POWERFUL TESTIMONIES

POWERFUL TESTIMONIES

PRAYER WAR THURSDAY NIGHTS

In the last blog I mentioned how on Thursdays we were getting together with the elders of the church to pray. Almost everything I am about to write about I believed was conceived and birthed through these prayer meetings as well as the three other prayer groups we have during the week. Thursdays are a time for the elders to bring forth concerns that might be personal or have to do with the church, or community. We start around 6pm and finish around 11pm. It is divided up between sharing, encouraging, counseling, reading the word, at least two hours of prayer. It is really neat when the group focuses in on a certain person or family the volume rises and I can imagine that the prayer is rushing through the night air and surrounding that person and unbinding them.

HUGO'S IMPROMPTU CHURCH SERVICE

Hugo sells cheese and spends many afternoons walking around Tuis, mainly Barrio 70. He has preached the gospel in many homes and countless people have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. One of these families invited him over last Tuesday to anoint and pray for their home. When he got there he was amazed to see so many of her neighbors there, including Manuel and his wife who accepted Jesus with Leo a couple of months ago. The funny thing is that one woman who has a large family and is constantly trying to find fault with the church was there. She had recently prohibited her younger children from coming to our church after becoming offended by Leo's message to the Friday night group about the need to congregate regularly.( she comes to church maybe twice a year) Her anger had the opposite effect however. Her older children stood up for Leo and our church. Her son-in-law, Junior, who never goes to church anywhere, actually went to visit Leo and tell how much he liked the preaching and how he wanted to change. THIS GUY WANTED TO BEAT LEO UP A YEAR AGO! Anyway this woman and all her children were present at Hugo's service and she was quiet and submissive to his authority. Praise God, Hugo spoke with authority and was not intimidated! What a miracle we have been lifting this woman up on Thursdays.

YAMILET'S PRAYER

On Tuesday a student from the private high school in Turrialba was hit by a car. He was badly injured and in a coma. Yamilet works at this school in the administration building. At 5 am Wednesday morning she received a text saying that it looked like he wasn't going to make it. When she got to work her boss told her, "Look I am going to get the whole school together in the auditorium to pray for this boy and I want you to pray." When Yamilet became a Christian 3 years ago many people at her job made fun of her and couldn't believe it. She always prays for her meal in the lunch room and sometimes makes her coworkers pray with her. Her husband Nelson said, "before she went out on stage to pray she asked God to show these kids what a big God serves." Thirty minutes after she lifted up a powerful prayer in front of the whole school, they got a phone call that the boy had come awake and was asking for food!!! On Thursday he was released from the hospital. What a powerful thing God backing up the prayers of His children!

GABRIEL AND ANDREA, LOSS AND GAIN

This couple celebrated their one year anniversary in December and by the end of December she found out she was pregnant. The week after Valentines Day she started bleeding.

They went to the hospital and they scheduled her for an ultrasound 4 days later! Her husband wasn't going to wait that long. They went to a private Dr. As she lay on the table and he passed the ultrasound scanner over her tummy, she saw that the Dr. didn't want to say anything. She said, "Dr. I know something is wrong please tell me." The Dr. looked at her and said, "I am sorry there is no life." She was supposed to have 17 weeks but judging by the ultrasound the baby had stopped growing about 2 months ago. She covered her face and wept. He sent her to the hospital and she cried even more when they checked her in and separated her from her husband. They didn't know what they were going to do with her. The OBGYN wasn't coming in till Monday and she was not dialated at all. They called it a retained miscarriage. The next day an OBGYN arrived from Cartago and told her he would do a small surgery. As she was lying down waiting to enter the surgery room she began to tremble all over. Her hands turned purple and she thought she was going to die. Suddenly she heard a voice that said, "Do not be afraid your son is with Me and I am with you." She told me she felt so much joy and peace, all the fear left her body. After the surgery she was able to go home that same night and be with her husband and family. The next day she and her husband requested to hold youth group in their home.(FYI in Costa Rica young marrieds are often part of youth group) I visited her that day and we all cried together especially when she told us what the Lord had spoken to her. She said, "Now we have another reason to go to heaven our son is waiting for us."

LEO AND THE PRIEST

A couple of months ago Leo met another priest while milling lumber. They had a long conversation. As he preached to the man he had no idea the man was a priest. He shared the gospel with the priest and told him that there is no other mediator for sin besides Jesus Christ. In spite of all the priest's arguments Leo was able to respond with verses directly from the Bible. The priest was astounded that this simple man who had never been to seminary was able to knock down his arguments. It turned his world uside down. He opened up with Leo and told Leo that he was a priest but he couldn't deny what the Bible says and that Leo had spoken truthfully.

On Thursday of last week the priest asked Leo to come visit him. He said, "I quit, I'm done being a priest." Leo noticed that his walls were empty where once there had been crucifixes, diplomas and numerous saints. Wilbur, the ex-priest looked at Leo seriously and said, "I need to tell you something. I am the biggest hypocrite. I wasn't honest with you last time we talked and I owe it to you to tell you the truth." Leo was shocked and a little worried about what this ex-priest wanted to confess so badly. Wilbur said, "I have a son. The woman I told you I loved and had to say bye to in order to become a priest, she is the mother. I married her in a secret ceremony in Colombia." Leo said that he was shocked. Wilbur continued," I have lived a double life for the past 16 years and none of my supervisors, fellow priests, or parishioners know about this. They lived in a different home in San Jose and sometimes they would visit me and I had to pretend they were cousins. Now though I was able to spend a Sunday in the middle of San Jose with my arm around my son. Oh how good it feels to stop living a lie!" He thanked Leo for preaching to him that day and told him that one day he would like to come visit our church. Now he lives in San Jose with his family and already goes to an Evangelical church. Leo gave Wilbur a big hug and told him goodbye. We want to lift this man up in prayer so that the Lord will protect him from persecution. And if any of his parishioners find out, they would realize that their hope can't be in an earthly man but must be in Jesus.

MARLON'S FAMILY

It seems that Marlon's grandfather is slowly dying. One day he was clear minded and my mother-in-law was able to talk with him and pray the sinner's prayer. A week ago Sunday Marlon was at the grandparent's house. They have had so many visitors between their 11 children, 40 grandchildren, cousins, and friends. When Marlon was there his cousin Haivy said, "Marlon my sister Yancy wants you to come pray for her health." Yancy is younger than all of us but she is fighting breast cancer and has an eight year old daughter. Marlon started talking to Haivy about Jesus and she said, "I like what you are saying but tell me the truth, are you trying to get me to change religions?" Marlon told her, "I want you to forget religion and rituals and know Jesus. The Jesus who saved me and loves you." She said, "Can you come to my house in Cartago and do church in my house?" Then the man who lives with Haivy's mother spoke up, "I don't believe in anything I am a big doubter but I want to hear more." So the end result is that we are going to Cartago to do a church service next Sunday. It seems too easy how they were persuaded but Marlon told me he felt a powerful presence upon him when he spoke. He felt authority and boldness. God's power is real power.

CLOSING

In a couple of weeks I plan on writing about the Turrialba cell church and what God is doing there but these are the testimonies I felt that I needed to share. I hope they bless you. Keep praying for us to stand firm. It is so easy to be fearless like Elijah on Mt. Carmel and then the next day be intimidated by bills, or in Elijah's case, a message from Jezebel.

PRAYER

PROTECTION FOR OUR FAMILY

FOR THE CHURCH SERVICE IN CARTAGO IN A WEEK

FOR GABRIEL AND ANDREA TO BE COMFORTED

FOR GOD TO PROVIDE FOR OUR EVERY NEED IN THE MONTH OF MARCH. FOR US TO BE BRAVE AND BELIEVE EVEN WHEN WE CAN'T SEE THE WAY

FOR GOD'S HAND TO CONTINUE TO MOVE IN MIGHTY WAYS

FOR THE EX-PRIEST TO CONTINUE TO WALK IN THE TRUTH AND BE PROTECTED FROM PEOPLE WHO MIGHT WANT TO HURT HIS FAMILY.