This Benin trip will be remembered as one of the most extraordinary that I have had the privilege to have enjoyed. It was two things – a culmination and a new beginning, and it results in more work to do, bless God forever. Every business man knows that the reward for work that is well done is more work.
It was a culmination of a number of events that included when I met Christophe Dewanou in January of 2014 at a Council of African Apostles meeting in Lagos, subsequent meetings with General Cocouvi Amossou in Benin and Washington DC, and a November 2016 trip to Ghana with apostle Samuel Martey.
Let me say, first of all, thank you for all your prayers, love and support! The body of Christ is always a team effort, and individual success ( and failure ) must always be understood and analyzed in a team concept. Many times the miracle worker is just the fruit picker. Someone had to plant that tree and cultivate it even for years before the fruit picker came along and picked the fruit. Even in the seemingly spontaneous miracles that happen in completely fresh and new situations, someone was, even unconsciously, preparing the ground in prayer…nothing ‘just happens’!
I arrived late in the evening on the 8th. The Air France bird that flew us into Cotonou had an entertainment system right out of the 80’s, which allowed me to not be distracted by it, and have time to prepare in prayer. My prayer had been for weeks that I would be the most prepared I possibly could be to make this trip as effective as God would have it. Christophe met me and escorted me to the hotel, a mere kilometer from the airport. We would begin training the following day…
You can’t say enough about the administrative anointing! It is perhaps the least heralded and most important anointing in the body of Christ, and Christophe Dewanou and General Amossou have it in spades! The meetings were well prepared, with perhaps eighty in attendance Saturday and Monday for the training of directors and teachers. There were handout materials ready to get people organized. We did workshops, discussion groups, practical training and I taught them how to get people filled with the Holy Spirit.
As I shared the vision from Acts nineteen, I told them I didn’t come to be ‘a nice person’…I came to take ground from the Kingdom of God. They responded like the warriors they were, and momentum started to build for the Friday launch of the schools…
On Sunday I was talked into preaching two services at Matthias Doukpo’s church, one of our intern students, and my interpreter for the trip. While visiting his home we had a wonderful healing miracle. A lady who had severely burned her foot in a cooking accident approached me with her family for healing. This was out on the street! Dr. Jesus met her as we prayed, taking all the pain away and enabling her to walk normally! Joy broke out! I had been practicing street healing ministry with Bill Wise before I left…
On Tuesday we went to Bohicon to do three days of training in a church that was in a village that is the ancient home of the Dahomey kings, the very cradle of the voodoo religion. We were there to introduce the schools and teach on the gifts of the Spirit. Between one hundred fifty and two hundred fifty dear ones were in attendance. Even in the midst of that hellhole, we ministered under an open heavens.
Let me talk about courage for a minute. For seventeen years the voodoo folks have tried to kill pastor Gaspard. Even today there is a voodoo shrine right across the road that is aimed, so to speak, at his church to kill him and destroy the church. But pastor Gaspard prospers, and so many of his enemies just have had unseemly and untimely deaths.
I asked him to take us to see the voodoo shrines. He had us go in a car with heavily tinted windows, so our pictures couldn’t be taken, and we didn’t get out of the car. He showed us the place where he had been praying and facing a large voodoo shrine when it spontaneously burst into flames. He showed us where a crowd of ‘masquerade’ voodoo people had almost beaten him to death, and he had to be rescued by the government soldiers. He showed us the trees where the spirit birds would come and taunt him until he cursed the trees, which then died. The shrines were large, gross and disgusting structures. Voodoo seems to be all about insanity, murder, squalor and death!
Pastor Gaspard has prospered, with a large farm, and a growing church/school/ministry building complex where he had nothing but a vision and a RHEMA word when he arrived years before. I prophesied over him and them that the Lord would accelerate what He is doing through them. Fulfill it Lord!
On Tuesday I taught on being led by the Spirit, Wednesday on prophecy and Thursday on the Baptism. Each day more people came. Thursday I lead 250 into speaking in tongues, and pastor Gaspard wanted me to lay hands on everyone, which I did. This was brilliant, because it allowed us to find the ones who were struggling with tongues, about thirty, and give them more help.
Thursday afternoon we drove back to Cotonou, with Matthias regaling us with the story of ‘Delphine’s deliverance,’ perhaps the biggest healing miracle in his ministry. In true African fashion it took about 11/2 hours to tell, which got us back to Cotonou fully entertained.
Samuel Martey and Guy Agani joined us from Tema, Ghana on Thursday afternoon in Cotonou. I knew Samuel would be a big boost to a tired team, and he was! Agani was a surprise…Samuel invited him to come and paid his way. He turned out to be a great blessing! Agani has a degree in French from the Benin University, and will help us with translating the intern course into French as well as the Living Waters articles.
We were still in the glory from Thursday when we launched the schools on Friday. After preaching, prayers and prophecies we had forty one accept the challenge to become school directors. Again, Christophe had it so well organized that it went very smoothly. The glory continued into Saturday…
Finally on Sunday I got to hear Samuel preach in Christophes church, where I heard again the story of a resurrection that he was a principal player in, bless God forever. He is one of my students, as well! Then he and Agani left and, after some rest, I went to the airport. They were back in Tema before my flight left Cotonou, bless God forever!
Please pray that all 40+ schools open before February 1st and, that we have twenty two to start a French version intern training starting January 15th!
We are praying about being able to give a new whiteboard and easel to each school. In Benin this would cost about $100 each. If you would like to sponsor a whiteboard than just write WHITEBOARD on your check to bless the schools
Love to all!
Kevin