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!
