The Lord has given me a real heart for the nations since 1978, when my bride of one year and I went to the Dales Bible Week in Harrogate, England. There were about 10,000 people each day in those meetings. The Lord was moving so powerfully during one of the meetings that I heard the angels singing with us. It literally made the hairs of my neck stand up as waves and waves of God's love swept over us. I knew at that time that God had called me to go to the nations. In 1980, I took a mission trip to Colombia, South America, with my pastor, and then a subsequent trip in 1981. We were ministering in a pastors' conference of a denominational church that was on the verge of splitting because of dissension among the pastors. My pastor at the time, Robert Johnson, preached a powerful message on the glorious church that God was building. After he preached that message, wave after wave of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit moved over the pastors. They began to repent before God and ask each other for forgiveness as they wept on each others shoulders. It was one of the most powerful meetings I have ever experienced. In 1991, I went with my pastor, Dale Barnes, and two other pastors to minister at a pastors/leaders conference in a small village in Mexico. Our van was flooded due to a hurricane that was working in the Gulf of Mexico causing severe flooding. It looked like a total disaster but the Lord prevailed. The sun came out the next day and we held the conference. These mission trips to the nations solidified God's call on my life.
