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- Crusades -

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Mission to Lira

ABUNDANT LIFE HEALING CRUSADE 10TH TO 15TH MARCH 2008, LIRA-UGANDA

Abundant Life International Ministries (ALIM) carried out a crusade in Lira. Lira is one of the towns
that have suffered with the rebel activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda.

Pastor Ernest and Thelma Howie, the vision bearers of ALIM held a spiritual restoration and healing Crusade
in town from 10th to 15th March 2008. The couple was joined by a team from Abundant Life
Christian Fellowship, a church where they both pastor. The members of the team were; Dorah Nyathela, June Carlow,
Pastor Ernie and Faye Clifford and Nathaniel Whiteman. On the way to Lira, the ministry team faced a number
of challenges with transport due to serious mechanical breakdowns, but the Lord safely delivered the team to Lira.
During this time of ministry, the team carried out prison ministry, Hospital and street preaching ministries.
God honored His Word during this ministry. 2380 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ,
a man that was born blind received his sight and many were delivered
from the various oppressions that the devil had inflicted on them.

ORIENTATION
The second day of the ministry team in Lira was exciting. The team launched their
first activity to Lira referral hospital and Lira Health Centre. Later in the day, the team led by
Pastor Ernest dedicated a borehole to God and handed it over to the community.
The borehole was funded by Abundant Life International Ministries through the Howie Christian Charitable Trust (HCCT).

CRUSADE
The crusade took place from 12th to 15th January 2008.
The crusade started with a Jesus march through the town of Lira.
God honoured the ministry team and Pastor Ernest and Thelma in particular, and the anointing
flowed down to the crowd. As a result 2380 people became born again Christians and many were
healed from different ailments. Many people came to the team and they were prayed for.
Many testified that the Lord had ministered to them specifically during these individual moments of prayer.
Counseling sessions were also carried out by the team to various individuals and in the process,
many received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.
Praying for the sick and those with various needs was a continuous process and was always
concluded at the end of every preaching session by Pastor Ernest together with the entire team on the platform.

Many miracles happened during the crusade and more so when Pastor Ernest and Thelma
started to break the powers of the enemy among the people, their families and the land.
A man who was born blind received his sight and praised the Lord for the healing he has received.
A woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for over a year received her deliverance during one of the meetings.
All these miracles confirmed God’s presence among the crowd and to this we give Him praise.

Crowds listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed by Pastor Ernest during the Crusade

PRAISE AND WORSHIP
Moments of Praise and worship were very thrilling and this was enjoyed by all to the glory of God.
The interchurch mass choir was the major channel of praise during the crusade.
The offering of Praise and worship rose up to the heavens and God released his power upon the sons of men during the meetings.
The Lord moved greatly among the crowds and many were set free from the bondage of sin by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
The praise team was so focused that even when the heavy rains came during the second day of the meeting,
they were not distracted from thee vision to lead the crowd to God’s presence.

STREET PREACHING
The ministry team carried out street evangelism.
The ministry team went out on the streets on three separate occasions to preach the gospel.
The street preaching sessions were strategically organized in conjunction with the local
pastors at locations where churches existed. During these meetings, Many people received healing as the team
prayed with them and above all, many gave their lives to Jesus Christ and were reconciled
with our Father in heaven. Those who accepted Jesus as Lord and savior
filled decision cards and they where given to the local pastors for follow-up.

Pastor Ernie Clifford preaching during the street evangelism. 199 people made a commitment to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

To the Glory of God, this man received his sight during the crusade.
He was born blind and this is his first time to see.

CONFERENCE
The conference was organized for Pastors and Leaders in and around Lira.
This started on the 13th to the 15th of March with 300 pastors and leaders in attendance.
The conference started at 9.30am with about one hour of prayer, praise and worship.
The different topics that where handled included integrity among church leaders,
the authority of the church ie who the believers are and what they are to do as empowered by the Word of God.
The conference was intended to help the church leaders and Pastors to know their position in the
Kingdom of God as well as the ability to assert their authority against the works of the enemy.
Pastor Ernest assured the leaders that they are well able to take the Land for Jesus.
The leaders and pastors made a choice to believe the report of the Lord
that they have His ability in them to conquer the spiritual enemies of God.

SCHOOL MINISTRY
The team ministered in four secondary schools and one primary school.
The activities in schools included praise and worship, testimonies and a message from one of the team members.
Most thrilling among many testimonies was that of Nathaniel Whiteman,
a young man who openly shared his life experience on how he almost lost everything
to the devil until he gave his life to Jesus Christ last year. Since then the Lord has restored his j
oy and peace and on this note, he called upon the students to take Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

HUMANITARIAN

i) Prison
The team carried out ministry in 2 prisons. In the main prison, the team was welcomed
by the Officer in Charge (OC) who introduced them to the inmates. Pastor Ernie Clifford preached
and over 42 prisoners gave their lives to Jesus. Likewise, in Erute prison, Dorah preached together with
June and 38 inmates got saved. The team presented gifts of cooking oil, soap, blades, soap,
blankets and Vaseline. The Officers in Charge were grateful for the gesture of love that was
demonstrated by the team from Abundant Life International Ministries.
They thanked the church for thinking about the prisoners in their programmes. The OC at
Erute prison in his comments said that prisons never change lives,
it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes the difference.

ii) Hospital
The ministering team visited Lira Regional hospital and Lira Health Centre.
At the time of the visit, there were 430 patients in the
main hospital and 45 in the Health Centre. The team prayed for the sick and
presented to each one of them a gift of soap, Sugar, Milk and energy drinks as a token of their love in
Christ Jesus. Many patients and members of their families accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Above, Fayal Clifford prays with a patient at Lira hospital. Below is Pastor Ernie leading the medical staff into a prayer of confession to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

RADIO PROGRAMME
Pastor Ernest and Thelma ministered on Radio Rhino, a local radio broadcasting service.
The Pastors shared with the audience the love of Jesus Christ that has compelled them to organize the crusade.
They shared about how God hooked them into Ministry at a time when they were preparing to retire.
Pastor Ernest and Thelma first came to Uganda in 2005 and since then, they have returned to the country 15 times.
They are involved in providing clean water to communities by sinking boreholes.
Eleven boreholes have been dug in Uganda in the past two years.
Pastor Ernest and Thelma at the radio programme called upon the people of Lira to choose
Jesus for Life or reject him for eternal destruction, prayed for the salvation of the people and spiritual revival in the land.

Borehole
In line with the vision of ALIM to present the full gospel, Pastor Ernest and Thelma
together with the entire team dedicated and inaugurated the borehole to the Ayego community in Lira Municipality.

Pastor Ernest and Thelma Inaugurating the borehole at Ayago ward Lira Municipality

The borehole became the first and only source of clean water in the community.
The women’s political representative to the Municipal council brought a sample of water
from the stream that the community had been depending upon for drinking and other
domestic work for many years to confirm how grateful the community was.
In attendance during the inauguration was the mayor of Lira Municipal council who also
expressed gratitude and called for more collaboration between ALIM and the municipality.

CONCLUSION
The crusade was the first of its kind in Lira town in the recent past.
Many people gave their lives to Christ for the first time while others renewed their commitment to
Jesus Christ as their Lord and saviour. Considering the visible, the Ayego community was overwhelmingly
happy for the provision of clean water. We bless the name of the Lord for the many people who choose
to reconcile with him through salvation in Christ Jesus and our prayer is that they will stand.
We praise God for our prayer partners for holding the banner high while the mission
team was at the forefront. And we pray God’s blessings upon you and your families.

Report by
ALIM-Uganda

All Pictures Copyright © AbundantLifeNI.co.uk

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