We have been praying for quite a number of people since the last post. I will post a list below with a brief summary of how we met them.

1) Ethan & Meredith: Don found a used golf buggy for sale online. The seller (Ethan) suggested that they meet at his mechanic because he had an appointment there, and the location of the mechanic is closer to us. Don agreed, but when he arrived, he discovered that Ethan was going to have to hang out all day because of an unexpected diagnosis on his vehicle. Rather than waiting, Ethan called his wife, Meredith, to pick him up. This gave Don an opportunity to invite the couple to join him for coffee at a local cafe. Don quickly discovered that both Ethan and Meredith are Spirit-filled, so they all chatted for a long while about the Lord, and Don was able to offer them lots of encouragement from Scripture. Praise God how He continually uses the natural circumstances of our lives to orchestrate His work, bringing important messages to people who are praying and looking for answers.

2) Unknown name: On the way home from meeting up with Ethan and Meredith, Don saw a guy standing by a busy road holding a sign about Jesus. By the time things registered in Don’s mind, he had driven quite a way past the man, and it was going to be an effort for Don to turn around and make his way back. Don wrestled for a moment, but the voice of the Holy Spirit won (praise God!), so Don returned, parked, and made his way over to chat with the man. He was there of his own accord - he hadn’t been sent by his church; he just felt passionate about trying to touch people’s lives toward Jesus.

The man was really receptive to what Don had to share, including Don’s offer of prayer. In fact, the man was keen to pray right then and there, so they did. The guy received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very clearly! They only got to spend that short amount of time together, but now the man’s life has been changed forever!

3) Roman: We were having some issues with our air conditioning unit, so our home warranty company sent a serviceman to take a look at it. Pretty much every time a similar situation happens (with the house or vehicles or something else unexpected), we proclaim, “Maybe there’s a reason…!” Don even told this to the serviceman assigned to our warranty job. His name is Roman. He’s of Russian descent, so it was a little challenging to communicate with him, but Don trusted that if God was behind their meeting, nothing would stand in the way of God’s message being heard. And nothing did…

It took courage on Don’s part to initiate a conversation about Jesus, especially since Roman had very little religious background (and any exposure he did have growing up in Russia was very traditional and stifling). Roman’s countenance sparked as he listened to Don’s testimonies and encouragement that Roman, too, could experience the same. Once the work was done, he happily accepted Don’s invitation to come inside the house to pray with us, and Roman was soon filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. Praise the Lord!

We further encouraged him about the importance of water baptism and using the Holy Spirit that was now inside of him. Even then, Roman had to come back to the house for some more work, at which point Don recognized the opportunity to talk with him some more. When people like this don’t go and take time to seek after Jesus after being filled with the Holy Spirit, they don’t water and fertilize the seed that was planted when they first prayed (and God answered). This is what Don was able to further encourage Roman about, so we pray he will take things seriously.

4) Sharon: One day, Elisabeth felt moved to go check the mail later than she planned. She did something else inside the house and then headed outside. At that very moment, she noticed our next-door neighbor, Sharon, at the end of our driveway. As soon as Elisabeth smiled, Sharon tearfully asked if she could speak with Don. As soon as she got inside the door, she told us that Lightning (her sweet golden retriever) had just died. Of course, the timing was perfect with Elisabeth noticing Sharon, so we were able to offer her to come sit with us and tell us all about it. I had to rush off as I had to get Elisabeth to an appointment, but Don and Ethan were able to comfort Sharon, and Don shared his miraculous testimony of the Lord healing his pain when his first beloved dog died many years ago. Sharon is a believer, but she had never received the Holy Spirit, and she was intrigued by what Don had to share — about tangible, personal experience with God through Jesus.

The whole afternoon just seemed to progress effortlessly (according to what Don relayed to me). Sharon was keen for Don and Ethan to pray over her, and she received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, at which point she seemed relieved and at peace. Of course, I was overjoyed to hear about how things turned out, and we’re all excited to know that our lovely neighbor is Spirit-filled and able to pray in the Holy Spirit any time she wants to. I rely on the Holy Spirit for so many things, including comfort, strength, wisdom, discernment, confidence, peace, and deep joy no matter what is going on around me — and, I pray that Sharon does likewise.

5) Ryan: One of the local lake gardens is a favorite spot for Don to go to — to see what the Lord will bring to pass (to help people come into a relationship with Him or to grow their relationship with Him). Don prays most times before he heads out, and the Lord clearly directs him to someone with whom to share a message. This happened about a week ago.

The park was very busy, but Don soon noticed a lone man sitting on one of the bench seats with a Bible resting next to him. Don rode up beside him and broke the ice with a bit of a joke (which he often does — he’s good at it!). The man (Ryan — about 30 years old) and Don had a great chat. Ryan had just been water-baptized two weeks earlier in an AOG church, but he was still struggling to connect with God. He was so genuine and hungry to know Jesus.

Needless to say, Ryan was soon back at our house, where we prayed over him. He sought after the Holy Spirit anointing for a long time, but it just wasn’t happening. He said he felt stuck. Many words of encouragement came to both Don and me, and we shared what we felt God wanted us to tell him. This helped immensely, such that when we all continued to pray from that point, Ryan received the Holy Spirit quite powerfully — he was so happy to hear himself finally praying in tongues.

Ryan was keen for us to record a brief video testimonial of this experience (which we will post at some stage). He said many wonderful things, and we could see a marked change in his entire countenance. Ryan came to truly “experience” Jesus for the first time in his life, and he was very eager to go and grow in his newfound relationship with God.

6) Azalea park definitely seems to be the spot for meaningful conversations! Don has been going there more and more, realizing how often God uses him to share a special message with someone in need of encouragement. Over the last couple of weeks, he has talked at length about the Lord with an entire family, a couple who came to fish at the dock, and of course, there was Ryan (see #5 above). Plus, he recently met Chris, a Spiritflled young man who is married with two little ones. Chris ended up accepting Don’s invitation to come back to the house to pray in the Holy Spirit together. I wasn’t there with them, but apparently he was really grateful and could see God’s miraculous hand upon him and Don meeting. It was Chris’ birthday and it was his first birthday without his dad in his life who had tragically passed away late last year. Then, this last weekend, Don met Becky who was visiting the park for the first time. She had just moved to the area from Buffalo, NY, and the very afternoon she decides to come check out the popular local park, she runs into Don! They got chatting about Lord after Don shared how Jesus healed him from his emotional struggles (and physical illness) back in the 1980s. He was reponding to something Becky shared about her life. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Becky wanted to pray, so she came to our place to meet the rest of our family and so we could all pray over her. She received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and she got water baptized, too! The most amazing thing is that Becky knew virtually absolutely nothing about Jesus or the Bible, and she certainly knew nothing about the Holy Spirit. She was starting from scratch, and God mightily proved Himself to Becky so she can now begin to grow a strong relationship with Him without any religious baggage so to speak. How beautiful!

I love the Lord’s perfect timing — simply put, it’s miraculous! Here are some recent examples:

1) For a while now, we have been meaning to visit Christi at her new coffee shop, and we finally got there a couple of weekends ago. Christi’s story is in one of our journal posts from quite a while back. She was the one we prayed with at a local farmer’s market, at which she had a little “John 3:16” coffee booth. We prayed with her after the market; she received the Holy Spirit and was so beautifully touched. Christi has kept in touch with us since, and soon after she opened her cafe, she shared how God had been moving upon her life so mightily and how she loves to pray in the Holy Spirit (in tongues).

Anyway, two Saturdays ago, we spontaneously texted Christi to see if she would be around for us to finally come visit her. We made arrangements to be there just before the cafe closed, and when we arrived, to our surprise, she introduced us to her fiance, Dustin. They had recently gotten engaged just two weeks prior — timing! Dustin wasn’t meant to be around that afternoon, but he had quickly popped in to see Christi at an appointment, and she urged him to stay so he could meet us. He still wasn’t going to stay, but she urged him some more, and we’re so glad the Lord moved on her to do so because . . .

We ended up sitting and chatting with Christi and Dustin for a long time, sharing how we had come to pray with Christi, plus lots of discussion about the Lord and Scripture — mainly to do with the salvation message and that it is much deeper than people’s shallow interpretation of John 3:16. When Dustin first realized who we were (in terms of the connection with Christi and her walk with Jesus), he was very excited to talk. But, the more we shared, the more Dustin became burdened with an internal challenge. Our experiences didn’t line up with his Baptist upbringing (which he had come to realize was somewhat empty), and neither did they line up with the theology course he had recently been immersed in.

For a long while, Dustin had a particular aversion to speaking in tongues. This was until one day (not long before we met Dustin), Christi had an overwhelmingly strong urge to pray over Dustin in the Holy Spirit. As she prayed, it seemed like the Holy Spirit broke down his defenses and by the end, he felt very touched and open to learn more about the Holy Spirit. Then, God sent us into his life weeks later . . . timing!!

Still, Dustin had many questions and reservations. So, we continued to share testimonies and offered deeper context to scriptures he was familiar with (such as the “thief on the cross”). After a long while, we simply offered to pray over him and allow God the opportunity to give increase to what we had been sharing. Surprisingly, Dustin was beautifully humble enough to sincerely pray and see what God would do.

So, we moved from the hotel seating area (Christi’s cafe is adjacent to a boutique hotel) into Christi’s cafe (which was closed and empty by now). We all laid hands on Dustin and prayed. This first time seemed to be a breaking down and an “exposing”. Don felt moved to stop and ask Dustin some “hard” questions, at which point Dustin and Don went away to have a heart-to-heart. When Dustin returned, he was really ready, so we prayed some more, and wow . . . ! The Holy Spirit filled Dustin so mightily. He dropped to his knees and prayed fervently, with tears and joy, and more tears, and an overwhelming sense of revelation and gratitude.

We asked Dustin if we could video a response, and what he shared was so touching and inspiring. (We look forward to posting it for ya’ll to watch.) Christi and Dustin could also see God’s miraculous hand upon the day — and upon the timing of us all coming together. God had been working on their lives and bringing Dustin to a point where he was truly ready to lose his life for Christ’s sake!

Oh, yes, I almost forgot: As we were leaving the cafe, we decided to all get a picture together. As we were trying the group selfie thing, a young man, who was walking down the sidewalk toward us, offered to take the photo for us. After accepting, we got chatting with him, only to find ourselves back in the cafe minutes later to pray over him! He is already Spirit-filled, but he hadn’t prayed in tongues very much (mainly just during worship at church — at times). He prayed in tongues with us for a while, and Don spoke several things over him, so it is now up to him to take our encouragement and apply it to his life, for his good and God’s glory. Anyway, that was another example of God’s beautiful, perfect timing!!

2) Over the last few weeks, a number of ladies have been upon my heart, and it seemed like the Lord kept bringing them to my attention until I reached out to them with an encouraging message. Each time, the sister (in the Lord) replied, expressing how timely the message was because of something that just happened — even that very day! I am learning more and more to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, to be used as a messenger of the Lord, to encourage and comfort His children who need to be reminded of His love, mercy, and grace.

3) A series of things have happened to cause our pool service to switch around — and then for the serviceman to change from one to the next and then back again. This last week, one of our original servicemen returned to do the work. He said it will be him who will come from now on. Don was planning to leave the house to do errands, but he decided to stay, so he ended up outside in the pool patio area when the pool guy arrived.

Somehow, they got chatting about the Lord. I think it was a brief comment that the guy made that prompted Don to ask if he was a church-going man. The beautiful thing is that Don discovered that the guy and his wife are Spirit-filled. It’s just that (as we commonly come across) they haven’t prayed much in tongues — hardly at all. (It’s so sad that churches don’t encourage such a vital part of growing our relationship with God once we’re born again!)

Anyway, Don briefly shared some of our experiences with him and offered to pray over the guy — to get him confident with speaking in tongues. He was keen, so they prayed, and by the time the guy left, he was so grateful and motivated to go and share things with his wife. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say when he returns to service the pool next week . . . !

Summary:

“Thank you, Lord, for your miraculous timing and orchestration of people’s days, yet again!” God wants to strengthen His people. He wants to touch the lives of those who are hungering and thirsting for a strong relationship with Him, and God moves upon His messengers and sets up all kinds of situations so that His Kingdom can spread and grow upon this planet.

It’s all about overcoming evil with good, and we feel so privileged and grateful to be a small part of God’s great and mighty work. It’s not about understanding it. We don’t have to, and we never fully will until Jesus returns. We can simply rejoice in it and just do what God puts before us day after day.

Last weekend, we felt moved to travel up to St. Augustine for the day, to visit a church where the Holy Spirit seems to be increasingly active and growing the people’s understanding. We spoke to a few people there, but the biggest blessing came when Don started speaking with a young couple outside of a downtown bakery. The couple attends a large non-denominational church near where we live, so Don asked them about their experiences there vs. their individual, direct relationships with Jesus. The couple was very keen to hear our testimonies, especially given that the wife has been struggling with her health. As Don was speaking to them, a lady started to video the conversation (in a positive way — she had a big smile on her face, and it was clear that she was being ministered to secondhand!).

After a while, I took a break from the group to introduce myself to the lady who had been filming, and to her husband as well (they were in St. Augustine on a brief vacation). They were so passionate about Jesus and loved what we had to say. The wife (Maria) shared that she prays in tongues regularly, but her husband, Gary, had only ever spoken out loud in tongues once. After chatting some more, we (Don had joined me by this stage) offered to pray over Gary in the civic park adjacent to the bakery. They were keen, so we did, and soon Gary was praying boldly in tongues. Maria prayed with us all, too.

We encouraged them on various aspects of walking in the Lord, thinking we would soon be parting ways, but we ended up going to have coffee together, to chat even more! Don, Gary, and our guys also ended up sharing a message from the Lord with a different couple that they met at the coffee shop which was a wonderful addition to the afternoon.

It was a blessed time with Gary and Maria. We have been staying in touch with them, and Gary has been sharing with Don some awesome things that have been happening in his own life, particularly with a Spirit-filled relative. The Lord has been moving mightily upon him, growing him in his prayer life and stepping out in faith when ministering to others. Praise God for the power of the Holy Spirit that equips us with all that we need to partake in growing the Kingdom of God upon this earth!

Oh, and an important side note: Maria and Gary had initially planned to vacation in New York and last minute they felt moved to switch the destination to St. Augustine instead. “Thank you, Lord!”

Okay, so part #2 ended up being long, too, so here’s part #3 ;) Oh, by the way, I forgot to add to the last post that the gals had invited a lady (Christina) from their apartment complex to their water baptism. They had only met Christina for the first time just a couple of days earlier. Christina and her husband (both born again of water and the Holy Spirit) had been talking and praying about their desire to serve the Lord, “that surely there are some young people here” — i.e. where they live — “that are hungering and thirsting for Jesus.” Christina was excited to hear everything that Don and I shared, and she was eager to tell her husband. After their recent disappointing church experiences, they commented that maybe they are meant to start something of their own — like a small house group! We encouraged them to get together with the gals for prayer and Bible reading so that they would have regular, united fellowship.

Also, while we were on a business trip to Kentucky, we spent more than two hours encouraging a sister in the Lord who we met at a Thai restaurant. She is the owner-manager. She (Toey) felt drawn to constantly pass by our table to chat with us. Finally, we made some comments about Jesus and her face lit up with joy. She had only recently started to pray in tongues again after many years. Toey had lots of questions and she soaked up our encouragement from the Lord. All of the other customers had left by the time we all stopped chatting, so we helped Toey close up the restaurant. It was a very beautiful evening together.

At the end of our Kentucky trip, we spent the last couple of days in Nashville, following up on some business leads. Seeing that we were going to be in town, we reached out to one of Don’s favorite clients. We were very glad to finally meet him and his wife (and two gorgeous hound dogs!). They are both Spirit-filled, so it was great to be able to talk about the Lord together and offer them some spiritual encouragement and prayer.

I was going to continue the last post with more stories, but the post would have ended up way too long. So, here’s part #2:

This is a copy of a text I sent to a few brethren, to encourage them. (By the way, both gals did end up getting water baptized and they both received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very powerfully. Praise God!)

An encouraging story: Preparing the Hearts of Those Ready to Hear (in abbreviated bullet point form 😉)

Main theme:

God is doing miraculous things in the lives of the people that He is just about to send us to (as messengers on His behalf). He is doing these miraculous things to prepare their hearts for Truth.

Example:

    ⁃    On a run one day, I (Kaye) run past a young 20-something nanny pushing a stroller.

    ⁃    She is playing a sermon out loud, listening as she strolls along.

    ⁃    Sensing the “pager beeper” (old school, I know 😜) of the Holy Spirit go off inside me, I stop and go back to ask her with a big smile what she is listening to.

    ⁃    An entire conversation results. She had just started turning back to God. Her grandmother spoke in tongues, so she is very familiar with it. I encourage her to be in touch.

    ⁃    Nothing, until…

    ⁃    Months later, I run into her again, this time coming straight toward me. She is so excited. Just the day before, she declares, she was reading Romans and she had a breakthrough understanding of the depth of purpose behind Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

    ⁃    I ask her more about it and I then encourage her some more. Again, I offer, “We can pray with you…! 😁”

    ⁃    This time, things seem to hit home. She texts me not long after. She also says her friend is looking like she wants to be water baptized. She shares some of her background with me.

    ⁃    Don & I suggest that we all meet up at the local gardens to chat and help answer questions. They were both super keen.

    ⁃    We met them this morning. Great conversation. Toward the end, the friend breaks down as she shares what happened to her last night…

    ⁃    She has been drawing nigh to God since mid this year, away from occult practices and a lesbian relationship. She has been reading and praying and trying to discover Jesus. She thinks she might be ready to commit to Jesus via baptism.

    ⁃    Last night, she runs into a homeless guy as she enters her local Dollar Store. She feels overwhelmed with compassion for him and wants to help. She asks him his needs and he mentions all the things he would like. She buys it all despite being really tight on finances.

    ⁃    As she is giving it all to him outside the store, he flips out on her unexpectedly, opposite to his demeanour not long before. He is mean, accusing, rejecting, and discontent with her help.

    ⁃    She leaves, confused, hurt, dejected, and scared (it’s dark by now). She cries as she walks all the way home, repeating over and over (in comfort) something she recently saw in a video about God’s name YHWH sounding like a breath. As she prays this name, she senses the presence of God and His reassurance about her future.

    ⁃    We excitedly share our perspective on what happened — on the very night before she is getting together with us…!

    ⁃    She agrees, still in tears of joy and surrender to God — that it was the Father opening up her eyes and heart to His Son. She says to us, “Yes, I had the very same thought — that, wow, what happened to me at the store must have been what it was like for Jesus, yet His experience must have been magnified a thousand time, or more…!”

    ⁃    God wanted her to realize Who it is that she will be committing her life to. The Father wants her to know the Son. So beautiful!!

    ⁃    She is ready now.

    ⁃    For us as God’s messengers:

Remember that God is always working behind the scenes (from our perspective) to bring the lost into relationship with Him through Jesus!!

And sometimes, we get the blessing of discovering some of those behind-the-scenes miracles. But if we don’t see them/know of them, they are still surely happening!

It was great to see lots of our brethren on the prayer group last night even though it was Thanksgiving evening! — Joining forces as soldiers of Christ to offer up praises and thanksgiving to the only One who is worthy!

The last few months have been very “all over the place,” literally…! Our travels and changing plans have led to many blessed conversations, prayers, and baptisms. Here are some highlights:

1) Janine & Jenna: We met this mother and adult daughter as they were walking out of the diner we were eating at in Queensland, Australia. Both ended up coming to our hotel the next day to be water-baptized (in the ocean!). Both of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and Janine has been joining us for Thursday night prayer group ever since. Wonderful!

2) Sedrick & Hanna: We met this couple in the lobby of the Airbnb complex we were staying at in Melbourne, Australia. Both ended up coming up the the pool deck with us (straight away after preaching to them!). They were both water baptized and Hannah received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues. (Sedrick was already Spirit-filled, but he appreciated our encouragement to go and pray in tongues daily.) Don and Sedrick have been chatting via text and phone calls ever since the trip. It’s such a blessing to be able to stay in touch with some of the people that God has connected us with over the years.

3) Maurice & Brittany: We met this couple with their sweet little daughter outside one of our favorite local health food cafes. Maurice was walking by with a Bible in his hand and Don called out to him. We invited them over to our place and they came that afternoon. Both ended up receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues so beautifully (they were already water-baptized). Maurice does vlogs to try to draw people to Jesus, and he discusses contemporary issues that are affecting church fellowships, etc.

4) Julitza: She’s the mother of Elisabeth’s sewing friend. We got chatting in the parking lot after one of the girls’ get-togethers. I offered to pray over Julitza and she either received the Holy Spirit for the first time, or she started to pray in tongues again after receiving many many years ago (and not fully realizing it). It was a very emotional time for her, and I’ve been continuing to encourage her whenever I get the opportunity. She’s such a sweet lady with a passionate love for Jesus (who saved and healed her from a very traumatic, dark upbringing).

5) Julie: Elisabeth and I ran into her (at the bank she works at) a long time after our family prayed over her and counseled her (at our house one afternoon — her story is posted many months back on this Blog page). When it dawned on her who we were, Julie ran around from behind the teller's desk to give us big hugs. Amazingly, she shared that she had texted Don earlier that week, but she never received a reply. When I got home and shared what had happened, Don realized he had missed Julie’s text, so he was able to get back to her. Had Elisabeth and I never gone to the bank that afternoon, we never would have known that Julie had tried to reach out to Don! Interestingly, earlier in the day, Don had offered to go to the bank for me, but he would have gone to a different branch (that was nearer to the store he was going to). But, I felt moved to make the effort to go on my own with Elisabeth — thank you, Lord!

Just as we were down to the wire preparing for our new “Winging It!” (Perfectly Planned Spontaneity!) trip, Don dropped his phone and severely damaged the back of it. He categorically needed to get it repaired before our flight, but it looked like he would have to mail it in (which would be totally undoable for him). So, we prayerfully sought other options and Ethan found an Apple service repair place not far from us that had one open appointment for that afternoon. Don declared (as we most often do) that maybe there was a reason, so he prayed on the way there, in tune with the Holy Spirit as to what work God was lining up for him to accomplish for the Kingdom. Sure enough, God revealed His miraculous hand . . .

While waiting for his phone to be repaired, Don wandered around the mall and felt led to the religious section of the Barnes & Noble bookstore. There he found two young ladies searching for a Bible to purchase. To cut a long story short, they ended up having a wonderfully blessed conversation. The first gal was deeply touched and revealed that she had prayed (for the first time ever in her life), on the way to the mall, that God would reveal Himself to her that day. Don learned that she was already Spirit-filled and water-baptized, and she was in awe of the messages that he shared with her from the Lord about using the fullness of the power with which God had anointed her.

Don and the gals took a snapshot together, and Don sent it to us all back home, excitedly sharing that there was, indeed, a reason for the day’s events! Praise Jesus!

Here are the latest people and situations we are upholding in prayer:

1) Deon: Coming out of the gym, we noticed a fellow member hobbling severely beside us. He could barely walk after severely injuring his back on an exercise machine. We ended up praying over him in Jesus’ name, and he phoned us that evening to share his excitement about being healed. This gave us more opportunity to share with him some of our own stories and some scriptures, explaining that Jesus healed in the Bible (and still does) with a purpose of drawing people into full relationship with Him. We left Deon with some Bible study suggestions and encouraged him to reach back out to us if he wants to be water-baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.

2) Lady who ran out of gas around the corner from our house: As Don was returning home one afternoon, he noticed she seemed stranded in her vehicle. She was crying and very upset, not knowing what to do. Don was able to zip home and bring her the spare container of gas that we always have handy for emergencies. She shared that she could very much see God’s hand upon the entire “rescue” situation, so we hope she will take Don’s scriptural encouragement and feel moved to act upon it.

3) Jake & Abigail: Don met Jake in the hardware store when Jake asked him a question about grouting tiles. After discovering that Jake is already Spirit-filled (his wife, too), they had a great conversation about the Lord and even went out to Jake’s car to chat more, together with Abigail (who was waiting in the parking lot). Jake accepted Don’s invitation and came over that night. We all had a wonderful time together, enjoying one another’s testimonies and encouraging Jake in his own evangelistic ministry.

4) Julie: While Daniel and Don were at our local bank branch recently, Don got chatting with the teller. She mentioned something about some struggles in her life right now, which led to Don mentioning hope through Jesus, which led to Julie (the teller) sharing that she is Spirit-filled and prays in tongues fairly often, which led to Don offering a whole bunch of encouragement from God, which led to Julie tearing up and wanting to get together to pray with us. She was super eager and came over that night straight after work. We had beautiful conversation and powerful prayer, and she left feeling refreshed and empowered in Christ. Julie had been fasting and praying for answers the very afternoon Don and Daniel came into the branch, so she knew beyond doubt that God had set up the connection. Praise Jesus!

5) We are off on another “Winging It!” trip at the end of this week! I’m not sure how much time I’ll have available to keep up on the blog posts. However, I am very much looking forward to sharing the miraculous hand of the Lord upon our travels, at least upon our return. We always expect the unexpected as God uses us to help grow His Kingdom upon this earth — what a joy and honor this is!

We are learning more and more to walk in peace and expectation when our days get unexpectedly turned around. This happened to Don recently when he ended up at the mall much later than planned. I can’t remember why he had to go there — I think it was to do a return at one of the stores.

Anyway, on his way into the mall, he noticed two young ladies handing out leaflets. They were there of their own accord (and not with any group), enthusiastic about preaching the gospel to passersby. Don asked them many questions, curious as to how they would approach the subject of Jesus and salvation. Don soon discovered they were both born again of water and the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t have clarity on several points.

Both young ladies listened intently while Don took his turn sharing his experiences and understanding of scripture. He also encouraged them that they have the authority to water baptize repentant believers and pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

They all chatted for a long while, and as they were ready to part ways, the older gal happily threw her leaflets in the trash can. She had had an awakening that the “sinner’s prayer only” message she previously preached was not according to Biblical truth. Don was surprised she did this — it was a first for him to witness, but he congratulated her on her courage!

Another evening, our whole family was at the mall. Just before closing, I zipped into a store with Elisabeth for a last check for something I needed. On our way in, I spied a man with a t-shirt that said, “Ask me about Jesus!” So, I stopped in my tracks, smiled, and exclaimed to him, “Sure . . . I will . . . !” Don and the guys soon joined us and we all ended up having an awesome conversation outside the store. The couple is born again of water and the Holy Spirit. The lady, in particular, prays in tongues a lot. They were about to get married in two weeks and could recognize why the Lord connected us with them, to encourage them in their future ministry together.

Here’s this month’s list (praise God for His mighty hand!):

1) Natalie: Ethan & Daniel met her at volleyball. She ended up getting filled with the Holy Spirit at our place and then water baptized in the pool - thank you, Lord, for the pool!

2) Adrian: Don met him (he was already Spirit-filled) in one of the aisles at the hardware store. They prayed in Don’s car, to help Adrian re-ignite the Holy Spirit within him. The first time Adrian spoke in tongues (years ago), no one helped him understand what it was or how valuable it was for him to continue to pray in the Spirit.

3) Ronald: He approached me and Elisabeth in the civic park one day, soliciting his children’s books for sale. I ended up praying over him in a quiet area by some trees, and we got to chat some more about God’s Word. He had some very good questions.

4) Young man selling 5G subscriptions: He came to the front door and Don quickly got chatting to him about the Lord. He accepted Don’s invitation to come back later that night to talk some more. They had a great conversation, planting some seeds that we know God will water in other ways.

5) Kency: Don and the guys got chatting with Kency (who is already born again of water and the Holy Spirit) in the parking lot at Chipotle one night. I think the conversation started because of the God-related t-shirt Kency was wearing at the time.

6) Lucy & Sheena: Two cleaning ladies at our local gym. We have been talking to them about the things of the Lord for quite a few weeks. It started one morning when I thought Lucy was listening to gospel music. We also prayed over Lucy another day after she had locked her keys in the car (and I called Don to ask him to drive over to help her). Both Lucy and Sheena now have Bibles, so I pray they will apply the encouragement I wrote to each of them in the note attached.

7) Young lady at the dock: We met her on the dock at our local lake when we went for a family walk one “prayer and fast” day. We had prayed as we departed the house that the Lord would use us to give a message to someone on our walk. The gal wasn’t planning to be there that day, and before we showed up, she was going to leave, but she felt moved to change her mind and stay. We had a wonderful conversation with her. We shared many things she’d never heard before.

8) Sandra: Don, Elisabeth, and I went for a drive downtown to go for a stroll along the beautiful avenue. As we headed back toward the car, we passed a lady struggling to walk alongside her husband. Don went back and introduced himself. He got chatting with her first, and then Elisabeth and I joined in. Sandra told us she had been diagnosed with MS many years ago. We offered to pray with her, so we headed over to a quiet bench seat in the park. She received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and we proclaimed healing over her in Jesus’ name.

A list of some of our March miracles :)

1) Don found a lost wallet at Walmart, and after an unsuccessful search for the owner in the immediate area, he pulled out the driver’s license and drove to the address listed. The man who answered the door didn’t speak much English, but he pointed to the rear of the house after Don showed him the license. No one was at the little apartment, so Don left a note. The gal phoned later that night, and then she and a friend drove over to our place to collect the wallet. They were most grateful, and Don got to share some of the Word with the gals (although the language barrier was a bit tricky).

Then about one week later, Don was at the same Walmart, but at an entrance he normally doesn’t use. He spied a lady struggling with loading her groceries, so Don wandered over to help. As they were speaking, they both suddenly realized they had already met — on the night the gals came to collect the wallet! The lady in the Walmart parking lot was the friend of the owner of the wallet, and she could very much see God’s hand upon her running into Don again! Don was able to share more scriptural encouragement, and then he left it with her to make steps toward Jesus of her own accord. It will be interesting to see what happens from here . . .

Almost every time Don comes home from a grocery store or hardware store, he has a “story” to share with us. As he begins his journey, Don almost always prays that God will use him to share a message with someone; that God will set up the situation and give Don the words to speak. So, as Don operates in the love and servitude of Jesus, it gets revealed to him who it is that God wants him to speak to, and the message is most often received well because God has prepared the heart of the hearer!

2) Joshua (from our last blog post) texted Don to say that he had just baptized two people in a hot tub. He was so excited to be living out the Book of Acts life just weeks after being filled with the Holy Spirit himself!

3) Don got chatting with our electrical meter reader guy — I’m not sure of their proper title :). As they were parting ways, Juan said “Have a blessed day!” to Don, so Don ran over to him to give him one of our cards. Juan ended up putting his day on hold and came into the house to chat and pray with us. He is already born again (water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit), so Don was able to encourage him to pray in tongues daily and walk in the authority of Jesus just like the disciples in the Book of Acts. Juan was grateful and left very encouraged. Praise God for His perfect timing of Don being out front when Juan came by to read our meter!

4) The engineering inspector came by to do the final inspection for the pool and surrounding patio area. Don and I were outside at the time and as the inspector approached from the end of the driveway, we could see him limping badly. Don got chatting with him about it, sharing snippets of healing stories from our lives. As Don talked, the man (Jim) was quite overwhelmed and said how amazed he was at the timing as it was only just that very morning that he had gone in for a brain scan. Jim was terrified that he had brain cancer, especially since one of his good friends recently died of a brain tumor.

Don was able to show Jim our “Empowering Lives” video on our “Winging It” page, and he was very touched. Jim couldn’t stay long, but he did add that he was even more amazed because he wasn’t meant to come by to do the inspection — it was supposed to be another guy and even then, they had been given the wrong information by the pool company, so no-one was going to come to inspect at all (thinking that our place was a “new build” situation). We have been praying for Jim that the words Don spoke will cause him to draw nigh to Jesus . . .

Many people to pray for this month:

1) Joshua and Cristina: Don met them at Costco because Cristina was wearing a church-related t-shirt. He ended up inviting them over to pray with us after chatting with them for quite some time. Even though they loved hearing all that Don had to say, the couple first wisely sought the Lord about it when they got home from the store. They came over that night — the Lord confirmed to them that it was an answer to their prayers. In particular, Cristina (already born again many years ago) had been recently praying that she wanted to be active in praying in the Holy Spirit (in tongues) again. We had some beautiful prayer with her; she was so excited to be praying in tongues so fluently and powerfully.

After lots of scriptural discussion, Don and Ethan also prayed over Joshua. He was filled with the Holy Spirit as he did pray in tongues a little, but he had some reservations about allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to speak through him. Interestingly, about 2-3 weeks later, Don had to call Joshua to get a quote on some carpentry work at our house (Joshua recently started a woodworking business which has been blessed by God - and, Joshua does superb work!). He came to the house with a Spirit-filled co-worker (Caesar) to view the jobs and take pictures, and the afternoon turned into an amazing day. Don and Caesar had a great discussion about the Lord, I had a great chat with Joshua, and we all (including Caesar) ended up praying over Joshua and this time he had a powerful breakthrough, praise God!

2) George: He came to fix something during the pool construction. Rather than getting frustrated with the situation (as the fix could have been a considerable concern), both Don and I thought that “maybe there was a reason” (as we often say to each other in unusual circumstances). Praise God, the repair ended up being a trivial thing, but in the process of it all, Don got chatting with George about the Lord. George was so touched (it was even all brand new to him!) that he wanted to pray for the Holy Spirit anointing right there. He received as Don prayed with him the courtyard by the pool. All of this pool construction and yard renovation has been such a wonderful opportunity for the Lord to connect us with all kinds of people hungering for truth and a true relationship with God!

3) Rosa: Don noticed her trying to drive the wrong way at an intersection into oncoming traffic. She hadn’t seen the “Keep right” sign until Don pointed it out. Thankfully, she was able to correct her path in time, but as she passed by, Don noticed her number plate. He knew it was referring to Jesus, so he ended up following her to where she parked (as he felt strongly moved that God’s hand was upon the two of them connecting). Don quickly found out that she was already Spirit-filled, and he was able to share some scriptural encouragement with her as led by the Holy Spirit.

4) Don went to a jewelry repair place to have a battery looked at in a watch. He ended up preaching to both the owner and a customer. I can’t remember their names, but Don said it was amazing how the owner warmed to the conversation after hearing the customer and Don sharing their mutual passion for the Lord. God desires to see all people come to repentance and into a real relationship with Him through Jesus, and He will often use other situations to bring the truth to someone who would not otherwise be open to seeking Him out of their own accord.

5) Jerrard or Gerard (I don’t know the spelling): Don got chatting with a young guy (mid-twenties) at the gym because he was wearing a church-related t-shirt. Jerrard was super keen to talk and we all (Don, me, and Jerrard) ended up continuing the conversation outside afterward. Jerrard could clearly see God’s miraculous timing upon things (considering what was currently going on in his life), so he followed us back to our house to pray. While chatting outside, a Spirit-filled couple even passed by and made a brief encouraging comment when they heard us mention the Holy Spirit. It seemed as though that, too, had been set up by the Lord because Jerrard really needed to hear what they had to say. I told Jerrard, “See, the Lord set that up for you, too!” (i.e. to reinforce the message we were sharing).

6) Melissa: We met her on the road, literally! We were on the highway, stopped beside her, and we needed to get into her lane as we’d missed our turn. We were thankful she had her window down at the time, so we smiled and called out, asking her if she wouldn’t mind us cutting across. Melissa was so accommodating that Don felt moved to give her a card — which I was able to quickly do for him before the light turned green. I didn’t have time to say much other than, “We felt moved to give you this, to take a look whenever you can…” kind of thing. Melissa smiled in genuine appreciation, and that was it.

About four or five days later, Melissa called Don to say it was very timely that we had connected. The more Don shared with her during the call, the more it was confirmed to her that it was an answer to her recent prayers. We ended up inviting her to meet up with us halfway between her house and ours, which we did later that day. We actually sat inside a large furniture store to chat for a long while first! After that, Melissa was keen to pray, so we went outside, however it was difficult for her to break through, so we ended up coming back to our house where Melissa got re-baptized. She felt her previous baptism (done when she was a lot younger) was not genuine (nor done with proper scriptural understanding), and this time Melissa was ready to truly follow and serve the Lord. She also received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, praise God!

7) Don made quite a significant mistake on one stretch of a small retaining wall he was constructing in the front yard. This meant having to tear down that part and re-build it, changing the entire course of his afternoon. However, he was very peaceful about it, and as he was telling me the story, I quietly thought that maybe there would be work for the Lord that would come from it — and, there was! . . .

First of all, Don ended up having to return to the hardware store where he had a life-changing conversation with one of the young-ish staff members. Secondly, he was able to glorify God’s name while chatting with one of our neighbors as she walked by with her dog in the late afternoon — if he hadn’t made a mistake with the wall, he wouldn’t have been there at the time. And, Don ended up praying with a twenty-something man who came to the house collecting for a charitable cause. He had an awesome conversation with the young man and discovered that he was already Spirit-filled. When Don started to pray with him, the guy suddenly exclaimed that he used to do that at church (i.e. pray in tongues) while playing the drums during worship time!

Don was able to encourage the young man some more in terms of his walk in the Lord and the work of the Kingdom that he had been called into by God. Again, all of this wouldn’t have happened if Don had finished the block wall early and been away elsewhere for the rest of the day. I love how the Lord turns seemingly negative situations into blessings for others — and that in itself turns into a blessing for us also!

8) Devante: We met him at a pebble/stone paver place up north. He was incredibly helpful with a large piece of stone we needed, and as he worked together with Don on weighing and loading it, we all got chatting about life. We mentioned our Christian ministry and the life-changing power detailed in the Book of Acts. Devante was so amazed and excited to hear these things that were all new to him despite some degree of previous church experience. We shared with him testimonies of healing and peace and overcoming, and Don and I could clearly see that he was hungry and thirsty to be set free from all of his burdens and stresses and to have true, solid hope.

We will pray for him that the Lord will continue to give increase to the words we spoke to him and the prayers that Don prayed over him at the end of the conversation. The Word of God is life unto the humble hearer, and sometimes we are just a small part of a series of things God will do in someone’s life to bring them to a point where they are finally willing to lay down their life, take up their cross, and wholeheartedly follow after Jesus.

We’re playing catch-up yet again. Here’s an update on what has been happening recently:

1) Don went hunting for a matching armchair that he had found on sale. Through a series of circumstances, he ended up down south, at the sister warehouse. While there, he spied another furniture store opposite, so he decided to have a quick browse there, too. It turned out to be a very high-end place. Don was all grubbed out in his work clothes, so the first couple of staff members kind of looked him over as he entered.

Don didn’t care, though, and he happily chatted to the representative who was assigned to him. It was a young Brazilian gal named Hana, so Don immediately commented on her Biblical-sounding name. This led to a one-hour conversation between the two of them right in the middle of the showroom. Hana was in tears, pleasantly shocked at God’s timing as only three months earlier she had been in the depths of depression and had tried to commit suicide.

Don ended up inviting her to come over to meet the rest of us and to have us pray over her. Apparently (Hana told us afterward), she phoned her dad (her parents are Spirit-filled) in Brazil as soon as she got off work, and he encouraged her that it seemed to God’s miraculous hand upon her life, so to go with an open mind and heart to whatever God was putting before her. So, Hana came over that evening and she received the Holy Spirit. She was quietly excited to be speaking in tongues, but more so relieved and very touched that God would work so beautifully in her life after everything in her past.

Hana shared that she grew up going to her grandparent’s church and she would spend up to six days per week at the church with her mom and dad. She had even been water-baptized multiple times over the course of her childhood and teenage years. Even so, Hana strayed, and she never received the infilling of the Holy Spirit until she met Don and he shared with her the full gospel message.

Anyway, we ended up spending quite a bit of time with Hana over the next weeks, and now it looks like she’s preparing to return to Brazil before her visa expires. It will be interesting to know the kind of impact she will have on family and friends back in her hometown and beyond.

2) One early evening we met Hana at a local(ish) cafe and then went for a stroll afterward. By that time, the street market had been set up, so we were able to wander around the stalls. Don spied one offering crafts with scriptures engraved or printed on them, so he got chatting with the booth owner. After a short while, he asked our standard Acts 19:2 question. She mentioned she “can” speak in tongues, but she had done not so in quite a long time. After encouraging her some more, we offered to pray over her to help her start praying in tongues again. She was open to it, so we stood right there in the middle of the market stall with the six of us (including Hana) praying over her. It was beautiful to hear her praying fervently and clearly, and toward the end of the prayer, she was quietly crying with joy. She was very thankful that Don would be bold and speak up as he did, and we encouraged her to go and pray in tongues every day, to feel that “river of living water” flowing freely again.

3) We invited Hana and her brother and his wife over for an early dinner one evening. They are here temporarily, too, and they were keen to meet us after Hana shared with them (i.e. her experience at our home). That night, we repeated our testimonies and some of our stories, after which we invited Hana’s family to pray, too. Hana’s brother was already water-baptized and Spirit-filled, but he only tended to speak in tongues when moved during church worship times. So, we helped him to pray in tongues more purposefully and intentionally as part of his private prayer life. We also prayed with his wife (who had only been baptized in water multiple times just like Hana), and she was filled with the Holy Spirit quite powerfully. She was in tears, and it was beautiful to see all three of them come to be united in the born-again experience.

4) While waiting for a zoo bird show to start during a “family day” outing, Don got chatting with a young married couple because one of them was wearing a shirt with either a scripture or church name on it, I can’t remember which. Then, while chatting with them, an older man interrupted the conversation to ask, “What about those people who are already believers?” Don wasn’t sure of his intentions, and Don hadn’t yet finished with the couple, so he offered for the man to stick around to chat once Don was available.

Very soon, the bird show started, so I approached the older man and gave him a card, just in case we missed answering his question. I’m glad I did because he left and we never saw him again that day. However, about two weeks later, the older man called. He said he would have been in touch sooner, but he and his family all got sick after their vacation. This time, Don had a great chat with him, so we ended up praying for him over the phone. He received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and he was very surprised and happy.

He and his family are descendants of the gypsies somewhere in Europe, either Bulgaria or Romania. Anyway, they speak a rare gypsy dialect, but he was amazed to be praying in a brand new language that he couldn’t understand. We chatted a bit more, further explaining the scriptures about speaking in tongues and the born-again experience. They live a few hours away from us, so we’re hoping to catch up with them in person at some stage.

5) Our home renovations ended up extending to our front yard which has been very opportunistic for the Lord’s work. Don has been doing most of the work himself so far, and being out there each day has led to lots of interesting conversations about the Lord with various passers-by, from utility workers to landscapers and construction workers, and from dog walkers to strolling couples to service providers. Don always looks for an “in” to bring the conversation around to Jesus and the scriptures. Most people have had some degree of experience with church or church-goers, yet few know the fullness of what Jesus preached and how the early church (the one Body of Christ) was established and continues to grow even to this day.

6) I’m not sure if readers will remember, but a long while ago (early November last year) we chatted about the Lord with a couple we met in a local bookstore. The conversation lasted at least 45 minutes and in the end, we encouraged the (Spirit-filled) lady (Barbara) to pray in tongues daily and the man (James) to seek for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing night that the Lord miraculously coordinated (as neither they nor our family originally intended to visit the store), so it’s worth scrolling back to catch up on the story.

Anyway, one Friday night recently, Don received a call from Barbara (we had given her a card at the bookstore). She said she felt very moved to get in touch with Don, but she wasn’t sure why. She said she was just being obedient to the Holy Spirit, so Don was able to build on what we had first shared with her and James. Barbara was very encouraged by the end of the call, so Don invited her to come visit with us on Sunday when we would all be home. She said she would try.

Late Sunday morning, I went for a run, but instead of following my standard route, I felt moved to run down the main street downtown. I was actually behind time, so as I passed a man reading a Bible on a park bench, I started to wrestle with thoughts — “Should I stop and say hi… the family is waiting for me… do I have time?” By the time I had resolved that I should simply be obedient to what God was putting in front of me (I felt very moved that I should stop and chat with him in particular, out of all the people I passed on my run), I had already gone quite a ways. So, I purposed that if he was still there on my loop back around, I would stop, no matter the consequences.

The man was still there on my return, so I slowed and sat next to him, asking him what he was reading. He gladly shared with me and, as he was talking, I realized it was the man from the bookstore — James! After he finished speaking, I said, “We know each other!” I explained and he was pleasantly surprised. Just then, I looked to my left to see Barbara approaching the park bench. I said to her with a big smile, “Barbara, you called my husband on Friday night!” She had come to meet up with James (they are friends and a platonic couple for now) and she was happily shocked to see me.

I proceeded to explain to them both the various aspects of my morning and how it was the miraculous hand of God that I had connected with James. Barbara then shared how she had tried to go to three different churches that morning, none of which worked out for various reasons, and then she tried to visit a local museum instead and it was unexpectedly closed for the day. She decided to simply meet up with James at the civic park instead, and here I was — sitting right beside James as Barabara walked up! We all sat in awe of what God had done to connect us again after many months — and, most amazingly, right after Barbara had phoned Don! In addition to this, Don had apparently (he told us all later) texted Barabara on that Sunday morning, reminding her that we were looking forward to her visit. So, though she never came, the Lord had me run into James and then Barbara anyway!

I stayed on the park bench and chatted with James and Barbara for a short while, at the end of which I emphasized how much the Lord wanted us all to get together. Barbara could now see this, too, and James was also keen to see what else the Lord would do, so I invited them to come by the next day. This time, Barbara came! And James accompanied her. We were able to share so much more with them, adding to what we had spoken about at the bookstore, and Barbara in particular went away thoroughly inspired and encouraged. She texted me afterward to say the following:

I’m never going to slack again on my heavenly language, I Got it, I’m so encouraged, I feel complete!!!!!!!!🙏🏾 Bless y’all again, I’m so happy that I’m self-sufficient because of my Holy Ghost 😊🙏🏾

7) On another family day out, we were in a very long lineup. Don noticed a couple (they were brother and sister) ahead of us in line. The brother had a church-related t-shirt on, so Don introduced himself and started chatting to him. It turns out that they are both born again (water-baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit), and they actively pray in tongues, which was great to hear. They are actually from Australia and originally from South Africa, and they were out here (to the United States) to attend a large Christian event/conference and to have an extended vacation. We ended up chatting with them for over one hour, praise God!

In this post, we’re listing all the people we have been praying for lately who have come into our lives through different circumstances — if you feel moved to join us in holding them up to the Lord:

• Various people at our local YMCA 

• Shamar: He ended up coming over to pray with us after a recent Thursday night prayer group. He received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and was so happy.

• Valerie: Shamar’s fiancée who also came to our place about two weeks after we prayed with Shamar. Shamar shared with her his experience and she was keen to find out for herself. Don water baptized Valerie in our bathtub and she, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

• Phil & his wife, and the couple they were talking to at a local coffee shop: We pray we will continue to run into them as we have been (particularly Phil and his wife) and that God will build on the words we spoke to them all. 

• Spirit-filled lady in the fabrics section at Walmart: She said she remembers focusing on the Lord and praying in tongues during the birth of her daughter. Don shared some scriptural encouragement with her.

• The group of people we prayed with on the lawn in the civic park while on a day trip to the coast: They were all already water baptized and Spiritfilled except one of them. We pray he will forsake the sin that he hasn’t been willing to give up for Jesus’ sake. We pray he will truly lose his life and empty himself that he can be filled (with the Holy Spirit).

• Greg & Vicki: Greg came to get loads from the unwanted dirt pile in our yard after Don felt inspired to advertise it for free. As Don helped him shovel, Greg shared his struggles. He ended up coming in to pray with us all because he had received the Holy Spirit when he was 19 after getting re-baptized in a different church, but he had never prayed in tongues again since then. After going home and sharing with his wife, she ended up coming over for a visit, too. She received the Holy Spirit when Don water baptized her a few days later. Greg and Vicki were so happy to be able to now pray in tongues together and see the Lord continue to work in their lives with healing, peace, etc. 

• Linda: Another person who came for some of the dirt and was eager to hear some of Don’s experiences with the Lord. 

• Alan: One of the workers doing our outdoor renovations. He is already born again since 2004, so Don encouraged him to actively pray in tongues every day versus waiting to be moved upon during church worship times.  

• Three teens outside Columbia restaurant: They had been attending a huge local contemporary-style church for some time, but they had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. We prayed over one of the young men and he received. We pray that the other two will take God’s calling seriously, forsake any sin in their lives, and diligently seek Jesus for the Holy Spirit anointing.

• The couple we met in a local bookstore: We were on our way home after an outing and felt moved not to go straight back to the house, but rather wander around our downtown area which is so lovely of an evening. While wandering around a bookstore, Ethan got chatting with a couple and then a little later, I heard the husband mention a scripture as they walked by us on their way out. I stopped them to say that I love that scripture and this started almost an hour-long conversation right in the middle of the store! It was a wonderful chat, discussing the Word and encouraging the husband to seek for the Holy Spirit anointing. His wife is already Spirit-filled and loves to pray in tongues, and she has been praying for her husband. Our connection that night was so beautifully orchestrated by God and the wife in particular recognized this — she mentioned that they, too, had other plans and it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, too, for them to come to the downtown area.

• Christian: While chatting with the couple in the bookstore, a young man named Christian politely interrupted our conversation to say that he was excited to hear us all talking about the Lord. So, we were able to take a pause and chat with him, too. He had recently moved here in order to help with a new church plant. On our way out, we noticed that the managers of the bookstore had even turned down the volume of the store music, to make our conversing easier. “Wow, thank you, Lord!”

• Christina & Kris laundromat: Don met them at a local laundromat. He had to go there to wash some things we couldn’t handle at home, and at the same time, Christina and Kris had their washing machine break down on them. While they were all waiting in the seating area, Don got chatting with them which quickly turned into the subject of the Lord. I can’t remember how, but Don always makes one or two comments about the Lord to see if a situation has been set up by God, and if it has, the conversation generally naturally flows from there. After Don spoke with them for some time, Christina in particular could clearly see God’s hand upon their coming together. The couple ended up coming over to visit us all that night, and Christina (who has a Jewish background) got baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. She was excited to be praying in tongues and to start reading the Bible for the first time, in particular the New Testament.

• Spirit-filled family at the local lake gardens: During our recent prayer and fast, we all took a walk to the local gardens by the lake. While resting in the little dock area, a family with a twenty-something daughter came to hang out there, too. While talking about why they spend time in this area even though they live quite a ways north, they mentioned it is because of their favorite church. Obviously, the conversation centered on the Lord from that point forward, and Don showed them our latest “Winging It” video. The dad was particularly touched by it all. He shared that he had been seeking the Lord about being more active in service toward Him. Even at church that very morning, he had been specifically praying about how to be a stronger witness for Christ. The family invited us to attend their church, so we are going tomorrow. When God sets up things like this so amazingly clearly, we try to always obey and step out in faith in order to see what God is calling us to do. More than anything, we are praying that we can be of more encouragement to this family, especially the husband — to inspire him to live the Book of Acts life by praying over others, water baptizing, and ministering the Word of God to hungry souls.

• Hana: We had found a sofa chair in the clearance section of a store for just $200, but after missing out on a matching one, Don had to go significantly out of his way to a different store, to hunt for a similar deal on a second chair. Don and I both thought that maybe there would be a reason — and there was! Don ended up chatting with a sales rep in a furniture store that he originally had no plans at all to go to. Their hour-long conversation started because her name is similar to Hannah in the Bible. She was so deeply touched by what Don had to share that she came over to our place after work that very night. We prayed over her and she received the Holy Spirit! Later, Hana shared with us that she prayed in tongues all the way home and started to eagerly study the Bible for the very first time, in particular the New Testament, to truly get to know Jesus. It has been a real joy keeping in touch with her and helping her to grow in the Lord!

• Jose & others: We ended up going to the church that the Spirit-filled family at the dock invited us to, and while things didn’t go any further with the family, it turns out that the Lord used us to minister to some others instead. There was a Spirit-filled couple that was having some struggles with their daughter, and then a young-ish man that initiated a conversation with us (whom we ended up praying over in the car park after the service). He in particular was inspired by all that we had to share with him, and he was touched by the Lord during prayer. He has been very active in the past, water baptizing people and seeing them filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof, but not so much lately. So, we encouraged him to continue pursuing God’s calling for him. Anyway, after this event, we felt inspired to head to a popular area of the city in order to hang out and see who else God might connect us with. Nothing happened until we left the restaurant and wandered around. We had a great chat with Gina outside a small pizza place, and then on our way back to the car, we ran into (for the third time that night) the owner of a classic car that we had all noticed earlier that evening. The third time we saw the man, we knew we were meant to get chatting with him. He was a super bubbly Puerto Rican guy. As we showed interest in his life with lots of love and care, he opened up and shared some struggles he has been recently going through. We ended up praying over him right there in the car park in front of his vehicle. Even though it was a brief interaction, he was deeply touched by the Lord working through us, and as our family walked away, we heard him chuckling and praising God out loud, amazed in a surreal kind of way by what had just happened. We pray and trust that God will continue to water the seeds that He planted in Jose’s heart that night.

Our daughter has been praying a lot lately (during our Mommy/daughter morning prayer times) for the Lord to continue to use my husband for His work’s sake during the last stages of the outdoor renovations, and the Lord is answering! She has seen how we have had multiple opportunities to share the Word of God with tradesmen and other laborers, and even the bosses and company owners, and she recognizes how God is using the natural circumstances (of our property work projects) to bring us together with people who are hungering and thirsting for Truth.

We’ve ended up praying with quite a number of the workers, and some have even been water baptized in our tub while we await the completion of the pool. We’ve even had people (after seeing the state of our place) stop by of their own accord, looking to quote on various jobs and services, and Don has especially had lots of opportunity to share the Word with/pray with people he’s run into while running around town for supplies, etc. That’s what happened this week . . .

Don saw a truck with a scripture reference printed on the spare tire cover. It was parked outside the hardware store he was heading into. So, Don waited for the driver to get out of the vehicle (he was just about to head into the store, too) and Don commented on the scripture. At first, the man (Eric) seemed to kind of lightly dismiss Don and start to walk away, but Don has learned to pursue things a little, so he asked Eric another question. The flesh and the distractions of this life can try to get in the way of God’s work, so sometimes it takes a bit before someone’s mind and heart open up to what God is doing in the situation.

After a long chat (Don also showed Eric the latest video on our “Winging It” page), Don offered to pray with him. By this stage, Eric was sincerely humbled by everything the Lord put on Don’s heart to share, and he very much wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Eric is a large, tough kind of guy, but after he received (they prayed in the car), he was sobbing for a long time, deeply moved (in a good way) by the whole experience.

A similar experience happened two days ago when Don called a landscaper who had taken the initiative to put one of his flyers under our door. He said he was actually available that day, so he stopped by after lunch. Don got chatting with him out front, and the man (Regi) soon started sharing the many difficulties he and his family are struggling with. He said that his wife (she’s Spiritfilled) keeps praying for him and telling him that he needs to draw nigh to God, to get right with Him. Regi did so that day, getting water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues very powerfully. Don and the guys prayed with Regi again before he left (as we try to do with most people), to help him get used to praying in the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for Regi. He has a lot going on in his life, but now he is well-equipped to overcome and be victorious if he uses what God has given him.