I am about half way through month four of the World Race and I am realizing that one main reason God brought me here is to redefine my “normal”. There is much about the World Race that resonates with the “normal” that I knew in Dayton, Ohio. For instance, on my days off from ministry I like to go to coffee shops, post blogs, send emails and check facebook while sipping an iced non-fat, sugar-free hazelnut latte (well, that is my “normal” cup o joe). Some days I like to take a day of rest from ethnic food and give my belly a little normalcy, like Chili’s chips and salsa. In reality, the awe-inspiring, supernatural, “God moments” that you read on my blog are only about 10-20% of my “normal” world race life. There is freedom on the race to just live life in community in the midst of a different culture, so what is it about my life on the race that is different than the way I was living in Dayton, Ohio?
Insert the manifestations of the Holy Spirit here.
The difference is that as I am living out my “normal” life on the World Race, my ears and the eyes of my heart are becoming more finely tuned to the voice and promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is becoming normal to feel the Holy Spirit prompt me to pray over that person passing by; to prophesy over the people I meet; to lay hands on that dying child and pray the spirit of peace and comfort over her father who is holding her; to pray in tongues; to dance upon injustice during worship times; to lay healing hands on people and see them healed; or as in the case today, to raise a woman from the dead in the middle of the coffee shop. You know, just normal Christian living. Wherever Jesus went, healing, life and freedom broke out. He said we would do even greater things than these . . . why do we not take him seriously? . . . yes, I did say that I was present and a part of raising a lady from the dead in the middle of a coffee shop. Why are you so surprised?!
So fast forward . . . 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.
