A very busy Sunday for the Gillotts and Khulula . (The team name- Khalula, is Siswati for Set Free) . A fitting moniker for the Broken Chains Tour.
What a powerful day of ministry here in Swaziland. We began early and ministered at IBC (International Bible Church). It is a Baptist church on the cusp of the charismatic renewal. They are going through some real struggles but I think the Lord really used the team to break down some walls.
The team sang tremendously. Cathy needed to go back to the board to take care of sound and that was a big help, but it really kept me hoppin' on the platform playing, singing, and directing. We had major TV coverage at the service. It caused quite a stir, because they barged in half way into the service and some deacons weren't going to let them in. They were all over the church and platform shooting video. After music I preached on Blind Bartimaeus and we had over 30 at the Altar to make first time commitments to Christ. I was amazed, Swazi television shot the entire message, and then interviewed me after the service. |
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As you know our schedule for Sunday was very tight- so we had to move quickly 60 Kilometers south of Mbabane to the Tent in Matsapha where Jesus Calls Worship Center meets. The tent seats over 1,000 people and I was concerned about sound but they had a great PA system. Their choir was awesome and the worship was breathtaking. It was a bit daunting to have to follow them, but the lads did well. It was a wonderful time of ministry. We found out after we got there that His Majesty King Mswati's first wife, Inkhosikati Lambikizai (Ink- ko' see-kaht, Lambi-geezi) was coming. This was a huge surprise and created some logistical problems. They cleared a whole section of the tent for her. You all know how I move about when I preach.well every time I got close to the queen, they were giving me the hairy eyeball. I didn't find out till afterwards when Cathy said, "Didn't you know you were not supposed to walk over there or even touch the King's woman?" |
The meeting went from 2:00 to 5:00.They had worship for 30 minutes-the Queen's entourage arrived and then the pastor, a Swazi national Robert Cassaro gave the meeting to us. We did an open-ended set of our music and some a capella Siswati songs. (The Swazi's love-- Thank You Lord for Not Givin' Up on Me and Clean by the Blood here--the students call Clean "that annointed song"). The testimonies were strong and the music was great. We had to do everything with an interpreter, English to Sawati, which was fun. (Cathy and I actually need an English to English interpreter to understand the testimonies of the students. I love these guys but have no idea what the heck they are saying half the time).
I preached "Believers or Disciples" from John 8 and the Lord was faithful to anoint. I felt compelled of the Lord to really target some key issues. As I talked about "Unconscious Bondage," idolatry and the hypocrisy and consequences of going to church in the morning and to the witch doctor at night I could see some getting nervous. (I later learned that this could be considered treason in Swaziland. It is forbidden to criticize the ancestors, because worship of the ancestors is commanded by the King. Lets hope the queen's entourage doesn't rat me out . John Green, I may need your help yet ). Seriously, there was a strong presence of the Lord and people were really touched.
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We had a huge altar response, and it really kept us busy with ministry for about 20 minutes. Then the liaison from the Prime Minister's office suddenly came and said that the Queen wanted to come forward for me pray for her. The tent had to be cleared before she could come. As soon as they had cleared the tent, we had opportunity to pray with the Inkhosikati Lambikizai. She said, "I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues." |
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I freely admit I was feeling some pressure- I prayed, "Lord, please don't let me mess this up or disappoint you (or her)"- then I went and got Cathy! Now I was nervous and wasn't sure if I was allowed to touch the Queen yet.we ministered the word to her and prayed. Once we started to pray I was OK. Praise God, her faith was ready. We had some tense moments at first. As she committed her life to Christ the Lord gave a word of knowledge. I prayed that the Lord would heal her wounds of rejection, and something broke. She received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. It was an incredible scene as she wept and prayed and laughed and prayed. Cathy did incredible job. Queen Lambikizai is highly educated, a solicitor (lawyer) and conscious of her responsibilities. After she prayed in the Spirit for about 20 minutes, the Lord gave me a word for her.
"You never had a chance to be a little girl and the Father in heaven just wants you to crawl up on His lap and love you, not for the nation, but because you are His little girl," and she began to cry. I later learned that she had been betrothed to the King very young age and had not had much of a childhood.
One funny thing was that when we first prayed for her, the Pastor of the church and all of the ministry team disappeared.After she was filled -the pastor's wife and others came and sat with Cathy and the Queen while I ministered to others from her entourage. The Queen has said she will see us again on Tuesday.
It was a powerful time of ministry, not only for the Queen, but for one of the guards and two of her administrative staff. In addition, one of the Warriors who accompanied her (complete with spear and full African garb) almost went down under the power when I prayed a blessing for him and that caused a bit of a stir. One guard acted like we were going to abduct the Queen-I told her, "If we were after the queen we would have surely gone after the guards with guns not the dude with the spear." |
It was 6:00 till we were done there and now we know why the evening service had cancelled. The afternoon meeting had taken way too long to have time to get back to Mbabane. We went to Kevin Ward's in-laws for a thoroughly delightful lamb dinner with all of the trimmings along with a number of people from IBC. After a few hours discussing the intricacies of Capital punishment in America, The Kingdom of God, the deterioration Zimbabwe and why Americans want to invade Iraq, we are heading to bed now.quite tired and grateful for all of your prayers.
Certainly pray for the Queen, Inkhosikati Lambikizai. His Majesty King Mswati III is courting the Muslim faith as well as his long-term commitment to Ancestral worship. He has taken three new wives this month so she is in some danger of persecution. I appreciate you prayers. We move into a week of three meetings a day including Pastor's meetings, Businessman's meetings, evening ministry leading up to the Sitekai meetings.
God bless you. Pray for the continued rain. It has rained every day since we arrived here. I have reminded the Queen of that and told her Americans were praying for the children of the nation and for the rain to come end the drought. I trust you will continue to stand with us in believing - for the sake of the children, starving from the famine, and as a sign to the King of God's faithfulness.
Let me know if the Lord speaks to any of your hearts of where we go from here. I appreciate your friendship and partnership in the harvest. |
