On one of my morning power walk prayer times, I kept running into a couple as they sat on a bench seat, chatting on their cell phone. Loop after loop, I kept seeing them, and I was very much drawn to want to speak to them, but it never worked out as they never got to finishing their phone conversation while I was around.

A couple of days later, though, I walked past the man again. He was in the very same spot, but he was alone this time. It didn’t register in my mind that he was the same man until I was further down the trail, so I purposed that if he was there again on my next loop around, I would approach him. As I was purposing this, I was feeling strongly that he might be a preacher.

The man (Bobby) was still there on my second round, so I made a light comment to him and then stopped to chat. I immediately asked him if he was a preacher, and he said yes. I asked some questions and discovered that he is born again of water and of the Holy Spirit, and he said he preaches to his congregation the necessity of both of these baptisms. However, Don later went on to Bobby’s podcast and found some messages that seemed to focus on the sinner’s prayer as the way to salvation, with no mention of the need to be born again (John 3:5; Acts 2:38, Acts 19:2, etc.). Though many of his other sermons mentioned water baptism and being filled with the Holy Spirit, these other “just give your heart to Jesus” themes appeared to be contradictory.

I had no idea about this at the time when I was chatting to Bobby. But, I did feel the Holy Spirit move upon me to kind of “cut to the chase” so to speak, to make the most of the short amount of time I felt I would only have with him. Bobby did say he’d get together with our group before he and his wife checked out of their hotel, but they never did.

Interestingly, I was out on another power walk the day after Bobby was meant to leave, and he and his wife passed by me as I was sitting on a bench seat this time (dealing with an important text that had just come in). Unfortunately, it seemed that Bobby’s wife was holding him back from getting together with us, but this last “stumbling upon each other” (which was most certainly the perfect and miraculous hand of God - again!) gave me an opportunity to text Bobby with some reinforcement of what God was trying to tell him. I pray Bobby will have an open heart and mind, and that he and his congregation will be blessed through our brief connection here in Florida.

While out for our morning exercise, Ethan and I ran into James, a Bishop from Alabama. I was walking and Ethan was running separately, but we took the same lake loop, and we happened upon James at the very same time. We both saw his t-shirt which had messages about God all over it, and we simply couldn’t walk/run past him without engaging in conversation. In fact, James said afterward that he had noticed me earlier and was preparing something funny to say to me when I finally caught up to him.

Straight away, we discovered that James is filled with the Holy Spirit and loves speaking in tongues, and that many of his church members have also been water baptized and Spirit-filled. However, we were able to share with him some encouragement from the Word of God regarding being more intentional and proactive with helping the other members (and people outside of his fellowship) to receive the Holy Spirit anointing, like in Acts 19:2 and Acts chapter 8. We also shared how we come across so many people that hang their salvation on John 3:16 yet have no clue that this scripture is part of a more in-depth conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus — so, it’s solidly connected with Jesus’ commandment in John 3:5 that you must be born again of water and of the Holy Spirit.

It was a great but brief conversation, and we gave James one of our ChristiansRule.com cards. James later told us that after parting ways and heading toward the parking lot, he was thinking about what we shared and he was disappointed - he wished we could have talked some more. Then James spied Ethan coming right by him again (as Ethan had continued his run, not knowing where James headed off to after we parted), and James eagerly waved Ethan over to give him one of his business cards and to ask him to call.

We did catch up with James again, this time with the rest of our group. We spent about an hour together, sharing stories and experiences and exhortation from the Word. We even got to video James’ amazing and truly miraculous testimony. The Lord transformed him from a drug dealer immersed in the depths of immortality, money, addiction (and who knows what else) in the center of New York City, to a passionate preacher shining the love and light of God. The Lord even miraculously saved James from being murdered! We will edit together this story and soon post it for everyone to watch and be inspired by….!

We visited a wonderful farmer’s market on the weekend, and as we walked past one of the stalls, Don heard the words, “…Holy Spirit led people.” He stopped in his tracks and turned back to chat with the stall manager, a lovely Columbian lady. It turned out that she was already filled with the Holy Spirit and loved to pray in tongues, but we were able to share with her some exhortation from the Word, to help refine her personal ministry and the message she shares with others.

After this, we wandered around some stores, just window shopping and seeing whom the Lord might connect us with. Don preached to one young-ish man on the street after he noticed the man’s t-shirt about Jesus, but that didn’t really go anywhere. Then I wandered into a shoe store. We chatted to the manager gentleman (Charles) who was very nice. He complimented our family, so as we were leaving I gave him one of our ChristiansRule.com cards. That led to us chatting about the Lord and discovering that Charles was filled with the Holy Spirit but hadn’t prayed in tongues since the later 1990s! We encouraged him that we could pray over him to get him praying in tongues again - that the Holy Spirit had never left him; rather, he’d been quenching the power of the Holy Spirit within him.

It was almost closing time, so we hung out in the store until Charles could lock the doors and we could pray. His wife came out to join us in prayer. They really had to go, so we quickly prayed over Charles and he started speaking in tongues virtually straight away. He really felt the power and revival within!

We learned that Dee (Charles’ wife) wasn’t yet anointed with the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t have time for us to stay and pray some more. So, we offered to return the next day, which we did. We went out to the back of the store to pray over Dee, and she received mightily! She didn’t want to stop praying in tongues! We prayed over her and Charles together, for their individiual walks in Christ, and as a husband/wife team for the Lord. Dee was especially touched strongly, rejoicing and feeling on fire, praise God!

For months, Elisabeth had a constant nighttime cough that seemed to be getting progressively worse. We prayed over her, and Don prayed over her - even many mid night prayer sessions during some of her coughing episodes. We even tried eliminating certain foods, etc. but still no victory. By the time we arrived in Florida full time, the cough still wasn’t better, so Don was moved to search out a doctor we would feel comfortable with. We don’t like seeking out physicians and we generally don’t, but in this case we believed there was a bigger reason to our daughter’s unresolved issue, and during Don’s searching an MD popped up that seemed to match our preferences.

As soon as we entered the clinic, we knew we were being called there by the Lord for a reason. There were scriptures all over the waiting room foyer walls, and the nurse doctor (Dawn) that examined Elisabeth asked what religion we are (we’ve never been asked that before in a clinic!). We were very happy to answer “Christian,” and then Dawn smiled and said something positive. That led to us eagerly chatting about the things of God for virtually the entire appointment! We discovered that Dawn was already water baptized and Spiritfilled and loves to pray in tongues. But, we were able to share lots of encouragement regarding praying in tongues as much as possible every day, helping others to be born of water and of the Holy Spirit, and regarding her troubled family.

We left the clinic rejoicing in how God used a seemingly negative situation for the purpose of His Kingdom work upon this Earth! But then, it didn’t stop there. A day or two later, we received a text from Dawn, asking us if we would come pray with the father of a doctor friend of hers. The father was in hospital, in a life-threatening condition. We went straight away that night, and how it all turned out was very unexpected, yet expectedly miraculous…

The first thing the Holy Spirit moved us to do was to identify who in the room was a born again believer and who was not, before praying over the sick father (Nelson). We discovered that Dawn’s doctor friend and her husband were, but not yet their children, nor her mother-in-law. The doctor and her husband admitted that they had also been quenching the Holy Spirit within them for quite some time - they were not praying in tongues nor really making much effort toward the Lord at all. So, we laid hands on the doctor and her husband, to get them speaking in tongues again and spiritually revived so-to-speak. They were overjoyed with tears and rejoicing all round.

The amazing thing is that while we were all praying for the doctor and her husband, their three older children (around 7 years, 10 years, and 14 years old) all received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues so clearly and passionately as proof. We weren’t even praying over them directly, and they weren’t even praying for the Holy Spirit anointing specifically - it just happened, praise our mighty God!

Now that most of the room was full of the Holy Spirit (our group, Dawn, the doctor, her husband, and their three kids), we turned to Nelson’s wife, to encourage her. But unfortunately, we were met with a lot of resistance. We even discovered that she and Nelson had only just been married days earlier for the sake of insurance, despite have been together (and had children together) for years. We tried to counsel her according to the Word of God as lovingly as we could, but in the end, she ended up having to step out of the room while the rest of us prayed over Nelson. It was wonderful to see the doctor’s entire family laying hands on Nelson and fervently praying in tongues together. Nelson slipped in and out of consciousness while we all prayed, but he looked incredibly peaceful and squeezed our hands in gratitude when he could.

We parted ways, resting in the fact that we had done what we had been called to do. We urged the family to continue to pray together in the Holy Spirit on a daily basis and to not quench the Holy Spirit again, and to ensure that their three Spiritfilled children soon get water baptized (just as Peter commanded Cornelius and his household in Acts chapter 10). We also encouraged them to continue to pray over Nelson, and to be a light to Nelson’s wife who one day will, we pray, surrender to Truth.

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)!

We spent almost an entire day looking for long-term accommodation while we are still waiting to move in to our new place in September - somewhere affordable, but useful for God’s work. We prayed in faith that the right place would come up, but nothing, so we decided to get some fresh air at a little national park and research some more while resting there. While hanging out at a picnic table by the water, I decided to head back to the vehicle to get some snacks. Elisabeth (now 11 years old!) came with me and on our way, she spied a lady wearing a Christian t-shirt. (The lady was strolling with a friend who was also wearing one.) Elisabeth said to me quietly, “Look Mom, you should give her a card!” I hadn’t noticed the ladies’ clothing, but I was glad that God had moved upon Elisabeth to see. So, Elisabeth and I stopped, grabbed out a card, and ran after the ladies (who were a little ways passed us by now).

The ladies (Debbie and Darcy) were very happy to take our card and chat a little. It turned out that Debbie was already Spiritfilled, but didn’t pray in tongues much. She was delighted to receive my encouragement to pray in tongues as much as possible every day (in private versus in public, of course). In fact, it’s something she had been recently seeking the Lord about, and this wasn’t the first time she had been urged about tongues in the last month or so. Debbie could very much see God’s hand upon us all connecting together, and she went away feeling refreshed and excited to apply God’s message for her.

But then, even after we finished speaking, we caught up with Debbie and Darcy again! They got waylaid by some people they knew, and they ended up passing by our picnic table by the time I was back with the group. This time, I felt very moved to offer to pray over them, so I motioned to Debbie in particular to come meet my husband. Darcy followed, and we all got talking even more about the Lord and being born again of both water (water baptism) and of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues as proof). By this time, Darcy had heard enough that she realized she didn’t yet have the Holy Spirit anointing despite having come to a knowledge of Jesus, repented, and even having been water baptized. So, she accepted our offer of prayer, and we all (including Debbie!) prayed over Darcy and she was filled, praying in tongues for the very first time. There were tears of joy for Darcy, smiles all round, and big hugs between Debbie and Darcy who were not only close friends but now true sisters in the Lord!

Our group also prayed over both of the ladies, for their future walks in Christ. And, our group realized there was a very good reason why we had been struggling to find a place to stay - we had to go to the national park first! Not long after that, a hotel called us back with a great deal and we headed on our way to our new “Winging It!” destination… Now, that’s how our miraculous God works!

There were a number of strong signs that occurred during our last “Winging It!” trip - and immediately upon our return - that showed us that God was calling us to Florida for His work’s sake. So, in obedience, we put the property up for sale staright away and started packing. And, God used the entire re-location process for His glory, bringing people into our lives to touch them with Truth. Here are some highlights…

1) The real estate photographer that came to take the listing photos was already Spiritfilled, but she needed encouragement to pray in tongues daily, among other things. Things worked out (praise God!) that she had to return to finish off a few loose ends, so this gave us the opportunity to talk some more and pray over her (whereas she had been very pressed for time during her first visit to the house). We love how the Lord’s hand works!

2) Don had to drive to a store fairly late at night to get something for the house. The Holy Spirit moved on him to exit the parking lot in a direction he normally never takes. On his way out, he passed a parked motor home with a sign on the side that said “Holy Spirit on the Move!” Don was already at the end of the steep exit ramp when he felt he should stop and reverse all the way back up to the store. He obeyed the Holy Spirit, parked, and knocked on the door of the motorhome in faith. The aged man (David) came out to chat with Don, sharing his hardships yet coupled with a continued desire toward the Lord. Don ended up praying over David and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues.

When recounting the story to us later, Don shared how he had been tempted to just keep on driving as he was pretty much already on the highway, but he just couldn’t ignore the urging of the Holy Spirit within him. He was so glad he didn’t listen to his flesh and that he made the effort to reverse all the way up the hill and back to David’s motorhome!

3) We sold a lot of items, to scale down before we moved. Reggie came to buy a PA system, and Don got chatting with him about the emptiness and hypocrisy within many church organizations. Reggie was inspired by Don’s testimony and experiences with the Living God versus man-made religion, so much so that he ended up accepting Don’s offer to pray over him to receive the Holy Spirit anointing. He received, speaking in tongues as proof! Afterward, Reggie shared how God had miraculously moved upon his day for him to suddenly see the newly placed ad for the PA system, and to urge him to come to our home. He was very touched by God’s hand upon us coming together!

4) While packing the moving truck, we had boxes scattered all over the driveway. I was in the middle of showing a box of vases to our dear (Spirit-filled) neighbors. Sharon decided to pick one up and hold it in the air to have a closer look. Just then a lady drove by, stopped suddenly, and yelled out her open window, “Are you selling that?” We had no idea at the time (we found out afterward) that the lady (Sheila) had been eagerly searching online classifieds for a nice decorative vase. I yelled back that she could have it for free if she wanted and that I had more in the box if she was interested. Well, the whole afternoon turned into a series of miracles!

As Sheila walked up the driveway, Don said to her, “These ladies have something to share with you that will change your life!” So, Sharon and I proceeded to tell Sheila about our ministry in Jesus’ name, to which Sheila responded in amazement. We ended up praying over Sheila (she was already filled with the Holy Spirit yet somewhat quenched), getting her praying in tongues again passionately, and encouraging her that she has full authority to go and pray and baptize in Jesus’ name just as we do.

Sheila was in tears and so touched by God that she went home to get her husband (Ronnie) and bring him back, for us to pray over him, too. He was in the same situation spiritually, but probably more so. It was amazing with our whole family, our neighbors, and Sheila and Ronnie all praying in tongues fervently in our driveway. The Lord used the natural circumstances of our day to mightily bless this couple!

5) The people who purchased our property wanted to install an elevator, so they had to come by a couple of times with the contractor to inspect the home in terms of where and how to do the build. The wife is struggling with her health, and the second time she came on her own, so we purposed to pull her aside and share with her our many healing stories. We sat and relaxed in the kitchen, chatting to her for over an hour, and she was genuinely inspired and moved by the conversation. We discovered she had received the infilling of the Holy Spirit when she was a teenager, but she hadn’t really pursued drawing nigh to God by praying regularly in tongues. We offered to pray over her and she was keen. She prayed so fervently and powerfully in tongues, it was amazing to see the fire in her be revived! What a blessing that a Spiritfilled child of the Living God purchased our property!

6) During our relocation trip to Florida, we stopped into a Starbucks to use the restroom. On my way in, I spied a fit young-ish (late twenties) man wearing a very noticeable crucifix necklace as he exited next to me. I then saw him again as I returned to out vehicle. I quickly pointed out the cross to Don, and he ran over with a ChristiansRule card to give to him. His name is Matthew and he told Don he was an evangelist. So, Don immediately and playfully asked him to come on over and evangelize our whole family (at our vehicle). Matthew was keen, so we listened for a long while and then lovingly shared some critical scriptures, to help fill in some “gaps” in Matthew’s message.

We discovered that both he and his wife are Spiritfilled and love to pray in tongues, but Matthew had been struggling with the importance of it in terms of emphasizing it to others. Matthew and his wife had to run as they were late for an appointment, but he later texted that he was so very grateful for our words (from the Lord - thank you, God!) as it cleared up something he’d been wondering about for some time. The Lord answered Matthew’s prayer, outside a coffee shop! Praise God for his humility and openness to learn and grow!

7) At a hotel stop halfway through our relocation drive, Don was in the parking lot, rearranging our luggage. A semi-homeless guy (Thomas) walked up to Don and asked if Don needed to hire him to help with our stuff. They chatted for a while. When Don discovered that Thomas is Spiritfilled but hadn’t made a habit of seeking the Lord in prayer, and that he had especially neglected praying in the Holy Spirit (tongues), Don offered to pray over him. Thomas was very happy to be praying in tongues again after such a long time, plus Don gave him some more scriptural encouragement and direction, to help him back on track toward the ways of the Lord versus the temptations and oppressions of the world.

8) It took two days to unload all of the stuff and pack it into the storage lockers. After that, we were quite exhausted and it was really difficult to find an affordable hotel because of the holidays. We finally found one and it was there that we met Rhonda during breakfast. She was there with family, visiting her brother in hospital. We shared with Rhonda our personal healing tesimonies and those of others we’ve prayed with, and she was inspired. She was a dedicated churchgoer and regularly prayed to God, but hadn’t yet received the Holy Spirit (as in Acts 19:2). We went outside to the quiet breakfast deck and prayed over her, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. We could see the surprise and peace in her, and she had many questions, but she had to zip off to the hospital with her family as they were ready to leave. We gave her our details and website information (as we do with everyone) and emphasized that the Lord wanted to use her as a catalyst for change and healing within her whole family. There was certainly a reason why the Lord directed us to that particular hotel!

9) The next night, we went to a busy restaurant/retail area (as we regularly do), to be around crowds of people and see what work the Lord might call us to. Invariably, we end up praying with at least one person, sometimes many, and this night God had us drawn to some busker music in the central square. Don heard it first, wandered over, and waited for a break in the busker’s performance to speak with him. It turned out that the music was faith-based, and the guitarist’s name was Courage. The rest of the group joined Don and we all shared scriptures for over an hour! Courage’s family were churchgoers, but he had strayed from the Lord when he was in his teens. He had recently turned back toward God and was now playing in a Christian band. Of course, we asked him as per Acts 19:2, and this led to a long question/answer session, trying to help Courage understand the difference between Truth (that Jesus and his disciples first preached) and the watered down, distorted messages we hear throughout “Churchianity” today. We could see that Courage understood and connected with what we were saying. Now he just needs to have the “courage” to not worry about what his friends and family think - to seek to be a pleaser of God and not of man….

Yet again, we have so much to catch you up on! So, here we go…

In February/March, we did a “Winging It!” trip to Florida and ended up praying with lots of people, with many more preached to:

1) Nancy - An older lady with whom Ethan shared the Word while relaxing in the hot tub. She was very zealous for Jesus and had experienced many amazing miracles in her life so far. We ended up heading to a quieter place in the hotel lobby to pray with her to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and she received, speaking in tongues very fluently. We explained that, having also been water baptized unto Jesus for the remission of sins, she now had full authority to go forth and help others to be born again.

2) Jeremy - He was reading a book about God by the poolside and Don noticed the title. Don asked him about it which led to a very involved conversation about the scriptures, church experience, and what Jesus actually preached. Jeremy had wanted to speak in tongues for many years, but nothing ever happened. We explained we never pray for someone to speak in tongues but only for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit - that the Holy Spirit had been working on the outside of Jeremy’s life until now, but he was yet to receive the indwelling power. He came up to our hotel room and laid hands on him, and prayed over him. Finally, when Jeremy truly surrendered all to God, he was mightily filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues boldly. We filmed his testimony immediately afterward, and he explained that as soon as he gave over to God, “becoming small and insiginifcant” in his own mind, he suddenly felt the roaring lion of Judah rise up from his belly and and then grow bigger and bigger until he was loudly speaking forth in tongues. It was so wonderful to witness his transformation, praise God!

3) Kaye got talking with one of the housekeepers one day. She learned she was from Jamaica, here working for just 6 months, and that she was Spiritfilled and loved to pray in tongues, fast, and overall relish in her relationship with Jesus. She herself had been baptized, but she didn’t realize that having been fully born again of water and the Holy Spirit, that she can go and do the same for others. She doesn’t have to take people to some kind of official minister with the authorization to baptize and pray over people - rather, she can do it herself as one of God’s anointed children! It was a very blessed conversation.

4) At our next location for the trip, we started to look at real estate (with a view to relocating to the area). There was very little inventory available, but one new listing popped up while we were there, so we jumped to it straight away and were there within about an hour. We didn’t end up pursuing the property, but we did share our stories with the realtor couple during the showing, and they wanted to pray for the Holy Spirit anointing. So, we laid hands on them and prayed right there in the staged living room, just like we did years ago with a realtor in California. The Lord has a miraculous way of repeating certain things in our lives!

5) While hanging out the beach and pier, I got talking with a mother with her 5-year-old boy. We chatted a long while and nothing directly opened up about the Lord, so I deliberately steered the conversation to the Bible and asked her if she was familar with the Day of Pentecost when all of the disciples received the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as proof. The entire rest of the afternoon was filled with amazing conversation, praying over her (she received!), and then Don baptized her in the ocean (in the clothes she was wearing!).

6) We got the opprtunity the share the Word with quite a few people at the hotel we were staying at, too. One of the workers (Louis) at the hotel Starbucks mentioned he had a son named Ethan (same as our Ethan), which led to talking about the meaning of names, which in turn led to talking about the Lord. We discovered that Louis was already Spirit-filled, but hadn’t spoken in tongues in many years. We offered to pray with him, to help him “revive” the power of the Holy Spirit within him which had been kind of laying dormant for some time. He asked us to come back the next day on his lunch break when he’d have more time. We did, but he wasn’t available as a delivery had just come in that he had to deal with, so we told him to feel free to reach out to us another time. About 30 minutes later, Louis came walking up to us on the pool deck. I guess we had told him where we were going, and he tracked us down! We went to a quite area and prayed over Louis, and he prayed in tongues really well for the first time in four years! We were also able to counsel him from the Word of God regarding a few serious issues in his life. He seemed very grateful and definitely saw us connecting together as the mighty hand of God!

7) At the beach, Don got chatting with a young-ish couple while ordering food - no alcohol :) - at the outdoor bar. Don was curious about the tattoo on the guy’s arm which, we discovered, was the date of his water baptism during a missionary trip to Central America. Not that we encourage tattoos at all, but it opened the conversation to many scriptures that Austin was unaware of. Our whole family ended up laying hands on Austin at our cabana, and he received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. He was very touched, holding back tears!

We prayed over a number of other people on our “Winging It!” trip as the Lord led us each day, including Elizabeth and Stephanie. The Lord knows who they are, and we continue to uphold them in prayer.

Hanging out at cafes is such a great way to share the Word with people. We go out with expectation that the Lord will connect us with people according to His will. Last week was especially interesting, and very moving. No sooner had we arrived when Don saw a lady with a shirt that had something about church printed on it. After the two of them got talking, Don invited the lady and her hsuband to join us at our table. They were very happy to, and it turned into an amazing hour-long conversation.

The couple were on their way home from a marriage retreat weekend and they had stopped in to get a coffee for the long trip back. The couple is already Spiritfilled, but they don’t pray in tongues much and they have been praying about having more God-focused purpose to their lives. The wife in particular has been feeling lost and unfulfilled.

Praise God, we were able to share many encouraging and even lovingly chastening words with them, which they received enthusiastically. The wife was joyfully teary, and they departed with us all feeling that the Lord had done something miraculous to change the course of this couple’s lives.

On another occasion last week, while Don and I were having dinner out together, we got talking with two young ladies seated near us. That conversation was even longer - probably at least one and a half hours! Similar to what many people share with us, Bailey said she’d never heard things of the Lord put the way we explained it. She was raised with a strong Catholic background, and it was very refreshing for her to hear about our experiences and understanding of Scripture. She had lots of great questions which we were able to answer directly from the Word of God (as opposed to our own opinion). Sometimes, the work we do for the Lord is simply planting a seed that God then waters in other ways. Whatever God brings our way, we feel privileged to be a part of it!

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!

We just returned from a ten-day trip. Lots of opportunity to share the Word of God with all kinds of people in different situations as we traveled. That’s generally always the way it happens - organically, throughout the natural course of our day. I will share one special story:

Don needed to buy a cargo hitch for the rear of our vehicle in order carry some extra luggage. We were out to dinner when he decided to quickly search in the area where we were dining (which was over one hour away from where we were staying). He “happened” to find one close by.

After arriving and purchasing the carrier, Don talked some more with the man (Bryce) and found out that he and his family were in the process of searching for a new church. We all ended up joining the conversation, including Bryce’s wife (Becky) and 8-year-old daughter (Bryleigh). Soon, we were laying hands on Bryce, praying for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He quickly received, speaking in tongues as proof, and then Becky followed, also receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Our 10-year-old (Spirit-filled) daughter was eager to ask Bryleigh if she would also like to pray. She was very keen, having just seen her parents both filled with the Holy Spirit, and having eagerly listened to all of the previous discussion about the Lord. So, we all laid hands on Bryleigh and she also received. Praise God - a whole family anointed with the Holy Spirit in one night!

Last weekend, the weather was so beautiful that we went for a long hike. Our daughter took us down a very narrow, out-of-the-way path to try to see some waterfalls, but it led to a dead end. We stood and searched for a while, but then eventually turned to head back. Just as we did, we spied a young gal (Lauren) heading our way. She, too, was trying to get to the falls.

Lauren had a t-shirt on promoting a Christian college, so we asked her about it. That soon transitioned into us sharing with her our testimonies, plus stories of us praying with people around the world. We ended up laying hands on her and praying over her. She even asked if she could play worship music while we all prayed, which was great. Here we were, a group of us praying to the Lord in the middle of the forest with beautiful music surrounding us!

The Lord keeps causing us to run into people!…

A couple of posts back, we shared how we ended up praying with Nikki’s mom because they drove by a coffee shop just as we were outside praying with some people. Well, this time we were outside a grocery store. Don had parked in a spot far from where he normally parks, and he quickly popped into the store for a few items. At the same time, Nikki and her mom were coming out of a different store and they saw our vehicle - parked just a few spots away from theirs.

All week, it had been on Nikki’s mind to contact us as she had not yet been quite ready to have us pray over her (as we had done so for her mom). This time, however, as soon as Nikki saw our vehicle, she knew what God was doing and she was finally willing to obey His calling. Nikki immediately came over to the passenger side where I was sitting, and as I opened the door to say hi, she immediately asked me if we could pray for her. She was ready!

A few of us piled into Nikki’s car with her mom where we laid hands on Nikki and prayed for her to receive the Holy Spirit. (Although, as part of the initial prayer, we always get people to confess Jesus and verbally ask God for the Holy Spirit themselves, too.) Nikki was filled with the Holy Spirit very quickly, speaking in tongues as proof. We spoke a while, confirming once again that she had in fact also been water baptized unto Jesus in the past. Then we prayed some more so that Nikki would feel comfortable praying in tongues on her own in the future.

What a night! It was such a joy for me to look up from my phone (as I sat in the car waiting for Don) and see Nikki standing outside of our vehicle, sporting a big smile. Another special thing is that Ethan (our oldest son) had prayed just the day before that we would have a chance to pray with Nikki before we are due to leave here at the end of the month. We indeed have a mighty God, and He hears and answers!

Well, I think the local coffee shop (near where we’ve been staying these last many months) has become the Lord’s #1 designated place for His work through us (lol). Every time we think our work in Ohio is done and we get ready to move on, the Lord keeps us here a bit longer because there are more people He wants us to speak to - and the coffee shop seems to be the main place for it!

While we were inside the cafe yesterday, a large group of young-ish married couples came in to dine. One of the men briefly engaged in conversation with us about the board game we were playing. By the way they were dressed, we figured they might have just come from a church meeting, so Don purposed to speak with them at some stage later in the day.

We all ended up leaving the cafe at the same time, so Don continued conversing with the man that had spoken to us earlier. We discovered that they had in fact come from church and that the entire group was actually filled with the Holy Spirit. But, we also learned that they didn’t pray in tongues very often - and, they had all been experiencing a “theme” lately regarding something lacking in their prayer life. So, the Holy Spirit had been preparing them in these last weeks for the message we had to share with them! The couple could clearly see this, and they welcomed our encouragement to pray in tongues daily and to strengthen their gospel message when preaching to others.

In fact, we offered to lay hands on the couple, to get them praying in tongues again (they hadn’t prayed in the Holy Spirit for a while), and to pray over them for such things as greater boldness and confidence, and for their prayer life, etc. They were both keen, so again we simply stepped to the side of the coffee shop and prayed as a group right there. It was such a joy to witness their reactions (the wife was in tears of joy) and their eagerness to apply the messages that God had clearly set up for them to hear.

Oh, and another really neat thing happened, praise God….

Don had lost the back of his vehicle key fob last week when we were at the cafe. Don searched for it all week, not knowing where he had lost it. He thought it might have fallen down a crack somewhere inside the vehicle. Then, just as Don stepped outside of the car yesterday after we arrived, his foot landed right next to lost key fob piece! It is black in color, too, so it would have been difficult to see on the pavement. The unusual thing is that that spot is not where we had parked a week earlier. The piece was at least 20 feet from where we had previously parked!

Our mighty God is so merciful and gracious. Don remembers speaking with God earlier in the week saying, “Lord, you know where it is” - and He certainly did! Thank you, Lord.

We have an amazing story from our visit to our regular coffee shop yesterday:

Don overheard a man say the word “prayer,” so on their way out he got talking with them. It turns out that one of the couples in the group are Spirit-filled, but they hadn’t prayed in tongues in a long time. The couple they were with hadn’t yet received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and had in fact been turned off of the things of God by very negative church experiences.

We shared with all four some of our stories and how the Lord has used us in ministry for many years, helping people to come to have a personal relationship with the living God, far beyond what is seen and heard in most churches today. By the end of the conversation, they were all eager to join us in prayer, to see how God would prove the words (from the Bible) that we were sharing with them.

We first prayed with the second couple and both husband and wife received the Holy Spirit. They were in tears, and we could see the relief and softening in them - a kind of healing from their past religious encounters. Then we laid hands on the second (already Spirit-filled) couple and prayed over them, reigniting their connection with the Holy Spirit within them. They were so happy to be praying in tongues again, and they welcomed our advice to pray in tongues daily from this point forward.

Now, this was all very wonderful, but THEN….

Some people we had preached to weeks earlier saw us standing outside the cafe as they drove by. So, they turned around and come back to see us just as we were saying goodbye to the two couples. Actually, the fullness of what happened was that the daughter and mother were in one car, so the daughter contacted her fiance to tell him that she had just spotted Don and his family, and to ask where her fiance was at. The fiance was in a separate vehicle with his brother, but the amazing thing is that he had just passed by the very same location just seconds earlier! So, he turned around, too.

We ended up praying with the gal’s mother and she received the Holy Spirit! For a long time, she had wanted to be able to speak in tongues, but she was always told (incorrectly) that it’s something that has to be learned. We corrected her understanding, quoting scriptures and explaining that it is nothing but a miracle - that “He” the Holy Spirit has a spiritual language with which to communicate with the Father; He simply uses our voice once He comes to dwell permanently within us. The mother was so excited to receive this clarification.

Needless to say, we left the coffee shop feeling overjoyed and incredibly privileged to be used yet again by God to touch others’ lives. Praise you, Jesus!