Revival Fire Ministries

Oicha Democratic Republic of Congo

3^rd – 7^th August 2011

Here we are in North Kivu in Eastern Congo. We have been here since May and we have seen the goodness of the Lord. After we left Bukavu the technical team and truck made its way slowly through Rwanda and Uganda in North Kivu. It took them more than one week to go 100kms but that was including all the custom points and towing numerous trucks out of the ditches so that our truck could pass.

Josh and I left a bit later than I had planned as I had an attack of malaria but when fully recovered we joined Roger in a town called Oicha. I knew in my heart as we bobbed our way over the hills of Eastern Congo in a small plane that the Lord was going to do something very powerful in Oicha. Josh said, Mum, when we touched down on the sandy runway that I have seen a vision of the blood of Jesus washing over Congo and all the obstacles that were before us were bought down wherever the blood flowed.

Meetings almost cancelled! One of the doctors at the Oicha Hospital had recently been abducted by a rebel group. The circumstances are not clear and nobody really knows what happened, but it occurred just a few weeks before we arrived, and a few metres from the very place we had booked to stay at. It caused quite a stir among the local leadership, and for a time it looked as though we would not be able to hold our meetings.

Oicha Referral Hospital. We stayed in an old mission hospital compound that was started by a missionary doctor in 1934 Dr Carl Becker. This missionary doctor would not only perform his medical duties but also pray for the sick and when so many of the natives were healed they would not return to the forest but formed a new community around the mission station. The Pygmies would come in from far and wide for treatment and now they live very close to the town. The Pygmy choir sang at the crusade, some have come to know the Lord and there are Pygmy Pastors and churches in the area.

During the last decade of war in North Kivu, fighting never came onto these hospital grounds. It remained a place of refuge.

One dedicated man and his wife Marie made a very measurable difference. The church buildings are still standing as are the houses in which the lepers stayed for treatment. It is our prayer that this HOLY FIRE would be rekindled, that once again, Oicha would be known as a place where the Spirit of God meets with people to bring healing and restoration to what the devil has stolen.

The Gospel Meetings drew most of the city.

John 12:32 MSG And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me.”

We all felt that the Lord was telling us to speak much about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues so in all the meetings we taught about this and prayed for the people and so many got filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. It was the most wonderful crusade where hearts were so open and so hungry for the Lord. At the crusade the Lord gave us warm evenings and the presence of the Lord was there. People came forward and renounced their witchcraft fetishes and we burnt them in our big drum on 2 of the nights. More than 30,000 gathered on the final Sunday and the gospel message of repentance and turning to the Lord rang out clear over the town. Even 3 kms away the sound could be heard. Then we prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it was like the Lord poured from heaven the living waters into their hearts. I have to say that we saw the Lord with us and are now refreshed and ready to begin our next crusade here in Butembo. We will send you our updates are we go. Pray for us , pray for true revival to come to the churches, these are the last days and time is running out and we must do all that we can to reach as many as the Lord would lead us to.

Thank you our friends for praying with us, Oicha Crusade was so close to being cancelled, but God kept the door open, and gave us a great victory for the Kingdom.

Yours in Christ,

Roger and Shireen and the RFM team.

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Posted by Roger West on 08.11.2011 at 6:38 pm// Tagged: Field Updates // 1 Comment »

Panzi Report

Panzi DRC Gospel Meetings – 6th to 10th July

Isaiah 9:2b Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

While looking at some of the video footage from the Gospel outreach, it was amazing to see how the Spirit of God had touched the hearts of so many people – their faces were full of emotion, whilst tears flowed and rolled down their cheeks. Truly, upon Panzi a light has shined.

Main Open Air Meetings

The Lord graced us with five days of good weather. While Funu had rain every day, Panzi had good weather. Rain would have made it almost impossible to get to the field along the very narrow and busy road to Panzi. The crowd stayed roughly the same each day except on Sunday, when the attendance increased greatly. I preached a clear Gospel message and the response was powerful. Many were deeply touched by God’s Spirit and bowed their heads and called on the name of Jesus from the bottom of their hearts.

On Saturday, I preached on the heart of the Father and the wayward son. There was a real connection with the people, as thousands responded by running back to the Father and turning from careless lifestyles. During the prayer for the sick, many trustingly called upon the name of the Lord, and He showed abundant mercy to them, and delivered them in the day of their trouble. The whole team went among a group of very sick people and laid hands upon them and prayed for them. Everyone was moved with compassion as we saw the desperate needs that surrounded us. The Lord healed many of the sick and testimonies began to flood in. One particular woman comes to mind – she had been paralysed on one side and suffered great pain, but now she testified that she could walk without any pain whatsoever.

Leadership Seminar

Rodney Lloyd was inspired and used by the Lord to impart so much to the leaders. Together, Rodney and I ministered for six hours to open and receptive people. I truly believe that God is raising up His church in Bukavu. All the seminars were recorded by the local radio station, and will be broadcast again over and over. Several leaders asked us how we knew and understood the situation in Bukavu, as we were able to address the very points of issue that were causing problems. We explained that we did not know, but that Almighty God knew and cared for them so that these issues were resolved. I have great expectations that there will be lasting results from this work based on one good reason – there was a real spiritual hunger, which seemed to be almost at starvation point!

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Joshua On The Team

It was such a help having Josh on the team. He has now completed his high school in England, and feels that God has called him to the mission field. He is currently doing the International School Of Ministry (ISOM) correspondence Bible school, and next year we plan to send him to UK to do an excellent short course called School of Christ. Josh took over the video shooting, production and photography on this outreach.

Technical Team

Muraguri Benson and Alex worked very hard making sure that everything went according to plan. In one video meeting, our generator coughed and died! We later discovered that water had spilled and entered the diesel tank through a small service hatch. What a job to pump out almost 900 litres of diesel and then separate it from the water, and what a great team we have who could sort it all out! Thank you team. We were soon up and running and not a single main meeting was interrupted.

A Fountain Of Healing

A young boy on drugs who wanted nothing to do with God or the church ‘happened’ to be on the field, and during the prayer time for the sick, God touched him instantly healing him of terrible back pain. The goodness and mercy of God led to instant repentance! Now that he is forgiven, he wants to follow Jesus. He was completely healed, physically and spiritually.

Knee problems are a major cause of difficulty in Bukavu, since people have to walk everywhere up steep hills and carry heavy loads to the market. A lady was overjoyed and jumped for joy as the Lord touched her knees restoring strength and taking away pain.

The Mashie tribe has a history of many suffering with diabetes. A dear man came and told us that he had been healed of his diabetes. We advised him to go to his doctor and have his condition medically checked. He returned later with his doctor’s report showing that his blood sugar was now normal. Jesus heals impossible cases.

Teams Preach In Churches All Over Panzi

Rodney and Nita Lloyd together with Jim and Sue Christie were able to build up, strengthen and encourage many as they ministered all over Bukavu, including visiting two local hospitals. The needs are overwhelming, and the situation is desperate. It is impossible to help all those who are in such dire need, but we were able to assist some. We will remain in close contact with our friend Dr Sosthene and give him as much help as we can.

Nightly Follow-Up Programs Continue

Many people tune in and listen to these discipleship classes taught by Charlene Harris from the local radio station, even from as far away as Goma, which lies across Lake Kivu from Panzi, some forty to fifty miles away.

Farewell To Bukavu

We packed up all the equipment with a sad heart as we were leaving many new friends and colleagues behind, but also with anticipation of what lay ahead of us. The day that the loaded truck stood at the Rwanda border, for the route to Butembo takes us through Rwanda, there was a hand grenade attack at Kamembe (about ten miles from where we had been ministering), which injured twenty-one people. We were unaffected by the attack, and the truck made steady progress to Butembo (about 500 kilometres to the north of Panzi). Pastor Kalipi will meet the team at the border on Tuesday 19th July. Please pray with us for favour and the Lord’s help to enter into DRC.

Mura is back in Kenya for a short break and will return to Butembo on the 26th July. Our flight schedules have been changed, and Shireen and Josh go back on Thursday 28st July as she is recovering from another bout of malaria. I leave in the morning. Praise the Lord!!!

Oicha has never had an open air Gospel meeting. Nevertheless, the local leadership is 100% behind the meetings and very, very excited!

Roger and Shireen West

and the Revival Fire Ministries Team