Jesus Heals a Girl on Her Deathbed
Rozie and I have made friends with the people who live and work around us over the past year of being married. One evening this week, one of those friends messaged Rozie asking if we could come pray for her niece that was on her death bed at the hospital. She said she couldn’t find any other pastor to come and she didn’t know what to do. So, we went to the hospital that evening and prayed for this girl who was hooked up to machines and fighting for her life. After we prayed, her parents told us that she hadn’t been that calm in awhile, and she was smiling for the first time in days! We left believing for God to fully heal this little girl.
Later in the night we got a message that things took a turn for the worse and the parents were telling us to keep praying (They were making the notion that this would be the little girls final hours.) Rozie and I rallied our School of Prayer to contend for her healing and later that evening we went back to the hospital and brought my guitar to do some worship with the family. As we got there the mom showed us a piece of paper with tears of joy saying that last night the doctor wrote a note saying that this girl will not make it through the night, they cut off all the machines except the oxygen. As he came in the next morning the little girl was still alive and in fact stronger than she was the night before. The doctor was stunned and could not explain how this was possible. We sang and worshipped and prayed for complete healing that evening. and the little girl got stronger and is now out of the bed and is as joyful as ever! We are rejoicing that she is getting stronger each day. We have made more friends now who are excited to come with us to church when their daughter gets out of the hospital!
What Is Our Reward? And How Do We Get it?
Then I asked him if he knew of Jesus and “the story”. He looked at me for a minute and told me he had heard of him but never heard the story…
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary’s chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
What was it that made Mary just sit at the feet of Jesus and be with him? I have often thought that if I just ask God hard enough and He answers my prayer that all will be well, but what if I am missing the point of it all?
We recently drove 9 hours to go see Rozie’s parents for her dads 60th birthday. On the way there we stopped at a shell gas station for some food. As I got out of the car I noticed the security guard sitting there and I felt a desire to ask him if he wanted prayer for anything. I asked him if he knew of Jesus and “the story”. He looked at me for a minute and told me he had heard of him but never heard the story (What a privilege.) I told him that God wants to be his friend and that He wants to be involved in his whole life. I told him that God wanted to dream with him. I told him that if he said it with his mouth and believed it in his heart that Jesus died and rose again that he would be saved. He said that he wanted this relationship with God!
What can I say to someone who is experiencing suffering or what can I give to someone who is an aftermath of oppression? In all the complexities of it I believe one of the most powerful things is letting people know we can be friends with God. Did Mary see Him as a friend? I am living in this tension of the Kingdom of Heaven both here now and not yet fully. The now being that we can know God personally, the not yet that the injustices of the world. We have a connection with Jesus and beyond seeing that fulfillment of what you are believing for He is the great reward- thats not to say there isn’t an amazing feeling in seeing the fulfillment of things, I still press for them. But what a profound thought that Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise we see in the Bible. So if you are believing for God to breakthrough in your situation don’t give up but keep pressing in knowing that Jesus is your reward!
Opportunities
What a month it has been! Since my last update we have seen over 30 salvations, some amazing answers to prayers, and an awesome story of how God continues to provide for this dream He has put on my heart. We had our Jesus Burgers outreach where we hand out free burgers to the homeless and community in Kona while having a two hour worship service going on. At the end of the night we go up and preach the gospel plain and simple! This Jesus Burgers I got the opportunity to share alongside my brother-in-law Seth. As I was praying before I got up I kept asking God to speak through me. I shared two stories that conveyed the heart of God and then Seth came up and brought the simple gospel and when he asked who wanted to respond over 30 HANDS shot straight up in the air! It was a great time and I am so thankful I got to be apart of it! As you all know I have been praying and planning for this trip to South Africa for around six months now. Along with praying for this trip I have been praying for God to open doors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Well the Lord has answered my prayers and now it is looking like I will be able to connect with Rally International (The ministry in the DR Congo) while I am in South Africa! I am so excited and expectant for this three month trip to South Africa this fall. I am looking to network with leaders there, scout out the land and see the possibility of moving there, and serve the YWAM base that is in Cape Town. God has always been faithful to His words and He always will! I am in awe of His provision these past couple of weeks. From providing money for gas to literally providing money for a deposit on a flight to South Africa as my card is being typed in! (contact me to hear that whole story!) So as I write this update I do it with a full heart of gratitude. I am thankful for God's grace and mercy which I don't deserve and I am thankful for friends and family that champion me and this vision of seeing a prayer room established in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thank you to everyone who has given towards this dream already and thank you for everyone who is praying for me (it's working!) Here are few needs until my next update, please contact me if you want to talk more!
- Prayer for my passport to make it back to me before I leave for South Africa (I had to send it in because of some errors made by the gov't)
- $2,800 for my trip to Africa
- Prayer for my team (of 6) pray for unity and boldness to preach the gospel
- Prayer for me to hear God's voice clearly and have wisdom as I move on towards the next step of establishing a prayer room in the DRC