Long Drive

It took me 5 days to go to and fro Kota Kinabalu to preach twice in Kemabong, some 4 hours’ drive away. We stopped overnight in Tambunan before heading to Ulu Tomani, about 35kms from Tenom. When we went back, we stopped over in Tambunan for two nights as I was too tired to drive on Monday. It was a total sabbath for me after only preaching twice. I had to contend with the elements and the environment in a far away Village. There was a fan in the room but it was creaking and making weird noises all the time. And the windows can’t be shut so at night I was kept awake by mosquitoes. I am particularly sensitive to mosquito bites and I don’t know whether I had slept for 3 hours after preaching at night which service ended just before 11pm and supper fellowship for another hour.
On Sunday I continued to preach from Galatians 3 where Paul said that when the Galatians believed the gospel, they received the Holy Spirit in abundance and not in small measures. I challenged the church to experience the Holy Spirit and not just believe Him in an academic or intellectual fashion. I made an altar call and only 12 people came forward. I realised a few might be reluctant to come forward as they had to step up to the stage as the space below me was narrow. But those who came forward to be prayed for were mightily blessed by God’s presence. Many wept and one young woman groaned and fell down perhaps in repentance of her sins. Thank God two female pastors were with me as majority of them who came forward were women and they prayed for young woman laying on the stage for 20 or so minutes before she was helped to her feet. I thank God for His strength as I felt during my preaching at noon, I was sweating profusely even though I was wearing a short sleeved shirt without a tie. The meeting started after 10am and I got up at 5.30am and waited for more than 4 hours for the service to start. When I spoke with the church pastor in his mid 30s I was glad to find out he was starting to receive invitations to preach in other districts and I prayed in my heart that the Lord would raise young men for the work of interior ministry as His servant can only say, “I was young before but now I am old”.