We got an amazing call the other night! Sharon (from the Tiffany and Sharon video on our Winging It! page) called us with an exciting story:

Recently, Sharon was telling a girlfriend about her experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit when we prayed over her last year. Sharon’s girlfriend was so inspired by the story that she said she wanted the same to happen to her. So, remembering our encouragement, Sharon offered to pray with her friend straight away. She did, and her friend received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. Praise God!

Sharon shared with us that her friend has been praying in tongues often ever since, as does Sharon. We were overjoyed to know that Sharon is doing what we said the Lord was calling her to do: to “pay it forward” i.e. to draw upon the strength, confidence, and boldness that the Holy Spirit gives in order to preach to and pray for others, carrying on the work of Jesus Christ upon this Earth.

It’s always so great to learn about the ripple effect of our Christian ministry, as Truth is spread throughout the globe by those whose lives we have been blessed to touch.

Wow, what a week we had! Lots of opportunities to share the Word of God with various people in different situations. Here are two highlights:

1) Don had been trying to get an appointment at a local office for a certification, and no appointments were available for months near where we are staying. Don got to the point where he was just about to drive over two hours south to a small town that had one opening when suddenly an availability popped up very close by.

As Don waited in the foyer for his name to be called, the examiner came out with someone he’d just been interviewing, to say goodbye to him. At the end of the conversation, the examiner said, “Ah well, it’s all in the Lord’s hands!” Instantly, Don knew there was a reason why things worked out for him to come to this particular office.

During Don’s interview, Don found out that the examiner is filled with the Holy Spirit, but wasn’t confident about praying in the Holy Spirit daily. So, Don asked the examiner if he minded if they closed the door so they could pray together. Don laid hands on the examiner and got him praying in tongues again! They both enjoyed chatting about the Lord for a while and rejoiced in God’s hand on them coming together that day.

2) On the way back from his certification appointment, Don felt moved to call into a coffee shop. While he was there, he heard two young men mention the word, “Holy Spirit.” Don walked over to them and told them they were talking about his favorite subject. One of the men is currently attending seminary college and the other is his good friend. While both told Don they believed they had the Holy Spirit based on their experiences with Jesus, Don “expounded the Word of God unto them more perfectly,” explaining the difference between the Holy Spirit working on the outside of someone versus coming to dwell permanently within.

By the end of 1.5 hours of discussing Scripture, the friend was eager to pray. He and Don went out to the car where Don laid hands on him. He was filled with the Holy Spirit within minutes, praying in tongues as proof. He was overjoyed, telling Don over and over, “You ARE a man of God! God sent you here today!” Then they both returned to the table and shared what happened.

Don talked some more with the seminary student who finally agreed that he had nothing to lose by trying, too. He also received Holy Spirit, but even quicker - he began speaking in tongues before Don had even finished his prayer! The young man was stunned, holding back tears.

It took a lot of going over Scripture and a lot of encouragement, but praise God for the patience that God gives us - knowing that there are so many people that have come far in terms of repentance, water baptism, church attendance, etc. yet they are still missing the actual Holy Spirit anointing. So, God sends someone like us to them, to help them achieve that final part of their spiritual conversion. It’s what we live for!

The video of Anne Marie’s miraculous healing is now posted on our Winging It! page. You can see such peace and joy in her face in the “after” part of her story. Praise Jesus!

Coffee shops are a great place to share the Word! Since the weather has gotten cold here in Ohio, we’ve been spending a lot of time in coffee shops, looking for opportunities to preach the truth. We just follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, looking to see what conversations He leads us into, and then we just take it from there. Generally, we start off chatting about life and, if it doesn’t naturally turn into talking about God, we use the boldness and confidence God gives us (not ours but His!) to simply ask them outright if they go to church (or a similar question).

God knows people’s hearts and He knows who is searching for a personal relationship with Him, so it’s God that connects the people who are searching with those that have the message to give. Sometimes, people don’t even know they’re searching. They might be trying to fill a void in their lives with all kinds of other things (relationships, money, work, addictive substances, fame, material things, etc.), but deep down what they’re needing is to be filled by God, their Creator.

We are so grateful for the many ways God uses us. It is our reasonable service, as the Bible states. We are simply His mouth pieces, and it’s such a peace knowing that we don’t have to do any convincing. We simply speak truth and the Lord does the rest (“gives the increase,” 1 Corinthians 3:7).

Wonderful news!! Annie Marie (see the previous post about her - a couple of posts down the page) is healed! She went back to the doctors about her serious heart condition and the doctors said it was gone. Praise Jesus! We videod her story, so we’ll edit it together with the first video we took of her when she received the Holy Spirit, and post it on our Winging It! page very soon.

I’m so happy for Anne Marie. She seriously looked like a different person when I visited her yesterday - and she said she feels like a new person! She’s still praying in tongues every day, and she’s looking forward to us hopefully meeting up with her husband to answer his questions. Please pray for him, as we will, too. He has been misled by various man-made messages out there, but we pray that the truth will set him free.

I just read through my posts from this year and realized that I forgot to post about a few other situations:

1) Tiffany (see her message below) ended up sharing more with her Aunt who then called Don, asking him if he would come pray for her, too. So, we all traveled to LA to meet up with her and her husband. Both of them received the Holy Spirit that day and were so happy. They had been attending a local Calvary church and were unaware of the full gospel message!

2) When selling our furniture in California, we got to share the Word with many people. One lady ended up accepting our invitation to come back and pray with us. She brought her husband at the time. She is a nurse and was concerned about Covid, and we shared the “peace that passes all understanding” that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit. (That’s how we first got talking about God.) Anyway, we prayed over her and she received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. Her husband was more skeptical, so he never received the Holy Spirit. But, we pray he will be won over by his wife’s enthusiasm for the Lord.

3) On our way to Ohio, we stopped at a gas station somewhere in Utah. Two ladies in a pick-up truck pulled up very close to us, wanting to comment on our vehicle’s signage. Later, the lady driver shared that “for some reason” she felt moved to talk with us. She knew at that point that it had been God guiding her!

The conversation at the gas pumps quickly turned to the Lord, and we ended up asking the ladies if they wanted us to pray for them. They did, so we all moved to the back of the gas station where it was quieter. Standing on the sidewalk next to our vehicles, our whole family laid hands on the ladies. They both received the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues strongly! They were so excited, hugging and crying. They are best friends and had attended church meetings together for a long time.

We talked some more about the Lord and then encouraged the two ladies to share their experience with their husbands, children, and church friends. It was a very unexpected and joyous encounter on our travels!

I just posted about one couple here in Ohio, but there have been many other people touched by the Lord since our arrival:

1) During an esthetician appointment, I got talking with Anne Marie about the Lord after she mentioned a potential serious problem with her health. I shared my own amazing healing story, encouraging her that the fullness of God’s promises are for all who come to Jesus and follow after Him. I asked her if she’d like me to pray over her and she was keen to do so. It was completely God’s doing that I was her last client for the day and that we were running late - which caused the office to be empty by the time we were done, giving us the privacy to pray (and talk some more) freely.

Anne Marie was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, soon after we began to pray over her (my husband had arrived to pick me up by that time). She had already been water baptized by full immersion, so we encouraged her to continue to pray in tongues every day and read the Bible, diligently seeking to apply God’s Word in her life.

Anne Marie texted me a few days later saying that she had been praying in tongues daily and that she was excited. I’m due to meet up with her again this Wednesday, and she said she’s keen to see me again, so I’m expecting some positive news about her health. Thank you, Jesus!

2) We’re staying with a Spirit-filled friend of ours while we’re in Ohio, helping him through a challenging time in his life - just as we have done in the past with many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that need spiritual support.

Soon after we arrived at John’s place, we discovered that his elderly mother (89 years old) was a Christ-believer but had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit (just like the story at the beginning of Acts 19). So, we offered to lay hands on her to pray for her. She received the Holy Spirit quickly, praying quietly in tongues for the very first time. It was a very gentle, warm, and beautiful experience. We were so happy for her, after all these years!

3) Last week, we were at Macy’s and Ethan was ahead of us at the time. A young man in his early twenties (about the same age as Ethan) commented on Ethan’s shoes. The conversation continued as he (Latron) and Ethan got chatting about work and personal interests. The rest of us soon joined them, and when Latron mentioned something about his local church we knew why God has caused us all to meet.

We all stood in the store speaking for quite a while, after which Don asked Latron if he’d been filled with the Holy Spirit since he believed in Jesus. Latron answered no, so soon Don, Ethan, and Daniel were heading to the car to pray over Latron (while Elisabeth and I stayed in the store). Don shared with me later that Latron did receive the Spirit. They also chatted about God’s moral expectations. Latron was due to propose to his girlfriend that week (interesting timing!), and he understood God’s commandment for them to abstain from sexual interation until they are actually married.

I love the way the Lord takes a seemingly random decision to go to a store and blesses it mightily for His work’s sake!

A few months ago, through a series of strong signs/direction from God, we headed to Ohio. We’ll be here for another 6 weeks or so, and so far, the trip has been very interesting. We’ve had much work here to do for the Lord, speaking to many people about the kingdom of God, and asking them “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed (in Jesus)?”

During one particular get together, we got talking to a young couple about our spiritual experiences. The wife (Melinda) has a Catholic background and had never heard of speaking in tongues, while the husband (Andrew) was familiar but had never received the Holy Spirit despite his experience with a variety of churches. We asked them if they would like us to pray over them and they were excited to. They were both filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof, and immediately expressed how they felt “brand new.”

Next thing, we discussed water baptism, that it is a commandment of God. Neither of them had ever been baptized by full immersion, and they were also excited to obey God’s Word in doing this. So, we filled up the bathtub. After Don baptized Andrew, Don got Andrew to baptize his own wife, teaching Andrew that now that he was fully born again (turned to Jesus Christ, repented, been baptized in Jesus’ name, and received the Holy Spirit anointing), he had full authority and a calling from God to go do the same for all others who wanted to follow after Jesus.

It was a very special evening! We started the day talking about other things, but ended up spending the rest of our time together sharing and rejoicing in God’s Word. Praise Jesus!

From Carol after we prayed with her over the phone to be filled with the Holy Spirit:

“Don, I was shaking…and my pup came to the chair I had moved to by the window, stood up and put his paws next to me and stared into my eyes…it was so powerful…and then i got off the phone and words I’ve never heard in my life just poured out of me…tongues? Well, God must be very happy and I know he will use me now to choose to speak to those who need to hear.

OH MY…what a powerful day. PLEASE hug each of your children and your wife for participating in this incredible gift. And, hugs to you as well…from me AND Shawnie!”

Then, she emailed again:

“This incredible experience has me giggling as I speak making words I have no clue I’m saying but I read when I did a search about speaking in tongues, that once we begin doing it, Angels sent by God set this as our vocabulary. I keep asking God if He understands what I’m saying and presume, He absolutely does. I asked the young woman who is my department manager if she knew about speaking in tongues and she immediately responded yes. Told me a lady where she lived some time ago, could be heard anytime she was home, speaking in tongues.

Have a wonderful Easter. Lovely hearing from you. Regards to your wife and children and bless you dear Don. Bless you.”

Carol

Tom H. needs a healing. This is what he shared with us:

Don,

Yes it is bilateral severe glaucoma. I am presently legally blind in the right eye. The left eye is also involved. Glaucoma is a disease where your body destroys your optic nerve with increased pressure within the eyes. I have undergone surgeries in both eyes to slow this process. My right eye miraculously recovered some vision last year (this medically isn’t supposed to happen).

Thank you all for praying for me last evening. I am most grateful.

Tom

I was looking back through some emails and came across this. It was amazing how God called us to help this little fellowship for a brief time. We were able to visit Patrick’s fellowship a few times and encourage him that they were indeed on track regarding their salvation message despite them experiencing much persecution over the years.

“We were truly honored that both of you would drive such a long distance to come see a little church out in nowhere Fontana… a place I fought the Lord that I did not want to come too. I can’t begin to tell you how I have been encouraged and strengthened I was to find others that believe like us, and I was totally floored to see the ACTS 19:2 verse on your website! Again, after our all night prayer that Friday, I know the Lord has brought both of you our way, for what reason, only our Lord knows, but I do not believe ANYTHING IS COINCIDENTAL as He orders our footsteps. I left everything to follow my Lord. It’s been a tremendous journey of trials, tests, attacks, you name it. It seems the Lord sent you at the right time as a confirmation to us that we are doing something right! We have so much to talk about, I don’t feel an email will do it. We are looking forward to seeing all of you again.

God Bless,

Your long lost brother in Christ…

Pastor Patrick Scales

Praise God! Dr. Gonzalez and her sister (both of whom we prayed with quite a while back) finally received the Holy Spirit! We had to go back to her clinic to re-do some tests which was totally the Lord’s doing… This second time, we were able to build on what we had first shared with Dr. Gonzalez and offer to pray with her and her sister again. So, she invited us back to her clinic after closing time. This time, they were both filled with the Holy Spirit, praying in tongues! We also prayed with Dr. Gonzalez’ nephew, Eduardo, again to get him more comfortable with speaking in tongues, and we also prayed with and baptized the doctor’s niece, Ashley (who felt her first water baptism when she was a lot younger was not really done of her own accord unto Jesus). We even got to pray with Dr. Gonzalez’ mother when we joined Dr. Gonzalez and her family for dinner a week later. It was a lovely evening and we feel very blessed to be a part of this family’s spiritual journey!

A few days ago, we also prayed with the manager of our new pool care company when he came to meet us for the first time. He has been attending a local church for quite a while but had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. He was very happy to receive the Holy Spirit and to hear us “expound the Word of God unto him more perfectly.”

Then, just yesterday, we were at the playground with our youngest, and a group of people walked up to the gazebo next to us to set up a picnic lunch. We figured they had all just come from a church service. Don got talking to one of the men who, Don discovered, had just started attending the group’s congregation but had received the Holy Spirit many years ago. Apparently, he hadn’t prayed in tongues for a long while, had strayed from God, and was now trying to turn back to God’s ways. Don, Ethan, and Daniel prayed over him. They helped to get him praying in tongues again and offered him counseling from the scriptures.

So, all in all, this last week has been a very interesting and profitable one for the Lord’s work!

Two more people filled with the Holy Spirit this week! First, Don met Nicole outside of Walmart. He saw that the hood of her car was up and asked her if she needed help. They got talking about life and its various struggles which led to Don sharing his personal testimony. Nicole ended up coming back to our place to pray. She received the Holy Spirit fairly quickly, speaking in tongues as proof, and then got baptized in our tub.

Then, just today Don received an email from a customer (Bo) from North Carolina, needing some extra help with his dog. Bo shared in his message that he has a feeding tube, so we figured the Lord was directing us to speak with him about healing. After an hour-long conversation, Don said to Bo that we could pray with him over the phone. He was very keen. So, Don and the kids and I all gathered in the living room to pray while Bo was on the other end of the phone, seeking God for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

We could hear when Bo received the Holy Spirit. He was praying in tongues very fervently. Afterward, Bo explained what a powerful experience it was for him. We talked some more to make sure that Bo had been properly water baptized (which he had been), and we all prayed in the Spirit again for healing upon him. Bo was very excited by the whole experience and expecting a miracle. We look forward to hearing from him after his next doctor’s appointment!

Yesterday, we had a very interesting experience: We met a lovely gentleman at our local Starbucks and ended up inviting him over for lunch to chat about business matters. Over lunch, the conversation turned to the Lord since he had gone to a large variety of churches over the years, somewhat subconsciously searching for truth. After sharing with him our personal testimonies and accounts of praying with many people around the world, we offered to pray over him to receive the Holy Spirit. We was keen, so we all went into the living room to pray, but nothing happened as he sought the Lord. However, right afterward, he started to share how every morning when he wakes, he feels moved to start talking in words he cannot understand – that he feels good when he speaks like this, but he doesn’t know what it is. He demonstrated for us and we knew right then he was speaking in tongues.

We got him to pray one more time and he spoke in tongues along with us – so amazingly clearly and fluently. Suddenly we knew why God had connected us together – he’d received the Holy Spirit many years ago during his search and growing appreciation of God’s creation, but he never knew exactly what had happened to him. We were able to clarify things to him according to God’s Word and he was quite amazed. We then encouraged him to spend time reading the Bible to get to know Jesus and, of course, to continue to pray in tongues daily. We also shared scriptures regarding the importance of full immersion water baptism in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins (as he’d only been baptized as a very young child without any knowledge or understanding). Please join us in praying for him that he will return very soon to be baptized and make a complete commitment to following Jesus Christ.