Issue8

News and Praise

Issue #8

We receive many fine letters in our

Minneapolis office of Love Lines. Re-

grettably, we are not able to reprint and

acknowledge all. The following is

somewhat representative of how Love

Lines opens doors to the fullness of the

gospel.

From: Elizabeth Fosu - Teshie

Nungus Estates

Accra - Ghana, West Africa

This is the story of how the center

“Good News Love Lines Crisis Centre”

was opened by God.

Before Amsterdam 2000, I had a

desire to help those troubled in our soci-

ety. I was thinking of opening a prayer

camp. Then when I went to Amsterdam,

I received the news of Phone Centers

with great joy.

When I returned home, I wrote to

Love Lines expecting to receive financial

and material help to start. When I heard

that Love Lines could help only with

materials, I was not discouraged, but took

advice from the Director’s Manual to

raise funds.

I wrote personal letters appealing to

individuals to help us raise funds for this

project. One Christian sister gave money

for two rooms at a trade fair centre. Be-

fore the money was given, we started

praying for a place. Her brother called

one day and said, “My sister asked,

would like you to have an office at the

trade fair centre?”

I jumped and said, “Yes, I have been

praying for one.” This is how we got

started with a place for the Center.

My appeals continued to go out for

donations and they started to come in. I

estimated ten million Cedis (Ghana mon-

ey) would be needed for payment of the

rooms, renovation, furniture and tele-

phones.

Within six months we were able to

raise five and a half million Cedis. Then

the cash stopped flowing. Many promised

but were not able to honor their pledge.

We continue to appeal to them.

We tried the walking marathon,

which did not work well for us. It was not

well patronized. We continue to pray ask-

ing Him for direction to raise more funds

to finish the center and to run it.

Next I trusted God for people to

work. I prayed day after day. One day

Brother Emmanuel walked to my home

for a visit and I shared the vision with

him. He readily accepted it to be part of

the ministry and today he is the one I am

training to become an assistant director.

A Christian sister I had known for a

long time visited and I shared with her the

story of this ministry. She said she would

go and pray about it. After some time, she

came and joined with us.

There was a time when I became

discouraged. Funds for the furniture were

not coming in. This sister encouraged me

to move in without furniture. On April

second, we moved in without any furni-

ture. The telephones were on the floor.

We had a choice to either stand or sit on

the floor.

The next day as I was going to the

office, a sister blessed me with fifty thou-

sand Cedis. I bought one plastic chair for

the Center. Today, June 5, 2002, we now

have four plastic chairs and two small

tables. For this we give God the glory.

Our center is open from 8:00 a.m. To

5:00 p.m. We will extend our hours as we

can until we reach the twenty-four hours

a day.

We presently have three counselors.

I am in the process of training ten more.

Calls are coming slowly and some indi-

viduals come in personally.

Area churches are not cooperating as

we had hoped and expected. I have con-

tacted about fifty churches for recruiting

counselors, but only two have responded

positively as of today. The Holy Spirit is

leading us to contact the brothers individ-

ually, and that is what we are doing.

Here is one testimony to illustrate the

power a telephone center may have.

We did not have money for advertise-

ments on either radio or TV, so we made

handbills and posted them at phone

booths. One sister saw one and was im-

pressed to come to the centre to pray for

us. I asked if she had the Holy Spirit

baptism. She said “No.” I taught her who

the Holy spirit was and His work in our

lives. We prayed for her to be baptized

and she was, with the evidence of speak-

ing in tongues.

This woman was a Muslim who was

born again but had not been baptized in

the Holy Spirit before coming to the cen-

tre. She herself is totally healed from a

stroke on one side of her body.

She went home and would pray for

hours on end. She returned with a testi-

mony of how God used her to pray for a

man who had his foot swollen for a long

time. He had three operations and the

cause of the swelling couldn't be found.

He returned from North Ghana for

another operation at a military hospital.

This simple woman, now filled with the

Holy Spirit, put her hand on this man’s

foot and prayed.

Wonderfully, the swelling busted and

a piece of wood about two inches long

and a half inch in diameter came out of the

swelling. The man had his healing and the

people praised the Lord.

She is now asking that we would go

north to her village and do a crusade. Pray

for financial blessings for us to go.

This all came about from just post-

ing a hand bill on a telephone booth.

The above letter is not unusual from

what is received. What makes this one

noteworthy is that Evangelist Fosu re-

fused to let obstacles and disappoint-

ment hinder her from going forward

with the vision of helping others.

Many testify that the use of tele-

phones has expanded their ministry

and brought new life to their community.

New Delhi, India

Paschim Vihar, Director

When we started this center last year,

we were receiving 5 to 6 calls per week.

Now we are receiving 120 calls on an

average per week. There is a variety of

calls, which shows that people are in real

crisis and they need help and guidance

both in their physical and spiritual lives.

Young boys and girls of high society

are having more problems and are de-

pressed, very much the same as in your

society. By God’s grace we are getting

ample opportunities to counsel and give

guidance to them.

This year alone, a total of 1860 calls

have been received from young and old,

for all sorts of needs. We need an addi-

tional four counselors and one or two

phone lines along with a computer to

facilitate working with callers.

“Never let fear of striking out get

in your way.” George “Babe” Ruth

Nyahururu, Kenya

Peter Gitau, Director

Our Centre is now fully operational

with ten trained counselors who work in

turns at the Centre. Our telephones are

usually more engaged in the evenings

than during the day times and this de-

mands extending our operations in the

evening to around 9:00 p.m.

Two local pastors have joined our

team at the Centre and have proved very

useful. Our Centre is fully furnished with

an additional telephone line. We are con-

templating starting income generating

projects to care for our Centre.

I have prepared to attend the Novem-

ber 6 - 9 Conference in Minneapolis and

meet with you all there.

“Believe it! High expectations are

the key to everything.” Sam Walton

Burandi

Manasseh Nduwimana, Dir.

We are using a mobile phone which

receives communication in this town on-

ly. We need two fixed phones to assure

communicating with people in the coun-

try. We are asking for prayers that we will

be supplied with two phone lines that will

allow us to communicate with those out-

side of our city.

We have political problems. Money

is difficult to get, not only for our minis-

try, but for living expenses. I know

money is a big problem but with God all

things are possible.

Harare, Zimbabwe

Reuben Zivagwe

Our situation is not good with the

social economic crisis and political un-

rest. We need your prayers that our fund

raising efforts will not be ascribed as a

political move.

The center is growing and many peo-

ple know our “Telefriend” hotline. We

are receiving more than 400 calls each

day. Most of these are family conflicts

because of hunger and HIV/AIDS affects.

Continue to pray for us and the team.

Nairobi, Kenya

Dir. Mickey Okeyo

A full time director is working with

12 fully trained counselors. We are still

operating from our pastor’s house and

this center operates for 12 hours a day

with only one line.

We are trying to support Christian

radio and TV programs as well as make

other local churches aware of our exis-

tence so more people can be involved in

the church community.

We are planning an award event

named “Jericho Hall of Fame Awards”.

We intend to involve more than 10,000

people who were born and raised in Jer-

icho for a day long festival. Our objective

is to try to make Jericho Estate a better

place in which to live. We wish to recog-

nize various talents and achievements by

Jericho’s sons and daughters with various

trophies and certificates.

It is anticipated that by catering the

event, moneys will provide airfare for the

Minneapolis conference.

Bangalore, India

Rev. William John

For 17 years I was in Mumbai

(Bombay) city and with the help of our

Lord Jesus Christ, I was able to plant 40

congregations. Then the Lord helped me

to start a co-education school and the

Bible Training School.

In 1998 I came to Bangalore to do a

ministry. In 2000 I was using several

methods of evangelism. We even began

to use the telephone. I was operating from

my home and many times we got discour-

aged because we would not only get calls

from the people who were in need, but

other times calls were not genuine but

were given to mock. Moreover, I did not

have any one to help me in the beginning.

I was thinking I should quit using the

telephone. But when I went to Amster-

dam in 2000 and visited your booth and

got more information, I was encouraged

to continue this telephone ministry. The

lord has touched many lives through our

telephone.

Please pray that the Lord will pro-

vide $1000 towards my travel. I am ask-

ing the Lord, "Lord, if you want me to go

to attend the conference, then please pro-

vide all my financial needs for this trip."

I am using our home phone and a

Mobile. At times it is difficult to operate

from home. We are praying and waiting

upon the Lord to start a center in a differ-

ent place. One that is good and safe.

There are some calls in the middle of

the night or in the early morning. Some-

times it becomes difficult for my family

and children.

The people who are pro Hindus and

Muslims who are fanatics give a call and

speak irrelevant things and threaten us.

"You Christians want to convert Hindus

to become Christians."

Well, I told then that I am not going

to convert but trying to help them to

find peace, joy and meaning in life. Of

such is the result of the Gospel.