Reports from Elijah Challenge Africa Coordinator Emmanuel Rhema
Okwudor/Ihebinowere, Nigeria Healing Crusade – December 2006
Okwudor/Ihebinowere are twin communities in Imo State. They used to be one community until the government separated them. However, even though they are separated they still do things together especially in the aspect of Christianity. This community is not too satanic like other communities because most of the people have embraced Christ, and have carried out several land/community deliverances which have repelled ancestral spirits from the land.
The healing crusade took place on 28th of December and concluded on the 30th of December. I was the only guest speaker for the crusade. On the first day of the crusade we had a crowd as many sons/daughters of the land were in the community to celebrate their Christmas/New Year festival. We had a crowd of almost ten thousand people in attendance. I preached on the topic “from a persecutor to a preacher,” which had to do with how the Lord visited me when I was an Isl–mic Scholar and made me a preacher and how I then underwent persecution and how God raised me up to be one of his healing evangelists. At the end of the message I told them if God can save me, He can likewise save them. I concluded with how He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, sickness, shame and poverty.
At the end of the message I made an altar call and many people responded. I led them to Christ; it was glorious to see these precious people shedding tears before the Lord. I ministered to the sick. The result was dramatic, as people came out to testify about his healing touch in their lives. Below are some of the testimonies for the three days.
The second day was glorious, we had more people coming out to receive Jesus into their lives, many testifying of His healing grace.
The third day—the 30th of December—was incredible. The neighboring community was told that Jesus was working wonders in this twin community and people trooped into the crusade in great numbers. On that day I preached on the topic of the cross of Calvary. Before I gave the altar call, people were already coming out with tears to the altar to receive Him. I led them to Christ after which I ministered to the sick. The power of God swept over the congregation and many that were under satanic oppression, possession, and witchcraft influence fell under the power of God. Some of them began to confess uncontrollably that they were witches, while others confessed that they belonged to one occult group or another. During the three days we recorded countless testimonies but we were able to give opportunities to a few people to testify to the crowd. Among them were:
1. A man was instantly healed of seventeen years of stroke. He couldn’t raise his hand, neither could he walk because his left leg was paralyzed, but after the healing ministry he walked on his own, and was able to use his leg and raise his hand effectively.
2. Multiple arthritis victims were healed instantly. Some of them while testifying were weeping saying they did not know that God loved them so deeply to heal them, and that they will serve God better.
3. Seven totally deaf and dumb people: three were born deaf while others became deaf in their childhood as a result of measles. They were all healed as I ministered mass healing.
4. Three people were healed of goiters. They vanished as I was preaching on the last day of the programme. Some people bore witness to the testifiers saying that they knew they had the growths, but now they had vanished by the power of God.
5. A woman was pregnant for two years. After the first night she gave birth the next morning.
6. Three people testified that they could not walk very quickly because of some things moving in their legs. But during the healing ministry they felt something leave their legs. Now they can walk quickly without pain.
These are a few of the testimonies which were shared. We give God the glory for the great things He did.
I am also happy that those I trained as I was trained by you are now having good testimonies in their healing meetings and crusades.