was also healed. Once again, there were quite a few who were instantly healed of back pain.

 

This Chinese student was healed in the name of Jesus

One of the Chinese students was greatly disappointed because after most people were healed, her back pain persisted. From the scale of 0 to 10, her pain had remained at 10. When Grace laid hand on her, the pain dropped to the level of 9 and then later 7. However, to activate mountain-moving faith, we needed to be persistent. With another moment of laying of hands and rebuking, the pain left the Chinese student completely. 

Praise the Lord. We trust that the Filipino and Chinese students will continue to use their God-given authority and power to heal the infirm whenever they share the Gospel.

Healing Miracles at AGSOM, Bulacan Campus

Septembe 21 2010

Healing Miracles at AGSOM, Bulacan Campus

On September 19, my wife Grace was grounded by the airline in Manila because she had contracted conjunctivitis. She was not allowed to board the plane for fear of infecting other passengers. Grace’s father, Bro Ong had to travel alone back to Malaysia while I accompanied my wife in Manila until her eyes clear up.

The strangest thing was that no matter how I rebuked, her sore eyes refused to clear up. This was a little beyond me because we had, through the authority and power given by Jesus Christ, healed some with conjunctivitis while at Mindanao. Pastor Rick Alay was also one of those who were healed of conjunctivitis after we laid hands on his eyes when we were in transit via Manila to Cebu on September 10. Grace and I felt that there must be certain unfinished tasks that God wanted us to do in Manila.

Just as we expected, God did tremendous healing miracles at the Assemblies of God School of Ministry (AGSOM). Pastor Rick who is the President of AGSOM had invited us to minister at his Bulacan Campus. Pastora Flordeliza R. Samson who came along with us was limping because the articular cartilage that helped lubricate and cushion the surfaces of her knee joints was damaged. The reduced lubrication and cushioning had caused pain in her knees. When we reached the campus which was actually a church, Grace and I laid hands on her knees and commanded the pain to go. After a few times, Pastora Flordeliza said that the pain had left her knees and she began to walk. Later she testified before the student body about what God had done for her.

After sharing from the Word of God about the difference between the authority to heal and gift of healing, I encouraged the students who needed healing to come forth. There was a slight hesitation because they did not expect an instantaneous demonstration of God’s power to heal. With some encouragements, almost twenty students came forth to be healed. 

They were expected to be prayed for but instead I asked them to heal each other by commanding the pain and infirmities to go in the name of Jesus. After the first command, there were five students who were instantly healed. One female student was healed of shoulder pain. Another shared about the leg being healed. Yet another, the headache had left immediately even though in the morning, she had felt so terrible. More commands by faith and more students were healed. After all the students were healed by the power and authority of the Lord, they were like still in a daze. 

Many shook our hands and apparently still in the twilight zone, they said that they had never experienced anything like that before. They could not believe that they had actually healed the infirm by their own faith. Many felt that from then they should be able to heal the sick every time they evangelize.

Sharing ‘The Elijah Challenge’ BECMA Joint Worship Service in Mindanao

19 September 2010 – Sharing ‘The Elijah Challenge’ BECMA Joint Worship Service in Mindanao

Once every quarter, churches from the Buenavista region gather as one congregation to celebrate and worship God. On 19 September 2010, the churches worshipped together at a local basketball stadium. There were over one thousand participants and the atmosphere was energized by the presence of the Holy Spirit. 

Pastor Butch Nacua and I shared the pulpit on that day. The reason was because our mission team had to rush to the airport by 10.30 AM. We had to fly to Manila for the connecting flight home. 

After sharing about the power and authority of God to heal, I challenged those present to have faith in healing the infirm whenever they share the Gospel. Then as a demonstration of God’s power, I told them that they would be healed in His name. As there was a large crowd, I asked those who were suffering from pains and infirmities to lay hands on themselves. After commanding all the pain and infirmities to go in the name of Jesus, there were some who were healed. 

By that time, we had to rush to the airport. We received report from Pastor Butch that after he took over to preach, there were indeed people miraculously healed during the ‘mass’ distanced healing.

Sharing ‘The Elijah Challenge’ on Radio in Butuan City, Mindanao

­18 September 2010 – Sharing ‘The Elijah Challenge’ on Radio in Butuan City, Mindanao

It was good to meet Pastor Lorenzo Oalican, my course mate at Haggai Institute in Maui. He was the first minster to invite us to teach Elijah Challenge in Mindanao. Once again, we were invited to speak on radio. This time, Grace did not come because she was down with sore eyes. 

Interestingly, we were to learn why God allowed Grace to heal others in His name but she herself suffered from this eye ailment. My father-in-law, who is known as Brother Ong to many, Pastor Butch, Pastor Yoyong and I went with Pastor Lorenzo to Real Radio Station - 88.7 mHz. 

We shared the healing message and even encouraged the listeners to believe and be healed in the name of Jesus. According to post-program reports, there were people healed. We are glad for this opportunity to share the Gospel and power of God to heal on radio in Butuan.

Healing Miracles at NOGAP - Nook of God’s Awesome Presence. Buenvista, Mindanao

16 and 17 September 2010 Healing Miracles at NOGAP
Nook of God’s Awesome Presence
Buenvista, Mindanao

In the evening of 14 September, the five of us namely, Pastor Butch, Pastor Deo, Brother Ong, Grace and I had taken a 12-hour ship journey to Mindanao from Cebu. It was almost 8.00 AM when we arrived at Nasipit International Seaport situated in Agusan del Norte. The Church - Nook of God’s Awesome Presence, better known as NOGAP, is situated about half an hour away from the seaport. We rested on the day of arrival and the following day, we were ready to conduct the Elijah Challenge seminar.

The pastors of NOGAP are Pastor Conchito E. Quimzon and his wife, Pastora Jasmine B. Quimzon. Conducting the seminar in their Church was the primary reason why we came to Mindanao. In March, we had visited this Church for only two hours and conducted a brief healing session there. Since then, the pastors had requested that we come back to provide further training. There was much anticipation and according to their faith, many were healed by the Lord honoured.

Once again, the common ailments were back pain. Life in the barrios is hard and many have injured themselves doing very hard works. An epidemic of sore eyes was in progress and quite a few were suffering from conjunctivitis. The trained believers did exactly what they were told – they commanded with lots of faith. The spirit and power of Elijah had come upon these precious people in Buenavista, Mindanao.

The two-day seminar did not only produce many healing miracles but also many Elijah Challengers. Many participants said that they will use what they had been taught to share the Gospel. They will not be afraid to heal the sick and cast out demons just as Jesus had taught and commanded His disciples when He sent them into their nation to proclaim about the Kingdom of God.