(“This is so much fun”, Gabby and I playing a game where you’re not supposed to smile… yep, we’re both losing)
I could write a book about everything that has happened this
month, so to try and capture it in a blog is nearly impossible. There are so many stories of redemption,
healing, and restoration from this month, it blows my mind. Jesus’ prayer was for the Kingdom to come to
earth, just as it is in heaven. We have
seen that happen this month…
I’ll try to just focus on one day, although everything seems
so connected.
The other day I went to ministry with Brandon’s team. We walked the streets praying for
people. We talked with two young
men. Their demeanor’s completely changed
while we prayed for them. The older boy
was really encouraged and the younger decided he wanted to give his life to
Christ. He told us he wanted to change
his clothes before we prayed (which at first seemed silly, but then we realized
it was an act of honor towards God). So
we went to lunch, came back and prayed with him. It was amazing.
We walked outside his house, and right away started talking
with a man who was very drunk and hanging outside the tienda, playing
pinball. He shared his struggles, we
shared our testimonies, and he found freedom through Christ.
As we were waiting for our ride to pick us up, we noticed
two guys across the street hanging outside the gate to their house. They were looking over at us, so we walked
over to them. Through our conversations
we found out they were Christians. I
shared a verse God put on my heart and then we prayed for them. Simple enough, and it could have ended there,
but Brandon started to have pain in his right shoulder, and took it as a sign
from God that one of them needed healing.
He asked the two men if either of them had pain in their right shoulder. They both were amazed, because one of the
guys had injured his right shoulder while working out, and had been in a lot of
pain. We all gathered around the man
(John), and prayed for healing. It was a
powerful prayer and we all felt the Holy Spirit ministering. All of a sudden John’s demeanor completely
changed, and he stepped back in shock.
His shoulder was completely healed!
We all started to thank God and were soo filled with joy! John told us that he had been following God
for awhile, but didn’t realize how BIG He was!
He told us he would never forget that moment. We won’t forget either!
(Standing in front of the “wall of encouragement”, everyone on the squad got some wall space)
After praying for John, we walked further up the hill to
meet with some members of our contacts church.
The husband has been battling colon cancer. He had recently been radically healed by
God. A tumor the size of a fist
completely disappeared and baffled the doctors.
It’s necessary for him to continue the chemo treatments for another
three months, and so we got to pray for him.
Then things got crazy again. We
prayed for one woman who for years has gotten intense migraines, and her
headache completely went away. Another
woman, has had pain in the right half of her body for as long as she can
remember. As we prayed for her, I got
discernment that there was someone she needed to forgive. Kelly translated, and the woman immediately
burst into tears, sobbing. As it turns
out, her son was murdered when he was just 20 years old. We continued to pray for the Holy Spirit to
minister healing to her heart. One of
the pastors with us urged this woman to forgive the person who killed her
son. I heard once, that forgiveness is
releasing someone from a prison, and then finding out that person was you. The woman was finally able to forgive, and the
pain subsided. Then, through her tears,
she made declarations to God. It was
incredible.
A few days before this, we went out into the streets, and
saw a woman healed from arthritus, a murderer repent and give his life to
Christ, and a man become completely free from physical addictions to the drugs
he promised God he would walk away from.
These are just a handful of experiences from that day, and from this month. We have seen SO many people healed. I just got word as I was writing this, that
the teams went out again today and saw more people healed. God is good!
Besides the street ministry and some painting, a lot of my
ministry this month has been with the squad.
Having the entire squad together in one place has been amazing, but also
very challenging. Some days it seems I
am pulled in 53 different directions, but I’ve been able to have so many
amazing conversations this month. It’s
an honor to play a small part in seeing people get their breakthrough. People are finding their voice, stepping
forward in worship and ministry, and serving and loving their teammates. It’s been a fruitful month, to be sure!
