DEAR FRIENDS
As I begin to process the last two weeks I am on a plane from Pakistan to Qatar. I was invited to Pakistan by my Pakistani translator and coworker. Together we have published and distributed 5 Urdu Bible commentaries and studies. It was a great privilege to meet Emmanuel and his family. I believe we truly bonded as friends and co-workers. I consider it an honour to partner with him in the task of making Bible study material available in the Urdu language for Pakistani believers.
In the twelve days we ministered together (June 7-18) I preached the Word of God 27 times in 13 locations to 1,400 people. We served 560 free meals and distributed 300-350 books to church leaders. At each meeting we took up an offering. The goal of this offering was to help an orphanage in the Northern part of Pakistan. Over Rs.13,700 were given by Pakistani believers for this project --enough money to provide 10 orphans food for an entire month.
How do I summarize the many things that happened in these two weeks? Wherever we went we prayed for the pastor of the local church. After many of the meetings people came forward for prayer (we didn't ask for this, they just came). I was touched by the needs. One young boy came forward to say that he was mentally handicapped and asked me to pray that God would give him a better mind. A mother came forward and said that two of her boys had died and she wanted me to pray that God would give her and her husband another son. Mothers came asking for prayers for their children's future. Men asked that I would pray for their spiritual growth.
In one church service a lady came up to us and told us that the day before she had a dream that a white man with white hair and beard was going to speak at the church. She told us she rushed to the church to hear what he had to say. When she saw me come in, she knew I was the one in her dream.
God's hand of protection was evident as we traveled the dangerous roads. On one Sunday morning we were going to church where I had a speaking engagement. We came to a place where a number of protesters carrying sticks and burning tires were blocking the road and refusing to let anyone by. Emmanuel got out of the car to speak to them. They were angry at him and didn't want to let us through. Emmanuel explained that we were going to church and had obligations there that morning. When they heard this, their attitude changed. They let us by without incident.
God's hand of provision was evident in strange ways. One Muslim rickshaw driver brought us to a church where I was to speak. When he heard that I was a "man of God" going to preach the Bible, he refused to take his fare out of respect for what I was doing. The Muslim manager of the hotel where I was staying offered myself, Emmanuel and his entire family a complementary meal. A Muslim, attending an evangelistic meeting where I was preaching publicly honored us after the message by presenting us with a floral garland to the applause of the Christians present.
I experienced the strength of the Lord in many ways. One Sunday, I had to speak at church in the morning, travel to another town and speak three more times in the evening. Because of meetings the night before I got to bed at 1:00 a.m. I woke up at 3 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. By 8:30 Emmanuel came to pick me up. Speaking has always meant a big expenditure of energy for me and I was very concerned about how to get through four messages that day on so little sleep. When I returned to my hotel at midnight that night I was amazed to see how the Lord had given me the strength and focus I needed to get through each of the days sessions.
Time and space do not permit me to share all the details of this trip. I saw God's strange provision, witnessed His protection, experienced His strengthening, church leaders were encouraged by the Word of God, the hungry were fed, Bible study material was distributed to key leaders, and through the generosity of Pakistani believers, 10 orphans will have a month of food. Only two weeks of ministry but we trust it will bear an eternity of fruit for the glory of our awesome God.
For a more detailed account of this ministry trip visit my Pakistan '13 blog at http://ltmp-pakistan13.blogspot.ca
Thanks for your prayers and support.
F. Wayne Mac Leod