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!”