Our second week in Madagascar we partnered up with a church called, FAAK. I never though of asking what it meant, but what I can say is that for the first time I saw the Lord move like he did in Acts.
As a team we have been reading Acts and going over it. I love how God works and how he shows up.
On our second day working with this church, they had a crusade at a village. This was their second time having a crusade at this particular village and the first time they had it, many come to Christ and were healed. One woman shared her story of recieving the Lord and how her brother was healed. So you know I was excited to see how the Lord would show up.
My teammate Ryan went up and shared his testimony to the crowd of people and then opened it up to anyone who wanted to be saved and recieve Jesus to pray with him. A little bold old man raised his hand and then many more flew up. Ryan called those who wanted to recieve Jesus into there hearts to the front and they lifted their voices to the Lord. They welcomed him into their hearts and lives.
After they finished praying, the Pastor asked our team to line up and pray for the people individually and so that is what we did.
I prayed healing, deliverance, redemption, blessings, and encouragement over people, but one stood out.
The third person I prayed for was a older woman who was deaf and mute. I asked the Lord to take over and bring healing over this woman. I stepped out and let the Holy Spirit take over. My body felt weird, but I knew God was moving.
When I finished praying the woman was crying.
I wanted to talk to her so bad, but as soon as I finished praying another woman came up asking for prayer.
I couldn’t stop thinking about this woman all day. I felt it in my spirit that God had spoken to her and I wanted to know how she was feeling. That night I prayed for that woman. I prayed the Lord would continue to speak to her and that she would hear his voice.
The next day we went to another village and did some door to door. Ryan and I were partnered up and the second place we visited we went behind a house and we saw many women working. But then we saw one woman poke her head behind a sheet and she stood up and began to attempt to speak.
It was the same woman I had prayed for the day before. She remembered Ryan and I and my heart was filled. I couldn’t believe it was really her and I did not want to let go of her. I felt like I knew this woman. I felt like we were best friends. We sat together and though we couldn’t really communicate the Lord was speaking for us. She couldn’t stop smiling and laughing. She would point up to the sky, then touch her ears, point to me, and put her hands together as if she was praying.
Seeing her that day, literally made my day and I couldn’t stop smiling. I tried asking her if she had heard the Lord, but I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say, so I prayed for her again. As I prayed for her I thanked God for this joyful woman whom I get to call friend. I prayed the Lord would speak to her, and though she couldn’t hear what we were saying, that she would always hear his voice.
Saying goodbye was hard and I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. As we were walking back to our meeting place, Ryan said that as I was praying he felt the Lord say that the woman was hearing his voice and I got so excited for her.
The village we were at for the crusade is about 6 to 7 km away, that is about a 2 hour walk. This woman lives at the village where the crusade happened, but the following day she decided to visit her family and it just happened to be the village we would be at the next day.
I can truly say that the Lord placed her there to show me that my prayer was answered. He blessed me with her presence, smile, and laughter. And she got to her God’s voice and will continue to hear his voice.
The Lord picked up Philip and placed him where he needed to be. “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away…Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus…” (Acts 8: 39-40) The Lord placed me and this woman where we needed to be. He picked us up and brought us together.
There is no such thing as coincidences. God knows what he is doing and I love how he pursues us and uses others to fill and encourage us. I love that he brought this joyful woman into my life and I got to experience the Lord in a whole new way. She may not be able to hear others or speak, but she can hear the Lord and speak to him and that is all that matters. It is not about the physical, it is about the spiritual. This woman now has a relationship with the Lord and she gets to hear her Father speak.
GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
