Best Fishing Trip I've Ever Been On! (Dec, 2006)
I wrote this email "Jumping for Joy x 2!!" to my church on 12/19/06 after a week in Cherkassy, Ukraine teaching of God’s love and salvation to children in a smaller orphanage.
Hi again,
I hope you all got the pictures I sent yesterday. I have wonderful news on two fronts.
Yesterday, 8 (EIGHT) CHILDREN GAVE THEIR LIVES TO JESUS!!!!! These were the oldest in the orphanage I have been teaching in almost daily. They are 13 to 16 y/o. A ninth boy told me he had already been “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” He prayed the prayers along with us also. Tomorrow I will have an opportunity to give the same message to the middle age kids, 6 or 7 to 12 y/o. These children were just wonderful!! The first time we prayed as a group I felt the Holy Spirit, so I asked them if anyone of them felt anything like warm and peaceful. One by one 8 out of 9 raised their hand. It just got better and easier from there. And one girl up front was praying silently when I didn’t ask them to pray. She is hungry for God. I knew it from the moment I met her. She caught my eye, a sweet, sincere young girl eager to listen to me talk about God and his ways.
The second piece of good news has to do with what I wrote a few of you yesterday about some things I thought God was telling me to do. I had a dream back home a few days before I left. And God told me to fast from meat 3 days while here in Cherkassy (finished yesterday). I also had some more info none of you had. And while praying this morning, I got the dream interpretation. So here’s what I think God is saying regarding this dream, the partial fast, etc…
My dream was I was carrying 3 fish in my left arm. One was cooked white fish. I could see the breading and maybe black pepper on top. The second was a raw fillet of a white fish, small about the same size as the first. The 3rd piece was a large fresh piece of salmon (raw), nice and pink, and very large. It kind of bent over curving up and then down from my grasp. There appeared about 5 white coyotes that came along and snatched the salmon from me. That’s the dream.
Here in Cherkassy there are 3 orphanages I have a chance to visit. The one who rejected my offer to teach; the one I am teaching in now; and one I've yet to tell you about. This last one is in an outlying region about 50 miles from where I am now. It apparently is not as nice, doesn't have as much funding, not receiving much attention from help groups including Christians. It has 130 children. I was supposed to start teaching there last week, but the adoption agency director has been very busy, he said he wasn't exactly sure if or when I was coming. (This is not true. We had at least ten email exchanges.) I called him today to ask him again about going to one of the village orphanages and he said he had to go out of town again on business. Finally, I got him to agree to have his wife take me there on Thursday. And because it is so far away, he suggested I stay in the village, maybe even sleep in the orphanage. He said it will be an adventure. Yes I’m sure it will be. And there is a much larger opportunity to peach the gospel to these children. THIS IS THE BIG FISH THAT THE ENEMY TRIED TO STEAL FROM ME!! Plans are tentative, but I believe that God will send me there for the last 3 days here in this region (Thurs, Fri & Sat.)
The cooked fish was the one that rejected my offer to teach. They get a lot of funding and a lot of Christian groups. And probably these kids are somewhat Bible knowledgeable and maybe even saved. This fish is done and really didn’t need me.
The orphanage I am working in now is the raw white fish. Although this orphanage gets many visits and funding, the maximum stay there is only 3 months. Children come here from broken families or maybe the street and the staff has 3 months to clean them up, give them medical attention and place them in a more permanent spot (usually another orphanage, not as good as this place). This place had 38 kids when we first interviewed the director, but has been down to about 28 in all. This smaller “fish” is not "done" and needed Gospel preaching and the Fire of God. Thanks to God we were granted permission, in fact welcomed by the director, to teach Bible lessons for more than a week there.
I only came to this interpretation because God told me to fast 3 days from meat. Of course, I ended up eating lots of fish. And Cherkassy is on the Dnipro River and it yields tons of fish. I've also been seeing fish in the markets for days.
So I recalled the dream. And then today when I made the call and found that I will indeed have a chance to visit the 130-child orphanage, I know that God had redeemed what the enemy tried to take away. IS THIS AWESOME OR WHAT?!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR YOU WAYS ARE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN OURS. All good things come together for those aligned with his purpose!
I am so motivated by what God has told me thru this fast and dream. I can do all things in him who strengthens me! I can overcome demons. I can do God’s will.
I am going to be what I would call “on the dark side of the moon” as far as communication and civilization as I’m used to (even here in Ukraine!). I will have my local cell phone, but this is going to be an in-the-trenches mission, I may have not otherwise been prepared for had not God prepared me as he has in these last few days. Please pray for these 130 souls and that this big fish will be done – cooked with God’s fire!
More….
Today I went to the orphanage I usually teach in to attend their St. Nicholas celebration. This is a celebration steeped both in tradition and religious observance. But it was very disappointing how much emphasis they put on St. Nicholas and not once was God mentioned. They said things like pray to St. Nicholas, he gives gifts, blah, blah blah. Thank God, these older kids just got saved yesterday. And tomorrow I will tell all 6 and up here that Father God alone is our provider and gift giver and He is the only one we should pray to. I’m not going to be politically correct on this one! These kids’ lives are at stake.
Please pray that the Gospel message will continue to be taught and Orthodox lies dispelled here in Cherkassy and in all of Ukraine and other CIS countries. Thank you all again for your prayers and supporting me to preach the gospel to all nations in Jesus’ Name!
Out-of-my-skin happy for God’s greatness and his eternal Love for his children,
Al
I wrote this email “Best fishing trip I've ever been on!” to my church on 12/23/06 after returning to Cherkassy, having spent 3 days in Posilanikov (a remote village in central Ukraine) where I taught the Good News of Jesus Christ to over 100 children in an orphanage.
It feels good to be back to "civilization." Posilanikov Village was rustic, primitive, and lacking many things like plumbing and indoor bathroom; yet it is a beautiful farming community of 300 with normal people like you and me. The orphanage these is a large one - 123 children. Yesterday about 70 - 75 children ages 9 - 17 gave their lives to Jesus!! I GOT THE BIG FISH!! Thank you God and thank you for all your prayers. They have borne much fruit!!
Today, I met with the in-between age kids, ages about 6 to 9 and there were a few older kids there also. About 20 more of them gave their lives to Jesus this morning! These are somewhat conservative estimates. It could be that over 100 kids got saved in these last 3 days here. I am ecstatic! What a victory for God's kingdom! I couldn't wait to get back here and share this with all of you. God has heard your prayers. Plans of the enemy to thwart this mission have failed. Jesus reigns supreme!
Tonight I board a train to Odessa. And Christmas Day I fly home, arriving in Boston about 8 PM.
Thanks again!
What a thrill it is to do God's work and be successful. I have so much more to tell when I get back!
May Jesus' Love shine on all of you this Christmas!
Your brother in Christ,
Al
Hi again,
I hope you all got the pictures I sent yesterday. I have wonderful news on two fronts.
Yesterday, 8 (EIGHT) CHILDREN GAVE THEIR LIVES TO JESUS!!!!! These were the oldest in the orphanage I have been teaching in almost daily. They are 13 to 16 y/o. A ninth boy told me he had already been “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” He prayed the prayers along with us also. Tomorrow I will have an opportunity to give the same message to the middle age kids, 6 or 7 to 12 y/o. These children were just wonderful!! The first time we prayed as a group I felt the Holy Spirit, so I asked them if anyone of them felt anything like warm and peaceful. One by one 8 out of 9 raised their hand. It just got better and easier from there. And one girl up front was praying silently when I didn’t ask them to pray. She is hungry for God. I knew it from the moment I met her. She caught my eye, a sweet, sincere young girl eager to listen to me talk about God and his ways.The second piece of good news has to do with what I wrote a few of you yesterday about some things I thought God was telling me to do. I had a dream back home a few days before I left. And God told me to fast from meat 3 days while here in Cherkassy (finished yesterday). I also had some more info none of you had. And while praying this morning, I got the dream interpretation. So here’s what I think God is saying regarding this dream, the partial fast, etc…
My dream was I was carrying 3 fish in my left arm. One was cooked white fish. I could see the breading and maybe black pepper on top. The second was a raw fillet of a white fish, small about the same size as the first. The 3rd piece was a large fresh piece of salmon (raw), nice and pink, and very large. It kind of bent over curving up and then down from my grasp. There appeared about 5 white coyotes that came along and snatched the salmon from me. That’s the dream.
Here in Cherkassy there are 3 orphanages I have a chance to visit. The one who rejected my offer to teach; the one I am teaching in now; and one I've yet to tell you about. This last one is in an outlying region about 50 miles from where I am now. It apparently is not as nice, doesn't have as much funding, not receiving much attention from help groups including Christians. It has 130 children. I was supposed to start teaching there last week, but the adoption agency director has been very busy, he said he wasn't exactly sure if or when I was coming. (This is not true. We had at least ten email exchanges.) I called him today to ask him again about going to one of the village orphanages and he said he had to go out of town again on business. Finally, I got him to agree to have his wife take me there on Thursday. And because it is so far away, he suggested I stay in the village, maybe even sleep in the orphanage. He said it will be an adventure. Yes I’m sure it will be. And there is a much larger opportunity to peach the gospel to these children. THIS IS THE BIG FISH THAT THE ENEMY TRIED TO STEAL FROM ME!! Plans are tentative, but I believe that God will send me there for the last 3 days here in this region (Thurs, Fri & Sat.)
The cooked fish was the one that rejected my offer to teach. They get a lot of funding and a lot of Christian groups. And probably these kids are somewhat Bible knowledgeable and maybe even saved. This fish is done and really didn’t need me.
The orphanage I am working in now is the raw white fish. Although this orphanage gets many visits and funding, the maximum stay there is only 3 months. Children come here from broken families or maybe the street and the staff has 3 months to clean them up, give them medical attention and place them in a more permanent spot (usually another orphanage, not as good as this place). This place had 38 kids when we first interviewed the director, but has been down to about 28 in all. This smaller “fish” is not "done" and needed Gospel preaching and the Fire of God. Thanks to God we were granted permission, in fact welcomed by the director, to teach Bible lessons for more than a week there.
I only came to this interpretation because God told me to fast 3 days from meat. Of course, I ended up eating lots of fish. And Cherkassy is on the Dnipro River and it yields tons of fish. I've also been seeing fish in the markets for days.
So I recalled the dream. And then today when I made the call and found that I will indeed have a chance to visit the 130-child orphanage, I know that God had redeemed what the enemy tried to take away. IS THIS AWESOME OR WHAT?!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR YOU WAYS ARE SO MUCH HIGHER THAN OURS. All good things come together for those aligned with his purpose!
I am so motivated by what God has told me thru this fast and dream. I can do all things in him who strengthens me! I can overcome demons. I can do God’s will.
I am going to be what I would call “on the dark side of the moon” as far as communication and civilization as I’m used to (even here in Ukraine!). I will have my local cell phone, but this is going to be an in-the-trenches mission, I may have not otherwise been prepared for had not God prepared me as he has in these last few days. Please pray for these 130 souls and that this big fish will be done – cooked with God’s fire!
More….
Today I went to the orphanage I usually teach in to attend their St. Nicholas celebration. This is a celebration steeped both in tradition and religious observance. But it was very disappointing how much emphasis they put on St. Nicholas and not once was God mentioned. They said things like pray to St. Nicholas, he gives gifts, blah, blah blah. Thank God, these older kids just got saved yesterday. And tomorrow I will tell all 6 and up here that Father God alone is our provider and gift giver and He is the only one we should pray to. I’m not going to be politically correct on this one! These kids’ lives are at stake.
Please pray that the Gospel message will continue to be taught and Orthodox lies dispelled here in Cherkassy and in all of Ukraine and other CIS countries. Thank you all again for your prayers and supporting me to preach the gospel to all nations in Jesus’ Name!
Out-of-my-skin happy for God’s greatness and his eternal Love for his children,
Al
I wrote this email “Best fishing trip I've ever been on!” to my church on 12/23/06 after returning to Cherkassy, having spent 3 days in Posilanikov (a remote village in central Ukraine) where I taught the Good News of Jesus Christ to over 100 children in an orphanage.
It feels good to be back to "civilization." Posilanikov Village was rustic, primitive, and lacking many things like plumbing and indoor bathroom; yet it is a beautiful farming community of 300 with normal people like you and me. The orphanage these is a large one - 123 children. Yesterday about 70 - 75 children ages 9 - 17 gave their lives to Jesus!! I GOT THE BIG FISH!! Thank you God and thank you for all your prayers. They have borne much fruit!!
Today, I met with the in-between age kids, ages about 6 to 9 and there were a few older kids there also. About 20 more of them gave their lives to Jesus this morning! These are somewhat conservative estimates. It could be that over 100 kids got saved in these last 3 days here. I am ecstatic! What a victory for God's kingdom! I couldn't wait to get back here and share this with all of you. God has heard your prayers. Plans of the enemy to thwart this mission have failed. Jesus reigns supreme!
Tonight I board a train to Odessa. And Christmas Day I fly home, arriving in Boston about 8 PM.
Thanks again!
What a thrill it is to do God's work and be successful. I have so much more to tell when I get back!
May Jesus' Love shine on all of you this Christmas!
Your brother in Christ,
Al
Labels: From Dream to Reality
posted by Alfred from Plymouth | 8:44 AM
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