We recently had a brief but beautiful encounter with an African American lady named Tammy. We prayed with her a couple of days ago during our travels in California, and she received the Holy Spirit in a very interesting way. This is how we met:

We were exiting a Walmart store in Los Angeles where she was collecting donations for the homeless. She saw our group and instantly got up out of her chair and came over to us, to compliment one of the children. Within minutes, we were in a conversation with her in the middle of the Walmart parking lot, telling her about our travels and our work in the name of Jesus. We offered to pray with her, as she was a church-goer and already baptized in water, but she wasn’t yet filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. She was keen, so we went to our vehicle (where it was more comfortable and peaceful to be able to focus), and we all piled in to pray.

Tammy definitely received the Holy Spirit the first time we laid hands on her and prayed because she spoke out in tongues very clearly, but not for very long. She then went back to praising God in English, but she was clearly touched by the Lord. Her whole body seemed mesmerized and she was crying. After a while of enjoying the feeling of this new power, Tammy exclaimed, “I feel like I’m brand new!” We asked her if she had heard herself praying in tongues and she said she hadn’t. So, we prayed again, explaining that it was important for her to connect with praying in tongues so she would continue to do so daily, to build her relationship with God.

This second time we prayed, Tammy prayed long and strong in tongues, and she cried some more. It was very moving for both her and us. But, interestingly, Tammy also expressed concern that she didn’t know what she was saying. This is the first time we’ve ever experienced this level of concern. So, even though we had shared with her – after getting in the car – the scriptures about speaking tongues (that are highlighted in the book of 2 Corinthians), we reassured her again. We also explained that just as Moses came down from Mount Sinai (with his face shining the glory of the Lord so much so that he had to wear a veil – in order to appease the people who could not bear to see it), we also cannot bear to know the fullness of the glorious things we’re saying in tongues while we remain in our fleshly bodies for this present time.

This made sense to her and it relieved her worry, and she also eagerly regarded our advice to be sure to pray in tongues every day – both during quiet worship time prayer, and also at other times of the day when she’s alone (or with other Spirit-filled brethren). We emphasized the importance of this in order to active the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to strengthen herself in the Lord.

We only had a brief amount of time with Tammy as she had to get back to her donations post, and we were only in that area for the afternoon, but please join us in praying that Tammy will now draw nigh to God, using the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that was just given to her through Jesus.

Wow! We just prayed with another person over Skype to receive the Holy Spirit anointing and boy did she have a powerful experience! Belinda said that as she was praying in tongues, she could feel the presence of beings in the room that she knew weren’t of this world. She told us she was in tears – not crying as such, but tears just running from her eyes – and that she felt speechless, unable to describe to us the extraordinary feelings she was experiencing. Praise God for using us to bring the truth Belinda’s way!

She’s the latest in a series of “phone call prayers” we’ve had lately. So, be encouraged – you don’t necessarily have to meet people face to face to help them to be reconciled with God! Along with the social media boom comes a remarkable opportunity to be used by God in non-traditional ways.

Belinda is from Kansas, and previous to Belinda we prayed with a couple in Ohio. We even helped the wife (who was already born again of water and of the Holy Spirit) baptize her husband in their own pool! No boundaries can stop the Word of God from spreading and taking effect upon people’s lives!

Please keep Lisa in your prayers. She recently got baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit at our place. Her tears of joy and relief were wonderful to see as she prayed in tongues for the first time after coming up out of the waters of baptism. She had experienced the emptiness and man-made religion of various church organizations including the Mormon church, and she was so happy to know that by being born again of water and of the Holy Spirit her past was wiped clean and she started afresh with a personal, tangible relationship with the living God.

HUSBAND AND WIFE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT! – We were walking out of the IMAX theater and got talking with a couple (Matthew and Tracy) in front of us. We found out they both had some church experience but no-one had ever offered to pray with them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Matthew was keen to pray, so we prayed with him first. We didn’t have anywhere private to go to pray and it was freezing outside, so we simply huddled and prayed in one corner of the foyer. Matthew received the Holy Spirit – speaking in tongues as proof – very quickly. He was quietly pleased. Then, as my husband spoke with Matthew about his experience, I asked Tracy if she would also like to pray. She was a little unsure at first because it was all new for her. She had only ever known the vague message promoted by most churches along the lines of “give your heart to Jesus.” But, after I mentioned a few key scriptures, Tracy understood what she needed to pray for and why. She was also filled with the Holy Spirit very quickly and, like her husband, she was quietly pleased. It was all very sudden and quick.

We had to leave straight away afterwards as the security guard needed to lock up. We were able to briefly exchange numbers with the couple and give them the ChristiansRULE website. We spoke about the necessity of full immersion baptism, too. Please join us in praying that we will connect with them again very soon. And, praise God how so very often He causes us to run into people like this as we’re out and about just going about our day, or having some kind of fun family time. We’re always ready to stop what we’re doing at any moment when His work calls – and that is our “reasonable service” as the Bible talks about!

We recently met a lady via my husband’s business Facebook page. Soon after, she accepted our invitation to pray with her over the phone. We got her praying in tongues again (she hadn’t prayed in tongues for many years since first receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit), and her son received the Holy Spirit, too. We were encouraging the son to follow through and get baptized (we read him a few things from the Bible on baptism), but he was hesitant (he has some medical issues). So, we said for his mom to contact us as soon as he wants to get baptized and we can help her make that happen. Please keep them in your prayers. The mom’s name is Lilyette and the son is Emmanuel. Emmanuel needs some major healings. We also encouraged Lilyette (and Emmanuel) to never let a day go by again without praying in tongues, to build her relationship with God.

Please keep Harvey and Karan in your prayers. My husband met them this morning in a local medical clinic. He had been meaning for a long while to go talk to the doctor about a rash that had suddenly appeared on his shoulder, but every day he determined to go, something got in the way. He woke up this morning and had a strong urge to go even though he had been up late and was really tired. He got talking to Karan in the clinic and she mentioned something about God. After an interesting conversation, my husband offered for Karan to come back to our house for us all to pray with her. She was very keen, but she wasn’t sure if her husband would be into it. My husband encouraged her to ask him anyway. To Karan’s surprise, Harvey was pleased to come.

It was wonderful to spend the morning sharing scriptures with them, expounding the Word of God unto them more fully (as happened with Apollos in the Book of Acts). We learned that Karan was already Spirit-filled, but she had only been baptized by water sprinkling when she was a baby. She was keen to get baptized by full immersion – and by someone with true authority (a born again believer who’s walking in the Spirit versus a minister ordained by a worldly institution) – as the Word of God commands, and she was eager to pray with us, too. Harvey was keen to pray to receive the Holy Spirit anointing. So, we decided to have prayer first. Harvey was filled with the Holy Spirit – speaking in tongues as proof – very quickly, and Karan was overjoyed to be praying in tongues fervently, feeling the Spirit of God within her ignited. After prayer, both Harvey and Karan were baptized. What a joy to know they’re both now spiritually united!

Please join us in praying that they will touch the lives of many people as they seek to share the truth others the Lord brings their way. (We also thank God so very much for the great spa tub he provided in our home that has been the location of many baptisms so far! What a privilege to be able to do His work!)

It’s so cool how we’re praying with more people over the phone these days to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A few weeks ago, we met Leon while on a call to a Hilton vacations company in Florida. At the end of the call, we asked him if he went to church. We found out that he had been a churchgoer for many years but hadn’t yet been anointed with the Holy Spirit. He was keen to connect with us again at a time when he was off work. That happened last Sunday afternoon. We got to speak with him for quite a while, taking him through various fundamental scriptures that he’d never focused on before. He was excited to hear our explanations of how they relate to the salvation message, and soon we were praying with him over the phone to be filled with the Spirit. We all prayed in our office while Leon prayed at home. He received the Spirit very powerfully. He was very moved by the experience, so much so that he expressed how eager he was to share his new understanding of God’s Word with others straight away.

Beginning with one seemingly insignificant initial phone conversation about something completely unrelated to God, the Lord led yet another soul to be born again of the Spirit. We continually rejoice at the privilege of being used as vessels to spread the truth throughout the world – even over a cell phone!!! Thank you God!

We’ve said so many times that God uses the natural circumstances of our lives in order to bring about the spreading of the truth of His Word. Here’s a perfect example:

We arrived home from our trip to a dead water heater. We had to purchase a new one and have it installed. The water heater was quite old, so it was to be expected. The first thing we thought was, “What does the Lord have planned?.” We fully expected that we’d be sharing the Word of God with the installer when he came. Tyler was excited to hear the stories from our recent trip as he worked on the install, and he was surprised to learn things he’d never heard before about the Bible. By the time the job was done, he was really intrigued. As we walked him outside to his truck, we just asked him outright if he wanted to pray for the Holy Spirit. Tyler thought, “What have I got to lose?” He had never even opened a Bible before and he knew nothing about Jesus, but he was wanting to give God a chance to reveal Himself.

Tyler was really fervent when we prayed with him and he spoke in tongues fairly quickly. He said he felt it was all kind of surreal. He was then keen to follow through and get baptized in water when we told him what God’s Word requires. He actually told us that he remembered a feeling he got as he first pulled into our driveway. He felt very strongly that he was coming to our place for a reason beyond the hot water tank. Also, he said he had only just asked his wife about a week or two beforehand to buy him a Bible so he could start learning about it. For some reason he had just started to get curious about God. How’s that?! We love that! Tyler could clearly see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together that night. Praise God!

Before we left Hawaii we had the opportunity to pray with Victoria’s sister, Catherine. Victoria shared with Catherine the amazing things that happened the day we met her and her children. Catherine was keen to meet up with us, too, so we spent an afternoon sharing the Word of God with her. Catherine was filled with the Holy Spirit many years ago, however she was keen to listen and learn as we “expounded the Word of God unto her more fully” just as Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos in the Book of Acts. At the end, we all prayed in the Spirit together which was very helpful for Catherine as she hadn’t prayed in tongues much for a long time. Her tears of joy proved how much it impacted her day. We emphasized to Catherine the importance of praying in tongues daily, so we’re hoping for her sake she’ll keep it up.

It’s now official… Our idea to stop over in Hawaii on the way back home was not our idea after all. God totally had His guiding hand upon it all! Below are the highlights so far. There are so many details that we just don’t have time to type out right now. Suffice to say that the hand of God is all mighty and never ceases to amaze us!

a) A young couple (Brandon and Claire) was seated at our table at the local Benihana Japanese restaurant. We got chatting to them over dinner and soon we were talking about the Lord. After dinner, they wanted to know more, so we invited them to go to a quiet place to review some scriptures with us. They were keen, so we grabbed a Bible from our hotel room. Soon we were all back in our room praying with Brandon and Claire. They both received the Holy Spirit anointing, speaking in tongues as proof. We showed them how Peter commanded Cornelius and his family (in Acts Chapter 10) to be baptized in water following being filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we went down to one of the quiet pool areas and both Brandon and Claire were baptized by full immersion to complete their commitment to God. They were leaving first thing the next morning, so we didn’t get to spend any more time with them, but we encouraged them to pray in tongues every day (as we encourage everyone to do), to build their relationship with God (Jude 20-21, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.)

b) We went to a timeshare meeting and got talking to Gina (our sales rep) about what we do on our travels. She was keen to share her experiences and we soon found out that she believed she had prayed in tongues when she was quite young. We said we’d look for an opportunity to pray with her during or after the presentation, to confirm if she was in fact filled with the Holy Spirit. We got the chance to do so when Gina was showing us one of the model suites. Straight away she broke out into tongues as we laid hands on her and prayed. It was beautiful hearing her pray in the Spirit. She remembered that it was something she used to love to do when she was a child, and she was so glad to be praying to God like that again. She was crying with joy and she was so grateful to God that He connected her with some people who encouraged her to “activate” the Spirit again after it had been kind of lying dormant for so long. As we did with Brandon and Claire, we encouraged her to pray in tongues every day from now on.

c) Yesterday we went for a drive around the island. We ended up in a town to visit a soap factory and then to the local burger joint for which we had a coupon. As we were walking on the patio, we met a friendly lady and her family. She mentioned the word “blessing” as we began to part company. Of course, we couldn’t let that pass, so we asked her if she went to church. Well, that was just the beginning of an amazing evening! Again, there’s just too much that happened to give the power of God justice in a short summary…

We talked with Victoria and her family for a very long time, sharing testimonies of the Lord’s hand. We found out that Victoria and her children are all filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They’re passionate about the things of God and seek to glorify Him in their music and art (they are a very talented family). We expounded the Word of God unto them more perfectly (as did Aquila and Priscilla to Apollos in the Book of Acts), encouraging them that God wants them to not just tell people about Jesus but to actually baptize people and pray for them to be anointed with the Holy Spirit (John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”). They were keen to hear this message from God for them (using us as mere vessels), so much so that they introduced us to a table of people they knew from a local church. So, praise God, we ended up being able to expound the Word of God more perfectly unto them also.

A while later, we ended up praying with two of them (Travis and Cole) in our car and they both received the Holy Spirit anointing. Travis then called two of his friends to come down and join us, so we got to speak with them as well. We found out that one of his friends had just been filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues for the first time, only two weeks earlier. The other friend had not yet been baptized with the Holy Spirit, so we prayed for him and he received the Spirit. We then shared with them the importance of baptism in water now that they had an understanding of the truth, so we headed to the beach (by this time is was about 11:00 at night!).

By the time we had a very late dinner and got home to bed it was after 1:00 a.m. Our five-year-old daughter was flaked out on the back seat of the car much earlier than that, but she was very keen to hear about the events of the night that she missed!

We hope all of these brief but powerful accounts encourage you, too, that God uses the natural circumstances of this life (like heading to a certain restaurant because you found a coupon!) to bring His Word to people. Some people may have never heard about Jesus. Some may have a love for Jesus but have not yet been born again of water and of the Spirit. Some may have received the Holy Spirit anointing years ago but were never encouraged how to “use” it. God wants to use you for all kinds of work. You have been called as mouthpieces of His truth just like the first disciples. It’s not about you – it’s all about Jesus. Your life is His, and if you have your eyes and ears open and a heart full of faith, mighty miracles will happen. This is what brings joy unspeakable (as the scripture describes) to your life, and it’s what brings glory to the precious name of Jesus Christ.

One final amazing testimony to share: The guy (Kiril) who came to buy our car before we flew out received the Holy Spirit while praying with us, too! God is so mighty! Kiril also has a Seventh Day Adventist background (as does Stacey and her mom, Denise). Stacey was able to share her testimony with him because she was there when he came to collect the car. After just five minutes of talking with him about the Holy Spirit anointing and its necessity for salvation (John 3:5), he was very excited to have us all pray for him. He received the Spirit quite powerfully after about ten minutes of prayer, so much so that he broke down with tears of joy and relief after praying in tongues for a long while. Kiril said he felt different. He felt so good. He knew he’d been changed by the power of God. Please keep Kiril and all the others from this trip in your prayers. Our travels have yet again been blessed by God’s miraculous hand!

Praise God – just days before our flight, Stacey’s mom (Denise) got baptized and received the Holy Spirit anointing! Stacey and Denise popped by our condo and we got talking to Denise about what had recently happened to Stacey. We explained to Denise that the same promise from God was open for her to experience, too. Despite her strong hesitation about speaking in tongues (influenced by her Seventh Day Adventist background), Denise was keen to pray. So, we all sought the Lord together. However, it wasn’t happening for her. We then encouraged Denise to get baptized first, explaining that some people don’t receive the Holy Spirit until after they’ve communicated their repentance and commitment to God through baptism. Well, it worked! We had more prayer for her as she rose up out of the water, and she received the Holy Spirit very quickly. It was such a joy to see Denise’s beaming face as she came down the stairs after drying off. She said she felt all tingly and so calm and peaceful. She felt closer to God than ever before and even the next day, Stacey said her mom couldn’t stop smiling. Another changed life! We’re so happy for Stacey, too. She now has her mom with whom to share the power of the Lord. We’re now keeping Jessica (Stacey’s sister) in our prayers. May she be won over to Jesus Christ by Stacey’s and Denise’s positive testimony!

Well, we’re nearing the end of our latest trip and, to finish on a high note, another person has been born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5). (More details in a moment.) This makes it six people now filled with the Spirit, one person baptized but still seeking the Holy Spirit anointing, and one person “revived” in the Spirit (already Spirit-filled but hadn’t prayed in tongues for many years). We all know, however, that God is not concerned with numbers but, rather, with the quality of each person’s walk with Him. So, join us in praying for all these people that they’ll draw nigh to God daily, purposing to use the Holy Spirit to grow and remain steadfast believers until Christ returns.

Anyway, our new sister in the Lord is Stacey. We struck up a conversation with her as she sat behind her desk in the real estate office where she works. We were curious about something to do with her signage in the window, so we just popped in to ask her a quick question. One thing led to another and soon we were talking about the Lord. She has had lots of experience with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and because of this she was put off of pursuing a relationship with God. Like Aquila and Pricilla in the Book of Acts, we expounded the Word of God unto her more fully. She was so surprised and relieved to hear things she had never been told before that are right there in the Bible. Our words (God’s words!) spoke to her heart, truly making sense to her.

We invited her back to our rental home that night to have prayer with us, and she came! After showing her some scriptures and chatting about our personal experiences, we all laid hands on her and prayed. She was filled with the Spirit almost immediately. We prayed in tongues with her for a long time so she could get used to the experience of praying to God in the language of the Holy Spirit. When we finished she told us she felt changed. She said she felt connected with God in a new way that she couldn’t quite explain.

The next thing we emphasized to Stacey was water baptism. She wanted to complete her commitment to God, so she arranged to come back a few days later at which point she got baptized in our bathtub. Praise God! We had dinner together that night, so we had lots of time to chat about different aspects of the Bible and answer some of her questions. Stacey was even more excited about her new personal relationship with God. She even told us how she had woken up praying in tongues during the first night (after first receiving the Holy Spirit). God is very much on her mind and in her heart!

We’re currently planning to get together with Stacey for some more Bible study and prayer before we leave. What a joy to be able to encourage a new sister in the Lord!

Please keep two ladies in your prayers: Linda and Tia Lee. My husband was sharing the Word with them (on separate occasions) after they each got in touch with him via his business. He got to speak with Tia Lee over Skype, and then he was messaging Linda back and forth. Both of them are suffering in their own ways and need the healing hand of God in their lives. They were very open to hearing the truth of the gospel and are looking into the scriptures. Praise God how people message my husband with simple questions about his product and the conversation soon leads to the things of the Lord. God uses all kinds of avenues to connect people with His Word!

Praise God – another two people touched by the Lord on this trip. The husband (Jeff) got baptized in water and the wife (Natalie) received the Holy Spirit anointing. Natalie already spoke four languages, so praying with her was an interesting experience! She knew she was speaking in tongues (an unknown spiritual language as described in 1 Corinthians 14) and not one of the languages she grew up with. We had more prayer with Natalie throughout the night, so it was neat for her to hear herself again and again, solidifying her understanding that she was indeed praying in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave her the ability. Let’s pray that Jeff will keep diligently seeking after the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We spent six hours with them and finally got home well after midnight. We were tired but thoroughly rejoicing!