Grace Fellowship International Prayer Letters

...Thank you for your prayers. We had an excellent time in the conference on "The will of God in family." Even though I had a lot to do (speaking and counseling), I came through with joy in my heart. I saw a couple getting free as a result of the counseling process. This was a beginning, I gave to the participants a bit from the exchanged life teaching so I will continue with another edition of their conference.

...As all of you wished and prayed. I am completing the translation of 'Handbook to Happiness' into Malayalam [the language of Kerala]... 

As Dr. Solomon visited India we discussed about the publication of his other books. That is the need of the hour. I am sure I'll be empowered by the Spirit of God to translate them in the near future in a succession. The press has informed me that this book can be published.... 

Some money required for the book release. One day seminar on Exchanged Life may be arranged. Some money needed for DTP & layout and design.

To Him be glory,
Cherian Zachariah

... there are many even that were believers, but they didn't change their lives.  But when they heard the messages of the cross it is a miracle; they changed their lives into holiness and fear of God with their families. I experienced that, Dad and mom, too, myself... 

Last Friday pastor Luciano Cahanap and I visited the congregation of Catugasan, Lila. The host pastor is John Hampac. He gives thanks for hearing the messages of the cross. This immediately changed his life, so he gave thanks to the Lord and the Holy Spirit who changed his life from a carnal mind. He said thank you for your prayers for the work in the Philippines. Thank you.
Your son,
Perfecto

...We are now 3 weeks in with Main Street Christian Fellowship.  The first 2 weeks we saw 12 people come out and this past week we saw 24 come out. Of course it's not about numbers so here are some more details:

...In a Praise Report we were given a gift which allowed us to purchase a CCLI number.  This allows us to print over 150,000 worship songs for church use. We have song quite a few new songs written by local people.  In addition 3 10 year old girls sung this past week a worship song they liked.  Without adult guidance they selected the song, their parts, etc and shared it at the most recent gathering. We have a drama evangelism youth group coming in 3 weeks to share the Gospel in drama and music. We have a young First Nations lady coming to share her testimony next week. People are asking questions....how do I get saved, can you explain the Trinity. Hearts are being softened by the Holy Spirit.

Until Next Time,
Rick and Sarah (GFICI student)

...We want to ask your prayers because we received a sad news: the director of the radio is thinking of ending the retransmission of WTR and all evangelical programs. That would be very bad for us all (the city, the region, local churches). But we believe that God is in control of everything, so we ask that the brothers pray. We need R$ 30,000.00 (U.S. $15.000,00) monthly to keep the radio open. Pray with us so that we can find the solution of God and in God.

um grande abraço, (a big hug)
Silvio.

We frequently share needs but do not share the blessings nearly as often!  This morning we had two couples from Huntington WV come in to share what God had done in their lives. The main one was a former pastor who was called to the ministry out of the grocery business when he was 58; he is now 65. He took a dying church and considered he was better than their having nobody. The work flourished and everyone loved him; he felt that he was unworthy of such success and resigned to the consternation of everyone! The present pastor told him the only problem he had in the church was that he was not the one who left!!
 
Shortly afterward, some relatives had been blessed and had their lives changed as they were given Handbook to Happiness which they passed along to this brother. He said he saw more growth in their lives in 6 weeks than in all the rest of their lives! He began to read the book and found his life spread out before him, and he related all of this through tears. They were in Pigeon Forge on vacation and had to stop in and see us. He asked his wife to read the book and she didn't want to read it because of the weeping he went through in the process. She said even the dog tried to comfort him during his sobbing. He was gloriously changed and has a burden to share with others. 

I encouraged him to go back to the church he left and inform them why he could no longer stay due to unresolved emotional conflict and give the answer that he had needed which most of them need as well. We had a wonderful time of sharing together, and they took the first 2 books with them--each couple taking a set. He is Lou Ashford and his wife and the other couple were Bill and Audrey. Pray for them as they embark  on a new ministry; they can fellowship with all of our brethren in Proctorville, OH and receive guidance in the new life.

Shalom,
This month I am going to teach into a Pentecostal conference about families and I am going to introduce to them the concept of the exchange life. Please pray for me to do it into a intelligent way.   mihentgfr@yahoo.com

Hello, I am still in Bohol island and visiting churches. Please pray for this coming Nov. 1, 2008 we will have seminar in Campagao, Bilar church we are expecting 25 pastors. On Nov. 2 I will going to Mindanao to promote this gospel. 
Thank you,

Perfecto  gfiphilippines@yahoo.com.ph

The plans are pretty well complete for the conference in Seoul, Korea.  They are doing the translation of the conference materials and my books.  They will publish the translation that we have of the new edition of Handbook and they are translating my Counseling book which they hope to have finished by the end of this month which they will publish, also.  It appears that we will be able to do some ministry cooperatively with the Korean church.  It will easily be the largest conference we have ever had; they are expecting 800-1000 as of now and are advertising it in the national newspaper.  Please pray for physical as well as spiritual strength.  They are also considering a conference in southern California at which they have asked me to help.  Dr. Billy Kim will advertise it over FEBC radio.  

Blessings on you all.

This is a report of my trip to South Africa through the sponsorship of Grace Fellowship International, USA.

The purpose of the trip was to afford me the opportunity to be trained in the ministry of  the Christ-Centered / Cross-centered / Exchange Life truths, that I may be better equip to not only apply Christ and all His resources to my life, but also be able to communicate this life to others, that many may receive Christ as their Life and live out of His resources.

Fourteen years ago, I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. The Lord began a work in my life, revealing to me from His word the Glory and Excellency of His Son Jesus Christ. Like the burning bush experience of Moses, I had a strong impression to draw near and know the Lord much better. The Lord began to show me from the life of Jesus, solutions to problems I was encountering in life. Later as people brought their situations to me, I also began to show them the solutions that God was showing through the life of Christ. Then I began to realize that God wanted me to teach and help people find solutions to their problems in Christ through the message and finish work of the cross.

Not knowing where to start, and how to organize all that I was learning, the Lord brought me in contact with a book of Dr. Solomon “Handbook to Christ-Centered Counseling” in 2000. The name of the ministry had already come earlier, I think a year before, “Christ-Centered Ministries. The Lord used this book to much more strengthen my life and bring me some clearer understandings. That was when I actually began my training in the Exchange Life.

 
By 2004, I had come into direct contact with Dr. Solomon. My life and understanding in the message of the cross began to multiply greatly as Dr. Solomon went out of his way to send me books, CD’s and a portable DVD player to help me in my studies. Dr. Solomon also availed himself as a father, something that I greatly appreciated. This effort graduated to the place of Dr. Solomon helping to find sponsors who would be willing to finance my trip to undergo direct training at GFI. Things did not fully work out to make the trip, but Dr. Solomon persevered until an opportunity for training was identified through Curare Institute of Christ-Centered Counseling…a ministry that had also received training through GFI. Again by the grace of God, a sponsor was found for my training...

There is one word that I normally use to describe my training [with GFI South Africa]; it was very “enriching”. It first of all had me appreciating the initial work that God had begun through previous studies with the material that GFI had sent me. But then coming in direct contact with ministers, Hendrik and Nehlsie de Brutu who had the passion for teaching the Exchange Life message, I was blessed. Most of my trainings were personal and direct. That is, special times were spent with me exclusively. This provided opportunities for lots of questioning and answers which were very enriching. The supplementary materials that Cuarare had were also enriching as it seem to have provided answers to questions that must have come from their experiences as they trained others...I also had the opportunity to participate in direct ministry with them. Above all, I saw the message of the cross preached through their lives. Not only them but also Pastor Charles Ambaka from Kenya, with whom I spent a lot of time (we were together every day). I saw tolerance, forbearance, forgiveness, acceptance, love, humility, passion for Christ and many more. All of these were exhibited towards me; which made me feel at home; and I actually did.

God also boosted my confidence and boldness to preach the message of the Cross.

I want to thank God for Nehlsie, Hendrik and Pastor Ambaka for all of their contributions to my training.

We wanted to update you on the first gathering of Main Street Christian Fellowship.  It was a fun time.  12 People came out and we had a great time of fellowship and prayer to begin things.  We prayed for one another and I gave a quick intro on our vision, thoughts ... We had full participation and everyone seemed to be having fun.  After that we had some more prayer and sang a worship song.  Then we had a good hour of fellowship when it was all said and done.

Most said they were coming back and some said they would be bringing friends. 
God is good. www.apperson.blogspot.com

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Eph. 6:18

A young couple, "A and E", prayed to receive Christ in the counseling recently. They need prayer for confidence, growth, and the application of God's solution to their problems.

GFICI student, Rick Apperson writes:

Sarah and I would like to share a bit of our heart today and tell you some of what is happening in our lives.  After 4 years in Smithers, BC (Canada)  we find the Lord is continuing to open doors in ministry and we find ourselves excited about the next steps.  As you know, Sarah works part time at the local Christian bookstore and I work part time with the Salvation Army.  Over the course of the last year we have encountered many believers who are not in active fellowship.  We have also had our hearts ache for those on the street and those with mental and physical difficulties.  At the Lord's urging, through a period of prayer and talking with Rick's boss, we have decided it is time to launch out into a new phase of ministry.

So we ask for your prayers as, Oct. 5th, will see the launch of Main Street Christian Fellowship (working name not final).  We will be launching this new church plant at the Salvation Army building in Smithers with a desire to reach out to those who are unreached, unloved and those who are not comfortable in a traditional church setting, or have not  "found their fit" in the local body.

We want to have vibrant, fresh worship, interactive messages and see all ages and all peoples getting actively involved in a relationship with the Father.  We pray that each person who comes will take an active role in the service and go deeper with the Lord Jesus Christ.  We will work through some basic discipleship material, while also giving each person who comes a chance to start, renew and deepen a relationship with the Lord.

So again we ask for your prayers...

Hendrik and Nehlsie DeBruto write from South Africa:

We are now nearing the end of our tour in the Eastern Cape. At Oudtshoorn we had a wonderful time at Franklin's church. In the midst of much turmoil and destruction in families, Frankiln and his wife  Chantelle are  lights shining in the darkness. Franklin's  church, only one year old, is growing. What is more important is that they are all grounded in the message of the cross. Franklin was one of our very first students and when he planted his church in Oudtshoorn, it was planted on the Rock. The people blessed us with their openness to the message and their response to the call of surrendering everything, taking up their cross daily and following Him.

At Somerset East we had a quiet time of rest and touching base with the people we ministered to before and encouraging them. We had the privilege to minister at  a halfway house for drug addicts who have been freed from drug addiction at the Noupoort centre. For years we have been praying for an opportunity to introduce the cross message there. We were so blessed by these precious young people. They are located at Middleton, a very small town en route to Port Elizabeth from Somerset East. It has a hotel, tavern, little shop, all run by the people  graduated from Noupoort. From here they are re integrated into society. What an honour to meet these dedicated young people, putting their lives together again. We could  just shed tears of joy for the goodness of God to restore people. They embraced the cross message and was very familiar with the tri-part quality of man. We met one young man who will be going back to Noupoort and do pastoral work there. He wants to be trained as  a Christ Centered Counselor. We thank God and ask for your prayers that this would happen.

We are so blessed that God brings us to all these wonderful people who influence our lives in different ways. We learn so much from all these wonderful brothers and sisters...

Viktor & Alla Karplyuk write from Ukraine:

Please, if you could support in pray me and my family - we very need in it. We pray for you! And will glad to receive the letter from you!

Lucas Boersma lives in the Netherlands and is studying in the GFI Counseling Institute. Pray for his growth and wisdom as an advocate of the Exchanged Life in Holland.

Charles Solomon gives an update about GFI ministry developments:

I have confirmed plans for the trip to Seoul the third week in November with brother Park there agreeing to do our training in China the week following.
 
They are going to advertise the conference nationally, and I will be able to present a complete conference of 6 lectures. John Norman will be going with me and sharing his testimony in addition to being a help to me and praying for the lectures ... We can go to Atlanta and fly non-stop to Seoul.
 
Since they have trained 3000 people and have 800 presently in training and are advertising nationally, you can see that this will easily be the largest conference we have ever had.  They have a world vision and are planning a conference in southern California, possibly for December in which they want me to help. We have met with Billy Kim who interpreted for Billy Graham when 1,000,000 attended this weekend in Knoxville. I will asked him if he can possibly translate and become involved in such outreach.
 
We will leave on November 14 and return a week or so later. They will publish the new translation of my Handbook no later than Nov. 5 and are translating my Counseling book and John's book on spirit, soul and body.  I will talk to them about doing a Rejection book, as well. They do their own publication.
 
Pastor Park will go to China the following week to do the training we have scheduled. He will also discuss with the Pastor there the possibility of doing continued training on a monthly or bi-monthly basis ... This is an ideal situation since the pastor in China speaks Korean and Chinese and the city is about an hour's flight from Seoul. It allows continual training and fellowship where it would be impossible for us, considering the cost and time involved.
 
We need much prayer as this is a strategic outreach which can result in a partnership with another ministry with a world vision. I have introduced these brethren to Dr. Paul Kim in CA who has had our training and who did the translation they will publish. He is ready to go to Korea to do training for us. I praise God for the outreach possibilities, especially in the Orient; they already have some from other countries in training.
 
Please pray, pray, pray for both physical and spiritual strength; it seems a little more taxing than it did 30 years ago for some reason!!  God bless you one and all. 
- Chuck

Janice Scruggs paid a visit to our office and reports God's blessing on the prison ministry. Please pray for her work among women incarcerated at the Justice Center in Dandridge, TN.

Please pray for John Woodward as he ministers in Brazil October 7-14. I am to co-teach a Fermata with Edmund Spieker of Churches in Mission in Araguaina, Tocantins. These Fermatas are special times of fellowship, equipping, and teaching the Exchanged Life message and counseling methodology to pastoral couples. He hopes to also visit friends at ABECAR Seminary near Sao Paulo (where our Christ-centered counseling course is part of their Portuguese distance education program - http://www.ABECAR.org). 

The current GFI newsletter, Glimpses of Grace, was mailed out this week. May God bless its message to over 2000 homes across the nation and Canada. 

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