We’re catching up on the last number of weeks. Here are some brief summaries — praying for these beautiful people:

Two young gals at a local cafe bakery: They were doing a Bible study together at another table. The one had just recently become interested in learning about Jesus for the first time, and she was considering water baptism. I got to share with the lady sitting opposite them, too, as she was also reading her Bible, and the three of them had been briefly talking about the scriptures. I had to summon the courage to approach and interrupt the two gals, but praise God that I overcame my hesitations. It was a great conversation!

Juan (already born again) at a local print shop: He had literally just prayed in tongues for the first time in many years that very morning. When Don started chatting with him about the Lord, Juan immediately perceived God’s miraculous hand upon the day. Don had decided to call into the shop spontaneously while he was out that way for something else. He ended up sitting in Juan’s office, chatting for a long time. Juan was very encouraged and humbled.

Ben & Felicia at the civic park: Don, Ellie, and I spontaneously decided to stop by the park on our way home from Ellie’s math tutoring. Don got chatting with Ben when he spotted Ben’s Christian ball cap. We ended up praying with his wife, Felicia, to receive the Holy Spirit (Ben was already born again). Felicia received! We were also able to counsel the couple on some issues, and they were surprisingly humble and open. They both could see God’s miraculous hand upon us meeting them that day.

Walmart worker: Don got chatting with a worker in Walmart as he was restocking shelves. Don began to help him as they chatted (so the worker wouldn’t get into trouble for talking too long with a customer). Don shared some encouragement with the worker regarding praying in tongues, and he, in turn, shared some amazing stories with Don. One story was about how God saved him from being electrocuted (to death). The guy said he literally felt two strong hands behind him, yanking him off the bar he was stuck to. His co-worker watched helplessly as his workmate suddenly flew violently backward onto the ground. Yet, the co-worker testified that there was no one else around — it was just the two of them! Praise God — it was either Jesus or an angel sent by God to save the man!

Spirit-filled lady in the Aldi parking lot: Don helped an old lady back to her car with her groceries. I think she said something about “blessing,” so that’s how they started chatting about Jesus. When Don discovered that she’s been Spirit-filled for many years, he was able to encourage her about praying in tongues more intentionally and more often. She felt very encouraged and grateful.

Naomi: Don was out doing errands when he overheard Naomi speaking with someone. I think she mentioned something significant about Jesus because Don felt very moved to turn back to speak with her (even though he was running behind for the day, and he had already passed by her). They chatted for a long while, and Don showed Naomi part of one of our videos, which inspired her. She ended up coming back to our place to meet up with me as well, and after chatting some more, she was ready to pray with us. It was a huge overcoming for her, given her fears and past negative experiences (with churches and people). Nevertheless, Naomi was filled with the Holy Spirit incredibly powerfully. She had already been water baptized (unto Jesus) not that long ago, and now she was certainly ready for the next step. She came back that night to take a stroll with me and the dog on the golf course, which was really nice. We got to chat lots more and ask/answer questions.

Gal at convention: Don and the guys were recently at a large convention, and Don got chatting with a gal as she was ordering her coffee. She was distressed, having just lost her passport. Later on that day, she stopped by the guys’ booth. (Don had invited her to come see them. She had resolved her issue, and she was passing some time before going to an evening event, so when she spied Don at the booth near the event entrance, she decided to come on over.) They ended up chatting about the Lord, and Don discovered that she’s been born again for many years yet had strayed from Jesus after her career started to develop. She welcomed Don’s encouragement and testimonies. She could certainly see that it was a message from God.

She had some amazing stories, too. One was when she felt God clearly tell her to go to a certain street corner to “save a baby.” She went, but there was no baby; there was only a poor lady who approached her asking for some change. The gal asked her over and over if she had a baby, and the poor woman kept saying no. Finally, it came out that the poor lady was pregnant and was about to have an abortion. The gal passionately shared from her heart what God had done — to send her there, to save the baby. The gal never found out what happened to the poor woman or her unborn child, but the gal was so thankful to have been used by God as a messenger in the situation. Wow!

Don recently found a pair of tall stools on Facebook Marketplace. He zipped over straight away in the morning before they got taken. The seller happened to be out of town at the time, so it was the seller’s roommate who answered the door. It seems like it was the Lord’s hand upon the day because Don ended up praying over the roommate (William). The conversation started when William mentioned where he and his fellow roommates were studying. Don asked if it’s a Christian-oriented institution. William answered “no,” but that he and his roommates were church goers.

Don shared his testimony and explained some of the most common scriptures relating to salvation, plus I believe they viewed our main Winging It video. After that, William was keen to pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He received, praying in tongues clearly and boldly, and crying with joy. Don filmed a video testimonial with William, who shared how amazingly different he felt and how powerful it was to be praying in the Holy Spirit. Don showed us the video when he got home – as he always does : ) – and even on the video, I could see how profoundly touched he was by the Lord. Praise Jesus!

Bernard:

Don took his work clothes to the laundromat the other day. After helping an elderly man (Bernard) with his laundry as he was entering the store, Don began chatting with him. Don soon discovered that Bernard is already Spirit-filled, but he was in need of a healing for clarity of mind. They both prayed in the Holy Spirit (in tongues) together, and Don prayed over him. Bernard shared that he felt a miraculous difference, praise Jesus!

Non-denominational church leader and friend:

Ethan met two Spirit-filled young men (probably in their late twenties) at the coffee shop last week. He started chatting with them because they were both carrying Bibles. The three of them ended up having a very in-depth conversation. Ethan shared his experiences and some of our family testimonies, and he encouraged them to lay hold upon the fullness of their authority in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit within them, especially praying in tongues daily. There were quite a number of other key messages (personal to them) that Ethan felt moved to share, and apparently, the guys seemed to welcome everything Ethan had to say.

Todd, Trish, and Maddie:

Don, Ellie, and I took the dog down to the local civic park on Friday late afternoon. As we were getting out of our vehicle, another family was walking by. They were visiting the area. We all started chatting, and after a while in the conversation, Don ended up talking to Todd about the Lord because Todd had a cross around his neck. At first, the conversation wasn’t naturally leading toward the topic of Jesus, so Don decided to openly ask Todd about his necklace.

It was a great conversation, and Don felt convinced that Todd would do something about God’s hand upon things that afternoon. However, Todd never texted or phoned the next morning. (Don had invited him to come over to pray with us.) We normally simply leave things with people without following up with them a whole bunch. But this time, I felt moved to encourage Don to reach out to Todd again. He did, and within minutes, Todd accepted Don’s invitation and made his way over to our place.

We talked and shared lots, including showing Todd the main video on our “Winging It” page. I had to pop out to pick up Ellie, so Don and the boys prayed over Todd while I was gone. Apparently, he received the Holy Spirit very powerfully. It was one of the strongest Don has ever witnessed.

Todd then asked if Don would baptize him in water. (Don didn’t even have to ask or suggest!) Todd told us afterward that he had been wanting to be water baptized for quite a while, and when all of this happened, he knew the time had come to answer Jesus’ personal call (versus participating in his church’s group baptism, which he had been considering). Todd even shared with us that he had had a brief conversation with his wife, Trish, about the previous afternoon’s encounter. She was impressed that Todd and Don had chatted so deeply about Jesus and the Bible. So, Todd determined (he might have even actually prayed) that if Don reached out to him early in the morning (before they had to prepare to fly out in the afternoon), then he would immediately come over. Don had even prayed for Todd the night before and then again in the morning, so when I suggested that he text Todd, it was all part of an answer to prayers (Don and Todd’s prayers!).

Josh and friends, plus Nick:

This afternoon, Don texted us all a picture of himself with two guys at the lake park (where he’d gone for a bike ride). He said this: “The big guy is Josh, a pastor‘s kid from a church down south. He’s Spirit-filled, but hasn’t prayed in tongues in quite a while. I preached to the group of them and then prayed with Josh and another of the group because they both hadn’t prayed in tongues in a while. Josh received everything very well. Very happy. Then I got him praying with me to pray for the tall guy, Nick, in the photo to receive the Holy Spirit, and the guy received. So, Josh was pretty happy about seeing how that process works. This is after he told me that salvation is simply choosing to believe in Jesus. He took it all very well.”

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Here are some more brief stories from the past months:

Dort: On our return from a homeschool event, we stopped in to treat our daughter to an ice cream. When we sat down outside, we noticed a young man with a Bible who was soon joined by an older guy. The older man (George) proceeded to take the youth (Dort) through some scriptures and answer Dort's questions. It was obvious they had arranged a Bible study get-together over ice cream.

After a while, Don asked if he could join them. He listened for a very long while, after which Don asked if he could share some things. I joined in a while later, and we all chatted back and forth. Ultimately, we offered to pray over Dort to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He seemed very excited inside, yet apprehensive because of George's discouraging countenance. Dort ended up praying with us anyway.

At first, it was a bit distracting for Dort as we tried to pray under the trees by the ice cream shop, so Don offered that they could continue seeking the Lord together in the car. It was at that point that Dort started to pray fervently, and he received the Holy Spirit so powerfully, praying forth boldly in tongues. Dort was overjoyed but also quietly shocked and in awe. He was looking forward to going back home to study the Bible some more, to relate his miraculous experience with Scripture, which is great!

Derrick: That same day, before we left for the homeschool activity, Don had the opportunity to pray with our new pool maintenance guy. Being new, Don went outside to introduce himself, and somehow they ended up talking about Jesus. Derrick was excited by Don's testimony and some of the stories he shared, so it was no surprise when Derrick accepted Don's offer to pray right then and there. Derrick was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof, praise God! He had to zip off to his next appointment, but it was amazing to see the Lord's work happen so spontaneously (as it often does)!

Cynthia: The day we picked up our new puppy (a mini dachshund!), we got to pray with the breeder lady (Cynthia). She had experienced a lot of church hurt and personal loss, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to comfort and encourage her with Scripture and then lay hands on her to pray.

Gal outside a restaurant: On the trip home from the breeder, we stopped at an ice cream place. As we enjoyed our treats outside, a young lady was cleaning the outside windows of the restaurant next door. The gal was instantly attracted to our little pup (naturally!), which was a great opportunity to start up a conversation with her. We ended up talking to her about Jesus because of the name we'd given to our little dachshund. (We have always named our family pets Bible-related names for that reason – to open up conversations and see how the Lord might move upon them.)

Anyway, we soon discovered that the gal had been excited to be water baptized (by full immersion) the year prior, but she hadn't yet been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (so she was still struggling to follow Jesus). We offered that if she was able to take a quick break, we could pray with her before we continued on our way.

She was keen, and her boss allowed her to take her break, so Don and I prayed with her outside at the back of the restaurant. It took two short sessions of prayer, but as soon as she started to seek the Lord the second time, she quickly began to pray in tongues. She was so relieved and thankful, with tears of joy and lots of hugs all round. Praise God! He knows the hearts.

Ken: As Don and I were in the Costco parking lot, packing groceries into our vehicle, an elderly man (Ken) walked past with his groceries. He spied the writing on Don's vehicle and made a fun comment, so we said something fun back. This led to talking about Jesus, which in turn led us to ask Ken if he had yet received the infilling of the Holy Spirit since he believed (Acts 19:2). We mentioned speaking in tongues, and he then said happily that his late wife was able to pray in tongues, and that many people at his church speak in tongues. We explained some more about the subject and then offered to pray with him.

It was amazing how Ken was so quietly and gently keen. He simply stepped over to where we were by our car in the parking lot, we laid hands on him, encouraged him to ask Jesus for the Holy Spirit, and then we all began to openly praise Jesus. Within seconds, Ken was filled with the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues softly but very clearly and fluently.

We encouraged him a little more, gave him our contact details, and he then went on his way. It was brief but miraculously beautiful! Afterward, Ken sent us a lovely text message, inspiring us to continue serving the Lord as He sets situations up for us, wherever we are at the time.

Lilliana: It’s amazing how many times Don gets to share a message from the Lord with someone at either Home Depot or Lowe’s. For a while now, he has been interacting in a fun way with one of the staff members, Lilliana. She’s a lovely, gregarious kind of gal with a heart toward the Lord. Don was able to share more testimonies and stories with her one day, and she was so inspired that she was keen to come by our house for coffee and to meet the rest of our family. It was a lovely afternoon, going over scriptures and answering her questions. We pray for God to continue to water those seeds that were planted.

Joseph: On one of my runs, I spied Don on a bench seat by the lake park that we both love so much. He was there with the dog, chatting with a guy (Joseph) sitting next to him. I found out they’d been there a while. Don had struck up a conversation with him as Don first passed by the bench seat where Joseph was relaxing after his Seventh Day Adventist church meeting. Don had commented on his nice shirt and then saw Joseph’s hat (which said something about God on it), so they immediately started chatting about the Bible.

After I joined them, we talked quite a bit more, and I was able to share some of my personal experiences as well. Joseph was quietly (he has a gentle personality) inspired and wanted to experience what we had. So, it was no surprise when he straightaway accepted our invitation to come back to our house to pray. He had already been water baptized unto Jesus, and he was fully surrendered to the Lord, so he received the Holy Spirit quite quickly. He loved hearing himself pray in tongues, and we filmed a beautiful video testimonial, recapping how we all met, and with Joseph sharing his joy. We prayed with Joseph a second time (as we most often do), to help him get even more used to “praying in an unknown tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:14), after which Joseph said he was very eager to go away and enjoy praying in the Holy Spirit on his own.

It’s sad, in one sense, that all of Joseph’s church attendance and involvement did not lead him to receive what Jesus died for (John 16:7) – and that it took two total strangers to share the full gospel truth with him and to pray over him. But, on the other side of the spectrum, it’s exciting and reassuring that God knows people’s hearts intimately, and He will miraculously set up situations to bring people into full relationship with Jesus!

I love the scriptures 1 Timothy 2:4 combined with 2 Peter 3:9. The way we see God working upon the lives of all kinds of people in all sorts of situations is a miraculous testament to His love and desire for all to come into relationship with Him through Jesus. Here's a list of people since our last Journal update. We don't know (or can't remember) the names of everyone, but God knows who they are!

Met at our favorite local lake & dock area:

Nil: She was literally just signing up herself and her autistic son to a healing conference when Don came by and started talking with her! After talking about Jesus and Scripture for a long while, Nil accepted Don's invitation to come back to the house to pray with us all. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues so beautifully. An hour or so later, Nil's mother showed up at the door of our place (as Nil had given her mother, Sharon, our address). We invited Sharon in to chat (and share what had just happened to her daughter), and she was soon praying with us too. Sharon received the Holy Spirit as well; she was so amazed to be speaking in tongues, especially given her strong Catholic background.

Man in wheelchair suffering from MS: Don got chatting with him and found out he was already water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, but he hadn't prayed in tongues for quite a long time. He accepted Don's offer to pray together, to get him praying regularly in the Holy Spirit again, and to pray for healing. So, they prayed right there in the park. The man was very grateful to the Lord – he could clearly see how God had sent Don as a messenger.

A family who was visiting the park together for the first time: Don chatted with them about life in general, which morphed into a conversation about Jesus. Don ended up praying with one of the ladies right there in the park, and she received the Holy Spirit. He was going to pray with her parents, too, as they were keen, but time constraints on their part got in the way.

Civil lawyer with his parents: They were sitting on the dock when Don arrived. They had an in-depth chat about the Lord, and the mom suggested to her son (adult son in his thirties) that he should seek after the Holy Spirit anointing, given certain life struggles he was currently facing.

Brian & Tera: From out of state, Brian was visiting the gardens for the first time with Tera (a local). They had recently been talking about marriage. After Don chatted with them (which led to discussing things of the Lord), they accepted Don's invitation to come back to the house to pray. Both of them received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and were then water baptized here in obedience to Scripture.

Met while we were out and about:

Military veteran (doctors had sewn his scalp back together after he was shot while on duty in Afghanistan): Young-ish family man with small children. He was waiting in the parking lot of a store for his family to finish shopping. Don noticed he was sitting in his car (in the parking lot) listening to some kind of music or a talk about Jesus. Don wandered up to the car and introduced himself. As is often the case, Don discovered that he had already received the Holy Spirit years ago, but he hadn't prayed in tongues much. The man was keen for Don to pray over him, so Don joined him in the vehicle. The man was so happy to be praying confidently in tongues again.

A 20-year-old who was part of an alcohol recovery mission: Don was on his way back from picking up solar panels (that he'd found on Facebook marketplace). He noticed a group of young men offering free car washes (as part of their mission activities). He pulled over to chat with them. It was this one young man who particularly caught his attention. Don ended up talking with him for a long while, and they ended up praying together. He had received the Holy Spirit about eight months prior, but hadn't prayed in the Holy Spirit very often. Given several things that had recently happened to him, the young man could totally see God's hand upon the day, and he eagerly received Don's wisdom and encouragement from the scriptures.

Mike, a landscape gardener: I met him while on one of my daily run/bike rides with Ellie. As I ran past, I saw that he was being preached to by some students of a popular local non-denominational church school. Mike then started to pray over the group of youths. I respectfully waited until they were done and then walked up to introduce myself and ask them some questions about their discussion and prayer. It was a great conversation with the youths (all Holy Spirit-filled and regularly pray in tongues) briefly at first, and then with Mike (after the youths had gone on their way). Mike had also been filled with the Holy Spirit (many years ago). I was able to encourage him regarding healing and intentionally praying in the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. He received the message that I felt moved by the Holy Spirit to share with him.

Sim at Foxtail cafe: Ethan got chatting with him one day while Ethan was doing some digital design work. They had a long and in-depth chat about Jesus and Scripture. Sim had recently (about a year ago) returned to seeking after the Lord after many years of straying to varying degrees. They exchanged phone numbers, and Sim ended up coming by our house for coffee a few days later (Ethan had invited him). During our conversation, we discovered that Sim had been filled with the Holy Spirit when he was a young teen, but he had never been taught to continue praying in tongues thereafter. He hadn't yet been water baptized by full immersion, so after discussing with him various scriptures on baptism, he was keen to go ahead with it (which he did, in our pool that very afternoon).

Previous stories continued:

Hannah & Sedrick from our 2025 Melbourne, Australia trip: You might remember the amazing story of us and this couple last year. Since meeting them (and them both being water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit at the apartment complex we were all staying at the time), Sedrick has kept in touch with Don. Don has counseled Sedrick and helped him grow in his relationship with Jesus, and helped him prepare for marriage with Hannah.

Well, the wonderful news is that Sedrick and Hannah recently got married, and they were excited to invite us to watch the ceremony online. Their vows were absolutely stunning – truly the most beautiful, dedicated-to-Jesus (and growing His Kingdom together as a loyal, united team) vows we have ever witnessed! We pray the Lord will abundantly bless them and their future children. We feel so thankful to have been a part of them coming together in union under Christ.

We have been praying for quite a number of people since the last post. I will post a list below with a brief summary of how we met them.

1) Ethan & Meredith: Don found a used golf buggy for sale online. The seller (Ethan) suggested that they meet at his mechanic because he had an appointment there, and the location of the mechanic is closer to us. Don agreed, but when he arrived, he discovered that Ethan was going to have to hang out all day because of an unexpected diagnosis on his vehicle. Rather than waiting, Ethan called his wife, Meredith, to pick him up. This gave Don an opportunity to invite the couple to join him for coffee at a local cafe. Don quickly discovered that both Ethan and Meredith are Spirit-filled, so they all chatted for a long while about the Lord, and Don was able to offer them lots of encouragement from Scripture. Praise God how He continually uses the natural circumstances of our lives to orchestrate His work, bringing important messages to people who are praying and looking for answers.

2) Unknown name: On the way home from meeting up with Ethan and Meredith, Don saw a guy standing by a busy road holding a sign about Jesus. By the time things registered in Don’s mind, he had driven quite a way past the man, and it was going to be an effort for Don to turn around and make his way back. Don wrestled for a moment, but the voice of the Holy Spirit won (praise God!), so Don returned, parked, and made his way over to chat with the man. He was there of his own accord - he hadn’t been sent by his church; he just felt passionate about trying to touch people’s lives toward Jesus.

The man was really receptive to what Don had to share, including Don’s offer of prayer. In fact, the man was keen to pray right then and there, so they did. The guy received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very clearly! They only got to spend that short amount of time together, but now the man’s life has been changed forever!

3) Roman: We were having some issues with our air conditioning unit, so our home warranty company sent a serviceman to take a look at it. Pretty much every time a similar situation happens (with the house or vehicles or something else unexpected), we proclaim, “Maybe there’s a reason…!” Don even told this to the serviceman assigned to our warranty job. His name is Roman. He’s of Russian descent, so it was a little challenging to communicate with him, but Don trusted that if God was behind their meeting, nothing would stand in the way of God’s message being heard. And nothing did…

It took courage on Don’s part to initiate a conversation about Jesus, especially since Roman had very little religious background (and any exposure he did have growing up in Russia was very traditional and stifling). Roman’s countenance sparked as he listened to Don’s testimonies and encouragement that Roman, too, could experience the same. Once the work was done, he happily accepted Don’s invitation to come inside the house to pray with us, and Roman was soon filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. Praise the Lord!

We further encouraged him about the importance of water baptism and using the Holy Spirit that was now inside of him. Even then, Roman had to come back to the house for some more work, at which point Don recognized the opportunity to talk with him some more. When people like this don’t go and take time to seek after Jesus after being filled with the Holy Spirit, they don’t water and fertilize the seed that was planted when they first prayed (and God answered). This is what Don was able to further encourage Roman about, so we pray he will take things seriously.

4) Sharon: One day, Elisabeth felt moved to go check the mail later than she planned. She did something else inside the house and then headed outside. At that very moment, she noticed our next-door neighbor, Sharon, at the end of our driveway. As soon as Elisabeth smiled, Sharon tearfully asked if she could speak with Don. As soon as she got inside the door, she told us that Lightning (her sweet golden retriever) had just died. Of course, the timing was perfect with Elisabeth noticing Sharon, so we were able to offer her to come sit with us and tell us all about it. I had to rush off as I had to get Elisabeth to an appointment, but Don and Ethan were able to comfort Sharon, and Don shared his miraculous testimony of the Lord healing his pain when his first beloved dog died many years ago. Sharon is a believer, but she had never received the Holy Spirit, and she was intrigued by what Don had to share — about tangible, personal experience with God through Jesus.

The whole afternoon just seemed to progress effortlessly (according to what Don relayed to me). Sharon was keen for Don and Ethan to pray over her, and she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, at which point she seemed relieved and at peace. Of course, I was overjoyed to hear about how things turned out, and we’re all excited to know that our lovely neighbor is Spirit-filled and able to pray in the Holy Spirit any time she wants to. I rely on the Holy Spirit for so many things, including comfort, strength, wisdom, discernment, confidence, peace, and deep joy no matter what is going on around me — and, I pray that Sharon does likewise.

5) Ryan: One of the local lake gardens is a favorite spot for Don to go to — to see what the Lord will bring to pass (to help people come into a relationship with Him or to grow their relationship with Him). Don prays most times before he heads out, and the Lord clearly directs him to someone with whom to share a message. This happened about a week ago.

The park was very busy, but Don soon noticed a lone man sitting on one of the bench seats with a Bible resting next to him. Don rode up beside him and broke the ice with a bit of a joke (which he often does — he’s good at it!). The man (Ryan — about 30 years old) and Don had a great chat. Ryan had just been water-baptized two weeks earlier in an AOG church, but he was still struggling to connect with God. He was so genuine and hungry to know Jesus.

Needless to say, Ryan was soon back at our house, where we prayed over him. He sought after the Holy Spirit anointing for a long time, but it just wasn’t happening. He said he felt stuck. Many words of encouragement came to both Don and me, and we shared what we felt God wanted us to tell him. This helped immensely, such that when we all continued to pray from that point, Ryan received the Holy Spirit quite powerfully — he was so happy to hear himself finally praying in tongues.

Ryan was keen for us to record a brief video testimonial of this experience (which we will post at some stage). He said many wonderful things, and we could see a marked change in his entire countenance. Ryan came to truly “experience” Jesus for the first time in his life, and he was very eager to go and grow in his newfound relationship with God.

6) Azalea park definitely seems to be the spot for meaningful conversations! Don has been going there more and more, realizing how often God uses him to share a special message with someone in need of encouragement. Over the last couple of weeks, he has talked at length about the Lord with an entire family, a couple who came to fish at the dock, and of course, there was Ryan (see #5 above). Plus, he recently met Chris, a Spiritflled young man who is married with two little ones. Chris ended up accepting Don’s invitation to come back to the house to pray in the Holy Spirit together. I wasn’t there with them, but apparently he was really grateful and could see God’s miraculous hand upon him and Don meeting. It was Chris’ birthday and it was his first birthday without his dad in his life who had tragically passed away late last year. Then, this last weekend, Don met Becky who was visiting the park for the first time. She had just moved to the area from Buffalo, NY, and the very afternoon she decides to come check out the popular local park, she runs into Don! They got chatting about Lord after Don shared how Jesus healed him from his emotional struggles (and physical illness) back in the 1980s. He was reponding to something Becky shared about her life. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Becky wanted to pray, so she came to our place to meet the rest of our family and so we could all pray over her. She received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and she got water baptized, too! The most amazing thing is that Becky knew virtually absolutely nothing about Jesus or the Bible, and she certainly knew nothing about the Holy Spirit. She was starting from scratch, and God mightily proved Himself to Becky so she can now begin to grow a strong relationship with Him without any religious baggage so to speak. How beautiful!

I love the Lord’s perfect timing — simply put, it’s miraculous! Here are some recent examples:

1) For a while now, we have been meaning to visit Christi at her new coffee shop, and we finally got there a couple of weekends ago. Christi’s story is in one of our journal posts from quite a while back. She was the one we prayed with at a local farmer’s market, at which she had a little “John 3:16” coffee booth. We prayed with her after the market; she received the Holy Spirit and was so beautifully touched. Christi has kept in touch with us since, and soon after she opened her cafe, she shared how God had been moving upon her life so mightily and how she loves to pray in the Holy Spirit (in tongues).

Anyway, two Saturdays ago, we spontaneously texted Christi to see if she would be around for us to finally come visit her. We made arrangements to be there just before the cafe closed, and when we arrived, to our surprise, she introduced us to her fiance, Dustin. They had recently gotten engaged just two weeks prior — timing! Dustin wasn’t meant to be around that afternoon, but he had quickly popped in to see Christi at an appointment, and she urged him to stay so he could meet us. He still wasn’t going to stay, but she urged him some more, and we’re so glad the Lord moved on her to do so because . . .

We ended up sitting and chatting with Christi and Dustin for a long time, sharing how we had come to pray with Christi, plus lots of discussion about the Lord and Scripture — mainly to do with the salvation message and that it is much deeper than people’s shallow interpretation of John 3:16. When Dustin first realized who we were (in terms of the connection with Christi and her walk with Jesus), he was very excited to talk. But, the more we shared, the more Dustin became burdened with an internal challenge. Our experiences didn’t line up with his Baptist upbringing (which he had come to realize was somewhat empty), and neither did they line up with the theology course he had recently been immersed in.

For a long while, Dustin had a particular aversion to speaking in tongues. This was until one day (not long before we met Dustin), Christi had an overwhelmingly strong urge to pray over Dustin in the Holy Spirit. As she prayed, it seemed like the Holy Spirit broke down his defenses and by the end, he felt very touched and open to learn more about the Holy Spirit. Then, God sent us into his life weeks later . . . timing!!

Still, Dustin had many questions and reservations. So, we continued to share testimonies and offered deeper context to scriptures he was familiar with (such as the “thief on the cross”). After a long while, we simply offered to pray over him and allow God the opportunity to give increase to what we had been sharing. Surprisingly, Dustin was beautifully humble enough to sincerely pray and see what God would do.

So, we moved from the hotel seating area (Christi’s cafe is adjacent to a boutique hotel) into Christi’s cafe (which was closed and empty by now). We all laid hands on Dustin and prayed. This first time seemed to be a breaking down and an “exposing”. Don felt moved to stop and ask Dustin some “hard” questions, at which point Dustin and Don went away to have a heart-to-heart. When Dustin returned, he was really ready, so we prayed some more, and wow . . . ! The Holy Spirit filled Dustin so mightily. He dropped to his knees and prayed fervently, with tears and joy, and more tears, and an overwhelming sense of revelation and gratitude.

We asked Dustin if we could video a response, and what he shared was so touching and inspiring. (We look forward to posting it for ya’ll to watch.) Christi and Dustin could also see God’s miraculous hand upon the day — and upon the timing of us all coming together. God had been working on their lives and bringing Dustin to a point where he was truly ready to lose his life for Christ’s sake!

Oh, yes, I almost forgot: As we were leaving the cafe, we decided to all get a picture together. As we were trying the group selfie thing, a young man, who was walking down the sidewalk toward us, offered to take the photo for us. After accepting, we got chatting with him, only to find ourselves back in the cafe minutes later to pray over him! He is already Spirit-filled, but he hadn’t prayed in tongues very much (mainly just during worship at church — at times). He prayed in tongues with us for a while, and Don spoke several things over him, so it is now up to him to take our encouragement and apply it to his life, for his good and God’s glory. Anyway, that was another example of God’s beautiful, perfect timing!!

2) Over the last few weeks, a number of ladies have been upon my heart, and it seemed like the Lord kept bringing them to my attention until I reached out to them with an encouraging message. Each time, the sister (in the Lord) replied, expressing how timely the message was because of something that just happened — even that very day! I am learning more and more to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, to be used as a messenger of the Lord, to encourage and comfort His children who need to be reminded of His love, mercy, and grace.

3) A series of things have happened to cause our pool service to switch around — and then for the serviceman to change from one to the next and then back again. This last week, one of our original servicemen returned to do the work. He said it will be him who will come from now on. Don was planning to leave the house to do errands, but he decided to stay, so he ended up outside in the pool patio area when the pool guy arrived.

Somehow, they got chatting about the Lord. I think it was a brief comment that the guy made that prompted Don to ask if he was a church-going man. The beautiful thing is that Don discovered that the guy and his wife are Spirit-filled. It’s just that (as we commonly come across) they haven’t prayed much in tongues — hardly at all. (It’s so sad that churches don’t encourage such a vital part of growing our relationship with God once we’re born again!)

Anyway, Don briefly shared some of our experiences with him and offered to pray over the guy — to get him confident with speaking in tongues. He was keen, so they prayed, and by the time the guy left, he was so grateful and motivated to go and share things with his wife. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say when he returns to service the pool next week . . . !

Summary:

“Thank you, Lord, for your miraculous timing and orchestration of people’s days, yet again!” God wants to strengthen His people. He wants to touch the lives of those who are hungering and thirsting for a strong relationship with Him, and God moves upon His messengers and sets up all kinds of situations so that His Kingdom can spread and grow upon this planet.

It’s all about overcoming evil with good, and we feel so privileged and grateful to be a small part of God’s great and mighty work. It’s not about understanding it. We don’t have to, and we never fully will until Jesus returns. We can simply rejoice in it and just do what God puts before us day after day.

Last weekend, we felt moved to travel up to St. Augustine for the day, to visit a church where the Holy Spirit seems to be increasingly active and growing the people’s understanding. We spoke to a few people there, but the biggest blessing came when Don started speaking with a young couple outside of a downtown bakery. The couple attends a large non-denominational church near where we live, so Don asked them about their experiences there vs. their individual, direct relationships with Jesus. The couple was very keen to hear our testimonies, especially given that the wife has been struggling with her health. As Don was speaking to them, a lady started to video the conversation (in a positive way — she had a big smile on her face, and it was clear that she was being ministered to secondhand!).

After a while, I took a break from the group to introduce myself to the lady who had been filming, and to her husband as well (they were in St. Augustine on a brief vacation). They were so passionate about Jesus and loved what we had to say. The wife (Maria) shared that she prays in tongues regularly, but her husband, Gary, had only ever spoken out loud in tongues once. After chatting some more, we (Don had joined me by this stage) offered to pray over Gary in the civic park adjacent to the bakery. They were keen, so we did, and soon Gary was praying boldly in tongues. Maria prayed with us all, too.

We encouraged them on various aspects of walking in the Lord, thinking we would soon be parting ways, but we ended up going to have coffee together, to chat even more! Don, Gary, and our guys also ended up sharing a message from the Lord with a different couple that they met at the coffee shop which was a wonderful addition to the afternoon.

It was a blessed time with Gary and Maria. We have been staying in touch with them, and Gary has been sharing with Don some awesome things that have been happening in his own life, particularly with a Spirit-filled relative. The Lord has been moving mightily upon him, growing him in his prayer life and stepping out in faith when ministering to others. Praise God for the power of the Holy Spirit that equips us with all that we need to partake in growing the Kingdom of God upon this earth!

Oh, and an important side note: Maria and Gary had initially planned to vacation in New York and last minute they felt moved to switch the destination to St. Augustine instead. “Thank you, Lord!”

Okay, so part #2 ended up being long, too, so here’s part #3 ;) Oh, by the way, I forgot to add to the last post that the gals had invited a lady (Christina) from their apartment complex to their water baptism. They had only met Christina for the first time just a couple of days earlier. Christina and her husband (both born again of water and the Holy Spirit) had been talking and praying about their desire to serve the Lord, “that surely there are some young people here” — i.e. where they live — “that are hungering and thirsting for Jesus.” Christina was excited to hear everything that Don and I shared, and she was eager to tell her husband. After their recent disappointing church experiences, they commented that maybe they are meant to start something of their own — like a small house group! We encouraged them to get together with the gals for prayer and Bible reading so that they would have regular, united fellowship.

Also, while we were on a business trip to Kentucky, we spent more than two hours encouraging a sister in the Lord who we met at a Thai restaurant. She is the owner-manager. She (Toey) felt drawn to constantly pass by our table to chat with us. Finally, we made some comments about Jesus and her face lit up with joy. She had only recently started to pray in tongues again after many years. Toey had lots of questions and she soaked up our encouragement from the Lord. All of the other customers had left by the time we all stopped chatting, so we helped Toey close up the restaurant. It was a very beautiful evening together.

At the end of our Kentucky trip, we spent the last couple of days in Nashville, following up on some business leads. Seeing that we were going to be in town, we reached out to one of Don’s favorite clients. We were very glad to finally meet him and his wife (and two gorgeous hound dogs!). They are both Spirit-filled, so it was great to be able to talk about the Lord together and offer them some spiritual encouragement and prayer.

I was going to continue the last post with more stories, but the post would have ended up way too long. So, here’s part #2:

This is a copy of a text I sent to a few brethren, to encourage them. (By the way, both gals did end up getting water baptized and they both received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very powerfully. Praise God!)

An encouraging story: Preparing the Hearts of Those Ready to Hear (in abbreviated bullet point form 😉)

Main theme:

God is doing miraculous things in the lives of the people that He is just about to send us to (as messengers on His behalf). He is doing these miraculous things to prepare their hearts for Truth.

Example:

    ⁃    On a run one day, I (Kaye) run past a young 20-something nanny pushing a stroller.

    ⁃    She is playing a sermon out loud, listening as she strolls along.

    ⁃    Sensing the “pager beeper” (old school, I know 😜) of the Holy Spirit go off inside me, I stop and go back to ask her with a big smile what she is listening to.

    ⁃    An entire conversation results. She had just started turning back to God. Her grandmother spoke in tongues, so she is very familiar with it. I encourage her to be in touch.

    ⁃    Nothing, until…

    ⁃    Months later, I run into her again, this time coming straight toward me. She is so excited. Just the day before, she declares, she was reading Romans and she had a breakthrough understanding of the depth of purpose behind Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

    ⁃    I ask her more about it and I then encourage her some more. Again, I offer, “We can pray with you…! 😁”

    ⁃    This time, things seem to hit home. She texts me not long after. She also says her friend is looking like she wants to be water baptized. She shares some of her background with me.

    ⁃    Don & I suggest that we all meet up at the local gardens to chat and help answer questions. They were both super keen.

    ⁃    We met them this morning. Great conversation. Toward the end, the friend breaks down as she shares what happened to her last night…

    ⁃    She has been drawing nigh to God since mid this year, away from occult practices and a lesbian relationship. She has been reading and praying and trying to discover Jesus. She thinks she might be ready to commit to Jesus via baptism.

    ⁃    Last night, she runs into a homeless guy as she enters her local Dollar Store. She feels overwhelmed with compassion for him and wants to help. She asks him his needs and he mentions all the things he would like. She buys it all despite being really tight on finances.

    ⁃    As she is giving it all to him outside the store, he flips out on her unexpectedly, opposite to his demeanour not long before. He is mean, accusing, rejecting, and discontent with her help.

    ⁃    She leaves, confused, hurt, dejected, and scared (it’s dark by now). She cries as she walks all the way home, repeating over and over (in comfort) something she recently saw in a video about God’s name YHWH sounding like a breath. As she prays this name, she senses the presence of God and His reassurance about her future.

    ⁃    We excitedly share our perspective on what happened — on the very night before she is getting together with us…!

    ⁃    She agrees, still in tears of joy and surrender to God — that it was the Father opening up her eyes and heart to His Son. She says to us, “Yes, I had the very same thought — that, wow, what happened to me at the store must have been what it was like for Jesus, yet His experience must have been magnified a thousand time, or more…!”

    ⁃    God wanted her to realize Who it is that she will be committing her life to. The Father wants her to know the Son. So beautiful!!

    ⁃    She is ready now.

    ⁃    For us as God’s messengers:

Remember that God is always working behind the scenes (from our perspective) to bring the lost into relationship with Him through Jesus!!

And sometimes, we get the blessing of discovering some of those behind-the-scenes miracles. But if we don’t see them/know of them, they are still surely happening!

It was great to see lots of our brethren on the prayer group last night even though it was Thanksgiving evening! — Joining forces as soldiers of Christ to offer up praises and thanksgiving to the only One who is worthy!

The last few months have been very “all over the place,” literally…! Our travels and changing plans have led to many blessed conversations, prayers, and baptisms. Here are some highlights:

1) Janine & Jenna: We met this mother and adult daughter as they were walking out of the diner we were eating at in Queensland, Australia. Both ended up coming to our hotel the next day to be water-baptized (in the ocean!). Both of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and Janine has been joining us for Thursday night prayer group ever since. Wonderful!

2) Sedrick & Hanna: We met this couple in the lobby of the Airbnb complex we were staying at in Melbourne, Australia. Both ended up coming up the the pool deck with us (straight away after preaching to them!). They were both water baptized and Hannah received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues. (Sedrick was already Spirit-filled, but he appreciated our encouragement to go and pray in tongues daily.) Don and Sedrick have been chatting via text and phone calls ever since the trip. It’s such a blessing to be able to stay in touch with some of the people that God has connected us with over the years.

3) Maurice & Brittany: We met this couple with their sweet little daughter outside one of our favorite local health food cafes. Maurice was walking by with a Bible in his hand and Don called out to him. We invited them over to our place and they came that afternoon. Both ended up receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues so beautifully (they were already water-baptized). Maurice does vlogs to try to draw people to Jesus, and he discusses contemporary issues that are affecting church fellowships, etc.

4) Julitza: She’s the mother of Elisabeth’s sewing friend. We got chatting in the parking lot after one of the girls’ get-togethers. I offered to pray over Julitza and she either received the Holy Spirit for the first time, or she started to pray in tongues again after receiving many many years ago (and not fully realizing it). It was a very emotional time for her, and I’ve been continuing to encourage her whenever I get the opportunity. She’s such a sweet lady with a passionate love for Jesus (who saved and healed her from a very traumatic, dark upbringing).

5) Julie: Elisabeth and I ran into her (at the bank she works at) a long time after our family prayed over her and counseled her (at our house one afternoon — her story is posted many months back on this Blog page). When it dawned on her who we were, Julie ran around from behind the teller's desk to give us big hugs. Amazingly, she shared that she had texted Don earlier that week, but she never received a reply. When I got home and shared what had happened, Don realized he had missed Julie’s text, so he was able to get back to her. Had Elisabeth and I never gone to the bank that afternoon, we never would have known that Julie had tried to reach out to Don! Interestingly, earlier in the day, Don had offered to go to the bank for me, but he would have gone to a different branch (that was nearer to the store he was going to). But, I felt moved to make the effort to go on my own with Elisabeth — thank you, Lord!

Just as we were down to the wire preparing for our new “Winging It!” (Perfectly Planned Spontaneity!) trip, Don dropped his phone and severely damaged the back of it. He categorically needed to get it repaired before our flight, but it looked like he would have to mail it in (which would be totally undoable for him). So, we prayerfully sought other options and Ethan found an Apple service repair place not far from us that had one open appointment for that afternoon. Don declared (as we most often do) that maybe there was a reason, so he prayed on the way there, in tune with the Holy Spirit as to what work God was lining up for him to accomplish for the Kingdom. Sure enough, God revealed His miraculous hand . . .

While waiting for his phone to be repaired, Don wandered around the mall and felt led to the religious section of the Barnes & Noble bookstore. There he found two young ladies searching for a Bible to purchase. To cut a long story short, they ended up having a wonderfully blessed conversation. The first gal was deeply touched and revealed that she had prayed (for the first time ever in her life), on the way to the mall, that God would reveal Himself to her that day. Don learned that she was already Spirit-filled and water-baptized, and she was in awe of the messages that he shared with her from the Lord about using the fullness of the power with which God had anointed her.

Don and the gals took a snapshot together, and Don sent it to us all back home, excitedly sharing that there was, indeed, a reason for the day’s events! Praise Jesus!

Here are the latest people and situations we are upholding in prayer:

1) Deon: Coming out of the gym, we noticed a fellow member hobbling severely beside us. He could barely walk after severely injuring his back on an exercise machine. We ended up praying over him in Jesus’ name, and he phoned us that evening to share his excitement about being healed. This gave us more opportunity to share with him some of our own stories and some scriptures, explaining that Jesus healed in the Bible (and still does) with a purpose of drawing people into full relationship with Him. We left Deon with some Bible study suggestions and encouraged him to reach back out to us if he wants to be water-baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.

2) Lady who ran out of gas around the corner from our house: As Don was returning home one afternoon, he noticed she seemed stranded in her vehicle. She was crying and very upset, not knowing what to do. Don was able to zip home and bring her the spare container of gas that we always have handy for emergencies. She shared that she could very much see God’s hand upon the entire “rescue” situation, so we hope she will take Don’s scriptural encouragement and feel moved to act upon it.

3) Jake & Abigail: Don met Jake in the hardware store when Jake asked him a question about grouting tiles. After discovering that Jake is already Spirit-filled (his wife, too), they had a great conversation about the Lord and even went out to Jake’s car to chat more, together with Abigail (who was waiting in the parking lot). Jake accepted Don’s invitation and came over that night. We all had a wonderful time together, enjoying one another’s testimonies and encouraging Jake in his own evangelistic ministry.

4) Julie: While Daniel and Don were at our local bank branch recently, Don got chatting with the teller. She mentioned something about some struggles in her life right now, which led to Don mentioning hope through Jesus, which led to Julie (the teller) sharing that she is Spirit-filled and prays in tongues fairly often, which led to Don offering a whole bunch of encouragement from God, which led to Julie tearing up and wanting to get together to pray with us. She was super eager and came over that night straight after work. We had beautiful conversation and powerful prayer, and she left feeling refreshed and empowered in Christ. Julie had been fasting and praying for answers the very afternoon Don and Daniel came into the branch, so she knew beyond doubt that God had set up the connection. Praise Jesus!

5) We are off on another “Winging It!” trip at the end of this week! I’m not sure how much time I’ll have available to keep up on the blog posts. However, I am very much looking forward to sharing the miraculous hand of the Lord upon our travels, at least upon our return. We always expect the unexpected as God uses us to help grow His Kingdom upon this earth — what a joy and honor this is!

We are learning more and more to walk in peace and expectation when our days get unexpectedly turned around. This happened to Don recently when he ended up at the mall much later than planned. I can’t remember why he had to go there — I think it was to do a return at one of the stores.

Anyway, on his way into the mall, he noticed two young ladies handing out leaflets. They were there of their own accord (and not with any group), enthusiastic about preaching the gospel to passersby. Don asked them many questions, curious as to how they would approach the subject of Jesus and salvation. Don soon discovered they were both born again of water and the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t have clarity on several points.

Both young ladies listened intently while Don took his turn sharing his experiences and understanding of scripture. He also encouraged them that they have the authority to water baptize repentant believers and pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

They all chatted for a long while, and as they were ready to part ways, the older gal happily threw her leaflets in the trash can. She had had an awakening that the “sinner’s prayer only” message she previously preached was not according to Biblical truth. Don was surprised she did this — it was a first for him to witness, but he congratulated her on her courage!

Another evening, our whole family was at the mall. Just before closing, I zipped into a store with Elisabeth for a last check for something I needed. On our way in, I spied a man with a t-shirt that said, “Ask me about Jesus!” So, I stopped in my tracks, smiled, and exclaimed to him, “Sure . . . I will . . . !” Don and the guys soon joined us and we all ended up having an awesome conversation outside the store. The couple is born again of water and the Holy Spirit. The lady, in particular, prays in tongues a lot. They were about to get married in two weeks and could recognize why the Lord connected us with them, to encourage them in their future ministry together.

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.