In Summer 2024, free+healed began working in KPK Province Pakistan. The challenges of working in Pakistan are many. On this trip the building next to our hotel exploded and our work was made difficult by over-protective police officers, torturous temperatures and the lack of an established team and network in the region. But the impact we have seen in our past focus region, Jaranawala leaves us in no doubt that we will see great fruit as a new generation of Pakistani leaders are Called+Empowered to do the works of Christ.
Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has seen it fit to work through us his imperfect servants by the power of the Holy Spirit in accordance with his promises and good plans. To him be all the glory and praise. We are awed by your goodness, kindness and grace.
Crusades, church growth and devastation
When I began travelling to Pakistan in 2012, Pastor Ghaffar took me to a town called Jaranwala in the plains of Punjab. This district capital offered nothing to attract visitors, and there was only one Catholic Church and a branch of the Salvation Army.
“No one went to church in those days” explains Pastor Shukoor who was called to ministry in 1998. Later he met Pastor Ghaffar and explains the impact “Around 2010 we began to organise crusades with him and international visitors like Pastor Dave. Because people saw the miracles of healing and deliverance, people began to believe in Jesus and the church began to grow.”
Excited by these developments we kept going back. We always stayed with a Christian alcohol dealer, Shazaad. In June it was over 40°C and we would crowd into the one room with air conditioning by day and brave mosquitos sleeping on the roof at night. I always got an upset stomach, but we were as excited as the Christians about how things were slowly changing. Shazaad’s customers included many influential Muslims and thus we found ourselves in the homes of the Member of Parliament, the city judge. We would talk about Jesus with them and pray for healing. One year, an Imam came to the meetings and spent time with us in the home, expressing his appreciation for how we were blessing the people with the word of God and healing prayers.
Each time we went back, we had the joy to hear testimonies of the long-term impact of our crusades. One memorable testimony was of Ikra who had a fist-sized tumour in her chest that disappeared in the months after we prayed for her. Or the twelve-year-old girl who had had open wounds on her scalp all her life. After I laid hands on her, the wounds closed and a year later she had a perfectly normal, full head of hair.
Miracles like these and many others fuelled the growth of the church in Jaranwala and by last year there were 60 churches in the region. Then on 18th August 2023, there was a riot. As so often happens in that country, someone starts a rumour that a Christian has trashed some pages of the Quran. The message is amplified in the mosques and via social media and within hours large mobs are on the move, calling for vengeance. This June in Sargodha it was a 71-year-old owner of a shoe factory, Nazir Masih, who was beaten to death and set on fire along with his factory. In the Jaranwala region, mobs torched 25 churches and 300 homes on a single day.
Fortunately, no one was injured, but the event was devastating for everyone. Even the government was shocked and quickly used the opportunity to gain election favour by blaming the opposition and providing some meagre compensation to the Christians. I was torn I wanted to go but I did not have the time or financial resources. But more importantly, during my last trip to Jaranwala in 2022, I felt the Lord telling me that I should not return to Punjab on my next trip but rather we should start working in a new province.
The call to Peshawar
Peshawar, the capital of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) had been on my heart ever since two suicide bombers walked into the grounds of All Saints Church in Peshawar in 2013 and detonated, killing 127 people. Now with the war in Afghanistan over, we felt it was time to start ministering there.
So early this year we started making our plans and arrangements. We agreed that the well-known worship leader Shahryar Sadiq from Lahore would manage the program. He appointed a college friend Saqib in KPK to arrange everything. Saqib who works as a music teacher for the children of Pakistani Air Force pilots in Mardan and Shahryar who teaches music at a private school in Lahore sacrificed their summer holidays to make all the arrangements, mobilize the local Christians and accompany us throughout the mission trip.
Thanks to previous generations of missionaries, you find Christianity throughout Pakistan but while many evangelists have visited the Punjab, the security situation in KPK made it hard for foreigners to visit and do mission. In recent months the Pakistani Taliban killed 7 Chinese road engineers, and more than 10 members of the polio vaccination teams.
During the mobilization phase, our team found that few pastors believed we would be able to do crusades. “They meet in secret in a sugar factory,” explained Saqib telling me about the Christians in one town. “They are saying that what you want to do is impossible. And they are asking why I am doing this work, if I am not a Pastor”.
On the other hand, some were excited when Saqib explained the topic of the conference and audio book that we recently translated into Urdu. “`Called and Empowered? ` they exclaimed! The Holy Spirit was talking to us about these words for the last month.”
Thus, with the Holy Spirit and Saqib busy mobilising, our plans came together and in late June, I travelled to Peshawar with Dario from Switzerland. Together with our local Pakistani team, we conducted 2 crusades, 2 pastors and leaders’ trainings and 2 further church meetings. Then we headed up to a retreat centre at 2700 m above sea level, for a three-day church camp with people from the church in Lahore and the four pastors from Jaranwala.
Leaders’ conferences and crusades
The two training days left me with mixed feelings. We had 157 leaders in the Whatsapp Group Called+Empowered chat prior to the events, but only a fraction of them showed up. Normally, I like to have 3 days to take people through the topics, allowing time for the Holy Spirit to minister to people. So, with merely an afternoon available, we did not see the full extent of the transformations that I am used to seeing.
Nevertheless, we did see some notable miracles and the main thing was that our trainees were experiencing miracles firsthand before their own eyes for the first time. In the Crusade ministry times, I involved the local team and trainees and once again, to their delight, they experienced God using them.
“I was afraid when Pastor David called me to pray in front of such a large crowd, but God used me to heal people and touch them with his power. It was so exciting” said Mehek, Saqib’s wife. In Nowshera and Peshawar, the people witnessed the Lord healing people with frozen shoulders, heart and blood pressure conditions, knees, legs and backs. There were also a number of people with evil spirits that got delivered. Dario who came along as a cameraman and disciple did a stellar job on both the video and ministry sides. When he was praying for people a string of people with headaches got healed and he also got several opportunities to cast out demons.
Church ovens and government guards
The following morning, we packed our things and left for a hotel in Mardan, a town that was supposedly closer to our next series of church meetings. This was not in line with the vision that the Lord had given me for the trip. I had the impression we should stay a number of days in Peshawar after the crusade and now I could see all the great conversations developing in the hotel lobby. But Ghaffar felt moving would save us a lot of time and money and that it was wise to leave the location of such a narrow escape. So, I agreed. That is when the stress really started. In the Mardan district, the government agencies were very concerned about our safety and insisted that they accompany us everywhere. But that also meant following their time schedule.
So, on Sunday morning we attended a little church in Charsadda. Three police or army guys were there to protect the Sunday service. We were ushered through an old metal detector, like you see at airports. It wasn’t plugged in, but it gave an otherwise professional impression. With the air temperature already over 40°, the little church was soon an oven, and we were all soaked in sweat. But somehow the Lord gave me the energy to preach and minister. The pastor’s twelve-year-old son was tragically crippled. Aged four, he fell from the third floor. We prayed for healing and commanded him to walk in Jesus Name. What worked in Kenya twice, didn’t happen this time, but Dario commanded the spirit of trauma to leave and after that we started doing physio with the boy. He was able to take control of his toes, heals, legs and back and we are convinced that with ongoing help, he will walk within one year.
Meanwhile the government agents were getting very impatient. They could not understand why we were staying so long after the end of the church service. “Let them leave. We don’t need them” I answered. I was tired of flying so far and investing so much to always be forced to rush back to our home or hotel when the most interesting ministry moments were still happening.
But Ghaffar was caught in the middle. “Brother, there are 15 men, police and soldiers and plain clothes intelligence officers from 4 agencies, and they are pressuring me now for one hour”. I had never seen him this upset. So, we quietly returned to the car and followed our guards back to the new hotel.
The second church meeting was a greater joy. With sirens and lights the army drove us over an hour to a little church in Shabqadar. This time to avoid the stress after the meeting we arrived early to film testimonies of people who got healed at the crusade. 2 ladies had travelled one hour to give their testimony of heart, blood pressure and breathing difficulties that the Lord healed. Our translator Mehek’s father was also there to testify of how the Lord had healed his arm.
In the background the army and police waited patiently while we filmed the testimonies in the middle of the alley. Then soaked to the skin we entered the church. With 8 ventilators running, there was no way to preach without a powerful microphone. “On the way here, I saw people swimming in the river, and wanted to go swimming,” I began. “But I could not as I was coming here. So now the river has come to me” I said pointing to the water streaming down my shirt. “This is a picture of the Gospel. We want to get to God but cannot so he comes to us in the form of Jesus and then he takes up residence in believers and by his Holy Spirit, he becomes a river of living water, which will bring healing to the nations. When you get filled with the spirit you will become a river of living water to bring healing to KPK.”
When it came to ministry time, the Lord delivered a number of ladies from fear and depression: one quite dramatically. While she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her body stiffened up, her fist clenched, as if a huge tension was building up inside of her, threatening to explode. We rebuked the spirit and moments later she radiantly testified to being delivered from 12 years of depression.
Then came the big shock. A lady from the church in Lahore just died and Ghaffar said he needed to drive the five hours back to conduct the funeral. ” will drive in the night and return tomorrow night,” he said. Seeing how stressed and tired he already was, I had a very bad feeling about these plans. But had no choice but to let him go.
“Saqib and the driver, will take you to the camp in Dunga Gali and we will meet there with all the people from the church in Lahore on Friday morning” he said.
When Friday came, they all arrived hours late. Storms in the night and the drivers disinterest in GPS route guidance turned a six-hour trip into twelve. Disappointed by the delay, but happy to see everyone safe and sound, I rushed to greet the four pastors from Jaranwala.
Hotel outreach
During our stay in the hotel, we made friends with an Afghan family from Australia. They had flown in to meet relatives from Germany and together, they planned to visit a Muslim deliverance minister to get help for two of the young ladies in the family who they said had evil spirits. One, Tabia*, suffered from Tourette’s Syndrome and would constantly spit at me and then immediately apologize. The other was a sweet young lady in public but prone to violent aggression. We spent time talking with these families and also got a chance to pray with Tabia and her parents.
“Isa (Jesus) is my favourite prophet” she said but was not interested in him being Lord, which made the deliverance prayer a challenge. The father, Anwar* also complained to me that they had a lot of accidents. It seemed like a curse he said. Having spent a lot of money on medical treatment, Anwar was now desperate for a spiritual cure, but not desperate enough to put his faith in the Lord Jesus – yet. I asked the prayer team in Switzerland to pray for the family.
The Big Shock and Disappointment
On the Saturday morning before our second crusade, Dario and I woke to the sound of a huge explosion and the sound of falling rubble. The screams that followed indicated that something was happening very close by. Throwing on clothes and grabbing cameras we rushed outside to find the neighbouring building which belonged to the same hotel company had suffered a gas explosion. There was glass everywhere, and badly cut and wounded people crying out for help. Ghaffar started helping the wounded, but Dario and I were told to hide in our rooms.
“We don’t know what is behind this and the intelligence services will be here any minute now. There will be too many questions when they see foreigners,” explained Shahryar. As we returned to our room, I realised that two weeks earlier I had almost booked rooms for the team in that building. Anwar also had a lucky escape. He had been in that building two minutes earlier to give a donation to a poor employee.
Later we learnt that Shahryar whose room was closest to the blast was woken at 1:00 am in the night by his baby vomiting. But he called Saqib to his room and said “We must pray. It is not about the baby. Something bad is brewing and we need to pray for protection.
Patras
When I saw Patras, I knew something was wrong. I had seen Patras – Peter – grow up, he was an always smiling youth who was part of the team on every crusade I did there. When he was old enough, he did the weapons training and guarded me with a shotgun during a mission trip. One day we went for a walk, and I asked about the rules of engagement.
“If you see a threat, what will you do?” I asked.
“I won’t ask questions. I will shoot them.” Patras replied and explained that there is no time to think or talk in such situations. 10 days later, in Lahore, suicide bombers attacked three churches on the same Sunday. The ushers were not armed, and one young man gave his life, hugging a terrorist to absorb the explosion. I realised that Patras would have done the same thing for me. He was fearless. In 2022, he told us about a tree needed to be felled. But everyone believed that the tree was the home of evil spirits, so all were afraid. Peter chopped it down and nothing happened he told me laughing. But now when I looked in his eyes, I could see something was badly wrong.
In the evening session, I taught on inner healing and how Peter denied the Lord and was restored. Patras came to me afterwards and told me through a translator that he was in a really bad state.
“When they burnt the churches, I tried to save our church. But what could I do? There were too many in the mob, so I had to run. I failed to save the church. After that I started to hate the other Christians because everyone wanted to save their property, but no one cared about the house of God.
Afterwards, I saw it as a chance for Christians across Pakistan to protest and fight for justice. But the other leaders just took the little money they got from the Government. They sold out and I began to hate them for that. So, I was no longer meeting with the team or the pastor’s chain. But when I heard that Pastor David is inviting me to camp, I realised I need to make peace and come here. So now, please pray for me. I have this anger and bitterness in my heart.”
So, we prayed together, and over the remaining days I saw Patras beginning to smile again.
Undefeated when Jesus is with me
Naal Jahova Music Video Production
After the blast in Peshawar, we decided to shoot a music video clip for Shahryar’s new song. So, we had him sing it a number of times before and during crusade as well as in the camp. By including live performance and documentary scenes from the blast and our visits to the different churches, the clip will be unlike anything that Pakistani Christians have seen before.
The song that will soon be released online and across 10-15 Pakistani Christian TV channels is a rousing anthem that nicely summarises our work and vision.
The name of the Lord of Hosts will give me victory.
Who can defeat me when Jesus is with me?
Our victory is certain, just don’t give up.
One has to give up sins and kill one’s ego.
If we will be faithful till death,
He will give us the crown of life.
I will dance while singing in the fullness of Holy Spirit.
And I will plant the flag of Jesus in different places.
God will take me to all the world for his Name’s sake.
Our weapons are not made of iron and copper.
We have the Word in our hearts, that’s why our chests are stretched.
I will thank Jesus and He will bring me to God.
You can watch a teaser about the music clip here.
David introduces the ground-breaking Pakistani Christian Music Video
Kabul already
One of the key elements of the vision the Lord gave me for Peshawar was that through our visit Pakistani evangelists will be empowered and inspired to go to places that we cannot go – across the border into Afghanistan and up into the tribal regions of the Northwest where the Pakistani Taliban still have control.
You can imagine my joy when this week, I heard that one of those we trained made his first outreach trip to Kabul. Armed with magazines about physical and spiritual healing from a famous Nigerian minister, they visited homes and people on the marketplaces, giving testimonies and praying for those who received the Word. They also invited them to join a Healing Gospel Livestream, which the Nigerian Church is organising.
Thanks and prayer requests
Once again thanks to Jesus. In you we are satisfied. I would like to thank our awesome local team members in Pakistan who work tirelessly year-in and year-out preparing the ground, accompanying us during the mission trips and doing the hard work of follow-up so that the seeds we sow can grow. Thank you Pastor Ghaffar Bhatti, Worshipper Shahryar, Organisers Sadiq and Mehek. Thanks also to all the other volunteers from the mobilisation and catering teams and all the others who made this and past trips so impactful. Thanks also to Dario Zack for joining me at such short notice and fitting so well into the many hats that you were asked to wear.
Thank you for your prayers during this mission trip. Without them so many things might have gone wrong. Now, please join me in prayer that our brothers and sisters in KPK and in Punjab will continue to proclaim the Gospel boldly. Also please pray for God’s strategy as we continue to accompany and encourage the local team members as they continue with the work that the Lord has begun. I believe that just as the church in Jaranwala grew rapidly through healing and deliverance, so this message will also lead to a revival of the church in KPK. Thank you for your interest in this work and for being part of this Kingdom labour with your prayers and financial investment.
Where
When
Summer 2024
