July 2008
Dear Friend,
Last year, we received an exciting invitation from the churches in Villahermosa, Mexico, to come help them by holding an evangelistic Crusade. Villahermosa is the capital city of the state of Tabasco, located at the foot of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Christians in the area have been praying and working for years to reach their cities and villages for Christ. We were delighted to accept this wonderful opportunity to work alongside more than 700 churches for the sake of the Gospel. Then, only a few weeks after we agreed to come, devastating rainstorms led to massive flooding, leaving nearly two-thirds of the region underwater and 800,000 people forced from their homes.
You partnered with us through our World Emergency Fund to provide aid to churches and pastors, and in the aftermath of the disaster we wondered if we should postpone the Crusade. Rather than deterring the churches, however, the floods only created a greater sense of urgency to share the love of Christ. Out of the tragedy arose a great zeal for the Gospel.
The churches initially considered holding the meetings at a small baseball stadium where my father preached at a Crusade in 1981 but decided that wouldn’t be large enough. Instead, they transformed a huge parking lot into an arena, setting up bleachers on both sides and placing chairs down the middle.
As we prepared to go to Villahermosa, we discovered that weather forecasts called for rain for the entire week. Our team and the local churches began to pray. The rains held off, and even the governor of Tabasco remarked one evening that it was raining across the state, except in Villahermosa. God hears and answers prayer!
We were enthusiastically welcomed. Each evening when I stood to preach, I was looking at a sea of people. Over three days, more than 112,000 people came to hear the Good News of Christ’s forgiveness of sin through repentance and faith in Him. The Holy Spirit led more than 9,400 people to make commitments to the Savior.
One evening, as vivid streaks of lightning flashed in the distance behind us, the story of redemption was dramatically unfolding in the family of a mother and her daughter, Yesinia.
Twenty-seven years ago, Yesinia’s mother heard my father preach in Villahermosa and gave her heart to the Lord. She then led her daughter, Yesinia, to Christ, but Yesinia’s three brothers were not Christians. Mother and daughter started using our Operation Andrew prayer cards, writing down names of family members and praying regularly for their salvation.
Nineteen years later, around the year 2000, God began answering the persistent prayers of Yesinia and her mother when all three brothers surrendered their lives to Christ. The brothers, in turn, developed their own Operation Andrew prayer lists, praying regularly for years for their spouses and children.
When I preached on this warm night last month, Yesinia excitedly watched 20 members of her family—nieces, nephews, and sisters-in-law—all receive the gift of eternal life in Christ. Praise God!
Incredibly, nearly 70 percent of those who made commitments to Christ in Villahermosa were young people. At every Crusade, I see thousands of youth come to faith in Jesus, trusting Christ to set them free from the bondage of sin. They form the nucleus of a new generation of believers.
Often it is the fervent, pleading prayers of another generation, like Yesinia’s mother, that God sovereignly uses as part of His redemptive plan. Praying parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles can come confidently before His throne to intercede for the souls of their children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
If you have members of your family who don’t know Christ, or some who do but aren’t following Him, I encourage you to spend time each day in the Word of God, praying as you read. Find a quiet place in your house and make it a spiritual war room where you can be alone with God.
I have found that prayer based on Bible study can be used by the Holy Spirit in a mighty way. Pray fervently for your loved ones or friends and claim His promises for them. Ask that God will "grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses, and escape the snare of the devil" (2 Timothy 2:25–26, NIV). Who knows what wonders the Lord may work as you cry out to Him on behalf of your loved ones?
Prayer is a priority for us at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. We count on your prayers for our ministry. Every Crusade, every television special, every aspect of our evangelism ministry depends on prayer.
• Partner with us in praying for people who have had their lives and hopes battered by tornadoes and floods in the Midwest, and for our team of Rapid Response chaplains who have deployed to disaster sites more than 15 times already in the first half of this year, more than in all of 2007. They bring the comfort and hope of Christ into situations where people have experienced great loss and tragedy.
• Pray for the ministry of the Billy Graham Library, which just completed its first year. Visitors have come from every state in the nation and from more than 40 countries. Hundreds of people have received Christ as they hear the Gospel message clearly presented.
• Pray for our upcoming Crusades in Taiwan and Charleston, South Carolina, that believers will invite their unsaved friends and family members to the Crusade.
Thank you for supporting the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association through your prayers and gifts.
I hope you have a blessed summer as you trust in the God of all grace to meet every need.
Sincerely,
Franklin Graham
President and CEO
P.S. We’d like to send you a free copy of Pastor Greg Laurie’s book 10 Things You Should Know About God and Life, with topics like overcoming temptation, finding God’s will, marriage, parenting, and what to do when you feel God has let you down. Request this free offer today »
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