Whenever I see the name ‘Dios con nosotros’ (God with us) ñon the programme for our visit, when I arrive, it lifts my heart. It’s a great church, down in the south of the city, led by lovely Pastor Rafael Giraldo Rincón, who has become such a good friend over many years now. When I arrive, it almost brings me to tears, as so many people greet me like a dear returning friend, so many hugs, all remember me by name which is such a blessing…. one of the many reasons faith grows, churches grow, and heaven opens over this city – the poster outside the chuch –
The worship was wonderful, led by Rafael’s wife, Normelly Cárdenas: there’s something really beautiful about worship in Spanish, it’s a beautiful language, I guess being a romantic latin language help, and, as always at Dios Con Nosotros, it set the tone for the whole meeting.
The team were outstanding today – all sharing things unbeknown to each other that ‘interlocked’ and connected together so well…. one lovely young lady was kind enough to say that every time I was there, and with a team, had a profound effect on her life with what was said, encouraging and causing a desire to change/move on with God….and that this morning had been no different as the team all shared some deep things from God’s heart. It makes it so worthwhile coming all this way, not just to see people healed – and there were MANY this morning – but to hear things like that
Johnny said the other evening that he had no idea what he was going to say when I got the team to introduce themselves and share what God was teaching them/they had experienced: he was brilliant. Today, he was even better, sharing very well, powerfully, effectively, and concisely…. as did Cathy, and Dennis – they’re doing a couple of major seminars this week, as well as a lengthy trip to help at a drug rehabilitation centre, where my great friend, Francisco Riaños, works. Francisco and his lovely wife, Ninny, pastor a church in the north of the city, too, where we’ll be speaking this coming Saturday and next Tuesday. The seminars will be based on SOZO, the wonderful ‘hearing from God’ ministry that has come from Bethel Church, Redding, California. Thanney is a really good preacher, and he shared some great things this morning, which made it very easy for me to ‘wrap up’ everything the others had shared – and then there was a deluge of people wanting prayer for healing and ministry of all sorts. Cathy had her first-ever ‘bullet wound’ person to pray for, a former young policeman, who was greatly blessed and set free from trauma, too. Every one of us had people healed, I had long-time wonderful friend Hein Hoere translating – and praying for people – with me – I think it’d be fair to say that everyone was healed, or well in the process by the time they’d been prayed for. It’s an amazing blessing to pray for the sick: but it’s also incredibly exhausting.
Johnny hasn’t done it before – or done it much – and after a couple or so people was shattered – with lots more to follow! One of my greatest joys is to give people the opportunity to see God move supernaturally in someone else’s life in healing, knowing full well that, in the environment of faith in this city, under the open heaven here, that WILL be the story…. Johnny was knackered – as we all were – after 2 solid hours of praying for the sick. Hein and I had one lady – Amanda – with chronic pain from head to feet, especially her knees (what do you expect??!!), and she went away completely pain-free. A young lady, Jennifer I think, had feared she had cancer – a former nurse, with a large lump in her breast. It turned out that it wasn’t cancer after a hospital ultrasound, but that both breasts were filled with cysts, which medically nothing could be done for. She was in a lot of pain, and still a fair amount of fear: both went, the pain and the fear.
Again, I could list healing after healing from the meeting: some big, some not so big but no less significant for the people concerned. Two hours, and five or more praying non-stop is a large number of people, and for me, it was the ‘icing on the cake’ to be able to pray with Rafael and his family right at the end. Pastor William Castaño and his family, wife Leidy, and son Christian, are at this church, and William is such an amazing Bible teacher and theologian, I feel a bit of a fraud, have to fight some insecurity when he’s in the congregation, but I’m grateful that a) God always seems to turn up in power, and b) I keep getting invited back there!!
Lovely day yesterday, beginning with Thanney’s now ‘famous’ ‘almost an Ulster Fry’ breakfast for Wilmar, Marlene, and Sarah: next week it’ll also be Sofia, their eldest daughter, back for the weekend between YWAM outreaches, and hopefully Hein and Teija Hoere, too. It’s a real feast! Tomorrow is a national holiday here, but Thanney and Johnny won’t be taking the holiday (!), and, as these jolly old knees have been causing me a lot of pain, I’m scheduled in for big cortisone needles to be stuck in each one – what a joyful thought! It’s a real weird, strange, and painful experience: I’d value your prayers – that’ll be 3 pm UK time….
Thank you for your prayers: please keep praying for the finances if you would: the building is SO nearly finished, it’d be tragic if it can’t be completed for the sake of less than 10% of it’s total cost….
Qote of the week, so far, from Cathy, looking out of our 10th floor apartment window: ‘The trees all seem very small here…..’ (!!!!!)
