Pakistan is in the news again and tensions are running high. Hammad had an extremely difficult journey today (29 Feb) from Islamabad to Lahore returning home after his concert for Lamp Youth Fellowship. Praise God he arrived home safely after many detours to avoid the mobs protesting at the death sentence which was carried out today on Mumtaz Qadri who murdered the Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer in 2011. Salman Taseer was a moderate who campaigned for the release of Asia Bibi and was murdered by his own body guard (who was then hailed a hero by many Islamists). For more details on the background to this issue click here for the BBC news report.
Please do pray for peace on the streets of Pakistan and for protection for Christians against any backlash of violence in the current unrest. May God’s angels protect His people.
We give thanks that Hammad is home safely but his work filming videos for the Psalms album will be on hold for a few days until it is safe to go out. We give thanks for the amazing concert at Lamp Youth Fellowship in Rawalpindi on Saturday night and for the wonderful prayer meeting the next day when Hammad was deeply blessed and encouraged by these young people.
Hammad’s video 7 says of Jesus on the Cross has 1,000+ from Hammad’s facebook page and we pray that this will be seen by many Christians and non-Christians in the run up to Easter. (See featured video on home page). The next video of Ae Yehovah Yari is being finalised from release after Easter.
Back home Sally has been very busy relaunching the Voice for Jesus website. We hope you like the new look and feel and the great thing is you can subscribe on the left side bar menu to follow the site and receive an email when new posts are published. You can now buy downloads of our first Album Searching online and we are working towards making all our own material available for download.
Tomorrow Tuesday 1st March Sally is travelling up to Harrogate for the New Wine Leaders Conference for 3 days. Please do pray for safe travel for Sally (and her colleague Sylvester) and a time of blessing, refreshment and re-energising through the teaching and worship.
Sally spoke at St Mary’s Chesham on Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians as part of a series on Prayer in January 2016.
Ephesians 3:7-21 (NIV)
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ,9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name.16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 3:15The Greek for family (patria) is derived from the Greek for father (pater).
We praise God for Hammad’s safe arrival in Pakistan on Tuesday 16th February. We pray for his adjustment to life in Pakistan and particularly for some good sleep.
Hammad has a concert in Rawalpindi on 27th February organised by Lamp Youth Fellowship and he is arranging to play in other churches in Islamabad over that weekend. Please pray for safety as he travels to Rawalpindi and for fruitful ministry, that the youth will be encouraged and their faith deepened.
Hammad has now released a song containing the 7 says of Jesus on the Cross in time for Easter. We thank God for inspiring the video director who edited the video that was filmed on Hammad’s last visit. We pray that the video will be seen by many non-Christians as well as Christians in the weeks leading up to Easter and that they will understand the depth of God’s love for us all in sending Jesus to die for us.
Also please pray that Hammad will have some good times with his family. Thank you for your support and prayers.
Hammad and Sally led a workshop for Christchurch, Chesham worship band to help them improve their skills in playing together and leading worship. Content included how to prepare to worship, the role of the worship band, the importance of listening to each other, band dynamics and song dynamics.
Feedback from Don – Worship leader/guitarist
Hammad, Sally, thanks for the workshop, it was clear that you both put a lot of thought and energy into the preparation. There is no doubt in my mind that we all got a lot from it. Lots of active learning and now we have to implement what we have learned – let’s hope you see the difference when you get back from your travels. Time to take onboard the CAGED system!
Thanks too for Sylvester and Lovisa for sharing your home so that we could have the Blessings
Tuesday 9th February – Music Workshop at Drop in Centre Bracknell
Hammad is a regularly contributor to Pilgrim Heart’s project at St Andrews, Bracknell where they run a weekly drop-in centre. Hammad provided music workshops with guitar lessons and percussion sessions to encourage clients to express themselves through music. A great singalong of old favourites both secular and Christian worship songs. Occasionally Sally gets to support this work by playing bass and singing with Hammad.
An evening of contemporary meditative worship and prayer led by Hammad Baily & Friends, everyone welcome on Friday 29th January 7pm- 9pm at Christchurch, Waterside.
An experimental evening of meditative worship providing an opportunity to connect with God with worship songs and prayer.
Feedback from Rachel M:
Dear Sally
Thank you to you and Hammad and friends for Friday evening. Sorry I had to leave to go and collect the Ley Hill youth from Salt, but I did enjoy my hour with you.
Thank you for your continued prayer support. I got home safely on Thursday morning after 18 hours delay due to fog in Lahore and then a missed connection in Doha, but thankful I was comfortable, able to stand when necessary and sleep for a few hours on the way.
Hammad is on the last leg of the mission tour and has travelled to Sahilwal today for a Christmas Gloria concert which will feature his brother’s band Crisma as well as Hammad and his band. This has been arranged by ARP church Youth. Please pray for Hammad’s health and for good voice as he is recovering from the flu. Please also pray for energy as he has to drive home immediately after the performance tonight to Lahore (3-4 hours drive). Please pray for safety on the road and security at the venue.
Hammad will spend his last night in Pakistan tonight and fly home on Monday.
His flight time has been changed so instead of departing at 9am he is on a 14.30 hours flight from Lahore to Doha but with only 40 minutes connection time in Doha for a flight that arrives at 10pm in London. There is a high risk he will miss this connection (as I did on Wednesday night) and have to spend a few hours in a hotel in Doha before catching the next available flight to London which arrives at 6.30am on Tuesday morning. Please pray that Hammad has a comfortable journey, is able to sleep for a few hours and arrives in good time.
On Tuesday evening Hammad and I will be rehearsing for the Chesham Town Carols, so we pray that Hammad will arrive and catch up on lost sleep quickly so that he is in good voice to perform at the Town Carols.
Many thanks for your continued prayer support and encouragement. I received a lovely warm welcome in St Mary’s today, and am in good spirits after a preaching on the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew 1. We have been blessed and received many answers to prayers in the last three weeks. On the mundane side the electricity meter has been replaced and the payments were not as high as expected. In the family another baby has been born to Tina & Luke (sister of Leah who had a baby last week). This time a girl – yet to be named. Please pray for these babies and their parents.
I’ve just had a text from Hammad in a panic that he has lost his wallet (with driving license, ID and bank cards). I’m praying for insight and that God will show him where it is lost.
p.s. Unfortunately it was never found, but Police report filed and cards cancelled before Hammad left Pakistan.
Hammad arrived home at 10pm on Monday 14th December without any delays praise God!
Still in Pakistan! I’ve just got back from Lahore airport which is Fog-bound. No flights leaving until 1pm later today. Will return to airport at 10am to see what flight I can get connecting in Doha and what time I will get back to Heathrow. Will be at least 10 hours’ delay which puts it at 11pm or midnight arriving in London.
Please pray that the fog clears quickly in the morning and the airport is not too congested, I’m expecting chaos when we go in the morning, well a bit more chaos than normal for Lahore airport! At least I get to sleep in my own bed for a few more hours before setting off again. Please pray for a good connection in Doha so that I’m not delayed any further.
Please pray for Hammad, he came back from the Singing Competition judging tonight with a high fever and flu symptoms. Please pray for a swift recovery as he only has one day rest before his next performance. Thank God he is not required on Wednesday evening meeting so he can rest, before Thursday’s show.
Thank you for your continue prayer support, we are both safe and in good health although a little tired from the weekend.
On Thursday last week Hammad launched a second video of Goa Goa Goa on his face book page. Thanks to the amazing network of friends reposting the video there were approx. 1,600 views in the first 24 hours, now up to 3,6000. Hammad has been visiting many TV channels in Lahore giving them the HD quality version of the videos so they can run them on the cable and satellite stations in the run up to Christmas. He has also recorded some Christmas messages that will play out in Christmas week.
On Friday the concert in memory of our friend Frank went very well. It was extremely moving to meet Frank’s mum and his brothers and sister. They were so thankful for the evening together and for our support. We had expected about 70 people to be present but in fact there were 150 people crowded into LEM’s upper room. Pastor Waseem Khokher did an amazing job with his network of contacts spreading the word and inviting pastors by text message. We had a 2 hour programme with singing many lament songs including Psalm 23 in Urdu and English, we had a bible reading and short talk from me and then a wonderful tribute from Frank’s brother Charles. It was good to remember all those who lost their lives in the attacks on churches in Youhanabad in February this year as well as giving thanks for Frank’s life. We took up a collection for Frank’s family and presented them with flowers. We sang a couple of upbeat Christmas songs to encourage everyone and then the evening ended with a meal and fellowship.
On Saturday we drove to Sangla Hill for the interschool singing competition for the Presbyterian Education Board. There were 10 soloists and 10 Choirs with a very high standard of performance. Everything was well organised except for the fact that the regional Governor was supposed to appear as a guest of honour so the end of the event was delayed for over an hour and in the end the governor sent his senior represented and there were pictures and speeches. Lunch was finally served at 4pm and we were back on the road 2 hours late having lost the daylight. There were road works on the way which meant some scary driving with oncoming traffic on our side of the road ignoring the cones to separate lanes and mostly with headlights on full beam. Thanks to your prayers we arrived home safely, tired but in one piece – Praise God. There was a family party locally and much pressure for us to attend so after one hours rest we got all dressed up and went for a couple of hours.
Sunday morning we were up early and off to JDMN church (Jesus Disciple Ministry for Nations www.JDMN.org) with Pastor Yousaf Bhatti. What a wonderful man and so humble, his whole team were servant-hearted and we felt very welcome. We arrived early in order to set up the sound system before everyone arrived for a 10am start. I spend some time with the Pastor’s children, 2 boys aged 2 and 4 both of whom are disabled (unable to hold their head up and with poor co-ordination, the younger one seemed blind as well). The pastor’s wife was busy in the church and I sat in the office looking after one boy and then the other, feeding them from a bottle. It was such a privilege to help in the this small way showing love and total acceptance. It came to me that although the boy was blind he could see the spirit world and was fascinated by the angels. I told their mother her children were beautiful and they could see the angels. The church was very small and the generator was not working, the electricity went off every other hour, so we were only able to perform for 40 minutes although we were there for 4 hours, chatting, encouraging them and having lunch together. They were very generous giving me flowers, and gifts to both of us. Pastor Yousaf has many ministries teaching church leaders, organising gift boxes for poor Christian Children and doing women’s ministry. There was a picture of him with Heidi Baker on the wall and many examples of his outreach work working with different poor community. He also run a TV channel called Holy Fire Christian TV. Our performance was recorded so will no doubt be playing on the channel in the coming weeks. He was invited me to come and talk at a leadership conference next year. Let’s see if it’s in God’s plan.
Sunday evening we had a family gathering with a traditional Christmas dinner, so I roasted 4 x 1kg chickens (no turkey available or larger chickens!). 21 family members gathered to enjoy roast dinner with chicken gravy and trifle for sweet. It was lovely to see Hammad’s sisters, and brother and all their children who live in Lahore together. Hammad’s nephew Luke’s wife is expecting a baby any day now, so I have celebrated with them in anticipation of the birth which will probably happen after I leave shortly.
Hammad is still visiting TV channels daily to record Christmas messages and distribute the videos. This evening is the final judging session for the Voice for Jesus singing competition organised by Rev Patras Bashir and then on Wednesday he is playing at Pastor Anwar Fazal’s Wednesday healing meeting in Bahar Colony (the pastor also runs Isaac TV channel). On Wednesday night meeting had been cancelled for many months due to terrorist threats but has started again Praise God. Please do pray for security in Bahar colony as Hammad and Lloyd play there on Wednesday evening and Thursday evening Hammad and Lloyd will be playing again in Bahar Colony in a Christmas worship programme organised by Samuel Gill Evangelist / Divine Healing Ministry.
On Friday 11 Dec Hammad and Lloyd will be in Sailkot (about 2 hours’ drive from Lahore) for a Christmas worship programme organised by The Biblical Pentecostal Church of God Rev Irfan Albert. Hammad gets a rest day on Saturday to do his packing and then final show is in Sahiwal on Sunday (3 hours’ drive from Lahore), and then an early flight back to UK on Monday morning. Please do pray for a wonderful spirit of worship and joy at these events and for Hammad’s energy levels as he will be driving himself as well as performing. Please pray that he gets back from Sahiwal safely and in time for a few hours sleep before his flight on Monday morning. He will arrive back in UK on Monday at 8.25pm.
It’s now time for me to leave for the airport to get my flight at 3.25am arriving at Heathrow at midday on Wednesday 9th December.
Please do pray for a comfortable flight and a few hours’ sleep. I’m looking forward to seeing my dog Xena and returning to work on Thursday morning. I feel that I have had Christmas already in Pakistan but now Christmas is coming in the UK and I have much preparation to do. Please pray for some focus time preparing for services and for celebrating the birth of Jesus in my home church.
Many thanks for your continued support and your patience reading my long rambling emails.
Hammad has now released a song containing the 7 says of Jesus on the Cross in time for Easter. We thank God for inspiring the video director who edited the video that was filmed on Hammad’s last visit. We pray that the video will be seen by many non-Christians as well as Christians in the weeks leading up to Easter and that they will understand the depth of God’s love for us all in sending Jesus to die for us.![wp3bf4bf7c_05_06[1]](https://i0.wp.com/voiceforjesus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/wp3bf4bf7c_05_061.jpg?resize=300%2C300)
Hammad is a regularly contributor to 
They were so thankful for the evening together and for our support. We had expected about 70 people to be present but in fact there were 150 people crowded into LEM’s upper room. Pastor Waseem Khokher did an amazing job with his network of contacts spreading the word and inviting pastors by text message. We had a 2 hour programme with singing many lament songs including