Here’s this month’s list (praise God for His mighty hand!):

1) Natalie: Ethan & Daniel met her at volleyball. She ended up getting filled with the Holy Spirit at our place and then water baptized in the pool - thank you, Lord, for the pool!

2) Adrian: Don met him (he was already Spirit-filled) in one of the aisles at the hardware store. They prayed in Don’s car, to help Adrian re-ignite the Holy Spirit within him. The first time Adrian spoke in tongues (years ago), no one helped him understand what it was or how valuable it was for him to continue to pray in the Spirit.

3) Ronald: He approached me and Elisabeth in the civic park one day, soliciting his children’s books for sale. I ended up praying over him in a quiet area by some trees, and we got to chat some more about God’s Word. He had some very good questions.

4) Young man selling 5G subscriptions: He came to the front door and Don quickly got chatting to him about the Lord. He accepted Don’s invitation to come back later that night to talk some more. They had a great conversation, planting some seeds that we know God will water in other ways.

5) Kency: Don and the guys got chatting with Kency (who is already born again of water and the Holy Spirit) in the parking lot at Chipotle one night. I think the conversation started because of the God-related t-shirt Kency was wearing at the time.

6) Lucy & Sheena: Two cleaning ladies at our local gym. We have been talking to them about the things of the Lord for quite a few weeks. It started one morning when I thought Lucy was listening to gospel music. We also prayed over Lucy another day after she had locked her keys in the car (and I called Don to ask him to drive over to help her). Both Lucy and Sheena now have Bibles, so I pray they will apply the encouragement I wrote to each of them in the note attached.

7) Young lady at the dock: We met her on the dock at our local lake when we went for a family walk one “prayer and fast” day. We had prayed as we departed the house that the Lord would use us to give a message to someone on our walk. The gal wasn’t planning to be there that day, and before we showed up, she was going to leave, but she felt moved to change her mind and stay. We had a wonderful conversation with her. We shared many things she’d never heard before.

8) Sandra: Don, Elisabeth, and I went for a drive downtown to go for a stroll along the beautiful avenue. As we headed back toward the car, we passed a lady struggling to walk alongside her husband. Don went back and introduced himself. He got chatting with her first, and then Elisabeth and I joined in. Sandra told us she had been diagnosed with MS many years ago. We offered to pray with her, so we headed over to a quiet bench seat in the park. She received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and we proclaimed healing over her in Jesus’ name.

A list of some of our March miracles :)

1) Don found a lost wallet at Walmart, and after an unsuccessful search for the owner in the immediate area, he pulled out the driver’s license and drove to the address listed. The man who answered the door didn’t speak much English, but he pointed to the rear of the house after Don showed him the license. No one was at the little apartment, so Don left a note. The gal phoned later that night, and then she and a friend drove over to our place to collect the wallet. They were most grateful, and Don got to share some of the Word with the gals (although the language barrier was a bit tricky).

Then about one week later, Don was at the same Walmart, but at an entrance he normally doesn’t use. He spied a lady struggling with loading her groceries, so Don wandered over to help. As they were speaking, they both suddenly realized they had already met — on the night the gals came to collect the wallet! The lady in the Walmart parking lot was the friend of the owner of the wallet, and she could very much see God’s hand upon her running into Don again! Don was able to share more scriptural encouragement, and then he left it with her to make steps toward Jesus of her own accord. It will be interesting to see what happens from here . . .

Almost every time Don comes home from a grocery store or hardware store, he has a “story” to share with us. As he begins his journey, Don almost always prays that God will use him to share a message with someone; that God will set up the situation and give Don the words to speak. So, as Don operates in the love and servitude of Jesus, it gets revealed to him who it is that God wants him to speak to, and the message is most often received well because God has prepared the heart of the hearer!

2) Joshua (from our last blog post) texted Don to say that he had just baptized two people in a hot tub. He was so excited to be living out the Book of Acts life just weeks after being filled with the Holy Spirit himself!

3) Don got chatting with our electrical meter reader guy — I’m not sure of their proper title :). As they were parting ways, Juan said “Have a blessed day!” to Don, so Don ran over to him to give him one of our cards. Juan ended up putting his day on hold and came into the house to chat and pray with us. He is already born again (water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit), so Don was able to encourage him to pray in tongues daily and walk in the authority of Jesus just like the disciples in the Book of Acts. Juan was grateful and left very encouraged. Praise God for His perfect timing of Don being out front when Juan came by to read our meter!

4) The engineering inspector came by to do the final inspection for the pool and surrounding patio area. Don and I were outside at the time and as the inspector approached from the end of the driveway, we could see him limping badly. Don got chatting with him about it, sharing snippets of healing stories from our lives. As Don talked, the man (Jim) was quite overwhelmed and said how amazed he was at the timing as it was only just that very morning that he had gone in for a brain scan. Jim was terrified that he had brain cancer, especially since one of his good friends recently died of a brain tumor.

Don was able to show Jim our “Empowering Lives” video on our “Winging It” page, and he was very touched. Jim couldn’t stay long, but he did add that he was even more amazed because he wasn’t meant to come by to do the inspection — it was supposed to be another guy and even then, they had been given the wrong information by the pool company, so no-one was going to come to inspect at all (thinking that our place was a “new build” situation). We have been praying for Jim that the words Don spoke will cause him to draw nigh to Jesus . . .

Many people to pray for this month:

1) Joshua and Cristina: Don met them at Costco because Cristina was wearing a church-related t-shirt. He ended up inviting them over to pray with us after chatting with them for quite some time. Even though they loved hearing all that Don had to say, the couple first wisely sought the Lord about it when they got home from the store. They came over that night — the Lord confirmed to them that it was an answer to their prayers. In particular, Cristina (already born again many years ago) had been recently praying that she wanted to be active in praying in the Holy Spirit (in tongues) again. We had some beautiful prayer with her; she was so excited to be praying in tongues so fluently and powerfully.

After lots of scriptural discussion, Don and Ethan also prayed over Joshua. He was filled with the Holy Spirit as he did pray in tongues a little, but he had some reservations about allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to speak through him. Interestingly, about 2-3 weeks later, Don had to call Joshua to get a quote on some carpentry work at our house (Joshua recently started a woodworking business which has been blessed by God - and, Joshua does superb work!). He came to the house with a Spirit-filled co-worker (Caesar) to view the jobs and take pictures, and the afternoon turned into an amazing day. Don and Caesar had a great discussion about the Lord, I had a great chat with Joshua, and we all (including Caesar) ended up praying over Joshua and this time he had a powerful breakthrough, praise God!

2) George: He came to fix something during the pool construction. Rather than getting frustrated with the situation (as the fix could have been a considerable concern), both Don and I thought that “maybe there was a reason” (as we often say to each other in unusual circumstances). Praise God, the repair ended up being a trivial thing, but in the process of it all, Don got chatting with George about the Lord. George was so touched (it was even all brand new to him!) that he wanted to pray for the Holy Spirit anointing right there. He received as Don prayed with him the courtyard by the pool. All of this pool construction and yard renovation has been such a wonderful opportunity for the Lord to connect us with all kinds of people hungering for truth and a true relationship with God!

3) Rosa: Don noticed her trying to drive the wrong way at an intersection into oncoming traffic. She hadn’t seen the “Keep right” sign until Don pointed it out. Thankfully, she was able to correct her path in time, but as she passed by, Don noticed her number plate. He knew it was referring to Jesus, so he ended up following her to where she parked (as he felt strongly moved that God’s hand was upon the two of them connecting). Don quickly found out that she was already Spirit-filled, and he was able to share some scriptural encouragement with her as led by the Holy Spirit.

4) Don went to a jewelry repair place to have a battery looked at in a watch. He ended up preaching to both the owner and a customer. I can’t remember their names, but Don said it was amazing how the owner warmed to the conversation after hearing the customer and Don sharing their mutual passion for the Lord. God desires to see all people come to repentance and into a real relationship with Him through Jesus, and He will often use other situations to bring the truth to someone who would not otherwise be open to seeking Him out of their own accord.

5) Jerrard or Gerard (I don’t know the spelling): Don got chatting with a young guy (mid-twenties) at the gym because he was wearing a church-related t-shirt. Jerrard was super keen to talk and we all (Don, me, and Jerrard) ended up continuing the conversation outside afterward. Jerrard could clearly see God’s miraculous timing upon things (considering what was currently going on in his life), so he followed us back to our house to pray. While chatting outside, a Spirit-filled couple even passed by and made a brief encouraging comment when they heard us mention the Holy Spirit. It seemed as though that, too, had been set up by the Lord because Jerrard really needed to hear what they had to say. I told Jerrard, “See, the Lord set that up for you, too!” (i.e. to reinforce the message we were sharing).

6) Melissa: We met her on the road, literally! We were on the highway, stopped beside her, and we needed to get into her lane as we’d missed our turn. We were thankful she had her window down at the time, so we smiled and called out, asking her if she wouldn’t mind us cutting across. Melissa was so accommodating that Don felt moved to give her a card — which I was able to quickly do for him before the light turned green. I didn’t have time to say much other than, “We felt moved to give you this, to take a look whenever you can…” kind of thing. Melissa smiled in genuine appreciation, and that was it.

About four or five days later, Melissa called Don to say it was very timely that we had connected. The more Don shared with her during the call, the more it was confirmed to her that it was an answer to her recent prayers. We ended up inviting her to meet up with us halfway between her house and ours, which we did later that day. We actually sat inside a large furniture store to chat for a long while first! After that, Melissa was keen to pray, so we went outside, however it was difficult for her to break through, so we ended up coming back to our house where Melissa got re-baptized. She felt her previous baptism (done when she was a lot younger) was not genuine (nor done with proper scriptural understanding), and this time Melissa was ready to truly follow and serve the Lord. She also received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, praise God!

7) Don made quite a significant mistake on one stretch of a small retaining wall he was constructing in the front yard. This meant having to tear down that part and re-build it, changing the entire course of his afternoon. However, he was very peaceful about it, and as he was telling me the story, I quietly thought that maybe there would be work for the Lord that would come from it — and, there was! . . .

First of all, Don ended up having to return to the hardware store where he had a life-changing conversation with one of the young-ish staff members. Secondly, he was able to glorify God’s name while chatting with one of our neighbors as she walked by with her dog in the late afternoon — if he hadn’t made a mistake with the wall, he wouldn’t have been there at the time. And, Don ended up praying with a twenty-something man who came to the house collecting for a charitable cause. He had an awesome conversation with the young man and discovered that he was already Spirit-filled. When Don started to pray with him, the guy suddenly exclaimed that he used to do that at church (i.e. pray in tongues) while playing the drums during worship time!

Don was able to encourage the young man some more in terms of his walk in the Lord and the work of the Kingdom that he had been called into by God. Again, all of this wouldn’t have happened if Don had finished the block wall early and been away elsewhere for the rest of the day. I love how the Lord turns seemingly negative situations into blessings for others — and that in itself turns into a blessing for us also!

8) Devante: We met him at a pebble/stone paver place up north. He was incredibly helpful with a large piece of stone we needed, and as he worked together with Don on weighing and loading it, we all got chatting about life. We mentioned our Christian ministry and the life-changing power detailed in the Book of Acts. Devante was so amazed and excited to hear these things that were all new to him despite some degree of previous church experience. We shared with him testimonies of healing and peace and overcoming, and Don and I could clearly see that he was hungry and thirsty to be set free from all of his burdens and stresses and to have true, solid hope.

We will pray for him that the Lord will continue to give increase to the words we spoke to him and the prayers that Don prayed over him at the end of the conversation. The Word of God is life unto the humble hearer, and sometimes we are just a small part of a series of things God will do in someone’s life to bring them to a point where they are finally willing to lay down their life, take up their cross, and wholeheartedly follow after Jesus.

We’re playing catch-up yet again. Here’s an update on what has been happening recently:

1) Don went hunting for a matching armchair that he had found on sale. Through a series of circumstances, he ended up down south, at the sister warehouse. While there, he spied another furniture store opposite, so he decided to have a quick browse there, too. It turned out to be a very high-end place. Don was all grubbed out in his work clothes, so the first couple of staff members kind of looked him over as he entered.

Don didn’t care, though, and he happily chatted to the representative who was assigned to him. It was a young Brazilian gal named Hana, so Don immediately commented on her Biblical-sounding name. This led to a one-hour conversation between the two of them right in the middle of the showroom. Hana was in tears, pleasantly shocked at God’s timing as only three months earlier she had been in the depths of depression and had tried to commit suicide.

Don ended up inviting her to come over to meet the rest of us and to have us pray over her. Apparently (Hana told us afterward), she phoned her dad (her parents are Spirit-filled) in Brazil as soon as she got off work, and he encouraged her that it seemed to God’s miraculous hand upon her life, so to go with an open mind and heart to whatever God was putting before her. So, Hana came over that evening and she received the Holy Spirit. She was quietly excited to be speaking in tongues, but more so relieved and very touched that God would work so beautifully in her life after everything in her past.

Hana shared that she grew up going to her grandparent’s church and she would spend up to six days per week at the church with her mom and dad. She had even been water-baptized multiple times over the course of her childhood and teenage years. Even so, Hana strayed, and she never received the infilling of the Holy Spirit until she met Don and he shared with her the full gospel message.

Anyway, we ended up spending quite a bit of time with Hana over the next weeks, and now it looks like she’s preparing to return to Brazil before her visa expires. It will be interesting to know the kind of impact she will have on family and friends back in her hometown and beyond.

2) One early evening we met Hana at a local(ish) cafe and then went for a stroll afterward. By that time, the street market had been set up, so we were able to wander around the stalls. Don spied one offering crafts with scriptures engraved or printed on them, so he got chatting with the booth owner. After a short while, he asked our standard Acts 19:2 question. She mentioned she “can” speak in tongues, but she had done not so in quite a long time. After encouraging her some more, we offered to pray over her to help her start praying in tongues again. She was open to it, so we stood right there in the middle of the market stall with the six of us (including Hana) praying over her. It was beautiful to hear her praying fervently and clearly, and toward the end of the prayer, she was quietly crying with joy. She was very thankful that Don would be bold and speak up as he did, and we encouraged her to go and pray in tongues every day, to feel that “river of living water” flowing freely again.

3) We invited Hana and her brother and his wife over for an early dinner one evening. They are here temporarily, too, and they were keen to meet us after Hana shared with them (i.e. her experience at our home). That night, we repeated our testimonies and some of our stories, after which we invited Hana’s family to pray, too. Hana’s brother was already water-baptized and Spirit-filled, but he only tended to speak in tongues when moved during church worship times. So, we helped him to pray in tongues more purposefully and intentionally as part of his private prayer life. We also prayed with his wife (who had only been baptized in water multiple times just like Hana), and she was filled with the Holy Spirit quite powerfully. She was in tears, and it was beautiful to see all three of them come to be united in the born-again experience.

4) While waiting for a zoo bird show to start during a “family day” outing, Don got chatting with a young married couple because one of them was wearing a shirt with either a scripture or church name on it, I can’t remember which. Then, while chatting with them, an older man interrupted the conversation to ask, “What about those people who are already believers?” Don wasn’t sure of his intentions, and Don hadn’t yet finished with the couple, so he offered for the man to stick around to chat once Don was available.

Very soon, the bird show started, so I approached the older man and gave him a card, just in case we missed answering his question. I’m glad I did because he left and we never saw him again that day. However, about two weeks later, the older man called. He said he would have been in touch sooner, but he and his family all got sick after their vacation. This time, Don had a great chat with him, so we ended up praying for him over the phone. He received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and he was very surprised and happy.

He and his family are descendants of the gypsies somewhere in Europe, either Bulgaria or Romania. Anyway, they speak a rare gypsy dialect, but he was amazed to be praying in a brand new language that he couldn’t understand. We chatted a bit more, further explaining the scriptures about speaking in tongues and the born-again experience. They live a few hours away from us, so we’re hoping to catch up with them in person at some stage.

5) Our home renovations ended up extending to our front yard which has been very opportunistic for the Lord’s work. Don has been doing most of the work himself so far, and being out there each day has led to lots of interesting conversations about the Lord with various passers-by, from utility workers to landscapers and construction workers, and from dog walkers to strolling couples to service providers. Don always looks for an “in” to bring the conversation around to Jesus and the scriptures. Most people have had some degree of experience with church or church-goers, yet few know the fullness of what Jesus preached and how the early church (the one Body of Christ) was established and continues to grow even to this day.

6) I’m not sure if readers will remember, but a long while ago (early November last year) we chatted about the Lord with a couple we met in a local bookstore. The conversation lasted at least 45 minutes and in the end, we encouraged the (Spirit-filled) lady (Barbara) to pray in tongues daily and the man (James) to seek for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing night that the Lord miraculously coordinated (as neither they nor our family originally intended to visit the store), so it’s worth scrolling back to catch up on the story.

Anyway, one Friday night recently, Don received a call from Barbara (we had given her a card at the bookstore). She said she felt very moved to get in touch with Don, but she wasn’t sure why. She said she was just being obedient to the Holy Spirit, so Don was able to build on what we had first shared with her and James. Barbara was very encouraged by the end of the call, so Don invited her to come visit with us on Sunday when we would all be home. She said she would try.

Late Sunday morning, I went for a run, but instead of following my standard route, I felt moved to run down the main street downtown. I was actually behind time, so as I passed a man reading a Bible on a park bench, I started to wrestle with thoughts — “Should I stop and say hi… the family is waiting for me… do I have time?” By the time I had resolved that I should simply be obedient to what God was putting in front of me (I felt very moved that I should stop and chat with him in particular, out of all the people I passed on my run), I had already gone quite a ways. So, I purposed that if he was still there on my loop back around, I would stop, no matter the consequences.

The man was still there on my return, so I slowed and sat next to him, asking him what he was reading. He gladly shared with me and, as he was talking, I realized it was the man from the bookstore — James! After he finished speaking, I said, “We know each other!” I explained and he was pleasantly surprised. Just then, I looked to my left to see Barbara approaching the park bench. I said to her with a big smile, “Barbara, you called my husband on Friday night!” She had come to meet up with James (they are friends and a platonic couple for now) and she was happily shocked to see me.

I proceeded to explain to them both the various aspects of my morning and how it was the miraculous hand of God that I had connected with James. Barbara then shared how she had tried to go to three different churches that morning, none of which worked out for various reasons, and then she tried to visit a local museum instead and it was unexpectedly closed for the day. She decided to simply meet up with James at the civic park instead, and here I was — sitting right beside James as Barabara walked up! We all sat in awe of what God had done to connect us again after many months — and, most amazingly, right after Barbara had phoned Don! In addition to this, Don had apparently (he told us all later) texted Barabara on that Sunday morning, reminding her that we were looking forward to her visit. So, though she never came, the Lord had me run into James and then Barbara anyway!

I stayed on the park bench and chatted with James and Barbara for a short while, at the end of which I emphasized how much the Lord wanted us all to get together. Barbara could now see this, too, and James was also keen to see what else the Lord would do, so I invited them to come by the next day. This time, Barbara came! And James accompanied her. We were able to share so much more with them, adding to what we had spoken about at the bookstore, and Barbara in particular went away thoroughly inspired and encouraged. She texted me afterward to say the following:

I’m never going to slack again on my heavenly language, I Got it, I’m so encouraged, I feel complete!!!!!!!!🙏🏾 Bless y’all again, I’m so happy that I’m self-sufficient because of my Holy Ghost 😊🙏🏾

7) On another family day out, we were in a very long lineup. Don noticed a couple (they were brother and sister) ahead of us in line. The brother had a church-related t-shirt on, so Don introduced himself and started chatting to him. It turns out that they are both born again (water-baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit), and they actively pray in tongues, which was great to hear. They are actually from Australia and originally from South Africa, and they were out here (to the United States) to attend a large Christian event/conference and to have an extended vacation. We ended up chatting with them for over one hour, praise God!

In this post, we’re listing all the people we have been praying for lately who have come into our lives through different circumstances — if you feel moved to join us in holding them up to the Lord:

• Various people at our local YMCA 

• Shamar: He ended up coming over to pray with us after a recent Thursday night prayer group. He received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and was so happy.

• Valerie: Shamar’s fiancée who also came to our place about two weeks after we prayed with Shamar. Shamar shared with her his experience and she was keen to find out for herself. Don water baptized Valerie in our bathtub and she, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

• Phil & his wife, and the couple they were talking to at a local coffee shop: We pray we will continue to run into them as we have been (particularly Phil and his wife) and that God will build on the words we spoke to them all. 

• Spirit-filled lady in the fabrics section at Walmart: She said she remembers focusing on the Lord and praying in tongues during the birth of her daughter. Don shared some scriptural encouragement with her.

• The group of people we prayed with on the lawn in the civic park while on a day trip to the coast: They were all already water baptized and Spiritfilled except one of them. We pray he will forsake the sin that he hasn’t been willing to give up for Jesus’ sake. We pray he will truly lose his life and empty himself that he can be filled (with the Holy Spirit).

• Greg & Vicki: Greg came to get loads from the unwanted dirt pile in our yard after Don felt inspired to advertise it for free. As Don helped him shovel, Greg shared his struggles. He ended up coming in to pray with us all because he had received the Holy Spirit when he was 19 after getting re-baptized in a different church, but he had never prayed in tongues again since then. After going home and sharing with his wife, she ended up coming over for a visit, too. She received the Holy Spirit when Don water baptized her a few days later. Greg and Vicki were so happy to be able to now pray in tongues together and see the Lord continue to work in their lives with healing, peace, etc. 

• Linda: Another person who came for some of the dirt and was eager to hear some of Don’s experiences with the Lord. 

• Alan: One of the workers doing our outdoor renovations. He is already born again since 2004, so Don encouraged him to actively pray in tongues every day versus waiting to be moved upon during church worship times.  

• Three teens outside Columbia restaurant: They had been attending a huge local contemporary-style church for some time, but they had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. We prayed over one of the young men and he received. We pray that the other two will take God’s calling seriously, forsake any sin in their lives, and diligently seek Jesus for the Holy Spirit anointing.

• The couple we met in a local bookstore: We were on our way home after an outing and felt moved not to go straight back to the house, but rather wander around our downtown area which is so lovely of an evening. While wandering around a bookstore, Ethan got chatting with a couple and then a little later, I heard the husband mention a scripture as they walked by us on their way out. I stopped them to say that I love that scripture and this started almost an hour-long conversation right in the middle of the store! It was a wonderful chat, discussing the Word and encouraging the husband to seek for the Holy Spirit anointing. His wife is already Spirit-filled and loves to pray in tongues, and she has been praying for her husband. Our connection that night was so beautifully orchestrated by God and the wife in particular recognized this — she mentioned that they, too, had other plans and it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, too, for them to come to the downtown area.

• Christian: While chatting with the couple in the bookstore, a young man named Christian politely interrupted our conversation to say that he was excited to hear us all talking about the Lord. So, we were able to take a pause and chat with him, too. He had recently moved here in order to help with a new church plant. On our way out, we noticed that the managers of the bookstore had even turned down the volume of the store music, to make our conversing easier. “Wow, thank you, Lord!”

• Christina & Kris laundromat: Don met them at a local laundromat. He had to go there to wash some things we couldn’t handle at home, and at the same time, Christina and Kris had their washing machine break down on them. While they were all waiting in the seating area, Don got chatting with them which quickly turned into the subject of the Lord. I can’t remember how, but Don always makes one or two comments about the Lord to see if a situation has been set up by God, and if it has, the conversation generally naturally flows from there. After Don spoke with them for some time, Christina in particular could clearly see God’s hand upon their coming together. The couple ended up coming over to visit us all that night, and Christina (who has a Jewish background) got baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. She was excited to be praying in tongues and to start reading the Bible for the first time, in particular the New Testament.

• Spirit-filled family at the local lake gardens: During our recent prayer and fast, we all took a walk to the local gardens by the lake. While resting in the little dock area, a family with a twenty-something daughter came to hang out there, too. While talking about why they spend time in this area even though they live quite a ways north, they mentioned it is because of their favorite church. Obviously, the conversation centered on the Lord from that point forward, and Don showed them our latest “Winging It” video. The dad was particularly touched by it all. He shared that he had been seeking the Lord about being more active in service toward Him. Even at church that very morning, he had been specifically praying about how to be a stronger witness for Christ. The family invited us to attend their church, so we are going tomorrow. When God sets up things like this so amazingly clearly, we try to always obey and step out in faith in order to see what God is calling us to do. More than anything, we are praying that we can be of more encouragement to this family, especially the husband — to inspire him to live the Book of Acts life by praying over others, water baptizing, and ministering the Word of God to hungry souls.

• Hana: We had found a sofa chair in the clearance section of a store for just $200, but after missing out on a matching one, Don had to go significantly out of his way to a different store, to hunt for a similar deal on a second chair. Don and I both thought that maybe there would be a reason — and there was! Don ended up chatting with a sales rep in a furniture store that he originally had no plans at all to go to. Their hour-long conversation started because her name is similar to Hannah in the Bible. She was so deeply touched by what Don had to share that she came over to our place after work that very night. We prayed over her and she received the Holy Spirit! Later, Hana shared with us that she prayed in tongues all the way home and started to eagerly study the Bible for the very first time, in particular the New Testament, to truly get to know Jesus. It has been a real joy keeping in touch with her and helping her to grow in the Lord!

• Jose & others: We ended up going to the church that the Spirit-filled family at the dock invited us to, and while things didn’t go any further with the family, it turns out that the Lord used us to minister to some others instead. There was a Spirit-filled couple that was having some struggles with their daughter, and then a young-ish man that initiated a conversation with us (whom we ended up praying over in the car park after the service). He in particular was inspired by all that we had to share with him, and he was touched by the Lord during prayer. He has been very active in the past, water baptizing people and seeing them filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof, but not so much lately. So, we encouraged him to continue pursuing God’s calling for him. Anyway, after this event, we felt inspired to head to a popular area of the city in order to hang out and see who else God might connect us with. Nothing happened until we left the restaurant and wandered around. We had a great chat with Gina outside a small pizza place, and then on our way back to the car, we ran into (for the third time that night) the owner of a classic car that we had all noticed earlier that evening. The third time we saw the man, we knew we were meant to get chatting with him. He was a super bubbly Puerto Rican guy. As we showed interest in his life with lots of love and care, he opened up and shared some struggles he has been recently going through. We ended up praying over him right there in the car park in front of his vehicle. Even though it was a brief interaction, he was deeply touched by the Lord working through us, and as our family walked away, we heard him chuckling and praising God out loud, amazed in a surreal kind of way by what had just happened. We pray and trust that God will continue to water the seeds that He planted in Jose’s heart that night.

Our daughter has been praying a lot lately (during our Mommy/daughter morning prayer times) for the Lord to continue to use my husband for His work’s sake during the last stages of the outdoor renovations, and the Lord is answering! She has seen how we have had multiple opportunities to share the Word of God with tradesmen and other laborers, and even the bosses and company owners, and she recognizes how God is using the natural circumstances (of our property work projects) to bring us together with people who are hungering and thirsting for Truth.

We’ve ended up praying with quite a number of the workers, and some have even been water baptized in our tub while we await the completion of the pool. We’ve even had people (after seeing the state of our place) stop by of their own accord, looking to quote on various jobs and services, and Don has especially had lots of opportunity to share the Word with/pray with people he’s run into while running around town for supplies, etc. That’s what happened this week . . .

Don saw a truck with a scripture reference printed on the spare tire cover. It was parked outside the hardware store he was heading into. So, Don waited for the driver to get out of the vehicle (he was just about to head into the store, too) and Don commented on the scripture. At first, the man (Eric) seemed to kind of lightly dismiss Don and start to walk away, but Don has learned to pursue things a little, so he asked Eric another question. The flesh and the distractions of this life can try to get in the way of God’s work, so sometimes it takes a bit before someone’s mind and heart open up to what God is doing in the situation.

After a long chat (Don also showed Eric the latest video on our “Winging It” page), Don offered to pray with him. By this stage, Eric was sincerely humbled by everything the Lord put on Don’s heart to share, and he very much wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Eric is a large, tough kind of guy, but after he received (they prayed in the car), he was sobbing for a long time, deeply moved (in a good way) by the whole experience.

A similar experience happened two days ago when Don called a landscaper who had taken the initiative to put one of his flyers under our door. He said he was actually available that day, so he stopped by after lunch. Don got chatting with him out front, and the man (Regi) soon started sharing the many difficulties he and his family are struggling with. He said that his wife (she’s Spiritfilled) keeps praying for him and telling him that he needs to draw nigh to God, to get right with Him. Regi did so that day, getting water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very powerfully. Don and the guys prayed with Regi again before he left (as we try to do with most people), to help him get used to praying in the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for Regi. He has a lot going on in his life, but now he is well-equipped to overcome and be victorious if he uses what God has given him.

It’s amazing what happens when we remain flexible for the Lord’s work and stop trying to control our own lives. It’s great to have healthy and productive goals and a vision for the day or week, etc., but if we allow these things to become rigid, we can become our own anchor. We can miss the moment-by-moment leading of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of God upon our spiritual growth and usefulness for Him. We have to seriously consider the things that we allow to get in the way of the Lord’s work — of serving him and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit (verus by our own strength). These things can even grow to be idols in our lives — that is, things that we hold in higher regard, greater importance, or cling to and trust in over God, or things that we allow to control our minds, bodies, and/or lives.

Our rigidity or idolatrous behavior, choices, or emotions can even have a ripple effect on our family’s or brethren’s service toward the Lord, so we have to be careful for others’ sakes, too. “Stop and pray” is always the best choice to make before opening up your mouth or doing something that might be a stumblingblock or anchor upon another. This will quickly chasten you and get you in tune with the Holy Spirit, so you can be a fruitful help with however God is using the other person — or, it will at least equip you to discipline yourself to be quiet and still and simply watch the Lord work through your family member or brother/sister in the Lord.

Here are some recent situations that were the result of remaining fexible for the Kingdom of God. There were choices at the time that could have hindered the hand of God. After all, God doesn’t force Himself upon people, but rather provides opportunities for people to lay hold. As members of the Body of Christ, we are all learning and growing and overcoming. Praise God for His never-ending patience and mercy and grace toward us, His blessed children!

1) Don met James in Walmart as he noticed him looking at some Bible-related literature in the books section. James is not yet filled with the Holy Spirit, but he was super keen to receive Don’s encouragement to read the Book of Acts, expecially the first 19 chapters, in conjunction with the Gospel of John. We are praying for him.

2) On a family day out, Don got chatting with a man in the lobby as he waited for the rest of us to catch up with him. We had dinner reservations and even received a notice that our table was ready, but Don kept encouraging Gabriel who was, by this time, in tears. Gabriel is already born again of water and of the Holy Spirit but up until he met us, he had only prayed in tongues sporadically (versus intentionally on a daily basis as Paul the apostle obviously did). He had allowed his walk with the Lord to wax cold and has been through some very rough times in recent years. Gabriel knew that Don had been sent by the Lord to share with him some important messages. Praise God!

3) The day after this, Don spied a vehicle with messages about Jesus all over it in the parking lot of a store. He waited and waited for the owner to return, and finally a lone man looked like he was heading his way, so Don engaged in conversation with him. It turned out that he wasn’t the right guy, so instead of leaving, Don waited longer and soon the vehicle’s owner turned up. Don had a great conversation with him, discovering that the man is born again, having had a miraculous 360 degree transformation about two years ago. Since then, he has felt on fire to talk about Jesus to anyone and everyone who would listen. Don soon realized why God had connected them together, to encourage the guy to do as the disciples did in the Book of Acts and not just talk about Jesus, but to take further steps in faith to water baptize believers and pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here’s a text that Don sent to the rest of us when he remembered more about how the conversation went with the guy:

I just remembered that when I was talking to that team Jesus guy yesterday, after I had finished telling him that the thief on the cross is not in heaven, but will be raised and judged on the great white throne judgment day, which debunks the John 3:16 give your heart to Jesus salvation message (that he initially had told me was all I needed to do when I asked him about his gospel message), he said to me, “That’s interesting because only one other person has ever told me that.” Some older man had told him that a few years ago. So, here I am showing up and confirming that to him!

4) More to come regarding a super nice guy that came by after prayer group last Thursday night in order to have us pray over him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He received mightily, praying in tongues powerfully — but only after he mentally and emotionally let go of himself and his life, being obedient to the scripture that tells us “he that loses his life shall find it.” The timing was absolutely miraculous in terms of Don coming to him with a message (actually, “running into him” pretty much literally!) just two days before his life was about to drastically change. The story is still in progress, so we will share more when we can . . .

We’re continuing our weekend outreaching. We have been to about six different locations so far, with interesting things happening at each. And, of course, we’ve doing whatever the Lord brings our way during the week. There are lots of people to pray for. Here are some brief summaries (more for our benefit, so we can remember them):

1) Remember Diana & Jose that Don met at our local YMCA, and we ended up praying over them both when they came to our place one night? They have been joining us at times for the Thursday night prayer group. Anyway, I felt moved to text Diana and offer her little boy a gift bag we’d put together after attending a local kids event. My text was very timely (thank you, Lord!) as when we met up to give Joel the gift, Diana was eager to share some things that had been going on in their family’s life which I was able to help her with from the Word. She was very relieved and encouraged, and now they are coming over this Thursday evening before prayer group so that we can have extra prayer in person together.

2) Luis: Opened the door for us outside Journey Church and asked us a question. Ended up praying with him outside and he received the Holy Spirit. Met him the next week and Don asked if he had been praying in tongues, to which he happily answered, “Yes!”

3) Elmont: Met inside local smoothie place. I asked him about his t-shirt, and I soon discovered that he is Spiritfilled and has his own online ministry. After a brief chat, I gave him a ChristiansRule card. He had to go as he was fulfilling a Doordash order, but he was glad we met.

4) Emanuel: At the same smoothie place, Don got chatting with a different guy as he departed the store. He was also wearing a Jesus-related t-shirt. He was super excited to hear what we had to say as it was an answer to what he’d been praying about recently (and praying again about it earlier that very day!). He is already born again of water and of the Holy Spirit, but he received our ecnouragement related to the Book of Acts and being active in ministering to others outside of church services. It was interesting hearing about his background (he was heavily into occult practices many years ago), and how Jesus powerfully brought him out of that darkness. Praise God!

5) We had a great chat with the pastor of Promise Church. What Don shared struck a cord with him. He was excited to watch our video and affirmed that what we were sharing was what he grew up following. We pray that he will lay hold upon God’s encouragement for him to openly preach and pray for others according to the fullness of the gospel message.

6) Sometimes we get chatting with people at the local gardens by the lake after we ask them what book they’re reading. I actually managed to have a detailed conversation with a spiritualist last week. She asked some good questions. Sadly, she wasn’t open to the “way” being through Jesus only, but you never know how God is going to water a seed that is planted.

7) Don got chatting with a lady and her 9-year-old daughter in Lowe’s after he spied the daughter happily (and safely) riding a luggage cart. He encouraged her that he sometimes still does the same thing even though he’s over 60! I can’t remember how, but somehow they all got chatting about the Lord. I think they started talking about current events and signs of the times. He found out that the mother is water baptized and Spiritfilled but hasn’t prayed in tongues for nine years. He offered that we could all pray for her, so after I briefly met her on the phone (Don called me to mention what was happening), we gathered at the house.

We chatted for quite a while first while Elisabeth entertained the daughter, and the mom was so excited to have us pray over her, to help her pray in tongues again, which we did. Afterward, she said she felt so relieved and refreshed and empowered. We chatted some more and shared more of the Word that was relevant to her life. She was really keen to go home and read the New Testament again, in particular the Book of Acts and the gospel of John, and to keep praying in the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. What a joy!

8) I met a man and his service dog at a YMCA event on the weekend. He asked if he could sit in the spare seat near Elisabeth and me while we ate. A little while after he sat, I felt I needed to start a conversation with him, so I first asked about his service dog. I soon found out that he is Spiritfilled and does pray in tongues at times. I encouraged him according to Jude 20 and also how Paul mentioned that when he prays in tongues, he edifies himself (builds his relationship with God). It was a brief chat, and I gave him a card, offering for Don to pray over him any time. So, again, you never know how God will work upon the heart of someone after a message has been shared with them. That brings me much peace, to leave everything in God’s perfect hands!

9) Last week, Ethan went to a coffee shop to work for a while. As soon as he got there, he was drawn to a conversation between two young men. He knew the situation had been set up by the Lord, so he waited about ten minutes and then politely interrupted their conversation. He ended up praying over one of the young men (Marcus) and encouraged the youth pastor (who was the other young man - already born again) to do likewise. They also both eagerly received Ethan’s message from the Lord and agreed with the scriptures he presented. The two of them ended up eagerly inviting Ethan (two times) to visit their Deeper Fellowship church, so we did so this last weekend (in obedience to what God put before Ethan).

At the end of the service, Don joined the same two young men in praying over a wheelchair-bound older lady and she walked slowly around the large church building, overjoyed and praying in tongues as she went. She shared that it was the first time she’d been able to stand (let alone walk) for any length of time in many years. Marcus broke down in tears afterward, once the lady had left. He was so touched by the experience and felt that God was working on him more than ever.

Here are some people recently touched by messages that God gave us for them:

1) On my way home one late Saturday morning, I noticed a group of people standing outside of a tiny local church building. Some of them were waving sign boards. I felt moved to speak with them, but I had just finished working out and I was very sweaty, so as soon as I reached home (which was just around the corner), I told Don about it.

He purposed to leave straight away to go chat with the people, but he was delayed, and by that time I realized that the Lord wanted me to go too, so I quickly freshened up and hopped in the car with Don. Before leaving, though, we all prayed together that God would make it very obvious who it was in particular that He wanted us to speak with. We declared that surely there would be at least one person with a humble and hungry heart.

As we neared the church, we saw that it was now empty outisde. As we did a u-turn in front of the building, a lone older man spied us and started to follow where we drove to. We parked on the adjacent street and, as we crossed the road toward the church building, the man passed us, noticeably wanting to say something to us, but seemingly unsure as to how to engage us (and perhaps a little unsure of our intentions).

We eagerly said hi and asked what he and his church buddies had going on. (They were doing a back-to-school backpack drive.) The man was really happy that we had stopped to talk, and we all walked back to the church building, chatting as we went. We ended up spending about an hour with the man, sitting off to the side in front of the church, encouraging him with testimonies from our Books of Acts style ministry (after quickly learning that he was already born of water and of the Holy Spirit and recognized the importance of praying in tongues).

After our awesome discussion, we gave him our details, and to our joy, he left a message later that day, saying he’d love to meet again and hear more. So, Don met with him on the Monday and God built upon what He had started in this lovely man two days prior. On the Saturday, he had told us about the recent burden that was troubling him - that God was asking him, “Besides going to church, what are YOU doing in your personal life to serve Me and help others come to know and experience Jesus?” So, when Don and I suddenly turned up and started speaking with him directly, he absolutely knew it was a special message from God for him!

2) Don was recently at a local laundromat, washing some items that we couldn’t manage to deal with at home. While there, he overheard a lady saying “Amen!” to another lady a number of times. So, during a break in the conversation between the ladies, Don said to the one, “You must be a church-going lady!” This led to a great discussion with her and then later, to another discussion with the other lady and her 9-year-old son (who had also been listening). In fact, it was the boy who was enthusiastically engaging with Don. He had lots of comments and questions, truly hungering to know more about Don’s miraculous experiences with the Lord. The boy was very mature and clearly hard a heart for Jesus and God’s Word. Don encouraged him lots, and we are praying that he will go and seek the Lord diligently of his own accord.

3) Don was at a tile store and got chatting with the owner after he mentioned a number of issues he was dealing with in his life. At first, based on what the owner was saying, Don didn’t think he would be open to hearing any of his testimonies. Nevertheless, Don spoke up, sharing with him first-hand experiences with God that have miraculously helped and blessed our family over the years.

The owner then called out to one of his employees to come join the conversation. The owner encouraged the employee to share details of a recent serious accident he had experienced. At first, the employee was hesitant, but after the owner explained what Don had been talking about, the employee opened up. In particular, he had to have his spleen removed, but he had afterward declared to his boss (the owner) that God would heal him. At the time, the boss had emphatically expressed his doubts, but now he was quietly considering things as the three of them chatted some more in the tile store.

Don gave them both one of our church website cards, and it will be interesting to see how things progress from here seeing that God surely had His beautiful, perfect hands upon the entire afternoon . . . .

We recently received this wonderful text from Kristi, the gal we prayed with at a local farmer’s market last year. Here’s a quick re-cap: Kristi runs the coffee stand at the market, and when we visited there for the first time, we noticed “John 3:16” boldly displayed in her tent area. We excitedly introduced ourselves and got chatting about our mutual passion for God and His Word. We asked her if she had been filled with the Holy Spirit since she believed in Jesus (Acts 19:2) which led us to returning to pray with her once the market day was over. We simply prayed over her right there in the civic park opposite the market area, and Kristi mightily received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues. Anyway, fast forward twelve months and this is what Kristi shared with us (Wow, praise God!):

Just wanted to say hey! Pray your family is doing well. I was thinking of how grateful I am that you and your wife were obedient to the Holy Spirit and stopped at my stand that day. The power of tongues has been so amazing in my life. Thank you so much again!

Also, the story of our renovations continues, proving yet again that the Lord is using it for the purpose of His Kingdom work. We finally had a concrete team agree to come do the difficult pillar demolition work that Don was unable to manage on his own. As the boss man was dropping off some equipment, he decided to stay for a bit to observe his crew (which, we later discovered) he would normally not have time for. During his stay, Don overheard him mention the word ‘church,’ so Don got chatting with him and invited him to see our latest Winging It! video.

At first, the boss was ready to walk away, not because he wasn’t interested, but I think because he thought it was beyond him. He had experienced a very tough time earlier in his life and had turned around after seeking God and His Word, but he still suffered with some struggles. Despite the man’s doubts, Don wasn’t going to give up. Don knew this situation had been set up by the Lord.

So, after some more chatting and encouragement from Don, the boss was keen to come inside and have us all lay hands on him, to pray for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He received quickly and so beautifully, speaking in tongues and describing that he felt like his whole head was on fire (but in a good way). He said he felt changed and freed from his burdens. Praise the Lord!

As we parted ways, we encouraged him to pray in tongues as much as he can every day, continue to study the Bible, and now use the power of the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word in his life. It was so wonderful to share our mutual love for Jesus with this big, tough (but super nice) guy!

There are so many people to pray for from the past weeks’ happenings, praise be to God. Here’s a quick summary:

1) We met Cybill at a local hotel that we went to one afternoon for a work meeting. She’s the one that initiated the conversation as she passed by where we were all sitting at our computers. She shared with us her troubled history and lingering physical and mental health issues, some of them being migraine headaches and depression - two things that Don suffered with prior to being born again. So, Don told her about how he was miraculously delivered by God when he was water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. We ended up praying over Cybill outside on the patio and, after some encouragement, patience, and love, she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, too, speaking in tongues and experiencing an overwhelming sense of calm.

2) During a July 4th outdoor event, Don spied a man (Chris) wearing a t-shirt that mentioned something about the Lord (I can’t remember what it was). Actually, I noticed him first, and Ethan did too, so we both mentioned it to Don as it seemed like Don would be the best one to relate to the man. Don and Ethan ended up having a long chat with Chris in the park, and after a while, I joined in.

At the end of the conversation, I asked Chris if there was something specific happening in his life, or in his family’s life, that related to what we were sharing from God’s Word. Before he answered, I mentioned the testimony of Barry and his dog (which I recently posted about below) as an example - how we kept running into them, and eventually Barry shared about his wife’s (Amy’s) recent brain cancer diagnosis. We ended up praying over Amy and she received the Holy Spirit, proving that God had been causing us to keep running into Barry for the sake of his wife.

Immediately after sharing this story, Chris opened up and mentioned his wife’s brain issues - something that has been plaguing her and the rest of her family. Wow! It was certainly God’s hand, moving upon me to first share a very relevant testimony. Unfortunately, Chris had to go as he was due to meet up with his family, but we pray he will act upon the encouragement we gave him in terms of drawing nigh to the Lord. (Interestingly, we discovered that Chris is a college chaplain, yet he was unaware of the scriptural truths we were sharing with him, especially regarding the Holy Spirit. He’s not alone. It’s very common, and a sad state of affairs in the world of “churchianity.”)

3) We have been purposing to somewhat do what the disciples did, to “go into the synagogues” and the “marketplaces” and locations like “Mars Hill” in order to connect with people that are “coming to find answers.” Not that we’re going into actual synagogues as such in order to try to convert Jewish people (who, by the way, we have great repsect for as descendents of the nation of Israel) to the truth of Jesus. But, we have been stepping things up in terms of trying to put our “talents” (spoken about in the gospels — that God has given to His children) to profitable use by deliberately going where there might be “ears to hear.” Last Sunday morning, we ended up praying over a guy that broke into tears soon after Don approached him and lovingly inquired about his life. Again, I noticed him, and so did Ethan, so we both pointed him out to Don who had apparently been drawn to talk with him, too, but hadn’t yet. It took courage to start a conversation (as it always does when approaching a stranger), but we’re so glad for the confidence and ability to “step out in faith” that God gives us.

4) After this, we went for a bite at the Cheesecake Factory at the mall. As we were departing, Don noticed a lady wearing a t-shirt with a scripture on it (or something similar). It’s amazing how many times God uses this scenario in order to bring us into some kind of work for Him. She had her autistic son with her, so we sat and chatted in the waiting area. We talked about general church first seeing that it related to her t-shirt, which then led to us being able to share some stories from our 18-year family ministry. Within a short while, the lady was in tears as she opened up about the struggles she’s been having. We encouraged her regarding the power of praying in the Holy Spirit (in tongues) as much as possible every day (she’s already born of water and of the Holy Spirit) amongst other things. We offered everything the Lord put upon our hearts to give to her as a message that day, and she was sincerely grateful.

Don was at Walmart one day last week and was by the garden center as an older lady walked through the doors, her arms full of supplies. She asked if the cart Don was standing near was his. He said, “Yes, but here, please take it.” The lady was very grateful and they parted ways, and then Don was upset at himself that he hadn’t acted on the thought that he should give her a ChristiansRule.com card. So, he prurposed that if he saw her again, he would do so.

He never did come across her again while he was in the store, so he checked out his items and proceeded to the car. Just then, the lady “happened” to be heading back to the store entrance to drop off her empty cart. (Afterward, she stressed to Don that she normally never does this at all, and instead leaves the cart in one of the parking lot stalls, but this one time she felt moved to bring it right into the store in case someone else needed it.)

Anyway, running into the lady the second time gave Don the opportunity to ask her about her church experience and knowledge of the scriptures. During the conversation, the lady shared that she lives in an apartment complex with 65 other tenants and she knows something like 62 of them by name, and she regularly walks around the building praying for them all. She also revealed to Don that over the years, she had prayed many times for the “gift of tongues” but it never happened to her.

Don, of course, “expounded the Word of God unto her more perfectly” (like Aquila and Priscilla in the Book of Acts) and asked the lady if she wanted him to pray over her (to be filled with the Holy Spirit - not just to speak in tongues). She was keen, so Don phoned the rest of us back at the house and we all prayed for the lady - Don layed hands on her, and we all prayed over speaker phone. She received the Holy Spirit anointing after about a minute or two, speaking in tongues loud and clear - right outside the store. Praise the Lord!

So many opportunities for the Lord’s work happen like this - while Don is simply running errands and zipping in and out of stores. The other places where the Lord tends to use us quite often is at the local parks and gardens. I sent the following text to a sister in the Lord recently. It was amazing how God set up the situation.

Hi, Sis! Some mid-week inspiration:

Don went for a bike ride yesterday morning and got chatting to a gal at the gardens because he was curious about what she was painting. (She’s actually an amazingly anointed artist, btw - I’ve got to show you her website!)

Anyway, after a while, she ended up sharing that she has been having some struggles with her marriage. Don obviously then shared some of our stories. When he had to take a break to go to the restroom, she said, “Please, please come back; I want to know more…!”

The gal ended up coming back to the house and we all prayed with her, and she received soooo powerfully. She’s deliberately not going to finish the painting so that it can be a talking piece about the miracle that happened to her today…. And, she said she couldn’t wait to pray in tongues on her own all the way driving home, and whenever she paints, etc. Praise God!

Most mornings, I pray these words: “Lord, please precede me this day. Whatever happens (or even doesn’t happen…), may it be according to your will.” It brings me inexplicable peace and the strength to be flexible, so that when I’m in the middle of something, or if I have what seems to be a firm schedule, I can instantly drop what I’m doing or change directions in order to be obedient to God and His work. So many different things happen from week to week. Here are some recents:

1) It has been taking such a long time for Don to try to find the right company to do some work on the gutters before the rest of the pool renovations can be completed. It has led to a number of valuable conversations between Don and various tradesmen, and then last week, Don got talking with another representative that came to give a quote. Don genuinely loves chatting with people, to get to know them and show interest in their lives. This time, Don learned that the rep had very recently been through a deeply tragic experience, and his entire family was devastated. He is a dedicated churchgoer and loves to try to share about Jesus with his workmates, etc. but most often to little avail, much to his frustration and disappointment. He had sincerely been wanting to be more effective at touching others’ lives with God’s Word, and then he ended up being called to our house…!

Needless to say, Don told the rep as much as he could about our Book of Acts style ministry, invited him to meet the rest of our family, and then offered for him to come back to pray whenever he had more time. Later, the rep texted us to ask if it was okay if he brought his son with him (wonderful!), so they both came the very next day. After chatting for quite a while, we all prayed over the dad and then the son, and they were both filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. Thank you, Lord!

2) A sister in the Lord who has been joining us in person for prayer group texted out of the blue one day, asking if we were available. She then called to share that she’d just been talking with her brother (who lives interstate), and that he in turn had just been having an exciting conversation about the Lord with one of his new-ish friends. We ended up praying over the phone with the brother, but it wasn’t working out for him, so Don invited him to fly down to pray with us all (including his sister) in person.

There are many more details than this, but the short of it is that the brother slept at the airport that night and flew here the very next morning. He got water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit (in the very same tub as his sister, which was very cool!), and spent the rest of the day with us before he had to fly back that night. It was a whirlwind of less than 36 hours, but that is the way God often works. After all, Jesus said to his disciples, “Come follow me” — meaning instantly, and more often than not, that’s the way God tends to use our family as His vessels and messengers.

3) I was out for a jog when I felt I should head in a different direction than normal, so I decided to run along the main street in our village area. As I turned down a side street to prepare to make my way home, I passed a tall man handing out little pamphlets on the street corner. For various reasons, I normally don’t stop at these kinds of scenarios whenever I’m on my own, but this time I felt that I simply couldn’t run any further and I just had to turn back from where I was now at in order to go talk with the man.

It turned out to be completely God orchestrated and I had a wonderfully blessed conversation with him. He is such a lovely guy, and I quickly discovered that both he and his wife are born again of water and of the Holy Spirit. Just like us, they greatly value praying in tongues, but I was able to encourage him in a number of things that will help him to be more effective in his personal ministry. At the end, I prayed over him, and then he did with me likewise for our family’s ministry. I was so glad I obeyed the guiding of the Holy Spirit and didn’t force myself to keep running!

4) Oh, and this is unrelated to my introduction, but just a quick note: There is a sister in the Lord in Australia that I have been encouraging with the Word for a long while now, and she has been mightily transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit. As a result, she has been ministering to another sister in the Lord who has, in turn, been miraculously affected. It’s the ripple effect of the power of God’s Living Word that is written on our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit anointing — as God uses us as His vessels to heal, build, and strengthen the Body of Christ!

Last weekend, we decided to head to Barnes & Noble to do some rsearch on children’s books. After checking the main kids’ section (which was quite overwhelming!), we thought to check the Christian books area upstairs to see if they had some easy-to-navigate shelves dedicated to children’s books. They did (we were glad to discover, which will hopefully help my children’s series that’s coming out), and as we walked around the corner of an aisle, we noticed a young-ish couple sitting on the carpet, studying a self-help book together.

We got chatting with the couple about what they were reading and then asked them if they wanted to hear some helpful thoughts. They were very friendly and open to listening, so for a long while we all sat on the floor and chatted about God’s Word, sharing our ministry experiences. We discovered that they were already water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, so of course, we encouraged them to pray in tongues even more often, and we encouraged them that as they draw nigh to the Lord even more, they will realize that they, too, have been anointed by Jesus with the authority to pray for other people to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and to water baptize - just like the disciples in the Book of Acts!

It made our day to spend time with this lovely couple, and yet again, it reinforced that we should always expect the unexpected. That’s the first time we have been called to do God’s work on the floor of a huge book store! :)

This month has been full of surprises - certainly the miraculous hand of God!

First of all, we have randomly and very unexpectedly run into a number people we previously prayed with, which was no doubt God building upon His calling for them on a personal level. Some were caught off guard, perhaps as a reminder by God that they haven’t been taking Him as seriously as they initially started to, while others welcomed the opportunity to learn more and share the wonderful things that have happened in their lives since they were water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Various tradesmen that have come by the house have been keen to hear Don’s testimony — excited to learn about “real” experiences with the Living God versus the shallowness of their church upbringing. Of course, most of the time, it has been Don’s efforts in stepping out in faith to start a conversation about God. But, this willingness to “step out of the comfort zone” seems to break through the hard outer shell and cause even tough guys to open up about their struggles. It’s very touching to see. Most recently, we got to pray with a lovely older tradesman that came to give us a quote on our gutters.

Then, of course, there are the opportunities that consistently come about during grocery shopping. The most recent was at Trader Joes while there was a stunning double rainbow sitting over the store. A storm had just passed, and as various shoppers stopped to admire the bow, Don would ask them if they knew the true meaning of the rainbow. The last lady he asked happily replied that she did; that it relates to God’s promise to Noah and his family in the Bible. This opened up a great conversation, and after hearing about some of our ministry experiences, she was keen to accept Don’s offer to come back to the house to pray with all of us. She received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and was excited to receive our encouragement to pray in tongues as much as she can every day, and to go in faith that all things are possible with God. She had already been water baptized unto Jesus about seven years ago and attends a mega church with literally thousands of others each week, but she had never experienced the true power of God in her life until the other night when we all prayed over her.

Finally, during a week-long conference, we met quite a number of other Spirit-filled believers who also love to pray in the Holy Spirit every day, and we were able to share with them some of what we do for the Lord (always emphasizing that we don’t take any money for it, but rather, we do it in obedience and out of love for God and for helping to save souls!).

We even had the privilege of praying with a couple of different ladies who had yet to experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit. One of the ladies texted us not long before we were planning to leave the conference center. She said she wanted what Don had been describing to her because she had been feeling something missing in her relationship with God for many years. So, although we were exhausted, we knew we had to put God’s work first, so we stuck around the area to wait until she was available. We met her outside her hotel in the parking lot and prayed right there in a quiet corner, and she received! She was so happy.

The other lady we met after we felt moved to change location from where we initially sat to eat a very late lunch. As Don brought us the picnic bag from the car, he said he felt we should come out from where we were tucked into a corner and move somewhere more visible and busier. As a result, we ended up getting into a long conversation with a couple. They told us that they, too, had been thinking of leaving but then changed their minds because they believed there were some other people they still needed to meet. Praise God for moving upon them, too!

The lady shared that she was so thankful to learn she had been praying for the incorrect thing all these years - that she had been praying for the gift of tongues versus simply praying for the Holy Spirit anointing (and that she would simply start to speak in tongues as proof of being filled, as the Holy Spirit started to speak through her). It was a blessed end to the convention week!

There are so many God-minded people that are missing various pieces of the puzzle. We meet them in all kinds of places, from where we shop for groceries to where we go to relax and hang out. Here’s a sampling of the work the Lord has led us to recently:

1) Don met a lady outside a Dollar Tree store. He got chatting with her about life and discovered she is Spiritfilled but has only prayed in tongues sporadically. He offered to pray over her, to get her praying in tongues again, and to encourage her that it’s something she can (and should) do on a daily basis (see Jude Chapter 20). They prayed together, and apparently it was a great inspiration and help to her. Praise God!

2) Don was out for a morning ride to the gardens and got chased off by a grumpy family when he tried to talk with them. Because of that, though, he ended up heading to the lake dock for some quiet time and reflection. Shortly after Don sat down, a lady (who was already there on her own, on the other side of the dock) suddenly put down her phone, at which point Don struck up a conversation with her. Amazingly, she (Don found out later) had been wondering if God sent Don to talk with her (which is why she quickly put down her phone). She had specifically prayed that very morning for God to send someone to give her a message in answer to her struggles! Needless to say, when Don started talking about the Lord, she was “all ears.” Unfortunately, she was only on a brief break from work, so she couldn’t accept Don’s invitation to come back to pray with the rest of us, but we are keeping her in our prayers.

3) Don spied a couple in Trader Joe’s because of something Biblical on the husband’s t-shirt. He approached them to give them a card. They were happy to chat, and Don discovered that the husband is Spiritfilled, but the wife isn’t. Don asked the wife if she had ever been curious about speaking in tongues and she replied yes, especially whenever she hears her husband praying in the Holy Spirit. Don encouraged the husband to be proactive in helping his wife to be baptized with the Holy Spirit versus just water baptism. It was just a brief conversation for about 5-10 minutes, but we are praying that it had a profound affect upon both of them.

4) Don met another lady at the gardens who was reading a self-help book. Don commented that it was a lovely day to be studying in the park. She agreed and they struck up a conversation about what she was reading and why. She ended up coming back to meet all of us, to have a coffee and chat some more. She was keen for us to pray over her, which we did, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, after having been water baptized many years ago. The next day, she texted us a lovely message:

“Hi Don and Kaye, it was such a blessing and pleasure meeting you both and your wonderful children. You are all such a blessing and a gift to humanity. Having the gift of the Holy Spirit, I feel at peace and I am enjoying every minute of it. I’m reading the Book of Acts and it has many references to the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. I’ll get to reading the article next….”

5) The waitress at the cafe that I blogged about a while ago ended up coming over for coffee and a chat after work last Tuesday, and wow, it was an amazingly blessed time together. She experienced such a transformation that afternoon/evening that she was here for over six hours. We all enjoyed every minute of it as we witnessed her being taken by God through a momentous stage of repentance and submission, to water baptism, to being filled with the Holy Spirit, to praying in tongues eagerly and joyfully, and then rejoicing in the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit for the rest of our time together. Here’s one of the many beautiful texts she sent us:

“Good morning! I woke up with an almost “pinch me” type of moment that God was so real in my life last night! Giving thanks to him that I am a new person in Christ. Thanking him that he brought your wonderful family into my life!! God has given you all such a great heart in this life to serve him….”

The following (for the most part) is a copy of a text I sent to a sister in the Lord. It briefly summarizes a most amazingly full day we had for the Lord’s work last weekend. Please let us know if you’d like us to fill you in on any details — there’s simply too much to write in this post!

“. . . First, God used Don (on a morning bike ride) to pray with a Spiritfilled guy on the dock at the park, to get him praying in tongues again. Then, the couple we posted about in our previous Blog ended up coming over for coffee after all, and the wife received the Holy Spirit. I also got together with her the next day and we had a wonderful many hours together, talking about the Lord, sharing the Word, and generally getting to know one another.

Then, Don and I went looking for tiles, and the Holy Spirit miraculously led us — a longer story ; — to a parking lot where we felt moved to look for who God wanted us to speak with. We ended up praying over an older man (after first chatting with him a long time) who was heading back to his vehicle. Just before we prayed over him, however, a Hispanic family pulled up behind us. Don spied the message on the driver’s t-shirt and quickly gave him a card.

After we parted ways from the older man, we turned to head into a restaurant and end up walking right passed the same Hispanic family. The wife was glad because she said she was about to try to find us again. She invited us to a car meet that night, where they would be outreaching. When we clarified that our preaching is according to the Book of Acts, the wife’s eyes lit up. We ended up praying with her husband in the parking lot because he had yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He received, speaking in tongues, and they were both crying with joy.

Apparently, the wife (who has been Spiritfilled for many years) had been telling her husband — for four years! — that he wasn’t yet filled with the Holy Spirit. She totally saw our “running into them” as a miraculous answer to her prayers. In fact, at one stage, she had been told that speaking in tongues is not of God! And, her husband had said at the time, “I don’t ever want to hear tongues in this house!” Now, things are vastly different . . . !

The wife again invited us to the car meet, so we went, trusting that the Lord was continuing to orchestrate our day. Shortly after we arrived, we were praying over her sister-in-law and she was filled so powerfully. We also spoke to the small crowd of people that was gathered around afterward. By the time we left it was late, and although we were exhausted from preaching and praying all day, we were greatly rejoicing in the hand of our mighty God!”

A number of times we have run into a man and his beautiful dog at a local park. The time before last, Don had a great conversation with him about the misrepresentation of God in various church groups. At one point, the man’s wife had put together a detailed scripture-based document to present to their pastor at the time, to question various happenings in the fellowship that just didn’t seem right. Subsequently, the couple was asked to leave.

Don invited the man and his wife over for coffee, to look at more of the Word and to pray for the Holy Spirit anointing, but they never came. Then, I ran into the man again the other day. This time, he revealed some sad news - that his wife’s brain tumor has come back and is inoperable. I could instantly perceive how God had miraculously lined up yet another conversation (as I wasn’t meant to be at the park on that day), so I proceeded to share this with him along many encouraging words about healing and other promises in God’s Word, for those that lay hold.

I recounted some personal testimonies including my own healing, Don’s healings, and Manuel in Belize who was instantly healed of terminal bowel cancer, and I urged the man not to let the negatives of ‘Churchianity’ discourage him and his wife from receiving the message and opportunity for blessing that God was obviously bringing to them. The man said he would chat to his wife again, but we haven’t yet heard back.

Please pray for this couple. God is so mericful and continues to try to draw people to Him in humility and obedience, but at the end of the day, God doesn’t “do” for people - it has to be their own desire to, as the Bible says, take up their cross and follow after Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Another person we have run into again is a server at a local cafe. I had given her a ChristiansRule.com card a long while when we first relocated to the area. I think it came about because she saw the email address I was typing into the screen, to receive the purchase receipt. Given her church background, she recognized it was Bible-related, so she asked about it. We had a great yet very brief conversation at the time, at which point I learned that her mom is filled with the Holy Spirit and loves to pray tongues.

Since then, we have seen her a number of times at the cafe, but nothing ever worked out for us to continue the conversation until last week. Don and I went there for a brief snack while waiting to pick up Elisabeth from a library activity. It’s something we never do as I normally take Elisabeth to the library on my own and either attend class with her, or do office work on my phone, or head to the store. And, we had actually purposed to go to a different coffee shop, but we changed our mind.

Anyway, we got the server gal this time and got chatting with her about life. She didn’t recognize me at first and only clued in after she asked us where we had met as a couple. I replied, “Remember the card I gave you? Well, how Don and I met is related to that…” The gal’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she said she was so excited we had finally connected again. Apparently she had accidentally lost our card, but she had told her mother all about our original conversation, and she had been hoping to see us again to get another card. What’s even more amazing is that the gal’s mom had just finished visiting from Kentucky, and the both of them had had some very meaningful conversations about the Lord. The server gal could very much see God’s miraculous timing on things - with us turning up in her life again the very next day after chatting with her mother about her spiritual desires!

Yesterday, we had the urge to do something we haven’t done in a long time: go berry picking at a local farm. We were so determined to leave by 9:00am, but we didn’t get out of the door until 9:30, and half way on our drive there, we realized we’d forgotten to select “include toll roads” in our directions, so it took almost twice as long as it should have in order to get there. Nevertheless, we made the most of it as we always do when we’re together, reminiscing and laughing, praying and sharing thoughts, etc.

More than anything, we concluded that “maybe there was a reason” for our delays, especially since it’s very unusual for Don to mess up directions. We had a really fun time, picked way too many berries, enjoyed the live music, and soaked up the sun — some of us a little too much . . .

Nothing for the Lord’s work stood out for us, though, until just as we were leaving. There was a bit of a crowd exiting the farm at the time, and Ethan spied a young man about his own age wearing a t-shirt advertising his church. Ethan started up a conversation with him that turned into a deep scriptural discussion in the parking lot. We all joined in, exchanging scripture after scripture, and we finally discovered that both the young man and his wife can speak in tongues (so, have experienced the Holy Spirit anointing), but made a deliberate choice to no longer pray in tongues many years ago after their church made a collective decision to deny tongues. Apparently, at the time, many people were Holy Spirit filled and spoke in tongues, yet not everyone, and this eventually caused the leadership to change their outlook and direction for the entire congregation.

We tried our best to explain that if people only have a view of the Holy Spirit anointing and speaking in tongues as an “optional extra,” then you’re bound to end up with a group full of confusion and disunity, which will then lead to compromise in order to appease those that have not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Don even encouraged the young couple, “Just simply be open minded that perhaps our conversation today is personally from the Lord to you both — so, even if you’re unsure about things at this point, just purpose to go and start praying in tongues again every day in your private lives and see what happens — and, lay hands on your disabled son (they have a toddler who is mentally handicapped) and pray over him in tongues in faith, and see how God’s miraculous hand starts to move upon him, too!” Yet, it was utterly heartbreaking to hear their resolute reply, “No, we’re not going to do that.”

We tried to encourage them both as much as they would listen to, but in the end, we just had to leave the situation in God’s hands. Deep down, I felt that they “got” what we were saying because they revealed there was a long period of their lives when they did understand and follow Scripture as we do, at least to a large degree. But, we can only do what God puts before us, and the rest we need to faithfully leave up to Him. We know God will to continue to move upon the young couple, to reinforce the message He gave us to share with them yesterday. I can imagine we’re not the only ones God has been using to try to help this couple understand how they are seriously quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

Sometimes, God’s work is joyful and we get to share in the beautiful fruits, and other times it can be heartwrenching and frustrating. Yet, we maintain “the peace of God that passes all understanding” throughout it all, never let anything steal our joy, and most all, remain faithful to our calling no matter what.”

We were not sure about traveling south quite a ways for a Spring festival that was on last weekend, but no matter how many poor reviews we read about it, we still felt moved to go, especially Ethan. We decided to stop in at a grocery store before walking to the fairgrounds, to use the bathroom and possibly get some snacks. On the way in, Ethan noticed a lovely lady with a big bright smile selling craft items and other small goods from a makeshift retail stand outside of the store. He perceived that she might be fundraising for her church, but he wasn’t certain. On our way out, we needed to ask a question about parking, so Ethan felt moved to go over and ask her instead of a store employee.

The entire situation turned out to be completely orchestrated by the Lord as we all very quickly discovered that the lady is born again (of water and of the Holy Spirit) and regularly prays in tongues, but she needed some encouragement in terms of living what we have dubbed the “Book of Acts Empowered Christian Life.” It was an anointed conversation for sure, and it looked like she was holding back the tears — joyful tears :) — at the end.

The next morning, we each went for our indvidual walks or bike rides, etc. for some exercise and quiet prayer time. Ethan went to the local lake gardens, I went for a walk around the neighborhood, and Don headed off on his bike. Unplanned, he ended up at the same gardens as Ethan. As Ethan was praying on a benchseat off to the side, Don wandered around. As he did so, a couple of ladies (a mother and her young adult daughter) approached him to ask about the direction of the trail they were on.

I can’t remember how the conversation turned to the subject of the Lord. I think Don asked where they were from and because of this, he learned that the daughter had only come here temporarily to take a Christian ministry-related course, and the mom was visiting. Don said, “Well then, if you’re not busy, you’ll have to come back to the house, to meet the rest of the family!” So, we all met back at the house and spent most of the early afternoon talking about the Word and sharing our experiences.

Both ladies are born again, love praying in tongues, and are very zealous for Christ. We were able to help answer some of their questions and confusions that had never been resolved, and we encouraged them both that the Lord wants to grow their personal ministry, to walk in the fullness of the power and authority with which they have been anointed. To top it all off, we got to play some music upstairs before they had to leave. The daughter plays piano so beautifully, and Elisabeth got to share one of her pieces, too. It was a wonderfully blessed afternoon, again entirely orchestrated by God’s miraculous and gracious hand!

In addition to the above two blessings, there have been so many other opportunities to share some of the Word, or a message of encouragement, etc. with various people in different situations. For example, Don got chatting with a Spirit-filled couple in a grocery store, after he gave the husband a compliment. He then saw that the wife was wearing a t-shirt with a scripture printed on it. It was obvious by how the conversation progressed that God had set up the situation so that Don would encourage them to pray daily in tongues, among other things. Lots of situations similar to this pop up as we are running errands, dining out, hanging out, etc. The harvest is everywhere, and we are simply God’s messengers - what an honor it is to serve Him!