Mississippi April
Blessings to you and yours!!
What an incredible time of ministry in Mississippi! We arrived on April 3rd and moved into our motor-home right away. As you'll notice, it has scripture written all over it! A quick testimony about that: Don and Sabrina (the previous owners), were told by a mechanic that it would never sell due to all of the "Jesus stuff" on it. But God. He had everything orchestrated for them to sell to another ministry family!
Don and
Sabrina, (the founders of No Cross, No Crown Ministries) had just set up
their tent to have nightly meetings in Picayune, Mississippi. This
worked
out well for us as Picayune is down South, and I had already carried the
cross through the state in
2010, about 150 miles North of here. The tent meetings began and carried
throughout the whole month of April, Thursday to Sunday each week.
We helped Don set up and tear nightly; Evie sang a few songs of
worship, and I was blessed to share messages on The Cross and
stepping “out of comfort, into calling.”
There are many
highlights of our time here, but surely the greatest for me was
leading our 4year-old daughter, Yvonne, to the Lord. We've had some
big conversations about Jesus this past year and on April 8th
she said she believed in Jesus and wanted to accept him into her
heart. After praying with her, she said that God took her broken
heart and gave her a new one! I couldn't be more proud of her!
Another highlight came on Good Friday. Jeremiah called me over to
ask why I was carrying the cross. As I approached him, his face lit
up and he exclaimed that the Presence of God was so strong with me.
He began to tell me how he could feel the Holy Ghost and
simultaneously I began to cry and acknowledged that I felt the same
Presence. Wow, what a sweet encounter! He said, "I never let
anyone touch my baby, but would you please pray a blessing over my
child?" Of course I would! So I placed my hand on his wife's
7-months-pregnant belly and prayed a prayer of generational blessing.
I was reminded of when Mary visited Elizabeth and the baby leaped in
her womb - so I prayed that even now, this child would experience
God's love and be filled with His Holy Spirit! Wow, God! Their 7yr
old son was also with them so I prayed a blessing over him as well.
Before parting ways, I was praying 'calling' over Jeremiah. He
acknowledged that he had been ordained to be a youth pastor but never
followed through with it...so I challenged him to "get in the
game!"
Crosswalking in the projects, I looked across the
street and saw a woman taking a picture of the me. This isn't uncommon. But as I continued on my
way, the Spirit of God urged me to go back and talk with her. I turned around, crossed
the street and asked, "Would you like a story to go along
with your picture?" She conceded, and for the next half-hour I laid out my testimony, cliffs notes of
the Bible, and explained God's Plan of Salvation through Jesus
Christ. I asked her if she understood what I was saying, and if she
wanted to turn her life over to Jesus. To which she replied,
"Yes." Hallelujah! I prayed with her right there, gave her a Bible, and directed her to some great churches in the area.
I could hear Gospel singing down the street but had no idea from
where it was coming. Eventually I came to Ernie Mae's house and found
its origin. As I walked by she called to me, "Hey now, you can't
carry that cross past my house without stopping. Come and sit a
while." We began to praise the Lord as I shared my testimony and she
shared about God healing her husband's body! She sang more Gospel and
boy, it felt like we were good ole friends. Her husband blessed me with a
glass of cold water and I set back out carrying the cross. Ernie Mae became a regular at the tent meetings and often blessed
the Lord through her Gospel singing. She brought some jewelry for my
wife and cornbread for the kids. What a gift to have met such a friend as my sister Ernie Mae!
Other highlights include: Carrying
the cross in Carrier, Poplarville, Nicholson, Gulfport,
and Jackson. We're thankful for God's promises in Genesis 13:17, where
the Lord says, "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for
I am giving it to you." We just claim Mississippi for God's Kingdom.
Tobiah also spoke to Harvest Barn's youth group, and shared testimony at Enon
Baptist's block party.
Prayer Points:
We'll be spending the rest of May ministering in Louisiana. Please pray for a fruitful time of ministry, and that souls be won for God's Kingdom!! We're also looking for a car-dolly to tow our van. Please pray that we find the right one.
We'll be spending the rest of May ministering in Louisiana. Please pray for a fruitful time of ministry, and that souls be won for God's Kingdom!! We're also looking for a car-dolly to tow our van. Please pray that we find the right one.
Praising God for the friendships that He's blessed us with!
Praising God for His continual provision and ordering our steps!
Praising God for a happy, healthy family, in Jesus!
Rev. Tobiah P. Steinmetz
995 West High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
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