Going to the Nations

Ministry travels have taken me to almost 100 nations of the world. I returned from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 18; was in Italy from June 3 to 11; and Bogota, Columbia from June 18-24. Joyce was at home and through the Internet, was able to reach over 125 nations. How awesome it is that through the miracle of the internet we have been able to increase our ministry to so many nations where we have not been able to go in person.

Ten years ago, one of our spiritual sons, Phil Cannavo, and his wife, Lydia, moved from the United States to the nation of Italy. Phil was raised in Italy and speaks the language fluently. Lydia was also Italian but her family was all in the United States and she did not speak or understand Italian. This transition was a big one for her.

Phil's father was an avid apostolic, "full gospel" church planter. Today, one of those churches is the largest church in Italy next to the Catholic Church. After his father passed away, we were able to accompany Phil back to Italy on a number of occasions and have seen this same apostolic church planting anointing that was on his father resting on Phil.

We ordained Phil into the gospel ministry many years ago, and the past ten years we have been able to go back to encourage and strengthen and to apostolically speak into Phil and Lydia's lives, the church and the Kingdom training center.

Phil has translated our Kingdom training manuals into the Italian language and they are available on the internet for all Italian speaking believers.

Working together, they have built a powerful church and planted another one. They have graduated almost seventy students from their two-year Kingdom Training School.

This year, from this solid apostolic base, we were blessed to confirm to them that it was time to step out of functioning and being seen mainly as "pastors" into the fullness of the apostolic anointing that is upon their lives.

While I was there for their tenth anniversary conference, a group, of mostly unbelievers, came through a "Kingdom contact" from a city many miles away where there is only one church which is a Catholic church. Please join with us and Phil and Lydia in prayer that they will be able to plant another church in that city - that it will be the beginning of many more "Kingdom Advancing Churches."

Saturday morning I had the privilege of ministering to the leadership of the church. Many had understood Phil only as he had functioned there, as "a pastor." After I ministered, explaining the functions of both a pastor and an apostle, they each came to him, one-by-one and said, "We release you to function in the apostolic call on your life." They realized that God would raise up others from among them to function in the important gifting "as pastors."

Phil and Lydia had realized that in trying to fulfill the responsibilities of both pastors and apostles, they were approaching a stage of total exhaustion. As I ministered to this powerful group of believers, I so appreciated the opportunity I had been given to speak apostolically into their lives once again and to the leadership of the church.

I had only a few days at home before I continued on to Bogota, Columbia, to be the speaker for the annual "Minister's Conference of the PAI churches" under the anointed apostolic leadership of Enrique Torra. Under his leadership, many churches have been planted all over Columbia and many other nations throughout South and Central America, Mexico and as far away as Japan. I had the privilege of ministering with them last November and God joined our hearts together in a special way for the advancement of The Kingdom of God. This year's theme was on "The Glory of God."

All of our manuals are available on our website for free access, download, duplication and distribution in the Spanish language. It was so encouraging to Joyce when I told her about an apostolic leader from the nation of Chili who had come to the conference. He asked to meet with me and he showed me on his "tablet" that he had downloaded our teachings in the Spanish language. He and those who were pastoring churches under his apostolic leadership were teaching our manuals in their churches all over Chili and many other nations all over South America. He was so excited to meet me in person and invited me to come to Chili next year to minister in his annual conference for the pastors and leaders under his apostolic covering.

When I returned home from my first trip to Columbia and talked to Joyce about going back this month, she felt the urging of the Lord to upgrade the series, Fast Track to the Supernatural, in Spanish. This meant having new translations done of five manuals, having new covers designed for the manuals, and having thirty-two sessions of teaching changed to an express format which cuts the teaching time in half.

The day I was introducing this new material to the pastors and leaders in Columbia our website crashed. Joyce was telling me about it on the phone and she started laughing, "Of course," she said, "I should have been expecting something like that! Satan doesn't stop fighting!" She made emergency contacts, and was able to have the site back up in just a few hours.

We have sold our ministry building here in Big Bear City and now have our home for sale in preparation for the move. We are excited about the favor that God has given us in Santa Maria and about all of the doors of ministry. When we first felt God was saying to relocate, it was hard. Saying good-byes can be hard but now we are just looking forward to seeing what is ahead.

We need your prayers as we are stepping into the new open doors that God is leading us through and for God's favor and wisdom in the decisions involved in this change in our lives and ministry. Join with us in praying for our home at Big Bear Lake, California, to sell soon and that God will lead us to the perfect home He has for us.

Above all, our hearts' desire is to continue in the ministry of reaching the nations of the world. But we do feel that God is going to be bringing more to us for ministry instead of our having to spend so much of our time on international travels. Both Joyce and I turn 84 this year and we praise the Lord that He keeps opening doors and giving us His Divine health and strength to keep going and "Forcibly advancing The Kingdom of God" everywhere He continues to open the doors.

There are many additional expenses during this time of change. With all of these new "open doors" we need your partnership through your faithful and generous giving. What an exciting time to be alive and be a part of this great end-time harvest! Together we are winning!