Day Three In Prison Camp Saturday, August 21, 2010

It was early Thursday morning, just as the sun was rising above the eastern horizon of Ukraine. I was listening to the message “Kinsman Redeemer,” when I heard this quote in Brother Branham’s opening prayer: Only one law is laid down; that is, "If thou canst believe." And that is the agreement. Satan claims that we will not believe, and God says we will believe. Now, the battle's on, and the decision is ours to make. And whichever way our decision's made, that's the way it will be. And it's so wonderfully written: "All things are possible to them that believe."

“I can’t wait until the young people hear this message Saturday morning!” I thought. I began praying right then that those words would strike the hearts of every young person that attended the camp. I could only imagine the possibilities of what God would do if we could only believe and stand on His Holy Word. I was soon to find out.

Thursday and Friday of prison camp flew by, and Saturday morning quickly came. The same sweet spirit from the previous night was still present in the auditorium, as the musicians resumed their positions and played inviting melodies. Brother Matti Honkenen, our VGR Finland representative, came to the platform and set the tone for the morning service. A precious sister then sang a special in her native language before Brother Matti proceeded with Brother Branham’s theme song - Only believe. This took me straight back to the quote I had heard only two days ago. My heart was in great anticipation for what the Lord had in store.

In the message, Brother Branham tells a beautiful love story of Ruth and Boaz, and of Jesus Christ our Kinsman Redeemer. Just as we had came expecting and praying for, the Holy Spirit moved so powerfully on the scene as the tape came to it’s climax. Songs of worship were sang, hands were raised, and hearts were crying out to God. Brother Matti asked the question: “Is there anyone who would like to give their heart to the Lord Jesus or needing prayer?” Many young people shamelessly walked to the front to have the brothers lay hands on them in prayer. Some sought the Holy Ghost, some salvation, some a closer walk with the Lord, and some for healing. It was a wonderful time in the Lord, and we thank God for the lives that were touched.

The afternoon was relaxing and provided a little more time of fellowship before the evening banquet. Our special guest speaker for the night, Brother John Katyale, would be telling what he does as a “Tapeboy” in Malawi, Africa. He introduced himself to the youth: "Hi, my name is Brother John, and I am a prisoner for Christ." He went on to explain how that in his country, only the privileged, educated people know the English language, which is far from what he was. So how was he speaking English to the audience? "I'm not learned." He said with his thick African accent. "I didn't go to any school, like most of you. And I'm not ashamed..,to tell you that my school is Malachi 4." It was astounding to think that Just by listening to so many messages, he learned an entire new language. His first two converts were Muslim, and since that time he has baptized over 3000 souls. Brother John travels from city to city and from village to village, many times through some of the most dangerous parts of Africa, to introduce all that he can to the Message of the hour. He often uses his powerful singing voice to catch the attention of those passing by before he pushes play. He's witnessed the blind receive their sight, cancer vanish, the crippled walk, and countless other miracles... all through the Power on the tapes. As he kept repeating, "Their is Power in this Message!" It was an honor to see and hear first hand the testimony of a brother who came straight from the battlefront for the Lord. It was like meeting one of God's great warriors.

The morning service was soon to come, so we didn’t want to stay out too late. Once again we rallied around the campfire for another round of singing, but the fellowship was just too good to stop, and even the chaperones lost track of time and went past curfew. These were special times, as Brother John and Brother Saidi (VGR Malawi office manager) had been teaching everyone their favorite Chichewa songs and dancing around the fire. What a blessing it was to worship the Lord with believers of like precious faith.