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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!