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Turning
Point Conference
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Missionary:
Tom Bracken
Taiwan,
China
Date:
Jan 23, 2001
22 Million
souls in this nation |
Special Praise to the Lord for His unspeakable
mercies and divine interventions. We had a marvelous
conference in every way. It was 'special' with the
presence of God, His people, and guests from many other places.
Special guests were Brother and Sister Theron
Smith, Pastors, from Sumpter, SC; Brother and Sister Beall from
Myrtle Beach, SC; Brother and Sister Kwong from Hong Kong; and
others. It was a marvelous experience for all of us.
Brother Theron's preaching and teaching was outstanding.
Brother Kwong's presence and interpreting plus exhortations were
Spirit empowered in every way. I am enriched by being in
the presence of these great people of God.
Brother Dennis, Regional Supervisor for the
Asian area was there and gave such tremendous support and
undergirding to the meeting.
Now for the Results:
33 received the Holy Ghost, 3 were baptized in Jesus'
Name in the auditorium while visitors watched, 2 notable
healings took place, plus many, many deliverances. There
was such a manifestation of the Spirit of God upon and among the
people. We were overjoyed!!! 600 attended these
services.
And then the Brackens: what can I say?
To know them, to work with them, to be in their presence is to
see Jesus and fall in love with Him all over again! A
Turning Point has definitely manifested itself in Taiwan and all
feel it and embrace it with heart-felt thanks and praise to the
Lord for His bountiful gifts... The Lord Alone Be
Praised!!!
Chris Bracken with Tiffany, Andy and
Karene Bracken, came from the US to bless and inspire us all.
Josh and Anna are some of the most refreshing young people -
what more can I say? I love them all.
The Bracken family deserves our applause for their great
Christian example of dedication and consecration. Taiwan
and China are blessed to have their tears and love consecrated
toward them. God's Richest Blessings Be Upon Them!
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Most
Recent Report:
Taiwan:
Six weeks after the crusade, this report came in from
missionary Tom Bracken:
There have been several visitors begin to attend
our churches as a result of the crusade. Some came
to the crusade, and quite a few new ones have come at the
;invitation of someone who found the crusade to be a
"Turning Point" in their life.
There have been three more baptized as a
direct result of the crusade. And the area churches
are busy teaching home Bible studies to contacts
made at our Follow The Fire Crusade. This is all in
addition to the ones who were born again through this
great conference. To God Be The Glory!
Lee Stoneking
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Photos Of
Turning Point
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General
scene of Conference and banner... |
Brother
Bracken Ministering...
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Brother
Bracken and crowd seeking God. It was wonderful to
see, hear, and feel the hunger... |
Audience
participation... |
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Singing
- tremendous - all Blessed! |
Baptism
- great excitement here... |
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Moving...
| Here is a grandson and a Grandfather in his
80's. A Turning Point flyer was given to him by his
grandchildren. He does not speak English nor
Mandarin Chinese, but rather a aboriginal dialect from the
country of Taiwan. He looked, and looked and looked
at the photo of people with uplifted hands on the flyer
and kept it on his person and I understand near him when
he slept. He came to the conference and watched
everything - everything we did, he did... I went
down to him about the third night and with his
grandchildren, prayed him through to the Baptism of the
Holy Ghost. Wonderful beyond words... A
highlight of my life and ministry... I can never forget
him... He had believed in Jesus a long, long time
and now He has Him in His Fullest!
I, as all Gospel Workers who carry a burden for the
lost, live for these experiences - they make it all worth
while... cursed be the man or woman who comes empty
handed out of the harvest fields which are ripe already to
harvest and stand before a heavy hearted Savior and hear
Him say: "Lovest thou me?"
God help us all I pray...
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Daoist
Temple
| A Daoist Temple, one of many which cover
the Taiwanese countryside. Complete with idols,
incense burners, altars - the hungry and fearful come to
petition gods that hear not, see not, speak not, walk not
- they are dumb idols... heart-wrenching to watch
humans enter into such useless effort. The more we
know about it all, the more we should love, cherish, and
worship Truth and He who said, "I am the way, the
Truth, and the Life" Jesus Christ!
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The
Young Priest
Of all things I have seen in my life and ministry, I
can never forget the pain and anguish I felt watching this
scene and snapping this photo...
After Turning Point Conference was concluded, I stayed
with my wonderful friends, the Brackens and relaxed, taking
in some of the country, ocean, and learning more of the
culture firsthand. At the end of a day from the
shore, we were returning to Kaoshiung late in the
evening. On our left in passing was a
procession making its way in worship. Brother
Bracken stopped the van and said, "Brother Stoneking,
I want you to see this" so we got out five of
us and crossed the street and began to follow along.
Priests, shamans, young priests and a crowd was
following. Following what? A team of men
carrying an idol in a shrine to be taken to a temple (a
broken down old garage) to enshrine him. The shrine
was very heavy carried on poles by several men. They
would stop and shake the shrine to make the idol inside
appear powerful. The shrine was electrified to add power to
the god, (just a doll type figure no more than twelve
inches high). Firecrackers and rockets were fired every
so many feet to add 'power' to the event - one
had to hold their ears - it was deafening. Pitiful
beyond words... I am fighting back tears as I type
this report. I cannot ever be the same...
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The
Shrine of which I speak below...
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We followed for several blocks before reaching the
Temple... Along the way the Shaman who led the
procession fell into a trance under evil spirits and
became possessed before our eyes... His grotesque
body movements were not unlike a serpent as he yielded
himself more and more to the spirit of the event.
I have never been more thankful for Jesus!
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As we neared the Temple, pots of fire were put out for
him to walk around and through. A drunken priest
fell into me and I had to steady him. At this point
the young priest whom you see here with his back bleeding
began to whip himself by throwing the ball at the end of
the whip over his shoulder so that it would strike the
middle of his back and blood began to flow.
(Note the steel spikes in whip - a close up of this
can be seen below) The two Aim Workers with
us began to weep. The old Chinese people could not
understand why these two girls were weeping. They
could not understand that it was with burden for their
lost souls - such darkness you hardly can comprehend...
'God money' was stuck into the blood on his back.
Gold is for the gods, silver is for the ancestors
(ancestral worship is powerful here). By morning
Brother Bracken informed me, that both the Shaman and the
young Priest would be covered with blood. He says
that their wounds heal up rather quickly and with little
or not scaring... it is a demonstration of power
(dark powers) The people fear these powers and serve
them in fear... THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL IS
PENETRATING THIS PEOPLE!
When we got back in the van and began to move, I said,
"Let's have a word of prayer" - can I tell you
that we sobbed and interceded with burdened prayer for
several miles. It was something I can never
forget. Brother Bracken managed to drive safely
through tears and sobbing... The Holy Ghost that was in
that van was powerful beyond what you can know just
reading this report.
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A
close up view of the
young priest's back. This is just the beginning
of worship to his gods...
We saw only the early part of this night of
worship, but before morning, his whole body will be
covered with blood...
IN VIEW OF
THIS, HOW DARE ANYONE CRITICIZE OUR WORSHIP AND DEMONSTRATION UNTO THE
ONE TRUE GOD, EVEN JESUS CHRIST! AMEN!
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Notice
the spikes in the close up view of the whip which draws his own blood in the only worship
he knows... Our hope is not in our own blood, but in
the Blood of Jesus Christ! Truth has made us free, but what about
the masses like this who have never heard...? |
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Additional
Photos:
The following
photos I took myself and are the exact locations of which I have
preached a number of times since my two trips to Taiwan.
It is my prayer that these photos will awaken in you a burden
for Taiwan and an appreciation for the Great Truth you possess
through the mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ... May you never be
the same!!! Jesus grant it!!!
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Night Scene:
This is the largest Temple in Kaohsiung, San-Feng-Kung
(Three Phoenixes' Temple) We approached from
the grounds and entered...
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Looking through the
smoke of incense we can see into the first floor of the
temple... It is massive actually, and the smell of
incense is choking...
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Worshippers here are
burning incense sticks, bowing and swaying and offering them to the
Buddha that can be seen in the distance.
Notice the fruit and flower offerings offered to their
gods...
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Close up of one of
the idols of Buddha - here the fruit and
flower offerings are more visible. Notice the
'beehive' appointments on either side. They
are totally covered with tiny flickering tiles behind
which is a pinch of some ancestor's ashes. These are
petitioned also for the believer's needs. There are
thousands of these tiny tiles throughout the
temple... one cannot view this without the
Holy Ghost within weeping... it is unmistakable the
emotion He displays inside of one while in the presence of
such darkness...
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A shrine depicting
the plaque displayed in honor of the 'God who is over
all' - they will tell you that no one knows
what He looks like nor what His Name is, but that He is
'out there' and rules over all... we know His Name
to be Jesus! Hallelujah!!!
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Close up of that
plaque and details surrounding it... Pray that
the truth of the Gospel will come to these fervent
people. No one can condemn any of them in all of their paganism
until we have first told them of Jesus Christ and His shed
blood for the souls of men...
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One of several
furnaces found on the grounds outside the temple and also
within the temple where worthless paper money is burned in
honor of the gods and ancestors. This is done so that they have money to
buy the things they need in the after world...
pitiful is not adquate!
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I staggered with
unbelief when I saw this image pointing the way within the
temple complex.
Buddhism is an all inclusive
religion, actually it is in reality: simply Hinduism. Buddha left his
family and went searching for himself... he made writings
and now his followers follow his teachings... would
you want such a man who forsook his family and wandered
away to now become your god and to
look after your eternal soul and well being?
Christianity is not
an inclusive religion, but an exclusive religion because
it is the Laws of God - the only true God, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who robed Himself in flesh and
blood and dwelt among us that we might behold Him, touch
Him, hear Him, and KNOW HIM!
If ever
there was a day to preach the Truth once delivered to the
saints, it is now - with boldness like never
before! We have nothing to lose, everything to gain!
GOD BE MERCIFUL TO
US TO DO MORE... AND TO THEM THAT THEY MIGHT FIND THE
GOSPEL... and not just Asia, but the whole world...
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| Thank you for your support and giving which makes this
all possible for me to go and then report back to
you. God will reward you I have no doubt nor
fears. He is faithful that promised!!!
Lee Stoneking |
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