Testimonies from 2014

Patience Results in Salvation-October 2014

I arrived in Dan Yang South Korea on Monday afternoon, October 20  I was as one of the teachers for an Dunamis Evangelism Conference .  Almost instantly, I noticed a fairly tall Korean man who was one of the workers.  For some reason, he stuck out to me.  I didn’t think much about him at the time, but I found myself wondering if he was a Christian.

There were a lot of things to discuss for the conference.  So I soon forgot about the man at the front desk.  But each time I went back into the lobby and saw him, the thought came back to me, stronger than before.  When I asked God about it, He told me, “Wait.”  So I waited.  Monday.  Tuesday.  Wednesday.  By Wednesday night, it was almost unbearable.  But God continued to say, “Wait.”  Then Thursday came.  On Thursday afternoon, we did outreach on the streets of Dan Yang.  Before we went out, we waited on the Lord to reveal “clues” to us on where he wanted us to go, who were were to talk to, and what to pray about and look for.  I again had a vision of this young man.  But I also knew the Lord wanted me to wait until we returned from the streets.

After we came back from an eventful time on the streets, we were sharing stories with other groups.  Through the window, I saw the young man preparing our meal in the hotel dining room.  I knew then that I could finally talk to him.  After dinner, I did so through my interpreter, as He spoke very little English.  I had a few prophetic words about him being a leader and letting go of the past.   He seemed a little sheepish about being called a leader, and I could tell he had some shame.  But when I offered to talk to him more that evening after our session, he agreed.

So at 10:30 in the hotel lobby that evening, we resumed conversation.  It was as if there was no language barrier.  God gave me words to speak, the interpretation worked out well, and the young man was honest with me. He was in his early 30’s, just a bit older than me.  He was a college dropout and had moved to this town recently.  He was lonely and worked a lot.  He didn’t know God.

I shared the gospel with him, and he shared that he understood with his head, but that was all.  I placed my hands on him and asked the Holy Spirit to come.  After praying, He initially said he felt nothing.  But when I asked if he felt heat, he nodded, surprised that I knew that.  I then told Him that God was real and wanted a relationship with him through Jesus Christ.  I shared that I may never see him again on this earth, but wanted him to be my brother for all eternity.  He swallowed.  I could see clearly that love was translating across cultures!  Soon after, I asked him one more time if he wanted to give his life to Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior.   He said, “Yes!”  I led him in a prayer and blessed him as we left.  He assured me as I left that it indeed was his decision, not my “salesmanship.”  Thank you Holy Spirit for moving!!

The next day, I brought a pastor with me to follow up with him.  He seemed very pleased to see me and his face looked more alive than before.  They exchanged information.  I also shared with his boss at the hotel (a Christian) what had happened.  I still don’t know his name, but God does.  And God needs no interpreter to communicate with Him!  Praise the Lord!

That’s Bodacious-September 2014

I arrived in Dan Yang South Korea on Monday afternoon, October 20  I was as one of the teachers for an Dunamis Evangelism Conferen

As our group of three began our time of outreach that Saturday afternoon, I was reminded of our desperate need for God and His guidance and orchestration.  I may have done this many times before, but every time is different.  We needed Him to show up in order for people to truly be touched.  “Oaks Street” and “Creme Colored” were two of the words of guidance that we had received as we prayed that morning.  So we began by walking down Oaks Street.  Soon we spotted a man wearing a creme colored hat nearby.  Instantly, I felt the Holy Spirit leading us over to talk to him.  In some cases, it is appropriate to wait awhile before going over and pray.  But when God prompts and the energy comes, it’s go time: NOW!!!.  That is what happened that day.

What do you say when you talk to a total stranger?  Sometimes, this is the part that holds people back. My advice: don’t make it too complicated!  We walked up and said, “Hi, how are you doing today?”  He made took our random interaction completely in stride, and responded with a question himself:  “Can I use one of your phones?  I need to make a call.”  I felt the Lord’s peace and right away gave him my phone to use.  The person he called didn’t answer, but it did soften his heart towards us as we showed kindness.  We continued to make small talk and I noticed that he kept using the word “bodacious” (thus the title of this blog post).

We eventually told Mr. Bodacious what we were doing and he mentioned his neck pain.  His pain was evident, as his head was hunched over.  When we asked to pray for his neck,  he fired back, “Why would you want to pray for my neck?  I have pain in my shoulder, my side and all over my body.”  When a person isn’t interested in prayer, there is no reason to force it on them.  In this case, there was some demonic intervention.  I told Mr. Bodacious that prayer was his choice and wouldn’t be forced on him, and we moved on to another subject.  I was thinking about ending our interaction, but before we could, a friend of mine rode up on her bike.  She began talking with us and joined our conversation.

About then, one of Mr. Bodacious’ friends came over to join us as well.  Seeing the uniqueness of our spontaneous gathering, Mr. Bodacious wanted a picture with all of us.  While his friend tried to get the camera to work, we put arms around each other.  By this time, Mr. Bodacious had softened to us even more.  He seemed quite comfortable, especially since we were gentle and kind and did not force anything on him or judge him for who he was.  I was led to say, “Hey, we already have our arms around you.  Are you sure we can’t pray for healing for your neck and body?”  This time, it worked.  He allowed us to pray, about the time the camera finally clicked.

We spoke healing into his body in Jesus name, and commanded evil spirits off of him.  I asked the Holy Spirit to come on him.  He felt the presence of God and starts crying.  Then his head came up and he said, “There is no pain in my body.”  He affirmed that there was pain before and now he didn’t feel any.  He started praising God and rejoicing!  I tried to talk to him a bit more about his personal walk with Jesus, but he was praising God so much he didn’t hear me.  We did what we were sent for!   Before we left, we were able to give him a better rain coat to keep him dry.  And that, my friends, is Bodacious!!

A Fresh Start-July 2014

I was on the Rosebud Reservation near Mission, SD for a missions/equipping trip in mid July of 2014.  I was joined on my trip by two young men from Grand Rapids, MI.  On one of the first days of our time on the reservation, we came across a young twenty year-old man who needed a ride to the Pine Ridge Reservation, about 60 miles away.  A friend of ours was looking for someone to take him back.  The twenty year old had been somewhat of a problem locally, and had even been somewhat violent.  But we prayed, discerned, and God said, “Yes.”  He doesn’t always call us to do the “safe” things.

As we drove him the 60 miles to Pine Ridge, God softened our hearts for him and we began to love on him.  We shared personal testimonies of our lives.  I talked about coming out of a mindset of religion and into a mindset of relationship. This really intrigued him, as he had a mix of native and Catholic beliefs and was confused.  We prayed for inner and physical healing and anointed him with oil as we drove down the road in my car.  His heart began to open more to us.  He even gave me a gift: a special pen with beads that he made.  He said he needed a “fresh start,” and when we came to the gas station in Martin, SD where we dropped him off, the station was called “fresh start.”  God sure does have a sense of humor!

We got out of the car and I gave him a special gift box that had a Bible and several gospel tracks, in it.  He was very grateful and thanked us several times.  I gave him a hug, and he held onto me for a long time.  Before we left, I hugged him again and he clung to me.  I blessed and affirmed him as a man.  Somehow, I doubt he had ever received anything quite like that before.  Also, I believe it may have been one of the first hugs he had ever received before.  We left, praising God and celebrating that we had the opportunity to “Be” Jesus to this man.  He had experienced the kingdom of God.  May the Lord send workers to water and grow that seed (we’ll call him “Joe”)!

Fruit and Gifts Together-June 2014

I was serving as a speaker  for a listening evangelism workshop at the Youth Unlimited Serve Project for Youth in Grand Rapids, MI.  Over the course of the week, 130+ youth cycled through my workshop to learn more about evangelism guided by the Holy Spirit.  For each session, I spent about an hour teaching the youth about evangelism before we hit the streets.

After breaking into groups that Wednesday morning, we headed out towards the downtown area.  We’d spent time before hand, praying for “clues” so we could follow the Spirit’s guidance.  “Rosa Parks” was on our sheet as a location to visit, and as I led one of the small groups, I felt I was on a mission to go to Rosa Parks.  Yet God had plans before hand.  As we passed memorial park on the corner of Fulton and Sheldon, we saw a guy with an “orange shirt.”  This was one of the clues a student had received.  She also knew that the guy in the orange shirt had “broken relationships.”  We walked into the park and a few of us headed over to the guy.  But he was on his phone, so we moved on.  The girl with the clue ended up talking to someone else, and I waited quietly, praying for an opportunity to converse with Orange Shirt.  A few minutes later, it came.

Two youth boys  and I walked over to Orange Shirt and the man sitting next to him.  Both of them were African American, and Orange Shirt’s friend had a cane.  I don’t recall if we had cane on our list that day or not…..and I don’t think we had knee pain.  But “orange shirt” we did have.  And we felt the Spirit’s prompting, which is really all that matters.

We talked with the two men and eventually asked if they wanted prayer.  They declined.  Then I was prompted to ask them, “Would you pray for us?  We are walking around, unsure where God is leading us on this treasure hunt.”  This changed everything.  The two men’s guards came down as we humbled ourselves, and they began talking to us.  Non-Orange Shirt was in his late 50’s, and had a lot of advice for one of the youth on being a good point guard in basketball.  Eventually, he let us lay hands on him and we were able to pray with the man.  I paused and focused on Jesus.  This is key.  Our faith is not in the words of our prayers, but in Jesus Christ!  I commanded the pain to leave in Jesus name, and asked Jesus to restore the damage in his knee so that he could play basketball again.  After a few minutes more of us talking, the man got up and walked away holding his cane.  Then, he came and sat back down.  “My pain is gone!” he said.  Praise Jesus!

We ended up ministering to Orange Shirt after that, who told us, “I need help with dating relationships.”  We coached him on what a Godly relationship was between a guy and a girl and that the purpose should be to get to know one another and see if marriage is appropriate.  We ended up praying with him regarding this situation, and both he and his friend were blessed by our advice.  I gave the younger man my business card, and told him to let me know if he wanted to talk again.  As we left them, they were heading for the library across the street to get books on healthy relationships.  I told them to start with the Bible.

Clearly, God moved through the gifts of the Spirit (words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, healing, etc) in a variety of us that day. But it also took us displaying the fruit of the Spirit (Love, patience, kindness etc.) for the door to open for all that God had for us.  Praise the Lord for the opportunity to be used and stretched!

Heaven Meets Earth-March 2014

I knew God was up to something that cold March evening as our outreach group assembled at our usual spot near Rosa Parks Circle in downtown, Grand Rapids.  As we did our pre-game prayer, I heard the Lord say, “Baptism of Fire.”  We raised our hands and began praying, knowing that we desperately needed the fire of God to come upon us.

We divided up into groups of three and set out.  After praying for two people on the streets, our group felt God leading us to The Lantern coffee shop.  About one block east of the coffee shop, we heard a woman on the other side of the street crying out for help.  After a short time of discernment, we crossed the street to help her.

Evie (not her real name) was cold, crying, and struggling.  She was hungry and had no gloves.  When we asked if we could pray for her, and she began crying out to God herself, desperate for His touch.  She shared with one of us later that the Lord had told her to cry out to us for help when she saw us approaching.   Looking back on the evening, I’m very glad that she did and we obeyed.
The Lord directed us to buy her a meal and we asked her where she would like to go.  She was pleased and thanked us, but still was so shaken up that she kept on wailing in broken speech.  About then, God impressed on me to give her my leather gloves.  I loved my gloves, and honestly it wasn’t real easy to initially obey.  Yet the word was clear and I knew that she needed them worse than me.  I had to remember that everything I had was God’s and He was simply trusting me with it.  We put them on her hands, and they fit her perfectly.  God reminded me of my nice thick mittens in my trunk that I had never worn.  I was already provided for….

We walked Evie to the Lantern Coffee Shop for some food.  While she ate, we chatted with her, getting to know her a bit more.  We discerned that she had some evil spirits harassing her, and after some more discernment we asked and were granted permission to pray for her.  Placing a hand on her shoulder, we prayed off the evil spirits.  As they left, she coughed and began crying tears of joy, thanking Jesus.

Next we discerned to pray for Evie’s back.  She acknowledged the pain, and we laid hands on her back.  As we did, we relaxed and waited on the Lord.  I had a mental picture of Jesus in heaven sitting next to the Father.  We began saying Jesus’ name over and over again.  We spoke against the spirit of infirmity on her back and commanded it to go in Jesus name.  Then, I felt the current of the Spirit flow through me to her, and I said, “There it is.”  She shifted and said, “I don’t feel any more pain!  It’s gone!”  Praise God!!

We prophesied over Evie, telling her that God was not done with her yet.  She was a believer, but had clearly been through some hard times.  God was giving her a second chance in life and our prayer is that she takes it!
Evie asked for the restroom.  As she walked down the stairs, we noticed she still walked poorly.  When she returned, she informed us that it was her ankles where the pain was.  Laying hands on her, we prayed for her and again the vision of Jesus came.   We began declaring His name.  When we did, I felt His power flow out through my arm.   Her ankles began to shake and thrash around.  Then, before I could really think twice, I told her, “You will get up and walk as though there is no problem.”  She got up and walked with normal posture as if nothing had happened!  Then she started jumping up and down, praising Jesus right there in the coffee shop!

Was this the same woman we had seen 30 minutes ago?  She certainly was behaving much differently!  She loaded up the rest of her food in her bag, and we followed her out onto the streets.  She continued to repeat, “Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus!”  She walked down the street in front of us much faster than we were walking!  She had taken what seemed like forever to walk down to the coffee shop originally, and now she was walking faster than us!
God’s miraculous power showed up that cold March evening and it left the three of us in an excited state of shock.  It was as if the book of Acts was opened before our very eyes.   And it all started with love.  True love is to accept a person in the state they are in and begin to treat them as Jesus would.  Meet their physical needs, as well as their spiritual needs.  Drive out the darkness and destroy the Devil’s work.  This starts with cooperating with the Holy Spirit and dialing in to Jesus Christ.  He truly does have all authority in Heaven and on Earth.

A friend of mine ran into Evie downtown a week later, and I was pleased to here that her story of the evening matched ours.  Sometimes when the supernatural happens, the Devil would like us to think later that we dreamed it.  But this was no dream.  God’s Kingdom came to Earth that night.  And I am forever blessed to be apart of it.

Glory to God!