Dear Prayer Partner,
Greetings from the Solomon Islands.
I want to share these two testimonies with you:
One Sunday [August 28, 2011] I was sitting in the Honiara Zion Church, the worship team was singing and getting prepared for the worship service to begin, and I felt a prompting from the Lord that I should go to the New Start Church at White River. The White River Church is a daughter church of the Zion Church. Pastor Osborn, district NMI President and family, and Salome, a high school teacher at Zion, and her family were the ones who had the vision for this church.
This church was started among the children and with a special focus on prayer. It is awesome seeing the children getting excited about the things of God. The children’s ministry at the White River church is called the “Heavenly Kids” ministry. They began meeting under a make shift tabernacle beside pastor Osborn’s house, until a strong wind came one day and tore the plastic tarp that they used for the roof. After that incident happened they moved the church to an incomplete building nearby (The building has a cement floor, and roof but no walls.) They have been renting that for a modest amount of money for a few months now. The children attendance has really grown to where they now are running 70 or more children plus a few adults.
Every Saturday evening the pastor and a large group of his “Heavenly Kids” prayer warriors walk up the near-by “Prayer” mountain for a time of prayer in preparation for the Sunday service. The children are working on the parents, praying for them, witnessing to them, and encouraging them to attend the service. The church without walls is very nice as the parents are beginning to attend but they feel unworthy to come into the church building but they attend and set in another open outbuilding nearby and listen to the service. These kids are really on fire for the Lord.(Tautau in the Center)
(Elizabeth and Margaret on Left)
Now let me tell you the testimony of Elizabeth, one of the Mother’s who started attending a few weeks ago. Her daughter Margaret (age 8) became involved in the Heavenly Kids ministry and began to talk to her mother. So Elizabeth joined her daughter and came to church for the first time in 42 years. She has never been to church since she was a small child. While she was there she heard the message preached by Bro. Dickson Manongi, a layman from the Zion church. She responded to the altar call and began her spiritual journey. The Sunday that Nancy and I attended was now maybe two weeks later, so Elizabeth was now just 2-week in her walk with the Lord. The Saturday night before we attended Elizabeth wanted to go with them to the prayer mountain. She still had some spiritual bondage from her past life. As they went up the mountain the demon inside of her revealed itself. She had been in spiritual bondage to this evil spirit. She lashed out at Pastor Osborn and he had a swollen lip to show for it as Osborn shared, “The demon tried to kill him.” The children were afraid and ran off. Osborn calling upon the name of Jesus, cast out the demon. The children then witnessed the transforming power of God. Now here we are the very next morning in the Sunday morning worship service hearing this testimony. Elizabeth as she shared her testimony told that she is now free. Pray for these children and their unsaved parents as there are many like Elizabeth who are under spiritual bondage and need delivered.
Pastor Osborn told me that his house is like a clinic where people come for him to pray for them. They are witnessing many miracles, as people are being saved, healed, and delivered. The Lord is at work in the White River community. Pray for this church. They have two from the community volunteering at our Zion school as they have a plan to start an early childhood school in White River, to teach the children how to read and better prepare them.
Recently they took their Alabaster Offering and Osborn brought me the offering of nearly $350 (US $70). One boy brought a heavy box of coins and put in the offering. They counted the coins and there were $107 in coins. Tautau had been saving the coins for a long time but heard Pastor give the Alabaster appeal and wanted to give this collection to Jesus. Pray for Tautau. Tautau is a natural leader and so enthusiastic about the things of God. Before Osborn and family, Salome and family, and the Zion church started the White River church these children were all unreached. Tautau was gloriously saved at a combined children’s camp [Zion and White River]. Recently they had a fund raising night where they had light refreshments, coffee, and entertainment to try to raise some funds to help their outreach as well as to minister to and reach the un-churched. For the entertainment the Heavenly Kids sang and some of the children gave their testimonies. It is one thing to give your testimony in the church with the Christian family but quite different to give your testimony where your unsaved family are present. I was setting toward the front and so did not really notice his family’s reaction, but as he shared about his life before his salvation he paused and said to his family, “You can laugh, but this is the truth.” He shared a powerful testimony of how Christ changed his life. Pray for Tautau and the “Heavenly Kids” and the White River Community.
George Miller,
Solomon Islands -Church of the Nazarene
PO Box 712, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Office/Home: 677 25-109 Mobile: 677 74 68920
USA Contact:
c/o 4994 Highway 78 S
Nevada, TX 75173
email: george_nancy@reachone.com
Blog: http://georgeandnancymiller.blogspot.com - http://oceanianazarene.org
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