An Awesome Visitation of God Amongst the Maoris

We planned to leave Christchurch and arrive in Sydney in the New Year (1970). Prior to leaving we were invited to minister, over the Christmas season, at a five-day Maori young people’s camp in the northeast of New Zealand. On our arrival we found about 100 young people had gathered. One of the parents called out to us as we met them driving into the camp grounds...

"We've been praying. We're expecting great things for our young people!"

None of us realised how wonderfully the prayers of these parents was going to be answered.

The camp did not fully get underway for two days. The tent for the young men had been left behind and someone had to go back to get it. Also the cooks were two days late arriving. But then began something we will never forget. As Paul ministered from God’s Word when the first meeting began, the young people just fooled around. They were throwing paper aeroplanes at one another and talking back and forth. They were full of high jinks and would not settle down. It was obvious they did not really want to be there. Finally, Paul stopped ministering.

“Young people” he declared in a firm voice. “We are here to have fun but we are also here to meet with the Lord. If you don’t mean business with God we are packing our bags and out of here.”

The noise and misbehaviour stopped and a hush came over the meeting.

“But if you mean business with God" Paul went on, "you get down on your knees and repent before Him now!”

I was standing at the side of the platform and could see all the young faces clearly. I was utterly amazed at what happened next. I must say it took me totally by surprise. Many ran to the benches that encircled the Maori meeting hall and fell on their knees. Their voices began to rise in a cry to God for forgiveness. Others went to their knees where they were. The room was filled with the sound of weeping before God. This went on for quite some time and then suddenly, like watching the effect of a wind blowing (John 3:8), the Holy Spirit moved again. Beginning at the front and sweeping across to the back of the room, young people began to raise their hands to the Lord in thankfulness for forgiveness and God began to fill them with His Holy Spirit. The joy and praise was wonderful to hear. This went on for quite some time and then suddenly, again, the Holy Spirit blew like a wind across the room. Beginning at the front again, one of the young girls began to weep.

“Oh, His hands....His hands” she began to cry.

We went to her and asked her what was happening.

“It’s Jesus” she said “I can see His hands.”

She described the vision she was seeing. She could not see the Lord’s face but out of a cloud He had stretched out His hands to her and she could see the nail prints.

That began the most awesome experience. Sweeping right over the room almost all of these young people began to fall over under the power of God. Some of the parents tried to pick them up but Paul told them not to worry. God was at work in their lives. For the next three days we witnessed an astonishing visitation of God to these young people. They saw visions of the Cross, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. Some walked the streets of Heaven led by angels and saw the Throne of God. Jesus appeared to each of them and spoke to them personally. We asked them what he looked like. Each one said he wore a long white robe with a golden girdle and golden sandals. What did He say to them? "Be faithful to me. I will be faithful to you." Some were out in the Spirit for hours. The sense of the presence of the Lord was breathtaking. I remember sitting on the floor surrounded by young people seeing these glorious visions and saying, “Lord, what about me?” But this was their special time.

This holy, awesome time lasted for three days. On the last day, I saw one of the young women kneeling before the Lord. The day before she had told me she had not experienced what the others had been experiencing and had wondered why. When I saw her kneeling there I went up to her. She was talking to the Lord. It was like listening to a one-way telephone conversation. She would pause, listening, and then reply “Yes, Lord. I will, Lord.” I waved my hand in front of her eyes. She didn’t blink or react. She couldn’t see it. I bent over to look into her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes were covered by a white haze. She was in the heavenly realms, seeing and speaking with the Lord.

When the young people came out of this experience many could not even share about it for several days, they were so overcome by the glory and holiness of God.

Needless to say, those young people left that camp totally transformed. One of the young ones, Cecily, who had seen the whole passion of Christ and then been taken into Heaven, later became a great evangelist for the Lord, seeing many come to the Lord in India.

For Paul, myself, David and Rebecca it was an event we shall never forget and since then, though we have by no means sought it, we have had the joy at times of seeing God sovereignly move in a similar way amongst the tribal people of Asia.

Children of the Lord

During the year in Christchurch, New Zealand (1969) the children went to a Christian school. We rented a lovely house in the city right opposite a beautiful park. We got a dog for the children that they loved dearly. We loved to watch David and Hugo, the dog, playing across the road in the park. There were "dips" in the land and it was delightful to see the two heads...boy and dog...appear and disappear as they ran together over the undulating ground. Life was very good.

Rebecca Receives the Lord

One morning, as I was getting the children ready for school, Rebecca suddenly said “I’ve never asked Jesus into my heart”. She was five years old.

“Would you like me to pray with you?” I asked.

“No” she said, “I’ll do it myself” and off she went into her bedroom. A few minutes later she came out. “Jesus is in my heart now” she said with a big smile.

The children’s ministry attached to the church we were attending (one of the churches that had sprung from the great move of God Paul had been involved in prior to us going to Thailand), had great impact on both the children’s lives. Under the leadership of Sally Hanna, David and Rebecca were both wonderfully filled with the Holy Spirit.

Children Supernatural Led of the Spirit

One particular incident during that year was amazing. Sally organized a children’s camp and I was invited to be the speaker. Children from many parts of Christchurch came. I acted out the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, and in the second session, the story of the three in the fiery furnace, using them as illustrations of the Gospel. Many of them responded to the invitation to receive Jesus into their hearts. That night, when all the children were in the camp beds, two little girls came out to speak to Sally and me.

“We were reading this in the Bible and we don’t understand what it means.” They showed us Acts 2, the record of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the early believers. “What does it mean” they asked.

Sally and I looked at one another. “Come up to the chapel” said Sally, “and we’ll explain it to you”.

Lights were out in the camp. All the other children were in bed. We took the two children up to the little chapel that was on a hill next to the camp ground. Sally turned on the light and sat down with them and began to explain the passage of scripture to them. As Sally talked with them, I stood at the window looking over the camp, praying for them. Suddenly, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Children were coming out of every cabin and climbing up the hill towards the chapel. Nothing had been told them....we thought they were all asleep...but here they were being drawn by the Holy Spirit to the chapel. Soon it was filled with children and Sally was sharing with them all the wonderful truth how God wants to fill each believer in Jesus with His Holy Spirit. We watched with wonder as each one of them was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Children Hear from God

At the end of 1969, after a year in Christchurch, Paul and I both knew it was time to move on and we began to seek the Lord as to where he wanted us to go. We waited for His directions. There was such a need for resources on the missionfield, the Lord seemed to be impressing us to go to Sydney to establish a missionary church. This was confirmed through a prophet who came to visit us in Christchurch. Someone gave us the use of a holiday cottage at the beach at Woodend so we could have 5 days break. We wanted to spend time in prayer and as we prayed we both believed the Lord wanted us to go to Sydney.

We needed to give opportunity for David and Rebecca to hear from the Lord. They were now six and seven years old. The move would mean a lot to them...having to leave the friends they had made and, for David especially, having to leave Hugo, the dog. They needed a word from God as much as we did. We had always included them as part of the team. They had grown believing they were missionaries too. We knew they could hear the voice of God if given the chance. We did not tell them what we were feeling but went for a walk with them along the beach. Paul then explained we wanted to pray about where the Lord wanted us to go next and asked them to pray and tell us what the Lord tells them. We did not share with them what we had heard from the Lord ourselves. Instead Paul gave them three options to pray about. Did the Lord want us to stay in Christchurch? Did He want us to go back to Thailand? Did He want us to go to Sydney?

Off they both went along the beach to pray. Paul and I watched them both with such joy. After a short time Rebecca came skipping back to us.

“The Lord wants us to go to Sydney” she said.

David took longer. We watched him pacing back and forth, head down and hands behind his back. Finally, he too came back.

“I’m sorry I took so long” he said. “I knew it would mean leaving Hugo and my friends. But that’s okay now. The Lord wants us to go to Sydney”.

We all rejoiced together. We, as a family, had heard from God. We knew the next move forward in our odyssey of faith.

The final event of that year in New Zealand, prior to our leaving for Australia, was something that was far beyond anything we had experienced before. We will share about this in our next post.

New Experiences Awaited Us in New Zealand

In 1969, at the Lord's direction, we left Thailand and flew off to New Zealand. During the year we spent there the Lord again moved in a variety of wonderful ways.

The Visitation Still Present

Our time in New Zealand was a real time of blessing for us as we visited churches and met up with many that had come to the Lord during the visitation of God a few years before (see our July 31st Post "Entering a New World"). We were thrilled to find that, like a "mantle" lying on the ground waiting to be picked up (2 Kings 2:6-14), the visitation of God was still present. For example, we went to minister for a weekend to the church in Gore. The moment we started ministering, the same things that had happened in the visitation three years previously started again. It was a blessed weekend.

The New Life Churches

The outworking of the visitation of God in New Zealand saw the establishing of autonomous churches, each with a different name. One of these was the fellowship in Christchurch which had come out of the ministry we had there just prior to going to Thailand. My brother, Terry, had later taken the leadership of the fellowship prior to going to Dunedin to establish a church there. Then Peter Morrow took it up (Anne, who was later to become Peter's wife, had been the pianist for our meetings). While in Thailand we had established the New Life Centre (not a church but the centre for our literature ministry and a ministry to the Body of Christ). Peter wrote to us and asked if he could use the name "New Life Centre" for the church in Christchurch. We, of course, said yes. We didn't realize that all the churches that had been born out of the visitation would then take on this name, becoming the New Life churches throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Team to S.E.Asia

During this time in New Zealand I took a team to S.E. Asia, going to Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand. All the team got their fares and expenses for the trip okay. The Lord had provided for my fare but, one day before I was to leave, still no funds had come in to support the family for the several weeks I would be away. So I was in conversation with the Lord:

"Lord, I can't leave the family unprovided for."

It came up to the last morning before our departure time. I was prepared to stay behind when there was a knock on the front door. I opened the door and there was an envelope on the step. The deliverer had escaped unseen. I ran to the next room and looked out the window just in time to see Andrew Cowie disappearing from view. No one knew of our need but Andrew had heard from God. When I opened the envelope it contained, in cash, the exact amount I needed for the family. That night I flew off a happy man knowing my family was taken care of.

In Indonesia one of our team, Colin, was struck with terrible home sickness. As a farmer, just off the farm, he was distraught. However, after encouragement and prayer he was fine. He was later to be so inspired by the need and the opportunity for the Gospel in Thailand he would go back there and minister brilliantly to the schools throughout the nation.

An Important Lesson

From Indonesia we went through Hong Kong on the way to Thailand. We were staying at the YMCA and we all needed to change some of our travellers cheques into HK dollars. We came to a money changer, familiar in Hong Kong behind a small booth with a sign at the top "Check your money. No responsibility taken." After all getting our money and walking back to the YMCA, Colin discovered, much to his shock, that the money changer had only given him half the money in exchange for the traveller's cheque he gave him.

I said, "Let's go back - but let me talk to him."

We all stood in front of the cage-like booth and I explained that my friend had only got half the money from the $50 he exchanged. I said, "Just look in your drawer and you will find the note."

He said, "It's gone to the bank already."

We knew this was not true, so I said, "I'm sorry, We are going to have to pray." So we did...all together...out loud.

Then I challenged him again. "We are missionaries" I said, "We have very little. My friend can't afford to lose half his money."

"No, no" the man said, and he repeated the same story again.

I said, "We have to pray again." And we did.

"I'll tell you what", the man blurted out, "I'll split you half way."

"Great!" said Colin.

"No" said I, and to the money-changer, "Now you have admitted we are telling the truth."

So I put out my hand and waited for what seemed like an age. Finally he handed over the money and we went away rejoicing.

Boy! What a lesson we all learned. We almost settled for half a victory.

This is what the devil often tries to do to us - make us settle for half a provision, half a healing, half an answer. But Jesus paid for the whole answer - a finished work. The devil is totally defeated.

During this year spent in New Zealand we were to see the Lord move in spectatular ways, which we will share in the posts that lie ahead.

Reaching the Future Leaders of Thailand

After three months in the United States we flew back to Hong Kong and then boarded the ship that would take us back to Thailand. It had been a wonderful time of ministry in the States, sharing the vision and making many new friends.

We docked in Bangkok without a cent in our pockets. We had until noon to leave the ship so Paul said,

“You stay on board. I’m going to find a house for us and I’ll come back for you.”

We knew it was going to take a miracle of the Lord. Before noon, Paul was back.

“I have a house” he said.

He had gone into the city searching, had enquired at one or two places that advertised houses to let, and then he had seen a notice advertising a small house for rent. When he saw it, he knew it was ideal for us. It was situated in a compound with the owner’s house, was well fenced in and even had a swing in the garden for the children. On top of that, it was furnished. The landlord even agreed to put in a refrigerator at Paul’s request. But how could we get it without any money? Paul simply said to the landlord:

“My Father is sending some money but it hasn’t arrived yet. Will it be okay to pay you when it comes?”

The landlord didn’t realize, of course, that Paul was referring to our Heavenly Father. But he was very happy about the arrangement...very pleased to have good tenants.

Not only was it an ideal home for us to live in, it soon became obvious why the Lord had guided us to this particular house. It turned out that the landlord was the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at the Thammasat University. We had not long moved in when he approached us to ask if one of us could teach spoken English to his students. Because Paul was busy in the ministry he suggested I go. It turned out to be a great adventure with the Lord.

I was rather nervous about doing it so really called on the Lord for his help. When I arrived at the university on my first day, the Dean introduced me to the class and then left me to it. I looked down at the sea of faces before me...500 in all....all young men training for the leadership of the nation. I took a deep breath and began.

“I’m here to teach you spoken English” I told them “so I want to hear how you speak so I can help you. Stand up and introduce yourself to me. Anyone stand up” I said. “One at a time.”

There was a slight pause. Then a young man jumped to his feet. He gave his name and then said:

“Why have you come to Thailand?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. What an opportunity to share why we were there! I answered him, explaining our desire to tell people about the Lord Jesus. Another one jumped up.

“Why do you believe in God?”

I told them my own experience of coming to know the Lord personally and how he had changed my life and of the many times we had seen God meet us in our lives.

Another jumped up....and then another.....and then another.

As they spoke I would correct their grammar and their pronunciation, but the whole session was a wonderful time of sharing about the Lord. I noticed the Dean’s head peep through the door at one stage, obviously checking on how I was doing. It was just at the time when we were all laughing over something that had been said. I saw him smile and give a nod of approval.

As well as being a financial provision for us, this time at the university proved to be a wonderful open door for the Gospel. One day I arrived to find the students all milling around outside in the campus. Several came up to me and began to apologize. The students were on strike, they said.

“Arjarn [professor], may I ask you a question?” one said.

“Of course” I replied. A large group of young men gathered all around me.

“You believe in Jesus. Our parents believe in Buddha. What’s the difference?”

My silent prayer for wisdom was quickly answered.

“Do you believe Jesus was a good man and a good teacher?” I asked them.

“Yes” was the reply.

“No one has ever claimed to be what Jesus claimed to be" I said. "Buddha never claimed to be God. Jesus claimed He was God’s Son...the only way to God. He claimed to be the truth and the life. You say He was a good man and a good teacher but He couldn’t be unless He was speaking the truth about Himself. He was either speaking the truth or He is the greatest liar and deceiver the world has ever known. You have to decide what He is.”

They were so keen to know more that from that day onwards a number of them would visit us in our little house and we would share more about the Lord with them. I often wonder today where these young men are. Two of them stated blatantly their plan was to become Prime Minister of Thailand. Certainly they would be part of the politics of the nation today. Only God knows where they are with Him.

The US Connection

It was David Schoch, a well known prophetic ministry and pastor of Bethany Chapel in Longbeach, California, who first invited us to America and introduced us to numerous churches in the U.S. Another invitation came from Esther Mallett who, while visiting Hong Kong, invited us to her church, Community Chapel, in Longbeach. Esther, with a team including her daughter Kay, was on an evangelistic mission in S.E. Asia (Kay, with her husband Richard, now pastor Community Chapel).

So, towards the end of 1967, we found ourselves in the United States.

A Dynamic Prophetic Word

It was at Bethany that David Schoch prophesied over me concerning some things the Lord was going to do in Thailand. As he spoke he began to weep.

He wept at the failure of the "Latter Rain" movement to answer the call to China. In 1948 the Lord had called them to go and preach the Gospel there. They went to down to San Fransciso's Chinatown and the Lord, like in the book of Acts (2:1-12) supernaturally gave them the language. But they failed to obey the call to go to China and in 1949 China closed. Communism took over and all missionaries had to leave the country.

Weeping and weeping David Schoch cried out...

"Remember China! Remember China! Remember China!"

...challenging the people to not make the same mistake in relation to Thailand.

A Great Evangelistic Ministry

Responding to Esther Mallett's invitation, we visited Community Chapel. The church numbered several hundred and was in revival. The Lord was moving sovereignly and many were coming to Him. Esther was a great soul winner. She had been a real estate agent and, after coming to the Lord in North Long Beach, led many women to the Lord. She took them to church but this, sadly, proved unsuccessful because of a failing minister. She took them to another church but the same thing happened. Finally Pastor Leonard Fox suggested she needed to start her own church to care for these new converts.

Esther discipled them in evangelism and would take them down to the "Pike" in Longbeach to witness for the Lord. Many of the ones won to the Lord there were their future husbands. And so the church grew. As well as this, the Lord would send to her the most needy chronic cases...drug addicts, the mentally ill, the violently abused, damaged and bruised lives. Night and day Esther would stick with them, praying with them until they came through. Some of the converts were original members of the Hell's Angel's motor bike gang. Otto Friedlie, who became a close friend, was the original President of the gang. Once a violent man, after coming to the Lord became the most "gentle" man. There was always someone in the "deliverance" room with a team helping them get free from strong demonic powers controlling their lives. One time I went into the room and several were trying to get a guy free. He had served in Vietnam and had been taken over by a powerful spirit. As I walked into the room, the Lord gave me the name of this evil spirit. I shouted its name and commanded it to leave in the Name of Jesus. Immediately he was free.

Many miracles took place in Community Chapel. One sister, who was blind, had never read the Scriptures, and the Lord would teach her the Word through visions. She would see real life events in the Bible. One time, during a convention in the church, she fell into a trance and called out:

"I see a ticker-tape with the words 'wisdom, wisdom, wisdom'."

Then - "I see a king on a throne and they are bringing two women before him. The women are arguing. There's a baby. And each of women is saying the baby is hers." "Oh no!" she suddenly cried, "No, don't do it. Don't do it."

"What's happening?" Esther asked her.

"The king is ordering his men to bring a sword. He's telling them to cut the baby in half!....oh, it's alright. One of the women has told him no, to give the baby to the other woman. Oh, it's wonderful. The king is giving the baby to her. He says she is the true mother."

There was a real "Berean" spirit in the church (see Acts 17:11). After each meeting they would all gather in a coffee shop/restaurant and, each with their Bible open, go over everything that had been shared from the Word that day.

Our experience in Community Chapel was memorable. We made many wonderful friends there. Many went forth to start churches in other cities. We were to go back there years later and minister for a year in the church and in the Bible College Esther would establish.

Space does not permit us to share about the many churches and ministries throughout the United States that we had the privilege to minister to and the friends we made. To cover all of this would be a book in itself.