Wow, wow, wow - the Lord most definitely led us to this particular hotel for a huge reason…! Nine people baptized/filled with the Holy Spirit so far, and many more preached to/counseled according to the Word of God. This hotel certainly wasn’t our ideal choice - for many reasons :), but we were obedient to God’s leading, and we’re now rejoicing in all the fruit that is coming from it! Here are some highlights:
1) The guys spent over a couple of hours chatting with Tyree who was hanging out near the lobby. Tyree was so close to praying for the Holy Spirit anointing, so the guys kept encouraging him. But, he was struggling to want to fully give up on his fleshly desires, so he held himself back. We pray the words spoken to Tyree will continue to humble him to the point where he’s truly wanting to lose his life for God.
2) Ethan was hanging out at the side of the pool, keeping an eye on Elisabeth, when he got chatting with a young lady that was part of a bigger family group. Ethan discovered that she and her husband are youth ministers are their church and that they’re already filled with the Holy Spirit. He encouraged her with stories from our own family’s experiences, hoping to help build on their work for the Lord. We exchanged details with them and have kept in touch since they flew back home.
3) Don got chatting with an older lady (Kerry) one day by the pool and learned that she was struggling with some problems. He offered to pray over her, but things worked out that it never happened that day. But the next day, Don saw Kerry again and approached her directly, saying that he ached for her and really wanted to have the opportunity to pray with her before the end of her vacation. Apparently, her heart melted when Don said this, so Kerry spontaneously replied with an enthusiastic “yes!” Kerry came to our room where we all prayed over her and she received the Holy Spirit very quickly and very powerfully. She was so happy, praise God!
4) Don and the guys found some spare loungers by a young-ish couple (Randy & Melissa) with their little girl, Olivia. As Olivia played, Don and the guys chatted here and there with her mom and dad. Eventually, the conversation turned to the Lord, and Randy (he told us later) suddenly became really enthusiastic to talk. His love for the Lord shone through and he was really eager to hear what the guys had to say, asking many questions - Melissa, too! They all ended up coming up to our room for prayer and both parents received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues! We chatted for a very long time before and after as they both had man-made religious backgrounds that they needed to break away from in heart and mind. Neither had yet been water baptized, so we all went back down to the pool, and Don baptized both Randy and Melissa in the hot tub. They were so very thankful, excited, and totally refreshed by this tangible experience with the Living God versus what they had each experienced growing up.
5) While visiting a farmer’s market up north one Saturday (as always, with the purpose of being around crowds of people, to see who the Lord might cause us to connect with!), we strolled passed two young men collecting for a human trafficking support organization. We asked them if the organziation was affiliated with a particular religious group. They said no, but they themselves were church goers. One in particular seemed eager about the things of God, and we discovered he was already water baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t pray in tongues very often. We shared lots of encouragement with him from God’s Word, for which he was very grateful. Many times, the work God calls us to is counseling or strengthening people that are already born again!
6) Don got to know a young English man (Jake) here at the pool over the course of a few days. They hit it off so well that Jake ended up confiding in Don about some serious issues he had been suffering with after an unprovoked physical attack. The doctors didn’t think he’d ever recover, yet Jake felt moved to pray to God even though he didn’t really know the Lord. With his continued prayer, Jake’s health improved remarkably. After many years, though, he still suffered some from PTSD, so Don offered to pray over him. Jake was keen, so he came to visit us all in our room one day. He received the Holy Spirit and instantly felt changed. Don then baptized him by full immersion (as Jesus commanded) in the smaller hotel pool. We spent some more time with Jake before he had to return to England, which was really enjoyable. We got to answer many of his questions, share more stories, and even pray together with one of the hotel security guards (detailed in the next story below), which was particularly special and helpful for Jake to be a part of.
7) After taking Jake out to dinner one night, we all returned to the hotel quite late, and just as we were gettig out of our vehicles, we ran into Derek - one of the hotel’s security guards with whom Don had had some brief exchanges during our stay here. We introduced Derek to Jake and explained how we had come to know Jake, including him getting born again of water and of the Holy Spirit. That led to Derek sharing about his church experiences, his personal struggles, and even his most recent prayer just the Sunday before - when he finally and completely surrendered to the Lord.
Derek could very much see God’s hand on us connecting that evening, so we confidently told him that we could pray for him, too, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we all ended up in our hotel room once again, praying over Derek this time. He received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues, and we all sat chatting about the Word of God and rejoicing in what had just happened. Since then, we’ve had lots of opportunities to spend time with Derek - encouraging him, praying with him, answering questions, and enjoying his growth in the Lord as he continues to use the Holy Spirit power within him.
Derek even invited us to join him at his relatively new church that he himself had been invited to by a close friend. We went with a view to doing whatever work the Lord would call us to. We ended up praying over one young man who had been struggling with a serious issue, and we were able to encourage the young pastor to be more intentional and purposeful about praying for others to be filled with the Holy Spirit - as demonstrated in Acts 19:2, and in Acts chapter 8 when the apostles in Jerusalem traveled to Samaria to lay hands on the believers to receive the Holy Spirit anointing.
But, the adventures for the day didn’t stop there. We ended up at a Starbucks in an area close to where the church was located. We hung out for a while, looking out for whom else the Lord might want us to share a message. A very fit man (Gary) in his early sixties sat down at the table next to us, talking business on his cell phone for a while. After he was done, Don complimented him on his fit physique which opened up the conversation about his sports achievements but also his injuries. This obviously led to us sharing with Gary our miraculous healing testimonies, which then led to more in-depth conversation about God. We must have spent at least 2 hours chatting with Gary as he had much to say, questioning the Bible and various things to do with the Lord. It was actually a very interesting and entertaining discussion all round, and in the end Gary said he would be open-minded to go away and consider what we’d spoken about.
The biggest thing that moved Gary was the scientific studies that have been done on speaking in tongues. Gary is a very intelligent man and an engineer, so it was no surprise that God got Daniel to share with Gary the evidence for speaking in tongues being miraculously spiritual. (If you’re not aware, medical studies have examined speaking in known, learned languages such as English versus speaking in tongues unto God. The subjects were connected to devices in a research laboratory and asked to speak normally and then in tongues. When speaking normally, the language receptors in the people’s brains showed up as being activated, however when speaking in tongues, nothing registered at all. Even when consciously saying nonsense (gibberish) words, the subjects’ language receptors activated, but again, the spiritual words were void of any signs in the natural body. How amazing, and such solid proof that speaking in tongues is of God!)
Anyway, the story doesn’t end there. A few days later, Don received a text from Gary saying that a friend of his in Africa contacted him and during the conversation, the friend mentioned that they recently received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. Wow! Gary was amazed at the timing of it all and suggested that Don and his friend should connect. Now, surely this has gotten Gary thinking even more about our non-coincidental dicussion on the Sunday evening!
8) Don wandered down to the pool again while the rest of us were busy in the room, and he chose to sit behind an older couple from the Netherlands, under a rare piece of shade that he could find. He jokingly apologized to the couple for having to sit so close in order to make the most of the shade, and that led to the three of them chatting and getting to know one another. Don discovered that the man (Henk) suffered from spontaneous fainting spells, which could be potentially dangerous or even fatal should he fall and bang his head on something hard or sharp, etc. So, Don shared with the couple many of our healing testimonies.
Neither Henk nor his wife, Loes, knew a lot about God or Jesus, but they had learned enough that they were intrigued and willing to try praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. So, they came up to our room with Don, and there Loes received, speaking in tongues quietly and peacefully. She was pleasantly surprised that she could have such a tangible, personal experience with God. But, Henk was struggling to receive the Holy Spirit, so we chatted some more and realized that they both needed to be water baptized. So, we all went down to the small pool area and Don baptized them in the hot tub. Afterward, we all returned to the hotel room to pray over Henk again, and this time he received. He, too, was so happy and shocked to hear himself praying in tongues!
9) Don had a brief exchange with a man (Brian) about his same age while they were both hanging out in the pool with each of their kids. At first, Brian didn’t seem interested in furthering the conversation, so Don didn’t push it even though he felt strongly moved to speak more with Brian. But then, soon after, Brian came bee-lining toward Don to ask him a question. The conversation turned into such a blessing, very difficult (for Brian) though it was. God obviously moved on Brian (who was already filled with the Holy Spirit, Don discovered) to confide in Don, and over the course of the next few days, Don was able to counsel him from the Word of God, and even pray over him. Please uphold Brian, his wife, and his daughters in prayer.
10) Don was out for a walk around the hotel late at night in the lovely warm air, praying and looking to see whom the Lord might connect him with. He tried speaking with one couple with a dog, but that didn’t go anywhere, but then he spied a lady unpacking her vehicle, ready to check in with her little white dog. Don wandered over, offered some help, and got chatting about her dog. The lady (Tracey) shared a few things about some difficulties in her life, which led to Don encouraging her with testimonies from our famiy and others we’ve prayed with around the world. She ended up coming up to our room to meet the rest of us, and for us to pray over her. Tracey received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and even got baptized right away afterward in the hotel hot tub!
Tracey’s story is quite amazing. Though she had grown up around Bible-based “religion,” she was turned off of the things of the Lord. She admitted that had Don approached her before her Florida trip, she would have flatly rejected anything he had to say about God. But, many troubles had plagued Tracey for so many years that she was at the point of surrender. Just two days prior to coming to Florida, she heard something on the radio about baptism and she started to wonder if that might be a solution for her. Tracey had also thrown away her old journals that were full of negativity and bought a brand new one, which she hadn’t yet written in. And, she had just started changing the way she communicated with her adult son - switching from words and emotions of defeat and negativity to hope and confidence that something was going to happen to cause things to turn around (for both her and her son). This is all before meeting Don! Truly, God revealed these things to Tracey, preparing her heart for her very first night on vacation in Florida!
Over the next week, we caught up with Tracey quite a few times, encouraging her from the Word of God, praying with her and over her, and generally enjoying the spiritual bond we now shared. Tracey and our group even got to meet up with Derek - the (now) Spiritfilled hotel security guard - a couple of times. We talked together about God and our experiences, and on one of the nights we all prayed over Derek for his needs.
The day before Tracey left, we got to invite her to come pray over Tim (see the next story) together with all of us. That was such a blessing for her to be a part of. Tracey said she has already been sharing with her son, and she expects to be used by God to get him born again of water and of the Holy Spirit very soon - to pass on the hope and power just like we did with her.
Immediately after her water baptism, Tracey seemed like a brand new woman, and she eagerly started to pray in tongues every day and get to know the Bible for the very first time. It was a joy for us to see the peace and light and love shining through her whole being, and she said herself that she felt completely transformed with the anger and negativity gone, replaced by hope and calm and confidence in the future, resting in God’s miraculous hands!
Oh, I nearly forgot to share… The other miraculous thing that occurred was just before Tracey’s baptism. After Tracey received the Holy Spirit (which was very late at night), Don quickly zipped down to the pool area to see if he could still obtain access. It was all shut up, so Don went looking for Derek the security guard. Don caught him just about to pull away in his vehicle as he had finished his shift. Just as Derek was telling Don that he’d have to get permission from Monica (the new guard on duty), Monica came right around the corner beside them both! Even better, it turned out that Monica is filled with the Holy Spirit, loves praying in tongues daily, and was super eager to help us get Tracey water baptized. Monica even stood there with us, praying in tongues and glorifying God the whole time Don and Tracey were in the pool! Father God, you are amazing!
11) There are many others stories I could write about from this portion of our “Winging It” adventure so far, but here’s the last one for now…
Don was running late for a groceries trip because he got preaching to a couple in the pool area. But, because of this timing (God’s miraculous hand!), Don ran into a man (Tim) in one of the grocery aisles. Tim was clearly suffering with a lot of pain in his stomach area, with distended bowels and constant stabbing sensations. Don shared with him our many healing stories, after which Tim was eager to come back to the hotel for us to pray over him. Tim later admitted that he was partly wanting to “run the other way,” but he ignored that temptation and followed after the hope of what Don was talking about.
We all met Tim (Tracey was there, too, praise God!) and chatted more about the Word of God and the call to be born again of water and of the Holy Spirit. But, though we laid hands on Tim and prayed fervently for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit, nothing was happening. We all sensed there was a blockage, so we encouraged him to get water baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of his sins before praying a second time. Again, Tim was partly wanting to run, but he didn’t, and praise God he overcame his flesh because he received the Holy Spirit pretty quickly after his baptism!
The whole time we prayed over Tim the second time, there was absolutely no convulsing in pain. We encouraged him to go and pray in tongues as much as he can, read the Bible to get to know what just happened to him and what living a Christian life looks like, and share this hope with others as God brings people into his life for this very reason (just like God did with Don and Tim in the grocery store)!
