©  Focus on Jesus.  Focus on Souls.  ©

August 1, 2001 - Wednesday

We had a morning fellowship at 9:30 a.m.  Jim asked us to keep our hearts pure so the Lord can use us to pray for the spiritually hungry people in the crusade.  We are no big shots from America but to humbly serve our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is not us but the Lord touches the one being prayed for.  Linda passed copies of an old three-page research pamphlet on Portugal.  It helped a lot to understand the country and pray specifically for the people.  Portugal has been the poorest country in the European Community.  It has the lowest literacy level in West Europe.

Steve came and talked to us.  He told us not to sweat the little things but focus on the souls.  His experience is that things normally go the opposite of his expectation during international travel, and hallelujah when things go right.  He prepared us for a grueling work schedule.

Asked manager Mike at the hotel front desk if Hotel Fenix would like to have a bible in every room.  He said no because the hotel administration prohibits it.  Jim told me that the European Catholic churches are dominant, unlike those in the US.  I begin to experience personally the destructive 'religious' power of preventing people from studying God's Word and knowing Truth.  This is why one of the prayer targets on the three-page pamphlet says we need to pray for the renewal of the Catholic churches.
 

Passing out Tracks

Alvin, a local Portuguese Christian, came and took us to the crusade location by subway.  It is in an outdoor coliseum at the Alameda da Universidade - Cidade Universitaria in Lisbon.  We prayer walked the entire field.  Then, we were given the flyers.  We took the subway again to meet the Teen Challenge and Youth for the Mission teams.  Some of us started giving out flyers on the subway trains and escalators.  On the escalator, we were going down in one direction and extending one arm out with the flyer in hand.  People on the other side were going up.  Some of them would curiously accept the flyer in that split second.  We probably would never see them again.  Yet, a little seed was passed on.  This was my first time passing tracts on the escalator.  It was fun.  While waiting for the mime group of Youth for the Mission to come, the team spread out and pass out the tracts at the street corners.  I learned how to say "come and see" and "Jesus loves you" in Portuguese.  I sure handed out a lot of flyers and practiced the two sentences.  Jim said people came to the ladies more than to the guys.
 

The 1st Awake Portugal Crusade

The moment finally came.  At seven, we met in the lobby and headed for the subway to attend the crusade.  This was my first time attending an outdoor crusade.  It was also my first time attending an Awake crusade.  Together in the Harvest Ministry has had many crusades in the US, like Awake Cincinnati, Awake Little Rock, etc.  Also, overseas crusades like Awake Korea, Awake Japan and Awake Singapore, etc.  Because of my work I could not go.  Now, the Lord had sent me half way around the globe to Portugal for my first Awake crusade experience.

Steve met with us at the side room on stage.  He encouraged us and cautioned us to be very careful not to push anyone down when praying for people after the service.  Let the people experience the Holy Spirit by themselves.  Portugal might have been impacted by the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida.  But the country had never had a large-scale crusade before.

The service started at eight o'clock.  The worship leaders and the choir were beautiful.  They ushered in the presence of the Lord.  A formal drug addict gave his testimony.  (Of course, our US team did not understand what he was saying, although few of us with Spanish and Italian language background could figure out some portion of it.)  Steve's repentance message was strong.  He used his criminal photo and a shackle as illustrations.  At the altar call, many ran to the altar, knelt and bowed down to repent and receive Jesus as their Savior.  We saw tears filled many local pastors and crusade workers' eyes as they were praying for the lost to come forward.  Later, we learned this was the "first" time ever in Portugal for many to witness the lost "running" to the altar, kneeling and bowing to the ground to repent and receive Jesus.

It drizzled softly at the end of the service.  Could it be the rain of the grace and mercy the Lord has for the city Lisbon and the nation Portugal?  Don't know about the locals, most of our team members were cold.  The outdoor temperature dropped much after sunset. 

Steve, the local team and our US team prayed for individuals at the altar after people gave their personal information for follow-up.  Many were young people in their 20's and 30's.  We could tell they were not accustomed to requesting or receiving prayers in public.  Most of the prayer team did not have a translator.  We just prayed and let the Holy Spirit do the work.  It is Him who touches hearts and changes lives.  At around midnight, we were back at the hotel. 

Had problem making international calls.  Finally, went through Sprint pre-paid calling customer service to resolve the issue.  I was able to talk to Edmond, Sonya and Lillian.  It was a big relief for me to know they were all fine at home.