Ministry report:
Ministry in Kingston, Jamaica 2006
Jan 25 - 30, 2006, I lived a life long dream of
visiting Jamaica. The opportunity finally came for me to go. The only difference
was that as I was growing up I wanted to go to Jamaica as a tourist, but now as
a Christian I went as an ambassador of Jesus Christ.
The trip was organized through Brian Lake Ministries. Brian was invited to
minister at the More Glory Conference, consisting of 3 nights of anointed
services. I went with Brian and a team of others, to record video clips of the
services. During the ministry time, I was able to pray with the people in the
meetings, we laid hands on them and prayed for the sick. Many in attendance
received a fresh impartation and healing from God. Worship was done by a
Jamaican worship team consisting of a keyboardist, drummer, and 4 singers.
Charles was the drummer; he never took lessons and was better than any drummer I
have heard before. The worship team was truly gifted and anointed. The worship
team did a mixture of modern worship songs and gospel music.
On Friday I did ministry at an orphanage that housed 76 kids. It was sad to see
so many kids without a family, but it blessed us to see how happy they were.
Unfortunately many of the kids either had parents who died or were abandoned by
their parents. Some of the ministry team brought toys and candy for the kids; it
was amazing to see how appreciative they were of the small toys and candy. Pam
Lake shared encouraging words with the children; she then asked them what they
wanted to be when they grow up. We couldn't get over at how big of dreams these
kids have, some wanted to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, and do volunteer work.
Pam has a heart for children and has put together "the Esther Project" which
helps orphaned and poor children throughout the world. Despite the fact of not
having a family, the children were full of hope because of their love for Jesus.
On Saturday we went to a craft market to buy souvenirs, we also did some market
evangelism, praying for and witnessing to the merchants. Some of the merchants
gave their lives to Jesus. Saturday night was the last night of the conference,
and there was another powerful move of God. Brian spoke a short message and then
our team prayed for those who wanted prayer. It was an awesome night in the
Lord.
On Sunday the team was split up to minister at different churches. I was invited
to speak at the G.O.D. Centre in Kingston by Senior Pastor Michael Carter. I
spoke a message on carrying the torch of revival and being a forerunner for the
end time harvest. During prayer time the altars were full of people wanting to
receive a fresh impartation of the Lord. They were hungry for more of God and HE
confirmed in them the calling on their lives. Later that night our team was
invited to be a part of a Communion Miracle Healing Service at a church in
Spanish Town. The pastor had us stand in front of the church, and then people
came up one by one to take communion and then we prayed with the people. Many
were being healed by God, and one woman who had lumps on her breasts, said that
the lumps were miraculously gone. The service was supposed to last 2 hours and
ended up lasting for about 4 hours. It was like an old fashion Holy Ghost camp
meeting. There was also a young girl who gave her life to Jesus that night! God
is too awesome!
We also got to do some R&R, the Jamaican team took us to the beach a couple of
days and also my new friend Andre took me to the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston.
We enjoyed the time of fellowship with the Jamaican ministry team.
The people in Jamaica were very friendly. The Jamaican ministry team was full of
hospitality; they drove us around to different places and paid for most of our
food. We were over whelmed by how many churches are in Kingston, but even with
the amount of churches there are still many who have not heard the gospel
message. Kingston is a big city with beautiful beaches and mountains. There is
also a lot of poverty, the poorest people actually built homes at the city trash
dump where many do not have running water. Parts of Kingston is still recovering
from Hurricane Ivan.
The Jamaican ministry team tried to arrange for me to minister at the local
prison, but the door did not open for us, so hopefully next time. I definitely
plan on going back to Jamaica. Throughout my life, I never thought that God
would wait till such a time as this for me to go to Jamaica. Our team became
very close with the Jamaican ministry team and the people we ministered too. It
was as if we have known them for years. They will truly be missed, but we were
blessed to be able to be a part of what God is doing in Jamaica.
I want to personally thank Brian Lake Ministries' team and Pastor Michael,
Pastor Cortney, and the other Jamaican Pastors for giving me the opportunity to
be used of God. I also want to give a special thanks to Andre & Monique for
blessing me with a CD by Papa San; I haven't stopped listening to it. Also
thanks to Donovan, Denise, Kerry, Andre & Monique for driving us safely around
town : ) . And of course all of the wonderful people that we met at the
services, you're still in our prayers.
I also want to thank all of you who were praying for us back home and who have
sown seeds into this ministry.
The Jamaican Ministry team want us to go back again and do a tent crusade and
more outreach. I've said it before and I'll say it again, go on a missions trip
with Brian Lake Ministries, it will change your life! Please remember the people
of Kingston in your prayers. For more info on Brian Lake Ministries go to:
www.brianlake.org.
love and appreciation,
Mike Gates
Open Gates Ministries
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