Preparing story-telling for the Tolupan

The Panoramic Bible Story

A member of Beulah Baptist Church shares the “Panoramic Bible Story”. Beulah Baptist is a part of our mission team and demonstrates, with this video, a perfect example of sharing the Good News.

Prayer Update

Grandson, William Winter – Justin and Anna’s son, William (2 years old) will be returning to the doctor in the next week to hopefully have his final check-up on his platelet count with ITP.  We are asking that everyone lift him up in prayer that his platelet count would be 150 or higher, demonstrating that he is now over his bout with ITP.  His last count was in March and it was 114.  We are trusting the Lord that William has been healed once and for all of this problem. We are indebted to all of you for standing with us in prayer over this one!

Brazil Having Floods – All of northern Roraima and the city of Boa Vista have been declared in a state of emergency due to the worst flooding in history.  There is an epidemic of dengue fever widespread and the leaders are pleading for prayer that the floods would stop and also the dengue would clear.  The container is being held for only one more document.  The argument is over one word in the document whether the officials are to “suspend” or “exempt” the tax on the container.  Continue to pray for the release of this container.  It has now been 6 months.

Meshell Narine of Mahaica, Guyana – Remains in “faith” for Jesus to heal her of her cancerous tumor in her pelvic area, although pain is very severe at times.  She is under the care of doctors that simply visit Guyana and therefore her diagnosis has been slow.  The doctors have decided to start radiation the first week of June.   Heidi remains in constant contact with Meshell, strengthening her in the ways of the Lord.

Please join with us in petition for Meshell’s miracle for the sake of all of Mahaica.

Traveling to the Tulepan Indians – Alan, Heidi, and Jim and Cindy (Strutz) Lamson are on their way even now to La Ceibita, Honduras to begin teaching the Tulepan Indians the way of Christ.  This huge breakthrough for their people group may be read on our website (www.fmusa.org – under Tulepan Indians).  Julio, the first chief, has promised that he would gather all the chiefs of the various villages so that Alan can begin to teach them the stories of God.  Alan has just completed a training with Campus Crusade for Christ on Orality (Story-Telling of the Gospel).  We are very excited about the wonderful things that God wants to do on this trip.  Meily, Cristy, and Pastor Luis of Sulaco will be joining us for this trip.  Please PRAY that we can discern the leading of the Lord on this new method of training the Indigeous people so that they can, in turn, teach God’s story to their own people.  We will need to be going through two translators to communicate this.  PRAY for clarity of thought, to be culturally-revelent, and wisdom to have the right words to accurately communicate God’s Word to the Tulepan.  For the message to be able to be retaught easily and effectively.  People of Redeemer Lutheran and those that have been there before, we are really counting on you for heart-felt prayers!

Alan & Heidi Travel Update

Update from Heidi’s travels:

After only two months since I have returned with the Bethel Atlanta team from Mahaica, Guyana, I felt directed by the Lord to return by myself with the sole purpose of ministering to Meshell Narine. Meshell, now a professing Christian, and her Hindu family welcomed me graciously into their home and treated me like a queen! I have never felt the presence of the Lord in the dimension that I did on this trip. I am very grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness and for all of your supportive prayers as I journeyed on this trip.  Meshell, as I have stated in earlier emails, has a large mass in her pelvic area.  She has had an MRI, a CT scan, and now a biopsy, the results of which are still pending. While I was there I attempted to regulate her medicine and gave her light therapy and many massages to try to assist her with her pain.  On top of all of this, we spent much time in prayer, worship and studying the Word of God and other books.  I will not relent beseeching the Lord for Meshell’s miracle.  Meshell is like a sponge, everything I tell or give her to read she immediately receives, she has been a true blessing to me. God is truly at work in the lives of her family and friends also.  You wouldn’t believe all the Hindus and Muslims that I was able to meet and speak with.  Alan and I feel like the Lord has opened this family for His purposes and our hearts are knit with theirs.  Isn’t He marvelous? Please continue to pray for her total healing and the salvation of this family. We will return again in June with the Peachtree Christian Fellowship team for 10 days.  God is stirring Mahaica for Jesus!

In Awe and Wonder,

Heidi

Update from Alan’s travels:

Dr. Steve Crowther of Manna Church, North Carolina, and I returned Monday, May 3, from meeting with leaders in both Venezuela and Brazil. We were expecting 9 men, and at the most 15, but we were overwhelmingly pleased when 28 pastors and leaders from this third-world country overcame poverty and a twelve-hour bus ride to come together for teaching and encouragement.

While traveling through Venezuela the bus stopped for much needed fuel only to find that they had to wait for the blackout to end before they could travel on from El Dorado. While waiting for hours they were asked to pray for a woman with AIDS who was removed from her home to die over two weeks ago.  She was lying naked on a bare foam pad under a small tin shelter.  Her skull was showing in the midst of terrible sores all over her head and back.  The stench was that of a rotting dead animal. The pastors said they wanted to show her more dignity even in her dying state, so they requested a sheet.  After covering her, they prayed and prayed. She began to stir, came to her mind and then sat up. As she sat up she realized she was naked and pulled the sheet around herself. Suddenly their bus was ready to go and so they had to leave her immediately. The next morning Vincent called back to encourage the pastor in El Dorado to feed and bathe her as if she was healed; they replied that she was already up, bathed, fed and was currently lying in a hammock. That evening the pastor called and said, “Guess where she is now?  She’s here at church!” On the pastors’ return trip home, they stopped to check on the woman and found her speaking and eating, with her sores healing and her strength doubling each day! What an AWESOME GOD!!!  Healed of AIDS!!!

It was a full week of Spirit-filled ministry and after only two days I have received the following reports:

From Vincent in Venezuela:

1. The church in El Dorado was divided and near closure. We knew nothing of the church’s condition; yet as the Lord spoke to us we were able to speak directly into the problem. We were able to give counsel, which resulted in restoring them in faith, commitment and excitement.

2.       The presence of God was so strong on the 12-hour bus ride home that many of the leaders received messages from the Lord and were renewed in vision, direction and calling.

3.       The men prayed, sang, and took turns re-teaching all they had learned. We needed more than the 12 hours to recount all the Lord was revealing to us as leaders.

4.       The next two days we met with over 300 leaders in San Felix, Venezuela, and everyone was energized as the men shared with tears how their lives have been changed and how they are applying all they learned.

5.       Vincent said, “This is the best teaching I have ever participated in!” “Many of us are still ‘drunk’ with God’s presence!”

6.       The fire of God fell on us all and it was transferred to the 300. The reports are coming back that the revival has touched the churches (over 1500 people), and we believe it will continue throughout the area!!!

From Awan Chattarpal in Brazil:

You would not believe what the Lord has done since you [Alan] and Steve ministered to us through prayer and the Word.

Jose had another dream from the Lord calling him to new lands with lots of resistance to the Gospel. We prayed with him confirming and setting him apart in his calling and ministry.

1. Alex has been praying through most of the nights and is experiencing a refreshing from the Lord. He has dedicated himself to be Jose’s traveling companion. We prayed and set him apart.
2. Cleudes – The Lord has been speaking and dealing with him about his responsibility.  He is experiencing a great refreshing from the Lord and has taken it upon himself to fast for four days.  Furthermore he came forward and asked if we could set him apart to lead the church at Nova Vida.  He is on fire!
3. Sam is a fireball.  He has been praying and crying out to the Lord in deep intercession.
4. Elisvaldo saw fire falling on to his hands and he can’t stop crying.  He has been so touched by the Lord.  He has also taken on the challenge to fast for four days.
5. Wazinton is going with great guns.  The Sunday after you left, the church building was filled to standing room only.  Many healings took place that day.
6. Ageu is giving himself to fasting and prayers.

All of the brethren are heavy under the presence of the Lord.  God is about to do great things among us and we are very excited.

Awan

From Alan in the US:

Dr. Steve Crowther and I are extremely grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness to change lives by the power of His Word and Spirit.  It’s so exciting to see the Lord confirming His Word with signs following. I am humbled by the Lord’s hand of favor on this trip and want to thank all of you for your heavy support of prayer.

May the Lord richly bless you and be gracious to you, and to cause His face to shine upon you. That His way may be known on the earth, His salvation among EVERY NATION!!!

Humbly, His Servant,

Alan

Tulepan Indians

Tulepan Family with Frontline

The Tulepan Indians are a native people group who live high in the mountains of Honduras, concentrated on Flower Mountain. Frontline first arrived in this remote area four years ago with a team from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Marquette, Michigan.

This initial trip was difficult. We held a medical clinic in La Ceibita and also reached out to nearby villages. The Tulepan, however, were mistrustful. Their First Chief, Juleo, refused to see or speak to any of our team members, relaying messages only through Second Chief Tomas. In our second trip, though, we were able to make a little progress with the Tulepan language, and saw Second Chief Tomas’ son, Jose, come to the Lord. On subsequent trips, Frontline even built a church in La Ceibita.

Encouraged by these good signs, our Honduran brethren continued to follow up with the Tulepan after the Frontline team returned home. To their shock, they were stopped on the outskirts of La Ceibita by strangers wielding AK-47s. The Hondurans escaped without injury because a passenger they had given a ride to was recognized by the aggressors, who fled at the sight of someone they knew. But a violent tragedy occurred shortly after the Hondurans returned home—three Tulepan Indians were murdered, right outside the newly built church. Although the culprits were probably the same bandits the brethren had encountered, the enraged Tulepan began to suspect all Hondurans, and were rumored to be seeking revenge. La Ceibita had become a dangerous place, especially for our Honduran leaders.

Soon after, the Tulepan sent word that they wished to see Alan alone. Alan knew, however, that this would foster more tension between the Tulepan and the Honduran leaders who wished to help them. Frontline’s chief aim is to equip and encourage local leaders in ministering to their own countrymen, and Alan hoped the Tulepan would come to trust these Honduran Christians in time.
Alan sent word back that he would only agree to come if his Honduran friends were welcome too. The Tulepan refused. Messages were exchanged back and forth, but the situation became a standstill. Days turned into months, and months became years. The Tulepan isolated themselves while Frontline and its family of churches asked God to change the hearts of the Tulepan. Redeemer Lutheran, the first church to visit La Ceibita, felt a special burden for the Tulepan, and prayed for them without ceasing.

Two years passed and nothing changed. The situation had been weighing on our hearts for so long, when suddenly word came from the Tulepan: “We want to talk to Alan. He can bring the Hondurans.” A trip with Redeemer Lutheran was hastily arranged, and Alan, the Hondurans, and the church team arrived in La Ceibita on January 24.
They received a totally different welcome this time. Juleo greeted Alan with a handshake, and the team was peppered with questions. “Where have you been? What took so long? We have been so sad, not hearing from our friend.” All signs of apprehension gone, Juleo praised Alan as being a man of his word, and gladly accepted gifts of food and medicine for his impoverished people.

As for the murders, it had been decided that the violence was the work of a few bandits, and the people of La Ceibita were no longer angry at all Hondurans. This represents a big step for the Tulepan, whose culture typically demands “a life for a life” in matters of justice. Clearly God had brought peace to their grieved spirits, in answer to the many prayers spoken on behalf of the Tulepan.
And now their hearts were opened to Alan and the team—Americans and Hondurans alike. The medical clinic saw 147 people that day, most of them children. An overwhelming majority (86 percent!) of the adults gave their lives to Christ, signaling a sweeping change in the hearts of the whole Tulepan community. Alan was even given the opportunity to share the Gospel with the Tulepan chiefs. The Tulepan have an oral culture, and story-telling is one of the main ways they fellowship and preserve their heritage. The telling of the Gospel in this way helped the Tulepan chiefs overcome their initial hesitations, and by the end many of them were excited by what they heard. Jose, the first Tulepan to come to Christ, promised to have someone from each Tulepan village present for a week long training to learn how to present the Gospel story to others through their oral tradition.

Tulepan Family

Alan reports that the Tulepan chiefs are beginning to realize the possibilities of a change—a new way of life, new reasons to hope. The rapport he was able to establish with them will change so many things (a rapport that he probably cemented when he gave Chief Juleo the sandals off his feet after Juleo admired them!) “They trust us, Heidi!” he said in an excited phone call. “They want us back—they want us to train them in order to help their people!”

Frontline will certainly be back, and meanwhile we stand in amazement of the Lord’s power in changing the hearts of an entire people.

In awe and wonder,

Alan, Heidi, & Harry