Memoirs of a Short-Term Missionary: Experiencing the Power of God

By Val Zimmerman and Victoria Pederson

Have you ever seen God perform a miracle before your very eyes? Read along as I share with you my own experiences as a missionary in Israel, China, Ghana, Liberia, and Kenya; how God used this simple farm boy to preach the Gospel, pray for the sick, and see Jesus heal them right in front of me! Let my inspirational story of Gods power and love impact your own spiritual life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512739138

Val Zimmerman

Val Zimmerman has traveled as a missionary to at least eight countries to spread the good news of the Gospel. He has helped to plant four ministries in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and continues to support many others. He and his wife, Marlene, of fifty-seven years of marriage are retired, living in Minnesota. Victoria Pederson has recently completed a Doctorate of Theology and is teaching at a local Bible College in Minneapolis. She and her husband, Bret, are the co-senior pastors of The Remnant, and members of the International Ministerial Fellowship. They live at home with their three small children in Minnesota.

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Copyright © 2016 Val Zimmerman and Victoria Pederson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-3914-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3915-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3913-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906598

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/28/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

Israel

China

Introduction to Africa

Introduction to Ghana

Ghana

Liberia

Kenya

Conclusion

Appendix A

Appendix B

INTRODUCTION

I received Jesus as my personal savior in 1958, just before I was married. I read the Bible to gather more of what Jesus might have for me. In 1971, I learned that there is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues and many gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy and miracles. I met a group of people called Full Gospel Businessmen. I joined them and very shortly became local presidential leader in my hometown in Wisconsin. During these meetings, we worshipped the Lord Jesus and listened to a special speaker.

I’ll never forget the time, I asked the crowd to pray for a man that had one leg shorter than the other. He had a special shoe with a raised platform so that he could walk normally. I felt that the Lord wanted me to ask the man to take off his shoes and we would pray for him. In doing so, I positioned him to sit with his legs next to each other, and asked everyone who loves Jesus to pray for him with me. In a short time, we were all astounded as we watched God make his shortened leg to grow longer in front of our eyes. We couldn’t believe it! We were awestruck as the leg grew to match the other one. The man’s legs were even. Then it continued to grow a few inches longer. The short leg had now become the longer leg. We asked God to touch him again so the man’s legs were completely even. And again, the leg began to retract and stop so that they were completely even. We couldn’t believe what we had seen! This was truly a miracle of God for a leg to move like this in minutes! The man did not seem to be in pain but was crying tears of happiness, jumping up with joy praising Jesus. We found out later that he had been planning to get a divorce from his wife, but with this healing, it saved their marriage.

During my short-term missionary trips, I felt God used me in ways I never thought possible. These memories were so strong in my mind and stayed with me all the rest of my life. God used me to touch others, and in the process touched me. This is why I want to share my experiences with you. God can continue to use my experiences to touch more lives!

ISRAEL

Saturday, October 16, 1976

M y wife and I desired to see Israel with all our hearts, the land that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, I will bless those that bless thee, and I will curse those that curse thee. We learned that a small group from Full Gospel Businessmen was planning a touring trip to Israel, so we arranged to go with them. We traveled by airplane and landed at the airport in Tel Aviv. We walked onto the tarmac and as soon as my feet touched the ground, I had a feeling of great peace overwhelm me. We had been busy preparing and planning for this trip, but suddenly, the stress of traveling disappeared and I felt like I was home. It was a moment of utter tranquility and comfort, a wonderful feeling. God’s presence was in this place, and He confirmed to me that He was there.

We went through customs and then took a bus to our hotel, the Diplomat Hotel. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. and it was a terrible mess of tired people all wanting keys for rooms. We tried to be patient and went to our room to rest waiting for our luggage to arrive a few hours later. When we went to dinner I was surprised that it was a four-course meal.

Before the service, my wife and I were in our room and opened the window. We looked across the huge valley and noticed that there were no buildings on or across the valley. It was a beautiful scene. On that hillside was a shepherd moving his flock of sheep up toward the buildings. We could hear him calling to his sheep and encouraging them up that rocky hillside. It reminded me of Jesus as our Great Shepherd and the beautiful sound of His voice calling me, encouraging me to walk up the difficult terrain. I knew that Jesus was there to help me get to the top of the hill and to help me if I fell. He was there to watch over, guide, and protect me. It gave me a reassurance that Jesus was always with me.

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Val pointing towards the Temple Mount.

Before the site touring would begin we had a few days of special services with some guest speakers. At that evening’s service, we had a time for testimony, songs, praise, and prayer. The guest speaker was Dr. Norvel Hays. He talked about various Bible references, such as Psalm 122. I read through the book of Hebrews and 2 Corinthians 4:8: We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. Reading this verse in the context of the troubles that Israel had gone through in recent years really changed its meaning for me. Sometimes I feel in despair when bills run tight at the end of the month or I have an argument with a loved one, but that doesn’t even compare with being attacked, or taken hostage during war. Hope like that can only be renewed by God.

Sunday, October 17, 1976

The next morning, we walked around the grounds and pool exploring the hotel. At that afternoon’s service, the same speaker preached a message on false gods from Acts 19 and Romans 4. He encouraged us that God is a faithful God when we obey His words. He talked about Matthew 15: 8-9a: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me. He showed the difference between worshipping with our mouths and our hearts.

That evening, the message was from John 15:7: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and