Hanging out at cafes is such a great way to share the Word with people. We go out with expectation that the Lord will connect us with people according to His will. Last week was especially interesting, and very moving. No sooner had we arrived when Don saw a lady with a shirt that had something about church printed on it. After the two of them got talking, Don invited the lady and her hsuband to join us at our table. They were very happy to, and it turned into an amazing hour-long conversation.

The couple were on their way home from a marriage retreat weekend and they had stopped in to get a coffee for the long trip back. The couple is already Spiritfilled, but they don’t pray in tongues much and they have been praying about having more God-focused purpose to their lives. The wife in particular has been feeling lost and unfulfilled.

Praise God, we were able to share many encouraging and even lovingly chastening words with them, which they received enthusiastically. The wife was joyfully teary, and they departed with us all feeling that the Lord had done something miraculous to change the course of this couple’s lives.

On another occasion last week, while Don and I were having dinner out together, we got talking with two young ladies seated near us. That conversation was even longer - probably at least one and a half hours! Similar to what many people share with us, Bailey said she’d never heard things of the Lord put the way we explained it. She was raised with a strong Catholic background, and it was very refreshing for her to hear about our experiences and understanding of Scripture. She had lots of great questions which we were able to answer directly from the Word of God (as opposed to our own opinion). Sometimes, the work we do for the Lord is simply planting a seed that God then waters in other ways. Whatever God brings our way, we feel privileged to be a part of it!

Well, this is going to be some catch-up post! It’s been months since we relocated - with lots and lots to do in terms of getting settled plus work for the Lord that has constantly come our way. No complaining here - praise God for His mighty hand! Just a multitude of wonderful news to share from the long list we’ve been compiling…

I think it’s going to be too much of a mammoth task to share the details of every story. So, I’ll just list the highlights of our preachings so far along with a very brief summary. Of course, if you’d like more details on a particular story (or more), email us and we’ll be very excited to explain the rest of God’s miraculous work.

We hope to inspire and encourage you to go and do likewise as part of the Book of Acts Empowered Christian Life!

So, here goes…

Our wonderful Spirit-filled neighbors & how the Lord has used them mightily: Since we met them and shared with them our years of ministry work, Artie has prayed with quite a number of people including family members, people he’s met in hardware stores, and people he’s gotten chatting with on the street in our community. They were so convicted by God using them to get these people filled with the Holy Spirit and water baptized that they decided to step away from their church (that, sadly, does not believe the Holy Spirit anointing - nor even water baptism - is part of the salvation process) and devote their time to prayer, studying the Word, and ministering to people that God brings their way. They’re seeing the Book of Acts Empowered Christian Life coming to pass in their own lives after years of focusing on “going to church.” Artie is excited that he’s done way more for the Lord’s work in the last months than in years and years of being heavily involved in “churchianity”.

Internet serviceman: We preached to him while he worked on the connection at our house. We offered to pray with him and he got filled with the Holy Spirit.

Dishwasher repairman: He hadn’t prayed in tongues for 4 years, so he had lost confidence to pray in the Holy Spirit. We prayed over him and helped him to get praying in tongues again, of course leaving him with our standard exhortation to, “Pray in tongues every day!”

Fridge repairman: He had had a terribly negative experience after years of dedicated service in his local chruch. This had put him off of pursuing the Lord. We were able to encourage him that man-made churches for the most part do not demonstrate the will of God - that God is not interested in denominations and religion as such, but rather in a personal relationship with people through His Son, Jesus Christ, as they get baptized (by water and the Holy Spirit) into the one and only church, called the “Body of Christ.”

Local painter: He had “John 3:16” painted on the side of his work vehicle. Our neighbor first approached him and got talking about construction. Artie then prayed with him to receive the Holy Spirit, and he received. Both Artie and our family were able to follow up with the painter later.

Carpenter handyman: He came to our house to give us a quote on a job. Don shared the Word with him which ended in us praying for him.

During a trip north to register some paperwork: While there, Don needed to borrow a screwdriver (Don normally has all the tools he needs in the vehicle, but for some reason - a good reason! - his screwdriver was missing) from a serviceman parked in the same parking lot. The conversation quickly turned to the Lord and Don ended up praying over the man.

Don met a man outside Kroger who had been struggling with praying for a lady to speak in tongues (the wrong focus): They initially got talking about everyday things, and then the conversation quickly turned to the Lord. Don explained that there is only one gift (the Holy Spirit), and the nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit are the “supernatural abilities” of the Holy Spirit that everyone anointed with the Spirit is able to operate. So, Don encouraged the man to change his prayer from “praying for the gift of tongues” to “praying for the infilling (anointing) of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptist preacher Don prayed with at the library: Don and Daniel had to go to the library to do some research. At the computer next to them, they saw a man with his Bible open and researching scriptures online. He packed up to leave just after Don and Daniel arrived, so Don stopped him to ask what he had been researching. The preacher said he was concerned because his church is now transitioning to promoting that water baptism is not actually a part of the salvation process. The preacher was building a scripture list to prove otherwise. Don encouraged him that he’s on the right track, however the Holy Spirit anointing is also necessary (John 3:5). The preacher was unsure, but he was convicted by the various scriptural proof that Don shared with him. The preacher was keen for Don to pray over him, and he received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as evidence. He was very moved by the experience and now had something more (other than information about water baptism) to go back and share with his fellowship.

UPS delivery man: Our Spiritfilled neighbor first got talking with him one day when he noticed the driver was looking troubled. The man later (another day) came to our place to pray with us and our neighbor, after Artie and Don saw him again, and he received the Holy Spirit.

Neighbor lady that took our empty moving boxes from us, for her move: When she came to collect the last of our boxes, we got talking longer with her. We invited her inside and learned how God had healed her from cancer earlier in her live, among other things. We asked her one of our standard questions, if she had received the Holy Spirit since she believed (Acts 19:2). We prayed with her and she began speaking in tongues!

Lady who came to buy our trailer: We had had no offers on the trailer when Laverne finally phoned us. She had intentions of coming straight away to see it, but life got in the way of her plans, so she had to delay her trip out our way. Don kept in touch with her via text, and later she shared that it was his understanding and patience and “something in those texts” that moved her to make the long drive to come meet him. Obviously, she sensed the love of Christ Jesus and the light of the Holy Spirit within Don’s words. Her outing ended up in prayer in our kitchen, and she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit herself. She was speaking so clearly and powerfully in tongues that we were all crying, joyfully touched by the hand of God on the situation.

Spirit-filled housekeeper lady: One day while cleaning, I noticed she wasn’t feeling well. She shared with me that she was struggling with an issue that I was miraculously healed from a few years ago after I asked my husband and children to pray over me. During the conversation, I found out that she’s already Spirit-filled. I invited her to come back one evening when we had more time to chat and to meet our neighbors. She came and instantly recognized our neighbor, Sharon! We had a great night together, encouraging her, praying over her, and all praying in tongues together.

Church ministry family we met at our garage sale: We got chatting with the lady, her daughters, and the lady’s mother. We discovered that she’s the wife of a Baptist minister who’s in charge of a large local church. They had recenly relocated to the area for her husband’s new role. The mother (mother-in-law of the Baptist minister) became excited when we mentioned we’re all filled with the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues as much as we can each day. She exclaimed that she’d been praying for the gift of tongues for forty years, to no avail. We explained that we never pray for people to receive the gift of tongues; rather, we pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and every person then prays in tongues as they’re filled (because tongues is the voice or language of the Holy Spirit). She could understand the difference, so we invited her to come pray with us some time. We never did hear from her and then one day she suddenly texted us for help with one of her family members. This led to her finally coming to our place at which point we laid hands on her and prayed, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues for the first time in her life.

Lady that Don met in a Walmart parking lot as he approached her, to offer help with her vehicle: There was a strap dangerously hanging from the door of her car, so Don helped her with it. This led to her sharing that she was there handing out leaflets, trying to build her housecleaning business. As she shared with Don, she began tearing up due to some struggles she’d been experiencing for some time. Don shared our stories of transformation, healing, blessing, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and she was very touched by it all. Don invited her to come back and pray with our family. She did, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Two couples from our neighbors’ previous church: Our neighbors invited the first couple to their place and then invited us to stop by to meet them. After sharing many testimonies and going over lots of scripture, they were ready to pray. The wife received the Holy Spirit fairly quickly, and after pressing in with the husband, he received too. A similar situation happened with another couple on a separate occasion. This time, it was just the husband that had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we all prayed with him and he received. This all happened despite these two couples attending an Assembly of God church for many years!

Young man that we met at our local coffee shop & was baptized in our neighbor’s hottub: One night, just as we sat down to drink our coffee and play a board game, Ethan noticed that the young man at the table down from us was reading his Bible. So, Ethan went over to introduce himself and ask some questions. We soon invited him to our table to continue the conversation, sharing with him many scriptures and experiences. The young man was so convicted that he ended up coming back to our place to get fully immersed baptized, something he had not yet done unto Jesus for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). In fact, our neighbors eagerly offered their hottub to do the baptism, so they got to share the joy as well!

Two roofing guys that came to our door looking for business: Don got talking with the boss after he’d had a chance to share the highlights of his business. Don ended up inviting him in to chat some more about the Lord. The boss’ workmate was still in the vehicle, but the boss soon went out to call him in, saying “he needs to hear this, too!” They were both keen to pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and they both received - the workmate first and then eventually the boss (he shared that he’s normally a very controlling person, and we do find that these types of personalities tend to have some degree of struggle submitting to God).

Neighbor lady we prayed with during a local event: We got chatting with her as we stood at the end of our driveway and watched the crowds pass by on the sidewalk. None of our discussions with people led anywhere until the very end of the night. We were just about to head inside the house when we chose to engage one more person. It turned out to be our neighbor, heading home on her own. We were soon sharing our thoughts on the difficulties in the world these past two years. She confided in us regarding her serious personal struggles, so we invited her inside to chat further. We ended the night by praying over her, and she received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very fervently. She cried tears of joy as was very touched.

Guy at a craft table at a local market: We attended a local night market which was very busy with lots of craft tables in particular. We got chatting with one vendor who was selling handmade jewelry that was designed to bring people to a knowledge of Jesus. He eagerly told his story of how he was sentenced to prison after going seriously astray from the ministry. At one time, he’d been heavily involved in the Baptist church, even being ordained. However, he didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him to give him the strength to resist sin and to “mortify the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13). When in prison, he devoted much time to reading the Bible such that when he was released, he was determined to turn his life around. This was great, we explained, but we encouraged him that he still needed to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit so that he didn’t again fall back into a life of darkness, and to fulfill Jesus’ requirements as per John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” We offered for us to come back at the end of the evening and to pray with him then. We did, and he did receive the Holy Spirit. We drove home praising God for the myriad ways He connects us with people, to help them grow in their scriptural understanding and in their walks with toward God.

Young gal we met at our local gym because we saw “I LOVE Jesus” on her water bottle: As we entered the gym, Don saw the water bottle sitting on the shelf next to some keys. He openly expressed his curiosity as to whose it was, so when he later saw the gal collect her bottle, he was eager to have a quick chat with her. She was very keen to talk about the Lord which led to Don showing her the short trailer video that we have on our website. I had joined the conversation by this time and I could see that the gal was clearly moved by everything. She was excited to pray with us and she received the Holy Spirit! We chatted a bit more and then suddenly she stopped and teared up. She said she’d remembered something incredibly significant: that morning she had written in her prayer journal, “Holy Spirit, please show me what to do. I will go where you want me to, and I will do what you want me to. Please just lead me and guide me.” (Something along those lines - I can’t remember the exact words.) We were all emotional at that point! What a mighty answer to her prayer!

Young man we met at our local gym on a separate occasion: Don asked what the words meant on his t-shirt, hoping that his answer would lead to the subject of God. When that didn’t happen, Don asked about the young man’s tattoo. He said it was the date of his water baptism during a missionary trip to Mexico, and that the tattoo on his other arm meant “I am saved.” Wow, what a lead in to talk about God! After some chatting, Don showed him our ChristiansRULE trailer video and invited the guy back to our place to pray for the Holy Spirit. He came and he received, praying in tongues for the first time in his life! Oh, before we prayed, we did have a serious discussion with him about God’s moral expectations. When we found out that he already had a girlfriend, we knew it was important for him to be aware of the fullness of what living a Christian life is all about. We gave him the option to wait to pray for the Holy Spirit anointing, explaining that once he was fully born again, being made a new creation, he would be “washed clean” and God would expect him to abstain from that point forward until he was married. He didn’t want to wait; he was prepared to be obedient to God which was great to hear.

Couple we met at the end of our driveway as they walked back home from a local event (separate from the one above): We first got talking with them because we asked if we could pet their dog. I can’t quite remember how our general chatting transitioned to the subject of God. I think we got talking about the troubles in the world right now which led us to sharing how our confidence is in Jesus. The wife immediately shared that she could relate, and we soon discovered that she was already filled with the Holy Spirit (but didn’t prayed in tongues much). So, we ended up praying with her (at the back of our driveway!) to get her excited about praying in tongues on a daily basis. We also learned that her husband had briefly spoken in tongues a long time ago, but he’d never exercised this part of the Holy Spirit since. So we prayed over him, too, and got him praying in tongues again. We encouraged them to go and pray together in tongues every day in addition to their personal prayer lives. We were all so happy to meet each other and find out that we’re close neighbors!

Lady we met & prayed with while hiking up north: As we were ending a brief hike up north, we spied a lovely swimming area along the river, so we stopped to admire it and take some pictures. A lady rounded the bend and went to pass by us. We commented to her about the area and asked her if she was a local. She shared some information about the trail and others in the area, and then she mentioned she’d come down to walk and pray. This was the perfect lead in to sharing some of our ministry experiences and ask her some questions about her walk toward God. We talked for quite a while and ended by asking her if she wanted us to pray over her for the Holy Spirit anointing. Although she had some reservations (given past negative experiences), she was still willing to give God a chance to prove what we had been sharing with her. She was filled with the Holy Spirit very quickly, speaking in tongues and crying tears of joy. It was a very peaceful and warming experience for her, and she sent us a text later in the day expressing how grateful she was to have met and prayed with us. We exphasized that all the glory goes to God through Christ Jesus!

Preached to about 14 people last week at one location: Outside a local coffee shop last week, we ended up preaching to a group of eight young ladies, a man sitting at the next table who overheard our conversation, and one of the cafe staff who came out to clean the tables later in the day. A lady sitting at a third table nearby even approached us to ask for our website. Oh, and when we were first getting our coffees, Ethan overheard two young people talking about Scripture. So, he invited himself to their table to chat. It turned out that they are already filled with the Holy Spirit, so he encouraged them to pray in tongues every day, and he quietly prayed in the Holy Spirit with them at the table, too, to help the young man in particular. It was a great day, with us praying over four people that day, and sharing the Word with about 14 altogether. Praise God!

We just returned from a ten-day trip. Lots of opportunity to share the Word of God with all kinds of people in different situations as we traveled. That’s generally always the way it happens - organically, throughout the natural course of our day. I will share one special story:

Don needed to buy a cargo hitch for the rear of our vehicle in order carry some extra luggage. We were out to dinner when he decided to quickly search in the area where we were dining (which was over one hour away from where we were staying). He “happened” to find one close by.

After arriving and purchasing the carrier, Don talked some more with the man (Bryce) and found out that he and his family were in the process of searching for a new church. We all ended up joining the conversation, including Bryce’s wife (Becky) and 8-year-old daughter (Bryleigh). Soon, we were laying hands on Bryce, praying for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He quickly received, speaking in tongues as proof, and then Becky followed, also receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Our 10-year-old (Spirit-filled) daughter was eager to ask Bryleigh if she would also like to pray. She was very keen, having just seen her parents both filled with the Holy Spirit, and having eagerly listened to all of the previous discussion about the Lord. So, we all laid hands on Bryleigh and she also received. Praise God - a whole family anointed with the Holy Spirit in one night!

Last weekend, the weather was so beautiful that we went for a long hike. Our daughter took us down a very narrow, out-of-the-way path to try to see some waterfalls, but it led to a dead end. We stood and searched for a while, but then eventually turned to head back. Just as we did, we spied a young gal (Lauren) heading our way. She, too, was trying to get to the falls.

Lauren had a t-shirt on promoting a Christian college, so we asked her about it. That soon transitioned into us sharing with her our testimonies, plus stories of us praying with people around the world. We ended up laying hands on her and praying over her. She even asked if she could play worship music while we all prayed, which was great. Here we were, a group of us praying to the Lord in the middle of the forest with beautiful music surrounding us!

The Lord keeps causing us to run into people!…

A couple of posts back, we shared how we ended up praying with Nikki’s mom because they drove by a coffee shop just as we were outside praying with some people. Well, this time we were outside a grocery store. Don had parked in a spot far from where he normally parks, and he quickly popped into the store for a few items. At the same time, Nikki and her mom were coming out of a different store and they saw our vehicle - parked just a few spots away from theirs.

All week, it had been on Nikki’s mind to contact us as she had not yet been quite ready to have us pray over her (as we had done so for her mom). This time, however, as soon as Nikki saw our vehicle, she knew what God was doing and she was finally willing to obey His calling. Nikki immediately came over to the passenger side where I was sitting, and as I opened the door to say hi, she immediately asked me if we could pray for her. She was ready!

A few of us piled into Nikki’s car with her mom where we laid hands on Nikki and prayed for her to receive the Holy Spirit. (Although, as part of the initial prayer, we always get people to confess Jesus and verbally ask God for the Holy Spirit themselves, too.) Nikki was filled with the Holy Spirit very quickly, speaking in tongues as proof. We spoke a while, confirming once again that she had in fact also been water baptized unto Jesus in the past. Then we prayed some more so that Nikki would feel comfortable praying in tongues on her own in the future.

What a night! It was such a joy for me to look up from my phone (as I sat in the car waiting for Don) and see Nikki standing outside of our vehicle, sporting a big smile. Another special thing is that Ethan (our oldest son) had prayed just the day before that we would have a chance to pray with Nikki before we are due to leave here at the end of the month. We indeed have a mighty God, and He hears and answers!

Well, I think the local coffee shop (near where we’ve been staying these last many months) has become the Lord’s #1 designated place for His work through us (lol). Every time we think our work in Ohio is done and we get ready to move on, the Lord keeps us here a bit longer because there are more people He wants us to speak to - and the coffee shop seems to be the main place for it!

While we were inside the cafe yesterday, a large group of young-ish married couples came in to dine. One of the men briefly engaged in conversation with us about the board game we were playing. By the way they were dressed, we figured they might have just come from a church meeting, so Don purposed to speak with them at some stage later in the day.

We all ended up leaving the cafe at the same time, so Don continued conversing with the man that had spoken to us earlier. We discovered that they had in fact come from church and that the entire group was actually filled with the Holy Spirit. But, we also learned that they didn’t pray in tongues very often - and, they had all been experiencing a “theme” lately regarding something lacking in their prayer life. So, the Holy Spirit had been preparing them in these last weeks for the message we had to share with them! The couple could clearly see this, and they welcomed our encouragement to pray in tongues daily and to strengthen their gospel message when preaching to others.

In fact, we offered to lay hands on the couple, to get them praying in tongues again (they hadn’t prayed in the Holy Spirit for a while), and to pray over them for such things as greater boldness and confidence, and for their prayer life, etc. They were both keen, so again we simply stepped to the side of the coffee shop and prayed as a group right there. It was such a joy to witness their reactions (the wife was in tears of joy) and their eagerness to apply the messages that God had clearly set up for them to hear.

Oh, and another really neat thing happened, praise God….

Don had lost the back of his vehicle key fob last week when we were at the cafe. Don searched for it all week, not knowing where he had lost it. He thought it might have fallen down a crack somewhere inside the vehicle. Then, just as Don stepped outside of the car yesterday after we arrived, his foot landed right next to lost key fob piece! It is black in color, too, so it would have been difficult to see on the pavement. The unusual thing is that that spot is not where we had parked a week earlier. The piece was at least 20 feet from where we had previously parked!

Our mighty God is so merciful and gracious. Don remembers speaking with God earlier in the week saying, “Lord, you know where it is” - and He certainly did! Thank you, Lord.

We have an amazing story from our visit to our regular coffee shop yesterday:

Don overheard a man say the word “prayer,” so on their way out he got talking with them. It turns out that one of the couples in the group are Spirit-filled, but they hadn’t prayed in tongues in a long time. The couple they were with hadn’t yet received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and had in fact been turned off of the things of God by very negative church experiences.

We shared with all four some of our stories and how the Lord has used us in ministry for many years, helping people to come to have a personal relationship with the living God, far beyond what is seen and heard in most churches today. By the end of the conversation, they were all eager to join us in prayer, to see how God would prove the words (from the Bible) that we were sharing with them.

We first prayed with the second couple and both husband and wife received the Holy Spirit. They were in tears, and we could see the relief and softening in them - a kind of healing from their past religious encounters. Then we laid hands on the second (already Spirit-filled) couple and prayed over them, reigniting their connection with the Holy Spirit within them. They were so happy to be praying in tongues again, and they welcomed our advice to pray in tongues daily from this point forward.

Now, this was all very wonderful, but THEN….

Some people we had preached to weeks earlier saw us standing outside the cafe as they drove by. So, they turned around and come back to see us just as we were saying goodbye to the two couples. Actually, the fullness of what happened was that the daughter and mother were in one car, so the daughter contacted her fiance to tell him that she had just spotted Don and his family, and to ask where her fiance was at. The fiance was in a separate vehicle with his brother, but the amazing thing is that he had just passed by the very same location just seconds earlier! So, he turned around, too.

We ended up praying with the gal’s mother and she received the Holy Spirit! For a long time, she had wanted to be able to speak in tongues, but she was always told (incorrectly) that it’s something that has to be learned. We corrected her understanding, quoting scriptures and explaining that it is nothing but a miracle - that “He” the Holy Spirit has a spiritual language with which to communicate with the Father; He simply uses our voice once He comes to dwell permanently within us. The mother was so excited to receive this clarification.

Needless to say, we left the coffee shop feeling overjoyed and incredibly privileged to be used yet again by God to touch others’ lives. Praise you, Jesus!

We got an amazing call the other night! Sharon (from the Tiffany and Sharon video on our Winging It! page) called us with an exciting story:

Recently, Sharon was telling a girlfriend about her experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit when we prayed over her last year. Sharon’s girlfriend was so inspired by the story that she said she wanted the same to happen to her. So, remembering our encouragement, Sharon offered to pray with her friend straight away. She did, and her friend received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. Praise God!

Sharon shared with us that her friend has been praying in tongues often ever since, as does Sharon. We were overjoyed to know that Sharon is doing what we said the Lord was calling her to do: to “pay it forward” i.e. to draw upon the strength, confidence, and boldness that the Holy Spirit gives in order to preach to and pray for others, carrying on the work of Jesus Christ upon this Earth.

It’s always so great to learn about the ripple effect of our Christian ministry, as Truth is spread throughout the globe by those whose lives we have been blessed to touch.

Wow, what a week we had! Lots of opportunities to share the Word of God with various people in different situations. Here are two highlights:

1) Don had been trying to get an appointment at a local office for a certification, and no appointments were available for months near where we are staying. Don got to the point where he was just about to drive over two hours south to a small town that had one opening when suddenly an availability popped up very close by.

As Don waited in the foyer for his name to be called, the examiner came out with someone he’d just been interviewing, to say goodbye to him. At the end of the conversation, the examiner said, “Ah well, it’s all in the Lord’s hands!” Instantly, Don knew there was a reason why things worked out for him to come to this particular office.

During Don’s interview, Don found out that the examiner is filled with the Holy Spirit, but wasn’t confident about praying in the Holy Spirit daily. So, Don asked the examiner if he minded if they closed the door so they could pray together. Don laid hands on the examiner and got him praying in tongues again! They both enjoyed chatting about the Lord for a while and rejoiced in God’s hand on them coming together that day.

2) On the way back from his certification appointment, Don felt moved to call into a coffee shop. While he was there, he heard two young men mention the word, “Holy Spirit.” Don walked over to them and told them they were talking about his favorite subject. One of the men is currently attending seminary college and the other is his good friend. While both told Don they believed they had the Holy Spirit based on their experiences with Jesus, Don “expounded the Word of God unto them more perfectly,” explaining the difference between the Holy Spirit working on the outside of someone versus coming to dwell permanently within.

By the end of 1.5 hours of discussing Scripture, the friend was eager to pray. He and Don went out to the car where Don laid hands on him. He was filled with the Holy Spirit within minutes, praying in tongues as proof. He was overjoyed, telling Don over and over, “You ARE a man of God! God sent you here today!” Then they both returned to the table and shared what happened.

Don talked some more with the seminary student who finally agreed that he had nothing to lose by trying, too. He also received Holy Spirit, but even quicker - he began speaking in tongues before Don had even finished his prayer! The young man was stunned, holding back tears.

It took a lot of going over Scripture and a lot of encouragement, but praise God for the patience that God gives us - knowing that there are so many people that have come far in terms of repentance, water baptism, church attendance, etc. yet they are still missing the actual Holy Spirit anointing. So, God sends someone like us to them, to help them achieve that final part of their spiritual conversion. It’s what we live for!

The video of Anne Marie’s miraculous healing is now posted on our Winging It! page. You can see such peace and joy in her face in the “after” part of her story. Praise Jesus!

Coffee shops are a great place to share the Word! Since the weather has gotten cold here in Ohio, we’ve been spending a lot of time in coffee shops, looking for opportunities to preach the truth. We just follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, looking to see what conversations He leads us into, and then we just take it from there. Generally, we start off chatting about life and, if it doesn’t naturally turn into talking about God, we use the boldness and confidence God gives us (not ours but His!) to simply ask them outright if they go to church (or a similar question).

God knows people’s hearts and He knows who is searching for a personal relationship with Him, so it’s God that connects the people who are searching with those that have the message to give. Sometimes, people don’t even know they’re searching. They might be trying to fill a void in their lives with all kinds of other things (relationships, money, work, addictive substances, fame, material things, etc.), but deep down what they’re needing is to be filled by God, their Creator.

We are so grateful for the many ways God uses us. It is our reasonable service, as the Bible states. We are simply His mouth pieces, and it’s such a peace knowing that we don’t have to do any convincing. We simply speak truth and the Lord does the rest (“gives the increase,” 1 Corinthians 3:7).

Wonderful news!! Annie Marie (see the previous post about her - a couple of posts down the page) is healed! She went back to the doctors about her serious heart condition and the doctors said it was gone. Praise Jesus! We videod her story, so we’ll edit it together with the first video we took of her when she received the Holy Spirit, and post it on our Winging It! page very soon.

I’m so happy for Anne Marie. She seriously looked like a different person when I visited her yesterday - and she said she feels like a new person! She’s still praying in tongues every day, and she’s looking forward to us hopefully meeting up with her husband to answer his questions. Please pray for him, as we will, too. He has been misled by various man-made messages out there, but we pray that the truth will set him free.

I just read through my posts from this year and realized that I forgot to post about a few other situations:

1) Tiffany (see her message below) ended up sharing more with her Aunt who then called Don, asking him if he would come pray for her, too. So, we all traveled to LA to meet up with her and her husband. Both of them received the Holy Spirit that day and were so happy. They had been attending a local Calvary church and were unaware of the full gospel message!

2) When selling our furniture in California, we got to share the Word with many people. One lady ended up accepting our invitation to come back and pray with us. She brought her husband at the time. She is a nurse and was concerned about Covid, and we shared the “peace that passes all understanding” that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit. (That’s how we first got talking about God.) Anyway, we prayed over her and she received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. Her husband was more skeptical, so he never received the Holy Spirit. But, we pray he will be won over by his wife’s enthusiasm for the Lord.

3) On our way to Ohio, we stopped at a gas station somewhere in Utah. Two ladies in a pick-up truck pulled up very close to us, wanting to comment on our vehicle’s signage. Later, the lady driver shared that “for some reason” she felt moved to talk with us. She knew at that point that it had been God guiding her!

The conversation at the gas pumps quickly turned to the Lord, and we ended up asking the ladies if they wanted us to pray for them. They did, so we all moved to the back of the gas station where it was quieter. Standing on the sidewalk next to our vehicles, our whole family laid hands on the ladies. They both received the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues strongly! They were so excited, hugging and crying. They are best friends and had attended church meetings together for a long time.

We talked some more about the Lord and then encouraged the two ladies to share their experience with their husbands, children, and church friends. It was a very unexpected and joyous encounter on our travels!

I just posted about one couple here in Ohio, but there have been many other people touched by the Lord since our arrival:

1) During an esthetician appointment, I got talking with Anne Marie about the Lord after she mentioned a potential serious problem with her health. I shared my own amazing healing story, encouraging her that the fullness of God’s promises are for all who come to Jesus and follow after Him. I asked her if she’d like me to pray over her and she was keen to do so. It was completely God’s doing that I was her last client for the day and that we were running late - which caused the office to be empty by the time we were done, giving us the privacy to pray (and talk some more) freely.

Anne Marie was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, soon after we began to pray over her (my husband had arrived to pick me up by that time). She had already been water baptized by full immersion, so we encouraged her to continue to pray in tongues every day and read the Bible, diligently seeking to apply God’s Word in her life.

Anne Marie texted me a few days later saying that she had been praying in tongues daily and that she was excited. I’m due to meet up with her again this Wednesday, and she said she’s keen to see me again, so I’m expecting some positive news about her health. Thank you, Jesus!

2) We’re staying with a Spirit-filled friend of ours while we’re in Ohio, helping him through a challenging time in his life - just as we have done in the past with many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that need spiritual support.

Soon after we arrived at John’s place, we discovered that his elderly mother (89 years old) was a Christ-believer but had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit (just like the story at the beginning of Acts 19). So, we offered to lay hands on her to pray for her. She received the Holy Spirit quickly, praying quietly in tongues for the very first time. It was a very gentle, warm, and beautiful experience. We were so happy for her, after all these years!

3) Last week, we were at Macy’s and Ethan was ahead of us at the time. A young man in his early twenties (about the same age as Ethan) commented on Ethan’s shoes. The conversation continued as he (Latron) and Ethan got chatting about work and personal interests. The rest of us soon joined them, and when Latron mentioned something about his local church we knew why God has caused us all to meet.

We all stood in the store speaking for quite a while, after which Don asked Latron if he’d been filled with the Holy Spirit since he believed in Jesus. Latron answered no, so soon Don, Ethan, and Daniel were heading to the car to pray over Latron (while Elisabeth and I stayed in the store). Don shared with me later that Latron did receive the Spirit. They also chatted about God’s moral expectations. Latron was due to propose to his girlfriend that week (interesting timing!), and he understood God’s commandment for them to abstain from sexual interation until they are actually married.

I love the way the Lord takes a seemingly random decision to go to a store and blesses it mightily for His work’s sake!

A few months ago, through a series of strong signs/direction from God, we headed to Ohio. We’ll be here for another 6 weeks or so, and so far, the trip has been very interesting. We’ve had much work here to do for the Lord, speaking to many people about the kingdom of God, and asking them “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed (in Jesus)?”

During one particular get together, we got talking to a young couple about our spiritual experiences. The wife (Melinda) has a Catholic background and had never heard of speaking in tongues, while the husband (Andrew) was familiar but had never received the Holy Spirit despite his experience with a variety of churches. We asked them if they would like us to pray over them and they were excited to. They were both filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof, and immediately expressed how they felt “brand new.”

Next thing, we discussed water baptism, that it is a commandment of God. Neither of them had ever been baptized by full immersion, and they were also excited to obey God’s Word in doing this. So, we filled up the bathtub. After Don baptized Andrew, Don got Andrew to baptize his own wife, teaching Andrew that now that he was fully born again (turned to Jesus Christ, repented, been baptized in Jesus’ name, and received the Holy Spirit anointing), he had full authority and a calling from God to go do the same for all others who wanted to follow after Jesus.

It was a very special evening! We started the day talking about other things, but ended up spending the rest of our time together sharing and rejoicing in God’s Word. Praise Jesus!