Never pass up an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with someone. God always has a plan.
Pastor Rick was talking to the guy who has been cleaning his room. He found out that the gentleman was a Muslim and his wife was a Christian. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s common here. As they talked, Rick asked him, “Have you ever thought about becoming a Christian?” “Yes!” He replied, “I have actually been thinking about it a lot! I like the way Christians are focused, their commitment, and that they only have one wife.”
Rick asked if he believed God was in control of everything? Yes. Rick asked if he believed that our flight could have been cancelled and for us to be delayed for two days just so Rick could share who Jesus was with him. Yes. Rick asked, “Can I lead you in a prayer to trust in Jesus alone in for your salvation?” YES!
God is always at work, we just have to say yes!
In Christ,
jon walton
Pastor Mendy has just informed us that the plan is for us to head home today. That is if the plane is good and shows up tonight. God has given us more opportunities to share the Gospel while here and He has been very gracious to us.
If everything works out like it should, we should fly out tonight at around 9:45 pm (5:45 pm Eastern Standard Time). With all that has happened in Boston, not sure how it will all work out. None the less, God is still in control and we are fully trusting in Him. Thanks for your continued prayers for us and our families!
In Christ,
jon walton
We have just been informed that there is no flight leaving tonight. It will be tomorrow night at the earliest before we get a flight out. That puts us currently home Wednesday night.
God is in control. I don’t really know what He is up to, but it has been good so far. He will not disappoint!
In Christ,
jon walton
I love when God works things out that I had no idea was coming.
Yesterday our flight was cancelled. While pastor Rick and I would love to be home with our families, God is never mistaken. Because our flight was cancelled, I met 2 ladies last night who are here at the hotel from Pennsylvania, a mother and daughter. The daughter is here studying social development of developing countries. As I spoke with them, God opened the door for me to share the Gospel with them. While the mother had her mind made up about what she believed, the daughter was very open and receptive. She had seen what Islam was like and knew it was not a religion of love. Her mom debated me on homosexuality, politics, and Islam, but the whole time the daughter was very intently listening.
Thank you, Jesus, for another opportunity to share the Gospel. Who knew You would lead me to Africa to share about Your love with Americans!
Our flight should leave tonight, if not i’ll let you know!
In Christ,
jon walton
Well, God isn’t ready for us to leave Africa yet! Our flight was cancelled and there are no other flights leaving tonight. The airline told us to go back to the hotel and they would fly us out tomorrow night and make arrangements for us to get back to Knoxville. We are safe and well. Please pray for our wives and kids that Gods peace be on them. Thanks!
In Christ,
jon walton
We just got bak from the last day of the crusade. Pastor Rick and I both preached this morning. God had given us both a very similar message: Encouragement. We wanted to thank everyone here for allowing us to come, but more over we wanted to encourage these people and Pastor Mendy. So we did just that. We both preached about the peace and assurance when we trust in Jesus Christ. No one came forward to be saved, but they were encouraged to live their lives for Jesus and I believe they will.
Our flight back to the states leaves at 5:45 Eastern Standard Time today. I’ll post again when we get back in the states tomorrow.
In Christ,
jon walton
The second night of the crusade was wonderful! People came from everywhere! 330 people came to hear the Gospel and of them 22 more souls were saved by Jesus Christ! Rick did an amazing job preaching! (As always!)
God is moving in this nation and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Thank you Jesus and may You keep saving souls!
In Christ,
jon walton
Tonight at 6:30 pm (2:30 pm EST) we will be going to the second night of the Crusade. Rick is preaching tonight, so be lifting him up in prayer. Sunday morning, we will be preaching again (hopefully both of us) then getting on the plane to start home. I’m not sure when I will get to update you again, but I will as soon as I can. Thanks for all the prayers!
In Christ,
jon walton
We just got back from visiting with more of Pastor Mendy’s friends. One, a pastor who had faced a lot of persecution Including rocks being thrown at him and men coming in and threatening him while he was preaching. Talk about a distraction!
But the story I must share with you is of the second person we met. I’m not going to give his name, but the story is amazing! For clarity purposes, we’ll call him Aaron. (Again, not his real name.)
We went to the first night of the crusade tonight. In a word, it was amazing! We met under some trees with a small stage and plastic lawn chairs for people to sit in. There was a very basic sound system, some drums and a keyboard. That’s it. Nothing special. I will post some pictures on my twitter account. The amazing part? God.
Over 230 people came to hear the Gospel! They walked, came in cars, ride donkeys, I even saw a van full of people with people sitting on the top of it! Rick was very gracious and let me preach tonight. God moved in such a way that when I finished Pastor Mendy gave an alter call and over 10 people came forward to accept Jesus Christ! Praise God! After that, Pastor Mendy asked that anyone who was suffering with any kind of sickness come forward. They did and all the pastors, Rick and I included, prayed over them. The entire night was just amazing.
We are back at the hotel now. Tomorrow Pastor Mendy will pick us up at 10:00 am and take us into town to meet people again, then tomorrow night Rick will preach at the crusade. Pastor Mendy said there will be more people there tomorrow night, and still more Sunday. I can’t wait!
In Christ,
jon walton
Greetings everyone! Let me put minds at rest, Rick and I are both doing very well. Neither of us are feeling sick or in any kind of danger.
Pastor Mendy took us to meet the ambassador this morning. He is very nice and has incredible knowledge about The Gambia. He is from Kentucky, which lead to us talking college football! You really never know what God has in store for you on a trip like this!
After meeting with the Ambassador, pastor Mendy took us to see the land he had bought to build a church. (He is currently renting a space, an it is somewhat small.) The land is in “the bush” as he called it. And while it wasn’t a jungle, it was wilderness. We drove until the “interstate” turned to a dirt road, far from town and most people. When we arrived he showed us an area 100 x 200 meters. Then he told us God had provided this place and he wanted not only to build a church here, but a Christian School as well! It was really amazing. Standing there with Pastor Rick I said, “So many people in America will never understand this. There aren’t words in the English language to express the sights here. You have to put your feet on this ground and see these things to understand.” Thinking back on that, it rings more true now than even then.
We left that location and Pastor Mendy took us to meet some young men he is training up to be pastors and see the place we are going to be preaching in the crusade. There, we meet Paul, one of the young men who described what the people here in The Gambia needed to hear. “When I preach about sin, it gets the people’s attention.” He said. “They need to hear that God will not bless them when they are drinking, and fornicating, and stealing. That brings God’s Judgment. But, when they obey God, that is when God can bless them.” Sounds so familiar. They may not live in the same way we do, but there are some things in this human life that transcend culture.
Tomorrow night we start the crusade. Pray that God would give us the words to preach and that God would open hearts of the people we are speaking to!
In Christ,
jon walton
P.S. The app I have to post this blog is not allowing me to post pictures here. I am putting some on my twitter account and Facebook.
We have made it safely to The Gambia and have checked into our hotel. We have been greeted warmly by everyone so far. i cant wait to see what all God has in store for us!
We are both doing well health wise with no sickness, and God has already given us strength! As soon as we got checked in, Pastor Bidwell Mendy asked if we would like to go to his prayer meeting at his church. We actually wound up both preaching. It is amazing to think we are in Africa sharing about Jesus!
Tomorrow we will go to the embassy to meet the ambassador. Then we will be going out to the village where we will have a Gospel Crusade Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Pray that Jesus would go before us prepare hearts even now.
Thank you again for all your prayers and support!
In Christ,
jon walton
Rick and I have made it safely to Brussels. We are both excited to get to The Gambia and are both feeling well.
In an awesome moment, I met a wonder lady by the name of Gloria from Italy on the way here and had the opportunity to minister to her. She got scared due to turbulence on the flight, so I took her hand and prayed with her for our safety. All due to our first flight getting canceled. I’m so thankful Jesus knows what He is doing!
I don’t know when our next update will be. I am uploading this over a roaming data network and there is no free wifi here that I have found. Next chance I get, I will, but it may be a few days. Thanks for your prayers.
In Christ,
jon walton
We have landed safely in Philadelphia. Now it’s on to the next flight and to Brussels. Thanks for your prayers and I will update again when I can!
In Christ,
jon walton
We are in Knoxville, but there has been a slight change in plans. Our flight to Chicago was canceled. Not big deal for our God though. We are on flight #2588 on US Airways to Philadelphia, then catching a flight to Brussels from there. All making it in time for our next flight to The Gambia. As Rick said when we checked in, “God’s sovereignty. We weren’t suppose to be on that one.”
Thanks for your continued prayers! I’ll update when I can!
In Christ,
jon walton
surreal [ suh-ree-uhl, -reel ]
adjective
1. having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic
That is what I feel like when I think that in a few days I will be going to a country where claiming Jesus Christ is your Savior will make you lose your job, be disowned by your family, and possibly be tortured or killed. We have so much freedom here in the United States that we just take for granted. We take our walk with Jesus as casual when around this world people die just to know Him. Before even going, this trip is already changing my life.
Let me encourage you now: Dig deep into the Word of God and come to know His Son, Jesus Christ in an intimate way. There are so many who would go to extremes to get the chance.
I ask that you pray for Pastor Rick and I as we journey. Please pray for our wives and families while we are away. But above all, pray that the name of Jesus Christ is glorified in and through us!
You can follow along on our journey here. I will be posting updates as often as I can. Thanks for your prayers and support!
In Christ,
jon walton
