Blessings from Guayaquil!
Well, this trip has been such a blessing from the Lord. We arrived on Tuesday July 5. It was a long day of traveling. We started the day around 6:00 am getting ready and left our house around 8:00. We spent the next 3.5 hours riding in a car to Miami, where we caught a plane to Atlanta. It just doesn't make sense to travel from Orlando to Miami just to catch a flight to Atlanta Georgia, but to save over $200.00 per person, it then made sense to us. We left Atlanta around 8:00 p.m. after an hour delay and finally made it to Guayaquil around 12:00 a.m. Wednesday morning (Guayaquil time). It was definitely a long day of travel, but it was worth it when we stepped into the terminal and saw our family from ABBA waiting to receive us and welcome us.
On Wednesday we drove to El Triumpho and climbed the Mountain of Israel on the Pincay plantation. This mountain has a special place in the eyes of the Lord and we know that the Lord will bring people from all around to experience Him in a special way. We then were treated to a typical Ecuadorian breakfast at the sugar processing plant of the Pincay family. It was a blessing. We were shown the new construction at the plant where there is a beautiful new cafeteria where the workers are fed lunch. There is also going to be a medical center where the workers can receive health care along with a place where they can receive clothes for those who need them. It was a blessing to see the principles of God being put into action. God's Word tells us to "remember the poor" and He will release blessings. It is a great joy to see our brothers and sisters ministering and giving such a good testimony of the love of Jesus to these workers. We know many lives will be touched by the work our brothers and sisters are doing in that place.
Thursday we were blessed with the opportunity to minister to a home of orphans. This home is a home of young ladies and little girls who have suffered abuse and have no family, or their family does not want them. Many of these girls have been sexually abused and sold as prostitutes; some as young as 4 years old. As we sat and talked with sister Rosa (the director of the home) our hearts were moved with tremendous compassion toward these young woman. Earlier in the day we were praying to the Lord and asking where He wanted us to sow the firstTzadekah, and this home for girls is where He showed us. As we presented the offering to the Lord and then to sister Rosa, there was such a peace in the place. We were then taken on a tour of the home. The girls were so friendly. One young girl who was showing us around shared that she had epilepsy so we asked if we could pray for her and she agreed. We are believing that the Lord has delivered her from this horrible affliction. After we got home as we shared of the experience it then became very apparent why the Lord sent us there. Brother Choppi explained that as we were being shown around the home sister Rosa came up to him and kept thanking us for the offering. She told him that they were at their last end. They had no food for the children for the next day and had no money to get any. The girls would have been without food and sister Rosa recognized that it was the hand of the Lord that sent us to her that day. We give Jesus all the glory because He knows all things and all He asks us to do is move in faith when He asks us to. Our faith can release blessings, even when we don't understand. We thank you Jesus for your guidance.
Friday was a tremendous outpouring of the Lord. We were blessed to minister the Word in the home church of our brothers and sisters in Guayaquil. The Lord led us to minister "What Does It Take For a Home Church to Thrive and Survive?" If you want to hear the impartation you can here it at this link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/3839/28106-what-does-it-take-for-a-home-church-to-thrive-and-survive
(you may need to copy/paste it into your browser) or you can click on the link from our facebook. As the Word of God was ministered the presence of the Lord became very strong. At the end the invitation was made for anyone who had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and wanted it to take a step in faith and ask for it. That night 4 people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit!! Glory be to God. One brother who had been praying and asking for the baptism for years was blessed that night as the Lord ministered to him deeply and poured His Spirit upon him. It was a beautiful night with the Lord in the home of brother Choppi and sister Glenda. That night the book of Acts model was shown to be the powerful model that God created it to be. It was such a powerful experience for everyone there! Again, all the glory and honor to our Lord Jesus Christ!
On Saturday we had the first meeting of the marriage workshop. This night we ministered the Word in the area of the Fear of God and the Image of God. The Word of God is so powerful that it will completely transform the atmosphere. There was one couple who were non-Christians, and at first you could see that the husband was very closed to the impartation. the wife however was receiving. However, as the night went on and the Word of God was ministered, the Holy Spirit brought conviction and both the husband and the wife received Jesus into their hearts. As the model that God gave us in the book of Acts is applied, and the Word of God is released, we are discovering that something powerful happens in the spiritual realm. The atmosphere becomes saturated with the conviction and the love of God and people are deeply ministered to by Holy Spirit. No wonder the Lord gave us this model to follow in His Word.
Toward the end of the session we gave opportunity for each couple to participate in what they had received through the Word. There are two exercises that we asked the couples to participate in. First we had the couples ask each other for forgiveness for anything that they had done to their spouse. Each time we have been led by the Lord to do this, it has always been a powerful time in the lives of the people. This time was no different. It was a time of brokenness and healing. Next we had the couples list five positive things about their spouse and then to tell them what those things were. again, this was a powerful experience for each person. In one couple, the wife was a little disappointed and upset because she thought her husband was going to ask for forgiveness for something he had done to her in the past. This was something that has been bothering her for a very long time. But, her husband did not ask for forgiveness. She was discouraged, but, she went forth anyway with the rest of the exercises. Later that night, after they went to bed, her husband woke up around 2:00 a.m. and told her he had something he needed to share. She woke and listened,but she did not know what to expect. Her husband began to share how the Word that was shared that night was really ministering to him and he needed to ask her for forgiveness for something. He then asked her for forgiveness for the very exact thing she wanted to hear earlier in that night at the workshop! This is a testimony to the power of the Word of God. It opens the door for Holy Spirit to bring the conviction that is needed, and healing and restoration is brought forth! This couple has been forever changed by the Word of God and by the healing power of Holy Spirit. And all that came through the model of the home church that God established in the book of Acts and the early church. Praise you Jesus for Your Word! Amen!
Today (Monday) we spent the day with a precious couple of the home church here in Guayaquil. This couple shared their testimony; how both of them had broken pasts, full of bitterness, drinking, partying, etc. They shared how they came to receive Jesus, but it seemed that nothing was really changing. They still had problems and were fighting over unresolved issues. They then shared that their lives changed about 6 months ago when they started to attend the home church. They testified how the home church gave them a place where they could share openly about their problems and how the one-on-one ministry of Holy Spirit through their home church leaders changed their marriage. They still have a few issues, but they are completely changed and transformed and are no longer the broken couple they were. Now they know the healing and transformation power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit that they found in the home church setting. We were able to minister to this couple the Word of God and it was a blessing. The Lord sealed the time and put His approval on the day by blessing us with the privilege of leading the wife's father to the feet of Jesus. Right there in the kitchen, sitting around the table, the Holy Spirit was present and the father accepted Jesus into his heart! Glory be to God!
Well, that's about it for this posting. Sorry it was so long, but this was the first opportunity that we have had to sit and catch up. We miss all of you back home. We send our blessings. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We will be writing more articles so please keep checking so Jesus can receive all the glory He deserves. We love all of you.
Be blessed in the name of the Lord and Shalom,
Scott and Pam
No comments:
Post a Comment