Ministry Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Mordecai Project:

There are many prayers in the Bible: Some are long and some are short, like Psalm 117. It is the shortest psalm in the Bible, yet it also marks the very middle of the Bible! That tells me that God treasures short prayers just as much as He loves long prayers. And today I am asking you to please pray for The Mordecai Project, even if it is just a mention! We need your prayer covering!

Lately my prayers have been more like groans, which are mentioned in Romans 8:26-28. God even hears our groans! I have been asking God to send the finances we need to fund our overseas projects. I know this money is somewhere. God says the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous (Prov. 13:22). Please agree with me for a financial breakthrough.

I have had a fruitful season of ministry this past month. It began with a trip to Iceland, where I was ministering alongside my dear friend Helgi Gudnason (below). He pastors the largest Pentecostal church in Iceland, and I have been with him twice before there. This time I spoke at a conference that unites dozens of churches in Iceland every year.

I spent an incredible three days at a beautiful camp, and the Icelanders slept in RVs and tents. Our services were very special, with a great Icelandic praise team leading us (see below). I taught three times on the Holy Spirit. The Lord moved in awesome ways, and there were people saved, emotionally healed, and filled with the Spirit. There has been much abuse in Iceland, but it is rarely discussed openly. I shared my own testimony and God worked in such a sweet way to bring healing and freedom.

While in Iceland I met these three African guys (below). They are Richard from Uganda, Emmanuel from Malawi and Isaac from Lesotho. All three have been studying in Iceland for the past six months, but they came to the conference to be refreshed. The Lord knit my heart with theirs and we became close friends. On the second day of the event I asked them to come to the stage and dance, because I was explaining how the Holy Spirit frees us to praise God with no inhibitions. A spirit of liberty was released in the audience and even the most staid Icelanders began to dance and praise the Lord freely. Many people said this was the highlight of the event. (I later learned that dancing had actually caused a split in Icelandic churches years ago, but in this case God used dancing to unite us!)

I have been friends with a guy in Iceland named Hakon since my second trip, and he has come to one of our Bold Venture events in the U.S. During my last visit in 2015 I prayed with Hakon to be filled with the Spirit. On this trip, Hakon and I prayed for his 15-year-old son Arnor (below). And he was also filled with the Spirit! It is wonderful to see the Lord touching the younger generation in our meetings.

On this trip to Iceland I had my friend Alex Latis with me from Romania (below). He wanted to travel with me for some more discipleship. Alex was a great blessing as he helped me pray for people. We are planning another men’s discipleship event for Romania soon. God is using Alex and his wife in a powerful way to bring freedom and healing to men, women and marriages.

Shortly after I returned from Iceland I went to Sandusky, Ohio, to speak at a conference of leaders from the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, a network of churches that has its roots in the Italian Pentecostal movement. God is breathing fresh vision in this group and I was able to challenge them to reach the next generation. I also spoke to their women and called them to arise to leadership and influence. You can see some of the women receiving ministry below. God is breaking old mindsets so that women can emerge into their places in the church.

I had two disciples with me in Sandusky: Landon Gandolfo from Connecticut and Dante Lee Grady from Pennsylvania. It was great to have them with me as I challenged the IFCA to disciple young leaders. Dante shared his testimony about how I met him and how he got filled with the Spirit last year when I was in Pittsburgh. Everyone was so encouraged to learn how we can mentor and train the next generation.

Later in August I had the honor of performing the wedding of my friend Ben Crisp and his bride, Tiffany, in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have been mentoring Ben for several years since I met him at Emmanuel College in Georgia. He just finished seminary at Regent University and plans to plant a church soon. While at the wedding I learned that his sister, Jessica, has been using my book “Set My Heart on Fire” to disciple a group of young women. I am hearing similar testimonies everywhere I go. I encourage you to start a Bible study using that book!

Last week I went to Seattle to speak at Collide, an annual retreat for young adults. Most of them are from an Ethiopian background. When I spoke on the first morning about “Healing Your Father Wounds,” we had a powerful time of ministry. So many young people struggle today because they had fathers who were distant, absent, abusive, critical or addicted. But the Comforter was with us and great healing was released!

Below you can see the entire group of Ethiopians who came to the camp near Seattle for this retreat. Many were also saved, and on the last night about 45 or 50 were filled with the Holy Spirit! We were up until 2 a.m. worshipping God that night! Being around these young people keeps me young!

I shared the platform at the Collide event with my friends Yoni and Jasmine Michael as well as Paul Hanfere, who I met in 2012. Paul introduced me to the Ethiopian immigrant culture in the U.S. The other speaker was Michael Matthew, a wonderful Indian-American evangelist from Texas. I felt like I was part of a dream team.

Immediately after the retreat I performed the wedding of another spiritual son, Vitaliy Lut, who married his sweetheart Brisa. The wedding was in Seattle. It was a beautiful blend of Ukrainian and Mexican cultures. I have been mentoring Vitaly since 2013, and he just graduated from Christ for the Nations. He and Brisa feel called to youth ministry and missions. The most fulfilling thing I do is investing in these young leaders!

I am now home in Georgia resting from all these trips. My wife has been helping me care for my parents, and she also had to go to Panama City, Florida, to care for her dad who had a medical test. We are enjoying some family time now. Please keep these requests in your prayers:

** A donor has offered a $10,000 matching grant to help us raise the needed funds for our Bold Venture discipleship events this fall. This is such a blessing. If you want to give toward this, just mark “Matching Gift” on your check or in the online giving notation.

** We are in need of the last $10,000 to complete our shelter in Tarapoto, Peru. Please pray that a donor can help us get over this hurdle. We are so close to completion!

** My father is stable and in the nursing home, but his memory is getting worse—even though he is very happy. My main concern right now is my mom. She is getting more unsteady on her feet and was in the hospital last week with an infection. Getting old is not easy!

We are rejoicing for all these testimonies. Thank you for believing in our work. Deborah and I love you very much!

Lee and Deborah Grady

The Mordecai Project
P.O. Box 2781
LaGrange, GA 30241