Dear Partners in Prayer and Evangelism
Thank you for your support in prayer and finance, especially during my latest evangelism in Central Asia. On arrival I was shocked at how many remembered me from 2003, and shocked at the 5000 attending in Almaty and outstanding miracles which happened!
Writing this, I have just returned from 12 days in Kazakhstan. This vast territory, controlled by Russia from the 1800s until the USSR broke up in 1991, has the largest deposits of uranium in the world, and is situated between 2 autocratic regimes, Russia and China. The two main languages are Russian and Kazakh. Because historically Central Asia was home to nomads, Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society. Officially a secular society, the largest group are Kazakhs (ethnic Turkic) and the majority religion is culturally Islamic, but the new capital, Astana was built as a multi-faith city!
After 70 years of enforced atheism, the hunger for the Gospel in the 1990s drove a great revival – pioneered by the youth, some even teenagers. In 2003 they invited me to evangelise with them; my preaching was accompanied by some of the biggest miracles I have ever experienced. Many people we met on this visit remember the great healings that happened in my ministry back then.
Unfortunately, also in the 1990s, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, UAE, and other Moslem nations invested huge sums into the schools and universities, buying influence over government and young people – so that a great persecution broke out against the churches. In the last 20 years, it has been impossible to hold public evangelism. Even now, for a foreigner simply to speak in a church building, you must have a missionary permit from the government. So, this visit was a testing ground.
In the capital city Astana, they only managed to get a permit for me one week before our meetings started. But, for the first time in 20 years they were allowed to put a banner in the street to advertise the meetings; and after 20 years of ‘provocations’, (disturbances, created to bring in the police), we enjoyed absolute peace! They doubled the seating capacity in the church, and every meeting was virtually full. There were wonderful miracle healings, including one pre-teen Kazakh girl, born with crippling cerebral palsy; her uncontrollable salivation dried up instantly, then she began to place her twisted feet flat on the floor and walk!
From there I flew with my team to Almaty, the commercial capital. Two different churches, three days of powerful teaching and evangelism, two meetings every day. People came to the evangelism from all over Kazakhstan, by car, by train, some even flew in, so great is their hunger for God... Advertising was on Instagram on sites connected with those searching for medication... One church had a permit for me, the other did not. But no police presence, no phone calls, no provocations!
Now, after 20 years of persecutions and strong prayer, in Kazakhstan they sense they are standing on the edge of – possibly in the centre of – a new revival. So I’m living in an experiment – because, with God, nothing is impossible! I want to push the boundaries further and further until all can see how powerful our God really is! Science tells us the Universe is expanding outwards without limit. That’s God! God is like that! And so, although I am 91, I refuse to stop until God brings this great revival!
Central Asia is confirmed as my new mission field. This is where God is clearly leading me: firstly He called me to spend 60 years in all the former Soviet Union, now the next 20 plus, focused in Central Asia. Not forgetting Ukraine and Israel! With massive prayer and financial support, God will bring a similar revival to that in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. We will see many come to Christ, many new churches, and God will demonstrate with miracles the difference between the message of Mohammed and Jesus Christ! Everything that has happened here on this last visit only emphasises what God will do in these last days before the Coming of the Kingdom of God here on earth!
Jesus said the guests invited to the great Heavenly Wedding Feast will fail to attend, so we must go into the highways and byways, to the poor and neglected and compel them to come in! Matthew 22. This is a critical time. Jesus said, the field is white and ready for harvest but there are not enough reapers. The time before Jesus comes is short. God has clearly called me to do this work. It has taken over 70 years to prepare me for what He is about to do. The people of Central Asia know my work and who I am, and they need me!
I need you to pray for me and the team who travel with and organise for me. Because of the distances and big time-changes, most flights out and back are overnight. As there are no direct flights for me, especially from Manchester, and made worse because of the Russian/Ukrainian war (Moscow used to be the transfer centre), total travel can be 15-20 hours and expensive! Thank God I am only 91 – think what it will mean when I am over 120!!!
I flew home on Monday 7th August, straight off the plane, into the office to catch up with the backlog of work – before I even went home! Yes, I took one day off before I had to fly back only to fly a few days later, on 12th August, this time to Kyrgyzstan, via Istanbul, for a week-long International Central Asian Youth Conference. It was a totally unexpected miracle to get permission to hire a stadium seating 5000! I will report on my return. Ministry schedules are tough; I had 10 full meetings on this last mission, and may have another 8 on this next trip!
I’m asking you to join me in praying for mighty miracles – for many to come to Christ – for young people to be fired up for God all over Central Asia. And, as always, we also need prayer for finance, because we have more evangelism booked and planned for this year – and next – than since before Covid.
In September I shall go for my week of prayer on the mountains in Austria. Now, whilst still in the UK, I’m hoping for a few hours sailing, with Jesus, in a boat, and no storms!
David
Thank you for your continued support of this ministry in prayer and finance. Each week the Gospel is preached in-person and online. It is our prayer that you are blessed by David’s weekly teaching programmes on television, radio and podcast: he is currently teaching from Hebrews; all past episodes are available on YouTube. In addition, our staff in Ukraine continue to share the love of Christ with the displaced and vulnerable, encouraging them by organising church services, and often, giving those in despair a sincere hug, things which are very precious during this time in their lives. Jesus said when you help the least of these, you are doing it unto Him. Thank you for your generosity. ‘We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father because of your love for all of God’s people. This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere’ (Colossians 1:3-6).