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!
How Rozie's Uber Trip Turned Into An Opportunity
Have you ever taken a taxi or an Uber? In Cape Town one of the ways we get around is by Ubering. A lot of the times we don’t make too much conversation outside of the weather but One day Rozie took an Uber to a friends house and upon getting into the Uber the driver was listening to a Christian radio station. So, she asked him if he was a Christian and he said he wasn’t sure about it, and she asked him why he wasn’t sure about that. He said he had grown up Christian but had gone off the path and recently things had been hard in his life. So now, he was wanting to know more about God. Rozie offered to pray for him at which he said please. She prayed for him and he asked her what she did for a living, was she a preacher or what? Rozie told him she was a missionary. She began to tell him about YWAM’s Discipleship Training School which he was very interested in but needed something that he could do while working. So then Rozie told him about the the training school at Antioch Community Church (our local church we are apart of.) He was very interested, so she left her details with him and said goodbye. A couple of days later he messaged her and said he would like to come to church. Which he came with his girlfriend and child that Sunday! Now they are plugged in and are going to do the school next year! My take away from this awesome story is who is the person that’s in front of me that I can love today?
South Africa
South Africa was incredible! I am now back in Kona closing out the school and getting ready to head to California where I am helping my sister and brother in law move all there stuff from Huntington Beach to Longview, Texas; I am excited for this road trip! Just to give you a quick recap of my time in South Africa, in three months we prayed for/ talked to OVER 1,026 people, saw 15 salvations, 7 people get physically healed, and 11 people baptized in the Holy Spirit! One of my favorite stories is getting to be apart of planting a seed of prayer on the YWAM base. We made a spreadsheet with 24 hour slots 7 days a week and had a worship night with the base and I explained my heart for prayer and how it is so powerful and effective. Then I did a call for everyone to commit just one hour a week in the small prayer room on base praying for the rest of the quarter, and it was a success! People signed up and the momentum for prayer was growing even more! I was excited to be apart of what God was already doing! It was incredible to just see and be apart of what God is doing in this country! Everywhere we went we saw God doing something incredible. In the Townships, in the Universities, in the churches, in the YWAM base! All over the country there is momentum building for a genuine prayer movement. I am thankful for these past six months. For every penny being provided, for every prayer, for the team God gave me, for the amazing people I got to meet, for YWAM, for God's protection, I am so thankful! I am continuing on this journey of establishing a prayer in the DRC by first heading back towards South Africa in this next year. I will be back in Texas for December through February and I will be looking to speak, lead worship, and just meet with people to share the vision of seeing a prayer room built! If you would like to know more, fill out the contact page on this website! Thank you so much for all your prayers and financial support I pray your blessed ten fold for your generosity! All the fruit you see from this trip is accredited to y'all as well, your reward is great in Heaven!
Salvations, Baptisms, and Seeds
Driving the N2 back to Muizenberg
Cape Town is a beautiful place between the mountains, the ocean, the people, and most of all what God is doing here! The team and I arrived three weeks ago after three days of travelling, (longest flights of my life) and after a couple days of getting over jetlag we started ministry. Some of the ministries we are doing is leading worship at the University of Cape Town, preaching to a youth leadership team, and also working with kids in schools, helping them with school work, playing with them, helping feed them, etc. On the first day of ministry we were at the school and the kids were praying the Lord’s prayer in Xhosa. All of a sudden one the guys that was with us gets a word of encouragement for one of the four teachers standing there. This turned into us telling them the gospel and four of them gave their lives to Jesus on the spot! What I love about this is that we are able to see them each day and walk with them rather than just letting them figure it out on their own. The next morning, I brought my guitar and we did worship. The teachers ended up grabbing the kids and we worshipped as apart of the school! As we continued on that day we went door to door in the townships and as we got invited into an older ladies house her and her friend gave their lives to Jesus as well! All in all, after three weeks of being here we have seen SEVEN salvations, TWO people baptized in the spirit, and have planted over FIFTY seeds (planting a seed is praying for/ talking with a person.) I have thoroughly enjoyed our time here so far and I feel like I am gaining even more resolve that God is leading me towards this nation unto the D.R. Congo. I leave for the D.R.C. October 28th for a one week trip with the ministry there called Rally International. Finally, after two years of waiting I am so thankful for the opportunity to strike the ground of this nation. Please continue to pray for me as I go: That the trip would be effective, for wisdom discernment & understanding, for safety, for no sickness, and for God’s help in what it looks like to start a prayer room here in South Africa and the DR Congo! Last prayer point is for the team, everyone seems to be getting sick and it’s preventing them from doing ministry, please pray for healing! I am so thankful for every single person who has given towards this trip and has prayed for me. Your prayers are such a huge impact so thank you so much! The Sound of Heaven is being released through prayer & missions!
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