Wow, the last part of our trip was a whirlwind, and the weeks since our return have been the same. We need to catch you all up on the amazing things that have happened. There are way too many details of God’s miraculous hand to tell in writing, but feel free to connect with us directly (info@christiansrule.com) if you’d like to hear more about one or more of the particular stories. For now, here’s everything we can remember in a nutshell:

1) Siru (our new Finnish friend and sister in the Lord) and her girls are now back in Finland, but we enjoyed many days together talking about God and enjoying one another’s company before they had to leave. Siru’s oldest girl, Lulu (12 years old), also ended up wanting to pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. She received pretty much instantly, speaking in tongues so fluently and gently. She told us she felt very peaceful after the experience, so we were able to share scriptures that talk about the “peace that passes all understanding.” It was late at night when it happened, so we got together the next day and she was baptized in the hot tub in the gated community where we were renting. We stay in touch with Siru on a regular basis via WhatsApp and email, and we also speak on the phone at times. It’s wonderful to learn about Siru’s growth in her newfound relationship with Jesus.

2) While on an outing with Siru and her family, we “ran into” a young man (Randy) while searching for a coffee shop. He looked lost, so we rolled down the window and asked if everything was okay. He told us that someone had just stolen his bike and he was searching around. We told him we’d keep an eye out, and we gave him our ChristiansRule.com card with our phone number on it, to let us know what happened. That led to a conversation about Jesus and we ended up praying with him right there in the parking lot to receive the Holy Spirit – Siru and her family and a new brother in the Lord parked on one side, praying, and our group on the other side, also praying. It was a great experience for the brethren in the other car to be exposed to as they had newly been born again. It was a very good example of how work for the Lord often comes our way when we’re just out and about during the day.

3) We met a lady who was already born again of water and the Spirit while helping a friend with a project. She shared with us her amazing healing testimony and we also got to share ours. It’s amazing how many times God connects us with people who are already filled with the Spirit but don’t pray in tongues as often as what’s necessary to build a strong relationship with God. We encouraged her – as we do with everyone – to never let a day go by without spending time with the Lord in worship, praying in the Spirit, and even praying in tongues at other times throughout the day (e.g. while about house chores, in the shower, driving, etc.).

4) While browsing at a women’s trade show event, we met a lady (Debbie) and her friend (Anessa) who were very God conscious. They first got talking to us because of the smallest, cutest one in our group! After enjoying some light banter, they asked us about our travels. They were very excited to hear some of our many testimonies of God’s hand. We soon found out that Debbie had never been baptized by full immersion. In fact, she admitted she had been recently thinking about it a lot, and even her mother had been bringing up the subject, urging her to take the step.

We exchanged numbers and, soon after, Debbie phoned us, saying she’d like to talk more about it. We met at a coffee shop, armed with our Bibles, and Debbie was very pleased to see for herself that the Word of God supported everything we had so far told her. Days later, Debbie arranged for us to come by her house to meet with her and Anessa’s husband, Jerry. Jerry was keen to connect with us, although the beginnings of our conversations with him were quite uncomfortable.

Jerry had read though the entire Bible more than five times and worshipped at a local church for a while also, and his life had changed dramatically when he first started to open his heart and mind to the things of the Lord. Because of this, it was very difficult for him to accept that he had not yet been born again of the Holy Spirit. We explained how repentance and even baptism in water can have a profound effect on someone’s life such that they convince themselves that they must also have received the Holy Spirit. However, after a very long while, the fullness of the scriptural message we shared convicted him that perhaps he was not yet filled with the Spirit. He was willing to come to the Lord humbly in prayer.

Within seconds of laying hands on Jerry, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. At the same time, some of us were praying with Debbie, and she also received the Spirit. We prayed with the two of them in the Spirit one more time, to prove to them that they could now pray in tongues whenever they chose to, to connect with the Living God and build their relationship with him. It was amazing to hear what came out of Jerry’s mouth in encouragement toward Debbie. He started to talk about the importance of praying in tongues daily and standing fast to the truth despite contrary messages out there in church circles!

And, another bonus was that Siru (see our previous posts) was with our group the whole time! So, she got to hear the message again which was important reinforcement for her, and she got to lay hands on others in prayer and see them filled with the same Spirit she had received just weeks earlier! Praise God!

More to come….