Adventures in Faith

John D. Loewen

John D. Loewen Adventures in Faith Copyright 2011 John D. Loewen

Unless otherwise noted, the King James Version (KJV - also called The Authorized Version) of the Bible is used when quoting from Scripture. Scripture quotations marked AMP, are taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: Old Testament copyright 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House; and from THE AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT, Copyright 1958 by the Lockman Foundation; used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG, are taken from THE MESSAGE (The Message Bible: The Bible in Contemporary Language) by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NKJV, are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION. Copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Adventures in Faith

Introduction
Dreams help to motivate us. Hidden deep within us, they point and guide us toward our future. This book however, emphasizes the importance not only of dreaming, but of acting on those dreams. I hope you enjoy reading it and are motivated to step out and make your dreams become a reality as you do! I am a born again Christian, but frankly, I detest religion. By religion, I am referring to the outward acts of legalistic tradition that divert attention away from Gods goodness and to the works of man, which the Bible describes as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Religion chased me out of the Church and I really try to avoid it. Gods grace brought me back to Him. You can do what God puts on your heart! You just need faith. This book is my experience. I will not be banging you over the head with rights and wrongs. I experienced a miracle when I was fifteen years old that may seem hard to believe, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. I will describe that miracle story in Chapter Two. My emphasis in this book is on the things that worked out or were successful. Hopefully you are beginning to sense some of the underlying motivation behind this book. I apologize for the many Is in this book. I dont like dwelling on myself, but how do you write about your experiences without saying I? I am still looking for more creative ways to handle this dilemma, but until I find them please bear with me.

Every one of us likes to dream.

John D. Loewen While some names of the real life people mentioned in this account have remained the same, I have changed many others in order to protect their privacy. Without further explanations or caveats, following are my Adventures in Faith.

Adventures in Faith

1 Saved

Growing up as a child, my family would travel back to the

U.S. every other year or so on furlough. My father was an educator in various capacities. First he was a teacher and then an administrator, including tenure as president of the Protestant university in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my birthplace. Yes, thats right I am an African American! When I was born, this land of torrential downpours, rivers, trees, and untold other natural resources, was still called the Belgian Congo. One summer, we were visiting my maternal grandmother and her children in Mt. Lake, Minnesota. This included my aunt Evelyn, who has now gone on to be with the Lord, a missionary from Japan who was also visiting at the same time. She had been a missionary to Japan as well as an educator at various Bible Institutes. One morning she shared a memorable message with me. Johnny, she said (when I was little, I was called either Johnny, or John David), there are two different places where you can spend eternity (I dont recall if these were the exact words, but it was something to this effect). One is heaven, and the other is hell. Hell is a place of horror, where fires burn and souls are tormented forever. Heaven is a place of peace and love where God loves those who have accepted the Cross and love of Jesus live forever. God sent His Son Jesus into the world so that our sins could be forgiven, she explained. He didnt want us to go to Hell. When we invite Jesus into our hearts, we can be sure that our sins will be forgiven and we will go to heaven. 5

John D. Loewen She then went on to me what I had to do to invite Jesus into my heart. While I was only five years old, I knew in my heart the importance of that decision. A day or two later I sat down on the front steps of the house where we were staying. It was the summer of 1963. In my own way, all by myself, I asked Jesus into my heart to be my Lord and Savior. The adventure had begun.

Adventures in Faith

2 The Morning Cloak

First as an impressionable child, and later as a teenager, those

summer visits to southern Minnesota left vivid impressions within me which I remember to this day. On my uncles farm were several hundred acres of soybeans and corn, hogs, cattle, chickens, an assortment of wild cats, and several dogs. My uncle had five children. I spent most of my time with the two oldest girls and the only son. We had all sorts of fun together. Even the work didnt seem so hard. After all, the rocks in the fields werent that heavy when you were surrounded by people to talk, laugh, and sing with. My younger brother and I would run around the farm with our cousins and enjoy the mud puddles and animals, the dusty roads, the fields and the creek, the willows, and everything else associated with the farmstead. Listening to the Minnesota Twins baseball games on the radio, pulling weeds from the soybean and corn fields, building tree houses, playing softball, hunting rabbits and muskrats, and shucking corn, were part of these memorable adventures. In the summer of 1973, I returned to this place of childhood memories. When I grew into my teenage years the United States was experiencing what became known as the Jesus Revolution. You could almost feel God in the air back then. In a movement which found its roots on the West Coast and then spread across the country like wild fire, young people were experiencing a radical touch from God through the Holy Spirit. As it turned out, my cousins, particularly the two older girls, had been powerfully touched by this move of the Holy 7

John D. Loewen Spirit. They challenged me to believe that the Bible was true and that the miracles that Jesus still did the miracles He had done 2,000 years ago, today. Although I was a Christian, all of this miracle talk was still new to me. Their words, however, planted a seed in my heart. Walking through the woods at the back of my uncles house one summer evening, I put the Lord to a test. God, I softly asked the Lord, if you exist and hear me in the same way that Christie and Carolyn say that you do, have a Morning Cloak land on the branch in front of me right now. Here is what I was asking God to do: Have a butterfly (a Morning Cloak is a type of butterfly found primarily in the Midwest) come down from the sky and land at a particular location on a particular branch in that forest, at a particular moment (that instant). Well, as you have already probably already guessed from the title of this chapter, that is exactly what happened. No sooner had the prayer escaped my lips but a Morning Cloak came down from the sky and landed on the branch in front of me. From that moment on, indelibly impressed upon my conscience was the prayer-answering nature of our awesome God.

Adventures in Faith

3 God Sees My Tears

After I had finished my Masters degree in City Planning at

the University of Pennsylvania, I expected to be employed in that field right away. Well, after about six months of ineffective job hunting, I decided to go back to school and get another degree, this time in the engineering field. I am not saying it was the right thing to do. After all, God has given us skills, talents, abilities which enable us to serve in various capacities and make a living. Frankly, I believe that God wanted me to humble myself and get a job even if it wasnt in my field perhaps in sales, construction, or landscaping fields I worked in later on. But I wanted to get another degree and then get a job related to that degree, the same strategy that had just failed me! Boy, sometimes we are so hard headed! I was already familiar with the College Park campus when I matriculated at the University of Maryland to begin studies. I had received a Geography degree from this institution of higher learning just two and a half years earlier. I knew that my civil engineering studies would involve a lot of studying, so I felt it would be best to find a place to stay near the campus. After several unsuccessful attempts to find good housing, I became distraught. Classes were about to start and I still hadnt found a good apartment, room, or house. I wasnt particular, but nothing seemed to be working out! While I wasnt practicing my faith at the time, something inside of me knew that I needed to call out to God if I was to have any success in my search for a place to live.

John D. Loewen One night I cried out to Him. In tears I asked God to find me a home where I could be assured of both good roommates and long term living possibilities. I wanted to be settled, so that I could focus on my studies. As I prayed, tears flowed from my eyes in abundance. This continued for about 30 minutes, after which I went to sleep. The next day I had an appointment to visit a group home in College Park. It was an old structure with a full basement and ground floor and a back porch which overlooked the university campus. As I was leaving, I shook the hand of the man in charge of the group home, and we agreed that I would be staying there. I had found my place! For the duration of my three years of studies at the University of Maryland I lived in this home. In fact, it was only five years later, after I had already completed my studies, that I moved out. It was everything that I had asked God for and more! While staying at this home, I developed a personal relationship with God, as I will explain in the following chapter. At this house I found a church through which my faith grew and was strengthened. At this group home in College Park, I met roommates and made friends from throughout the United States and around the world. The question may be asked Does God respond to tears? To that question I have one firm answer: Yes. I am living proof! Gods grace and mercy are truly amazing!

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Adventures in Faith

4 I Encounter the Word

I had returned to the same campus where I had studied geography to pursue a Civil Engineering Degree. I wanted more technical skills which would prepare me more thoroughly to build roads and infrastructure in developing nations. This was my life ambition. And so, at the beginning of 1983, I went back to college as an undergraduate, although only six months earlier I had received a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania. The first semester was very stressful and my grades were mediocre at best. Then I took a couple of summer school sessions as well. Most days I would be in the library from five to ten hours poring over my books and notes and completing my assignments. As I started the fall semester I ran out of steam, mentally, physically and spiritually. I simply became very tired. I needed lots of sleep - from 12 to 14 hours per day! Doctors werent really sure what my problem was since tests didnt reveal anything wrong. Because my energy level was low, I had to drop all but two of my classes. I finished the semester and went to rest at my parents house during the Christmas vacation. As I was sleeping one day, I woke up to find a book lying next to my bed. To this day I do not know how it got there. It was the Bible. I opened it directly to Matthew Chapter 5 and began to read. Jesus was sharing the words which have become known as The Sermon on the Mount. The words spoke life into my tired soul and emotions. A remarkable visitation occurred. 11

John D. Loewen As I read the written words it was as if they took on life. Revelation began to explode within my mind and spirit. I saw that Jesus cared for me and hurting humanity. A light went on in my mind. My cares and burdens were instantly lifted. A great weight came off my shoulders. I had encountered God through His Word! I knew Jesus was alive and that He revealed Himself to humanity through the Bible. Within three weeks I was completely healed in my body and had regained my normal energy level. This powerful encounter began a total lifestyle change for me. Every night before going to bed I would read at least one chapter from the Bible. New peace began to flood my spirit and soul. Peace and joy replaced the anxiety and worry that I had been living with. As school started again my study times became more fruitful and my grades improved. In fact I ended the semester with the highest marks possible. Initially I shared this new life with nobody. I was reminiscent of my miracle encounter with the butterfly which I had experienced as a teenager1, and didnt want to relive the painful months that followed, which I will now share briefly. To recap that momentous time in my life, I was living at that time in Bethesda, Maryland. In terms of its academics, the school I was attending, Walt Whitman High School, was one of the highest rated public institutions in the country. While a sophomore there, I became vocal in sharing my new found faith in all my classes. This upset several of the teachers and some of the students as well. The enemy2 was also upset, and after several months of being red-hot for the Lord, my fire cooled off and I became a lukewarm, selfcentered Christian.
1 2

See The Morning Cloak, Chapter 2. The enemy refers to Satan.

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Adventures in Faith Not wanting this experience to repeat itself, I decided to live a secret life of faith. I determined that I would read my Bible, but let no one know of the joys and revelation that I was experiencing. All of this changed one day just a few months after my lifechanging initial experience with the Word of God as I was talking with my younger brother James. We were driving together in a car when he asked me a straightforward question. What direction do you see your life taking? he asked me. Before I had time to think, I blurted out, Well, whatever direction I head in, I know that God would have to be a big part of the picture. That was a surprise to him, for he had seen me in my backslidden state only a few months earlier. From then on I became less and less bashful about letting people know that I was actively seeking God.

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John D. Loewen

5 Christian Hope Center

Soon after this conversation with my brother, one night as I

read my Bible I found a verse in the book of Hebrews which caught my attention. The verse stated, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25a).3 Up to that point I had been walking a secret Christian life of quiet communion with the Lord and no one else. But from this scripture, it was clear that I needed to find a church where I could fellowship with other believers. This began a six-month search for a church which I could be part of. This search ended when the Lord led me to become part of a small Pentecostal church in College Park, Maryland. Growing up, my family and I would usually go to church in the town where my dad worked. Since much of my dads work was in Africa, we would often attend interdenominational, Bible teaching churches. I had heard many Bible stories over the years. But frankly, while I believed the stories were true, they remained just that, stories. In my mind, their reality was lost in the decades and centuries that had transpired since they occurred. They had lost most of their relevance to my personal life. This changed after attending Christian Hope Center in College Park, Maryland. The first day I visited the church it was sweltering June day. Nonetheless, I decided to walk to the building, a former elementary school facility. A couple of blocks before arriving, a car stopped next to me and the driver asked if I needed a ride. She was going to the church so I
A small a at the end of a verse means that the section quoted is the first part of that verse.
3

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Adventures in Faith hopped in. About an hour after I left home I arrived at the church building. It seemed as if all the people in the church were smiling. I got a big hug and felt genuine warmth and a depth of love I had never experienced before. It was a new experience, but an enriching and good one. I later learned that they were full of the joy of the Lord! Inside was a man teaching the Word of God unlike any other teacher that I had ever seen. Rev. David Longobardo was a man filled with great compassion who taught the Word of God with great insight and revelation. His demeanor and character validated the Bible stories that he was presenting. They came alive and took on new meaning. My Christian life began to flourish, I believe to a large degree as a result of attending this church as well as through the friendships I developed there. It was at this fellowship that I was regularly fed the Word of God and came to understand how it applied to our lives as believers. The speakers who visited this church included Pastor Benny Hinn, his brother Henry, Jerry Savelle, Rev. Mario Murillo, Dr. Tim Lahaye, and many other well know speakers within the Body of Christ. It was a time of great personal growth for me. I sang in the choir, led worship for the youth group, taught a Sunday school class and regularly attended the intercessory prayer meetings. Occasionally we would participate in door to door witnessing as well. It was from this place that my Christian walk began to grow significantly, providing a solid foundation for my life. While the church has changed names and is now called Hope Christian Church, this fellowship of believers still exists today and is flourishing under the leadership of Bishop Harry Jackson.

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John D. Loewen

6 Can I Do This?

My first experience in open air preaching was done with the

help of a friend of mine named Joe. I was becoming filled with the Word of God, and the desire to share this Good News was being stirred up in me. When I first saw Joe preaching in front of the Student Union in February of 1987, I had already received my civil engineering degree from the University of Maryland. At the time, I was looking for employment and seeking God in regard to what he had for me to do next. I was still living in the group home in College Park and it was only a ten minute walk to the University of Maryland Campus. As I walked toward the Student Union, a gathering spot for students, I noticed a man preaching on a small grassy mound in front of the building (The Sermon on the mound, a variation I guess of Jesus Sermon on the Mount). I quickly realized that he was preaching the gospel. I was captivated by what I saw. As I read the Bible, it was clear to me that the good news of Christs redemptive work on the Cross was not just a message to be preached behind the four walls of a church building, it was to be broadcast to the whole world! After all, wasnt this the model exemplified by the Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples, as well as the Apostle Paul and others who followed in our Lords footsteps down through the years? Wow here I was seeing Bible days right before my eyes! After the young man had finished preaching, I approached him and introduced myself. As it turned out, he was, like me, a civil engineering graduate of the College Park campus of the

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Adventures in Faith University of Maryland. We developed a friendship that still exists to this day. One day as we went to the campus to evangelize, he asked me if I would like to preach. I realized that this was the moment that I had been waiting for. With an element of fear in my voice, I said, yes. When he had finished his sharing, he told the small crowd that was gathered that I would now share my testimony. By nature I am pretty soft spoken, and public speaking was definitely not something I had a great comfort level with. While I felt a knot in my stomach and my mouth was dry, I felt an assurance and peace that I had not expected. While my time of sharing was short, it was my first time of launching out into the waters of open-air evangelism. Over the years I have gone deeper and deeper, sometimes boldly, sometimes with trepidation, but always grateful for the example of my friend Joe, my mentor in the area of throwing out the net to plant seeds and bring in a harvest of souls.

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John D. Loewen

7 Judgment Day
fter receiving my civil engineering degree from the University of Maryland, I worked for about seven years professionally in that field as well as in the area of city planning. During this time I was married and blessed with a beautiful big baby boy. While the short lived union (we were married only five years) may not have been Gods perfect will, I am grateful for the son, Andrew, that Denise and I had as a result of this marriage. One day in the fall of 1989, while I was working with a Civil Engineering firm in Rockville, Maryland, I felt compelled to preach a message of judgment. Over my lunch break, I went to the County Courthouse. An elevated gazebo was sitting just outside of the building. What a perfect place to preach! So for about half an hour I preached the message of judgment which I felt the Lord wanted me to proclaim. As I was closing, a police officer approached and said that I was disturbing the peace. Praise the Lord! That is just what I wanted to do! He instructed me to get down. Feeling a little puffed up, I said, This is Gods property. After which he was quick to respond, If you continue, Ill throw you in Gods jail. That was the end of our brief discussion, and I returned back to my office. The next day a major earthquake hit the West Coast, killing dozens of people and destroying infrastructure in the San Jose/San Francisco metropolitan area. While the judgment didnt occur in Maryland or in the Washington, D.C. area, it was clear that God had confirmed the message that He had given me to proclaim. We never take joy in Gods judgment, but we are nonetheless accountable to proclaim it when He tells us to. 18

Adventures in Faith

8 A Mad Rush in Guatemala

joined Immanuels Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1990, along with my wife Denise and my new born baby son, Andrew. The first missionary trip that I took outside of the United States was in conjunction with this church, and took place in 1991. The church supported several missionaries in Guatemala. Most of them were involved in ministry to the many abandoned children in that nation. One missionary couple had a home for girls. Another missionary worked in a school set up next to a garbage dump. Children who lived in and looked through the garbage dump for remnants of food and clothing on which they could survive, would come during the day and receive Christian education. While it was difficult to witness the challenging circumstances and surroundings in which they lived, it was equally encouraging to see their faces light up as they sang praises to the Lord during the morning sessions at the school. I remember one praise song particularly well. The lyrics, Alavare, alavare, alavare, alavare, alavare a mi Senor could be translated I will praise, I will praise, I will praise, I will praise, I will praise my Lord. As they sang the song, the children would clap their hands, laugh and smile. Truly, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained praise (Psalm 8:2a). One day our mission team was invited to visit a mountain village. From the moment we entered the town, people, particularly children, began to gather around our vehicle, more out of curiosity than anything else, I guess. 19

John D. Loewen One of the members of our team felt led to distribute gospel tracts to the town dwellers, and after he had announced that we were going to give out the leaflets, we asked the people to line up in several queues so that we could distribute the material in an orderly fashion. Initially, the distribution went well. But soon after we had begun, some of the people at the back of the line, perhaps thinking that they would be neglected, became eager to get their copy. Surging toward the truck, these young eager beavers, created a bedlam, as they crashed the lines, waving their hands in the air and crying out. Soon the crush became out of control, and efforts to speak to them were in vain. Realizing that we had more than enough tracts to give to all the people present, I grabbed a handful. Using techniques I had learned in my Frisbee throwing days, I threw them as far as I could. Hundreds of the tracts flew into the air. The kids dashed after the tracts eagerly. Grabbing another handful, I threw another bunch in a different direction. Those who hadnt got any tracts from the first batch ran and got their good news from the second release. One or two more tosses and the crush had eased. The teammate supervising the distribution wasnt pleased with what I had done. He had wanted the distribution completed in an orderly fashion. He chastised me for being out of control. But while I hadnt planned on reacting the way I did, I believe God used my knee jerk reaction to expedite the distribution of the tracts and eliminate the panic. What might have taken a long time was accomplished in just a minute or two. God can turn our blunders in wonders!

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Adventures in Faith

9 The Valley of the Shadow

The second foreign missions trip I took was to the nation of

Belarus, located in the former Soviet Union. I went on this trip with an eclectic group of people. I had met the team leader at a Wednesday morning Bible study at a Methodist Church in Annandale, Virginia. The people who went on the trip were an interesting variety of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and church denominations. Once again, as with the trip to Guatemala, we visited childrens homes, hospitals, orphanages, and one Daily Vacation Bible School, in the city of Gomel. The visit to the latter location was particularly memorable. The children were between five and seven years of age. The teacher was a missionary from the United States who had learned the native language. She taught an interesting lesson which totally captivated the childrens attention. At the end of the lesson, she gave the children an opportunity to invite Jesus into their hearts. It was so thrilling to see all thirteen hands go up, as each of the young students invited Jesus into their hearts. Another memorable moment from the trip was our visit to eastern Belarus. Just a few years earlier this area had experienced horrible devastation when a nuclear reactor in the adjacent county of the Ukraine had malfunctioned, leading to the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. The prevailing wind patterns blew these destructive substances over the neighboring nation of Belarus. The results were devastating. Many children experienced the horrifying effects of hydrocephalus, with water filling their heads, ballooning their cra21

John D. Loewen niums to two or three times the normal size. These children needed a miracle of restoration. We visited these needy youngsters in hospitals and orphanages, where we gave them toys and other gifts. Perhaps the most memorable moment I had of this trip was when we visited the region of Belarus which was most affected by the radiation. Located at the eastern extremity of this nation, and situated only a few miles from the site of the nuclear incident, this area looked like something out of a science fiction epic. The vegetation was all dead or dying. Most of the homes were deserted. We were encouraged to place handkerchiefs over our mouths and noses as we were transported by bus through this location. But amidst this devastation, we experienced one of the most amazing moments of visitation from the Lord. Our tour guide found a family that was still living in the area. We stopped by their home to visit. Astoundingly, they invited us to share a meal with them. It was a test of faith for many of us. Would we trust God to protect as from the ambient radioactivity in the air? The house was bare but neat. Not all of the twenty some members of our tour group had a place to sit. But showing remarkable unity in our trust that God would protect us, we all shared the provision that was offered us by this beautiful family. Cucumbers, different types of lunchmeats, tomatoes, potatoes and bread were set before us. After blessing the food, we all partook of our meal. I was reminded of the twenty-third Psalm (parts of verses four and five): though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod

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Adventures in Faith and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me Another relevant passage was Psalm 91, verses four through eleven: He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. And truly God protected us all. I have had no ill effects from this trip which I took many years ago, nor have other group members to the best of my knowledge. When we do Gods will, no evil shall befall us, regardless of the apparent evil around us!

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John D. Loewen

10 The Sky Turns Green

During the early to mid-nineties, the phenomenon of Holy

Laughter began to sweep the United States. An evangelist from South Africa by the name of Rodney Howard Browne had been crying out to God for more effectiveness in his ministry. God began to answer his prayer in a very unusual fashion. As he would minister, people would begin to laugh hilariously, at times even rolling on the floor, or under pews. It was definitely not church as usual! The first time I experienced this unusual phenomenon was at a church called the National Church of God, just outside of Washington, D.C. I attended several meetings there during this period of time when Rev. Howard Browne ministered at the church for several weeks. Many unusual signs and wonders occurred during his ministry there. I remember seeing people frozen in place for an hour and more. Other times they were asked to speak but were unable to say anything! One evening I was particularly enjoying the service when I realized that I needed to leave to get to my job. At the time I was working the night shift at a convenience store. While I regretted having to leave, I didnt see any way of not honoring my commitment. As I was driving to work, I thought to God, If I had only been able to stay, Im sure I would have seen some amazing signs and wonders. I had no sooner had this thought than the night-time (it was about 10:30 pm) sky turned bright blue! Initially I was astounded, wondering how the black of night could suddenly become bright blue. But then doubt began to

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Adventures in Faith enter my mind. Whats such I big deal, I thought. After all the sky is blue! The error in my thinking was that, while the sky is blue, it is blue during the day! At night the sky is dark black or something close to it! The thought then occurred to me, A real miracle would be to see the sky turn green! Then I would know for sure that God had done a miracle. This thought had no sooner occurred to me then the sky in front of me turned bright green! I was astounded! How could the sky turn green? It had to be God. Why would God allow the sky to turn green in front of my eyes? I believe He wanted to let me know that He was the one doing the miracles. I didnt have to be at a meeting with an anointed vessel to see Him work wonders. He wanted my focus to be on Him, not the vessel through which He was working.

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John D. Loewen

11 The Birth of a Vision

The miracle of the butterfly let me know about the power and
omnipresence of God. The encounter with the Word showed me the importance of His Word in our lives. God was always guiding me, but it was in 1993 that my walk of faith began to accelerate. It was and is an adventure of being led by the Spirit of God. In the spring of the year I went to a small home church meeting near the University of Maryland. At this meeting I met a lady from France who was visiting relatives in the area with her daughter. As the meeting ended we had a chance to pray together. She said that she felt my knowledge of the Bible, combined with my knowledge of the French language4 would lend themselves perfectly to missionary work in France. Her comment planted a seed in my spirit which began to germinate in interesting and peculiar ways in the following days and months. For example, I began to notice large Fs on the rear bumpers of cars when I would stop at traffic signals. When I would turn on the television set, there on the screen would be French lessons or soccer matches featuring French teams. Even more oddly, I would find French coins in the cash register at the convenience store where I was working. Since I had been fasting and praying and seeking the Lord for direction, these signs made it evident to me that the Lord was speaking to me about going to France.
4

I had studied for two and one half years during my middle school years at a school in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire which was taught and administered exclusively in the French language

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Adventures in Faith One bright sunny day I opened a world atlas to the page featuring France and the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, on which it bordered. With my spiritual eyes I noticed that the body of water closest to the French coast was called the Gulf of Lyons. The name Lyon is the old French spelling of lion. What was interesting about this name is that it is my name, at least in a sense. My family name, Loewen, means lions in German.5 So, in a sense, Lyons was calling to Lions. The intrigue in relation to Lyons became greater soon afterwards when I opened the newspaper. Since I seldom read the newspaper what I saw was all the more significant. There, near the very center of the newspaper, was a story about the mayor of the city of Lyons6 in France! And this was not a French newspaper; it was the Washington Post! Apparently he was involved in a scandal related to one of the major financial institutions in the city. But the story and its details were not what caught my eye. What grabbed my attention was the fact that once again I was seeing this name Lyons! By this time, nearly two years had passed since I had initially felt a stirring in my spirit about the nation of France. A businessman who also was involved in ministry was planning a trip to Europe with one of his business acquaintances. He asked me if I wanted to go with him. I was very interested and said yes. So on March 10, 1995, I left with these two businessmen on the first of what was to become many trips to Europe.

5 With the slight difference of there being no e after the o and there being two dots over the o. 6 I will use Lyons (the American spelling of the city) and Lyon (the French spelling of the name of the city) interchangeably in this book.

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John D. Loewen

12 Nine Countries in Eight Days

We arrived in the grand duchy of Luxemburg after an overnight flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport. At the airport we had a rental car waiting for us. It was a little green Opel. There are a lot more Opels in Europe than in the U.S. or North America. That little car could go surprisingly fast. This was of great benefit to us given the high speeds driven on the highways of Europe, particularly on the German Autobahn, the lightening fast highway running through the nation. From Luxemburg we went to a computer convention in Hanover, Germany. My business acquaintances were interested in the satellite technology being exhibited there. After a night at a house near the city of Hanover, we got back in the little car and went speeding down the German autobahn toward Switzerland. One incident related to this trip stands out particularly in my mind. We were going about 180 kilometers per hour, roughly 110 miles per hour. While this may seem fast to American readers, it was about average for that road. We were in the second or third lane, leaving the far left lane for the fast cars. I remember one driver in particular who took advantage of the fast lane. The car blew by us as if we were standing still. He must have been going at least 270 kilometers per hour (over 160 miles per hour)! And since there is no speed limit on the Autobahn, he wasnt breaking the law! We arrived Sunday morning in Switzerland. The beauty of the Alps was breathtaking! We came across a little church and

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Adventures in Faith stopped in. Perhaps we stumbled in on a childrens Sunday School class, because all I remember is little children. I remembered the words of Jesus, Suffer (let) little children to come unto mefor of such is the Kingdom of God. It was especially touching to me as I realized that this was the Europe of the future. We took a moment to pray that God would raise up a movement of children and youth to touch all of Europe. We then went down into Italy where we met a friend of one of my travelling companions. Maddalena lived with her father in Turin. She showed us some of the significant sites in town. At the time of our visit, the well known Shroud of Turin was not being exhibited. This cloth is purported to be the material with which Jesus was covered at His burial. But Maddalena had seen the shroud earlier. While this woman was not a believer in Jesus Christ, she was touched by the visit and admitted to shedding tears as she passed by the sacred cloth. In order to get to France, we had to pass through another range of the Alps, this one located along the border separating Italy from its neighbor. We drove through the night and arrived in Lyons not long after midnight. It was a miracle, but we were able to find the home of the widow whom I had met nearly two years earlier. After a day of visiting Lyon, we went up to Paris for some business meetings. We had a wonderful meal at one of the fine restaurants there with some French businessmen. From there, we travelled toward England. To get there we had to pass through the chunnel. This underground conveyance system permits you to drive your car onto a train which then takes you to England while travelling under the English channel, the body of water separating Britain from the mainland of Europe. We spent about a 29

John D. Loewen day in the outskirts of London taking care of business before driving back. Returning to the Continent, we spent a night at a work sponsored by Youth with a Mission, a Christian outreach, located in Amsterdam. From there we went through Belgium and then went on to Luxemburg. By this time, over a week had passed since our arrival, and the two businessmen had to return back to the States. But I was faced with an important decision: Should I stay in Europe or should I go back with them to the U.S?

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Adventures in Faith

13 A Leap of Faith
My friend Joe, who had sponsored the trip to Europe, including paying for the airplane ticket and covering other expenses, was returning to the United States. We were in Paris and he was about to take a taxi to the airport. It was still dark and the sun had not yet risen as we prayed together on that French urban street. What was I to do? One of my options was to return to the United States and resume my job at the convenience store where I worked. The other option was to launch out on the waters of faith and believe for God to open a door in this new country of France that He had been speaking to me about the previous two years. Having just enough finances for a train ticket and a few nights at a hotel, I decided to take the leap of faith. My friend laid hands on me and prayed. He got on the taxi and left. I was by myself in a foreign country. One advantage that I had going for me was that I spoke the language. I found the train station, appropriately named Gare de Lyon,7 and caught the next TGV8 for Lyons just before it was about to leave. Realizing I would need Gods help if anything were to come of this step of faith, I decided to begin ministering right then and there on the train, preaching to those in the train around me. I preached the Good News of the Gospel in French, letting all know that God had sent me to this nation to
7 8

It was early Sunday morning, March 19, 1995.

Or Lyon Station An acronym for Tres Grande Vitesse (Very Great Speed) this is very true these trains go up to 200 miles per hour!

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John D. Loewen turn it to Jesus. Okay, perhaps it was pretentious, but God is a big God, and either He was in this thing or I was sunk! I guess the Lord knew the fears that I harbored in my heart and soul, because as the train arrived in Lyon, I saw a remarkable confirmation that I was in Gods will when I observed the signs next to the train tracks. In giant letters they were announcing the 100th anniversary of the birth of motion pictures. That very day, March 19, 1995 marked 100 years since the first film was displayed by the Lumiere brothers of Lyon. This was very encouraging to me, because I needed confirmation that I was on the right path, and that I wasnt missing God. Let me explain how this served as a confirmation. At the beginning of 1995, the Lord had placed a project on my heart. The project was to make a film that would convince unbelievers of the reality of Jesus Christ. Now this was a much larger task than I was capable of taking on by myself, since I had no experience in making movies. So I started by writing a book which was to serve as the script, and had actually finished writing the story by the time I left for Europe. So in a sense, God was saying to me, this is the place you need to be for your film to be realized! When we arrived at the train terminal in Lyon (I will use the French spelling from now on) I realized that I had no sleeping accommodations reserved. I had noticed a Salvation Army (or LArmee du Salut as it was called in France) as the train began to near its destination, so I thought that would be a good place to stay for the night. Getting off of the train, I walked the several blocks to the Salvation Army building. I stepped into the waiting area and found the information desk where an attendant was at the window. I asked him if they had a room for the night. He said he would have to check. I was then asked whether I was a French citizen. I said no, I wasnt. Well, that created a surprising 32

Adventures in Faith problem. Apparently only French citizens can stay at the Salvation Army locations in France. So I was really in a fix now. My resources were limited. I really didnt know what to do. I called up the number of the widow whom I had met two years earlier. No one was home. I now knew how Moses must have felt at the Red Sea. I felt as if I were trapped between a rock and a hard place. So, like Moses, I stood still (stand still and see the salvation of the Lord Exodus 14:13). In that stillness, God opened my eyes. I looked at a map of the city of Lyons and the surrounding metropolitan area. I noticed that on the outskirts of the city was a little town which sounded familiar. Suddenly I remembered why. I had received a letter from a woman in that town on January 1st of that year. But would she be at home? Would she remember me? And what was her telephone number? I looked to my side and noticed a telephone book. I looked through the addresses and found her name and telephone number. I dialed the number and held my breath. After just one ring a person on the other end picked up the phone. Ive been expecting you to call, she said. I was surprised to say the least. How did she know that I would be calling? While the answer to that question remained somewhat unclear, what was clear is that I now had at least one friend in France. She invited me to come visit her. So I grabbed my bags and went up the mountains to the small town where she was living. The hot coffee and croissant that she served perked me up and I felt a lot more optimistic in regard to the future. While at her place I called the Salvation Army, and, they offered to let me stay after all, but only for three days. Grateful for a place to sleep, I said goodbye to my friend and caught the bus and subway back to the towns center.

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John D. Loewen

14 The Prayer in the Basilica

had been in Lyon for several weeks. I had a place to stay and was gratefully eating French pastry and enjoying this new land. And yet an important question remained: What was I in France for? I had taken this step of faith, believing that it was what God had for me. But what was my purpose for being there? I had just finished reading Pastor Yonghi Chos book, The Fourth Dimension. Reverend Cho is the pastor of the worlds largest church, located in Seoul, Korea. In this book the author stresses the importance of having a vision. He wrote if you do not have a vision from God, get on your knees until you find out what it is. I realized that this is what I would have to do. So I purposed in my heart to pray until God showed me what He wanted for me to do in France. There was a large Catholic Basilica on a mountainous area overlooking the city. A statue of the Virgin Mary, prominently displayed at the top of the dome above the building, was, along with the dome, covered with a brilliant gold finish. I wasnt interested in either the statue or the gold, but looked at it as a place where I could seek God for what He had for me. So, at the stroke of noon, I got down on my knees and started praying. About twenty five minutes later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A lady was looking at me with wondering eyes. What are you doing here? she asked. She said something to the effect of, You are causing me pain (this is the best way I can translate from what she said in French, Vous me faites de la peine.). In a very real sense, she became the answer to the question regarding my purpose in France, which I had asked of

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Adventures in Faith the Lord. But I also became an answer to the question she was asking of God. She had come into the cathedral asking God if He existed. She wanted a sign. I explained the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she was wonderfully born again! But simultaneously, she gave me some advice. Pointing out several universities in the city where I could continue my studies, she suggested I enroll. This would allow me to stay in the city with a purpose and reason for being there. Amazingly, God had not only answered my prayer, but had blessed someone else along the way. God certainly doesnt waste His opportunities! After this time of prayer, I applied for a place in the School of Urban Engineering at the Science Institute in the city (Institut National de Sciences Appliquees or INSA), where I was accepted. I came back in the fall of that year, and for a year I was involved in studies, which helped improve my French and opened up doors of ministry with various students and professors. I will relate one of those open doors in the following chapter.

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John D. Loewen

15 Agape and Mr. Rose

ne of the things that I genuinely enjoyed while attending INSA was the Thursday evening meetings of Agape, which was the local branch of Campus Crusade for Christ. All meetings were, of course, in French. But that was no problem since I knew the language. The meetings were lively and the informal setting allowed me to meet students and make a variety of friends. The woman who was the head of the School of Urban Engineering had an interesting cultural mix. While she was a Caucasian of Jewish descent, she had spent a considerable amount of time in the African nation of the Cameroon. One of the instructors that she invited to speak to the class one day was involved in planning in the Paris metropolitan area. His name was Mr. Rose. Mr. Rose shared about how rapid urban growth, with the population spilling into the outer suburbs, was occurring in the Parisian metropolitan area. The slums in French cities were in the suburbs, unlike the traditional American model where the slums were in the city center. He shared about one project that he had been involved in. He showed the plans for this area, located south of Paris. The name of this planned development was Grigny. The name stood out in my memory for some reason. As he shared, I had no idea that one day I would be living right there.

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Adventures in Faith

16 A Hippie on the Subway

n the mid-nineties there was a popular tune that made the pop charts. While I dont remember the exact lyrics, it had something to do with a lemon tree.9 While I was in Lyon, I would often go into the subway cars and share the gospel. Sometimes I would preach, sometimes pray, sometimes share one-on-one with individuals and other times just ride. One of the people I met in the subway system was a long-haired skinny guitar player with an infectious smile. He had a frumpy look to him, reminding me of the hippies of the sixties and seventies. It seemed as if his favorite tune was the lemon tree song at least it is the one that stood out in my mind. He spoke English in fact he was English. I would talk to him and on occasion share the Gospel with him. He would listen and I would pretty much leave it at that. I guess it was just a time to plant seeds. I didnt really think much of our meetings or really think they were amounting to much until he showed up again in my life several years later. Stay tuned

Not the song written by Will Holt and made famous by Trini Lopez and others in the 60s, but rather the one done by the German group Fools Garden in the mid 90s.

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John D. Loewen

17 A Visit to Heaven

One night in the fall of 1996, as I was on my knees in prayer,

I had a most memorable experience. What I share is one of the most sacred moments of my life and I count it a privilege to have experienced it. I will start by sharing a little background. In the mornings in Lyon, I would often step into the subway and share the Gospel as the Lord would lead. This particular evening, I had been feeling an especially heavy burden for the witnessing that I was going to do the next morning. I felt a burden to openly share my faith with those who would disagree perhaps violently10. The Lord must have known the weight that I was feeling, for as I knelt with the Bible on the couch in front of me, without knowing how it happened, I found myself in heaven. I can tell you exactly what the Lord showed me, for it was a very vivid experience. I saw what must have been the living room or parlor of my mansion in heaven. Why would the Lord show me the living room of the house He had prepared for me? Your guess is as good as mine. But it was a confirmation to me that He had indeed prepared a mansion for us in heaven. I think He wanted me to know that my home was not on this earth. By very clearly and vividly showing me this home in heaven, He let me know that if by His sovereign choosing and in His timing, I should be taken to heaven, He had a place waiting for me, in accordance with the Bible, as found in John 14:2. Let me briefly describe what I saw. The light was gloriously bright. Streaming through the window of my living room, it was, in fact, brighter than the sun. But there was no pain in10

See the chapter entitled Taking a Few Hits Along the Way.

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Adventures in Faith volved in looking straight at it, for it was like nourishment, filling my soul and my spirit with energy, life and peace. The colors were magnificent. They were more vivid than it is possible to describe. I remember especially the violets and purples and reds. The colors themselves appeared to be alive. The pattern on the sofa matched the pattern on the curtains. The interior design in the room was impeccable, with every item perfectly coordinated with the next. The coffee table in the middle of the room stood out. It appeared to be made of cherry wood with a beautiful shiny red stain finish. Sitting on it was a glass sculpture within which was a cloudy wave, violet in color, which in a way that only the Masters hand could have fabricated, had found its way inside this transparent work of art. Everything was, in fact, transparent. The sofa was transparent, as were the coffee table, the walls and the curtains I could see through everything. What I found interesting was the sofa. It contained a floral pattern on the outside. But rather than having stuffing, or some other soft material on the inside, the floral pattern went all the way through the sofa I could make out the pattern on the inside as well as the outside. The peace that I experienced in my short visit to heaven was overwhelming. The anxieties that I had had concerning the next morning disappeared. The visit was all too short. As I gazed into the energizing light, I returned to Lyon, to the living room and the sofa where I was praying. It was so disappointing to come back to the environment of this world in which we live. But nonetheless, I was in awe of the inspiring visit - a gift from God and a token of better things to come.

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John D. Loewen

18 The Upper Room in Lyons

While I was in Lyon there were frequent opportunities to minister to children in the neighborhood where I was staying. At least half of the residents in the government-subsidized housing where I was staying were from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, or another Arabic-influenced nation. One family in particular was open to the gospel. Two of the children a girl about 10 years of age and a boy of about nine years, would come over and visit the apartment where I was staying with a small family. We would play games. Eventually we offered them Bibles in French and Arabic, which they accepted.11 Some of the neighborhood kids would come over to the apartment where I was staying to play with the child who lived in the home. One Saturday as we gathered in a circle and were praying in the morning, we asked God to pour out His Spirit in a special way that day. The daughter liked to hang out with two other children in particular, Godwin and Sabrina. The three were nine to ten years of age. Returning from a shopping trip, we couldnt find the children when we returned to the apartment. But we heard some sounds from upstairs. When we opened door of the daughters room, we saw the three kids sprawled in different locations throughout the room. One was under the bed, one was in the closet, but all of them were speaking languages that they had never learned. They had been baptized in the Holy Spirit! They prayed in their new prayer language for about an hour.

Later I learned that the girl burned her New Testament upon facing persecution from her family.

11

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Adventures in Faith That evening at the supper table, one of the three tweens that had received her new prayer language asked a very revealing question: Est-ce-que nous pouvons prier en langues avant de manger? (Can we pray in tongues before eating?). She was hungrier for spiritual food than for the physical food she was being offered! Praise the Lord!

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John D. Loewen

19 I Protest

is famous for its strikes and demonstrations. You might say that its part of the culture. Actually, to disagree in France is part of the culture. Disagreement is part of normal discussions and conversations. While I was in Lyon, the Lycee (French for high-school) teachers went on strike and the students had the day off. So they decided to have their own demonstration! When it was announced on the news that the Lycee students (the equivalent of American High School students) would be protesting the next day, I sensed that this was a God-given opportunity to present the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these young people. After praying about what to do, I decided to have my own demonstration. It would be a Jesus Demonstration. I bought a piece of white cardboard paper and a black magic marker. On it I wrote in bold letters, Jesus taime! Translated, this means, Jesus loves you! The next day I hopped on to the subway car with my sign. I had added a wooden stick to the back so that I could raise the sign and ensure that it was visible for all to see. When I got off at Place Bellecourt, the central meeting point in the city, the students by the thousands were milling about, ready to begin their protest march. Quickly deciding upon a strategy, I decided to go to the place toward which they would be marching. A little less than a mile a way, I waited for the students to begin. After what seemed like hours, but was in reality probably just minutes, they began advancing towards me. When they got to within a 42

France

Adventures in Faith few hundred yards, I began my march towards them. It was one marching against thousands. The adrenaline was pumping through my body. I didnt know what would happen. Was this going to be my last day on planet earth? When I got to within about 50 yards, they noticed me. Seeing my sign, they all began to cheer! It was an amazing reaction. I cant say that it was unexpected, because frankly, I didnt know what to expect. As I continued to walk through their ranks, I received a big roar and a round of applause. When I had walked through the last row of students, my palms were soaking wet and my heart was beating. But my spirit was rejoicing! They had honored God by cheering for Jesus! I thanked God and returned home. The Lord had honored my step of faith, and His name had been exalted, whether it was intentional or unintentional. Glory to God!

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John D. Loewen

20 Cassy Visits France

For a long time, my friend Cassy had been feeling a burden to

visit France. Even from the time she was a little girl, she had admired the country and desired to go there one day. While I was still in Lyon, I felt the Lord impressing on my heart that she should come to France. I wrote her a letter, but didnt hear back from her. When I returned to the U.S. in the summer of 1995, I went to visit my parents and brother in Goshen, Indiana. One day the phone rang. My mom answered it and gave it to me. What I didnt know was that Cassy had finally received my letter, which had gotten lost among a stack of mail at the Christian Newspaper office where we had first met. Cassy was calling to say that she was ready to take the plunge, and head on over to France. The timing was perfect because I was planning to head back to France in the fall myself, so we decided to go together. We got cheap tickets through a travel service that specialized in stand-by tickets. Upon arrival in Paris, Cassy immediately acclimated herself to the French culture. One thing that wasnt comfortable to her, initially, was the fact that I would often take advantage of our times on the train and in the metro to preach the gospel. But after getting over the embarrassment of being with someone who was apt to share the gospel in the middle of a tour boat on the Seine (which I did, during a tour up and down the river which bisects Paris into northern and southern halves), she took on a new attitude, gladly smiling and nodding her head as I would preach. While she didnt know exactly what I

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Adventures in Faith was saying, she had the wisdom to stay in agreement with the spirit of the gospel message that was being shared. We went from Paris to Lyons, where we had a chance to pray on a strategic high place overlooking the city of Lyons. We prayed that God would build a church there, in that location. By the time her brief visit was over, her call to the nation of France had been confirmed, and she came back on another mission about three years later.

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John D. Loewen

21 The Masters Touch

fter finishing a year of studies at INSA (the science and engineering school in Lyons), I came back to the States for a year and a half. On a faith trip to New York City in December of 1997 I had an unforgettable experience - a touch of the Masters Hand that I will never forget. After leaving Washington, DC by Greyhound bus, I wasnt sure where I would end up in the urban jungle of New York. I simply felt the Lord prompting me to go. So I left by faith, not sure of my destination. While on the bus I met a minister who befriended me and invited me to stay at his apartment in the Bronx. It was almost three in the morning by the time we got to his apartment. We were both tired, and he invited me to sleep on the sofa. But the stress of the trip and uncertainty concerning my next step had left me filled with anxiety I couldnt sleep. After awhile, however, I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. Great peace filled my body, soul and spirit. Initially, I felt that my minister friend had sensed my fears and had come to pray for me. But when I looked across the room, he was fast asleep. I then realized that the Lord Himself had come to comfort me. He truly is a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

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Adventures in Faith

22 The World Cup

In June of 1998 a friend of mine was going to Europe to have

his book published. He had written a book on soccer and this was the year of the World Cup finals. This event, which crowns the best national soccer team in the world, occurs every four years. He asked me if I would like to join him at the venue of the final match, which was in Paris. I accepted the invitation and we met in Paris at the end June. Prior to the final match, I took a trip down to Lyon. It was a beautiful late sunny afternoon just prior to a quarterfinal match of the World Cup. Later that day the nation of Croatia was scheduled to play against France at the large soccer stadium in Lyon. Walking down the pedestrian street walkway near Bellevue plaza in the center of town, I noticed thousands of people from throughout the world showing their patriotism by displaying the flag of their native country. Noticing a raised concrete platform in the middle of the walkway, I jumped up and raised my voice, sharing the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with the people who were milling about. The French Soccer team was playing exceptionally well that year. Their defense seemed to be impenetrable. After defeating the Croatians, they also won the semi-final match and made it all the way to the finals, however their next scheduled opponent was the formidable Brazilian team led by their superstar Ronaldo. Most people didnt give them too much of a chance. Before the match I prayed to the Lord concerning the outcome of the match. I then put a fleece before the Lord. If 47

John D. Loewen France would win it would be a sign to me that I was supposed to continue to work in France. He gave me a score. I was somewhat surprised, because what he revealed to me was the opposite of what most people were predicting. As I was watching the match that night the score became 20, France. Most people felt the match would end that way. But the Lord had given me a different score. And sure enough, one more goal was scored by the French team, giving them an upset victory of 3-0, which was the exact score that the Lord had placed in my heart. I felt destined to continue to labor in France.

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Adventures in Faith

23 Finding Africa in Europe

While I was in Lyon in the fall of 1998, I met a traveling minister from the nation of Cote dIvoire who invited me to tour Europe with him. It was the beginning of an exciting time of travel that took us to Switzerland, Belgium and different parts of France. Most of our needs for food and shelter were supplied by the churches we were visiting, and our transportation costs and other expenses were covered by the offerings that we were given. One of my favorite memories of this ministry tour was a short trip we took into the Swiss mountains near Lausanne. Although it was at night, it was exhilarating to look out over the hilly fields, as the moon provided light and the stars twinkled in the cool night air. It was during this trip that I came to know about African culture. This may seem strange, given that I was born in Africa and spent a good part of my childhood there. But frankly, I lived in a North American ghetto and never got to know the local cultures. The fact of the matter is, until youve lived with a person or people, you dont really get to know them. During this tour of Europe, we ate African food (my favorite was fried plantains a large banana-looking fruit that tastes best when fried) and socialized a lAfricaine (as if we were in Africa). Whether the hosts were from Congo (Kinshasa), the Cote dIvoire, Cameroon or another nation, I was very impressed by how hospitable my brothers and sisters from Africa were. Often they may had very little, but what they had, they shared. Perhaps I will express a slight bias here, since I was born in the Congo (Kinshasa), but I really felt that the people from my na-

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John D. Loewen tive country stood out among the others with their friendly, giving, and gracious hospitality. I heard a lot of the different Congolese languages spoken, including Lingala and Chiluba although I unfortunately understood very little and spoke even less. After our one month tour, we ended up in Corbeil-Essonnes, a town in the southern suburbs of Paris, in December of 1998.

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Adventures in Faith

24 I Encounter Antoine

1999 marked a transition in my life, as I moved from Lyons to

Paris to begin ministry there. It was in Paris that I stayed at the home of a minister from Cote dIvoire. He was a cousin of the minister with whom I had traveled at the end of 1998. An Apostle, he traveled frequently and at the time I arrived at his house was leaving to start a church in the Washington, DC area at the beginning of 1999. His entire family was involved in ministry, and his brother-in-law had a very powerful deliverance ministry. I remember one time participating in the deliverance of a woman he prayed for. It was quite a battle, and chairs were scattered all over the basement, where we were praying, but in the end she was delivered of her tormenting spirits and was very grateful. After returning briefly to the United States in March of that year, where I had an opportunity to preach in and visit Arizona for a couple of weeks, I returned to Paris in April. My time there was marked by frequent excursions into the city. I would preach in the regional trains as well as in the subway cars. One day I went into the city to say hello to a friend of the traveling minister. He was working as a watchman outside of an apartment building complex in the 19th arrondissement,12 a neighborhood of both Jews and Arabs, located in the northern part of the city. I couldnt locate him at the post outside the
12

Arrondissement is the French word designating a burrough or district. These are the geographical areas into which Paris and the other large French cities, such as Lyon, are divided.

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John D. Loewen entrance to the apartment complex where he usually worked, so I walked into the building, the door being open. The mailboxes were near the entrance, and as I walked in, I noticed a tall young man checking his mail. I noticed he was wearing a shirt that said Jesus loves you. This immediately peeked my interest, first, because he was undoubtedly a Christian, and second, because the message was in English. So, I approached him saying something like I like your shirt. We started conversing and I found out that he spoke English as well as French. As I had guessed, he was a Christian. I forgot about the watchman. This was why God had sent me here! I found out that the young mans name was Antoine. He lived on the entrance level and invited me into his apartment. We talked and found out that we had a lot in common, including the fact that we both did a lot of street evangelism. We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to stay in touch. During one of my visits to Antoines, I listened to a tape which he had recorded when he was visiting Christ for the Nations, Institute in Dallas, Texas. It was of a minister prophesying over him. It was the first time that I had heard of this Bible School, but it planted a seed that would spring up later in my life. He also talked about his visit to a church in Pensacola, Florida called Brownsville, Assembly of God, which had experienced a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That too was a seed which would bear fruit later in my life. Antoine and I decided to go evangelizing together one day. We had both spent time fasting and the anointing of the Lord was on us. We decided to preach in the subway cars. Antoine was the first to preach. The anointing was heavily upon him. He was preaching hot and heavy before the car had even left the platform. All of a sudden one lady got up and began to ob52

Adventures in Faith ject. You cant do this, she said. This country promises us freedom from religion, she complained. But she didnt stop there. Getting up out of her seat, she pulled the emergency lever in the car, and the entire train lurched to a halt. Antoine, I said, why dont we just not make a scene and leave. At this point we still had room to step off onto the platform. But the lady wasnt satisfied. Im going to take you to the police, she said, and she didnt stop there. She ripped open one of our paper bags filled with Gideon New Testaments and the small bound books scattered across the subway car floor. As we reached down to pick them up the conductor of the train arrived. Whats going on here? she demanded. These men are disturbing the people in the car with their religious message, the offended lady said. But just as things were looking bleak, someone shouted from inside the car, We want to hear what these men have to say! This seemed to fluster the angry lady and her tongue became tied. Before she knew what was happening, another passenger gently approached her and calmly explained the gospel to her. Imagine the odds of having another born again Christian on our car in this Gospel-starved land, where less than one percent of the population knew Christ! As the doors closed, Antoine finished his message, and as we arrived at the next station most everyone took a New Testament as they exited! Thank you Jesus!

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25 Preaching in Paris

It was a hot, sunny summer day in Paris. As I often did, I went

downtown to share the gospel. One of the favorite gathering spots in Paris is a place where all the regional trains gather together, called Chatelet. Outside there are a variety of places to shop, eat, and drink. Nearby is an attraction called Centre Pompidou. Similar in purpose to a museum, it is nonetheless unique in many ways. It was the brainchild of President Georges Pompidou, who wanted to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris completely focused on modern and contemporary creation, where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theatre, music, cinema, literature and the spoken word.13 Next to it, there is a large plaza. In this area magicians perform and people lounging at the outdoor cafes sip their drinks, often wine or coffee, as they take in the surroundings. This was a particularly beautiful summer day. I dont recall seeing a cloud in the sky. It was early afternoon, so the sun was bright. As I watched the people sipping their coffee and wine, I was reminded of the Bible verse, Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion (Amos 6:1).14 I felt led to let them know that there was a hell that was very real to all who had not given their lives to the Lord, and so I jumped up on a concrete pedestal in the middle of the plaza.15 and began to preach.

13 14

From www.centrepompidou.fr. Ironically, Zion means sunny. 15 I have found that the anointing falls on me in high places.

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Adventures in Faith Some people took notice, while others either didnt or pretended not to. After sharing for a few minutes, I got down from my impromptu perch. I had delivered what was on my heart. As I walked away from the plaza, clouds began to fill the sky. By the time I had reached the escalator leading down to the regional trains, large drops of rain were already beginning to fall from the sky and people were running for cover. The sky had gone from sunny and clear to rainy and overcast. And this all occurred in less than five minutes! What do I make of all this? I think that God was confirming that the message delivered was the truth. It was a sign and a wonder. Another day I was just finishing evangelizing and was ready to return to the southern Paris suburbs where I was staying. As I lined up to get on to the regional train that would take me back home, I noticed that hundreds, perhaps over a thousand people were lined up on the other side of the track across from where I was standing. You could have heard a pin drop. Why was everyone so silent in this large cavernous train terminal? And then it hit me: God was giving me an opportunity to share the gospel with them! Taking full advantage of these ideal conditions I declared to them the message presented in John 3:16, that God so loved the world that He had sent Jesus, so that whoever put there trust in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. I had no longer finished this short message than their train arrived to take them away. But the seeds had been sowed, and hopefully planted in their hearts. The Bible tells us to be instant in season and out of season. We never know when we may be able to plant a life-changing seed in someones life.

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John D. Loewen

26 Taking a Few Hits along the Way

While the majority of my witnessing was met with little opposition, there were a few noteworthy exceptions, as I will share in the following paragraphs.

A Close Call on Easter Sunday

Once, while I was in Lyon, I had a desire to pray for a young man in a wheelchair. I was in a pedestrian mall area, surrounded by outdoor cafes and restaurants. As I approached him, a couple of his friends came up beside him. As I explained to the young man the healing virtue of Jesus Christ, one of his friends accused me of stepping on his shoe. Whether I did or not, I am not really sure, and frankly, it probably didnt make any difference, since the man was drunk and was probably looking for any reason to fight. While I tried to ignore his accusations, he took this faux pas very seriously. He grabbed me around the neck with one arm, holding my head in a vice-grip like fashion. With the other hand, clenched in the form of a fist, he began to pound on my left eye with repeated right hooks. Then he started dragging me across the open plaza area to a back alley away from public view. As he pulled me into the alley, a courageous woman came screaming around the corner yelling, Police, Police. Au secours, au secours.16 The man reluctantly let me go and sauntered off. In several ways, the Lord showed me that He was with me in this situation. First of all, the eye never turned black and blue, a miracle considering the punishment it took. Within three days the cut that I had sustained from the punches, had
16

Translated, Help, help.

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Adventures in Faith healed and the eye had returned to normal. Also, as it turned out, a pastor from a church in Woodbridge, Virginia, at that very moment felt the Holy Spirit prompting him to pray for me. Undoubtedly, it would have been a lot worse without the Lords intervention in the situation. Interestingly enough, this all occurred on Easter Sunday. Perhaps the Lord was allowing me to feel some of the punishment He took for us.

Well Good Evening to you too!

Another time, while I was returning from a trip witnessing in the heart of Paris, I walked by a man sitting on the sidewalk. I said Bonsoir, the French greeting meaning Good Evening, and continued walking down the sidewalk. He got up and began walking behind me. I didnt think much of it until I turned around to meet a fist in my face. Once, twice and a third time the fist hit me on my right jaw. By the fourth time I remembered the power in the name of Jesus and cried out, Jesus vous aime, translated Jesus loves you. That caught him off-guard, and he didnt know what to do. He started mumbling to himself and turned around and walked away. I must admit that my jaw was pretty sore for the next few days, but after a week or so it was back to normal.

A Switchblade at the Cross Roads

I also had a narrow escape once when I was walking into an area south of Paris that I had never visited before. Walking next to some apartment buildings, I found myself closing ground on a man walking in front of me. Just as I forked off the path and changed my course, I saw him pull out a switchblade. While I didnt know his intentions, I was not about to wait and find out! While I picked up my pace and got out of there, it could have been a messy experience.

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Taste a Little of your Message, Buddy!

One time I visited a restaurant outside of Lyon with some friends. A group of young people were enjoying some bottles of Beaujolais, a wine produced in that area, and having a good time. I felt a burden for their souls and stood up and began to preach about the blood of Jesus. Most likely this must have struck a negative chord in them, maybe they were disenchanted Catholics, or perhaps they just wanted me to lighten up! Whatever the case may be, they felt it was their duty to have me taste a little of the blood of Jesus. Taking a bottle from their table, a couple of them introduced it to my lips, and I had a few unwanted gulps of French wine. Count it all joy!

Hey - I Thought the Revolution was over!

All of these incidents occurred in France. As you can see, there are more than fashion models, frog legs, and new perfumes coming out of the country of France. Even with Gods amazing protection nothing can be taken for granted, and I realize that every outing could be my last on earth.

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27

On the Champs Elysees

When you think about Paris, you think about the Champs
Elysees. It is visited by tourists from around the world. Along this wide boulevard you find many expensive boutiques, and well trimmed trees. At one end is the Place de la Concorde, an obelisk statue given to the nation of France from Egypt in the 1800s. At the other end you find the Place de lEtoile, also called, Place Charles de Gaulle, a traffic circle where 12 roads come together. It is a transportation nightmare, but in the middle of the vehicular confusion is the Arc de Triomphe, an elegant large structure built by Napoleon to celebrate his victories. While I was in France in 1999, I attended a church overseen by an apostle from the Ivory Coast. Most of the Church members were from Africa, and like me they had a burden for souls. One Sunday after the worship service, we decided to go witnessing, and we chose to witness on the Champs Elysees. The only problem is that in France you need a permit to preach in certain areas. This is particularly true in high visibility areas such as the Champs Elysees. A brother from Cameroon was preaching when the Police walked up to us. As usual, they were in a group of three, which is the French custom for police officers. At the time, I was on my knees praying. Since I always carried my Passport with me, there was no problem when they asked me for my identification.

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John D. Loewen But my co-laborer not only didnt have his Passport, but he didnt even have any papers which proved his eligibility to be in the country. And in fact, he was in the country illegally! While I didnt know this at the time, the story became clear after the police had left. All he had in his possession was a temporary identification with no official significance. Nonetheless they accepted it! This was truly amazing, and proved once again, that when you are faithful to do Gods work in His way, He will make a way!

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28 The Kennedy Connection

As the summer of 1999 reached its peak, my time in Paris

neared its end. As I prepared to return to the United States I took the train to the airport. As I was preparing to get on the plane that would take me to New York, I waited in line. I had my ticket in hand and was ready to check my luggage in. Taxe de lAireoport, sil vous plait,17 the man at the counter demanded. I was somewhat taken aback. I didnt know about any airport tax. I also didnt have what was necessary. The lady next in line to me saw my plight and kindly paid the fee for me. I dont recall her first name, but her last name was Kennedy. In a tragic and strange coincidence on that very same day, John Kennedy Jr.s plane crashed into the ocean, killing him and two others. My plane, by Gods grace and protection, landed safely at Kennedy airport in New York. On that day Kennedy helped John land at Kennedy while another Kennedy perished. What to make of it? I wish I had an interpretation, but I dont. Three summers earlier, I had helped a friend relocate and reconstruct a home that had been moved from its original location in Virginia to its new location in North Potomac, Maryland; its owner? The mother-in-law of John Fitzgerald Kennedy! What is the significance of these incidents? Frankly, Im not sure what to make of it.

17

Translated, Airport tax, please.

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29 Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle

I arrived at Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle Campground, (or CPT as it is called for short), I immediately sensed that I was in for an adventure. My parents had dropped me off on the way to their annual winter trip to Florida. The meeting had already started when I arrived at the Camp. The presence of the Lord was strong during this initial meeting. But what stood out is what happened after the meeting. The lady who had been ministering asked if I could catch for her. This term is used when an individual stands behind a person as the minister is praying for them in case they start falling to the ground under the power of God. Well, just before she started to pray for the three ladies, I noticed that they were speaking French. Being a fluent French speaker, I naturally joined in on their conversation. They were a bit surprised at first. It worked out well, since I could now translate for both the minister and those being ministered to. I then found out something very interesting. Apparently these ladies had been praying that the Lord would send them a translator. Only one of the three spoke English, but not enough to fluently interpret into French. So I arrived at camp and had myself a job as translator. For the next two weeks or so I had three new friends from France! At the end of this period they blessed me with some reading material, and I took their addresses, in case I would have an opportunity to visit them in France. One of the interesting things that happened during this particular winter camp was the interesting variety of objects that were falling from heaven. Diamonds were scattered on the floor. Like children looking for eggs at Easter, the people who 62

When

Adventures in Faith had attended the meetings were busy searching the floor for any trace of diamonds or other gems. Another type of heavenly object that fell was angel feathers. In fact the people who took my place in the room after I left said that they had found an angel feather. One of the speakers there had a particular anointing when it came to heavenly material. This minister, named Sylvania, had a ministry unlike any other that I have ever seen. It was perhaps the most heavenly presence that I have ever experienced, outside of my actual visit to heaven. I cannot do her justice by attempting to describe the amazingly traumatic and painful past that led to the glorious signs and wonders that accompanied her ministry. I will abridge and condense the actual experience by simply saying that at one point she was literally rotting to death a human vegetable, a living corpse -- her decomposing internal organs being spewed out through the various openings of her body. The stench that followed her, the agony of bones breaking and the yellow puss that covered her body were tokens of the terrible toll that sickness had brought into her life. To get the most accurate description of her testimony, it would be best to hear it from her personally. The important point to realize is that God met her in a powerful way and that she was not only healed, but became a sign and a wonder. Gold began to cover her body and clothes in the same way that the puss had done so previously. She didnt understand it and asked the Lord to take it away. But she began to see that it was a way to lead people to the Lord. So she accepted this ministry of wonders and began to travel. At the camp during the winter meetings, when Gods presence would get to a certain level, she would bow her head and place here fingers through her hair. Gold flakes would begin to

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John D. Loewen fall out in great number, to the extent that people close by could get some for themselves as it fell from her hair. This sign and wonder brought people to salvation. One of the cameramen during that winter camp-meeting was a young man from Australia. While he was filming the meeting with Sylvania, he noticed two lights just above her head which he could see clearly through the camera lens. Initially he was not sure what the lights were or where they were coming from. As he looked closely, however, he saw that they were in fact angel eyes! This encounter with the supernatural made him into a believer and transformed his life.

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30 The Blue Diamond

For the next several months after camp was over, it seemed as if I was seeing Florida license plates everywhere. To me this was an indication that I was to go to Florida, but I didnt know where. So by faith I decided to go to Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, where the revival which started on Fathers day 1995 was still going on now in the Spring of 2000. Leaving from Springfield, Virginia, by Greyhound bus at the beginning of May, 2000, I arrived in Pensacola, Florida on a Tuesday afternoon. I looked at a map of Pensacola at the Bus Station and located the church. I arrived in time for the evening prayer meeting where there were between four and five hundred people praying and interceding. The majority of the people were under 30 years of age; more than likely they were members of the Bible School which operated out of the Church at that time. After the prayer meeting I ran into and talked with a friend whom I had met earlier at a church that I had attended in Maryland. He sang in the choir and was involved in some businesses in the area. Since I wasnt sure what the Lord was calling me to do at that point, I decided to spend the night waiting on the Lord in the 24-hour prayer room next to the church building. It was quiet. At about two-thirty in the morning I looked down by my right knee and noticed something sparkling. It wasnt a flake of gold-dust. It was more substantial. It was solid, clear, and blue in color. It was a small blue diamond! I was in awe that the Lord would send a such a jewel from heaven! 65

This wasnt the last I saw of diamonds.

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31 On to Arizona

As I was lying on a hotel bed in Pensacola, I cried out to God,

Lord where do I go next? Different options came to mind, including visiting my family and relatives up north, returning to the Washington, D.C. area, and staying in Pensacola. My financial situation made the latter option not so attractive. I had enough money to buy a bus ticket somewhere, but that was about it. But where would I go? As I was praying about my different options, I remembered the friend who had sponsored my first trip to Europe and who had supported some of my missionary work periodically since then. He had started a business out in Arizona. Why not give him a call? I rang his phone number and was able to get in touch with him. After a brief discussion I found out that his business was prospering and that he needed help in a keeping his construction related business going. So that afternoon, just a day after I had arrived in Florida I was on a bus to Arizona. About twenty four hours later I arrived in Arizona, walked to my friends business office, and began working him. I worked there for about six weeks doing a variety of things related to my background in civil engineering.

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32 Preaching at Penn Station

In Mark 4:35 Jesus tells His disciples,Let us pass over unto

the other side. This verse became particularly meaningful to me one day in August of 2000. I had been feeling the urge to go back to Europe, but it was as if I needed something to get me going. One Sunday morning at my home church, House of Praise, International, in Springfield, Virginia, we had a visiting minister from Baltimore. His theme verse was Mark 4:35. For several weeks, I had been thinking about going oversees over there. This was the kick in the pants that I needed. Without further ado, that afternoon I was on a bus to New York in order to catch a plane to Europe. When I saw a blanket lying on an empty bench at the bus station, I knew that God was preparing me for something; I simply wasnt sure what it was. No one was near. It was a wool blanket and it seemed to be beckoning me. As I took it I sensed that I would be using it that night. Arriving in Manhattan, I found that the Youth Hostel where I usually stayed was booked full. Since it was still summer and the temperature was relatively warm, I located a relatively well hidden place in Central Park. I laid half of the blanket down and pulled the other half over my body. That night I stared up at the stars and allowed their twinkling to put me to sleep. The next morning I awoke at the break of dawn. I quickly rolled my blanket together and slipped it into my carrying bag. I had a few dollars in my pocket, with which I bought a bagel and a cup of coffee. As I passed Penn Central Station, one of the main transit stops in New York City, I noticed a wealth of 67

John D. Loewen people pouring out of the exits. It was Monday morning rush hour! Thousands of people were arriving in Manhattan to begin their work week. What an opportunity to share the good news! So, standing at the top of the exit steps, I took several simple scriptures and began to preach. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, I cried out. Turn from your wicked ways! God has made a way for you to have your sins forgiven and experience eternal life. Believe and receive the Lord Jesus into your heart! The message was simple and to the point. During the 45 minutes to one hour that I preached, thousands, perhaps as many as 10,000 or so, were able to hear and receive in their souls and spirits the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Just over one year later, just a few blocks from where I preached the gospel message, the twin World Trade Center towers crumbled to the ground. How many of the people who perished in that disaster heard the message of salvation that August morning and made a decision that would determine their eternal destiny? Only God knows That evening I decided to return to Central Park to sleep. There was only one problem it was being fumigated! No one was allowed to enter into the park area, much less sleep there. I ended up sleeping for about an hour and a half at a homeless shelter which was essentially just a place to sit and lay your head on a table. Since I couldnt really rest, I grabbed by backpack and stepped out into the early morning streets of Manhattan. The small vending carts with their offering of a

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Adventures in Faith bagel and a coffee for $1.0018 once again proved to be my source for breakfast. Later that day I received a breakthrough. The business friend for whom I had worked in Arizona forwarded some money to me. It was enough to purchase a ticket to Europe from an agency which specialized in standby tickets and also spend a night at a Youth Hostel in the city. I was able to find a flight that was leaving for Europe on Thursday. This meant spending a couple of nights at the Youth Hostel and a couple more days of walking through the streets of New York. But finally the day arrived, and I got on the Charter Plane flying to Paris, France. In front of me in the line at the airport was a group of people going to Israel. What an opportunity for Jewish evangelism! With my limited Hebrew I spoke out the words of our Savior, Baruch haba Beshem Adonai,19 hoping that they would fall on open hearts.

18 19

This was in 2000. More than likely the prices have increased since then. Translated into English, this is Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

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33 Riot in Challans
had been communicating with a friend in France who had invited me to visit her. After arriving in Paris, I caught the TGV train and arrived fairly quickly in the city of Nantes. From there I caught a train to Challans, a town in the Vendee region of France, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. After I spent a day recuperating from the hectic week in New York, my friend invited me to go evangelizing with her. We started out at the nearby hospital, where we found a young man who had just been in a motorcycle accident. He realized that God must have spared his life for a reason, and we were able to lead him to faith in Jesus Christ. We then went downtown to one of the favorite youth hangouts. Several young people had gathered. We talked with them and shared the love of God with them. It went well until some of the drug dealers (at least that is my guess as to who they were) showed up. They knew that the message we were sharing didnt bode well for their business, and they were not about to surrender their livelihood. By the time that we realized it was time to go, it was already too late. We tried to get in my friends car and drive off, but some of the young people jumped on the hood of the car. When we started to drive off the young people in their motor scooters drove next to us. It was a challenge to keep them from driving into us. Arriving at my friends home, we parked the car in the garage, but the problems werent over. The young people took rocks and began tossing them at the windows of her home. Several of the windows were broken. They also took graffiti and sprayed various vulgarities on the outside of her home. 70

Adventures in Faith The evening was spent trying to wash the graffiti from her outside walls. The other project was closing the shutters, so that no more windows would be broken. When the excitement wore off, I realized that I was in France; I truly was on the other side! What was next? Was I supposed to return to the States, or did God have more for me?

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34 Signs and Wonders in France

After saying good-bye to my friend in Challans, I left for Paris. My intention was to fly back to the United States, thinking that my adventure was over. But just to ensure that my mission was over, I called the home of one of the ladies that I had met in Ashland earlier that year. She answered the phone and I found out to my surprise that she had been expecting my telephone call! She and her children lived in the suburbs of northern Paris. I got on a train and she met me at the train station with her fianc. After introductions, we went to her house. That evening we had a fabulous dinner. I met and spoke with some people who were from Holland, including the visiting guest speaker at the church where she was a member. When I woke up the next morning, I noticed some commotion. What was it? I wondered. The daughter of the hostess was looking at a sparkling object just outside of the door of the bedroom where I had slept. When I came to look at it I realized that it was a diamond! God had deposited a diamond in the hallway just outside of the bedroom door! After my brief visit at this home I went to another French family in a suburb farther to the north of Paris. This was the home of the third of the three ladies for whom I had interpreted when I was in the camp in Ashland, Virginia earlier that year. Here my experience was no less remarkable. After the evening meal, just a few days after my arrival, we all felt a need to pray. Our prayers were focused on Ruth Ward Heflin, the daughter of the founders of Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle Campground. She herself was the current director. We had heard that she was ill and prayed that the Lord would touch 72

Adventures in Faith her. That evening my interest in the phenomenon of gold being deposited in various forms at various places led me to read her book Golden Glory. Before going to bed I asked the Lord, God if you can deposit gold where you want to, you certainly can deposit it in my life as well. Even though I had prayed, I was nonetheless surprised when the next morning I found my mouth filled with three gold and silver fillings! Toward the evening of the next day we received a telephone call from the United States. Since I was nearest to the phone I picked it up. It was the son of the lady at whose house I was staying. He passed on the news that Ruth Heflin had passed away. We were all saddened by this news but also realized that our sensing a need to pray was related to God taking her home. While I was staying at the same home, I was invited to stay at a chateau20 which was being used as a senior citizens home. While I was there, I took on a painting project with another brother who had painting and decorating skills. We used a very strong smelling oil paint, which, while being largely replaced by water-based paint in the United States, was still common in Europe. We put on praise and worship music as we began the project and were worshipping as we worked. After painting for a couple of hours, I noticed a smell like perfume. I went to the basement to check the laundry, since it smelled like the perfumed anti-static sheets that are placed in a dryer when doing laundry. But when I got to the basement, not only was the wash not being done, but there was neither washer nor dryer! About fifteen minutes after I got back to painting, the perfumed fragrance returned to the room. What made this all the more remarkable was that the smell of the oil-based paint was
Chateau is the French word for castle. The use of this word includes the large homes built for the wealthy
20

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John D. Loewen normally over-powering! Only a miracle could have overcome that chemical smell and replaced it with a smell of the sweetest type. I believe that the Lord visited us as we were worshipping and painting, and that we smelled the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys (Song of Solomon 2:1).

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35 Is This the Same Guy?

One Friday evening I went to a prayer meeting at Christ Lumiere des Nations (CLN), a church located northwest of Paris. While there, I noticed a person who looked very familiar. While I couldnt quite put my finger on who he was, I thought I might have met him during my time in Lyons, a few years earlier. After the prayer meeting I approached him. He had a smile on his face. He actually recognized and asked me first where he might know me from. I suggested that perhaps we had met at the Anglican Church which I attended while I was in Lyon. He said he had never attended the church, so my curiosity was aroused. Then he asked, Did you used to witness in the subway cars in Lyons? After I answered affirmatively, it suddenly hit me he was the hippie who I used to witness to in the subway cars! He had put on at least fifty pounds and had cut his hair, but his familiar grin gave him away. As he shared his story, I saw that God had used the seeds I had planted and His own sovereign intervention to touch the heart of this young man. Apparently at one point he had been involved in ministry, as his parents were ministers. So, while he was still in Lyons, the Holy Spirit began working on his heart. He realized that he needed to get right with God. He felt the Lord leading him up to Paris, where he completed two years of Bible School. While there, he fell in love with and married the pastors daughter. So when I met him in Paris, I was seeing the completed version of a man with whom God had dealt with and was now using in His service.21
21

This man now pastors a church in St Etienne, France.

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36 The Audible Voice of God

I can think of only one time where I can say with certainty that
I heard the audible voice of God. It came at a most unlikely time, as the following brief account reveals. The bright morning sun was streaming into the makeshift bedroom where I was sleeping. A pastor from the Congo had invited me to stay at her familys home for a few days. This particular morning I happened to sleep late. I guess God knew that I wasnt being very productive, because at about nine oclock I heard an audible voice say Go to Bible School. It was surprising for several reasons. First of all, I had no reason to expect to hear an audible voice. After all, I was in a season where I wasnt experiencing a strong sense of Gods presence or glory. It was just a sunny Parisian Fall day. Second, I had never really felt called to Bible School. My belief was that God could equip a person in other ways. While I still feel this is true, the path that He was choosing for my life indicated that I needed to go to Bible School. It was only four years later that I finally answered that call.

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37 Visions in France

After a brief return to the United States, during which I voted

on Election Day, I returned to France in the month of November. Other than a brief trip up to London, where I visited a friend and stayed at a missionary guest house, my time in Paris was spent at my friend Antoines place, north of the Seine River in Paris. During my free time, the presidential election results were still being disputed, so Antoine and I would spend time praying for the results. During free time I started playing the keyboard a skill which I continue to practice and enjoy today. During this time, I also had a chance to listen to some of Antoines cassette tapes. One of them in particular stood out in my mind. It was a recording of a prophetic word delivered to Antoine when he visited Christ for the Nations, Institute (CFNI) in Dallas, Texas. It was as if I was being drawn to this place by an inescapable net. This net became stronger when we visited a friend of Antoines who lived in Chartres, a town southwest of Paris. The visit was all the more interesting, since she lived only a few hundred feet away from the historic Cathedral. This woman had a son and daughter-in-law who had attended CFNI. Monique was also an excellent cook, and she gave us one of the best samplings of French cuisine of any of the homes that I visited during my frequent trips into that country. At the beginning of December, I went on a retreat with a church in Antoines neighborhood. At the retreat I met a minister with whom I worked in ministry for over a year. He in-

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John D. Loewen vited me to several churches and home groups where I ministered. On Tuesday, December 13, 2000, I went to a prayer meeting at Christ Lumiere des Nations (Christ Light of the Nations, a church north of Paris in Cergy Pontoise, an outlying suburb). After the opening time of prayer, we broke into small groups. Each group was assigned a different topic to pray for. My groups topic was the United States of America. Since the election results were still in question, we focused on them. Of the five members in our group, three had visions related to the United States. Two of the three visions stand out in my mind. The first person saw the Statue of Liberty with the face of George W. Bush in front of it. In the second vision, a young man from Morocco saw a large rowboat, with the oars sticking out, rowing toward a great light. The interpretation of the first vision was fairly obvious George W. Bush would be elected as the next president of the United States. The interpretation of the second vision, as understood by the person who received it, was that the United States would begin laboring toward revival. Later that day, the first vision was confirmed, as George W. Bush was declared winner of the election. We are in the process of seeing the second vision confirmed. Before leaving to go back to the United States on Christmas Eve, I spent some time at the apartment of the minister I referred to at the beginning of this chapter. He lived near the Stade de France, the largest outdoor sports arena in France and the site of the 1998 World Cup final matches. The proximity of the ministers apartment to this venue allowed me to take a Jericho March around the facility, claiming it for Gods purposes. 78

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38 The CFNI Net Expands

Perhaps the Lord was giving me some rest after a very busy year of 2000. I spent time at a missionary home in Springfield, Virginia. It was a great joy hearing spiritual adventure stories from the loving couple who lived there. One of their friends was a minister from Korea. This lady was also a graduate of Christ for the Nations Institute. She felt led to start ministering to the children of some of her friends, so she asked whether I would help her. I agreed. We decided that on Friday nights we would meet at her friends house and minister to Korean teenagers. They ranged in age from approximately ten to seventeen years of age. Every Friday evening, we would lead these kids in praise and worship and include teaching from the Word of God.

The first part of 2001 was fairly uneventful.

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39 A Place of Overflow

As I was seeking the Lord at the end of 1999, He opened up a

door for me to stay in a missionary house in Springfield, Virginia. At this place, missionaries could come, rest, and have their spiritual batteries recharged. The Spirit-filled couple which ran the house was loving and caring. Gods presence often moved there in particularly interesting ways. Two incidents which exemplify this freedom of the Spirit stick out in my mind. One evening, after we had been worshipping in the Lords presence, the Spirit of God overtook my tongue. I could no longer speak in English. For nearly two hours I could speak nothing other than a Chinese sounding tongue. Even when asked a question in English, I could only respond in this Asian sounding language. Another incident which revealed the Spirit-filled nature of the place where I was staying was when a Korean friend visited us. As we started fellowshipping (my friend Marco was there as well), the three of us all of a sudden broke out into inexplicable laughter; we couldnt stop! While uncontrollable laughter is not uncommon, this laughter spilled out into the front lawn. As our Korean friend left, both Marco and myself fell on the ground, in a very real sense, making a scene. Certainly, the joy of the Lord was our strength, and did refresh and rejuvenate us!

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40 To the Jew First

ne of the interesting incidents that occurred during the spring of 2001 was a trip that I took to the University of Maryland to preach. During my time on the University Campus, I preached in front of the Student Center. As I was preaching, I noticed a group that had set up a table and was distributing literature only twenty or so feet from where I was preaching; it was the campus chapter of a Jewish Organization. I didnt change or water down my message, preaching the same Jesus that Paul had preached to his fellow countrymen nearly 2,000 years ago. While it was difficult to gage their reaction to this message, but the important fact is that the Word had gone forth and precious seed had been planted. On my way back to Northern Virginia, I stopped by the Mall in the center of Washington, D.C. As I walked along the grassy mall that connects the Capitol Building to the Washington Monument, I noticed several hundred teenagers in front of the Museum of Science and Technology. I felt a burden for these souls, so I walked across the grassy field to the concrete entrance where they were congregated. Leaping up on a concrete barrier, I preached the gospel message to them. At the end of the brief time of sharing, I gave an invitation for those who wanted to give their lives to the Lord to raise their hands. About thirty hands went up, and I led these young people in a prayer to dedicate their lives to the Lord. After shaking their hands and congratulating them on the important decision that they had just made, I grabbed my backpack and got back onto the subway to take me back to northern Virginia. 81

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41 Healings in Tulsa
uring the spring of 2001, I finished the third of three weeklong seminars leading to the procurement of a Ministry diploma from Oral Roberts University, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While in Tulsa, I had the privilege of meeting a remarkable woman of God by the name of Melanie Silver. She was a completed Jew, which means that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, while coming from Jewish lineage. Her mother was ill, so we went to the hospital to pray for her. While at the hospital, we felt the Lord leading us to pray for other patients as well. The man in the room next door, was suffering from a brain tumor. Others had a variety of other ailments. God by His grace healed all seven of the patients that we prayed for.22

22

This was verified by subsequent visits.

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42 Violet Glitter Points to Israel

I spent a large part of the summer of 2001 at the Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle Campground, in Ashland, Virginia. While there, I met a young man with whom I became good friends. Jonathan was from a Mennonite background, as were my parents. I believe this common thread between his background and mine allowed us to relate easily. We spent time a lot of time washing pots and dishes together in the kitchen after lunch. During the month of August, I woke up late one morning. The sun was already streaming through the windows. In that bright light I reached for my Bible. As the Book opened up, I noticed an even more brilliant phenomenon before my eyes. Violet sparkles were covering the two pages to which I had opened in the book of Jeremiah. These glittering objects were similar to what children use for various art projects in order to make them stand out. But the origin of what was glued to my Bible in front of me was not a bottle of manufactured glitter it was heaven itself! After an initial moment of amazement, I realized that the Lord may have been wanting to speak to me about the topics on the pages which were covered by the glitter. As I looked at these themes, I noticed that they were dealing with the return of the children of Israel to their homeland. Initially, I wasnt sure what to make of this, but I found out part of the answer shortly thereafter. A few days after this incident, my friend Jonathan asked me if I would like to go to Israel. He explained to me that he was willing to pay for the ticket. I didnt have to seek hard for 83

John D. Loewen an answer from God on this one; yes, I would go. So as the beginning of September approached, I prepared myself for a visit to a country I had only read, heard and dreamed about.

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43 My Trip with Jonathan

wont spend time describing the horror of September 11, 2001, since most all of us are only too aware of what occurred on that momentous date. While many international flights were cancelled in the following days, on September 17, 2001 we left Dulles airport in the Washington, D.C. area for Israel. In addition to Jonathan and myself, two other men were part of our departing team. One was a veteran Israel visitor, having been there on several occasions already. Jonathan had also been to Israel before as well. The other gentleman was, like me, visiting Israel for the first time. We had a stopover flight in Paris, France. Since our connecting flight to Israel had been changed or we had missed it (again, I dont remember which occurred), we were offered overnight accommodations at a hotel near the airport. The next morning we were on our way. As we flew over the Mediterranean Sea I was captivated by the beauty of the water. We landed in the city of Tel Aviv on September 19, 2001. I remember teardrops welling up in my eyes as I set my foot on the soil of Israel. After so many years of reading about the Holy Land, to actually be there was almost overwhelming. Since our flight itinerary had changed, we didnt have anyone to pick us up at the airport, so we took a taxi to our destination. We arrived in Jerusalem as dusk was beginning to settle in. We stayed at the ministry home of the late Ruth Heflin, Mount Zion Fellowship. This name was particularly appropriate since Ruth had such a powerful revelation concerning the importance of Mt. Zion, Jerusalem, and Israel. 85

John D. Loewen The Ministry was run by about half a dozen women. We learned a lot about Middle Eastern cuisine during our stay there, since our cook was Palestinian. Our diet consisted mainly of local foods, including lots of fruit, vegetables, nuts and grains. One of the many highlights of my time in Israel was my visit to En-Gedi, by the Dead Sea. There, we saw a dramatic musical presentation related to the Feast of Tabernacles, which included spectacular lighting. What made this Feast of Tabernacles show truly memorable was its use of the surrounding scenery, including the hills and vegetation, in its production. Another memorable event related to the trip was my visit with the Mayor of Jerusalem. I talked with this friendly extroverted man briefly and got my picture snapped with him. His name? Ehud Olmert. Sound familiar? As of the writing of this book he is the Prime Minister of Israel.23 On the second day of our stay in Jerusalem, one of the members of our traveling group got spooked and caught a flight back to the U.S. He felt that things were going to blow up in Jerusalem. Perhaps the terrorist attacks in the United States barely one week earlier were feeding fear in him. Whatever the reason may have been, our group was now down to three. The most experienced traveler among us, Cole, who had been already several times to Israel, went up north to the area around the Sea of Galilee for a period of time. Jonathan and myself spent most of our time around Jerusalem, although Jonathan did venture for a couple of days out to Gaza. When he returned he said that he saw bullets landing in the sand around
By the time this book was published, however, Benjamin Netanyahu had become Israels Prime Minister.
23

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Adventures in Faith him as he crossed the check point at the entry into Gaza. While there he visited Arab Christians, including a church. Jonathan had never been to France and since I spoke French, he viewed it as a perfect opportunity for me to show him the country. So on our way back to the United States we stopped in France for several weeks. While there we rented a car and took a tour of the country. We started in Paris and had an opportunity to travel to visit several towns that I had not had the privilege to see up to that point, including Bordeaux and Toulouse in the southwest of France, and Avignon in the south. We ministered at an African church in the southern Paris suburbs, greeting the people and sharing the Word of God. What was interesting about that particular visit was that the Assistant Pastor had had a dream that Sunday morning in which two white people were ministering at the church. Since he didnt know that we were coming, when he saw us, it was a wonderful confirmation to him of his dream.

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44 Preaching in Transit Locations

One of the privileges that I have had over the years is to

preach the gospel in buses and in trains all over the world. New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston are some of the American cities where I have shared the Good News in underground train systems. Additionally, I have preached in the subway systems of Paris, London, and Toronto. Subway and Train Systems As I will go into a city, I will look to see whether the city has a subway or regional train network. As the car will leave a station, I will wait until the intercom has communicated its message, before I share mine. Usually the Lord will give me a short message to share, such as the following: Ladies and gentlemen. I have a brief but important message to share with you. This message has to do with your eternal destiny. God loves you and offers you eternal life through Jesus Christ. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The reason that I keep the message short is so that I wont cause a disturbance, and the police or security people come. Now Im not criticizing or judging those who preach more lengthy messages, but it simply isnt what I feel called to do in this particular setting. Buses I have also had the privilege of preaching in different buses as they travel around the country. If I took or am taking a 88

Adventures in Faith Greyhound bus, I will share the following message as I enter the bus. God loves you and offers you eternal life through Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved! You will note that the message is short and to the point. I may repeat this same message once or twice as I walk toward my seat. If I have gospel tracts with me, I will offer them to the people in their seats as I walk by. Preaching the Gospel in these settings has many wonderful results. For one, it defuses any tension. One of the enemys favorite tactics is to cause fear to rise up in the hearts of people. As we preach the Gospel, the enemy is put to flight, because he cant stand being in the same place where the Kingdom is advancing. Second, it permits people who may have never heard the Good News before to receive a seed of Gods Word which may at some point germinate into eternal life. Third, it encourages other Christians who are on the subway car or bus to be bolder in sharing their faith. When they see me preaching, they are emboldened to share their faith as well. Airports I have also preached the Gospel in Airports. Once when I was at Heathrow Airport in London, England, a fire alarm went off. People began to gather in a room designated for these occasions. Realizing that it was a setup to preach the Gospel, I jumped up on an elevated perch and shared the saving message of faith in Jesus Christ. While some people laughed, the Word went forth! 89

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45 Preaching in Restaurants

Another wonderful place to preach the gospel is in restaurants. I have had some interesting experiences along these lines. Once, I preached in a Korean restaurant. I shared a simple message, using John 3:16 as the theme. When it came time to pay for our meal, the owner walked up to us and said that he was so grateful for the word that had been shared that he would foot the bill! Another time, I preached at a Golden Corral in Arkansas near the Texas border. In this case I was with a group of other Christians. The leader of the group told me to get off the chair and stop preaching. I did what he said in deference to his authority in this situation. Once I shared the good news of faith in Jesus Christ at a Steak House in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The pastor whom I was eating with was so grateful that he mentioned my witnessing during his sermon later that night. Sometimes I will encounter other believers as I preach. This happened to me once when I was preaching in Maryland. The man who heard me share was part of a prayer group that I later attended. It was interesting that God had prepared this meeting, and so when I saw Him later at the prayer meeting, he greeted me warmly, and we have since become good friends.

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46 Preaching in Diverse Locations

It has been a blessing to preach the Gospel wherever I go.

When I first landed in France, I took a TGV train from Paris to Lyon. As the train was leaving Paris, I stood up and announced that I had been sent to France to bring the nation back to the Lord. Was this presumption or egotistical? Perhaps it was! But God is so merciful! This step of faith was a seed to help launch me into all that God had for me during the three plus years that I spent in that country. Recently, I shared the Gospel in a Restroom when I was leaving Indiana and travelling to the Washington, D.C. area. It happened to be the National Day of prayer. Frankly, this was unusual for me, but in this instance, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do so. As I was about to leave the bathroom, a man said Amen, to what I had just shared. As we conversed, I came to find out that he was the head of the Pennsylvania branch of the National Day of Prayer. This connection opened up a wide open door of opportunity for the future. As you preach the Gospel wherever you go, you will see God move powerfully both in the lives of those to whom you are ministering, as well as in your own personal life.

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47 Prayer and Fasting is Important

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of prayer and fasting. At the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul Korea, which at about one million members is the largest church in the world, it is called fasting prayer. I can hardly think of a single instance of breakthrough in my life which did not find its source in prayer and fasting. So when I mention the souls saved, or the faith steps taken, invariably they were preceded by prayer and fasting. This may seem like an unusual reason to interrupt this story, but I believe it is worth this brief interlude to make note of it. Now lets get back to our story.

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48 Spanish and German

fasted the first few weeks of 2002. While at a ministers convention at the Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle Campground in Ashland, Virginia, at the beginning of the year, I met up with a young man that I had met a couple of years earlier at the Winter Camp in 2000. His name was Todd and he was a traveling street evangelist. At the end of January I invited him to come and spend a few days in Springfield where I was staying with Richard and Elizabeth Wilder at a missionary house. We went witnessing at the high school nearby and saw many young people say the prayer of salvation, inviting Jesus into their hearts to be their Lord and Savior. In the month of February, I moved to an area near Manassas, Virginia and stayed at the home of a man named Enrico. He lived there with his son. His work was helping Hispanic immigrants get their official papers so that they could remain legally in the United States. During my stay at his house I had many opportunities to interact with pastors, ministers and other individuals in Spanish. We had several prayer meetings while at his house. One of the wonderful habits that Enrico had acquired was that of having communion on a daily basis. Spending time at the table of the Lord was a very enriching and rewarding experience. While I was at Enricos home I began to get a burden to speak German. So I got some German language CDs and began the process of learning a new language. Little did I know that less than one year later I would be in the country of Germany.

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49 California Dreamin
uring the month of February, I began to get an itch to travel to California. I talked about this with my friend Marco. Marco was originally born in El Salvador but had come to the United States at a young age. He was also interested in taking a faith trip across the country. One day I went witnessing with Todd to the University of Maryland. I met a young African American man who also was doing witnessing there. His name was Daniel. Daniel was one of the most interesting people I have ever met. He truly walked in the spirit.24 He also had a desire to go to California. He felt the Lord was calling him to San Diego. So the three of us, Marco, myself, and Daniel prayed and finally, toward the end of March, we felt it was our time to go. We left with the sixty dollars that had been given to Marco. We were using Jonathans car, which he was letting me use. From Virginia, we headed west, and arrived in Birmingham, Alabama on the second day of the Benny Hinn crusade. Daniel was directed to sit next to an elderly lady who felt prompted to give him fifty dollars. He then moved to another seat and the person next to him gave him one hundred more dollars. Since we were pooling our resources, we had enough to get us to our next destination, so we left from there for Dallas, Texas.

24 He shared the following story: One day a speeding car ran into him as he was walking along a road. But because he was in the spirit it had simply run through him and hadnt hurt him. I am not here to judge his story, that is to say whether it actually happened or not. I simply share it with you and let you be the judge.

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50 Hail Stones like Golf Balls

hen we arrived in Dallas, Texas, the skies were thick with precipitation. As we drove through the area, hail began to fall; not just small little pea-size pellets of hail. They were large hailstones approaching the size of baseballs at times. I remember one hail stone in particular. I saw it coming from about a hundred feet away. It was as if the thing had eyes and it was aiming through the wind shield of our car at my forehead. It was between the size of a golf ball and a baseball. I blurted out the twenty third Psalm about as quickly as I knew how to and braced myself for whatever might happen. Amazingly enough, the windshield withstood the impact, but I knew that we had to find shelter. We found a bridge and we waited under it until the storm passed.25 We were a little shaken up, so we decided to get a hotel and get a good nights rest. This was a bit of a risk given our limited resources, but we thought it was worth it. It was Good Friday. We got a good nights rest. The next morning we had an important decision to make: should we stay another day or continue our journey? We mustered up the courage to launch out once again.

While the windshield remained intact, the hood of the car had dents which were a souvenir of the storm.

25

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51 On the Road Again

As we left Dallas, we headed into one of the most desolate

areas of the United States. After Midland, Texas, there are very few places to stop. It is mainly just sagebrush, rocks, dirt, and sand. We arrived in El Paso at night. With Marco and myself driving (Daniel didnt have a drivers license), we had option of driving continuously, which is the option we chose. We arrived Sunday (Easter) morning in Phoenix as the sun was rising. We were about seven hours from the city of Los Angeles, California. At one in the afternoon we arrived in Riverside, just outside of L.A. We stopped at a shopping center, tired and hungry. Our resources were beginning to dwindle. Being at the end of our ropes, so to speak, we decided to reach out to the people in the community who were in a similar situation. We talked to and prayed with drug addicts, prostitutes and other people with various different bondages. After ministering for an hour or so, we realized that we had to do something. Sleeping in the car was not a viable option, and at some point we would have to continue our journey. What were we to do? We realized that the Lord had the answer that we needed. As we prayed, all of a sudden it occurred to me that my younger brother lived in San Francisco. So I got on the phone and, sure enough, he answered. Yeah, no problem, he said, It would be great to see you. What an answer to prayer! We thanked the Lord and were on the road again.

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Adventures in Faith You might say, Well that wasnt a very memorable Easter day. But what happens in the spirit realm is not always visible to the human eye at least initially. A few weeks later, we found out that our trip did indeed have an impact, and we saw that impact manifested in the physical realm. We will read about that impact in an upcoming chapter.

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52 On Fumes and a Prayer

s we arrived in the Bay area, our gas gage was rapidly approaching empty. During the trip we had pooled our resources, but right now we were down to just over a dollar in our collective pockets. As we pulled into my brother James neighborhood on nothing more than fumes, we were grateful that once again the Lord had provided for us to get to our next destination. It so happened that my parents were also in the area at the time visiting, so my brother ordered out for Chinese and we all sat down for a very enjoyable meal together. At the time my brother had a studio type apartment. He had several musical instruments including a piano. After a very nutritious breakfast, we enjoyed playing his different instruments. As we prepared to leave, my brother very graciously gave us some money which we used in a variety of ways. We got our oil changed, bought a few clothes at the Gap, and prepared to continue our trip. By the late afternoon we were on the road again. We had made arrangements to visit a lady that Marco had met at the CPT campground. She lived in Oregon. She had a friend who put up visitors. That evening we met at a service station in the area. From there, she led us to the house where we would be staying.

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53 Is He for Real?
on was by anyones definition, unique. A friend of Marcos Oregon contact, he was large. About six - foot three, he weighed at least 300 pounds. He had a variety of animals in his house ranging from dogs to talking birds. Cages were open, so you never knew when a bird might land on your shoulder, or a dog might lick your face. I felt like I was in the middle of an Ace Ventura, Pet Detective set. Don himself was the definition of outgoing and friendly. Once again, we had a meal specially ordered for us. And once again it was Chinese. The next day we were once again treated to a healthy breakfast. Don told us a bit of his story. He was a former U.S. marine of Jewish background. Somewhere along the way he had obviously picked up a tremendous love for animals as well as people. He made sure that we were well fed before we left and even gave us a box of food to take on the road. We left his home in central Oregon considering the possibility of going all the way to the Canadian border. One of the options we were considering was traveling through Canada on our way back to the States. But since we were missing some necessary identification cards, we decided to skip the trip to Canada. So we drove instead into the State of Washington, coming to within a few miles of the border. At the last town before the crossing into Canada we stopped at a restaurant just south of the border and enjoyed a meal with Marcos friend the lady who had introduced us to Don. After a nice lunch we said good-bye to Marcos friend, got into our car and headed back south. 99

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54 A Split-Second Decision

As we headed south through the state of Washington, we went

through the outskirts of Seattle and looked over the bay where that city is situated. It was truly a beautiful view. Continuing south we had another important decision to make. Since Daniel had come on the trip with the possibility of staying on the West Coast in mind, we decided to see whether the Lord wanted us to continue going south into the state of California. But it was not something which we could think about for long. Right in front of us the freeway was dividing. If we continued straight, we would be heading for California. If we went into the left lane, we would be heading back toward the Eastern U.S. Lord, what is your will? we wondered. Since discussing the options among ourselves hadnt helped, and with no time to lose, I uttered an all or nothing type of prayer. God, I said with one eye on the road ahead of me, if it is your will for us to go to California, then make the way clear. Make your will crystal clear to us. If it is not your will, then block the door slam it shut as if it were a steel door in front of us. The prayer had no sooner left my mouth than I noticed a truck stopped in front of us. It was a construction truck. The steel door at the back of the truck was clearly shut. The truck itself wasnt moving. The only lane open was to the left. The left lane would lead us to the east. So we changed lanes and began heading back east. God had clearly answered our prayer!

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55 Breakdown in Chicago

So without any further hesitation, we were back on the road.

This time we were eastward bound, heading through the northern wilderness of Montana, Idaho and the Dakotas. It was just the beginning of April, so the temperature in these northern climates was still cold. The first night we experienced that cold at a rest stop. Marco wasnt too thrilled about the temperature, to say the least. So he asked for the wheel. We let him drive and drive he did. The speed limits out West are very elevated, so he was able to travel at a high speed. Every thing was going well until we got about half way through South Dakota. As we were going between 70 and 80 mph on the clear highway, all of a sudden we heard a loud clunk. The car was still running fine so we didnt pay much attention to it at that time. In fact, we continued through the cities of Moorhead and Minneapolis, Minnesota and all the way into the Chicago area. As we neared Chicago, we realized that we were running out of money and would not have enough to get us through the tolls in the Chicago area. We didnt have any place to stay before Northern Indiana, where my parents lived. What were we to do? Not having the answer to that question, we pulled over to the side of the road at the nearest rest stop. We prayed, God, we dont know what to do. Youve gotten us this far, so Im sure youll get us where we need to go next. With that prayer I leaned back in the drivers seat and got some rest. A few minutes later, Marco came to us excitedly. Hey, youve got to meet this couple, he said, handing me a ten dollar bill.

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John D. Loewen So we got up and followed him. A couple, with the man wearing a Star of David around his neck, greeted us. As we began to talk we found out that they were Christians from western Illinois. They ministered to young people in the area where they lived. Their boys were in need of ministry. We exchanged information, they prayed for us and we prayed for them and their boys and we went on our way. As we were leaving the Chicago area, however, something all of a sudden happened. We were pulling into a toll booth when I suddenly realized I could not switch gears. My shift stick wouldnt budge. Now I realized the significance of the sound we had heard while traveling through the Dakotas. We threw our change into the basket and continued through the toll. On the other side of the toll we pulled over to the side of the road. We could go no further. What were we going to do?

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56 Where are the Travelers?

then remembered that my cousin Davie, who lived in the area, was a mechanic. So I called his dad, who gave me his number. Davie arrived just in time. He was a big guy if he didnt have a jack, he could have pretty much been one himself. After working on the car for a while, he got it to the point where it was at least drivable. So that night we were at least able to drive it to a mechanics shop and drop it off until someone could take a look at it. We asked a relative who lived in the area for temporary lodging and it was graciously granted. We knew it was a temporary answer for our pressing need. The next day being Sunday, we rested. On Monday morning, we went to the Chapel at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College to seek the Lord for direction. As the three of us were praying, a young man came into the chapel. We looked at him and he looked at us and then blurted out a question which was obviously strong on his heart: Where are the travelers? We looked at each other in disbelief, so he went on to explain: This morning as I was reading a passage in the book of Judges, the Lord put on my heart that there were travelers who need a place to stay, and I was to provide for them. I felt led to come here to look for them. Do you know where they are? Well, that must be us, I blurted out. It was still almost too hard to believe. How could this young man have known where we were? How could he have found us? It seemed like finding a needle in a haystack. But rather than ask questions,

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John D. Loewen we decided to simply thank the Lord for giving us another place to stay. Gratefully we accepted his invitation to stay at his apartment near Wheaton College, where he was a student. Daniel and I stayed in a makeshift downstairs bedroom, while Marco found a place to put his sleeping bag on the living room carpet. We were so grateful. The first night at Josephs place, the Holy Spirit visited us in a powerful way. His presence in the kitchen was so strong that prophecy flowed and we knew that we were where we were supposed to be. The next few days were a tremendous blessing. In an environment surrounded by so many college-age students, we were able to interact and share many of the truths that the Lord had given us, as well as glean from the experiences of the students we met. One encounter was especially interesting. We went to an evening class at Wheaton College on the topic of the Holy Spirit. We were then invited to the professors house after the class was over. He had been seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for nineteen years! While we did not witness him speaking in other tongues, we were able to share our experiences in that area and agree with him that he would receive that which he was seeking for.

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57 Sowing and Reaping

Jonathan, who was in Israel at the time his car broke down, got
the unpleasant news that his car was kaput, but agreed to have the clutch fixed and paid for. So, after about a week in Wheaton, we were on the road once again, returning east. When we arrived once again at the camp in Ashland, one of the first things we noticed was that the place was buzzing with activity. A new painter had arrived at camp and new painting projects were rapidly taking shape. As I got to know the young man who was helping in the various painting activities, I found out some interesting information. He had come to the Richmond church on March 31st, Easter Sunday. That was the same Sunday that we were out witnessing in Riverside, California. His name, which I dont feel is appropriate for me to share, corresponded closely to the name of the town where we had been ministering. A coincidence? I dont think so. I believe that there was a divine trade-off and that the camp was reaping what we had sown in California.

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58 Columbus, Ohio

Through the intermediary of another friend, toward the end of

the summer camp I was introduced to an apostle from New York. Amazingly energetic and expressive, this Chinese brother had a world-wide ministry and travelled extensively to the nations. After our initial meeting, we set up another meeting where we discussed a trip that he was planning to take to West Africa at the end of the year. Just before the end of summer camp meetings, my friend Marco and I visited a friend in Hampton, Virginia. A series related to the Civil War was being broadcast on his TV. As we watched this documentary on a physical war, we sensed that we were being prepared to wage the same war in the spirit realm. After the last summer camp meeting had ended, my friend Marco and I drove up to Gettysburg to study that historic battle. As we looked at the battle lines and studied the three days of ebbs and tides, we gleaned principles which could be applied to various areas of our lives. As the Summer 2002 camp meetings ended at the Calvary Campground, two men who had attended the camp meetings still didnt have rides home. One was a young man from Ohio and the other was from Arizona. My friend Marco had his own car now and offered to drive the two of them to their destinations. So we started out to Ohio, driving through parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. When we arrived at the young mans familys home in Columbus, Ohio, we arrived on the afternoon when their church was having a picnic and he invited us to enjoy the good food and fellowship. The other man who was traveling with us had 106

Adventures in Faith a powerful testimony, so it was agreed that he would share it at their church the next day. The next morning was Sunday and I woke up early to worship the Lord. During the morning service, Bob shared his testimony as scheduled. He shared how he had been born with a variety of ailments which doctors had termed incurable. God had visited him several times, including a visit to heaven and had healed him even freeing him from the use of a steel body brace. Bobs testimony was powerful. As it ended, he was asked to pray over anyone in the church needing a touch from God. He asked Marco and myself to join him. The three of us, along with the pastor, then prayed for individuals in the church. That afternoon we went to another church. This church was smaller. Bob had already shared his testimony with most of the church members the previous day, so ministry was mainly prophetic in nature. The pastor was blessed and felt led to share a love offering with us. When we added this offering to what we had received from the morning service, splitting it three ways, we still had enough to get Bob an airplane ticket back to his destination! The remaining amount enabled us to continue our faith journey.

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59

Galena, Illinois

Leaving Columbus, our intention was to return to the Washington, D.C. area. But as we were about 60 miles east of the city, we felt led to call the people we had met just outside of Chicago on our trip across the U.S. earlier in the year. This continued our visitation of Civil War sites, since the family lived in Galena, Illinois a site associated with the Union Armys head General, Ulysses S. Grant. Galena, Illinois is located near the Iowa border. The family that we had been visiting in Galena actually attended a church near the Iowa border. We attended a service at the Assembly of God church where they were members. In the vestibule of the church building was a poster for an upcoming Benny Hinn crusade to be held in Des Moines, Iowa. I placed this meeting in my memory bank. This story did not end as happily as some of the others, as the son of the family at whose house we were staying was hurt in an accident at the end of a party. He fell off the balcony, hit his head on the concrete and had to be taken by helicopter to the hospital. We visited the hospital on the way back to Virginia from Illinois a couple of days later. The young man was recuperating. Nonetheless, this was a sobering incident and helped me realize that we are dealing with life and death in where we go and who we deal with. Therefore, each of our faith missions must be prayed over and we need to know for sure that God is directing us and leading us where we are headed.

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60 On the Way to Africa

During the months of October and November, I began to prepare for an invitation that I had received to go on a mission to West Africa with a brother from New York I mentioned earlier, Apostle Donald Lee. I received the necessary vaccinations and got a new Passport (I had lost my previous Passport just after returning to the U.S. from my trip to Israel in 2001). Just prior to my departure in the month of December, I went to the embassy of the Republic of Benin and got my Visa for that country. So, about one week before Christmas, along with two other missionaries, I left for West Africa. After leaving from JFK airport in New York, our flight arrived in Paris the next morning. We were scheduled for a short stop over prior to departing for Cotonou, the capital city of Benin, West Africa. Our plans changed, however, when our scheduled flight to Africa was completely booked. Our bags were also misplaced. So we ended taking a different flight this one via Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, and hoped that our bags would catch up with us. While in the Abidjan airport, we ministered to the head of the Police department there. We went on to Benin, where we had to wait a couple of days for clean clothes as our bags had not yet arrived.

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61 Joy in the Jungle

After arriving in Benin, our first trip was to a church conference in the interior of the country. Over 10,000 people had gathered together from all over the nation to worship God and get fed the Word of God. The denomination had been started by Swedish missionaries many years previously. By now, their work had become a prospering and flourishing fellowship of churches. At the beginning of the year, I had asked the Lord for 10,000 souls in my personal prayer time. Now here we were in Benin and I was in front of a crowd of over 10,000 people! Both Apostle Lee and myself had been asked to speak. After a very powerful and animated time of praise and worship, I was asked to address the crowd. Two different interpreters were used. Even though I spoke in French, the national language of Benin, an additional two local languages were spoken through interpreters, so that everyone could understand. As I ended my message, I gave an invitation for people to ask Jesus Christ into their hearts. While all of the 10,000 plus hands did not go up, I had preached the gospel to at least 10,000 people. I saw this as a direct answer to my prayer request at the beginning of the year.

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62 The Crescent and the Cross

Ketou is a moderately-sized village located about 70 miles

north of the political Capital of Benin, the city of Porto-Novo. Our trip there was a long and dusty one. Traveling during the dry season, the unpaved roads produced a red dust which coated our hair, bodies and luggage by the time we arrived. The sun had long since set by the time we arrived. The welcoming pastors were ready to cancel the meeting due to our late arrival, but we decided to get the village Chiefs opinion on the matter. Ewe, the village in which the Friday night meeting was scheduled, is about nine miles or 14 kilometers from Ketou a 25 minute drive on rough rural roads. As we drove into the outskirts of the village, just a few flickering flames were burning and the inhabitants appeared to be already asleep. Nonetheless, we discussed our options with the Chief, who, surprisingly, gave his approval. Apparently the children and youth of the village wanted some entertainment. As the team from Gospel Recordings, based in Lome, Togo, began to set up their lights, small children began to encircle the open area. By the time the microphones had been plugged into the sound system, and the generator was running, the handful of curious kids had turned into a considerable congregation. When the first Hallelujah was shouted into the microphone we already had to push back the crowd to make more room. After some initial praise and worship, a powerful message was delivered by Apostle Donald Lee from New York, New York who shared the story of the tax collector, Zacchaeus. His 111

John D. Loewen dramatic interpretation of the conversion of the little tax collector brought roars of laughter from the nearly 300 people gathered. The message was translated into both French and Holije, the dialect spoken in the village of Ewe. When the invitation was given, a unanimous positive response resulted, and about 300 people raised their hands to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts as Lord and Savior. The following afternoon, an equally large crowd gathered to hear about the Holy Spirit. Before the meeting was over, many of those gathered had been touched by the power of the Holy Spirit and were speaking in other tongues. We had then planned to return to the hotel for our evening meal, but we were told that we wouldnt have time to both eat and preach, so we got into the Land Rover instead, and headed to another village about a one hours drive away. As we arrived at a small shelter on the edge of the village several things stood out. One was the moon, which was in the shape of a crescent, reminding us of the shapes seen on the flags of many Islamic nations. The other was the reserved nature of all the people gathered. The freedom of expression and curiosity exhibited in Ewe were not nearly as evident in Ogalata, the village in which we had just arrived. After a short period of time, the answer for this became clear: the village population was primarily Muslim -- they were being held captive by the strong man of Islam. As I had been praying that morning, I felt the Lord leading me to share the message of David and Goliath during the evening message. As we left Ewe on Saturday to go to Ogalata, a small boy with a sling-shot waved good-bye to me, reminding me of the message which I was to share. While the crowd was unresponsive during the majority of the message I preached that evening, an eruption of applause occurred when Goliath fell to the ground. This was reassuring 112

Adventures in Faith and let me know that they were listening. As the message neared its conclusion, the people understood that Goliath represented Satan. They also realized that they could not battle him without Gods strength. Responding to the invitation to repent and turn to Jesus, two-thirds of the audience, as many as one half or more of them Muslim, gave their hearts to the Lord. One particularly touching moment came when one of the new converts approached us on bended knee after the meeting, asking for prayer. He said he wanted to witness to other leaders in the Islamic community. We laid hands on him and asked that God would give him favor, protection and boldness. The new converts were also given cassette tapes by members of the Gospel Recordings team. These tapes included the gospel message in their native message, Holije, to reinforce the decision they had made. Sunday morning the first worship service of a new church was held in Ewe, where many had given their hearts to the Lord the previous two days. In the evening, another outreach was held in a village named Atenya. Over 30 people gave their lives to the Lord and a new church was established in this village as well. All in all it was a truly glorious weekend, and Gods Kingdom was advanced, to Him be all the glory.

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63 Grigny
fter the powerful and successful mission to Africa, Apostle Lee, myself, and our third team member, Linda, returned to Europe. We stayed in a town called Grigny. What made this visit particularly remarkable is that several years earlier, I had studied this town while taking an Urban Engineeriing class in Lyon. And now here I was! Certainly the Lord had been preparing me. While in Grigny, we had several meetings which were led by Apostle Lee. At one of the meetings, just before I was scheduled to return to the United States, he urged us to get out of our complacency and step into the deep things that God had ordained for our lives. His message birthed an urgency in my spirit that I needed to launch out into a new venture of faith. I got on my knees and began to pray fervently. As I prayed, I began to receive the words Berlin. I realized that I had come to another Kairos moment a time which God had designated for His purposes and the advancement of His Kingdom. After the meeting was over, I realized that I needed to take a practical step to see this vision realized. So the next morning, I went and talked to Apostle Lee. Last night while we were praying, I believe that I received direction from the Lord that I was to go to Berlin, I told him. Do you know of any ministry or Church that I might be able to work with? His response was remarkable. Yes, in fact the church where I am headed now in Berlin has a prayer house. They may be looking for someone to work there now.

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Adventures in Faith Later that morning he called the pastor, and sure enough, he was looking for someone to help out at the prayer house. A new adventure was about to begin.

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64 Berlin
I had never been to Germany before, with the exception of a brief visit to the German town just opposite the town from Basel, Switzerland, which I visited as a youth. While it was new and in some ways scary, since I didnt speak the language, it was also invigorating, due to the new environment, which included the cold weather, different beds and bedding (the German comforters provided tremendous warmth), different architecture, different materials used in construction, different people types (while there were foreigners, in Berlin they were mostly from Turkey) and different ways of greeting and relating (the Germans didnt practice the bise, the French custom of greeting each other with two to four kisses on opposite cheeks). The prayer house where I was staying, however, was a place of great blessing for me. I had a wonderful room set apart for me alone. Every day, I would wake up around five to prepare for six oclock prayer. We would then pray from six to eight am, ending with Communion. It was a daily routine that really prepared me for each day. While I was staying at this prayer house, the United States was preparing to invade Iraq, so we spent a considerable amount of time praying for that situation. We would also pray for the nations, including a special day that we set aside to pray for Israel and Poland. One of the regular attendees at these early morning meetings was a missionary pastor from Nigeria who was powerful and anointed in prayer. He added a lot of strength to our meet116

Berlin was a totally new experience for me.

Adventures in Faith ings - in fact, in the neighbors opinion, too much strength. Some of them complained that we were too noisy. We tried to think of various solutions, including placing cloth, foam and other insulating materials around the pipes and vents and at other strategic areas in order to alleviate much of the noise. Eventually, we simply realized that we would have to do our best to keep our noise levels down, which we did with varying degrees of success, day by day. There were various side benefits that went along with this routine, including the Lord depositing within my spirit a series of prayer keys which I incorporated into a book on prayer (Praying Always 40 Keys to Powerful Prayer). One of my enjoyable routines was going for a daily walk to the Brandenburg gate, which was only two miles away. Occasionally, Pastor Andreas of Jerusalem Gemeinde, the church which sponsored the prayer house, would take me with him and we would go to Pottsdam, a town just to the west of Berlin. We would minister at a fellowship in that town. The pastor of the fellowship there and her congregation were very friendly and welcoming and I truly enjoyed my visits there. After I had been in Berlin about two weeks, Pastor Andreas sensed that we should start a Prayer School. We did this through the month of February and into March. The prayer school was truly a blessing as well. Every morning from 10:00 to noon, we would gather together and worship, have communion, learn about prayer, and pray. We always tried to leave about 45 minutes or more to actually pray. The students were enthusiastic and I can honestly say that these were times of great blessing and edification for the 20 some students and the teachers involved, who included myself, Pastor Andreas, and other various lecturers.

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John D. Loewen One of the incidents which stands out related to this time in Berlin occurred during one Saturday morning stroll which I took toward the Brandenburg Gate. As I was walking, I noticed more and more people walking in the same direction that I was. As I neared the Brandenburg Gate, the groups of people had turned into an ever growing large throng. Many were carrying signs protesting, in some way or another, the war in Iraq. One of them said something like Yankee Go Home. I realized that it was not a good time to stand up and sing Yankee Doodle Dandy. By the time I had encircled the crowd and was heading back to my apartment just above the prayer house, the crowd had greatly increased in size. By now there were over 100,000 people! It was supposed to be a Peace Rally, but didnt express itself that way at all times. I saw one incident of a shop owners window being broken, and another incident of an American flag being abused.

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65 Back to Paris

As the Prayer School neared its end, I felt led to return to Paris, which I did at the end of March. While in Paris, I had the privilege of conducting two Prayer Schools, similar to the one that I had led in Berlin. The first one was held in Grigny, located about 30 miles south of Paris, where I had stayed just prior to my departure for Berlin. The second was held in Persan-Beaumont, north of Paris. Both were wonderfully powerful and gave me some added motivation and encouragement for me to complete a book on prayer which has now been written. During the second Prayer School I met a beautiful family. The parents worked a jewelry business while pastoring their evangelical congregation. They had six children all boys. One of them had married a bi-lingual lady who translated their services when they had an English speaking minister. While being a proficient interpreter, what also distinguished her was that she was also a graduate of Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. She was the third person I met who had been to this Bible School founded by Gordon Lindsays. I was about to enter deeper in the CFNI web.

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66 The Dream Comes True

Just before I returned to the United States, I got an e-mail from

a minister that I had met during a visit to the Calvary Pentecostal Campground in Ashland, Virginia. He was a friendly and generous man named James. We had been communicating on and off during the three months that I had been in Europe since leaving Africa for Paris at the beginning of 2003. I knew that he had talked about coming to France, but I didnt realize how serious he was until I was about to return back to the United States. He sent me an e-mail saying that he was on his way to Paris. He had already purchased his ticket, and he was hoping that I would be there to meet him, show him around Paris, introduce him to the ministries and churches that I knew in the area, and help translate for him during the meetings that he was planning to hold. I was faced with a big decision: Would I take advantage of the return portion of my ticket, which I had already purchased a few months earlier, or would I stay in France and help Rev. James with his mission? After seeking the Lord, I decided to stay in France. We had many memorable meetings, and the Lord used this brother powerfully to speak into peoples lives. One night, after a long ministry service, we had returned to our lodging. We prepared to go to sleep, not realizing that each of us would have a remarkable experience that night. The next morning my brother shared a remarkable testimony of what had transpired during the night. He had actually been transported to the United States in his spirit and had coun120

Adventures in Faith seled another minister while there, before returning back to France and the room where we were staying. Outside of the time Philip was transported by the Spirit of the Lord (Acts 8:39), I had not heard of an individual being transported in such a manner. I too had had an interesting night. I dreamt of a tall light skinned black man. He had a friendly smile. In the dream, I remember him holding up a check for exactly 207.20 Euros and giving it to us. It was a very vivid and clear dream. A few days later, we were walking through the 19th arrondissement of Paris. This is a part of the city that has an interesting mixture of both Arabs and Jews. Interestingly enough, there are also some Christian churches. We encountered one of them on a Wednesday night as we were walking back to the apartment where we were staying at the time. We heard the singing and decided to check out the service. It was a Haitian church, and the service was being conducted in French and Creole. After the service, we introduced ourselves to the Pastor, who invited us to minister at a Friday evening service. So a couple of days later we ministered at the evening service. This was followed by an invitation to minister on Easter Sunday. During all of these services, I translated for Rev. James. I spoke French fluently, due to my education in the French system as a child, as well as a couple of years already of missionary work in France. We were blessed by the love shown by these people with limited resources. When the collection was taken on Easter Sunday morning, we knew that they were giving a sacrificial offering to us. After the offering had been counted at the end of the service, the Sr. Pastor gratefully gave us the money that had been collected. As a smile came across his face, I suddenly realized that this 121

John D. Loewen was the man whom I had dreamed about just a few weeks earlier. And after we counted the amount of money given to us, I recognized a second confirmation: The amount was 207.20 Euros, the exact amount that I had seen on the check in the dream!

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67 Christ for the Nations

While I was staying in Paris in the fall of 2000, I heard a

message delivered by James Maloney, a former Professor at Christ for the Nations Institute (CFNI).. From that moment through the spring of 2001, when I met a graduate of CFNI while staying in Springfield, Virginia, and from then into the fall of 2003, when I met Don, who was from Waco, Texas, it was as if I was being drawn into the CFNI net. Don was involved in the home improvement business and needed some help in that area. I helped him out in a variety of areas ranging from asphalting driveways to painting homes. I believe Don was a prophetic sign, pointing to a school located close to his home town. I had always admired Texas because of its larger than life image, as well as due to the fact that it was the home of several of my favorite ministers of the gospel. Situated just a few miles away from Waco, in Dallas, was Christ for the Nations, Institute, where I would attend just one year later.

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68 The Football Team

pon returning to the United States after spending more than half the year in Europe, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida. While there I visited a powerful church in the Tampa Bay area called The River. After visiting the church I got information on the Bible School that was part of their ministry. After applying, I was accepted. While there I learned a tremendous amount about effective evangelism. The Church organized a weekly evangelism outing on Saturday mornings. They would divide into teams and each team would head to a different fishing hole, where the gospel message would be presented and souls would be drawn into the Kingdom. One Saturday morning was particularly memorable. We had already been out for a couple of hours when the team I was working with drove by an athletic field. It appeared as if several high school football teams were playing. The guys I was teaming with had big faith for souls. One of them suggested, Maybe we can get a hold of the announcers microphone and present the gospel message to the crowd! At the River Bible Institute, this type of faith was not unusual, and was in fact encouraged in the students. Agreeing to launch out into the deep, we headed toward the playing field. One football game was almost over and the next two teams were preparing for their game. As I approached one of the teams, I felt prompted to ask the coach if I could pray with his team. After finishing his pregame preparations with his team, he gathered them together 124

Adventures in Faith and announced that I would be leading them in a prayer before the start of the game. We gathered in a circle and I asked the Lord to protect and shelter them from harm. I also prayed that they would play to the best of their abilities. I then concluded the prayer by inviting all the players who were not sure of their eternal destiny but wanted to be, to repeat the prayer of salvation after me. The entire high school football team, consisting of 18 players, prayed with me, inviting Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives to be their Lord and Savior. Whether the team won or lost that day, I dont know, since we didnt stay to watch the game. One thing is for sure, however. Each member of that high school football team had gained something far more valuable than a W in the wonlost column. They had assured that their names were in the Lambs Book of Life by attaining a living and vital relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

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69 Thankful in Tampa
met a man named Robert the first Friday night that I was in the Tampa, Florida area. I was with my evangelist friend Todd. We were sharing the good news. Robert approached me with a big smile on his face. Bubbling over with joy, he shared with me how he had been saved while he was in jail. He must have known that we were Christians. He then told me how grateful he was to God that the management at Church's Chicken allowed him to clean up around the parking lot in exchange for food. He then continued on, sharing how thankful he was that he had a piece of cardboard to sleep on next to the building across the street. He was so happy that I too became happy! I was able to give him more than just the bus fare he needed to visit his daughter the next day.26 He got tears in his eyes, saying that it was the most money that he had seen in seven years,27 and started thanking God and asking God to bless me. Don't focus on whether or not I should have given him the ten dollars. I believe I did the right thing. Rather, focus on this mans attitude. He could have been complaining about not having a roof over his head, and money in his pocket, and he could have come to me begging for money. But instead, he was grateful for things that most people would have complained about. What a lesson for us when we feel down in the dumps!

26 27

I gave him a 10 dollar bill. He had just finished a 7 year prison sentence.

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70 Granny Sows Eternal Seeds

lso in the Tampa area, I met a lady who called herself "granny". I met granny at a bus stop. In addition to being in a wheel chair, she had protective wraps about her feet. We started talking, and I found out that she was a born again Christian. She handed out tracks everywhere she went. Her husband had passed away 11 years before, but just before he died, he had a vision. In this vision he saw a crowd of people. She asked him who they were. He said they were the people who were waiting for her in heaven with whom she had either shared a gospel tract or witnessed to in some other way. They were eagerly waiting to meet her and thank her. Granny was truly heaping up for herself rewards in heaven, and one day, she will see them with her very own eyes.

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71 Better than a Halloween Treat

hile I was in Tampa, I stayed at a Missionary House available specifically for ministers and missionaries from Latin America. The lady who ran the house was from the Dominican Republic. It was a great place to meet people from throughout the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. While there, I was able to improve my Spanish significantly and I even got an opportunity to preach in Spanish at their weekly meeting on Saturday night. Additionally, I was given an opportunity to share on the radio program which was operated by the ministry that sponsored the house. That too was in Spanish! For me, that was Gods grace, since I am not fluent in that language. I was encouraged that the people seemed to appreciate what was shared. Every morning, the neighborhood children would line up to catch their bus to school just across from the house. Since it was around Halloween time, I had extra candy on me. It had been placed into clear plastic bags. Rather than have it go to waste, I decided to give the bags to the children who were waiting for the bus with some of their parents. However, I didnt forget to share the best gift of all. I also shared the good news of Jesus Christ with the children. All thirteen of the kids asked Jesus into their hearts just before the bus came to pick them up and take them to school!

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72 A Blowout and a Miracle

I was on the car with Marco, leaving Tampa to return to Virginia. I was reading a passage from the book of Romans. Traveling at about 70 mph in the passing lane of a four lane divided highway, we experienced a blowout. Thankfully, there was a grassy median separating us from oncoming traffic. There had been little rainfall that year, so as we pulled into the depressed median separating traffic, clouds of dust followed us. After about 150 feet, we came to a stop. We had hardly had an opportunity to get out of the car, when another car pulled up behind us, offering to help us change the tire. No sooner had we started to change our tire than another vehicle pulled up. He was a pastor in the Four Square denomination. We told him that we were travelling missionaries. God touched his heart and he offered to buy us four new tires! This we did, driving to a service station nearby. With the narrow escape from a serious accident still on my mind, I warned everyone at the gas station concerning the necessity of being ready for eternity. That evening, we attended a prayer meeting at the pastors church. After the time of prayer a collection was taken which gave us more than enough gas money to complete the trip. Truly, All things work together for good, to them that love God!

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73 Preaching in Germany

At the beginning of 2004, I was invited to speak at a prayer

conference in Berlin. After the conference was over, I had to decide whether I would return to the United States or stay in Berlin. I decided to lengthen my stay and get a return ticket to the U.S. at a later time. Every week a group of believers in the Berlin area would gather to share the gospel in an open area of Berlin known as Alexanderplatz. After a time of worshipping the Lord over loud speakers with guitars, there would be a time of sharing the good news publically. On one occasion in January, I was asked to share. Needless to say, it was quite cold outside. But what made the preaching even more challenging, was the fact that a group of Muslim boys were launching firecrackers at us. While I dont think they were really that dangerous,28 they certainly were loud and distracting. I remember several of them landing right at my feet and exploding. But with Gods help, I finished the message with the translator. On another occasion I was speaking at the same plaza. This time we found a somewhat enclosed location, since it was snowing. I felt led to preach on the sins that will keep us from heaven. While I realize that its our sin nature, not our sins that keeps us from God, I nonetheless felt led to mention sins that separate us from God. One of the sins I mentioned was homosexuality. As I spoke on this topic, one particularly irate listener came right up to myself and our translator and started screaming in our face. While there was no physical exchange,
28

Although I wasnt about to find out if I could help it!

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Adventures in Faith there was a lot of anger. But again, with Gods help, we were able to finish the message. A final time of sharing in Germany occurred later in the spring. I had come back for a brief visit. As I was walking through an open plaza, I felt the urge to share the good news. With the backdrop of a statue in back of me, I let those who were in the surrounding cafes hear the good news. thank God that once again, I had my faithful translator Klaus with me. What I found out only later was that another evangelist friend of mine travelling through the same area a few months later led several souls to the Lord right at the location of the statue! Some sow, others water, but truly God grants the increase!

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74 A Dove and Two Gifts

As summer approached in 2004, I sensed that my ministry in

Europe was over. My ministry was ineffective and I felt that I was wasting my time. In Paris one day as I was crying out in desperation to the Lord, He showed me Psalm 118:5, which says, I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. I knew that this verse contained the answer for my next assignment. I thanked the Lord for setting me in a large place. But where was it? I flew back to the United States with a friend that I had met in France. While she stayed in Virginia, I felt led to travel west to a Bible School in Dallas called Christ for the Nations, Institute (CFNI). They were looking for volunteers in the Maintenance Department. A close friend volunteered to drive me to Dallas. After arriving, the Lord opened the door for me to work, working with the Maintenance Department to prepare the campus facilities for the upcoming School Year. During one of those summer weeks, as I returned to my campus apartment at the end of the work day, a white dove was stationed upon the roof of the building where my apartment was located. This happened five days in a row! It was a confirmation for me that the Lord was with me in this new venture of faith. As the summer neared its end, the head of the maintenance department encouraged me to apply to the Bible Institute. By faith I applied and was accepted!

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Adventures in Faith But the greatest miracle occurred as classes were about to begin. I still didnt have the minimum amount needed for a student to begin classes. But I had already been assigned a room and I had a roommate. The night before the finances were due, I was talking with him. He was right out of High School. As we talked, he asked me how my registration was going. When I told him that I had a short fall, his ears perked up. Wow! he told me. I felt God had something special for me to do with the $800 that I have in the bank. Let me give it to you so that you can start in school. I was stunned, and yet very grateful. What an answer to prayer! As the school year came to a close, however, I still had an outstanding amount due on my school account. On the final day that I had been given to pay off my debt, I began to pray in tongues. I prayed throughout the day. At three in the afternoon, I received a phone call from CFNIs financial office. As I listened, I was amazed. Someone had paid off my remaining debt! To this day, that individual remains a mystery. Isnt God amazing! While He may not show up in our timing, He shows up on time!

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75 Hundreds Saved in Juarez

At the end of the fall semester at CFNI, the pastor of the

CFNI church mentioned a crusade that was taking place in Juarez, Mexico. I hadnt made any plans over the Christmas break, so I decided to go and help the missionaries over there. I took a bus to El Paso and met up with the missionary team. They were planning to do a weekend crusade, with meetings on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. An all day childrens crusade was then planned for Monday. The first three nights saw at least 50 salvations, including the healing of a woman who stepped out of a wheelchair. On Monday we made preparations for the childrens crusade. We set out toys on different tables and readied the stage for the performance. We set out the folding chairs. The day was beautiful, with hardly a cloud in the sky. The children started to come early. Around 9:30 the event began. The clowns on stage acted out various skits. The children were totally involved, laughing and shouting out at what was acted out on stage. When the children were invited to give their lives to the Lord, 1500 responded! The parents were also given an opportunity to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. About three hundred of them responded as well. Truly heavens rolls were augmented on this day! This powerful day also showed me the effectiveness of childrens ministry, which I selected as my concentration for the next semester at Christ for the Nations, Institute. On my bus trip back to Dallas, a baby was coughing without stop. Her mother was doing everything she knew to do, but 134

Adventures in Faith with no effect. The Holy Spirit prompted me to ask if I could pray for the child. After offering prayer, the baby stopped coughing. The mother and her baby, along with the other Greyhound passengers enjoyed a peaceful ride back. Praise the Lord!

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76 Please Pray for Katrina!

One of the students across the hallway from me on the eighth

floor of the mens dorm at Christ for the Nations Institute had a love for children. I invited him to help me with some of the childrens ministry that I was involved in. We became good friends. One day he looked at me sincerely with his piercing brown eyes. Please pray for Katrina, he said. From back in his home in Louisiana, he had a friend a young girl who needed prayer. He pulled out a picture of her from his wallet. This ten year old had a big place in his heart, and he wanted to see her healed of the disease in her body. Later in 2005, at the end of August, a major hurricane swept through Louisiana. Its name? Katrina! Was God warning me through this young man that He wanted prayer for something beyond this little girl? How could I have guessed? But somehow I believe that there was no coincidence that the Katrina from Louisiana who needed healing had the same name as the hurricane, which, later the same year, also needed prayer!

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77 Preaching on Election Day

The Canadian governmental elections were held in January of

2006. I had been praying and fasting for 37 days, but I did not feel a breakthrough at hand. That morning I arose and prayed about what the Lord would have me to do. I read in the news how Kobe Bryant (a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers) had scored 81 points in a game the previous night. Somehow the idea came into my mind to outdo him. But how? As I thought about it, an idea came to my mind. I had preached in most of the subway systems of the world, including London, Paris, New York, and Washington. But how about Toronto? While I had preached on another occasion, it had just been briefly in a few subway cars. But how about if I would preach in over 81 cars? Wouldnt that break the record? As crazy as it sounds, that became my goal for the day I would preach in over 81 subway cars! Around 10 that morning I started to preach. By 4 in the afternoon I had reached 81 different subway cars where I had preached the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. So I decided to surpass 100, which I did by 5 in the evening (as you can tell by doing some quick math, the message I shared was invariably short and to the point, such as the following: God loves you and offers you eternal life through Jesus Christ! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. At this point I still didnt feel that my spiritual work was done, so I went back to the home where I was staying and began to pray in tongues, which I did for the next two or three hours. Finally, just before midnight, I went to sleep.

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John D. Loewen The next morning I saw the results of the election. While I cannot say that all of my spiritual activity played a role, the candidate who most closely represented the views of the Bible won by a nose.

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78 Miracle Money
It was evening and I was hungry. I was temporarily staying at an apartment complex in Alexandria, Virginia. While I had eaten a big Chinese meal at lunch, my appetite still wasnt quenched. This may have been due to the fact that I had just completed a 44 day fast a week earlier and my body was still being replenished. I went for a walk and noticed an All you can eat Buffet. The only problem was I only had $4.00, and the buffet, including a drink was over $5.00. I had checked my wallet before heading out to find a restaurant, so there was no doubt as to my financial situation or so I thought. As I looked in my wallet just to make sure, not only did I have the $4.00, I also had a $20 bill! How did it get there? My own opinion is that an angel placed it there! With my miracle money I went and enjoyed an all you can eat Italian Buffet just before the Super Bowl started. Who said God isnt concerned about the details in your life?

It was Super Bowl Sunday, 2006.

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79 A Day in Venice Beach

was in Venice Beach, California while attending a Conference in the Los Angeles area. I found an open parking space with 49 free minutes still on the meter. I was feeling pretty good and headed toward the nearby Starbuck's. As I approached the intersection I noticed a man in a wheel chair heading straight toward me. I reached into my pocket for a vile of anointing oil and rubbed oil over my hands I was ready to pray for him and see him raised up! As he neared the curb, he looked up at me. I couldn't understand what he was saying very well, because he slurred his words somewhat. But I knew that it was a divine appointment, so I extended my hand to his and shook it. He introduced himself as Carlos and I told him that my name was John. He said, smiling, Thats a Biblical name - John the Baptist! While he was missing an arm and a leg, I didn't feel led to pray for him. Despite his obvious needs, I just felt led to listen to what he had to say. He told me that he had been waiting for 30 minutes at a restaurant nearby and that nobody had even paid any attention to him. He was hungry, and I realized that it was an opportunity given me by the Lord to show him the love of God. So I asked him where he would like to eat. He looked at me seriously. "That could be pretty expensive, you know. Its okay, I said, and waited. At first he looked at a pizza place down the road, and then turned the other direction and pointed to a place called Joe's Diner. That bore witness to me in my spirit and we headed there together.

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Adventures in Faith I pushed him to the "greasy spoon"29 and we sat down at a booth. He pulled his wheel chair up to the end. We were given menus. Since I wasn't really hungry, I just ordered a lemonade while he ordered a hot chocolate to go along with three eggs over easy with sausage and toast. As he slowly ate his meal he told me a little about his background. He was called Carlos, even though he didn't look Mexican (his hair was reddish blond and his beard was blond) because his grandfather was from Mexico. His mother was from Germany. He was originally from Dallas, but had been to Vietnam where he lost his arm and leg. He later moved to the Los Angeles area because of the nice weather and the pretty women. After he had been eating awhile he asked me about myself. I told him that I was a missionary, and that I presented the good news of salvation to people. I then did just that to him, making it as simple as possible, as it was clear that his understanding was partially limited due to excessive alcohol intake. But I could not "close the sale," so to speak, that is, ask him whether he would like to make Jesus the Lord of His life, because he cut me off. As if anticipating my question, he said "I ask God for forgiveness," he said. "You see, I am a chronic alcoholic, and God knows it. But He loves me. Jesus provides for all of my needs. Jesus has never let me down. If I have a reasonable request, let's say for a shirt or clothes of some type. He always hears me and meets my needs. I knew then that I was a response to his prayer, and that God had sent me to meet his need. But more than that, God wanted to teach me something. Here was a man who had an arm and a leg missing. He was in a wheelchair. He was a
The prices, however, were anything but greasy spoon, and I understood why he had warned me about the cost.
29

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John D. Loewen chronic alcoholic and admitted to liking to look at the pretty women. And yet he loved and acknowledged his total dependence upon the Lord. "He's never let me down", he said. "Yeah, the devil will get on my shoulder and try to get me down. But when I get discouraged, I just ask the Lord to get rid of him for me, and he goes." Actually, the Lord is my only friend. Hes here right now right by my side. And then he gestured to his right hand his only hand. I felt Gods presence in that greasy spoon restaurant near the Pacific Ocean. It was a holy moment. I felt so humbled that God was permitting me a look into the precious things of His Kingdom. Am I condoning sin? No. But, I am trying to point out that He meets us at our point of need. He is so much more gracious and merciful than we could possible imagine. He cares so much for those who cannot care for themselves. He is so infinitely compassionate. He is so tender and full of love. Speaking of a weakness in myself, I see how that as Christians we tend to be such know it alls, when in reality, we know so little. I wonder how many people God is ministering to right now, to whom we may feel superior, when in reality they are rich compared to us, or at least me. I realized that Carlos, even though he had two limbs missing and had a weakness for alcohol and women, was a very precious child of God. One that He cared enough about to meet his needs and rest next to him - and to use him to minister to a proud know it all. The waitress tapped us on our shoulders. We had been in the restaurant close to an hour. I started to think about whether I would have a parking ticket. But it was as if Carlos was aware of all those things. 142

Adventures in Faith "It's about time for us to go," he said. I opened the door for him and we slipped back out onto the sunlit sidewalk. Where are you headed? I asked. Down to the beach, he replied. Well, I'm headed down the street that direction," I retorted as I pointed the opposite way. "Perhaps I'll see you again, since I plan to be in the area a couple more days." He waved, and we went our separate ways. When I got back to the car, the time on the meter had expired, but I had no ticket. God was watching over me. After all, it was His appointment.

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80 A Miracle in Chartres

Visiting France at the end of 2007, my primary reason was to

place myself in agreement to see a large harvest of souls at the Benny Hinn crusade. During the trip, a friend whom I had met on an earlier visit invited me to come over one Saturday afternoon. While it was the same day as the second evening of the Benny Hinn crusade, I felt that God wanted me to go, so I agreed to the visit. Claudette lived within the shadows of the Cathedral of Chartres, about 60 miles from Paris. She had been just a teenager during the Allied forces invasion of France at the end of the World War II, but guarded favorable feelings towards the United States and its citizens, due to the kindness with which she and her countrymen were treated. I came with the son of a prayer leader within the Catholic Church. We had become friends during my brief stay at his parents house. We had a wonderful time of visiting and enjoying one of her superb French meals. As we gathered together after a meal, we felt the Lord leading us to spend a season in prayer. She mentioned a physical need that she had her right eye hadnt been watering for several months. After prayer, we were grateful for the time we had spent together in Gods presence. The next day I received an e-mail which presented some wonderful news. The fluids in her right eye were once again flowing normally! God had reached down and miraculously healed this precious child of His. Praise the Lord! 144

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81 Gods Glittering Gifts

During the Christmas season of 2007, I visited my sister, who

lives near Baltimore, Maryland. While staying at her place, I felt there was a purpose in me being there, but I couldnt seem to get a grip on what it was. As I was waiting for God to reveal His purpose to me, the Lord on two different occasions deposited tangible tokens of His presence to ensure me that I was in the right place. The first was in the bathroom of the bedroom suite where I was sleeping. One morning I noticed a turquoise particle, about the size of a grain of sand, sparkling on the floor. While this isnt that unusual in my experience, what was unusual is what happened in the next few hours. When I looked at the same area a couple of hours later, there were two of the sparkling particles. And shortly thereafter, the number increased to five. By evening, there were about ten to twelve of these grain sized turquoise colored objects sparkling on the floor near the entrance to the bathroom door. The next day I noticed a sparkle of the same color on the wall. Only a few days later (actually it was Christmas day), I was in downtown Baltimore. As I was sitting down to wait for a subway car, I looked down again. Once again I saw some sparkly dust sized particles. This time they were gold colored. Once again there were in the neighborhood of ten of these little particles. What a beautiful surprise Christmas present!

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82 A Day in Baltimore

One Saturday, at just after four in the afternoon, I left my

place to go down to the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. My intention was to preach the gospel, since the Harbor is a traditional gathering place of tourists, visitors and others. I parked about a mile from the Harbor and began to walk. Along the way I was able to preach to some Spanish speaking workers (Jesus los ama Jesus loves you), teenagers (three young men who were just hanging out), and last but not least, a homeless man sitting on a porch step. He is the one I would like to focus on here. When he saw my Bible, he said Oh good. You have a Bible. Let me see it. His speech was slurred, and his coordination was poor. He was evidently drunk, but since he was hungry for the Word, I gave him my Bible and sat down next to him. He said, Watch this! as if he was about to do a magic trick. Having said that he stuck one thumb in the Bible and with the other hand he opened up the Book, with much fanfare. His right index finger went up the left hand column of the right hand page. Then he opened his eyes where his index finger had stopped and read the verse. It was a verse from the Old Testament saying that He made him ride on the high places" (Deut. 32:13). He said Read it, which I obediently did. I received it as Gods Word to me and was encouraged. We went through verse after verse. After about 15 minutes, I realized that I still hadnt made it to the Harbor. So after praying with my new found friend, I shook hands and went on my way.

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Adventures in Faith Arriving at the Harbor Place, it was as I expected. Being a sunny day, many people had gathered. A magician or performer of some type had attracted a fairly large crowd. Initially, I jumped up on a 50 gallon drum, and was about to preach, when a uniformed security guard told me to get down, which I did, and began to scope out the territory. Closer to the water, I saw a sort of crossroads. People were coming from one direction, while people from the other side of the waterside were coming from the other direction. Right at that intersection seemed the perfect place to preach. After thanking the Lord for preparing me to preach through the forgiveness of my sins and the reading of His Word, I began to share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. I talked about what Jesus did on the Cross and how every person needs a Savior. I preached about Judgment, and how only the saving work of the Cross would save us from the fire of Hell. What was interesting is that the young people were the most attentive. They were listening closely especially the kids under ten years of age. It reminded me of a statistic that I heard in a School of Childrens Ministry class at Christ for the Nations Institute: 80% of people who ask the Lord into their hearts, do so by the age of 15. As I walked back to the car, I was grateful for street person who was hungry for the Word. His hunger was in contrast to the many at the Baltimore Inner Harbor who were more interested in what the magician was doing than their eternal salvation. The moral? We shouldnt judge a book by its cover!

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83 An Arrowhead in the Clouds

One of the coolest things Ive ever seen was as we were leaving Lakeland, Florida during the 2008 revival which was sponsored by Ignited Church. Traveling with a couple of other ministry partners, we had been asking God where we were to go. Assuming we were to go to the revival meeting, we headed in that direction. Just as we were heading that way, however, a member of our team, Greg looked back in the opposite direction. Much to our surprise, there was a big arrowhead formation in the clouds. Never before and never since have I seen clouds form the perfect shape of an arrowhead. Clouds generally tend to be circular and puffy in shape and formation. But this cloud formation was perfectly straight, with pointed corners! And the arrowhead formed by the clouds was pointing to Tampa opposite the direction which we had been going. Believing that the Lord had shown us this sign for a reason, we turned around and headed to Tampa. The Lord poured out His Spirit in a powerful way that night at the prayer meeting we attended in Tampa. He prophesied through the three of us in a way that encouraged the group leaders we were visiting to continue in the vision that God had given them. What if we hadnt been obedient to the sign? Certainly we all would have missed a blessing.

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84 Because of a Bible

As the Call in Washington D.C. came to a close I was about

to leave the event venue west of the national Capitol, with my friend Greg. Is this your Bible? A middle aged man who was also packing up to leave had noticed a book lying between their blanket and ours. I opened the book and scrolled down the inside cover to see if I could find a name. Sherri Golden. Hmm I dont know any But as I looked more closely I recognized the name the name that a friend of mine went by. Yeah Sherri Golden Myers sure she must have left her Bible here. I thanked our neighbor and stuck the book under my arm as I prepared to leave. We called up Sherri and told her we had found her Bible. She in turn invited us to come to her church the next day. We arrived while the praise and worship part of the Sunday morning service had already begun. I sensed a strong prophetic anointing and the Lord began showing me the vision that He had given to the pastors of the local assembly of believers. Since I wanted to make sure that I had heard from God, I decided not to share what I had been shown unless I was asked to do so. After the service was over, I left church and went to the car, where I sat down. Greg came to invite me back into the church, saying that the pastor wanted to talk with me and Karen, another member of our traveling team. As we went into the pastors office, the presence of the Lord was strong. Several prophetic words came forth, and I 149

John D. Loewen knew it was time to share what the Lord had shown me. As I did so, the husband and wife team who were pastors of the church were visibly touched. After our time of prophecy had ended, they told me that what I had shared was the vision that God had given them. They were encouraged that they were on the right path. All this because of a Bible that was left in the grass during The Call. Was it a mistake? If it was, I would call it a Divine mistake.

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85 A Touchdown for Jesus!

Just prior to the Presidential election in 2008, I was returning

from a time of prayer to the home where I was staying in Woodbridge, Virginia. About a block from my destination, I noticed a group of teenagers playing football. There were seven of them. This is the perfect number of people for street football. On offense, one person hikes the ball, and two receivers go out for passes, and the quarterback throws the ball. On defense, one person rushes the passer (usually after a predetermined waiting period), and the other two cover the wide receivers. I felt prompted to share the good news with these young men. They listened attentively to what was being shared. After I asked them, Now would you like to invite Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior? all seven of them said yes. Repeating the words of eternal life, they invited Jesus into their hearts. Lets score it a touchdown for Jesus!

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86 Coasting up to the Pump

I dont make it a practice to look for ways to stretch my faith,

but for whatever reason (perhaps because God is pleased when we exercise our faith) it seems like I am frequently being stretched nonetheless! At the beginning of 2010, I dropped off a friend in Florida. As I left to return back to South Carolina, where I was staying at the time, I had no idea how I would get back. I didnt have enough funds, but I left by faith. Along the way, I felt led to stop at a Panera Bread restaurant. Going back several years, I have seen many miracles at Panera Bread, and this was no exception. As I left the restaurant and get back on the road, all of a sudden I see a car pull up in the lane next to mine. It was a different friend who was visiting in the area. I found an exit, and he followed me. He had the gas money I needed to complete the trip. After arriving in South Carolina and having enjoyed several refreshing weeks of divine appointments, I was ready to travel up north again to Virginia. But once again my gas tank was near empty. I had cash in my pocket, but almost no gas in my car. By faith once again I started out toward the gas station. When I got to within about a quarter of a mile, the gas pedal hesitated when I depressed it. I had one of those sinking feelings in the bottom of my stomach. Nonetheless, I continued on, the engine sputtering. After a large truck passed me in the left hand lane, I turned sharply to the left, just in front of an oncoming vehicle. I

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Adventures in Faith stepped on the gas once again, but this time there was no response. My engine became silent and I began to coast. By now I had entered the gas station and was nearing the gas pump. No vehicle was at the nearest pump, so I coasted up to it, having just enough momentum to carry me all the way to the pump. I stopped at exactly the point necessary to fill my tank with gas. I was slightly stressed, but most grateful that I had just enough gas to the drop - to get me to the station!

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87 At a Crossroads
He hadnt seen his parents for a while, and I had some free time, so I had volunteered to drive him to Delaware to visit them. As we were approaching our destination near the beach, we were at a crossroads of sorts. It was Sunday morning, and we wanted to find a church service somewhere where we could fellowship with other brothers and sisters (Hebrews 10:25). We had been talking about Kerrys adventures carrying a wooden cross in both Australia and the United States. His parents had invited us to a church that was still about 15 minutes away. We realized that if we went to that service, we would probably be late. We were at a crossroads, and we prayed to God to show us which church to go to. We had no sooner finished praying then we noticed a policeman directing traffic ahead of us, helping to make a way for the cars heading out from a church service that was letting out. The traffic had come to a near standstill. As we looked at the name of the church, we noticed that it was Crossroads! God had heard out prayer. We gratefully turned into the church parking lot. As we walked into the sanctuary, we felt Gods presence. We had come just in time to be blessed by an anointed Fathers Day service!

I was with my friend Kerry.

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88 In the Course of an Hour

I had just walked out of an evening meeting at the Calvary

Pentecostal Tabernacle (CPT) Campground, in Ashland, Virginia. I walked into the snack bar and said hi to a friend of mine who had a strong prophetic gift. The last time I had seen him, he had shared his concern about his living situation. I prayed for him, that God would open a door, figuratively and literally. He then prophesied over my life, speaking forth a desire in my heart that only God could have known. In the ensuing weeks, God had opened a door for him and given him a new place to live! As I was thanking God for His goodness, my friend looked at me and said, I see you on an airplane. I nodded my head in agreement to what he had said, thinking that in Gods timing, He would send me back to the mission field. Little did I realize that I would be booked on a flight to Chicago within the next 60 minutes! A few minutes later I was walking across an open area on the CPT property. I heard my name called: Hey John! Jason wanted to talk to me. I walked over to him and he handed me a wad of bills. Youll need this for your trip. The Lord told me to give this to you, he said. What trip is he talking about? I thought to myself. Then it hit me: A month earlier during my brief visit to Atlanta, Illinois, over the Christmas and New Years holiday, Pastor Dan Scalf had invited me to go with him on a missions trip to Wisconson! I called up Pastor Dan in Illinois to confirm that he was still going on the trip. As it turned out, he had already completed his first stop on the planned five day, five meeting

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John D. Loewen trip. But please, he said to me. I would love to have you travel with me. I asked him which airport I should book my flight to, and he suggested OHare in Chicago. A few minutes later, I had booked a flight to Chicago. I was astonished at how quickly God was answering the prophetic word that had just been spoken over me! The next day Pastor Dan picked me up at OHare as planned. We stopped for a late lunch with a friend of his who lived in Elgin, Illinois. This mans son headed up the local branch of the International House of Prayer, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri. We then continued on to Beloit, for our meeting.

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89 Christ the Rock, Our Chief Cornerstone

As I was on the airplane flying toward Chicago, I felt the Lord

leading me to study the theme(s) of Christ the Rock, our Chief Cornerstone. This was an area that He had been leading me to look at for about a month. I was grateful that the Holy Spirit was giving me greater insight into the significance of Christ the Rock (I Corinthians 10:4). This theme was closely related to that of Him being called the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Both of the analogies reveal the foundational importance of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. After being picked up at OHare Airport by my friend Dan, we stopped for a lunch time meal at a suburban home of one of his friends and ministry associates. We then continued to Beloit, Wisconsin which is just across the state line from Rockford, Illinois. What I didnt realize prior to my arrival is that the Rock River flows through both of these Midwestern cities, and that the latter was actually located in Rock County! When I shared the prophetic significance of what I felt the Lord was revealing to me, later that evening, two of the intercessors nodded that indeed the Lord had also spoken to them along the same lines. After a wonderful evening meeting, we headed for Spring Green, Wisconsin, where we were to minister the next morning. As I walked to the Church on Sunday morning, I shouldnt have been surprised by the name of the church: Cornerstone. After Pastor Dans message was complete, I talked with the Churchs youth leader. As I shared some of the areas of Scrip157

John D. Loewen ture about which the Lord had been speaking to me, he confirmed that several years ago he had received a prophetic word that he would be like a rock. Truly the Lord was watching over His Word to perform it!

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90 A Vision is Fulfilled in Milwaukee

Pastor Daniel Scalf and I continued our adventure across the

upper Midwest, and in particular, Wisconsin, the day after our meeting in Spring Green, as we travelled to Milwaukee. We first stopped for a few hours in Occonomowac, where we fellowshipped with Pastor Michael and Annie Fisher and their family. After a delicious lasagna supper, we travelled on to the church facility, which was located near the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee campus. What followed could only be described as a blowout service. The praise and worship was anointed and led us into the presence of God. The team was made up primarily of students at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. In fact the majority of the 50 or so people present at the meeting on the snowy Monday night were from that campus. It was amazing how the Lord followed the plan that He had shown me in advance, from the prophetic prayer following the worship, to the prophetic ministry at the end of the service. Once again, the Lord spoke prophetically about Christ the Cornerstone the theme of the trip which He had shown me on the plane flight into Chicago. Once again, the name of the fellowship was Cornerstone! The Lord had shown me that a challenge would be issued to the congregation to Go Ye, that is to say, to fulfill the Great Commission. After Pastor Dan had finished his anointed message, we had a time of more worship. Gratefully, the worship leader sensed the Lords heart beat and along with Pastor Michael, encouraged all of those who were ready to be obedient to the Lords Commission to come 159

John D. Loewen forward. Essentially the whole congregation advanced to be sent into the mission field. At that point, the vision God had shown me prior to the meeting came to pass. A prophetic anointing enabled each individual desiring to be part of the Lords evangelistic army to receive a word of encouragement and exhortation to go forth. By the time the meeting was over, it was midnight. The snow was falling on the Milwaukee streets, a sign of His purifying presence blanketing the region.

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91 The Master Multiplies the Music

I realize that the expression "signs and wonders" tends to be

overused, so I try to use it advisedly. But I can't think of any other way to describe what happened as we were preparing to go minister to a new believer at her home in Montataire, France. Whenever God desires to make His Kingdom known to the world, He works through miracles, signs, and wonders. Look at the book of Acts - it is a book of signs, wonders, and miracles. Another reason God moves in signs and wonders is to be a blessing to mankind. When you look at the ministry of Jesus, notice the multiplication of the bread and fish. Why did he multiply the bread and the fish? To feed the people! God is caring and compassionate. He meets our needs down to the smallest detail! He wants us to be filled with joy and fully flourishing. But more than anything, He wants to have a relationship with us so that we can not only be blessed on this earth, but also in the life to come. For God, the "supernatural" is natural. Because He is a Spirit, He operates in the spiritual realm. In the spirit realm there is no time, distance, or physical barriers. Therefore, the limitations that we often place upon ourselves disappear when we enter this realm. Perhaps for the period of time which I will describe following, I was living in that dimension. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, May 4, 2011, God multiplied an album of worship CDs. It was composed of five praise and worship CDs that I had bought the previous week. Since my finances were limited, I knew that I needed to make a wise purchase when I went to the Christian book store in Paris. Should I get the Benny Hinn worship CD or should I 161

John D. Loewen get the Hillsong CD? I wondered. I finally decided on getting a CD from the UK, only because it seemed like the best deal for the money. There were five CD's in the package, and it was only 9.95 Pounds, or about 14 Euros (about $20.00). I didn't know what the music would be like because it was packaged generically, but it turned out to be really anointed. Many people in France need deliverance, because the nation has largely never been evangelized. As we were about to leave go minister to a lady and help her with deliverance, I was cleaning up the room a little before we left. I picked up the worship CD album case, which I couldn't miss, because it because it was packaged with a bright yellow cover. As I did, I saw another one just like it underneath it! In other words, where there had been one CD worship album, there were now two! Now, I know that I didn't buy two, because of my finances, so the only answer is that God gave me another one just like it! Why? To be a blessing to the lady to whom we were about to minister!

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92 Buddha is Beheaded

When we got to the apartment, we found out that the lady had
already begun to "house clean." She had already gotten together all of her statues of saints, and other pagan paraphernalia that she thought might be suspect. It was clear that the Holy Spirit had already shown her a lot, and we had much less work to do than had we started from scratch. As we walked around to find any objects which remained, we noticed a small statue which she had missed. In front of it was a small Buddhist shrine, neatly combed with a miniature rake, the sand revealing parallel lines. Reaching for the statue of Buddha, the woman was shocked to find that the head had been broken off. The shrine in front of the idol sheltered it from human hands, and there was no way that the statue could have been broken without the shrine in front of it being affected and the sand disturbed. I was later reminded of I Samuel 5:4: " And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him."

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93 Some Gutsy Guys Get the Gospel

oming back from a visit to the region near Toulouse in Southern France, I was overtaken by a burden of intercession. I was driving the van for the church which we had just sponsored a retreat in southern France. We had stopped for lunch, but although I hadnt had anything to eat all day, I still wasnt hungry. Not knowing what to do, I got into the van and began to pray in the spirit. A couple of the other passengers got in and we began to pray. Various tongues and groans poured out of my spirit. I had a very heavy burden, and I wasnt immediately sure why. It had been raining all morning. After the remaining passengers had returned from their lunch, we got back onto the highway and continued on our drive back to Paris. Stopping at another rest stop a couple of hours later, I noticed a group of rugby players. There must have been at least 30 of them. They were seated next to the team bus, obviously taking a break. It was the perfect time to share the Good News, and I was able to tell these young French men about Gods good plan for their lives and His gift of eternal life offered through Jesus Christ. About an hour later, we received a phone call from the church pastors; one of the ladies in the congregation was about to give birth and was having contractions. It then occurred to me that I had been praying for the spiritual condition of the rugby players that I would meet later in the day, as well as for the birth of a new born baby! Through prayer there is no distance between the spiritual and the natural.

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94 A Home Run in a Horse Town

Im not sure why, but it seems like I always end up dashing through the airport to catch my plane. One of my theories is that God loves France so much that He tries to prevent everyone with a heart for souls from leaving. My most recent trip was no exception. But before I left, during the four months In Chantilly, the Lord allowed us to see many souls saved in the town. Forty seven new names were recorded in the Book of Life in this town. Chantilly is known for several things, including its cream, lace, and beautiful castle. But more than anything, it is known for its horses. Not only are two of the four most important horse races in France held in this city of about 11,000 people, but around 3,000 horses are stabled and trained in the town and the surrounding area. The day of my departure to return to the United States, I noticed a group of teen agers waiting for a bus. I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me to talk to two of them in particular. As I started sharing the Gospel, a couple more of their friends joined them. The final result of this interaction: Four of them gave their lives to the Lord. A home run for Jesus!

Leaving France always seems to be a challenge.

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John D. Loewen

About the Author

John David Loewen has served as a missionary in various capacities. In Guatemala and Belarus he visited various childrens homes and orphanages. In France and Germany he was involved in intercession, evangelism, and church planting. In Benin and Togo, West Africa he was part of an Evangelistic outreach with a team led by Apostle Donald Lee which planted three churches. Additionally, he has taken trips throughout the United States and Canada on various prayer and evangelistic assignments. John can be contacted at: johndloewen@gmail.com

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