International Newsletter December 2008

Dear Friends,

While Michael and I were preparing to speak a guy came in with his face covered with a black scarf and dark sunglasses. He kind of looked like a terrorist but I thought that maybe it was just a "fashion statement". Download pdf

Another one in the room that caught my eye was a guy in his early 20's. Stephan was a violent guy who was often physically abused by his father and was heavily into drugs and alcohol. He sat on the side of the room with his girlfriend sitting on his lap. As I was speaking I thought that he would be the last guy that would respond that night because he seemed by his appearance to be quite cynical and more interested in his girlfriend than my speaking. But to my surprise he was one of the first ones to kneel and give his life to Jesus after the meeting.

The next day Michael and I were in a city nearby and Stephan came with some friends to hear me speak. After the meeting was finished he asked if we could talk. "I am going to surrender everything to Jesus," he told me. "I am going to go home and throw away all my drugs!" he said.

"Can I pray for you?" I asked. He said yes and I put my arms around him and prayed that Jesus would fill him with His love and power. Afterwards he hugged me as tears ran down his face. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit all around us!! Before we left we were able to connect him with a teacher he knew who was at the meeting. She agreed to help Stephan get into a Christian Rehab Center with Teen Challenge.

It has been a very intense and fruitful tour in Germany. When Michael and I were in Munich we witnessed a Nazi parade. We accidentally found ourselves in the middle of hundreds of riot police and demonstrators who were screaming at the handful of Nazis marching. The night before we had had a meeting in Munich. The room was so crowded with people they had to put chairs out in the hallway while other people stood along the walls. I talked about the need to be desperate for God and how Jesus wasn't another philosophy or religious system. About half the people responded falling to their knees making new decisions of radical faith. Many others made first time decisions to follow Jesus that night.

In fact in all of the 24 meetings Michael and I had throughout Germany, the venues were full or overflowing and it was normal to see many make first time decisions to follow Jesus and hundreds of others rededicated their lives to Jesus.

At the same time Jodi was on another speaking tour in Germany and God moved powerfully in her meetings. In some of the groups where she spoke different ones left the meetings and spent the whole night in prayer in the forest, they were so challenged. She also did a television interview in Hamburg and met with some young artists from Poland to discuss plans for meditative retreats she wants to organize around the world. The purpose of these retreats is to provide a place for those outside of the church to ask questions about God.

With the whole economic crisis it makes Jodi and I more than ever determined to pour our lives into eternal riches, not ones that rust and decay.

Thank you for helping us bring the love of Jesus to guys like Stephan. Have a great Christmas.

For the lost
David & Jodi Pierce