Yesterday 8 of us went into the “slums,” as the people here call it, and did some evangelizing. This is the same area where we went to church last week. We met with the pastor before we were sent out two by two and had a brief orientation type of talk concerning the area in which we were heading into. Each pair of two had an interpreter with them. Haley and I were paired up together and went into the community with the pastor.
During the orientation, I began to feel the Presence of the Holy Spirit coming upon me. I could feel an anointing. We all could. I can’t explain the confidence I felt. I do know that I’ve only felt that way a few times in my life.
Here was the plan for the day. The pastor wanted us all to go door-to-door preaching the Gospel, praying for the adults and children, and healing every disease as well as any physical need there was.
We headed down the first dirt road and quickly came across two ladies named Judy and Farida sitting outside. The pastor asked them if it was okay for us to share the Gospel with them. They said it was and then the Pastor looked at me and said “Go ahead.” I was a little nervous to begin with. I didn’t know that this was how the day was going to unfold. My first question was “Have you ever heard the name of Jesus?” They both said yes. Then I asked “Who do you say He is?” They answered “The Son of God.” While the conversation grew deeper, we learned that Judy did not have a personal relationship with God. She didn’t understand that she could, or even what that meant. I explained in the best way I could what that was and how it can change a life. Then she asked to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. So I led her in prayer while the pastor interpreted every word for her. Before we continued on our path, we asked if there was anything else we could pray for them about. Judy asked us to pray that she will find a job, and both asked us to pray for their children.
From there we walked about 10 steps and met with four guys also sitting outside. One walked away instantly, but the other three stayed. We shared with them the Gospel and the three of them accepted Christ. Again, we asked if they had any prayer requests. One man asked us to pray for his mother who was sick and very far away. We wanted to visit his house, but it was too far. Another man asked us to pray for his son who was sick.
After visiting with the three men, I prayed that when these people saw us, they would see God as well. Before I could say Amen, I heard a woman say “Yesu.” When I looked up, she was looking at me.
Continuing ahead, we came across three women, yet again outside, who were cooking and doing the laundry. One woman was all smiles and very joyous. She was very happy to talk about Jesus and agreed with everything that was said. We shared the Gospel with them and asked them if they had a personal relationship with God through His Son. They too didn’t really know what that meant. After furthering the conversation, they all three gave their lives to Christ.
As we turned the next corner of a house, a little girl ran to Haley from at least 20 yards away and wrapped her arms around Haley’s legs. The little girl then took Haley’s hand and walked with us into the home of Priscilla and Evelyn. I prayed for blessings and peace for the home as soon as we entered. We shared the Gospel with the two of them, and they received Jesus as well. Their prayer requests were for their finances and that Priscilla’s husband would return to her and their home. Also, Priscilla’s children were separated from her, however, they were not with her husband. Both of them had also been suffering from a pain in their chest and upper back. I prayed for their physical healing and then we went on from there.
Next we met Caroline. Her home was decorated with soccer posters. Her husband was a big soccer fan. After sharing the Gospel with her, she gave her life to Christ. Her prayer request was for the recovery of her husband who was in the hospital suffering from a illness.
From there we met a man named William. He was Catholic and had already accepted Jesus and had a relationship with Him. His prayer request was for the strength to turn away from drinking. His home was small. Two rooms total. The four of us were crammed just sitting on a couch and a chair.
After leaving William’s home, we went into the home of siblings Ben and Jane. When asked if they had ever heard the name of Jesus, Jane answered that she had never heard of Him before. I was stunned. Where do I begin? Now what do I say? I went on and on telling them about our Father and when I had finished, they both accepted Christ. Their prayer requests were for her daughter who was sick and in the hospital.
Walking back to the church a group of children ran to us and followed us for a while. I decided to stop and play my mandolin for them while Haley played with them. They were all so happy to walk along side of us. We stayed there in the road with them for a little while, and then we had to get back to the church.
A few things I want you to know…I’m not the boldest person you’ll ever meet when it comes to praying for the physical healing of another. However, on this day I felt like I could ask for anything and it would happen. I wanted to pray for healing. In fact, I was looking for people to be set free from sickness. Also, the pastor told us that everyone who prayed to receive Jesus was sincere and that we shouldn’t worry about that one bit. Which, honestly, I was wondering if we were “doing it right” the whole time.
A few more things to know…Distractions were everywhere. While talking with Judy and Farida, one of the babies began to cry. I turned to Haley and said “Pray that the baby stops crying.” After she prayed, the baby instantly stopped. While talking with William a chicken was crowing. I asked Haley to pray for the chicken to stop and the chicken instantly ran outside. Everything we prayed for happened. It was amazing. I truly felt led by the Spirit the whole time we were there. I could hear from God so clearly. He would move on our hearts and provide us with such a peace and confidence to do His work.
