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.