Hello Friends,
First off I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to post any
pictures of my time here. I have no way of moving them off of my camera to a
computer. Hopefully I can figure something out soon so all of you can see the
beautiful island of Pohnpei here in Micronesia. This place really is a hidden
gem. There is another school in March and I highly recommend applying for it :)
I have amazing things to share with you and I’m not sure
where to start! God has been moving here in miraculous ways that constantly
leave me in awe of His love and goodness. Two of the workers here at the park
where we’re staying at have given their lives to Jesus! It’s amazing to watch
them come even more alive and full of joy. One of the guys has already been
witnessing to his family and gave them a bible so they can start reading the
Word of God. Revival is coming and has come to Pohnpei!
Last Wednesday night,
at the end, we did a FIRE tunnel! A fire tunnel is where we make two lines
facing one another and then people walk through the middle and we pray over
them and bless them. One lady was coming through and when I started to pray for
her she started manifesting a demon. I tried to gently guide her out of the
line but she started flopping around very aggressively and the demon tossed her
to the ground. Sidenote – Demons do exist today and people do need deliverance.
Deliverance doesn’t have to look like the exorcist. The enemy always wants to
show off and destroy people’s dignity. However we have the power and authority
to tell him to stop, shut up, and leave. People aren’t projects. Don’t
entertain evil so that you can look super spiritual. Back to this lady – She
was on the ground so I bent down next to her and just started proclaiming freedom
and the Shalom peace of God over her. She immediately quieted down and stopped
shaking. I then prayed a simple prayer over her and she started thanking Jesus.
She was free! We then went through the fire tunnel together and she was filled
with the Holy Spirit! It was so easy, it didn’t take hours and the most
important part was she felt loved. “He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, and release from darkness
the prisoners…(Isa 61:1).”
Oh but the goodness doesn’t stop there! This last weekend my
team and I went for a 45min boat ride to the island of Parem where no one was
serving God (was is the important word ;). Five weeks ago another team apart of
this school went to Parem and they were not warmly welcomed. However, I’m so
thankful for them because they did the hard work for us and tilled the ground.
We were received well but the people were still a bit shy. In these cases it is
more about building relationships then blasting people with a quick word and
leaving. God has really been speaking to me about how I am, you are, the
tangible love of God. He put His Spirit upon me (Isa 61 again) so that I can be
His tangible love to those around me.
So we went in low and slow :) We played with the kids, made
them dinner and just chatted with them. This was tangible love that made an
impact. We were invited to come to the elementary school the following day to
pray and bless the kids. After that we walked around the whole island, this
took about two hours, and prayed for the different families. The first home we
came to was the witchdoctor’s house. One of my team members yelled out, “Oh
yeah! Let’s go there and pray.” So we did….and God showed up! It was kind of
ironic because he was sick himself. He invited us in, and let us pray for him.
THEN the most amazing thing happened, one of our Pohnpeian brothers lead him to
the Lord! We then stayed in that place for a good 30 minutes just worshipping
and proclaiming the Word of God over that land. It was absolutely incredible.
He told us that he was feeling much better too :)
That night we had a little service with the family that
hosted us on Parem and from all outward appearances it didn’t seem to be
sinking in or received. Then once again, Gibson (He is Pohnpeian), began to
tell them about Jesus and the freedom He brought. I’m not sure of the exact
number but I’m pretty sure 5 of the adult family members prayed to receive Jesus!
And then in the morning we woke up to them singing in Pohnpei, “I have decided
to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.” It was such a beautiful
weekend.
Just today I heard this amazing testimony about a lady from
the church who was deaf and mute. Several weeks back my team went and stayed at
the church here called Every Home for Christ. They have partnered with Iris
Micronesia and have been so wonderful. Half of my Harvest School is made up of
their Bible College students. Anyways, while we stayed at the church we met
this mom (late 60’s) and daughter (40ish) who were both deaf and mute. We
prayed for them then that the Lord would open their ears and lose their tongues
but nothing changed. Well every week people have gone and prayed for them and
this Sunday the daughters ears were opened and her tongue was loosed!!! Praise
you Jesus :) My friends shared that as she was learning to say Jesus for the
first time, she would gasp and giggle. Don’t stop praying and don’t give up even
if it takes a 100 different peoples prayers for breakthrough. Keep praying for
people even if you don’t see the miracle because you’re breaking up the hard
ground and your planting seeds.
So much goodness in one update! I hope that wasn’t too
overwhelming :) I love Jesus and I love what He is doing. Please be praying for
me as I make plans to go to Europe. There are still several things that need to
fall into place. Sometimes I strongly dislike the step-by-step process but that
seems to be the journey I’m on :) This trip is very important though because it
will allows me to meet with leaders from different nations that are not easily
accessible.
I love you guys and I’m so thankful for all of you!
Jess
