Some highlights from this month so far…
1) Don spied a gal wearing a “Jesus” t-shirt in one of Elisabeth’s YMCA classes. So, after my workout, I waited outside for Elisabeth to exit her class, hoping to “run into” the gal with the t-shirt. I did, and after I commented on her shirt, we got chatting about church. I discovered that she is filled with the Holy Spirit but hasn’t prayed in tongues in a very long while. We chatted a little more, sharing some encouragement and scriptures, and then we offered to pray over her (to help her to get her walk with the Lord “fired up” again), which we did. Then, as Don and I were walking back through the building…
2) Don noticed a lady with an open Bible in front of her, sitting at one of the high-top tables. By the time Don told me and I registered what he shared with me, we had already walked past her quite a ways. I was tempted not to bother, but I thought, “No, I’m not going to let my flesh get in the way!” So, I pulled out a card from my carry pouch and headed back to talk with her. By the time I got there, I saw that she was on the phone, so I placed the card on top of her Bible and smiled at her. She smiled back in appreciation, and that was all that happened that day. But… (see #5 below for the second part of the story).
3) We decided to go to a big Jesus event that was being held in the area, to see what work we could do for the Lord among the crowds. It was our first time doing this, we had no specific plan, and we had no idea what to expect. So, we waited until the evening free entry session and simply hung out around the outside of the stadium where all of the food trucks, restrooms, and heat lamps were - somewhere where it was slightly quieter and more opportunistic for conversations (versus inside the stadium where everyone was engrossed in the event). We wandered around as we felt led by the Lord, and the first young married couple we got chatting to ended up getting filled with the Holy Spirit!
We approached them to ask about the ice cream they were eating and then proceeded to ask them about the event. This led to chatting about the church they attend in their city which then turned into deeper scriptural discussion. Soon, we asked them if they wanted us to pray over them to receive the Holy Spirit anointing. They were keen, so we walked over to a quiet(er) spot and prayed, and they both received, speaking in tongues for the very first time in their lives. They both seemed visibly changed, especially the wife. It was beautiful to see.
We spent some more time encouraging them and sharing some more scriptures, emphasizing that now they are born of both water (they had already been water baptized) and of the Holy Spirit, they are fully empowered, anointed by God, to go forth and do as we do in terms of helping others to be born again. We also encouraged them to pray in tongues every day, both as a married couple and individually. Then…
4) We continued to wander around the perimeter of the event, seeking to be led of the Holy Spirit. We felt moved to hang out by the outdoor heaters, so we stood warming our hands, considering who the Lord might guide us to speak to.
Don got chatting with a couple of young men standing next to us. He asked them some questions related to what they had been discussing. One of the young men (Aaron) explained he’d been led of the Lord to come down from up north to stay in the area for two and half months (not just for the duration of the event). We discovered he was already water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, and he was keen to hear what we had to share with him. Aaron’s friend left early on in the conversation to go join the worship that was happening in the arena area, so the rest of us went to chat behind one of the marquees.
Aaron was very passionate about the Lord, so we ended up spending quite a few hours together, sharing experiences and discussing scripture. We spent so long chatting that we all started to get quite hungry, especially Elisabeth, so I took her over to the wood fired pizza food tent. As we were waiting for our order….
5) Elisabeth noticed a lady standing behind us that was familiar - it was the very same lady I gave the card to in #2 above! Elisabeth recognized her from one of her classes at the YMCA. We walked over to chat with her and she was just as surprised to see us as we were to run into her - especially given that there were thousands of people at the event! We all agreed that it must be God’s miraculous intervention, and I quickly realized why after asking her a couple of questions about the event and her walk with the Lord.
It turned out that she was Spiritfilled but had been discouraged from speaking in tongues by a certain group of people in the past. It made her question whether or not it was truly of God. She said she preferred to sing in tongues (which is mentioned in the Book of Corinthians) versus speaking in tongues, so I offered that we could pray over her, to help her to get comfortable with praying in the Holy Spirit, and to overcome the doubts and fears that had been “planted” in her mind and heart.
She was volunteering at the event and didn’t have a lot of time to spare, so we quickly joined the others behind the marquee, so we could all lay hands on her and pray. She prayed along with us all in the Holy Spirit really clearly and fluently, praise God! We offered as much encouragement and support as we could before she had to leave, but we purposed to stay in touch and get together again very soon. I’m still amazed at God’s miraculous hand and such perfect timing!
