Hamilton and Bruce were hardly a week in Pakistan when President Musharraff plunged the country into uncertainty by declaring a state of emergency. All independent news outlets were shut down, and any public gathering of more than 5 people banned. Pat, Mike, Todd, Blake and Linda flew from Portland that day, fully committed to the work of the Lord. Many of our partners called assuring us of their prayers.

The city government of Lahore showed great favor to us, allowing the crusade to continue under the blanket of ‘no public meetings.’ The words of the police chief were, “What you are doing is good for the city. It brings peace and blessing to the people. We need this. ”Unfortunately, many people were reluctant to venture out at night due to the emergency conditions and the crowd was smaller than usual, but God still blessed the meetings powerfully. The gospel was clearly preached and each night hundreds declared their intention to follow Jesus. There were many wonderful miracles. Many received the baptism with the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues.

After Hamilton ministered to the crowd by rebuking sickness, disease and demonic oppression, people came forward each night to testify of healings and deliverance. It is such a powerful testimony that Jesus has risen and that there is power in His name. It is a key to the ongoing revival in Pakistan.

The crusade was preceded by two days of house church training. We also spent parts of three days talking with evangelists and house church leaders about how to be more effective in their ministries. For the church to penetrate society, evangelism and discipleship has to continue far beyond the perimeter of the crusade grounds and the walls of the church. House churches are the vehicle.

As we have often seen, miracles continue to pave the way for house church planting. We stress simple meetings with everyone participating as they study the Word together. All agree that the goal is to reach the whole nation. Many women have taken hold of the teaching and are very successful church planters. We continue to encourage Chr i s t ian backg round believers to reach beyond their cultural zone into the heart of the nation.

The first phase of construction of Pastor Anwar’s new Eternal Life Ministry Center is progressing nicely. The site is where the church was birthed over seven years ago in the living room of Pastor Anwar’s rented house. The land was purchased through the generous giving of River of Life Ministries supporters. The original structures were demolished, and now the walls of the first floor are going up. The government of Pakistan allocated $100,000 for the first phase of construction. Upon completion, the ministry center will stand four stories tall and house the 24 Hour Hallelujah Prayer Center, a Bible school, television broadcast facilities, offices and large gathering halls for services. Please continue to pray for the successful completion of this project.

One afternoon we visited a brick making complex at Raokhanwala near the Indian border. It reminded us of scenes straight from ‘The Ten Commandments,’ as workers were making bricks by hand under the open sky. Workers there (including children) live and work under very primitive conditions. Entire families live in tiny one room quarters. The team was touched by how hard the men, women and children were working, and by how little they had. Yet they had the joy of the Lord in them and were very excited that the team had come to visit them.

After the first house church training in 2005, a worker from the church in Lahore became burdened for these people and took public transport 90 minutes one way once a week to spend time with them. He started preaching to the workers outdoors while they worked. After two years, there are 40 house churches with 20-40 people in each group. Local leaders have been raised up, and much of the workforce in the area has come to Christ.

Young girl working in brick factory outside of Lahore, Pakistan.

Testimonies from the 2007 crusade

• Two brothers who were born mute spoke for the first time at the meeting
• A person told of his cancer disappearing (Doctor confirmed healing)
• A lame man who came in on crutches left walking normally
• A lady with a blind eye had her sight restored
• A lady was healed of cancer. This was confirmed by her doctor
• A baby with a hole in its heart was healed, confirmed by doctor
• A lady with a terminal illness, who had been told by her doctor to wrap up her affairs, was prayed for and healed.
• A man with two defective heart valves that would not open properly was healed
• Another on kidney dialysis was healed and now had normal kidney function.