Nov. 22, Conquistando Fronteras, Mexico City, Mexico
Sunday 2:15 p.m.: Greetings from the Mexico City airport, where I am checked in and waiting for my flight to Atlanta to board. We had two great services this morning. The house seats 1200, first service was nearly packed, and second service was packed to the gills — with adults — the children meet elsewhere. The harvest is ripe in Mexico. In both services, scores of people waved their hands to indicate they were healed, after healing prayer. Around 22 people made first-time public statements of faith, between the two services. Invitations are made every week, so this is the kind of harvest that is being reaped here weekly. Just fantastic. My message was, “Wait on God!” I looked at the three times Saul blew it by not waiting on God, and how David learned from his example.
I got hit with a bacterial bug from something I ate, and Saturday afternoon I was swimming in dizziness. A doctor was sent, he prescribed some stuff, and I was stable enough to minister this morning. I’m still 20% dizzy, but so much better than I was. Definitely on the way up.
This is a happy season to be heading home. Thanksgiving! We don’t have any out-of-town family coming in this year, so it will be just the KC-based family. Wednesday I’m doing a Science City excursion with the grandkids, and then Thursday we’re gathering for a happy family celebration. I hope you have a wonderful, thankful week.
Nov. 18-20, Amigos Leadership Conference, Mexico City, Mexico; www.conquistandofronteras.org
Wednesday: Good morning, praying friends! I’m in the plane, on my way to Mexico City (via Atlanta). This will be my second time to the Amigos Leadership Conference in Mexico City, hosted at a church called Conquistando Fronteras. (I was there 2 years ago.) This church is on the front lines of the work in Mexico, one of Mexico’s leading ministries. Approximately 1000 people typically attend this event. If you’re interested, the church site is www.conquistandofronteras.org. Here’s my speaking schedule: Wednesday 7:40 p.m., Thursday 7:40 p.m., Friday 5:30 p.m., and Sunday morning two services. The conference convenes Wed to Fri, and then I’m staying over to do two of their three Sunday services (my Sunday departure leaves during the third service).
Please come with me to CDMX (Ciudad Mexico). I invite you to join me in contending for a strong impartation of the Holy Spirit. Pastors and leaders will be gathering from all over Mexico. May the Lord give each one a word!
Wednesday 11:30 p.m.: Tonight’s session was graced of the Lord in a strong way. I’m not sure what everyone else experienced, but the Lord’s nearness was very sweet to me personally. A good launch.
Thursday 11:30 p.m.: Tonight I spoke on an eye covenant, and in all honesty was laboring hard to not get distracted with the clock. I kept trying to make the message as concise as possible, and sometimes when you trim off the fat you lose some of the elements that make the message more palatable. But the Lord helped, and I believe helped to overcome some of my own inner distractions. The service ended with virtually everyone coming forward for the laying on of hands ministry, to consecrate themselves in a fresh way to the Lord. The Lord was clearly present and at work. So my heart is grateful.
Saturday 9:00 a.m.: Good morning, it’s a lovely day here. In my session yesterday I spoke on Loyalty, and the response was very warm. Strong feedback. Masvida in Morelia (Andres Spyker’s ministry) is in process of translating the Loyalty book into Spanish, it should be published sometime in 2016. I was sorry it was not available yesterday, but at least I could announce its coming release. There seemed to be a general sense that this is a message for Mexico at this time.
I have today to myself at the hotel, and I have much to do. Including preparing for tomorrow’s sermon. I am speaking in the first two of their three Sunday services, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. I cannot stay for the 1:00 p.m. service because of a 3:30 p.m. departure out of CDMX. Hopefully they can show the video of the message in the third service.
Nov. 13-14, Alive Worship Conference, City On A Hill Church, Federal Way, WA
Friday morning: This morning I am flying to Seattle (via Minneapolis) to participate in an event called “Alive Worship Conference.” This conference is hosted by City On A Hill Church in Auburn, WA, and it will be my second time at this church. This is a unique church in America—it’s a Russian church, pastored by a Russian-speaking brother whose English is extremely limited, and who does all his ministry in Russian, using an English interpreter in most contexts. There is a large Russian population in the Seattle area, and this church draws around 700 Russian-speaking adults between its two campuses on the north and south sides of Seattle. Their offices are located literally around the corner from the ministry center of my dear friends, Gary & Marie Wiens, who direct IHOP-Northwest in Federal Way, WA. IHOP-NW is cosponsoring this event, along with a number of other churches whose worship ministries will be helping to lead over the course of the conference. The conference organizer, Yuri, is the worship pastor at City On A Hill, and this conference is an extension of a worship training school that he conducts. I believe this conference is his first such conference, and so we’re all looking forward to what God will do.
If you’re interested, you can see more about the event at this link: aliveworshipschool.org/conference-2015
I am scheduled to speak Friday and Saturday evening, Sunday morning at the north campus, and Sunday afternoon at the south campus. The south campus is the main campus, and their service is at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays because they use the facilities of another church in the area, and can’t gain access to the facilities on Sundays until the afternoon.
One of the features of the conference is an all-night prayer room on Friday night. Incense will be arising all night long to the Lord!
In good Seattle fashion, rain is forecast for the entire weekend, smile.
I need and covet your prayer help. I am asking the Lord to put fresh fire upon my heart, and to enable me to declare His heart faithfully to those who gather.
Saturday 3:00 pm: Marvelous service last night. The worship ministry at this church is excellent musically, has spiritual depth, and passion — and then when they get to singing Russian, you come out of your skin. What a delight to be here! The Lord graced me to speak clearly last night, and the message set a good tone for the 24-hour prayer watch this event is conducting. They’ve had continual all-night worship and prayer from Friday night’s meeting to tonight’s, which begins (Saturday) at 7:00 p.m. I will be going over there in a few minutes, to join in on the prayer watch, and then stay for the evening meeting.
Sunday 10:00 pm: Greetings from the Seattle airport, where I am leaving at 10:30 p.m. for a red-eye special to Atlanta, and then a morning connection to KC, arriving into KC around 9:30, the Lord helping. The Saturday night service was excellent, with strong ministry around the altar at the end. The altar was filled with musicians, singers, worship leaders, sound operators, etc. A great conclusion to the conference. Then, we had wonderful services today (Sunday). The first service was an English service at the north campus at 12:45 p.m., the service was well attended, with an excellent spirit in the midst. Ease of ministry. Followed by Communion. Sweet. Then I was driven straight to the south campus to speak in the main Russian service of the weekend, which starts at 2:30 p.m. I got there at the close of worship, around 3:15 p.m. We had to wait a bit for my translator to arrive, and then we stepped onto the platform. I brought the same message again, on the Cross. One person at the first and seven people at the second came forward to express for the first time, publicly, their loyalty to the cross. I was told afterwards that it’s unusual for the Slavic people to come forward to an altar response like that, as they are very reserved. So it was great. And then a number of others joined them, who were responding not for the first time, but were wanting to come forward and renew their loyalty to the cross. The Lord was moving clearly and strongly upon those who came forward. A wonderful weekend.
Nov. 11, Korean pastors, IHOPKC
Wednesday 10:30 pm: I’m back home from teaching tonight to a group of Korean pastors and leaders who are doing a week-long intensive at IHOPKC, my second time to minister to this group. I spoke on Luke 18, the persistent widow. The Lord graced the message in a clear way, and there seemed to be strong encouragement and impartation through the ministry of the word. My heart is glad.
Nov. 7-8, Mas Vida, Morelia, Mexico
Tuesday morning: This morning as I was entering IHOPKC, I was stopped by a brother who introduced himself to me, he labors at the Warsaw House of Prayer in Poland. He told me that my three books which are in Polish are favorites among the believers there. (This year three of my books were published in Polish: Fire of Delayed Answers, Between the Lines, and Secrets.) It was great to meet Maciej, bless him in your prayers today please.
Thursday 9:30 p.m.: I’m just back from a session with a group of Korean pastors and leaders who are at IHOPKC for their first time. None of them had heard me speak before, and surprisingly, virtually none of them had read any of my Korean books. So we were all new to each other. I spoke on the taking of the stronghold of Zion. The translator struggled to hear me, so a few minutes into it we had to stop and reconfigure the seating in the room — but then it seemed to be better for her, she was able to hear me better, and the translation seemed to flow much more smoothly. It was a good night, with good ministry afterwards.
Saturday: This morning Marci and I are leaving our house at 4 a.m. to get a very early flight to Houston. This early flight was our only option, so that we can make our connecting flight to Morelia, Mexico. We are thrilled to be able to be with our friends, Andres and Kelly Spyker, along with their family, ministry team, and fabulous congregation in Morelia. In the Saturday 6 pm service I will speak on an eye covenant. Then I will do a different message in the three Sunday morning services—the power of an unfulfilled promise. First service is very tight, 35 minutes for the sermon with translation, which means it’s a 20-minute message. Then 45 minutes in the second two services, so that makes for a tiny bit more breathing room. Our return will be on Monday.
Please join us in prayer for a mighty flow of the Holy Spirit in our gatherings. Ask the Lord to anoint Marci, because she will be the one carrying the lion’s share of the social communication with our hosts and with everyone. Also pray for the webcast, as the ministry will be seen widely in Mexico (masvida.tv). Because of TV, Andres has one of the highest profile ministries in all of Mexico. Also, pray for their newly started church in Mexico City. It launched late September, and I understand has over 2000 people already in attendance. Mexico City is a vast, ripe harvest!
Sunday 7:30 a.m.: Last night’s service was wonderful. 1000+ adults, energetic and passionate worship, an eager response to the word. Many came forward for prayer, and many others stayed around to worship with the band after dismissal. These saints are eager for more of God.
Afterwards we had tacos at the home of Andres and Kelly, and some very profitable and sweet fellowship. I’m so glad Marci is along! We’re having a great time. Now I am about to leave for the 9:00 a.m. service this Sunday morning. Three services today.
Sunday evening: We had a marvelous day with the Mas Vida family today. Good ministry, sweet times in the Lord’s presence, eager hearts, warm responses. I would estimate that 100+ people stood in this morning’s three services to indicate a first-time response to the Gospel. Andres said they have 100+ people responding like that every weekend. This is Mexico’s hour! After the three services, we were treated to an amazing dinner at a wonderful restaurant. Then back to the hotel for a little rest. And in a couple minutes Andres and Kelly are collecting us, to just hang together this evening for a couple more hours.
Then tomorrow’s departure out of Morelia is 2:15 p.m., getting us home after 10:00 pm on Monday, Lord willing.
Next: Wednesday evening I speak to the same group of Korean pastors that I addressed last week. Then Friday to Seattle.
Megalove from beautiful Morelia!
Bob & Marci
Oct 31-Nov. 1, Praise Christian Church, Houston, TX
Saturday: This morning I have a non-stop to Houston, preparing to minister for the first time at a church in the Houston area called Praise Christian Church. I am scheduled to minister tonight and tomorrow morning. They have requested that I speak Sunday morning on an eye covenant. Tonight I am prepared to speak on “the power of an unfulfilled promise.”
Had a great time with the saints in Houston. Such loving, fun, hospitable people! The church is around 98% Filipino, with a smattering of other ethnicities. They treated me to Vietnamese food because my hostess is Vietnamese/Chinese. Very sincere and eager responses to the word in both services. On Sunday, it seemed to me like virtually every person in the place came forward for prayer in response to the message. I had to rush back to the airport quickly to make my flight, but did so with a happy, thankful heart.
Next: Thursday I am speaking to a group of Korean pastors who are visiting IHOPKC for a special intensive. I will actually be speaking to this group twice — once this week, and once next week.
Oct. 25, 12:00 pm, God’s House of Healing and Restoration, Ozone Park, NY
Sunday 4:10 pm: Greetings from JFK, waiting for my flight to Cincinnati to board. Had a great time this afternoon with the saints in Ozone Park. The church meets in a tiny storefront, I took a video of the outside and the entry to the sanctuary, I will post it to my public figure FB page when I get home later tonight. I said to my host, THIS is NYC! He agreed. Much love and appreciation expressed. I just love the family of God!
Next: Tuesday morning I am speaking to the Intro to IHOPKC internship, they’ve asked me to speak on a covenant with my eyes. Then Saturday I’m off to Houston — hoping they’re drier by then.