THE DOOR OF SALVATION IS WIDE OPENED IN AFRICA

John Lo

            "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me...-(I Cor 16:9)-

Africa constitutes 22% of the total land area on earth.  It is a continent made up of 53 countries, with a total population of approximately 600 million.  It is a fertile field for preaching the gospel.  Countless souls are waiting to be harvested.

Eight missionary trips were made by workers sent by International Assembly from May 1977 to December 1984.  Our evangelical efforts were concentrated in Nigeria.  Thank God for His wonderful guidance.  The faith of the members in Nigeria is now rooted, and we are able to redirect our efforts to a new territory, Liberia.  With the constant intercessional prayers offered by our members world-wide, the guidance of the Holy Spirit has been very clear, as the pillars of cloud and fire.  Deacon Joseph Shek and I first spent six weeks in Nigeria from January 25 to March 19 in 1985, before we traveled to Liberia, where we stayed for two weeks.  The work of the Holy Spirit was evident.  There were signs and wonders and many souls were saved.  We were filled with joy and gratitude.

THE HOLY WORK IN NIGERIA

A number of spiritual-evangelical convocations and special seminars were held in various churches and prayer houses in Nigeria.  A total of 231 people were baptized, 163 received the Holy Spirit, and 210 visions were seen.  The visions included the seeing of glorious light, angels in white raiment, the crucifixion of Jesus, brilliant stars, tongues of flames, the road leading to heaven, doves, the heavenly ladder, and Jesus as the Shepherd.  The hearings of 28 people were witnessed-heart disease, stomach problems, gynecological diseases, and fever.  There was a brother who had been poisoned some five years ago, and since then had been struggling for survival.  He was among those who came to attend the spiritual convocation.  He received the Holy Spirit, and when he was baptized, his health was fully regained when he came up from the water.  There was also a tribal leader who was skinny and effeminate, and at the point of death.  He was baptized and healed by the Lord.

THE HOLY WORK IN LIBERIA

Liberia has the longest national history among black African countries.  It is located on the west coast of Africa.  In 1821, a group of emancipated slaves from the United States landed in the vicinity of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.  With the support of the U.S. government, it became a colony of the United States in 1847.  Independence was declared in 1957.

Liberia occupies an area of 43,000 square miles, divided into 12 administrative districts, and has a population of approximately 2.5 million.  The official language is English, and the U.S. dollar is its official currency.  While the cost of commodities is much higher than in the United States, the per capita income in Liberia is only one tenth of the United States.  People in Liberia live a marginal life.  Various Christian denominations are found there.  Unfortunately, much of their teachings have deviated from the truth.  This is compounded by the prevalence of adultery which is found even in some Christian churches.  Consequently, many Christians look anxiously for a church, where teachings are in perfect accordance with the Bible.

The guidance of the Lord is wonderful, and His time is unpredictable.  In 1981, while enroute to Nigeria, our ministers stayed overnight in a hotel in Monrovia.  They preached the gospel to the hotel waiter and left evangelical pamphlets with them.  No one could have imagined that, two years later, one of the waiters would give his copy of the pamphlets to a church pastor, whom he did not even know.  That pastor (a leader of four churches) was delighted to find that our church preaches nothing but the truth.  Some time later, he had a dream in which he saw a mountain top covered with glorious light; he went up to the top with his congregations.  This dream convinced him that our church is the true church, established by God and not by man.  On his own initiative, he corresponded with us and subsequently changed the name of his churches into the True Jesus Church.  We were sent there at the request of this pastor and warmly received by more than twenty members at the airport in Monrovia, each sporting a "True Jesus Church" pin on their chest.  We were deeply touched.

By divine arrangement while on my way to Liberia on March 4, a Nigerian businessman was seated next to me on the plane.  At first, I did not feel like preaching to him but the Holy Spirit compelled me to begin a conversation.  I pleasantly discovered that he was in need of God and was searching for the truth.  After some preliminary discussion, he decided to stay with us for three days to continue with our study after we arrived at our destination.  It was a total surprise to us, because not only did he eventually receive baptism, he also received the precious Holy Spirit.  Under his persuasion, a small denominational congregation was converted.  The Holy Spirit guided us and worked mightily during our two-week stay in Liberia. 165 people were baptized, 67 received the Holy Spirit, and 155 saw visions.  These visions included the seeing of glorious light, rainbow, Jesus' blood in the water at the baptismal site, glorious angels, soaring of an eagle, heavenly ladder and door, doves and crucifixion.  Eight people with illnesses were healed.

The following are two miracles which took place in Liberia during our missionary visit:

Brother Harris' camera was stolen on March 14 during the spiritual convocation which was attended by many unbelievers also.  Ten brothers and sisters were praying with him in the chapel for the revelation of God.  He was suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in a different kind of tongue.  The brother who was praying next to him was able to interpret for him by saying: "The camera is hidden in the bushes behind the chapel." At the conclusion of an hour-long prayer, still filled with the Holy Spirit, he walked toward the bushes.  With his eyes closed, he prayed in tongues and interpreted his own tongues.  He asked one of the brothers, who went out with him, to walk straight ahead.  After walking a few feet, he said "Turn right, and then left." "Watch out!  There is blank paper in the front...... Continue to walk.  There is a pile of rubbish.  My camera is hidden underneath." The lost camera was indeed found there by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  They were exhilarated and praised the Lord simultaneously saying with a loud voice, "The True Jesus Church is indeed the TrueChurch."

In the morning of March 18, a mother, carrying her dying eight-year old daughter, rushed into our room where we were conducting a seminar for the ministers.  Her heart beat was faint, she was experiencing respiratory difficulties and appeared to be extremely weak.  She had been in a coma for over four hours.  Our class was interrupted by her mother when she cried out tearfully, "My daughter is dead!" We prayed importunately three times.  Thank God, the girl opened her eyes after the third prayer.  We prayed many times from noon to evening.  Without any medication, she was completely healed the next day, active as usual.

God has opened up the door of salvation in Africa in His own wonderful way.  We thank God for His grace.  May He continue to strengthen the faith of those who were baptized during our recent missionary trip.  May the Holy Spirit continue to work mightily there.  It is our hope that the gospel of salvation can be preached to other African countries soon and the souls in these countries can be saved.  We pray the Lord will inspire our brothers and sisters throughout the world will continue their prayers and contributions resources for the Holy Work in Africa.  It is also hoped that the Lord will select more workers who are willing to join the evangelical and pastoral work in Africa, sharing the wonderful spiritual blessings and joy.  May all the

glory, praise, and thanks be unto our Lord Jesus Christ who laid His life for us.                                             

John Lo

Pastor S.K. Yang and I were sent to Africa for a nine week missionary trip by International Assembly in the fall of 1985.

We spent three weeks in Liberia from September 17 to October 8, 1985.  The very next day after our arrival many people received the Holy Spirit and saw visions.  The holy work was richly blessed initially.  Unfortunately, Satan began to work that evening.  There was an incident during which a police officer shot himself at the conclusion of prayer of the evangelical service.  Quite a commotion resulted.  A minister of our church was consequently imprisoned and the church building was sealed off.  The holy work was temporarily interrupted.  Thank God, however, after many importunate prayers, the evangelical services continued without any further disturbance.  During our three-week stay there, four spiritual convocations were held. 203 people were baptized, 52 received the Holy Spirit, 15 visions were seen in which many witnessed the presence of Jesus' blood during the water baptism.  Liberia is indeed a fertile soil for the sacred work.  A number of pastors of other denominations were converted to the True Jesus Church during our visit there.  They will be useful workers of God in the years to come.

We traveled to Ghana on October 8th and stayed there till October 29th.  Ghana is a country which enjoys socio-political stability.  People appear to be well educated.  During a business trip, a brother of our church brought the gospel from Liberia.  He first introduced our doctrines to a pastor of a certain church there.  Through their efforts, three spiritual convocations were held during our visit, a total of 44 people were baptized, 41 received the Holy Spirit, and 24 visions were seen.  Though the average monthly income of a member is only US$50.00, they are very generous in making offerings.

On October 29, we traveled from Ghana to Nigeria.  We stayed there until November 17, 1985.  Generally speaking, the faith of our members in Nigeria is firmly rooted.  There have been many wonders and miracles.  A young minister of our church has received from the Lord the gift of healing and the power to cast out demons.  Two blind persons regained their sight after he prayed for them on the roadside.  The holy work of our church was confined to certain rural communities during the past several years, but thank God, we have just made a very important step to evangelize in the city of Port Harcourt in Nigeria.  A brother, previously a pastor of another denomination, purchased a piece of land and constructed a church in the Port Harcourt with his business profits.  A majority of the members of his church have now been baptized, in our church.  In fact, a total of 124 people were baptized and 28 people received the Holy Spirit, and 41 visions were seen during our stay in Nigeria this time.

Thank God, there is a total of 371 people who were baptized and 121 people received the Holy Spirit, and 216 visions were seen.  The faith of our members there was greatly strengthened during this visit.  May all the glory and praise be unto our Lord.         

Derren Liang