Today has been an AMAZING day!:

My husband lost his glasses on the plane coming in to Florida. Went to two different places to get replacements, but they couldn’t fit him in. The third place we went to could see him immediately. They had pictures on the wall with messages about hope and faith. We got talking to the receptionist gal (Mayola) and asked her if the clinic’s owners are God-minded. She said yes and that everyone who works there also goes to church. We asked her the question according to Acts 19: “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed”? She said no. We asked her if she would like to be filled with the Spirit. She said yes. It happened very simply, just like that. We asked what time they closed. We were going to come back, but she said we could go pray right away in the back room. She said she wanted to invite two others in, too (Tiffany and Oscar). They were keen and came to pray as well.

Now this is particularly amazing: It turns out that Oscar had JUST been saying to Tiffany (literally seconds before Mayola poked her head in the door to invite them for prayer) that he didn’t know what was wrong with him, that he felt empty and distant with his relationship with God. (We later recorded his explanation on video; it was very awesome.) Anyway, all three of them received the Holy Spirit right there in the back room of the optometrist’s clinic. I was praying with Mayola and she said she felt a warmth go through her body when she began to pray in tongues. (We often get this description from people – after all, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a fire.) We chatted very briefly about various things, including the necessity of water baptism, and then they had to be on their way back to work. We got to talk to Oscar a little more as he was helping my husband finalize his glasses. It was hard for Oscar to concentrate because he was so overwhelmed by what had just happened!

THEN, just as we left the optometrist, we saw a drive-thru prayer group standing by the road with signs offering one-minute prayer. Wow! So, needless to say that we pulled into the parking lot. We got out and my husband asked them questions and preached to them. It turned out that most of the group were already filled with the Spirit except for three of them. We offered prayer and one wanted to pray (Christian). Christian received the Holy Spirit, praise God, while we stood there laying hands on him and praying in the parking lot! We heard him speaking in tongues quietly, and the leader of the group heard him ,too. He was very happy for him. We left cards with most of them and had to zip on our way to drop off the rental car.

That makes:

* 10 people that have been anointed with the Holy Spirit (some baptized as well) since the trip.

* Plus, we connected and prayed with 3 others – who were already filled with the Holy Spirit – and got them praying in tongues again after some time of not praying, and we encouraged them with scriptures.

* Plus, we have had the opportunity to lay hands on others – 4 that I can think of right now – and pray with them.

* And many others have been preached to – some, again, already Spirit-filled but needing clarity and inspiration.

Praise Jesus!!! What an amazing trip so far! God never ceases to amaze us. We are simply His willing instruments, but He totally does the orchestrating. It’s amazing how He gives increase to conversations when we simply step out and open our mouths in faith!

Wow, we just met two ladies from Kentucky at a hotel here in Mexico. My husband overheard them speaking about God and he politely interrupted their conversation to ask them some questions and to share his experiences with the Lord. After about 20 minutes of chatting, they were both keen to come back to the hotel room to pray. They were both filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as evidence.

Oh, and I forgot to post this one: Before we left Belize, we also met a lovely older couple (he is American and she is British). We spent quite a bit of time with them and found out that they are both Spirit-filled, but they haven’t prayed in tongues regularly for a long time. They also didn’t have a clear understanding of their Book of Acts calling regarding going out into all the world to preach, pray, baptize, and heal (Mark 16). They said their time with us was incredibly inspiring, praise God! Now they are praying in tongues daily and seeing many positive results, and they are motivated to get out there and empower others. It’s such a joy to be used by the Lord to enlighten and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you, God!

Just before we left Belize, we got to pray with a lady (Maritza) that was doing some cleaning for us. She said she felt a warmth go through her when she received Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. She was in quiet awe of the whole experience. My husband baptized Maritza straight away in the pool, and she was so excited to be able to go home and pray for her mom who is suffering with cancer. And, she so wants to see her mother delivered from worldly vices that are destroying her. Maritza texted later in the day to say that it was the best day of her life. How precious a calling we have to be able to touch people’s lives like this. Praise you, Jesus. Praise your wondrous name!

My husband and my eldest son are on their trip today to take some shipping stuff to Belize City. It has turned into a VERY interesting adventure. Long story, but the short of it is that they got two flat tires on the trailer, one soon after the other. Yet, ONLY because of this did they end up calling in to this one lone gas station in the middle of nowhere. It’s hours away from where we are at, but they ended up running into one young Belizean guy that had been doing some work for us and whom we had been preaching to. It turned out that they prayed for this young guy soon after speaking with him at the gas station, and he received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues. Praise God! They are now in a tiny boat on a jungle river traveling to where the young man’s mother and other family/friends are so my husband can baptize him. It’s way out in the sticks – totally movie making stuff! It’s very cool.

We are expecting more will come from this. My husband actually prayed with the young man’s two friends here in some fields a few days ago. They wanted him to lay hands on them and pray that they would have a true hearts desire for the Holy Spirit. He did so, so hopefully they will now be moved to action when we tell them what just happened with their buddy. Expect the unexpected with the Lord, EVERY day! He never ceases to amaze me!

P.S. My husband later cleared up something for me: The guy he prayed with and baptized WAS actually one of the young men that he had (days earlier) laid hands on and prayed for (that he would have a desire for the Holy Spirit). Praise, God! The Lord answered the prayer in a most amazing way! No wonder the young man was keen to pray and get baptized. He obviously knew that connecting with my husband again in the middle of the jungle was absolutely no coincidence!

Please keep Carmel and her children in your prayers. Just prayed with her along with another sister in the Lord for her heart and mind to be healed from an abusive family situation. Carmel is Spirit-filled and wanting to revive the days of her youth when she felt the Spirit truly ignited within her, and when she experienced the power of God in her life and in the lives of others around her. Laid hands on her during prayer today as we all prayed in tongues together, and she felt good to be drawing nigh to God. The beginning of revival for her…

Great news! We met a man (Phil) in a wheelchair at a hotel in Florida. We got talking to him about the Lord and he was very keen to come back to our hotel room to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Phil was anointed with the Spirit very quickly and very powerfully, praying in tongues, and he actually felt a strong warmth in his paralyzed legs. We had to head out the next day, but we will keep in touch with him. He now has God’s power within him, and we pray he will take the extra step towards God and be water baptized.

Then, today we were on the road to Belize City (we’re in Belize for a few weeks and then on to Mexico and back to Florida). We came across a lady and her 17-year-old son on the side of the road. Their car was broken down. It turned out that the boy was already Spirit-filled, but the mom wasn’t. We prayed for the mom and she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, crying with such joy and gratefulness to God!

Praise God how He uses natural circumstances to bring people together so His work can be done. If all of us are always ready, and if we expect to be used by God at any time, He will use us to pour out His blessing upon others. For this mother and her son, a seemingly negative situation turned into a miracle. And for Phil, a seemingly hopeless situation has now suddenly changed completely. God is good and oh so powerful, beyond our natural understanding!

B. Fernando is thriving after being baptized and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit on the weekend. She was almost jumping out of her skin with excitement on the phone! She said her depression has completely vanished and she’s so proud (in a good way) to announce to people that she’s a Christian now. She is so happy to now belong to God, and she has been praying in tongues lots throughout the day – at home, while cleaning houses, while walking her dog, while driving her car, etc. No wonder she’s feeling so good!

Praying in tongues as much as we can each day is one of the biggest keys to growth in the Lord. So, if you’re still struggling in certain ways in your life, kick it up and start communicating abundantly with your Father in Heaven using the miraculous spiritual language He has given you. Do this in addition to your dedicated worship times and you’ll feel the Holy Spirit within you ignite from a small flame to a blazing fire, and you’ll see the Word of God made manifest in your life more than ever!

B. Fernando was just baptized and anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit! Congratulations! This is what she texted us soon afterward: “Thank you for everything today. I have first been blessed by our meeting, and I am blessed again to now be closer to our Lord!” It was a wonderful morning full of prayer and discussions about the power and love of God.

GREAT NEWS!!! – A few months ago my husband and two boys were visiting Seattle. Very unexpectedly and very last minute, the timing was perfect for them to connect with an illustrator in Port Angeles we had been using for a project. They were only able to visit her very briefly (for about one hour), but in that time they shared with her the gospel of Jesus Christ and prayed for her to be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. She was filled mightily, praying in tongues passionately, and she was overwhelmed with joy.

At that time she was going through many difficult struggles and her sister in Portland was dealing with breast cancer. But, her newfound relationship with God gave her peace and hope, and now after five months of keeping faith and waiting upon the Lord she just shared with me some wonderful news:

After moving five times in five months, she was just offered a great job by one of her former clients, her husband’s company suddenly allowed him to work from home with better pay, their former landlord phoned to offer them a rent to own option on the same house that they had really liked, their children are overjoyed at being back in Port Angeles where they feel at home, and her sister’s cancer is now in remission!

What a victory after a trial of her faith! Praise God!

Praise God – just days before our flight, Stacey’s mom (Denise) got baptized and received the Holy Spirit anointing! Stacey and Denise popped by our condo and we got talking to Denise about what had recently happened to Stacey. We explained to Denise that the same promise from God was open for her to experience, too. Despite her strong hesitation about speaking in tongues (influenced by her Seventh Day Adventist background), Denise was keen to pray. So, we all sought the Lord together. However, it wasn’t happening for her. We then encouraged Denise to get baptized first, explaining that some people don’t receive the Holy Spirit until after they’ve communicated their repentance and commitment to God through baptism. Well, it worked! We had more prayer for her as she rose up out of the water, and she received the Holy Spirit very quickly. It was such a joy to see Denise’s beaming face as she came down the stairs after drying off. She said she felt all tingly and so calm and peaceful. She felt closer to God than ever before and even the next day, Stacey said her mom couldn’t stop smiling. Another changed life! We’re so happy for Stacey, too. She now has her mom with whom to share the power of the Lord. We’re now keeping Jessica (Stacey’s sister) in our prayers. May she be won over to Jesus Christ by Stacey’s and Denise’s positive testimony!

Well, we’re nearing the end of our latest trip and, to finish on a high note, another person has been born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5). (More details in a moment.) This makes it six people now filled with the Spirit, one person baptized but still seeking the Holy Spirit anointing, and one person “revived” in the Spirit (already Spirit-filled but hadn’t prayed in tongues for many years). We all know, however, that God is not concerned with numbers but, rather, with the quality of each person’s walk with Him. So, join us in praying for all these people that they’ll draw nigh to God daily, purposing to use the Holy Spirit to grow and remain steadfast believers until Christ returns.

Anyway, our new sister in the Lord is Stacey. We struck up a conversation with her as she sat behind her desk in the real estate office where she works. We were curious about something to do with her signage in the window, so we just popped in to ask her a quick question. One thing led to another and soon we were talking about the Lord. She has had lots of experience with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and because of this she was put off of pursuing a relationship with God. Like Aquila and Pricilla in the Book of Acts, we expounded the Word of God unto her more fully. She was so surprised and relieved to hear things she had never been told before that are right there in the Bible. Our words (God’s words!) spoke to her heart, truly making sense to her.

We invited her back to our rental home that night to have prayer with us, and she came! After showing her some scriptures and chatting about our personal experiences, we all laid hands on her and prayed. She was filled with the Spirit almost immediately. We prayed in tongues with her for a long time so she could get used to the experience of praying to God in the language of the Holy Spirit. When we finished she told us she felt changed. She said she felt connected with God in a new way that she couldn’t quite explain.

The next thing we emphasized to Stacey was water baptism. She wanted to complete her commitment to God, so she arranged to come back a few days later at which point she got baptized in our bathtub. Praise God! We had dinner together that night, so we had lots of time to chat about different aspects of the Bible and answer some of her questions. Stacey was even more excited about her new personal relationship with God. She even told us how she had woken up praying in tongues during the first night (after first receiving the Holy Spirit). God is very much on her mind and in her heart!

We’re currently planning to get together with Stacey for some more Bible study and prayer before we leave. What a joy to be able to encourage a new sister in the Lord!

Our 5-year-old Spirit-filled daughter has faith in her God!!!…

Today, my husband locked the garage door at the rental property we’re staying at – with the garage door clicker and car keys accidentally left inside the garage! The only way to get into the garage was to unlock an emergency release access hole that housed the release cable (to which we did not have a key!).

Normally we do pray to God for help when we’re in these kinds of predicaments because we know our Lord sees, is all powerful, and wants to provide a solution to glorify His name (and because He simply cares for us!). Nevertheless, today my husband carried on ahead without doing so. He called the locksmith and then asked around the complex to see if someone had a key that might work. He even found a small metal tool in the house, hoping he could pick the lock and save a small fortune before the locksmith arrived.

Just when it looked like there was nothing to do but wait for the locksmith, our daughter very simply and confidently said to her daddy, “We should pray about it! God can find an answer!” My husband happily responded, “Yes, you’re right. We should!” So, they prayed.

Very soon after that, a lady drove in the complex gate. My husband approached her and asked about a key. She said she had no idea but instead directed him to a particular fellow who is one of the managers of our housing complex. The man was completely convinced he did not have a key that would work, but he found his huge wad of keys and came out to try anyway. To his surprise (and to my husband’s relief!) he found a random key that worked within less than a minute.

After my husband cancelled the locksmith and retrieved his door clicker and car keys from the garage, he and our daughter were very eager to share their story. They returned to our townhouse and we all thanked God for His blessing hand – and for the powerful faith within our little girl. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when she was 3 ½ years old, speaking in tongues as proof, and it has been such a joy to see her grow in her own personal relationship with the living God since then.

P.S. My husband is happy for me to post this testimony as encouragement for all – no matter how old you are – to exercise your faith in prayer!