Before we left Hawaii we had the opportunity to pray with Victoria’s sister, Catherine. Victoria shared with Catherine the amazing things that happened the day we met her and her children. Catherine was keen to meet up with us, too, so we spent an afternoon sharing the Word of God with her. Catherine was filled with the Holy Spirit many years ago, however she was keen to listen and learn as we “expounded the Word of God unto her more fully” just as Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos in the Book of Acts. At the end, we all prayed in the Spirit together which was very helpful for Catherine as she hadn’t prayed in tongues much for a long time. Her tears of joy proved how much it impacted her day. We emphasized to Catherine the importance of praying in tongues daily, so we’re hoping for her sake she’ll keep it up.

It’s now official… Our idea to stop over in Hawaii on the way back home was not our idea after all. God totally had His guiding hand upon it all! Below are the highlights so far. There are so many details that we just don’t have time to type out right now. Suffice to say that the hand of God is all mighty and never ceases to amaze us!

a) A young couple (Brandon and Claire) was seated at our table at the local Benihana Japanese restaurant. We got chatting to them over dinner and soon we were talking about the Lord. After dinner, they wanted to know more, so we invited them to go to a quiet place to review some scriptures with us. They were keen, so we grabbed a Bible from our hotel room. Soon we were all back in our room praying with Brandon and Claire. They both received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues as proof. We showed them how Peter commanded Cornelius and his family (in Acts Chapter 10) to be baptized in water following being filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we went down to one of the quiet pool areas and both Brandon and Claire were baptized by full immersion to complete their commitment to God. They were leaving first thing the next morning, so we didn’t get to spend any more time with them, but we encouraged them to pray in tongues every day (as we encourage everyone to do), to build their relationship with God (Jude 20-21, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.)

b) We went to a timeshare meeting and got talking to Gina (our sales rep) about what we do on our travels. She was keen to share her experiences and we soon found out that she believed she had prayed in tongues when she was quite young. We said we’d look for an opportunity to pray with her during or after the presentation, to confirm if she was in fact filled with the Holy Spirit. We got the chance to do so when Gina was showing us one of the model suites. Straight away she broke out into tongues as we laid hands on her and prayed. It was beautiful hearing her pray in the Spirit. She remembered that it was something she used to love to do when she was a child, and she was so glad to be praying to God like that again. She was crying with joy and she was so grateful to God that He connected her with some people who encouraged her to “activate” the Spirit again after it had been kind of lying dormant for so long. As we did with Brandon and Claire, we encouraged her to pray in tongues every day from now on.

c) Yesterday we went for a drive around the island. We ended up in a town to visit a soap factory and then to the local burger joint for which we had a coupon. As we were walking on the patio, we met a friendly lady and her family. She mentioned the word “blessing” as we began to part company. Of course, we couldn’t let that pass, so we asked her if she went to church. Well, that was just the beginning of an amazing evening! Again, there’s just too much that happened to give the power of God justice in a short summary…

We talked with Victoria and her family for a very long time, sharing testimonies of the Lord’s hand. We found out that Victoria and her children are all filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They’re passionate about the things of God and seek to glorify Him in their music and art (they are a very talented family). We expounded the Word of God unto them more perfectly (as did Aquila and Priscilla to Apollos in the Book of Acts), encouraging them that God wants them to not just tell people about Jesus but to actually baptize people and pray for them to be anointed with the Holy Spirit (John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”). They were keen to hear this message from God for them (using us as mere vessels), so much so that they introduced us to a table of people they knew from a local church. So, praise God, we ended up being able to expound the Word of God more perfectly unto them also.

A while later, we ended up praying with two of them (Travis and Cole) in our car and they both received the Holy Spirit anointing. Travis then called two of his friends to come down and join us, so we got to speak with them as well. We found out that one of his friends had just been filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues for the first time, only two weeks earlier. The other friend had not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit, so we prayed for him and he received the Spirit. We then shared with them the importance of baptism in water now that they had an understanding of the truth, so we headed to the beach (by this time is was about 11:00 at night!).

By the time we had a very late dinner and got home to bed it was after 1:00 a.m. Our five-year-old daughter was flaked out on the back seat of the car much earlier than that, but she was very keen to hear about the events of the night that she missed!

We hope all of these brief but powerful accounts encourage you, too, that God uses the natural circumstances of this life (like heading to a certain restaurant because you found a coupon!) to bring His Word to people. Some people may have never heard about Jesus. Some may have a love for Jesus but have not yet been born again of water and of the Spirit. Some may have received the Holy Spirit anointing years ago but were never encouraged how to “use” it. God wants to use you for all kinds of work. You have been called as mouthpieces of His truth just like the first disciples. It’s not about you – it’s all about Jesus. Your life is His, and if you have your eyes and ears open and a heart full of faith, mighty miracles will happen. This is what brings joy unspeakable (as the scripture describes) to your life, and it’s what brings glory to the precious name of Jesus Christ.

One final amazing testimony to share: The guy (Kiril) who came to buy our car before we flew out received the Holy Spirit while praying with us, too! God is so mighty! Kiril also has a Seventh Day Adventist background (as does Stacey and her mom, Denise). Stacey was able to share her testimony with him because she was there when he came to collect the car. After just five minutes of talking with him about the Holy Spirit anointing and its necessity for salvation (John 3:5), he was very excited to have us all pray for him. He received the Spirit quite powerfully after about ten minutes of prayer, so much so that he broke down with tears of joy and relief after praying in tongues for a long while. Kiril said he felt different. He felt so good. He knew he’d been changed by the power of God. Please keep Kiril and all the others from this trip in your prayers. Our travels have yet again been blessed by God’s miraculous hand!

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!

Please keep two ladies in your prayers: Linda and Tia Lee. My husband was sharing the Word with them (on separate occasions) after they each got in touch with him via his business. He got to speak with Tia Lee over Skype, and then he was messaging Linda back and forth. Both of them are suffering in their own ways and need the healing hand of God in their lives. They were very open to hearing the truth of the gospel and are looking into the scriptures. Praise God how people message my husband with simple questions about his product and the conversation soon leads to the things of the Lord. God uses all kinds of avenues to connect people with His Word!

Praise God – another two people touched by the Lord on this trip. The husband (Jeff) got baptized in water and the wife (Natalie) received the Holy Spirit anointing. Natalie already spoke four languages, so praying with her was an interesting experience! She knew she was speaking in tongues (an unknown spiritual language as described in 1 Corinthians 14) and not one of the languages she grew up with. We had more prayer with Natalie throughout the night, so it was neat for her to hear herself again and again, solidifying her understanding that she was indeed praying in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave her the ability. Let’s pray that Jeff will keep diligently seeking after the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We spent six hours with them and finally got home well after midnight. We were tired but thoroughly rejoicing!

We’re on another trip and so far it has been very prosperous, praise God! … Four people filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and another person revived in the Spirit (he had been filled with the Holy Spirit when he was a teenager but hadn’t prayed in tongues for many years, so we got him praying in tongues again and encouraged him to keep it up daily).

We just go about our days and the Lord directs us to those who are hungering and thirsting for the truth (and don’t necessarily know it). One couple manage a motel we were staying at. Then there was the assistant manager at a car dealership – we all piled into his car and prayed with him there! The next one was an older gentleman we simply approached and started talking to on a bench seat in the middle of a seaside suburb. And, the most recent was the youngest son of a Spirit-filled family as we prayed with him in their lounge room. The power of God can be made manifest anywhere!

Besides these, there have been many others preached to – seeds planted that God will water! May God continue to bless our travels as we seek to be of service to Him.

AN ENCOURAGING THOUGHT:

Firstly, let’s look at some scriptures that tell us that “the just shall live faith”:

Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:11 “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

So, it’s through consciously exercising our FAITH in God that we ACTIVATE His Word in our lives and EXPERIENCE Him and His promises. All that we DO in the name of the Lord in terms of obedience, worship, service, loving and choosing righteousness, etc. is what STRENGTHENS our faith in God.

In other words, it’s NOT because we have “had our prayer for the day” and read some of the Bible, etc. that, for example, the Lord will put people in our path to preach to and that they will receive the Holy Spirit anointing when we pray with them, OR that the Lord will answer a particular prayer, OR that God will make provision for us in some way, etc. It’s by our faith in our loving and gracious God that these things will come to pass. However, it IS the “doing” part of our lives that builds our relationship with God and our understanding of His will and His Word so that we can in turn strengthen our faith.

What exactly is the “doing” part of our spiritual lives? It’s praying in the Spirit (and in our mother language), reading the Holy Bible, fasting, worshipping, giving thanks and praise to God throughout the day, sharing the Word, demonstrating humble and willing obedience to the “voice” of the Holy Spirit, living righteously, repenting when we make mistakes, rejoicing in God through song and/or sharing testimonies, etc. Basically, it’s constantly having God at the center of our heart and mind and our decisions.

They are not things we should strive at. Rather, they just become natural parts of our lives as we relish in the love and grace of our God. There is no pre-requisite or quota to these “doing” things. We just “do” as we feel moved simply because we love to “do.”

Our California trip has been abundantly prosperous for the Lord’s work so far. Three more people have received the Holy Spirit anointing (with the evidence of speaking in tongues) on separate occasions. One we met in an office and got talking about God after first discussing the things that go on in the school system these days. The next we met in a hotel elevator. We got talking about God after asking him about the cross he was wearing around his neck. Within 10 minutes, he was eager to come to our hotel room to pray. Then, we met a lady a few days ago as we were looking at a show billboard. We was an usher and came over to see if we had any questions. She mentioned the word “blessing,” so straight away we asked her if she went to church. That’s how our conversation with her started. On her day off two days later, she came to our hotel room to pray. She was anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit so quickly, and then she was eager to get baptized to seal her commitment to follow God’s ways.

We’ve also had many other life-changing conversations with people. It’s amazing how many Spirit-filled people the Lord causes us to “run into.” We end up in very powerful, in-depth conversations with them, encouraging them to refine the salvation message they share with people. They walk away enlightened that they need to be actually offering to pray with people to be filled with God’s Spirit and also baptizing them by full immersion in water (instead of just telling lost souls to give their hearts to Jesus).

It has certainly been a very interesting trip so far. The Lord’s hands are so very much upon our daily decisions to go here or there, or to do this or that. God knows who He has in mind that He wants us to speak to. Then it’s just up to us to keep our eyes and ears open as we go about our days!

Great news! We’re in California and so far two people (Donielle and Adrian) have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Adrian was also baptized. When we were praying for him for the Holy Spirit anointing, his body was shaking all over and he kept praying in tongues for such a long time. We were able to spend a few hours encouraging Adrian in the ways of the Lord, and we gave Donielle her first King James Bible highlighted with some fundamental scriptures on salvation. Praise God for the joy and honor of being used by Him to share His truth with others!

An email from my husband just came in this morning. Praise God!:

I had to head to the airport this morning in Orlando to fly out for a one day venture while my wife and kids stayed in Orlando. I booked a shuttle yesterday for 6:40 a.m. A Ford Expedition pulled up to where I was directed to wait. There was a family there with tons of luggage. They couldn’t fit me in and I was told to wait and that they would send someone else for me. A few minutes later an unmarked towncar pulled up and the driver asked my name. He said to hop in. Off we drove. The driver informed me what had happened: The regular larger shuttle had broken down, so they had to send these other vehicles. When they couldn’t fit me into the Expedition, they sent the second car.

I asked him many questions to try to find an opening for conversation about the Lord. Finally, I used the story of how I missed my flight to Belize six weeks earlier because the hotel didn’t give me my requested wake-up call. Then I said how it turned out for the best because we ended up meeting a couple that day with whom we shared our Christian testimonies, and the fellow ended up coming to our hotel room to pray for the Holy Spirit. He was anointed with the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

I asked the driver if he goes to church. He said he is Catholic. I gave him more testimonies of healings and miracles and others receiving the Spirit. As we were pulling into the airport parking lot, I asked him how he felt about what I was saying. He said he was getting emotional. I could see he was tearing up. We pulled up to the drop-off curb for my airline. I asked him if he would like to pray for the Holy Spirit. He said yes. He is about 60 years old. There were people all around and they don’t want vehicles sitting there not unloading, but the Lord was working. I laid a hand on him as I sat in the backseat. I encouraged him to pray fervently. We prayed for about a minute until he began to speak in tongues, and then we continued to pray for another minute or so. I pulled out my iPad and filmed a short interview with him, and I encouraged him to be baptized when I get back to Orlando tomorrow.

Very interestingly, as I got out of the car I looked up and there was the “Curb Marshall” standing right there. He was looking at me as if to say, “I cut you some slack there.” I think he must have been standing there watching us pray, and he probably heard us too!

Praise Jesus! The fields are ready to harvest. The more we forget about ourselves and go forth in faith, expecting to be used by the Lord as vessels for His Word, situations occur constantly. I’m now waiting for my flight and wondering what else the Lord has in store for the next 24 hours!

A group of us were staying at a hotel in Vancouver, B.C. We were standing around in the foyer one evening and one of us started a conversation with the front office clerk who was standing nearby. He asked the clerk (Frank) out of the blue if he went to church. The conversation grew rapidly to the point where very soon we were all gathered in the breakfast room, praying for Frank to receive the Holy Spirit anointing. We believe he did as we heard him praying in tongues briefly, but he was so overwhelmed and crying that we didn’t get to pray anymore with him.

Praise God for the confidence He gives us to approach people and ask bold questions! Our brother in the Lord simply asked Frank if he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit yet. Frank’s answer was “no.” The brother then asked (with confidence and expectation) Frank if he would like to go and pray for the Spirit right now. Frank’s answer was “yes,” without any hesitation. It was almost as though the brother’s faith (that the outcome would be positive) moved upon Frank’s heart to respond with enthusiasm. We don’t fully know how the Spirit works, but we do know it’s an invisible force and we have to believe that when we exercise the gifts of the Spirit (one of them being faith), that invisible force will have an affect on others as well as on our own selves.

An email from my husband just came in this morning. Praise God!:

I had to head to the airport this morning in Orlando to fly out for a one day venture while my wife and kids stayed in Orlando. I booked a shuttle yesterday for 6:40 a.m. A Ford Expedition pulled up to where I was directed to wait. There was a family there with tons of luggage. They couldn’t fit me in and I was told to wait and that they would send someone else for me. A few minutes later an unmarked towncar pulled up and the driver asked my name. He said to hop in. Off we drove. The driver informed me what had happened: The regular larger shuttle had broken down, so they had to send these other vehicles. When they couldn’t fit me into the Expedition, they sent the second car.

I asked him many questions to try to find an opening for conversation about the Lord. Finally, I used the story of how I missed my flight to Belize six weeks earlier because the hotel didn’t give me my requested wake-up call. Then I said how it turned out for the best because we ended up meeting a couple that day with whom we shared our Christian testimonies, and the fellow ended up coming to our hotel room to pray for the Holy Spirit. He was anointed with the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

I asked the driver if he goes to church. He said he is Catholic. I gave him more testimonies of healings and miracles and others receiving the Spirit. As we were pulling into the airport parking lot, I asked him how he felt about what I was saying. He said he was getting emotional. I could see he was tearing up. We pulled up to the drop-off curb for my airline. I asked him if he would like to pray for the Holy Spirit. He said yes. He is about 60 years old. There were people all around and they don’t want vehicles sitting there not unloading, but the Lord was working. I laid a hand on him as I sat in the backseat. I encouraged him to pray fervently. We prayed for about a minute until he began to speak in tongues, and then we continued to pray for another minute or so. I pulled out my iPad and filmed a short interview with him, and I encouraged him to be baptized when I get back to Orlando tomorrow.

Very interestingly, as I got out of the car I looked up and there was the “Curb Marshall” standing right there. He was looking at me as if to say, “I cut you some slack there.” I think he must have been standing there watching us pray, and he probably heard us too!

Praise Jesus! The fields are ready to harvest. The more we forget about ourselves and go forth in faith, expecting to be used by the Lord as vessels for His Word, situations occur constantly. I’m now waiting for my flight and wondering what else the Lord has in store for the next 24 hours!

Another person filled with the Spirit within minutes!:

Two nights ago we were getting a ride back to our room with a golf cart driver. Just as we were hopping out of the cart, the man (Eddie) said, “Have a blessed night!” Immediately my husband turned around and asked him, “You mentioned the word blessed; do you go to church?” Eddie was very intrigued to hear about the infilling of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. After a few minutes of talking about the Lord, we ended up sitting right there in the golf cart, laying hands on Eddie and praying for him to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. He received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues, and then had to zip back off to the lobby after another pick up call on his radio. We only spent minutes with him, but his life was changed forever! Praise God! Oh, and just like Mayola in my last post, Eddie said he felt a fire go through him when he was filled with the Spirit. He was very touched by the whole experience.