Kitwe,
Zambia - May 2012
The
crowd grew each night we were there, and at the final meeting it was literally
jam-packed! About 8,000 people responded to the altar call, and even though all
of them came forward to fill the large empty space in front of the stage, it
was still just as packed where they had been standing. It sounded like the roar
of many waters when we prayed the prayer of salvation, and then when I prayed
for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, mass chaos broke out! Children, young
people, families and the elderly fell to the ground under the awesome power
that was poured out upon the crusade location. I don’t know how many people
were baptized in the Holy Spirit, but at least just as many were delivered from
demons. Children who were 8-10 years of age were lying on the ground under the
power of the Holy Spirit. Several times I had to interrupt the meeting and ask
everyone to look down at their feet so that no one would get hurt. The scene on
the stage was spectacular: there were people lying everywhere. The delivery
tents were filled to overflowing and the stage was full of children who were
filled with the power of God. Adults go down under the power for a short while,
but the children get totally knocked out! It was as if heaven bent down and
kissed the people of Kitwe – what glory, what an outpouring, what a savior!
What
we experienced in Kitwe, we experience in most of the places we visit. Our
organization lets people know ahead of time about the strong presence of Jesus
that will come, and about how so many will get delivered and baptized in the
Holy Spirit. But most of them find it hard to take us seriously about what will
happen, so when the Holy Spirit starts to work in people and the power falls,
the local organization is usually not quite enough. It doesn’t matter whether
it is Scandinavia, Africa or Asia.
The
pastors and churches in Kitwe, together with PTL’s director in Zambia,
evangelist Mark Kaooma, had done a wonderful job preparing for the crusade. We
work with Mission Press, who are responsible for the stage and lighting, and we
work with a wonderful Christian band called DMK. A crusade really is a huge
team effort, with many people pitching in, and where each and every person has
a special and important task.
Zambia
is also unique in that we have access to their national TV station. That means
that we can broadcast the gospel during prime time and we can show every single
Zambian household what Jesus is doing: how blind can see, deaf can hear and
lame can walk. One of the many miracles was a 6 year-old son who was nearly
completely blind. After being prayed for, he tugged on his father’s jacket and
said, “Pappa, now I can see Pastor Tommy
too!” Fantastic! One man around 30 years old had to cancel his operation.
He had had a brain tumor and my interpreter, who knew the man, told me that
before his healing you could see the swelling on his head. But when the man
testified that his tumor was gone, the swelling was gone as well.
Kitwe
had a powerful impact on me. There is something special about those people.
They imparted something to me. Despite all the poverty and problems there, they
are so generous with their love. Sometimes when I leave a crusade I can feel
emptied out, in need of Jesus to fill me up again. But when I left Kitwe I felt
filled up, filled with love from all of the tens of thousands of wonderful
Zambians who visited the crusade. Thank you Jesus for Kitwe!
