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March 2006
Greetings in the love of Jesus. Janice and I are so grateful for your prayers and faithful support of this ministry. God is so good, and we are seeing significant impacts through this ministry in the nations.
Fulfilling one man's vision began at our home in Atlanta. Pastor Joshua Ahounou brought Wilfrid Gebetchedji, to visit us. He is a businessman, a mayor, and a strong leader in his country of Benin. While Wilfrid was visiting us God baptized him in the Holy Spirit for the first time and gave him a vision to evangelize the villages and towns in his home country of Benin. These villages are strongholds for witchcraft.
To fulfill the vision Wilfrid bought a large truck and had it modified to fold out into a platform with lighting and stairs in the front. He purchased new musical instruments, generators, lights, excellent sound equipment and assembled a tem of 40 people to play, sing, pray and work to reach the villages and towns of Benin. This company and equipment was named according to his vision "Feu Neuveau" meaning New Fire.
Wilfrid and Joshua, a pastor in Cotonou, Benin, invited me (Dr. Houtsma) to hold a citywide crusade using the team and equipment of New Fire. The crusade was held in Parakou, a city about 180 miles away from the capitol Cotonou. I held a crusade in Cotonou about 5 years ago. The reports from the churches were that since the crusade they have received growth and maintained a greater unity in the churches throughout the city. Many of these same pastors came to the Leadership Conference that was held on that same trip in Cotonou after Parakou.
Parakou is a city in the northern part of Benin. We all caravanned together in what turned out to be a 10 hour drive. It was a great privilege to participate in the vision and to launch New Fire.
Janice was to preach in both conferences, and to share about prayer. Her ministry was well received.
In the crusade outreach there were over 46 deaf mute testimonies as well as blind receiving their sight and many cripples.
One great miracle was for a young lady that was totally paralyzed from the waist down. She could only stand or walk wearing full-length calipers and arm braced crutches. She came early each night and sat in the front. On the third night God met her and she began to stand. I had one of the volunteers help her to remove the crutches and she walked.
Then they removed the calipers and she was able to walk by the power of God. This was a marvelous demonstration of God's love to this crowd. Many received Christ as a result of the great miracles that God was performing.
One pastor who had chosen not to cooperate with the crusade in Parakou and had written notices against such an outreach for miracles had a complete turn around in his attitude because of one miraculous testimony. A very sick man that was dying and without medical hope, came into the Leadership Conference during Dr. Houtsma's session. He was very thin, pale and continually spitting into a container held by a helper. After preaching my session I prayed for him half way through Janice's session, which followed, there was a noticeable change in the man's behavior. He was sitting up and the spitting had completely stopped as well as the foul odor accompanying his discharge.
We learned the next day that he was completely healed from a liver failure and other complications. He was a member of the church of the pastor who stood against the crusade with miracles. This same pastor came to the Leadership Conference the next day and received the ministry, was prayed for and greatly touched by God's Spirit. He also came to the crusade every night after the testimony of the healing. Sometimes it takes a genuine miracle to change our theology and we are grateful for the response of this pastor.
Wilfrid had to fly to Paris the second day of the crusade but he was able to return for the last two days. Parakou received "New Fire" and thousands of souls were born into the Kingdom of God because one man received the power of God to become a greater witness in his nation. Dr. Houtsma has done several crusades where various people had visions showing God's power beforehand (Nagaland, Indonesia). Truly it is rewarding to be a part of God's plan and purpose.
Because of the teaching and ministry, Wilfrid, now plans to start a Bible College, print all of Dr. Houtsma's books and buy a television station for Africa. His vision is growing.
We stayed in Wilfrid's home in Cotonou during the conference and his wife received the baptism in the Holy Spirit while we were there. She is a medical doctor. She also received a vision: she wanted to buy a second truck fully equipped with medical supplies and equipment for surgery. She wants to take surgery to the villages and medical help that is presently not available to the village people.
Before we left the home of Wilfrid and Amelia they asked Dr. Houtsma to be the father of Wilfrid. Wilfrid has had a lot of loss in his lifetime and because of the spiritual bond asked if Roger could be his father. As father we named their newborn son, Elijah, just after we returned to the US.
We are grateful for such people who carry a love for the lost and needy in their nation and in the world as well.
Wilfrid will join Roger in his next trip to do set up in Rwanda and Burundi. This will be a training to help Wilfrid set up crusades for "New Fire."
CHRISTIAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE COLLEGE
Here is an update concerning our Bible Colleges with new areas of interest and development. One of our students from Cameroon is now a missionary in ANTIQUA and has begun the process of setting up a branch of CLIBC in their nation. He has impacted the pastors there powerfully and they want to help with the Bible College in their nation. We are excited to see this extension.
Due to our growing relationship with the people of Benin (the least evangelized nation in Sub-Sahara Africa) we are starting a branch of CLIBC in Cotonou, BENIN. This will become a center of training to release pastors in churches planted through the crusades now beginning in all the towns and villages of the nation.
In Takoradi, GHANA there is a ministry team that has dedicated a 3-story building for training ministries with CLIBC. I have sent our Director Cesar Bezamahouta from Douala, Cameroon to help set up this school. He has become quite busy as he is also setting up new schools in Cotonou and in Bangui, CENTRAL AFRICA REPUBLIC. The head of the Foursquare Church in that nation has asked us to establish CLIBC for their ministry training for the Foursquare Church. Other groups will also send their students to this branch of CLIBC.
Nigeria has become a part of Crusade ministry in various places. God is sending me into this nation in the midst of revival to strengthen the work and help to develop ministries in that nation. Apostle Aiyemo is committed to evangelizing Nigeria and neighboring African nations, and to develop leaders by establishing CLIBC in Lagos, NIGERIA.
Please pray with us concerning the increase needed to help with these new schools.
This week I will leave for the Middle East for an outreach before traveling to Burundi and Rwanda for setting up the Crusades there. I will return in the middle of April for a week before going back to the Middle East for a special meeting.
Please pray for the Lord to give us His grace and strength as we minister in these various nations.
May the Lord richly bless you, multiply you, and give you wisdom to find His provision in every challenge in your life.
In His Love,
Roger Houtsma
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