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.