Page 183 - Then Came the Glory

Witnesses with Power
with surety. We are sure this happened because the church
prayed for him continuously. The Derg fell soon after this and the comrades fled and ended their persecution of Brother
Arkeno.
We only realized how God defended us when we
learned that in a place not too far from us Orthodox priests
hanged an Evangelical preacher. They exhumed the body and tried to bum it, and finally gave the remains to the dogs. The
police found dogs fighting over it, took pictures for evidence, and reburied the pitiful remains.
The zealous youth of our division out gave the young
people of all other sections. Our Fathers group and the Ladies Auxiliary lagged behind until they realized the tmth
of an Ethiopian proverb: If threads cooperate they can tie a lion. Now, everyone feels the responsibility of supporting the
spread of the Gospel message throughout Ethiopia. The Conference at Wa Gebeta
Wa Gebeta means God's dish in Hadiya. It is a fertile plain surrounded by mountains. We planned our conference for December 24, 1992, even though this is the time of rain. We began the services in faith. The other denominational leaders forgot the power of God and hired a famous wizard at a high price to bring rain and thimder to hinder us. He went to the mountain for three days stretching his arms like Balaam alternately toward our assembly and toward heaven. The rain poured down on him where he stood but when it came toward the place of our conference the wind dispersed it to return to the wizard.
We completed oiu* planned three-day conference with tremendous blessings, without rain. Many followers of the
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