Wow..

What a week of amazingness!  I have heard so many good reports that I have to write some of them down..  it reads like a years worth, but they are all from house church leaders meeting this week.

Some of our house church leaders

Ate B shared how her daughter had been given milk powder, which is a special treat.  Then she heard her neighbour's baby crying, and she gave the milk powder to the baby.  The family often goes without food, so it was quite a sacrifice.  Ate B asked her daughter why she gave it away.  The answer from her 12-year-old: "God has given us this gift.  We must share it." 


Both Ate B and Ate S tearfully shared how their husbands are changing and beginning to know Jesus.  One of them even joins in with the family when they are praying.  He also told his daughter she was "neglecting her duty" when she didn't pray over the family meal.  


Ate G shared how she had been praying for her niece, who is almost two years old but couldn't walk or talk. She received a txt this week to say that her niece can now walk without assistance.  Praise Jesus!  Ate G was very encouraged and is now just praying for her speech.


CM is one of our youngest house church leaders - she's 16 years old.  She lives with her family in a tiny corrugated iron hut nestled against the rocks.  The family bought the land and house, but it all went a bit pear-shaped and it turns out they didn't pay the real owner.  The real owner wanted to take back the land where they have lived for years and years.  The family would have nothing.  CM had been praying and praying.  This week the owner said they could stay!  CM was so excited that she jumped and danced around their house with her younger brother and their dog.


J is another 16 year old house church leader.  Last Sunday he lead worship at our celebration service.  This means its J up the front, with a microphone, music playing from a CD, leading about 300 people into the presence of God.  His mother also came to the service, even though she doesn't usually come.  Afterwards, J apologised for being disobedient at times, and his mother just cried and told him how proud of him she was.  This is extremely rare, and so so special.  (In fact I was mighty close to crying myself when he shared)


Geoff, a short-termer working with us, shared how he was walking in the squatter area one morning this week and he saw a man drinking alcohol.  He stopped and talked with him and shared the love of Jesus with him.  The man was very very touched.  He had previously been rejected from a church, and he thought that Jesus could never accept him.  But here he was, drunk at 11am, amazed that the church would still see him as a child of God.


Ate A encountered a misunderstanding between prominent members of her house church.  She didn't know what to do.  She prayed and prayed and prayed.  She asked God whether she should stop the house church, and then she looked and a bright bright light was shining in her window.  She knew God was with her and with the house church.  The house church that week was incredible.  The misunderstanding was cleared up, and there was a beautiful Spirit in the house.  


We have a couple of afterschool kids clubs at local elementary schools.  At one of these schools, the kids meet in one classroom, and several of the parents meet in another classroom for a 'house' church.  This week, the principal of the school said that all the staff of the school must attend as part of their staff development.  So all the faculty turned up.  And so did Jesus..  many of them were really touched by God during the house church.  During the house church, the teacher of the kids club classroom shared:  "I would leave the classroom when you arrived because I didn't want to hear what you say.  But one day, I had to go back in and get something.  The few words I heard stuck inside me.  I went home and I couldn't stop thinking about them.  So I decided to change my life.  Ever since then I have been going to church every Sunday."  
And the teacher of the house church classroom also shared:  "When you are here, you think that I'm sitting at my desk doing my work.  But I'm not.  I'm listening.  And what happens has really impacted my life."


There are several other good reports..  but I'll leave it there.  Who knows what will happen next week??  So so so wow!