He Makes All Things New

I will never forget the day I met Veronica at the House of Restoration. When we came in the house something didn't feel right. Instead of sitting at the tables waiting for us like usual, the women were all over the place, talking, drinking coffee, and there was a feeling of chaos. I started to get a whopper of a headache as I was trying to make sense of what was going on. One of the ladies there told us that another lady was being exorcised from a demon out in the back yard. Apparently the lady had bit another lady in the middle of the night. When I talked to the girl who had been attacked (Tatiana) she told me she had been awake most of the night because she felt an evil presence in the room. She finally fell asleep then suddenly awoke when the girl was on top of her biting her.

Now let me say that I believe there are demons in this world just as I believe there are angels. I have heard of people performing exorcisms, but I have never seen one. Although we could not see the women out back praying with the woman, I realized the ladies in the house did not see this for what it really was, spiritual warfare. I asked them what the week had been like before this happened. They told me they had had a great Bible study 2 days before. They said they just prayed for each other most of the hour. The next day they received more women for a total of 6 new faces. I realized that I did not know 1/3 of the new women there. Sierra (my fellow M) and I decided a change of plans was in order, so working with Matthew chapter 4 and how Christ responded to attacks from Satan, I taught them how to respond to spiritual warfare.

Anyone here that knows me also knows that I have a lot to learn in Spanish speaking. When I teach a Bible study I generally take most of a week to prepare. Before we came here I had only taught children's Bible studies, never adults. I can only say that it is a God thing that I could teach this lesson that Thursday, because I did not have the words in English to teach this, much less Spanish.

During the lesson new faces came in to join us. One lady even came up to me and in pretty good English told me she needed to practice her English with me. I looked at her and said, "Maybe we can talk after the lesson." She persisted wanting to know where we were from. I told her we were Americans and told her to take a seat and join us if she would like to. A few minutes later when I was making the important point that when under spiritual attack our first response should be to come together and pray as believers she interrupted me again and said very clearly, "Why do you not teach in English and I will tell them in Spanish what you are saying." Immediately I recognized what I had already suspected. This was the lady they had tried to drive a demon out of. I turned to her and in the best Spanish I believe I ever have or ever will speak I told her that the Lord sent us here to teach a Bible study in Spanish to these women. And furthermore, the Lord sent us with our families to this country to learn Spanish so we could spread His Word to the countries He was sending us to. I told her that the women in this house speak Spanish, so I will teach them in Spanish. Several of the women spoke up and said, "Yes, we understand you just fine. We understand everything you are saying to us." I knew Satan was trying to destroy my confidence to continue. I completed the lesson and gave them homework to read in Ephesians on the Armor of God. We prayed over the ladies and the house that a peace would settle over them and that they would grow spiritually.

The next week I came back with my friends and we taught on the Armor of God. Veronica was more subdued, and the ladies told me the week had been much calmer. The ladies were a little distracted at times during the lesson, but overall I think they understood the purpose of the Armor. As I left Veronica and Tatiana both pleaded for Crystal and me to pray for their little children as they missed them so much and wanted to see them. We wrote down their names of their children and ages and prayed with them before we left.

The following week Tatiana had left. She could not take being away from her babies any longer. Veronica did not come to the study. There were only 6 women at a study that usually has 15-18. I was sad because this lesson was on the Roman's Road plan of salvation. All 6 ladies at the lesson told us they were saved, but we handed out the paper with the scriptures and how to share the plan with others. We encouraged them to share that week with others that come.

All the next week we had Spiritual Emphasis Week at school with 2 services a day in the chapel. I was pretty busy with the praise team, classes, etc... The day of our study I found out Sierra would not be able to come because she was sick. I found myself praying again like I had 3 weeks before, "What do you want me to teach Lord?" I felt He wanted me to continue to encourage the women to share the gospel with others. The last week they had made it pretty clear that we were the missionaries and it was our job to share the gospel, but I wanted them to understand that Matthew 28:18-20 says that all of us are to be part of the Great Commission.

The lesson went well, and afterward Veronica asked for Crystal and me to pray for her again. She said she knew she had had a demon and now the demon was gone, but she was still afraid. She said she was a lesbian, that she had taken every drug on the street, that she feared for her children and herself. She said she wanted peace like we had. We prayed over her first asking God to protect her. Then I asked her if she was ready to give everything in her life to Christ. I showed her that she had to open her hands completely and give God her life, her addiction, her rebellion, even her children. She agreed and eagerly she said the sinner's prayer with me. When we were done praying I told her she never had to worry again about those demons because greater was Christ in her than anything in the world. I told her if she hears Satan whispering to her that "she can't change, that she will never be able to have a good life", that she just needs to say that she is God's child and he cannot take her from the hand of God.

Yes, Veronica looked like a completely different woman that day. Three weeks ago she was a disheveled woman with a wild look in her eyes; today she is a child of the King! Praise God! I look at her and I see the Father's love for us in that He pursues us fervently. We cannot hide in a valley so deep that He cannot reach in and carry us out of the pit. Praise God! Please pray for Veronica as she continues to grow daily in the Word and in her faith.

(A rare triple rainbow we saw when

leaving the House of Restoration.)

Full of Surprises

I am sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. Things have been a little crazy here, both good and bad. Let me start by first saying thanks to everyone who has sent us packages. We have been batting about 50/50 on receiving them ever since a hard drive was shipped to us to replace the current one on our computer. Unfortunately I guess someone in customs felt like they needed the hard drive more than us, so it has made blogging a bit more of a challenge for me. Please pray that somehow it will get here through customs to us.

I wanted to put some pictures on here of all that has been going on, but I think I will have to do more than one blog for that, so on this blog I am putting pictures of a birthday party that Kayleigh went to of one of her friends from school, Gloriana. Her mom is also one of my teachers at school. The kids had a great time playing musical chairs, a ring toss game, and of course playing with the piñata. I got to paint some faces of some of the kids for fun. My favorite part was when Anna's (my teacher) little boy wanted me to paint his whole face like Spiderman!

On a serious note we ask that everyone would keep Ken in your prayers. He has had intermittent stabbing pains in his right groin area now for almost a week. He has seen a surgeon here to make sure it is not a problem with the inguinal hernia he had repaired several years ago. The surgeon didn't feel anything, but really didn't check for any other possibilities. I am sending him to a lab today to check and see if it is a kidney stone, so please pray for him as we seek an answer and healing. I promise to update everyone as soon as we find something out.