Testimony
A woman who had been abused in her childhood by an uncle had grown to adulthood and became a believer, but there was always something in the way of her moving ahead in her faith. She figured she needed to learn a ‘new’ method of Bible study because what she was doing never worked. She couldn’t get past a certain point. Her boss sent her to this conference even though she didn’t want to attend. When she arrived, she realized this program was for her. It didn’t stop with the conference! God continued to bring things out of the hidden corners of her heart in the weeks following and has brought healing.
A translator for the digital version of the conference:
“Sometimes translating is difficult. I’m doing my best to make it as understandable as possible for everyone so that the participants can take in the message. The lesson on family life was hard to handle emotionally, especially the one on husband-wife relations. I took it very personally. Despite this challenge, I am very happy to have the opportunity to translate. It gives me great joy to do it. What a privilege it is to be used by God to speak His Word to people in their heart languages. So, this job is a great blessing to me.”
Another participant: “Let me share this with you. There was a period of 10 years when there were 7 deaths in my family: my mother, my brother, my best friend, my grandparents. With every death I built up interior walls. It was the one place I could go which was safe and secure. The older I got, the thicker the walls grew. I had been able to break down some parts of them here and there. But concentrating for 4 days on really dealing well with grief and loss has been very significant for me. It means a lot to me. I long for a better relationship with my wife and with you all in God’s Kingdom. Give my thanks to the team that came to teach us this program.”
One young woman had gotten pregnant. While running from fatherhood, the guy died. She had an abortion. Since childhood, despite knowing that her mother loved her, she still had felt unloved. During this conference she discovered the root of her feelings and now she and her mother understand each other more deeply.
A participant shared how his stepfather and family treated him badly in his childhood. He would do anything to hear ‘good words’ – clean the house, cook the food, care for his step siblings – but never a nice word. The family hated him. The hurts from his stepfather were brought to light during this conference. He was able to forgive his family and move on.
“A big thank you for all, for the team, the people involved in making gifts, I felt it come from their hearts. Thanks for praying for us so that all these people could attend. We are very, very thankful to God for your care. And we are encouraged that even though they don’t know us, your church members are praying for our people group,.”
“I’ve often told God to ‘fix’ others! This time I’m asking God to fix me. Like Joseph, my heart has been enlarged by this conference.”
“When I came here I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was a bit hesitant. But my wife kept saying that these people (the training team) have so much love. And you know, when my wife is happy I’m happy. So I just wanted to share about that. I’ve been walking with the Lord for 20 years already. I know a lot of things in my head, but never applied them to my life. During this conference I heard the voice of God and I was so encouraged. God gave me more boldness. I’m so grateful that we were able to burn all the negative things from the past. I feel renewed. This will be a good memory for me. Thank you, Dutch team; thank you to all the organizers. I am very grateful to God.”
A husband
“It was a great joy for me to participate as not only part of the team but also as a participant in this conference. It was very important for me because sometimes even if we walk with the Lord for a long time, there is stuff inside that we hide and never admit even to ourselves, things that pull us back, away from the Lord. And today, when we had some personal time with the Lord, He showed me a picture of my childhood. He showed me how things are connected. There was a problem in my childhood. People had great expectations of me. I saw a picture of how these great expectations made me vulnerable and how they were never met because they were too high and how that caused pain in my life. I did not cry about it, but just by letting the feelings go, I felt better. I told my wife about it as well and she was also very happy for me.”
A translator
“Just before we came we witnessed a miracle. A lady, our sister, was here last year. She was 42 years old and pregnant. An ultrasound revealed heart problems. We were praying for her. I got a word for her and I told her “It’s God’s child, so let’s pray for God’s child.” I told her that she should keep him even though he would not be healthy. When it was time for her to give birth, everyone around her kept saying that the baby would die. But the baby was born alive and completely healthy! She named him Yusuf (Joseph)!”
A Pastor
“I got so many words from the Lord during this conference. It’s very seldom that I receive even one, but I have written down 2 pages full of words from the Lord!”
A team member in Central Asia
A pastor’s wife had gotten a letter from her husband saying that he loved someone else and that he was leaving her to live with this woman. At that time she started believing the lies that she had been a bad woman because she was a Jesus follower. She thought she was an awful wife and mother. At this conference, the lies of Satan were brought to the light.
A shepherd and director of a radio ministry came to the conference with lots of pain caused by other people. He felt no fears, no embarrassment when sharing his feelings among the other men at the conference.
A pastor’s wife had gone to another pastor and told him that her husband was being unfaithful. That pastor told her to go home and stop being jealous. Twice he sent her away. Interestingly, the three of them were invited to this conference. God worked in their hearts separately. It could have been a major blow up, but God worked in their lives and all three were reconciled.
Thank you…..I love the Lord. I know Him, but now, during this time, through the love of our Dutch brothers and sisters. I was able to see how beautiful God is. Maybe people feel too shy now to say something, but I know everyone was greatly blessed and we were healed by the wounds of our Lord.
“It was just the right time for me to come and attend this conference. It wasn’t just lessons being told but also drama being performed. I’ve learned a lot.”
“I was living a double life. Now I understand God’s forgiveness and what to do in times of temptation. Now I understand Jesus’ sacrifice and the forgiveness that He offers.”
“I learned God’s plan for my life and wrote it all out in my notebook. I got three answers to questions I had. Now I know I need to look at God and move forward.”
A man whose mother abandoned him at a young age attended the conference. There were lots of black ribbons on his lifeline. He shared: “We dug deep into Joseph’s life. The thing I learned is not to stay focused on our past sin, but to move forward towards God.”
Young participants: “We loved to have older people come out to us and teach us. Seeing Joseph’s forgiving heart really helped us.”