Can I say that this is the greatest revival I have ever seen? Yes! Last week was revival time for the Thomonde church. Pastor Jean Robert was the evangelist. In preparation for the revival, we had a prayer meeting on the Sunday afternoon previous to the revival, from 4-5 P.M. It seemed even then, that we could sense something special about to happen in our church.

On Tuesday, the first evening of revival arrived. Pastor Jean Robert preached a message on getting a double blessing. Around 100 people sought the Lord that first night.

Wednesday morning was chapel service for the morning high school. God came in a wonderful way saving several tough students. One student had been rebellious, arguing with his teachers, but God came that morning and changed his heart.

Wednesday night, people came expecting great things. After a simple gospel truth, people flooded to the altar. Afterward, the testimonies lasted until past 9 P.M. Each night, our prayer service began at 5 P.M. You can see that we heard a lot of testimonies in just that 3^rd revival service. One young man named Willy got up and shouted over and over, “I’m saved! I’m saved!” Today, a week later, I talked to him and the joy is still on his face.

Because the Wednesday morning chapel service was such a blessing, the teachers of the high school continued the morning services for the high school, Thursday through Saturday. It was during the Thursday morning service that a teenage girl named Mika made her way forward to testify. She said that she was haunted by evil spirits who threatened her at every turn. She was physically weak from their attacks. As we gathered around her to pray that she would be free, she began to writhe. About 8 of us prayed that she would be liberated in the name of Jesus. After we prayed for about 20 minutes, she became peaceful.

During the Thursday night service, Pastor Jean Robert asked for those who knew the power of prayer to gather around Mika and pray for her. She was in pain. As she was led forward, she became unconscious. A mighty volume of prayer went up for this young lady. After about 20 minutes of prayer, she revived and began walking around the church holding her hand in the air in praise to God. During the altar service, she sought the Lord again. During the time for testimonies, she stood to say, “I feel that I am delivered.” We rejoiced with her. The testimonies on Thursday night lasted until about 10 P.M. As the revival went on, I began to notice more and more people making public confessions.

During the Wednesday night service, one young lady named Kedma told the entire church that she had been a hypocrite, singing in the choir and youth group, while she was actually a backslider. God had now changed her heart.

Two high school students confessed that they had thoughts of suicide, but God touched them. One young man said that he planned on bringing a weapon to the school so that he could fight it out with the high school principal, Met Alphonse. He asked Met Alphonse to forgive him.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I witnessed remarkable scenes. A young boy, named Jean Indsi, asked his two older brothers to come to the front of the church for “judgment.” He then began to confess how he had been angry at his brothers. He had grabbed a rock to throw at one of his brothers. Another time, he grabbed an axe to hit his brother, but a neighbor woman stopped him. He confessed a deluge of sins. He asked forgiveness and his brothers not only forgave him but asked his forgiveness as well for some of the ways they had mistreated him.

A mother went to the front of the church to testify. She asked her two daughters to come forward. She confessed to abusing her children in the home. She would hit and kick them quite regularly, out of a carnal spirit. She asked their forgiveness.

Friday night after the service ended, a young lady named Meelen came forward wanting to get saved. Though many people had already left the church, I invited several of our Christians to pray with her at the altar. She said she was saved that night. She introduced us to her dad, Jackson, who had not left the church even though it was about 10 P.M. We began to talk to him about his soul. He said that he had only one hangup, cigarettes. As we encouraged him to give them up, he suddenly said something like, “Ok, I’m ready to get saved.” Just a few minutes after his daughter prayed for salvation, he prayed for salvation. He was quite happy when he rose from prayer and began to attend the evening services from then on. Saturday night, he brought his wife, who also asked for prayer that she would be converted. It was beautiful to see the whole family standing together as a testimony to God’s grace.

During the revival I was just amazed that many children of members and leaders of our mission were getting saved. These children have held out for many years against the Lord, but now they were coming in one after the other. Pastor Jean Robert preached the revival and saw three of his rebellious children seeking God repeatedly. One of his other sons was saved last year, but to see three more of his children seeking God in this revival was refreshing.

Samuel saw 3 of his children pray through to salvation. Barbara, his oldest daughter, seemed to really get the victory. She testified at least twice to the work that God had done in her heart. She asked her dad to come forward in front of the whole church and she asked his forgiveness for how she had treated him.

Penoir is one of our Thomonde church leaders. His son Bloom sought the Lord throughout the revival. Yesterday, Bloom was on my front porch with some other friends seeking spiritual council and good reading material.

Sunday morning and Sunday night were the climax of the revival. The church was almost packed Sunday morning. Pastor Jean Robert spoke about being a good soldier for Jesus Christ. Perhaps two thirds of the congregation went forward to seek God at the end of the service. The testimonies lasted until about 3 that afternoon. Sunday school started at 9 A.M. and we didn’t dismiss service until 6 hours later!

The most touching testimony happened when a little boy, 6 years old, confessed in front of the church that he had been taking food that his mother told him not to touch. This little guy wasn’t much bigger than my boy Carlin, and his testimony moved the church to tears.

Sunday night, we were in the middle of the song service, when I invited seekers to come forward. At first, nothing happened and then a flood of people rushed forward to seek God. The volume of prayer was something which I wish you could have heard. Then above it all, I heard something else. I looked up from my praying to see the curtains in the church blowing. A steady rain was beginning to pour down on the church roof, even though Pastor Jean Robert told me that he had seen nothing but a little white cloud before the service. When the church people heard the rain, it seemed that almost everyone felt that it was a sign of God’s blessing. The volume of prayer once again rose to the heavens.

That night, two sisters in law were reconciled. Madame Luxon and Madame Sully had been at odds for five years, but as they embraced each other in front of the church, old grievances were put aside.

Testimony after testimony continued as the rain turned into a rushing downpour in the middle of what is supposed to be dry season! Finally, we invited all the new converts to come forward for a special time of prayer. Pastor Jean Robert and Emmanuel Monne had kept a list of all those who prayed through. Their total that night reached 72 people, though that did not include two people who prayed for salvation at the end of the service. It did not include, many church members who had backslid and now were getting back to God. I asked each church member to pick a new convert as we prayed. It was a beautiful sight as about 40 new converts stood face to face with the church members in a large semicircle. We began to pray that God would keep the new converts in the days ahead.

The revival fires did not end Sunday night. Monday afternoon, about 10 young people were at my door seeking Bibles, spiritual books and booklets. Yesterday, about five young men came to my door. For about 30 minutes, we talked about many spiritual truths. Tonight’s Wednesday service will be a time for praise and testimonies. It certainly won’t be a dead and dry service!

Yesterday, Flerimon, one of our Haitian brothers told me that this reminded him of the revival which he had read about in the booklet, “When the Spirit’s Fire Swept Korea.” After the remarkable things that have happened, I would agree that the Spirit’s fire is sweeping the dross away at Thomonde. Praise the Lord!  Keep praying for us here at Thomonde.