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AMAZING TESIMONY OF THE OUT POURING OF THE SPIRIT FROM PASTOR DON ROGERS OF THE PENTECOSTALS OF WISCONSIN IN MILWAUKEE.

On Saturday May 29th at Clark square park in Milwaukee there was a powerful outpouring of Gods Spirit upon the hurting and the lost. This is a very dangerous part of the city where gang and drug violence prevails.

A multicultural group of Apostolic went into the enemies camp to witness a sovereign move of Jesus Christ:

1. Fifteen people received the Holy Ghost on this day. At times the Holy Ghost was so strong that people coming from off the street under the tent were slained by the Spirit of God.

2. Four people were healed

3. Eleven  people were baptized in the incorruptible and glorious name of Jesus right out at the park

4. Over 1500 people were in attendance with 1200 people from the neighborhood receiving a free meal by the team of the Pentecostals of Wisconsin

5. Four Television stations were on hand to report the move of God

6. There was no fighting or shootings. In fact a patrolling police officer said just the night before there were two shooting on the block we hosted this event we call community day.

7. Since the start of the 40 days of fire we have witnessed 47 people get the Holy Ghost and 29 get baptized in Jesus name.

To God be the glory for he always hears the cries of people who call on him for salvation.

At the foot of Calvary,
Br. Don Rogers

News Bulletin from the General Superintendent

Report from Thomas Suey, international coordinator of the World Network of Prayer:

“On May 1, 2010, the New York Metro Prayer Conference convened at 9 a.m. in Queens at United Apostolic Church. Professor Margaret Banks successfully led the 400 to 500 attendees, from 29 churches, into an extended time of deep intercessory prayer. Of the five and a half hours, over four hours were devoted to deep intercession.

“Being sensitive to the Spirit, both District Superintendent Thomas and Sister Banks revamped the schedule and let the Holy Spirit reign sovereignly until about 2:30 p.m. Wave after wave of intercession swept over us as men and women broke into deeper levels of prayer, supplications, and tongues. At about 12:30 p.m., the Lord gave us a word that ‘the enemy could not do to New York City what he would really like to do’ because the hundreds of intercessors had cast a prayer net across the city.”

At that very moment a terrorist was placing a bomb in Times Square, but it was discovered and defused, thereby averting a major disaster. Now we know the rest of the story.

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A Tremendous Move of God
at the 2010 Wisconsin Ladies’ Retreat

The 28^th Annual Wisconsin District Ladies’ Retreat was held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton May 6-8. Over 900 ladies packed the conference center to hear two outstanding women of God:  Donna Linville, international speaker, singer and musician and Janice Sjostrand, a career educator, guest lecturer at the University of Arkansas, and motivational speaker for various venues throughout the United States.

I will not be a Bitter Old Hag

Too often the hardships we encounter throughout life are securely hid in our heart and never surrendered to God. Maybe we are ignored by the pastor’s wife, or our child was not recognized, or we allowed a failure to take away our vision. Maybe the stress of cancer treatments caused a vacuum in our spirit from which we never recovered. God sent Sister Donna Linville Friday morning to talk to the ladies about why they must not let the trials of their faith, not for one moment, make them bitter, lest they end up lukewarm and sitting, as Sister Linville said, “in a pew like an egg shell without a yoke.”  We must get it settled today in our spirit that we will not become a “bitter old hag.”  Truly, the decisions we make today will lay the foundation for who we become tomorrow.

And there must be a fire burning inside that says, “I will not be intimidated by demonic activity.”  There will be temptations. There will be “lions” waiting to attack when we are the most vulnerable. There will be storms and trials of our faith that may shake our foundation. But, she said, “There has to be something that settles in our spirit that we will live this until we die!” We know these battles make us strong and valiant. So it is best to praise the Lord rather than absorb oppressive emotions into our human spirit. If we want to end up exuberant, we have to develop the habit that we will not give any thought to the images planted in our mind by the devil to drag us down and steer us off course. We must settle our life’s journey at the altar. There, at the altar, the Spirit of God will energize and lift us above the cloud.

Say Yes to the Lord

In the last session Saturday morning, Sister Linville had the ladies in stitches. She wanted to make the ladies merry before she gave her short, but purposeful message before they departed. She related some hilarious moments in her life, like the time she and her brother hid from their father the culprit who damaged his new Buick. They had travailed at the altar so powerfully for God’s intervention that their mother could not get over how spiritual they had become. It was not until their father was in his 80’s that he discovered the truth and who covered up for them.

Then Sister Linville presented a short and powerful message on the beauty of obedience. More than “not sinning,” she said obedience is an overwhelming urge and desire to walk in the center of God’s will through surrender.

When we say yes to the Lord, He will take us out of our comfort zone and bring us to a place where we will need to replace our appetite in the things of the flesh with an appetite in the things of the Spirit. To do this will require a change in our lifestyle, and it will take discipline and hard work and boundaries to force us into a greater path.

Everything is divinely orchestrated by Jesus for those who say yes, and He will establish their coming and going. People who say yes to Jesus are people who give in to the guidance of the Spirit and divine order of God. They are people who have learned not to see their daily routine as mundane moments. They willingly yield to the desire to be directed and guided by Jesus in pursuit of the divine lessons and appointments that He has in store for them. They may not understand the divine order of God and are not always living happily, but they refuse to turn back.

You are So Wonderful!

Judging from the title, I imagine you are thinking this segment of the article is going to be about how wonderful our Lord is.  But Sister Janice Sjostrand had another message as she ministered in music Friday night. In a spectacular demonstration of the Spirit, she ministered the love of God in a very special Mother’s Day message. Her message from the Lord: “You are so wonderful.”

She started out singing love songs from the Lord to the ladies, ushering in a most sweet presence of the Lord—“What a wonderful world”… “You are so beautiful to me” (as she whispered, “don’t be so hard on yourself”)…”You are so wonderful,”… singing “You go beyond His highest hopes and fondest dreams. You are everything He bled and died for. Everything He loved and hoped and cried for.” …“Somewhere over the Rainbow…” She spoke of Jesus Christ’s tenderness for us, and because we are complete in Him, we do not have to feel the absence of anything! She said a lot of women do not know how to accept love and find it hard to believe a Prince, so perfect, would want to put His arms around them. But He does. And He did.

Then came the beauty treatment, the beauty for ashes. The treatment only works if we lay down all our “I have to’s” in our relationship with Jesus—the feeling that we have to work—and let God do what He wants. And He wants to soothe some of the calloused places in our heart. She said the way we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we let Him treat us! He is not interested, she said, in our physical self nearly as much as He is interested in how we adorn our inner self; our attitudes, she said, reverberate back to Him.

But Sister Sjostrand did not come to preach, she said. Instead, she came to serve “a beautiful Bride who is getting ready for a wedding.” She was called to “reach the things we are not aware of,” to put on the “finishing touches” so that we might be adorned for the King. And so she asked, “Are you happy? Have you been robbed of the blessed and blissful state of ‘it is well between me and my Groom’ by circumstances in your life?  If you are worn down by bitterness or anxiety over what your life has dealt you, then you have missed a love affair of a lifetime!”

She recalled Daniel who lived his entire life in captivity from the age of 17. Though he learned the culture and the language, and lived according to the laws of the land, three times every day, he bowed himself to an open window and let his soul go free. “And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own…” One day Daniel heard a voice say, “Oh, Daniel, greatly beloved.” Then she asked the ladies to say the same words that were spoken to Daniel, calling out their own name. As she sang the words, “Oh, how He loves you and me. He gave His life. What more could He give…,” she whispered, “Let Him hold you.” Suddenly, in the stillness of the moment, there was heard the sound of weeping, as tears are the agent for cleansing, and she softly asked, “Does He know where you are? I come to tell you, yes.” She asked the ladies to close their eyes, and like the angel said to Daniel, she asked them to whisper the words, “Be strong!” to themselves.  To those who long to be the Bride Jesus sees in them, and for those who are weary and spent, she asked them to put their hands upon their heart and say, “Peace.”  “Jesus, how I trust you. Precious Jesus, oh for grace to trust you more…”

As the volume of her delivery increased, corresponding to the heightened presence of the Lord that filled the banquet hall, Sister Sjostrand declared with passion and anointing, “Jehovah abides here.” It seemed there was a “rushing mighty wind” as it filled all the hall where we were sitting, like on the Day of Pentecost. She declared, “We are the temples. We are standing… adorned and waiting on holy ground. The angels cry holy to the Lord.” Then quickly, “Glory, glory Hallelujah…His truth is marching on.” And the drums burst into the quiet with the Army of the Lord shouting praises to their omnipotent, almighty King. Then there arose a crescendo of sound as the temples of the Holy Ghost, gathered there in one accord in one place, began to praise and worship their King. Spiritual pandemonium broke out as Sister Sjostrand shouted, “I present to you His Majesty, the Lord God Almighty!”

An awesome experience, one that I shall never forget.

By Carole J. Keller, Section 2 WDN Representative

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By Joanne Putnam

Do you feel stress coming at you from every angle?

Stress is something we face, to varying degrees, every day of our life. Either we conquer it, or it conquers us.

Stressed or Blessed will help you identify where your stress is coming from. It will give you tips and tools to help you overcome stress in every area of your life:

• Finances • Your past • Hormonal changes • Disorganization
• Sin • Unmet needs • Low self-esteem • Anger • Unexpected events
• Relationships • Job stress • Parenting pressures

Stress is a yoke. It causes pressure, strain, and mental and physical tension. As children of God, we will experience stress, but we must remember that we have an omnipotent God, who says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me” (Matthew 11:28-29)

The new book will be available this month at District Conference or in May at Ladies Retreat. It is also available on-line at www.thereadyscribe.com and can be ordered through paypal, or through PPH.

A new format… we are moving from a black and white printed newsletter to a full-color e-zine (electronic magazine). The current plan is to update the website/blog as new information comes in and a digital version of the WDN newsletter will be published every other month (on-line only).

A  new face… I am Craig Lundt, a graphic designer by trade and now your WDN editor. My wife, three children and I live in rural Northeast Wisconsin and attend church at Gateway Apostolic in Waupaca. As newly appointed editor of the WDN, I plan to do all I can to produce a quality newsletter every other month.

A new direction… We will hear from Bro. Putnam each issue, and I hope to include upcoming activities, reports of past activities, spotlights on musicians, authors and pastors, and generally I hope to brag on what God is doing in our wonderful state of Wisconsin.

Submission can be sent to: editor@wisconsindistrictnews.org or contact your sectional representative:

Loretta Lundt – section1@wisconsindistrictnews.org
Carole Keller – section2@wisconsindistrictnews.org
(Rep needed for section 3)
Frank Ritchie – section4@wisconsindistrictnews.org
Kathy Fry – section5@wisconsindistrictnews.org

Final print edition

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