Monday, February 22, 2016

Azusa, Reno, and a woman healed

Hi everyone! I haven’t blogged in awhile, though it’s been on my heart to write for a few weeks, and finally I’m making time for it because I have lots of exciting news!

First of all, I owe an update on Azusa Now. Most of you probably know that I’m going on a mission trip to LA with all of Bethel Church and School in April to be a part of a stadium evangelistic event called Azusa Now that is going to shake the nation! (You can read more about it here). Many of you have sown into this trip, above and beyond what I even expected, and I am incredibly blessed and thrilled to say that I am fully funded, and have even received quite a bit over my minimum, which means the extra I’ve received will go towards my team fund and enable my friends to go who do not have such a developed support base! I feel so covered and loved, and I know the Lord will bless each and every one of you for what you have sown into this move of God. Thank you!!!

I also have new information about what my team is going to be doing there specifically. We have so many people going from Bethel that we will be divided into smaller teams and assigned specific areas of LA. During the week leading up to the event, my specific team is going to be in the northeastern part of LA doing ministry and evangelism, partnering with area churches and organizations. Two leaders my team will specifically be partnering with are Todd White and Shawn Bolz, which is a high honor and extremely exciting! Todd White is known for his dreadlocks and appearances in Darren Wilson’s documentaries on the miraculous, the Holy Ghost movies, in which he does street evangelism and sees God continually heal and turn hearts to himself! We will be helping with one of Todd’s Power and Love conferences being held that week. Shawn Bolz pastors a church in LA and is an incredible prophet of God. He has a prophetic gifting such that he calls out strangers’ phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, etc. before giving them words and encouragement from God (this shows people how intimately God knows every part of their lives, filling them with faith in order to receive the words God has for them). You can find either of them on YouTube if you’re curious.

As weeks go on, I become more and more excited and expectant about what God is going to do in LA that week! I truly believe it is going to be a time of such revival that it will not only be a historical event to remember but it will change the future of America and beyond! I will be excited to share more specifics as the time draws nearer.


I also want to share an update about the ministry trips I’ve been taking to Reno! We have taken two trips since my last update, and the second was just this last weekend. To be honest, the trip before this last one was difficult for me. I felt very uncomfortable much of the time, struggling with feelings of being fake and unnatural as I approached people on our outreach. In truth, fear of man is a very real thing, something I am continually fighting to get free from! But praise the Lord, this last trip was extremely different for me. I experienced so much freedom to be myself, to relax and have fun! We did campus outreach on Friday and just focused on loving on people and seeking opportunities to tell people about Jesus. We saw many impacted, and some of my teammates lead a few individuals to the Lord!! It was incredible! A lot of my experience this last weekend was ministering to the staff of Awaken, the organization we partner with which is fighting sex trafficking in Reno, through prayer, prophetic encouragement, and worship. It is an honor to be able to come alongside and encourage these men and women who are pouring themselves out for the gospel of freedom to impact the city. We also did outreach in the Reno mall, and I personally had some breakthrough as my friend and I approached a 40-year-old man sitting alone and were able to fully share the gospel with him and pray for him! He was extremely receptive, open about his struggles, and really wanted to receive the freedom and love of Christ. Pray with us that Todd encounters the Lord in a way that changes him forever! Our next trip is in March, and we will be going to a Psychic Fair to share the love of Christ with the New Age adherents and witches of Reno - it’s going to be awesome!!


Finally, I wanted to share a testimony of healing. My Revival Group did outreach here in Redding a few weeks ago, and my group went to a coffee shop. There was a sweet woman doing the cooking, a believer, who has had severe back pain for a long time. We asked if we could pray for her back, and as we prayed, she said the pain was slightly relieved, though still bad. Another member of my group asked if she would sit down, and asked whether one of her legs is longer than the other. She said yes, and it was evident which was longer as she held her legs out. I shared with her that when I was in college I had the same problem, and when friends prayed for me my leg grew out and I’ve not had problems with back pain since! (Yay God!! My chiropractor even confirmed the change the next time I visited him for a checkup!) This filled the atmosphere with faith and as I picked up her legs to pray I literally felt her shorter leg pop out, even before I finished praying! The woman gasped and began to sob! She stood up to check how she felt and she sobbed, “The pain is gone! The pain is totally gone!” She was completely wrecked by the love of God, that he would care to heal her in this way, and we all rejoiced as we hugged and celebrated with her! This was one of my first experiences with seeing someone healed while I personally prayed for them (though I see people healed when others pray all the time, since prayer for healing is a continual part of our meetings here). I am so encouraged and am continuing to go after healing just as Jesus did, expecting more and more breakthrough!

That's all I have for now. Again, thanks so much to each and every one of you for your encouragement, love, and support. I feel so blessed and pray you experience the Father's nearness and love in a new way today!