"LET US NOT BE WEARY IN WELL DOING FOR IN DUE SEASON
WE SHALL REAP, IF WE FAINT NOT."
Gal. 6:9
God is so faithful to lead us and guide us, as we put our trust in Him. We
saw and experienced His guidance and His provision during our recent trip to
England and Romania in April – June. We had planned to go first to Togo, West
Africa to minister there in response to an invitation from a native pastor but
the Lord seemed to indicate that now was not the right time. So we headed
directly to England.
"…NOT BE WEARY…"
In England we found many precious Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are
pressing in, seeking more of God in a nation trying to deal with the devastation
of the hoof and mouth disease epidemic. We also found the overwhelming majority
of the British churches have grown weary over the years. We were blessed to be a
part of a pastors’ convention and a missions conference. God is moving under
the surface and there is a growing hunger for spiritual reality but the church
in Great Britain as a whole needs to be lifted up and encouraged with much
prayer.
We had a real sense of spiritual breakthrough at the pastors’ convention
near Derby. During the last session, the speaker preached from the parable of
the prodigal son. At the end of the message there was a time of prayer. The Lord
spoke to Howard about how America was like a prodigal son to Great Britain,
showing pride and rebellion instead of appreciating the godly heritage we have
been given. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Howard repented to the
British pastors gathered there for the proud, rebellious attitude so many
American Christians show toward their British cousins, thinking we are so much
better than they are when, without the spiritual inheritance we gained from
them, we would have nothing. When he said that, something broke in the
heavenlies, and a spiritual healing and release poured down upon the British
pastors as they repented for their bitterness towards the Americans that many
didn’t consciously realize they had been harboring in their hearts. It was a
time of healing and reconciliation for the Body of Christ.
Please join us in praying that the sparks we saw will be fanned into flames
as revival fires once again sweep across the British Isles as they did in
centuries past. Pray that our Brothers and Sisters will continue to press in and
reap a great harvest of souls because they refuse to give up on the promises of
God.
"…IN DUE SEASON…"
It was a great blessing to return to Romania for a month. We thought we were
just going back to gather our belongings and prepare for our move to the
Philippines but God had other ideas. He wanted us to catch a glimpse of the
first fruits of the harvest we had planted. Before we arrived, God stirred up
the hearts of the young people at Logos Church in Timisoara to seek His face. As
the young people gathered together on Friday nights to pray, God met with them
in a special way and challenged their hearts to call the church to 40 days of
fasting and prayer. In obedience, they put a plan together and submitted it to
the church leaders. The whole church got behind them and joined with them in
seeking the Lord. Just as they were becoming discouraged and weary because of
repeated attacks from the enemy, we returned. The Lord spoke to Howard’s heart
to teach a series of messages on spiritual warfare. It was exactly what they
needed to hear in order to press through to victory.
God’s timing was perfect. They encouraged us as much as we encouraged them.
Often in ministry, the enemy will lie and tell you that nobody is listening or
that you are not making a difference. But we were able to see with our own eyes
the spiritual growth that had resulted from allowing the Romanians to take the
leadership. We were able to see concrete answers to prayer. We had asked for
prayer for rain because of the terrible drought last year. This spring God sent
the rains and the wheat fields are almost ready for harvest. The economy seems
to have bottomed out and is slowly beginning to turn around. Most important of
all, the desperate economic situation this winter forced the Believers to cry
out to God and now they are reaping a harvest from that prayer.
A prayer movement across denominational lines has sprung up, bringing a new
level of unity to the Body of Christ that had not been seen since the fall of
communism. In Timisoara, the Believers are meeting together one Friday night a
month for joint prayer rallies lasting until midnight as Baptist, Pentecostals,
Charismatics, and others join together to pray for revival for their city and
their nation. There is a growing movement to cover the nation and every major
city with a continuous blanket of intercessory prayer 24/7 (24 hours a day/ 7
days a week). Much of the network is already in place.
What has God done in Romania in the past 10 years? There is a stirring in the
hearts of the Romanian young people to be involved in taking the Gospel to other
nations. There have been an average of five churches a week started in Romania
since the Revolution in December, 1989. More than 500,000 new Believers have
been baptized and added to the Church during the past 10 years. Yet there are
still 7,000 villages without a Gospel witness. God is raising up laborers for
these harvest fields from the seeds that you have helped to plant. Together, we
are going to see a great harvest of souls in Romania because you have not grown
weary of standing with us through your prayers and financial giving.
"…WE SHALL REAP…"
God is also moving on Mindanao. It is awesome to see His hand at work. The
Believers there have responded to our teaching with actions and not just with
words. In several evangelistic outreaches, more than 100 have come to Christ and
followed the Lord in water baptism. The curriculum for the Bible school has all
been translated into the Cebuano language. Several churches have been built
using the chain saw we brought, including the church in Kipalili where the blood
red banner appeared in the photo (see last newsletter).
The vision for the Bible school has continued to expand and develop. Already
we have more than 60 students who want to attend. As we prayed about it, God has
given us a plan that is greater than anything we had imagined. We won’t have
one Bible school, but five!! We will train and disciple ten highly qualified
leaders who will then go two by two into five different tribal areas to train
the workers on site. We will develop plots of ground in each area as vegetable
gardens. The produce from the gardens will provide for the financial needs of
the five ministry teams so these men can devote themselves full time to studying
the Word and then teaching others.
The Lord has already provided the money to set up the vegetable gardens. Now
we need partners who would be willing to sponsor at least one of the ten leaders
at a cost of $200 per month for the six months until the vegetables are ready to
sell and the ministry teams will become self-supporting as the workers labor to
provide for the physical needs of their teachers, according to the Biblical
pattern. So instead of having just one Bible school in Tagum City, we will train
the ministry team who will in turn train others at Bible schools in the
Dibabawon, Manobo Ata, T’bole, B’laan, Mansaka, and Mandaya tribal areas.
Because they will not have to travel as far to go to school, even more Believers
will be able to get the training that they need and want. Because of the
flexible structure of the program, it can easily be expanded to reach other
tribal areas as those who are taught continue to teach others also.
The potential is unlimited as long as we have people who are willing to stand
with us in prayer and to provide the finances necessary to complete the task.
Because of the area in which we will be working which is 40% Muslim, prayer is
especially important. We realize that the enemy would like nothing better than
for those who lift us up in prayer to grow weary in well doing and for those who
support us financially to lose interest. Let’s not give him that satisfaction.
We have the promise of God that in due season we will reap if we don’t give up
and quit. Join with us to press in and grab a hold of the victory already won
for us on Calvary. Let’s join together to reap a harvest of souls on Mindanao.
God bless you richly.
What will you do? We are prepared to sacrifice our comfort and perhaps our
very lives. We are asking God to give us some people or churches who will
sacrifice $1200 over the next 6 months. What will you do? We are believing God
to give us an even greater harvest in the Philippines then we saw in Romania.
Please pray with us.
Your Servants In Christ
Howard & Barbara Gard | 
