Asia 2023

Asia Trip 2023

This summary attempts to accomplish three things: First, to set forth the events of this trip in order, Second, to convey the emotions and physical response so the reader can have some degree of empathy, and Third, to record what is happening in the various ministries where I visited. This trip is not just about me. The stories of the people need to be told, including the unsung heroes we help support. Every place I visited represents dynamic ministries that touch the lives of many people for God’s kingdom. For security reasons, the actual country and city names will not be used. October 14, 2023 I arose at 3:10 AM, did stretches to help my back, and headed to our vehicle where my bags were already packed from the previous night. When we arrived at the drop-off area at the airport, I kissed my wife goodbye and headed to the airline ticket counter, where I checked my larger suitcase and received three flimsy boarding passes for my 24-hour journey. I was told that my bags would be checked through to the final airport, but I had my doubts as the second airport was the entry point into the country, and I likely would have to retrieve my bag after I passed through customs, and then transfer the bag to a domestic flight. I was a bit stressed because I had tried to plan for things to go smoothly through security, so I grabbed a backpack from home in which to put my visa, cash, phone, boarding passes, and jacket. Unfortunately, I discovered one of the sections was missing the zipper tab, so it would remain open. Things I considered to be particularly valuable and necessary had to be zipped into the smaller section. When I go through security, I throw my wallet, my watch, my passport, and my belt into the personal item and then pull them out when I am safely through security. I do not carry the liquids on my carry-on but rather, put them in my checked bag so I do not have to pull them out during security screening. I have discovered that not every airport has the same protocol. In some airports the passengers can be extremely pushy, so I like to keep things as simple as possible. Some places want you to carry your boarding pass through as they wand you, and many places in the US want you to have nothing in your hand or pocket as you are screened. I flew to the East Coast and had a long layover, so I decided to use one of my free passes to the airline club. I pulled up the PDF of the pass on my phone and went to the entrance of the club. The man guarding the entrance wanted to see not only the club pass but also the boarding pass of the previous flight, not the one for the next flight. I put my bag down to look through it. He did not like my having my bag on the floor. I tried to find it in my bag (not knowing I would need it at that moment), so I pulled out the notebook where I had stored it, putting my bag again on the floor. I had the impression that he was a drill sergeant who seemed to take pleasure in being displeased with me and giving me directions. I was not very happy with him, so he took my boarding pass for the next flight and had someone print a copy of the previous boarding pass to get through. The food in this club was ok, but not spectacular. The bathrooms were very nice, and this club featured a very long bar, which meant nothing to me since I was not there to drink alcohol. The next flight was over 14 hours long. The entertainment screens were older and not very responsive. I watched one or two movies, I did some Bible reading (on my phone since I opted not to bring my larger physical Bible for space, weight, and other reasons). We were fed three times on this flight. The food was spicy but not outstanding. It was difficult for me to get sleep in economy class, and the man next to me had a hacking cough. I had the window seat of the three seats of the group, which was fine for resting my head on a pillow against the window, but I was at the mercy of the other two passengers if I needed to use the toilet. At one point, I reached down to scratch my left leg. I lifted my jeans to scratch, and there appeared to be three possible bug bites that must have happened while I was on this flight. A positive event was a spectacular daytime view of clusters of snow-covered mountains (possibly in Afghanistan) the likes of which I had never seen. October 14, 2023  I arrived at a very large airport and went through customs. I also had to complete a form. The customs official asked where I was going. I told him four times and could not pronounce the place in a way he could understand, but when he looked at what I had written, he was able to understand. When I picked up my checked bag from the luggage carrousel, I asked several times where to go. I was sent to one area where I stood in line. I asked an airport worker and they told me I needed to leave that line, go to the end of the building, and go upstairs. I made it through a line of people using the elevator, wandered around people who were blocking the walkway while also looking where they needed to be, and discovered I needed to go outdoors to another terminal. I walked with my bags, visa, and boarding pass, asking where to go. One man was kind enough to take me to the entrance where I needed to go. Every boarding pass and visa was checked by a soldier. When I made it through the entrance, I needed to find the counter for the airline. I was directed to one of many numbered aisles. My boarding pass for the third flight had been printed on the paper stock of the second airline, so I was directed to the line for the second airline. When I reached the ticket counter, they told me I needed to go to a different aisle of the third airline. I grabbed my bags and went over two aisles to that airline and stood in line. After a while, they said “last call” for my flight, and they allowed me to go to a particular station where others were also trying to check in. One lady behind me kept trying to ask to cut in front of me “for only five minutes”, but I knew that was not going to work. There was a bit of a holdup because the internet went down, causing the proceedings to stop. I finally got my bag checked, and I went as quickly as I could toward the gate. The sign to my gate said it was about 12 minutes away. I eventually made it to the gate, sweating and stressed because I had missed a flight on a previous trip, causing a delay of over 12 to 18 hours. Thankfully for me, this plane was 20 minutes late, allowing me to be able to catch the flight. During my time at the gate, I had a delightful conversation with a young student in the USA who had come home for a conference. He was originally from a different religion but was attending a Bible study in college so he could learn more about Christianity and the USA. The third flight was only about an hour. The interior of this plane appeared to be fresh and new, and the screens worked.  None of the flight crew appeared to be older than 30, they had very sharp uniforms, and they were all well-groomed and looked as though they could have been models in a clothing catalog (they were male and female). I was particularly impressed at how quickly they were able to serve meals on a flight that experienced some turbulence. They had everything served and collected in less than 30 minutes without seeming to break a sweat. The flight was late when we landed. I recognized my first host from when we had briefly met five years earlier. His son and another church member picked me up in an SUV and stopped to get me a cold Pepsi before proceeding to their home. There I met his wife, his daughter, and another son. They were very hospitable and brought me cakes, cashews, and more soda. They told me how much they had been looking forward to my being there, to which I was a little surprised because my host and I had only met briefly once before when we both preached at an outdoor meeting. They honored me with flower necklaces and took me down the street to their church. The homes were made of concrete and were connected. The church was in one of these buildings and did not seem like what many would expect a church to be. Two wide doors opened outward, exposing a larger room, covered with something that looked like green artificial turf. We looked around at the platform at the back end and proceeded to leave. Once outside I encountered a drunken young man talking and praying with him for a little bit before we went to another home to pray for a family. Two sisters had married two brothers and lived in that home. The parents of the brothers wanted to take the husbands away because the sisters had borne no sons. After the sisters and brothers stopped following idols and followed Christ, their health improved, and they had sons. They honored me at their home with more snacks, food, and flower necklaces. More people arrived to honor me and for a son’s birthday. They sang a hymn and my host invited me to preach. I shared about the power of corporate prayer, telling the story of the lady with the bad leg in Uganda. I asked who had never before prayed for someone to be healed, and two women raised their hands. I had a word of knowledge about someone having a headache. A man stood up, saying he had the headache, and I had one of the women minister to him. It took two times to be successful, and I shared how Jesus prayed twice for a blind man, so it was necessary to be persistent. We ate more food and went back to my host’s home for bedtime. I had traveled over 24 hours with little sleep, and we needed to start early for ministry the next morning. October 16, 2023 The children of my host spoke very good English, which was good because my host was not fluent (although he could understand some). We spoke about the needs of the church (property for growth and prayer for leadership). It was explained to me that a family was coming to the church soon for prayer. We walked down the rain-soaked street toward the church, sidestepping dog feces along the way. We arrived at the church, opened the doors, and moved past the cars (parked inside overnight) toward the platform. Within ten minutes, a family of seven arrived in a vehicle, coming from a remote village. The family climbed out helping a woman who could only take an occasional step. The woman was suffering and she had a catheter with a bag. They almost carried her to where I was in the building, setting her down in a brown plastic chair in front of me.  My host’s son explained to me that the woman was very sick (bad blood platelets) and that they had just lost a son this past week. My host looked at me and motioned toward the woman as if I was expected to do something. This was my first full day in a country where the government did not want me ministering, but the family was in need, so I began to rebuke the spirits of death and infirmity, speaking calmly, quoting scriptures about how Jesus came that we might have abundant life. I continued to speak life into her body, and after a few minutes, her face appeared to come alive. She stood up on her own, and she began to walk a short distance. My host encouraged her to walk a bit more. They told me this was a miracle. The family had been lighting candles every night, worshipping idols in their home. The family decided after seeing the woman healed that they would follow Jesus. My host scheduled a full day of ministry that would last well into the evening. He apologized through his son and explained it was because I had only allowed him one day (I had 8 places scheduled for 10 days). We traveled to five different home fellowships and about as many separate home visits to pray for people. At each place, I tried to remain dependent on Holy Spirit. The final home fellowship had over 50 people in attendance and was at nighttime. I prayed for several people at the end, and one man accepted Christ. One young lady appeared to be in her late teens and seemed to be catatonic, almost lifeless. It took a while to get her to speak. People were claiming it was a demonic spirit, so I did pray against any spirit and depression. Eventually, she spoke a little bit. She said she wanted her old self back. I began speaking joy into her life. I had an intuition and asked if I could give her a hug. She stood up, put her arms around my neck, and broke down and cried. That seemed to bring a release, and I continued to minister to her and speak joy into her and prophesied that she would minister healing to others who were hurting. She told me she wanted her life to count for something. I later told the interpreter to go back to her and encourage her to reach out to someone else in need, that her life would be important to that person. When I saw her after we had eaten she smiled and waved goodbye to me. We stopped that evening to look at the new church building that was being constructed. It was going to be a large structure, covering much of the size of a football field. When we arrived back at the host home I had to get things in order because I had a flight before seven AM. October 17, 2023  I arose before 5 AM to pack my bags. I felt a bit rushed. My host’s son said I only needed to be at the airport an hour earlier than the flight. I had no idea how long it would take to get to the airport, so I trusted my host. They stopped for fuel along the way and we arrived late at the airport. We unloaded the bags and before I could enter the terminal, they wanted a picture. My hosts had been so gracious and I did not want to appear unappreciative, but I was very stressed because there was no direct flight to my next destination. I had to take two flights. When I went to the ticket counter, they explained that it was too late for me to make that flight. I explored the options with the lady at the window. They gave me a credit for most of the flight that I missed and we applied it to two more flights that would take me to my destination, arriving around the same time. I was not happy because it cost $100 more to purchase the new tickets. That money could always be used to help the ministries with whom we partner. I do not like to go empty-handed to these areas, and I had asked God to give me a certain dollar amount to take with me in cash so that I could leave something with each ministry since I know it took money for them to rent vehicles or pay for fuel to pick me up and take me places. I made my two new flights, but I lost the meals that I had scheduled on the previous flights. I was picked up at the airport by the son of my second host. We had met five years earlier, and we had a great conversation. He told me it was good that I kept a low profile because having me do ministry activities could come back negatively on the churches. He took me to the apartment where they made a meal. The wife of the host was there, as well as the sister of another host where I would later stay. There were three cousins with the same name. I hit it off well with the oldest cousin who was a YWAM graduate and had ministered in three African countries (Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda). I sent WhatsApp messages to several partner ministries in Africa, introducing her and recommending her (They all sent messages, warmly welcoming her.)  After a good dinner, I was taken to another apartment where I spent the night. I unpacked my bags and discovered I had left my shaving cream and liquid soap at the home of the first host. The second host changed money for me and bought some body wash for me. This host has a variety of wonderful ministries, including caring for widows, various vocational types of training, and much more. October 18, 2023  A women’s meeting was scheduled that day. I had breakfast of something that looked like a burrito but was filled with potatoes. After breakfast, around 40 people (mostly women with some children) began filing in. The room was packed and I shared how Holy Spirit was available to all of us. I started to pray for people, but I was being rushed to eat and to be ready to be taken to the next host (who I thought was going to pick me up). I started to have bad heartburn. I only ate a few bites of each thing, and the hosts always seem disappointed if you do not eat a lot of food, but I insisted I could not eat more. I do not like being rushed because bad things usually happen. I was taken to a host where I had been five years earlier. When I started to unpack I realized I had left one pair of shoes at the previous host apartment, and it was a pair of shoes I would need for walking in villages and tribal areas. My new hosts were able to go back and retrieve the shoes. Later that afternoon we took off in an SUV with a driver, headed toward a remote area. The road through the mountains was paved with two lanes, but there were many sharp turns, and the driver needed to flash his lights and sound his horn at most of the turns. We spent the night in a clean hotel with flush toilets and hot water. I had the only shower I was to have the whole trip. My hosts brought me some food. I ate and took two allergy tablets and went to bed because I was very tired. October 19, 2023  I arose around 4:30 AM. I went through all my things to be certain I left nothing behind, and I prayed in tongues for two hours while listening to Dr. Kevin Zadai. I got dressed, my hosts brought breakfast, and we departed for the remote area, leaving our bags at the hotel for when we would return. We continued our long journey through the mountains, much of which was on roads that were about three years old and only as wide as many nature paths in metro parks. Most of the road was paved, but there were a couple of exceptions that could cause vehicle damage for unsuspecting drivers. There were no guardrails. My host explained that they used to take motorcycles up into the area as far as they could, and then carry bags of Bibles up to seven hours to reach some places. We eventually arrived at a white church with concrete floors, very similar to those I had seen in Africa, except this church had electricity with ceiling fans. Pastors from the remote areas had gathered for a conference. I spoke to them about knowing where you are assigned, following Holy Spirit, and demonstrating the goodness of God. I shared that we owed the church members and the unsaved to demonstrate the goodness of God. I shared how the family of idol worshippers came to Christ after seeing their family member healed (pastors later told my host how much that message was needed.) We stopped the meeting for a moment to pray for one of the pastors who was also a government official, because he had to leave for an important meeting. After lunch, we drove to an area that had a stream. Five young men were waiting there to be baptized. I was given a traditional garment into which I was to change, and I was led into the stream where I helped baptize the five young men. (I discovered that I could have gone to prison had I been caught). I changed into my regular clothes and we returned to the church where we had a revival meeting of mostly young people. The youths led the worship (which was encouraging for me to see). There were no unsaved people there, so I shared about identity in Christ and value, using the bride price example of how God determined our value by paying with the life of Jesus, His Son. We posed for pictures because they honored me with a colorful covering and a huge flower necklace that was bigger than a horse collar. We departed the remote area, returning to the hotel to collect our bags, and then stopping at a restaurant for a late dinner. We arrived back at the host home around 1:30 AM. October 20, 2023 We had a pastor’s conference at a nearby church of the host. I shared “What Direction Are You Headed?” I shared the importance of imitating Christ (I Cor. 11:1) and having/being spiritual fathers (I Cor. 4:15). We ate lunch after I received another covering and flower necklace, along with more pictures, and then we took the host’s daughter to a large body of water for baptism. There was a public beach, so the host looked for a less conspicuous place. I did not help in the baptism but took pictures. We arrived back at the host home around 4:30 PM. I was extremely tired and did not want dinner. I went into my room to lie down for a bit. I woke up around 10 PM and used the toilet. I later learned that they had checked on me for dinner and realized I was out, fast asleep. October 21, 2023 I was scheduled to fly to another location this day. A different pastor had been scheduled for me to visit his ministry, but he had a sudden scheduling conflict, so in the interest of unity, my host drove me 45 minutes to visit this pastor. We had breakfast and a pleasant conversation there. This pastor decided to ride back with us to the city so he could pick up his car. We stopped at the place and the pastor wanted me to meet a government official. I started to get a very uneasy feeling because the last few days were very tightly packed and if I missed my flight, that would likely affect my missing meetings with two hosts. The official was not available, so we left, but my hosts wanted to stop at a restaurant to pick up food, causing more waiting time. We had agreed that we needed to leave the home by noon, but we did not arrive until 12:10 PM, I had not packed, and they still wanted me to eat lunch. I went in to pack (I got everything but the toilet paper I had brought). The son of the host said I only needed to be at the airport an hour before the flight, but I reminded him that the bags needed to be checked by then. I started to have very bad heartburn, I took very few bites of food and expressed that I was very uncomfortable with the situation. We packed the vehicle and departed, which was a good thing because the traffic was very bad and we had to wait because of a train crossing. My host’s son messaged me my itinerary so I would have it on my phone as I went through the entrance. I got to the ticket counter with 15 minutes to spare. I was able to say goodbye to my hosts, and I went successfully through security to my gate to fly to the next destination. My next host picked me up at the airport. I was only going to be with him that evening, so I was thankful I made the flight. We had a pleasant conversation. He was farther away from the airport than I remembered, but I recognized the outside of his home and church when I stepped out of the vehicle. His daughter peeked out into the corridor and waved hello. My host reminded me that she had been pregnant when I saw her last, and I had prayed for her, and they now have a boy. A man with grey hair and a mustache asked me if I remembered him. I did not, but I was at his house dedication five years earlier, and I remembered the event. I had enough time to store my bags in the room where I had previously stayed five years earlier. It was a spacious room with a king-sized bed. It was also air-conditioned. After a cold mango drink, I headed up the stairs to the second floor where the church meeting was being held. Five years earlier, that floor was being finished, and the services were held on the first floor, which still looked like it did five years earlier. I preached and then ministered to around 30 people afterward (prayers for healing, unsaved loved ones, education, typhoid, dengue, etc.). One boy appeared to be around 5 or older. The mother held him and said he had never spoken. I rebuked the dumb spirit and asked the boy to repeat “mama” after me. He said it, and the pastor asked him to repeat something in their language, which the boy did. I had never experienced this before, but when a boy who was a little older was presented to me with the same issue, I did not see the same results. An older man with grey hair reportedly had the same issue, and I did not have success with him either (at least an immediate report). We had dinner after the service, and I went to bed. October 22, 2023 I arose in the morning and bathed in the washroom. There was hot and cold water, so I was able to get warm water to bathe. Mosquitoes bit me while I was bathing. When I was dressed I packed my bags and left them in the room. I went and sat in the first-floor chapel, remembering the wonderful 6 AM prayer meetings five years earlier where people would meet, sing songs, hear the Bible being read, and pray. I sat near the kitchen and prayed for my host’s wife because she previously had cancer but was now recovered. My next host came, and I was going to go get my bags from the room, but my host insisted they would get them for me. I regretted not checking everything because I realized later I left my hat there. We traveled to the home and church service of my new host’s brother. They had the cutest little girl who had been a baby when I had seen her and prayed for her five years earlier. We moved on to the church of my host’s parents, a place where I had ministered five years earlier and would preach again this day. I preached on identity (John 17, Ephesians 1). I was ministering to people after the service and I had to struggle with my host to not be done too quickly with some people. There were two older women for whom I was praying to have pain reduced. They did not indicate immediate results or were unsure, so I prayed again and had them walk around to test the pain level. One woman especially had a big smile, indicating the pain was either gone or greatly reduced, making me happy that we had not rushed on from her. I was able to meet my host’s wife and their two children. He had not met her until after I had left the previous time. During lunch, a drunken man started causing trouble. My host went out to talk with him, but the man continued to argue loudly. Other men got involved. It looked as though there might be a fight, but the other men were able to get the man to move down the road, although he was still being loud. After lunch, we went to a small fellowship nearby where I shared again. He had a microphone set up, but I opted to not use the microphone in the outdoor setting, choosing to allow him to translate into the microphone instead. My host arranged for me to have a nice room in someone’s nice house for one night. No one was there, and we left my bags there in a nice, air-conditioned room. My host purchased some paper towels that were smaller and more like toilet paper since I had left my roll at a previous host’s home. We figured out how to successfully send some money via PayPal. We tried unsuccessfully a year or two earlier, but I was able to send a dollar as a test amount this time. I rested until it was time for the evening meetings. I also gave him some cash to help with ministry expenses. While I spent the night in the room, my host and two other men slept on the floor in the hallway to watch over me. Oftentimes hosts want me to be with them to do the Sunday service, but this host wished I had been there another day to have a pastors’ conference. Five years earlier he had around 300 pastors in two days at a conference. Since it was a Sunday, he scheduled two evening services. He stopped and bought a box of blankets for widows, and we traveled to a more remote village. It was a long, bumpy ride, and I started to feel nauseous. When we arrived I had to lie down for about five minutes. I considered not doing anything, but I remembered what happened two years earlier in DRC, so I decided to try to preach. After I started I began to feel stronger. I finished and we handed out blankets to the widows. I did not stick around to pray for people. We left for the final service at his brother’s church. My host mentioned that maybe I should limit myself to 20 minutes since I had not felt well. I started preaching. It went very well, and I went for 45 minutes, but I told them I was going to lie down rather than stay and minister to people. I went to a bedroom and laid down. Someone brought me pomegranate seeds, which I ate. We went to pray for the new church construction next to the other building. The old building had been updated because five years earlier, the walls consisted of some type of vegetation. We went to the car. The cute little girl came up to my window to say goodbye and blew kisses at me. October 23, 2023 I had some breakfast at the home of the parents of my host, where there was a small courtyard. A monkey climbed down to try to find banana peels, and the father of the host had a slingshot to chase it away. My next host arrived after 10 AM. As it turns out, he was a childhood friend of the father of my current host. After some conversation, I climbed into a vehicle with my next host and we proceeded to our next destination. My new host was the brother of one of the women who was at my second host home. Her husband was away in an African nation at the time and was also the representative of a large ministry for this country. Their daughter called my host and put me on the phone so I could pray for her education. She and her mother were staying at the home of the new host. My new host and I had a great conversation about our identity in Christ. I shared what I had been teaching about each person’s value being the same in Christ, and how we were to walk in love. I told him how my identity first and foremost is as a Christian. I do not like to use another identifier with the title Christian. He agreed with me. We arrived at the home and church of a pastor who passed away a week earlier. The sister, wife, daughter-in-law, son, grandson, and granddaughters were all there. They welcomed me warmly, and the granddaughters wanted to know how I became a Christian. This was a refreshing question and discussion compared to the focus and emphasis I experienced in the USA. I shared about my Christian walk. One granddaughter told me about the family history. The deceased pastor was the son of a woman who came from a different religion. She developed cancer of the uterus, and a Christian couple prayed with her. The cancer fell out of her body and she became a Christian. Her husband remained in the other religion and beat her severely to the point where blood gushed out of her head, but she lived another 15 years. The son (the one recently deceased) became a pastor, and his son was continuing the work of the ministry. We prayed with the family and looked at the church building before moving on to the host home where I would stay. The home of this new host was an apartment. We entered through a gate onto a cement patio and after removing our shoes we stepped up into a sitting room which extended into an eating area. Two bedroom doorways joined the sitting area, and a kitchen entrance joined the eating area. My bedroom had a large bed with a fan and an air conditioner. A door opposite the entrance led to a bathroom area. I spent a comfortable night there, but I needed to keep the bathroom door closed so as not to let in mosquitoes. There was no net, and I discovered later that sheets were available behind a curtain. I got a couple of bites when I first went to bed, so I put on my jeans and covered my top with my jacket. The sister of my host later apologized when she discovered a sheet had not been laid on the bed for me.  She was a woman with a big heart who loved God. She was easy to get to know, and I called my wife and allowed them to talk together because her English was quite good without a heavy accent. Her daughter was one of the cousins at my second stop and was also the one who asked me to pray for her. When I shared with her mother that the daughter had requested prayer, the mother was surprised. The parents were concerned about her not taking her studies seriously. The daughter had just turned thirteen years of age and was very social. Before we went to do any ministry, dinner was prepared for me.  A silver, circular, metal tray with partitions contained rice and meat that she thought was goat meat. The meat was very spicy, so she also brought me a dish with yogurt and pomegranate seeds. As part of the daughter’s birthday celebration, we took snacks and items to give away in the slums. We went to five stops in the slums. On the way we picked up a woman who ministered in the slums, loading food, clothing, and other items in the back of the SUV. The first stop was a church where 20 to 30 children were sitting, awaiting our arrival. A young woman was sitting with the children. This woman had a master’s in physical therapy and taught classes for the children. Some of the children had earned prizes, which we handed out with snacks, soap, and pencils. We also brought some educational games to present to the teacher. The next area was by a large tree close to the banks of a river. Women were down at the river edge, washing clothing. Trash had washed up on the river edge on the other side of an aqueduct by the river. The people made a living by picking through trash. We had the children hold hands in a large circle, and count off by numbers. We passed out soap, pencils, and a package of cookies to each child and any available packages of cookies to elderly people who stood by the circle. We continued to another area. We parked at the junction of a street and what appeared to be a side street. This was very similar to some slums in Africa except the side street was a concrete slab. There were dwellings with some sort of thatch material and a larger canvas tarp stretched over the top. Public water was available at the side of the street, and I spotted bathroom facilities that reminded me of the old toilet facilities I used to see in our state park. The teenage girl put a wrap over her head and around her face because she did not like the smell, although it did not seem strong to me at the time. We handed out cookies, soap, and pencils to the children and traditional clothing to women there. We also brought cooked food which was served on plates so the people could have a meal. As we journeyed through the slum area with all its concrete roads, we passed people herding small numbers of cattle. Cows were either all white or, in most cases, very dark brown, almost all black. We stopped at the side of one of the streets and walked across the street to a small shop. They offered cold drinks and various small items for sale. They offered the teenage girl and me small sodas (Sprite). I accepted one, but when I learned that this was the opening day for the shop, I did not feel right about taking something for free when they were just getting started. They were members of the church, so I prayed for the shop, and then I offered them the smallest bill I had (which was worth way more than the sodas). I felt bad about spending so much, but I thought it was better to bless them than to take something for nothing from the new business. We made one more stop. This was next to a lake, and even though it was considered a slum area, the setting sun across the lake made a colorful, stunning silhouette with the buildings and trees opposite the lake. There were only about three people at this stop. Most were away celebrating a religious festival. We had set boxes down on top of one of three barrels covered with cloth. I had rested my hand on one of the cloth coverings, and a man came up to my host and said something. My host told me to put my hand there because the barrels were for waste collection. I used hand sanitizer later. We dropped off the woman who had helped in the slums, and we headed back to the apartment. I was able to call my wife and have her speak with the sister of the host, then I prepared for bedtime. October 24, 2023 This was my final day of scheduled ministry. My host had scheduled more slum distribution around 1 PM, but my next host, who had been in the city for a medical appointment, was available to arrive around 11 AM, so my host awaited the arrival of my next host and his son. They had a marvelous conversation. As it turned out, the son of my host was also friends with the son of my next host. They sat and chatted for quite a while in their native language. I met the next host five years earlier when I previously visited the country with a friend from Africa. My African friend had met the next host at a conference in the USA. My next host and I had an engaging conversation at that time. I remember talking with him and him telling me that many big-name ministers would come to his country, stay in a very nice hotel, and say they were on a mission trip. He and I agreed that a mission trip is when you are out with the people. My next host, his son, and I stopped to look at the church facility of my current host, and then we traveled on to my final stop. My new host and his family lived in a three-story building that housed his office and a training center. The second floor was used to train people how to sew, after which they could receive a sewing machine. My host also had a Bible college that trained young ministers, as well as outreach to tribal areas. When I asked him about his biggest need, his first response was monthly support for the tribal area pastors. $50 per month would provide the basic needs of one pastor. As we spoke, my host shared a little about the history of his ministry. His father had been the most senior pastor of the Pentecostal church in that area of the country, and my host continued in the same denomination. As the number of church fellowships grew, the burden continued as they worked in very poor areas and with orphans. (There was a part of the building attached to the three-story building that had been used to house orphans. During the rains, the roof had started to leak, and snakes were able to get into that level, so the orphans had been temporarily moved elsewhere.) A denomination in the USA had offered to provide for all the needs if they would become a part of that denomination. That particular denomination did not operate in the gifts of the Spirit, nor did they believe in musical instruments in church. While the financial support would have greatly eased the financial burden in my host’s ministry, he explained to them that they were Pentecostals, and they had to remain true to who they were. I later experienced the musical excellence of two of the Bible school graduates. These two brothers sounded like a larger group of musicians when they played. One played the digital drums, and the other played the keyboard. The sound was an amazing adaptation of their culture into worship. My host took me to a bedroom on the second floor. I was able to rest in an air-conditioned room while I rested before dinner. The son previously worked at a restaurant in Dubai, so he made French fries and fried chicken as well as chapati. My host decided to give me a small break from the cultural cuisine. After dinner, we traveled to a church in a village where the son who cooked for me was the pastor. We exited the vehicle and walked to the entrance of the building. People lined the pathway, showering me with flower petals and some type of petal with attached stems. They continued to throw them on me as I walked through the building and even up on the platform. The younger people sat on the floor, while older people sat on plastic chairs in the back by the entrance. As I pondered the fellowship and devotion of these people, I humorously began to consider that there was a special anointing associated with plastic chairs. The two aforementioned brothers played beautiful music on the drums and keyboard. The keyboard player had an amazing grasp of cultural sounds and scales on the keyboard. It took me a moment to realize he was generating those sounds, rather than it being a recording. A young female, perhaps a teenager, had a microphone and led the worship song. After a few songs, the pastor introduced me to the people and said I was the first American to visit their church. He had a young lady interpret for me, but my American accent and version of English quickly proved to be too much, so my host assumed the duties of translator. I leaned heavily on Holy Spirit on this trip and I stayed with the theme of identity and value from John 17 and Ephesians 1. I shared the concept of the bride price and how Jesus paid the price for each of us, determining our value in the eyes of the Father. I tried to demonstrate to them how they are designed to carry the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18), and that they needed to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to see (Ephesians 1:17) what was available to them. I shared stories, and then we had ministry time. My host’s daughter was a sweet girl who proved to be very valuable as a translator as we ministered.  I preached for an hour and we ministered to many people for about two hours. Many people had pain, some had fevers, others wanted prayer for their farm, some for their education, some couples wanted children, and many wanted me to bless their bottles of oil (a practice I did not like, but at least I thought they might anoint things with oil and pray themselves). The daughter allowed me the freedom to persist with those people who had pain until we saw some result. In one instance I prayed three times for a woman’s foot with no result, so I asked this young girl if she would be willing to pray for the woman’s leg. She did and the pain reduced! I asked her to do it again, but she became too frightened ( I often use children to minister to demonstrate it is not my special power, but that Holy Spirit is available to all believers). One man was drunk so we ministered to him. Many wanted pictures taken so I obliged. At the end of ministry time, they put a traditional covering on me and we enjoyed a bowl of fruit and some drinks together, before heading back to the vehicle and traveling back to the house. October 25, 2023 I did not get out of bed until about 10 AM. I bathed, dressed, and packed, and went down for breakfast. There was an omelet, fries, fried cheese sticks, and a mango drink. I rested most of the day, took some pictures, and we headed to the airport after dinner. I said goodbye to my host, his son, his daughter, and his wife. There was a face recognition scanning machine I  had to stand in front of after handing a person my passport and giving him my ticket information. To pass through the additional security points I had to pause in front of a scanner which opened a gate for me to pass. I got my bag checked and made it to the gate on time. The first flight was about two hours to a large airport. After we landed I went to a long line at a transfer point. When I reached the front of the line, the people sent me to a different part of the airport to go through a long line at customs. I made it through customs, then security, and made my way across the airport to my gate. After sitting at the gate for quite a while, an announcement was made that we all had to go through security screening again. Thankfully it was just through a  bag scanner by the gate, along with a man with a wand. There was a long line that did not move at all. I counted the people in line and thought if they did not move the line, we would not board on time. But more helpers were sent there, and everyone went through the process. We sat again for a while, and I watched at least 10 or more crew members board the plane, as well as a couple of pilots. The scanning may have been legitimate, but it did make me wonder if they were trying to keep us busy while they were waiting on a crew. We finally boarded the plane. We had screaming and crying children in our section for much of the 15-hour flight. My entertainment screen did not work, nor did the screen work for the woman next to me. At least I was able to grab an aisle seat during check-in so that I was not at the mercy of two other passengers to be able to use the toilet. The service on this flight was a little better than the flight to the country. The food was spicy and fair, but I did not sleep much. I always seem to have some stressful anticipation of the process of going through customs, getting my bags, and going through security.  Chicago Ohare is a large airport, and I wanted to get through everything and make my flight home. People were directing us. I tried to ask questions but they would direct me before I could finish my sentence. I continued to persist because I discovered that I have sometimes been given wrong information, and I would rather risk irritating someone and yet have the correct information. As it turned out, the directions were all correct. Our TSA agents may not be the most friendly, but they get people through the process quickly. Each airport seems to be a little different, so I try to stay alert. I made it through customs, collected my bag, and got it checked for the domestic flight, I even got my boarding pass because the first airport counter only gave me passes for the first two flights. I found the correct transport to the terminal I needed. As I was riding the transport rail, a lady moved to sit in a seat. She mentioned she had a hip problem. I asked if I could pray for her and she said yes so I did. The man sitting next to her was rejoicing over what happened. I said this should be normal Christianity. The lady exited at her stop but the man and I had a wonderful conversation and became fast friends. I shared how our identity is who we are in Christ, that He knew us before the foundation of the world, and that the bride price was paid one time when Jesus said “It is finished,” That price will forever be the same for every person regardless of race, tribe, male or female, or age. I prayed with Sam and we hugged. We were in total agreement about everything and people may not have guessed because of outer appearances but we bore the same true identities as sons of the living God. (I have an issue with Christians not recognizing that their priority in identity is who they are in Christ. I do not say I am an American Christian. I am a Christian who lives in the USA. Sam and I were 100 percent on that even though he was black and I was white). I had about 90 minutes before I needed to board my flight, so I asked where the nearest airline club was. I was able to use the boarding pass for the next flight and my other free club pass to get in. The bathrooms were beautiful, I had no problem getting into the club, and it was clean and spacious without seeming to emphasize the bar like the previous club did. I had Greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, pineapple, sausage, and grapefruit juice. After eating, I gathered my things and made my way to the final gate. The plane was a little smaller, and they asked for people to check their carry-on bags, which I did. I boarded the plane with only my backpack. After an hour’s flight, we landed back home where I was picked up by my wife. Once home, I took the dirty clothes bag down to the laundry area and took off my dirty clothes from the flight. I took my first hot shower since the one I had in the hotel near the remote area. I went to bed early and tried to catch up on much-needed rest. While I tried to give the readers a description of what I experienced and even how I felt, it is important to realize that the work that is carried on in that country is done by unsung heroes. Church fellowships are growing, churches are being planted, and the kingdom is growing. I went out of obedience, I wanted to report some of what is happening there, and I want to raise support for these fruitful ministries. I was able to experience for the first time these remote areas where pastors rode motorcycles as far as they could, sometimes getting injured, and having to carry bags of Bibles for up to seven hours to reach some of these areas. That ministry is being led by a man who used to persecute Christians! I was amazed at how another pastor I had previously only briefly met was able to gather together five different remote house fellowships in one day to meet and worship so I could meet and fellowship with them. Thank you for your kind attention to this summary. Please consider supporting these ministries.