It is hard to define normal on the World Race. Everyday is
different and things that are normal at home are far from normal out here in
the world.
Take
Sunday for example. Normally I would wake up early and go to church.
Probably go out to dinner, hang out with friends, watch a movie and go to
small group bible study. This past Sunday was nothing like my normal at
home. Our team agreed to spend the morning in silence, praying and
seeking God’s guidance and direction. At 12:30 pm we left for lunch and
had some amazing Mexican food, which is extremely rare in Asian countries.
The church we found to attend started at 4:00 p.m. This church
meets in a conference room of a hotel and consists of various missionaries and
tourists along with locals. During church the guests were ask to stand up
and introduce ourselves, so Leisa introduced us and there was another group of
women from the USA there as well.
After church the ladies asked if they could pray for us so we gathered
in the lobby of the hotel for a time of prayer. I had not idea what God was going to do through those
ladies!!
Derozette,
Carrye, Michele and Liney had heard from God and wanted to speak life over
us. Unfortunately getting
prophesied over is not normal in the US, however on the World Race it happens
all the time. Derozette was
hearing from God and the things she said over me where exactly what I needed to
hear. She spoke to the very core
of what was holding me back and my deepest fears and desires. This is from someone who I had never
even spoken to prior to her speaking over me. God showed up in such a HUGE way!!! 
One
of the things Derozette said was that our team needed to be ready for God to do
crazy things through us this year.
The next day, God did just that…..my teammate Kristen raised someone
from the dead!!! Here is her story:
(Kristen speaking) Today, I
am sitting in the coffee shop, the Blue Pumpkin, minding my own business,
trying to write a blog when I look over and see Michele at the counter. A quick
scan of the Blue Pumpkin and I see Liney, Carrye and Pastor D also.
Immediately, I jump up and start waving to catch their attention. After a quick
round of hugs Liney asks if there is air conditioning anywhere in the coffee
shop. I can tell she isn’t feeling well and so I quickly usher her upstairs and
put a fan on her. Knowing I am a nurse, she begins asking me about her
ailments. She is not sitting for more than a couple minutes when she asks for
the bathroom. Carrye, not wanting her to be alone, walks her downstairs. Before
my eyes she looks as though she is becoming weaker. Carrye puts a hand under
her elbow as they walk downstairs. Liney never makes it to the bathroom but
stops at the “wash station” (the sink outside the bathroom) and
begins throwing up. Carrye starts calling for Pastor D to come down. Pastor D
then looks at me and says, “you need to come down as well.” I quickly
grab my bag, ditch my computer and say a quick prayer that no one steals it as
I run to the top of the steps. By the time I reach the stairs I see Liney on the
ground. The thought, CRAP, she is gray! runs through my mind. She is
ashen gray. Michele hears her gurgling and is afraid she is choking on whatever
it was that made her sick and tries to raise her limp body to a sitting
position. I run down the stairs and feel her wrist. Nothing. “We need to
lay her down.” I say. I check her neck. Nothing. I look at her eyes;
constricted pupils rolling in the back of her head. I call to her loudly.
Nothing. I check to see if she is breathing. Nothing! Start CPR you fool! Just
as I begin to move over her to start CPR Carrye says, “This is
spiritual!” So we began to pray. Instinctively, (which was never
instinctively before, it was always weird or forced or awkward) I begin to pray
in tongues. I lay my hands on her head and her shoulder. We all lay hands on
her and begin praying. Within minutes of us starting to pray for her, her eyes
roll forward. She inhales a deep relieving breath. We allow her to lay there a
few more minutes before sitting her up. She is still very pale, she can not
feel or move her right arm. Literally, Liney takes her left hand and picks up
her limp right arm and places it on her knee. Carrye grabs my hand, puts in on
top of Liney’s right hand. With Carrye’s hands covering mine she looks at
me and says, “Start praying for her, from your heart, whatever comes,
however you feel led. You have the anointing of healing on your life.” I
begin to pray again in the Spirit. Her pulses return, faint and slow at first,
but after a few minutes of sitting they normalize into a rate of 70 beats per
minute. She begins to move her right hand. Looking from her hand to all of us
surrounding her, I can tell she is still discombobulated, she asks Carrye,
“Did I die?”
As soon as Liney can stand we move her into a Tuk Tuk to take her back
to their hotel. I run upstairs to get Keet who had been in the third floor
lounge unable to hear the commotion. “Keet, can you finish uploading your
video at the hotel?” Keet looks at me confused. I am talking fast, “I
am pretty sure we just raised Liney from the dead and now we are taking her
back to the hotel! C’mon!” “WHAT?! Wait, WHO?! HUH?!” I
quickly explain what happened promising that more details will come and
we hop on our bikes and ride to the hotel.
When
we arrive Liney is resting in bed and as we sit down she begins to tell us her
side of the story. . . . She couldn’t remember what she saw exactly, but it was
bright. It was beautiful and peaceful. She said that she felt well and happy.
She said that she then heard us calling her and thought, why are they
bothering me, I am happy here. She said she was confused and frustrated
because she heard our calls to her, but did not want to leave where she
was, it took her a while to reconcile the two and then she opened her
eyes.
To
read Kristen’s entire experience check out her blog at http://kristenpaulick.theworldrace.org
I
can’t wait to see what else God has in store for my team and I as we continue
to walk in the Spiritual!
