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God is doing some amazing things through The Foursquare Church in the South Pacific, and I’m excited to share one of the most remarkable events in recent times.

Foursquare Pastor William and Christina Yakumbu experienced a miracle right out of the book of Acts—an answer to prayer so dramatic that it impacted an entire village and brought explosive growth to the kingdom of God.

Since 2007, William and Christina had been praying with Foursquare Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Leader Timothy Tipitap about taking the gospel to new Pacific Island nations. They were willing to leave their home in PNG and follow the leading of the Lord, but they needed God’s direction about where to launch the ministry.

During an outreach sponsored in part by the Foursquare Foundation and in a particularly dangerous PNG area, a policeman providing security for the team told Pastor Timothy and me about a relative who was working in in the Republic of Kiribati, an island nation located in the South Tarawa atoll.

And so, in April 2009, Pastor William and Christina moved to Kiribati, faithfully sharing Christ and serving the needs of the locals. They established the first Foursquare church there in a rental house with two young people. Even so, it was not easy to evangelize the people for Christ.

One afternoon a young church member, Tewaike Tatareta, called on Pastor William. Her mother, Retem, had died. Tewaike begged Pastor William to help her family. He hurried to their home to see what he could do.

By the time he arrived, Retem had been dead for nearly an hour and lay on the floor, surrounded by her despondent family. Pastor William says the Holy Spirit told him to pray for the woman to come back to life. He shared with the family the Bible story of Jesus calling Lazarus back to life. Then, he asked them to join hands and pray.

Pastor William prayed. After several minutes, nothing happened.

William continued to pray and trust the Lord for His healing touch. Suddenly, Retem’s fingers began to twitch. Eventually her eyes opened.

Tears of sorrow turned to shouts of joy.

Before the day was done, Retem, her husband and children all received Christ, and were baptized in water. The story of her death and return to life spread like wildfire through the island. Pastor William says many witnesses of the miracle were also saved, and the entire village turned to God.

Pastor William and Christina have plans in 2012 to conduct eight evangelistic crusades in each district of the island. They will pray for the sick and expect to see many converts to Christ who will then become involved in “house meetings” they have planted in each region. Pastor William and Christina will engage converts in evangelism and discipleship training to enable these new believers to grow in faith and take Christ to the rest of the island.

That is something to celebrate!

Miraculous events such as these are not coincidental; faithfulness, prayer and obedience to God’s call precede them. Let me take this opportunity to express gratitude to The Foursquare Church in the U.S. for your prayer, your giving, and your going in support of global Foursquare ministry.

Download a 7-minute audio file (WAV, 9.8 MB) to listen to Pastor William Yakumbu and Area Missionary Jerry Stott tell this dramatic story in their own words.

By: Jerry Stott, area missionary to the South Pacific for Foursquare Missions International

is an FMI area missionary to the South Pacific.
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