ABA, NIGERIA Sunday, November 23
By Marti Schneider, On location

FROM DON:
This is just a short testimony to add to whatever Marti sends. This is
Sunday night. It has been a long day. Marti and I said this morning
that this should be an easier day, but somehow it didn't work out that
way. I think it is because the devil is after us.

If you are not here with us, it is difficult to understand. Yesterday,
Sabbath, was really a hot day. But the baptisms were wonderful. More
than two hundred were baptized here at the stadium site and many others
at the other sites where others are preaching, and a lot more yet at the
downlink sites. Then on Sunday, today, there were more baptisms this
morning at 8:00 and more at 10:00, and then more this evening just
before the meeting. I have no idea how many.

My voice is getting stronger again . . . I'm trying to be very careful
during my preaching, and try to keep quiet during much of the day.
Today I really felt tired. Just totally exhausted. Ate very little.
So it was a miracle that I had the energy to preach. I give God the
glory for that.

The generators are continuing miracles. It was said that they were not
good, but somehow they have continued to run, at least one or the other
is running, and they are putting out enough power.

Tonight I was to preach on death. That is a big subject. It shows
that Satan is a liar. I think that he did not like that, so tried
everything possible to stop us today. Just before we left for the
arena, we heard thunder, so Marti ran back to get the two umbrellas that
we bought here. I just felt too tired, so sat in the car with our
driver. We drove to the stadium. It is only a kilometer or so, but
that could mean anything from just a few minutes to half an hour . . .
depending on the number of people in the road.

When we got to the arena, the pre-program was already running, and I
was energized, as I heard the choirs sing. Then it started to rain! I
mean really rain! You just can't imagine how it rained. Quickly the
guys put up the small shelter on the upper stage, and the pre-program
continued. Then we went off air. . . the arena broke out in song.
Beautiful singing.

I went to the translators and told them I would preach, and we must
continue, because people would be at the downlink sites, even if we did
not have people here. They were ready.

It was time to start the program, and we were getting calls from the
sites asking what was wrong. We explained about the weather, but said,
stand-by. In a few minutes we were on. It was raining so much it was
impossible to have a choir, but we put the Heralds on under the little
shelter. They sang a couple of songs, Marti did her part. We would each
go to the stage under one of our two umbrellas, and get under the small
shelter.

It was still raining hard when it was time to preach. By that time,
God had put extra strength into my body and into my voice. We had a
pulpit on the stage, and we put the computer on it because the
teleprompter system wouldn't work, so I preached from the computer. The
stage manager was standing in the rain but was giving me signals to move
to the side of the pulpit so I could be
seen. The camera men had a little roof over their head, but they got
soaked anyway. The cameras got wet, but continued to work. It is all a
miracle. There is no other explanation.

Before I got finished preaching, the rain stopped. The area people
were still there, so I made a call. We, of course, do not know what
happened at the downlink sites, but there at the arena, with water
running down my back, I was making a call, and people were coming
forward. This was another call to keep the Sabbath and to be baptized.


Satan tried tonight to shut us down. Jesus won.

It is almost midnight. I've started studying for tomorrow night, but
did not want to go to sleep without giving a testimony about the power
of God, and His ability to thwart the attempts of the devil.

I have no way to explain how this could have happened tonight. At the
media center in California, we control the light, we control the
humidity, we control the temperature. Here we stand in the dark, trying
to get the lights to work. It is so hot all the time while we are
working, and tonight it is raining. Only by the grace of God can it
work.

For me personally, I can only give praise to God. I feel stronger
right now than I have for the past three days. My voice feels stronger.


It has been a day full of miracles. I wonder what God will do with us
tomorrow.

The other day they were working late in Bob Folkenberg's room and
wanted to send some email, but the internet line was dead. That means
at the office they need to push a button. They called the motel office,
but the phone was dead, because everyone in the office was asleep. They
thought about going up to wake the people, but decided to go to bed
themselves. So when they went to their own room, they found the motel
guard was asleep in the pathway. They carefully stepped over him and
continued to their room. He never woke up.


FROM MARTI:

Don't worry about our being overly sheltered and protected. That armed
guard that they said we would have lasted only one day . . . and we have
been free to come and go as we please.

This morning, as Don said above, I felt like I was truly on vacation.
I had told my camera team and our driver they could have the morning
off. I thought I would wash clothes, write a little to you, and rest
some (after the 9 o'clock meeting with the speakers/pastors team). But
I went to the restaurant to speak with Dr. Frank about our plans for an
excursion to see his ministry, when he
got a phone call reminding me of an appointment I had forgotten. It
was to be on Tuesday, is what I had in my mind. But no, my notes proved
that it was scheduled for that very moment. I ran to get my clothes
changed, while Dr. Frank arranged for his driver to take me and Sister
Daniel to the house of the Conference President Gideon C. Nwaogwugwu.
Sister Luka Daniel is my partner and goes with me almost everywhere.
The president arranged for someone to pick up one of the camera men. I
will tell you the story of the interview tomorrow night.

Just to second what Don has said about the rain . . . It was
unbelievable! I don't think I've ever seen that much water pouring out
of the heavens! Everything stopped for a little while, some equipment
was brought in . . . but microphones and cords, cameras and projectors
stayed out . . . covered by little roofs built for just such a need.
Phil Draper had purchased a shower curtain earlier in the week, and it
managed to keep his new piano dry until someone could retrieve it from
the platform. All the people had run for the covered stadium. I
wondered how much they would be able to hear with the rain pelting the
metal roof. We all had a sense that this must take place for the
satellite audience. We sat back in the control room and watched as Don
stood out on the platform under the perhaps 10x10 canopy. I heard Colin
Mead say, "Camera 1, zoom in. Camera 1, do you hear me? Camera 1, are
you there? Good, now tilt it up. No, that's down. Tilt it up so the
lower stage does not show. You have to tilt it down in the back in
order to make it go up in the front!" Colin was really very gracious
with whoever was behind Camera 1.

I was impressed as I sat there in the control room with the control
room team, Bob Folkenberg, a couple of the Heralds, etc. Here we are in
the midst of Africa . . . professional people who sing or work in
environmentally controlled places, putting up with gritty floors, a door
that doesn't completely shut to contain the air conditioning, people
walking in and out of their space, inadequate seating . . . but it's
special because you've become a team, you're working for the same goal,
you're facing the same obstacles, i.e., rain . . . no one is
complaining, everyone is optimistic, ghung ho to go on. Wow! And it
really deserves another . . . Wow!

Good night all,

Marti