This has been an incredible, wonderful, crazy week indeed. Let me just tell you about it!
It all started at a church in a village called Marripadu. We arrived at the church at roughly 11am local time. I was told that this church was a fairly young church, having opened in the last year, and is in a very hindu village. What happened next was something that I never expected, nor will I ever forget. In the midst of their worship, which I spend in prayer and reading through the passage that I am about to teach on, going over the message again and again in my mind in preparation, I hear my friend say "Joel, there's a possessed woman! Go pray for her!" I look up, and in the back, I see this little old lady 'dancing' around, apparently not paying attention to anyone. She was swaying back and forth, with a blank stare on her face. "Go, man!" he repeated to me, giving me a little push towards getting out of my chair. I had no choice but to go at this point, so I got up, and walking through the crowd of men, women and children, I made my way to the back of the room, near the door. Once I got there, I did all that I knew how to: prayed. I prayed for peace, for authority, for gentleness and solace. I prayed that the grip of the enemy would be destroyed. I prayed that only God's presence would be known. As I was praying, I felt like God was compelling me to declare His righteousness and authority. So I did. As I began to pray this, I felt this overwhelming feeling of power that I have never felt before. It was a sense of authority, of confidence that only my God had power in that place. As I prayed, the woman's actions subsided, and she fell to her knees on the floor crying. I continued to pray, hands raised, for the church as a whole. I prayed that God would make His presence known in ways that had never been seen by these people before. I began to laugh, in a way that I can only call a holy joy. God was doing something in that place, and it was very evident to me. I declared amen, put my arms down, and walked back to the front. As soon as I reached the front, my friend said to me again, "Joel, there's another woman possessed, go!" I turn around, and see a woman on her knees, her sari covering her face, shaking. Women around her were backing away staring at her. "Go, man!" he said again, in such away that one might ask "how much does this chapstick cost?" Again, I walked up to the woman, closed my eyes, raised my arms over her, and began to pray. I prayed this time that any lies and evil spirits that have taken ahold of this woman, any burdons and traps over her life would be taken away in the powerful Name, the one Name that is above all names, that created all and saved all. Her yelling out and shaking slowed, and finally stopped as I prayed over her. God was using me, a broken vessel, for His glory! It was incredible! We then took the whole service outside, because the rains had dried up and it was warm and beautiful again. I felt like God was telling me to speak on His love. I had prepared a lesson from Luke 19, talking about the small Zachaeus. Instead, He put it on my heart to speak out of Romans 8. If our God is for us, who can be against us?! Amen! Nothing can separate us from His furious love! This is the message I gave, through the Spirit. This led to the manifestation of four (yes four!) more possessions of which we prayed vigorously. Needless to say, it was the craziest, most incredible and beautiful service I have ever been to! It rocked my world. It stays with me as fresh as it was in the moment! Just typing it out sends chills through my body knowing how much God did that day.
The next few days were filled with bouts of ridiculous rainfall, with sparatic moments of gorgeous sunshine in between. It dumped inches of rain in the matter of a couple of hours. It was kind of awesome, and definitely felt like a bit of home here in India. I was given two and a half days in a row off, which is not something that happens. I used this time to spend in great prayer, meditation, and praise. It was so refreshing. I didn't feel like I "needed it" like we so often tell ourselves...I just NEED to spend time with Jesus. When don't we?! Anyways, I felt so renewed after this time. One of the days, a day I was supposed to preach, I was instead taken to the beach on the Indian Ocean. It was so beautiful. The water was warm and clear, and the beach was all but empty. It was a sandbar that separated the ocean from a river that fed into it, which is how, by boat, we got to the beach. I was with my host and his extended family, so much of the time was spent simply praising God at how ridiculously awesome my whole situation was! I mean, there I was, chilling in the freaking Indian Ocean! Come on! We ate some shrimp and fish curry, and then came back to the orphanage. It was so simple, so serene, so blissful. I can say that I am finding a great satisfaction in Christ, and it is exuding throughthe ministry that He has called me to here.
I feel like God has put it on my heart to make Eph 3:14-21 my prayer for the churches of this ministry. He has made Eph 4:1-3 and 1 Thess 5:16-18 the prayer of my heart for myself. I would appreciate all of your prayers as well, that He would continue to lead me, continue to be faithful and good with all that He gives me, and that I would remain in Him in everything. I thank you all for partnering with me and this ministry in seeing His kingdom come here in the lives of so many wonderful Indian people. Thank you for sparing your time for reading about what He is doing, and for praying with me. It is so cool to think that we are partnering in ministry together, though we are two oceans apart! I love you all so very much, and pray for you often! Have a blessed day!
It all started at a church in a village called Marripadu. We arrived at the church at roughly 11am local time. I was told that this church was a fairly young church, having opened in the last year, and is in a very hindu village. What happened next was something that I never expected, nor will I ever forget. In the midst of their worship, which I spend in prayer and reading through the passage that I am about to teach on, going over the message again and again in my mind in preparation, I hear my friend say "Joel, there's a possessed woman! Go pray for her!" I look up, and in the back, I see this little old lady 'dancing' around, apparently not paying attention to anyone. She was swaying back and forth, with a blank stare on her face. "Go, man!" he repeated to me, giving me a little push towards getting out of my chair. I had no choice but to go at this point, so I got up, and walking through the crowd of men, women and children, I made my way to the back of the room, near the door. Once I got there, I did all that I knew how to: prayed. I prayed for peace, for authority, for gentleness and solace. I prayed that the grip of the enemy would be destroyed. I prayed that only God's presence would be known. As I was praying, I felt like God was compelling me to declare His righteousness and authority. So I did. As I began to pray this, I felt this overwhelming feeling of power that I have never felt before. It was a sense of authority, of confidence that only my God had power in that place. As I prayed, the woman's actions subsided, and she fell to her knees on the floor crying. I continued to pray, hands raised, for the church as a whole. I prayed that God would make His presence known in ways that had never been seen by these people before. I began to laugh, in a way that I can only call a holy joy. God was doing something in that place, and it was very evident to me. I declared amen, put my arms down, and walked back to the front. As soon as I reached the front, my friend said to me again, "Joel, there's another woman possessed, go!" I turn around, and see a woman on her knees, her sari covering her face, shaking. Women around her were backing away staring at her. "Go, man!" he said again, in such away that one might ask "how much does this chapstick cost?" Again, I walked up to the woman, closed my eyes, raised my arms over her, and began to pray. I prayed this time that any lies and evil spirits that have taken ahold of this woman, any burdons and traps over her life would be taken away in the powerful Name, the one Name that is above all names, that created all and saved all. Her yelling out and shaking slowed, and finally stopped as I prayed over her. God was using me, a broken vessel, for His glory! It was incredible! We then took the whole service outside, because the rains had dried up and it was warm and beautiful again. I felt like God was telling me to speak on His love. I had prepared a lesson from Luke 19, talking about the small Zachaeus. Instead, He put it on my heart to speak out of Romans 8. If our God is for us, who can be against us?! Amen! Nothing can separate us from His furious love! This is the message I gave, through the Spirit. This led to the manifestation of four (yes four!) more possessions of which we prayed vigorously. Needless to say, it was the craziest, most incredible and beautiful service I have ever been to! It rocked my world. It stays with me as fresh as it was in the moment! Just typing it out sends chills through my body knowing how much God did that day.
The next few days were filled with bouts of ridiculous rainfall, with sparatic moments of gorgeous sunshine in between. It dumped inches of rain in the matter of a couple of hours. It was kind of awesome, and definitely felt like a bit of home here in India. I was given two and a half days in a row off, which is not something that happens. I used this time to spend in great prayer, meditation, and praise. It was so refreshing. I didn't feel like I "needed it" like we so often tell ourselves...I just NEED to spend time with Jesus. When don't we?! Anyways, I felt so renewed after this time. One of the days, a day I was supposed to preach, I was instead taken to the beach on the Indian Ocean. It was so beautiful. The water was warm and clear, and the beach was all but empty. It was a sandbar that separated the ocean from a river that fed into it, which is how, by boat, we got to the beach. I was with my host and his extended family, so much of the time was spent simply praising God at how ridiculously awesome my whole situation was! I mean, there I was, chilling in the freaking Indian Ocean! Come on! We ate some shrimp and fish curry, and then came back to the orphanage. It was so simple, so serene, so blissful. I can say that I am finding a great satisfaction in Christ, and it is exuding throughthe ministry that He has called me to here.
I feel like God has put it on my heart to make Eph 3:14-21 my prayer for the churches of this ministry. He has made Eph 4:1-3 and 1 Thess 5:16-18 the prayer of my heart for myself. I would appreciate all of your prayers as well, that He would continue to lead me, continue to be faithful and good with all that He gives me, and that I would remain in Him in everything. I thank you all for partnering with me and this ministry in seeing His kingdom come here in the lives of so many wonderful Indian people. Thank you for sparing your time for reading about what He is doing, and for praying with me. It is so cool to think that we are partnering in ministry together, though we are two oceans apart! I love you all so very much, and pray for you often! Have a blessed day!
It is so wonderful to hear that you are having an experience of a lifetime! We miss you so much son! God bless you! Don't forget to send us your mailing address.
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