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!
