Thailand Outreach July 2015

Thailand Outreach July 2015

The idea of the outreach was to host a School of Supernatural Ministries (SOSM) to a group of people in Bangkok. We wanted to impart as much as we can in to the church leaders and people as we possibly could, trusting Holy Spirit to ignite a fire in their hearts and to expand the Gospel in Thailand. We were also looking for a man, what the Bible call the "man of peace", that will be our main connection for future outreaches and to run with the vision. The team that went on this outreach consisted of five people (Henk, Martin, Chris, Neville and Sophia). And we are very Blessed to say that this outreach exceeded all our expectations!

We arrived on the Sunday in Bangkok and started ministering the very next day. Every one stayed in the same hotel and we also had the SOSM in one of the conference rooms of the hotel. Our good friend, Indian missionary Richard Suberi, together with our two local friends from Thailand, Esther and Rhey, made all of the arrangement for us and we were set for revival in Bangkok! The SOSM would be every day from morning right through till late afternoon. It was long hours and lots of information, but the Grace that the Lord had there for all of us was just amazing! We were tired at the end of the day, but always ready and on fire during our time of ministry! There were countless testimonies coming in from the students! We could see the change in their faces as Truth became revelation and the Light transformed them! People got free, found Hope, but most importantly we all fell more in love with Jesus! We witnessed many people getting healed physically and spiritually, people choosing to forgive years of bondage of pain, shame, guilt, restoration, reconciliation and amazing worship in the Glory of the Lord!

Most of the students were local Thai people, which was a real answer to prayer for us! The previous year we mostly found people from the Philippines in the church; which is great, but we really wanted to equip the local people! There was also a pastor from Pakistan, Eric, who joined us. Henk taught in most of the classes and I also had about two sessions. Neville and I have been very good friends for most of our lives even before we whole-heartedly started following the Lord again. He was the first of my friends that knew me before I accepted Christ, that came with me on an outreach. It was such a awesome blessing to see him stand up in the Lord and in his gifting. The Lord gave him amazing visions about Thailand and what is happening in the realm of the spirit over this nation.

One of the students, let's call her M, gave us her testimony. When she was young she was abused and molested and to get revenge of some sort on her hatred for men, she became a prostitute. She later realised that she could earn more money if she became a Madam (someone who acts as an agent or trades with prostitutes). In Singapore she got arrested and thrown in jail where she got positively tested for HIV/Aids. This really came as a shock to her as she always used extra precaution when dealing with clients. She cried out to her god, buddha, but received nothing in return from him. Eventually she became so desperate for help that she screamed at the top of her voice to any God that will answer her and help her. A hand started writing on the wall of her cell and said that she would get out of jail. The writing said that His Name is Jesus. Three days later someone came to her cell and released her with her papers from prison. This is when she became a Christian! HIV/Aids took its toll and she ended up in hospital being in the final stage of the virus. There was medically spoken no hope at all for her. Again she cried out to God and asked His help. A Man in pure white clothing with fire in His eyes approached her bed and touched her. Laying in ICU with no hope to live, nor any power and strength in her body, she got healed supernaturally and stood up and walked right out of ICU! She serves and follows Jesus since then full heartedly!

Sister M also mentioned to us that she got married, but unfortunately she and her husband has been separated for about two or three years. During one of the sessions, Henk preached on Malachi 4:5-6 which speaks about the spirit of Elijah that must come to restore the hearts of the fathers to the sons and sons to the fathers; It speaks of restoration of family! Sister M kind of gave up on her husband as he never responded to any of her calls for him to come back. She decided after the session that she will try one more time, and he responded! He came to the SOSM the following day and accepted Jesus! They both serve Jesus now together as husband and wife! 

Henk took one of the sessions and talked about sex. Thailand is known not only for the prostitution, but also things like human trafficking are very much active in these parts. We feel God wants to come and restore the purity which has been stolen from the Thai people. Sex through God's eyes is such a beautiful and Holy thing, it is the world that corrupted it in just about all of our minds until the Truth gets revealed to us. Sex in the realm of the spirit has got a lot to do with the trading of seed and that is why it is such a huge thing in the occult world. The teachings and the sessions were really relevant to the people there and the times/circumstances that they live in. The entire week we were so busy the whole day spending time in amazing worship, teaching and fellowship, with God's Presence so tangible all the time, that you never really know what's busy happening inside of yourself. It is only at the end of the week when you look back at your life and you realise that you are completely changed for the good!

Revelation 21:5

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

We also spent a session on healing. There is an angel that comes to Aflame's meetings every now and then and when he comes, we know that miracles will happen! In this session we had quite a few people coming forward that needed physical healing in their bodies. The one lady had a back brace and she got healed, removed the back brace and danced before the Lord!  100% of people who came forward got healed and it was the students who prayed! Every sickness, disease and pain got healed in Jesus Name!!

Each day was unique at the SOSM and we had an amazing time every session we had. During the night hours we took the students in to the streets in to the "red light districts". Thailand is known for its sex trade. The streets, especially in allocated areas are littered with bars and prostitutes. Many of these are so called "she-males"; men who went for a sex change. Tourists from around the world stream to Thailand in the millions to support this industry which makes up more than 20% of Thailand's GDP. How the "system" works is that a street will be aligned with bars. In the street these prostitutes will stand and attempt to convince you to have a drink at the bar they "work for". The bars do not pay them but use them to promote their bars. The client will then sit down and buy a round of drinks for himself and the prostitute. These prostitutes will get commission of everything they sell. The drinks prices are stupidly expensive! We paid like R80 for a very small glass of coke! Then while having drinks, you talk to the prostitute and from there a decision can be made to take the prostitute to your hotel or somewhere. The client then needs to pay the bar money, in order to buy her from the bar. This is only to get the prostitute away from the bar as you then still have to pay her for her services!

The scenes on the streets are really horrific. Evil is so in your face all the time. All these prostitution/sex places are everywhere and in the midst of some of them you will find a family night market. Families with small children walk through these places being forced to be exposed to these things. As a westerner, it is very sad to see how we literally, spiritually, emotionally rape the country and then use culture as an excuse to justify our actions. The sex industry here started with the Vietnam war and has grew from there in to the biggest in the world. On the other side, it doesn't take much to see the shallowness of all these scenes. Just below the surface of this so called "freedom" and "fun", lies a very hurt and empty world. People are broken and hurt, put in bondage that is almost impossible to get out of. And even with all the money flowing around, poverty takes its toll on almost everyone involved. When we (our team) walked the streets, people looked at us as if we were there to be customers, just another white man with money. You almost feel ashamed to walk the streets!

On the one street corner just before you get one of these areas assigned to prostitution, on the first night we saw a guy standing on the furthest corner opposite the area, facing it and preaching towards that area. He was shouting all sorts of Scripture about repentance and the wrath of God to the people. I couldn't hear everything as he was shouting. The interpreter had to translate from English to English for me to hear what the guy was saying! I also had to protect my heart from condemning the guy as I do not agree with his method of evangelism or his view on the Gospel. We wanted to talk to the guy but was stopped by his wife with their child. She said we were not allowed to talk to him while he is preaching. This guy was preaching! The sweat ran down his face as he was doing what he felt was his duty. We spoke to his wife and just asked them on what they were doing and to really hear and try and understand their story. She told us that they have been doing this for many years now, but answered that they have not seen one Salvation, healing, miracle or anything like that in all their time doing this. When asked if they ever went into these places she replied that they never go into these places; Sinners are there and the temptations are too big, they might fall victim to these temptations. I believe Jesus does not tempt any one and He is a friend of sinners, as He often eat with them and spend time with them just loving on them. That is the Jesus that I fell in love with when I was still a sinner. We then prayed with them, blessed them and went straight into the place where the sinners are! God is Light and He is in us. A small light in a dark place makes a big difference! We believe that the Light in us is stronger than all the demons in that place and that Gods love for that people compels us to go there! We are the Light in this world because we are no longer born of the flesh, but of the spirit, and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit! The Kingdom of God is within us and the Kingdom of Heaven surrounds us; we cannot fail!! Love conquers all! Christ in us is the Hope!

All of us are still learning and growing in the things of the Lord, so we by no means think we are more superior to other ministries or strategies. But this is what works for us so we went in! We went in to these places for three nights. During our three nights we saw about 20 prostitutes giving their life to Jesus, we saw deaf ears open and many other people getting healed from all sorts of pain and sickness! One western guy (Elder guy) sitting at one of these bars was sitting alone. Neville felt he wanted to talk to this guy and hear his story, which I loved! We can so easily condemn these westerners coming to these places, forgetting that Jesus loves them too! The guy was sitting there because of his wife who has been in hospital for long now. Neville just sat and listened to his story. What I loved on what he did, is that he didn't condemn the guy but shifted the conversation's focus towards the wife who is in hospital and that the Father loves them and wants to heal his wife. The guy allowed Neville to pray for his wife and then Neville left. We stood at a distance out of sight watching what would happen next. The guy quickly finished his drink and then he got up and left! We hope and assume it was to be with his wife!

Another testimony happened with Richard. As they went into one of these bars a lady quickly welcomed them. Richard explained that they were not here to be customers but that they are pastors. He offered to buy her a drink and just talk to her. She accepted. She told him her story and said that she is a Christian but due to circumstances at home, she feels that there is no other way but to sell herself for money in order to provide for her family. This was her first night and Richard was suppose to be her first customer. She repented and asked Jesus into her life again so that He can show her an more excellent Way. Richard then had to buy her from the bar and she went to her own home so that she did not have to face any more customers that evening. Richard also connected her with a local church where she can be loved and looked after! What blessed me most of this testimony is our Father God. One of His daughters went astray and got herself into trouble. The Father send His son so that she could be rescued from making a very big mistake and get hurt. The Father was just waiting for His sons who were willing to go and do His work! My question, how many of these girls are there who's rescuer did not come because he/she was too busy or too religious, prideful or whatever our reasons are to not go in the Name of the Lord? It wrecked me to see this through the eyes of my Father! I can't imagine how He must feel, knowing what will happen and finds no one willing to help! In just three nights He was able to use a small group of people to get almost 20 prostitutes of the streets and many more people healed! I know we are but a small group of people who did this once of thing, but it encouraged me to adopt a lifestyle of missions every day, just because I want to be available when my Father calls my name! My prayer is that a generation will arise and take a stand. That a generation will go where the darkness are and destroy it by releasing the Kingdom of Light. A generation that is on fire for Jesus! Signs and wonders will follow them because they dared to believe the Gospel with all their heart! 

The Friday morning we went to a school in another part of the city. The school was started by an American missionary about 110 years ago. Today this is Thailand's most successful school! As soon as you enter the school you can see that this is a Christian school. There are Bible verses all over the school! Bible study is also a compulsory subject. There are 5000 pupils attending the school from which more than 4000 are still buddhists. The school is so popular that the children must write an examination before they are accepted into the school. The buddhist people literally stand queue to get their children into the Christian school!

Our meeting started with worship. When boys sing together in unity it is amazing, especially if they worship Jesus!!! After the worship, the Christian kids went out and divided into small groups sharing the Gospel and the Word. Who remained in the hall were only buddhist kids. I had the opportunity to share the Word with them. It was so much fun! These kids are awesome and extremely well disciplined! Thirty children committed their lives to Jesus that morning!!! I was Blessed and humbled with joy from the Lord! These kids will now become evangelists carrying the Good news of Jesus back home and everywhere they go! Our relationship with the school principal and staff also are quite good now and we are hopeful to be ministering at the school again in the future! 

The Friday evening we worshiped together and went real deep into God's Glory realm! What I mean is the Presence of God was really thick and tangible in the meeting and people laid all over the floor before the Lord! Then other moments we will dance and rejoice just enjoying our God! Every single person who attended the meetings got changed and transformed by God. All of us, totally renewed and refreshed!

The Saturday morning we had some off time and we went to the shops and had a lot of fun. I love to experience other cultures and places and to experience the way they live. We ate some worms, feed Sophia some and laughed for hours! The afternoon we were scheduled to go and visit friends in Bangkok. It is a lady named sister L (I felt to not put her name here so we can just call her sister L) and her family. Henk and I met sister L in Johannesburg in 2014. She also attended the SOSM in Bangkok and it was a real blessing to have them there with us. Sister L runs a small fellowship of mostly young adults who gather once a week at her house to worship God together. All they do is to eat together, love each other and pray/worship together. Sister L cannot speak English, but always has this amazing smile and abundance of Love shining from her. So much so that you will easily just call her mom or granny or so! It took me whole week to figure out who her real daughter was so much love was there between them. What excited us to go there was that we heard incredible stories of how they worship and how the Glory of God physically manifest in their house. The excitement amongst us all to go to their home was huge!

While we waited for the two taxi's to come and pick us up (we were too many for one!), I sat by myself in the lobby at the air conditioning and wifi in the hotel. Half the team already sat and waited in the one taxi while awaiting the second. While I was just messing around on my phone waiting, I noticed a small shining object that looked like a perfectly cut diamond, and it was not there a second or so ago! I picked it up, looked at it and then it hit me! This is my first gemstone from Heaven! I freaked!!!! I ran outside shouting with joy showing all my friends! I was so thankful for the Lord! Later throughout the next two weeks some of the meaning only started sinking in and I began to understand what happened. I am a single guy and prayed to God to protect me from women (because I needed it!) and asked that He would give me a gemstone to show me the one He chose for me. I hoped that it would happen while I was sitting with a girl because then it would have been a no brainer! Holy Spirit later told me that He wants me to have free will. He will never force me to marry a specific woman and that is why it happened when I was alone. Plus if it had happened the way I hoped for, it would have been manipulation and both of us would have felt forced into relationship. This is not how Love works! Love sets free, it does not control! He however did promise me that He would guide me to a specific lady that He can recommend for me. And it did happen!!! Right after we got back home, I met an amazing girl who love the Lord with all her heart. We fell in love quickly and have been dating ever since, waiting upon the Lord together to guide us in our steps. The Lord really had way better plans for me than what I had for myself! It pays off big time to wait upon the Lord!

The afternoon we arrived at sister L's house and were warmly welcomed with food from Heaven! They cooked a feast for us! Gourmet Thai food! It was delicious and the fellowship even better! I wanted to brag a bit with my gemstone that I found earlier on and they rejoiced with me with a great joy when I showed it to them! One of the ladies then went to fetch a small holder with 200 small blue stones in it. She said it fell the morning! They were beautiful! We received some as a present and went to test the one. It was Tanzanite! Tanzanite in Bangkok!! This lady is busy starting a ministry working with human traffic victims and is doing everything in faith. The Lord just blessed her! Henk and I have been talking a lot about these kind of manifestations from Heaven and wondered about milk and honey. We never heard of it before and thought maybe they have heard about it somewhere, so we asked them about milk and honey. They laughed, walked into the kitchen and came back with supernatural milk and honey from Heaven! We were ecstatic!! The milk tasted wonderful, the honey not like honey at all! The honey was full of gold dust! They then showed us a Bible that was leaking oil. They placed it in a big bucket and it just fills up all the time, even when they give some away! The oil smells really unique and it is also has gold dust in it! They had two Bibles that did this! There was a feather that also leaked oil like this! They put a bread into the oven to bake it and it came out completely covered in gold dust. When they cut it open there was not only gold dust inside, but also pearls! The one guy had so many diamond gemstones, he started pasting it on to his rams horn/chaufar! A cross was painted with an oily substance on the wall, the funny thing is that no human did this! It happened/appeared by itself! Whether the house anoints itself or an angel put it there I don't know, but I loved it! 

We then had communion with water that turned into wine! I do not drink alcohol at all, but I thought that this time I will not say no thank you! We gathered together on the floor and then enjoyed this Heavenly communion. We sang a familiar song from Chris Tomlin that starts with the following words:

"Water He turned into wine, He opened the eyes of the blind, there is no one like You!"

We all knew Jesus did these things. No one doubts it. But you kind of sing this song very differently, more truthfully and deeply, when you sit with water that turned into wine in your hands! And this was my biggest lesson! This is how we are always suppose to worship! In the good and the bad times. I believe if we can truly do this, we will live and display the freedom in life with which Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1). It is to worship Jesus with your spirit, soul and body to the maximum! During all this Chris also received a gemstone! Later we ministered to each other in prayer and through prophetic words. On the one wall there were a few coins stuck to the wall in the form of a cross. These coins sit against the wall with no support of any kind! They took the coins and started praying and through pure faith, the coins remained against the wall! A few of us tried it with other coins and succeeded! I also decided to have a go. When I started I quickly found myself putting my one hand underneath the coin so that I do not have to bend and pick it up every time it falls. I also was bombarded with thought like "What if everyone's coins will stick but mine wouldn't? What are the others thinking? Am I holy enough?!" And many other similar questions! I also found myself pressing harder with the coin so that it might dent the paint and perhaps stick a few seconds! It stuck with almost every attempt, but to my finger and not against the wall! I realised that I was dealing with serious unbelief in my own heart! I repented and then just took a deep breath and said, Father, I believe, help me in my unbelief! This I believe is an extremely Powerful prayer whenever you are stuck! Then suddenly, without pressing hard against the wall or anything like that, my 50 cent coin stuck to the wall!!! It remained there for more than a week and a half when we passed through their house again after our Cambodia outreach! 

Now I understand that these things are not normal for us (which is sad!) and because of this it really challenges us on many different levels. First of all, I believe that the most mature form of faith (mustard seed faith!), is child-like faith. That's one of the reasons I believe these things; Because it is so silly! God loves to offend our religious minds and break out of the boxes we try to put Him in, in our minds and understanding. And I love it that He does these things, because it made me to grow in my faith by getting rid of the religious devils that controlled and influenced my mindset. But the most important reason is the fruit. The best thing about our visit to sister L's house was not the signs and wonders; it was the Love. The Love they have for God and the Love they have for each other. The overflowing Joy that floods their gatherings. I know the fruit that these things produced in my life and I am very thankful for that! Not only in my life, but many people who we showed these things to after our travels! People received deliverance, faith and new prayer strategies to name but few.  With one person it did more to her because her coin stuck for a few seconds, than what four years of counselling did! I really thank God for opening this realm even more for us! Remember, there will never be enough evidence for the sceptic, and very little or no evidence are needed for the Believer! I love what Justin Abraham says: "We are all powerful to believe what we want and make up our own mind. We are powerful to work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord." 

After our meeting Henk and Chris went to the airport to catch their flight back to South Africa. Sophia went to other missionaries in Thailand the following day, and Neville and I departed for Cambodia, all of us changed forever by the Grace of God and the new childlike faith now within us!