DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #11

News from Germany, Nigeria, Cambodia, Argentina

In this issue:
Germany: Incurable illness healed through prayer
Nigeria: One church plants 8,500 others
Cambodia: Rural population's simple faith
Argentina: Children, children!

Germany: Incurable illness healed through prayer

"Following prayer, a number of people have recently been healed of incurable illnesses;" reports Peter Wenz, pastor of the Biblische Glaubensgemeinde (Biblical Faith Church) in Stuttgart, Germany's largest Protestant church. One young woman was suffering from "Morbus Cron", an incurable inflamation of the intestine (probably "Cronkhite-Canada Syndrome"). As she sat in the service, one of the church members had the prophetic impression that someone suffering from the disease was present. "The woman received prayer, and was immediately healed," says Wenz. A 60-year-old woman came to the church on crutches, was healed, and can now play football with her grandchild. One morning, a young man noticed a rash on one foot, which grew 1 centimeter up his leg each day. He went to a dermatologist, who could not help the young man because he had never seen an illness like it. He sent skin samples to the Tubingen university clinic, but none of the specialists could help. After some time, the rash covered most of the young man's body. He attended an open air service in Stuttgart, where Peter Wenz met him. "God told me to pray for him, so I laid my hands on him and asked Jesus to touch him with his power. Then I went away," he says. When the young man awoke the next morning, his skin had become hard and encrusted. He immediately went to his dermatologist for an examination, but the dermatologist didn't even want to let him in to the changing room, because he was known as a hopeless case. He opened his shirt anyway, and the doctor turned white and fetched her husband from another examination. Both doctors were speechless. "What happened?" they asked; he told them that he had been in a church service, and had received prayer. The next day, the encrusted skin dropped off, revealing an entirely new skin underneath. According to Peter Wenz, the young man is now entirely healthy.

Source: Peter Wenz, Biblische Glaubensgemeinde, fax (+49) 711-484295, tel. 480400

Nigeria: One church plants 8,500 others

It all started with a students' Bible study in 1974. Today, William Kumuyi, previously Professor of Mathematics at Lagos University, is pastor of Africa's largest church. AFNET's Dr. Johan Combrinck reports that the Deeper Life Church not only has an attendance of 120,000 every Sunday, but has planted 500 churches in Lagos, 5,000 in the rest of Nigeria and 3,000 elsewhere as the movement's missionary contribution.

Source: AFNET, fax (+1)-408-249-7774; E-mail: 100076.2414@compuserve.com

Cambodia: Rural population's simple faith

Poy Plin had attended a 3-month church planting course when he decided to plant a new church in Lom, a village of the Jarai people in Rattanakiri province. When some Vietnamese Christians came over the border, some 200 people decided to become Christians as a result of their work. Through Poy Plin's work in the village, over 650 of the Jarai have become Christians. Other reports speak of newly saved Cambodians who bring many others to Christ in a very short time. One example is Kim, who, on the day of his baptism, himself baptised 60 others. "We are very touched by the simplicity of the rural Christians' faith," wrote one witness.

Prostitutes become Christians

Some cell groups belonging to the "Living Hope in Christ Church" are in Phnom Penh's notorious red light district. The prostitutes regularly disrupted Christian meetings by singing Karaoke songs. The woman who led the groups prayed with the other Christians for a solution. Since then, a number of prostitutes come to every cell meeting to join in the singing instead of disrupting it. Two prostitutes who used to work in a brothel have accepted Jesus, given up their work and joined the church.

Source: name and address withheld

Argentina: Children, children!

One of the first people to recognise children's 'spiritual potential' in recent times is Esther Ilnisky. In the early 90's, she had the vision of mobilising 1 million children around the world to prayer. The target was reached long ago, according to a report by Cheri Fuller in the American Christian magazine 'Charisma'. "Once, a family came to church; the parents were saved, and the children soon after. But it was a 3-year-old who told the rest of the family about Jesus and brought the grandparents to church," writes Normar Banffi, children's pastor at the Rey de Reyes church in Buenos Aires. "Children are such effective evangelists that we take 8-year-olds and up on the streets in our evangelistic teams. When children ask people if they can pray for them, the adults are very open," says Banffi, "and when the children pray, many experience God's presence and are saved."

Source: Cheri Fuller, Normar Banffi

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