Thursday, July 9, 2009

Little Rock!

We had an incredible time in Little Rock with the people at Victory Fellowship, pastored by Paul Doherty. We arrived on Saturday night and did their Sunday service the next morning. We all received words of knowledge for people that were right on. The pastors and elders kept telling us how blown away they were by how accurate the words were for specific people.
While Genesis was giving a young girl a prophetic word, the Lord showed her something else about the girl, and she was right. This girl received many words and encouragements throughout our time there and was very blessed.
Jordan had a word for someone named Charles about going around in circles and that the Lord had a destination for him. A lady with a name similar to Charles spoke with Jordan and he got to pray for her and her husband.
John gave a word to a guy about being called to lead. He didn't mean leading in a pastoral way, but maybe something else. The man told John that he was going to be a coach. They were both surprised by how practical God's word was. :)
Kristen had the opportunity to talk to a girl for a while. They had a good deep conversation, which I'm sure helped her a lot in having someone to listen to what she's going through.
Denica had a word for a lady towards the back of the room. She found out later that this was only her second time coming to the church, even though her husband had been coming longer. The pastors said what happened was a miracle, because this lady was not used to the practice of the gifts of the spirit and was pretty skeptical. But when Denica singled her out, she was blown away by how it lined up with her. She said that if it had come from anyone else besides some young person who didn't know anything about her, she would not have received it. God changed her life that day, and her husband testified to it!
Before church Larissa and Laura taught their Sunday School class. They talked about prophetic art and treasure hunting. During Larissa's workshop, Laura gave a prophetic drawing and word to a young girl, and she and her mom were very touched by it.
It was awesome to see how many children were there and how excited they were about Master's Commission! Several of them are already planning on coming to MCOKC when they are old enough.
On Sunday evening we had the opportunity to pray for and release words over all the elders. They were extremely blessed by this.
On Monday and Tuesday we did some work projects at the church and the pastor's house and had some time to hang out with our host families and each other. Altogether it was a wonderful time of building relationships, and they already can't wait until MC's come again next year!
We are now in New Orleans and have started working the Microsoft show. Thank you all so much for your prayers. We love you!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

How Tour Impacted Each of us

This year on tour I was really impacted by the way God “entrusted” people to me. He showed me how people are gifts, and that we should handle them just as the Father does. He also showed me that the only reason we had success every time we ministered is because He is the one who called us to do what we do. There were so many times when all I felt was my own weakness or I couldn’t get my mind off my problems. But because God has called me to touch people’s lives, He spoke through me and used me to love people every single day. I’m seeing more and more how God uses the weak things of this world (that would be me) to confound the wise or the strong, and I am so grateful. He also revealed to me more of my destiny and who I am on this trip—that I am called to carry God’s heart as an intercessor, and also that there is a special place for me in speaking to the hearts of young girls and even those who struggle with thoughts of suicide. I will never forget the gifts God put in my path, and I’m going to keep looking for those people who think that no one cares or are forgotten in order to expose this deadly lie and set hearts free!
-Denica McCall

Going on tour this year was something I will never forget! It amazed me to see the way the Lord used us as we stepped out in faith. The Lord really gave me an ability to connect with people, especially the teenage girls. I can’t tell you how many broken girls there were who wanted to know that they were loved and cared about. I had the opportunity to minister to several young girls who just cried when I hugged them and spoke the truth of their identity over them. One girl that I was praying with received a lot of inner healing from the Lord. She felt the Lord tell her that she was beautiful. It was a precious moment to experience that with her. When we were done, she looked up at me and asked if she could call me her sister. That touched me so deeply because of the way the Lord connected us together in such a short time of maybe ten minutes. It really was the Lord that connected me with those girls, and I am so thankful that He used me as His vessel on this tour.
-Laura Swanson

On tour I met a lot of incredible people. Getting to meet so many amazing people was something I enjoyed and was really blessed by.
On various occasions I could see birds soaring. One memory that particularly sticks out to me is when we did our dance “Freedom” in the park. In front of me I could see a bird soaring in the open space between the trees. I saw other birds later, too, and I felt blessed to see them.
At one of the stops, I was really touched by meeting a girl whose story was similar to what I’ve been through. I’m also keeping in contact with another girl whose friend recently passed away. I knew that the Lord brought us together. Hopefully I can continue to be a part of these people’s lives through prayer and allow them to be a part of mine.
-Genesis Burgess

I was very impacted by our tour and all the things the Lord accomplished through it. When we were ministering in Newport, Kentucky, God showed me how awesome and creative He is. We were doing a treasure hunt, and I had the words walker and scoliosis on my map, but I couldn’t seem to find my person. But I found a guy with a broken foot and asked if I could pray for him. He said, “Sure, but I would rather you pray for my mom who has scoliosis.” This was very encouraging to me.
When we were in Lansing, Michigan, I got to wave a pink banner, which was a vision I had at the beginning of the MC year. The Lord told me this would be a sign of the change coming in my life. I was able to give a testimony to the people there of how the Lord has changed me: my pride, fear of trusting others because of hurts, and a few other things. I also shared about the Lord’s care and love for me.
-Jordan Marlowe

Before coming into MC’s I was in a relationship with a guy, whom I broke up with to come to Master’s Commission. But for the first six months I secretly kept in contact with him. The Lord convicted me of it, so I went to the group and told them what had been happening and they willingly forgave me. But I was still harboring a lot of hurt from the relationship.
While we were in Louisville, Kentucky, the pastor of the church gave me a word from the Lord. He said, “strong heart; healed heart.” That word meant so much to me. When he told me that, I had a vision of Jesus kneeling in front of me, picking up the million pieces of my heart that had been destroyed, and making it new. Instead of sticking some band-aids on it so it would stay together, He completely reconstructed it and added pieces of His heart!
-Kristen Milar


On tour I got to do a Prophetic Art Workshop at a couple of the churches we stopped at. It was so cool to see how the Lord used it because I did not expect people's lives to get impacted through just a workshop. So many people came up to me after I did the workshops and told me how incredible it was for them. One mother told me her son had said he felt like he finally had a place in the church.
Only the Lord can transform someone's heart like that. It gave me greater faith to trust that He can do big things with something little. It wasn't that I had a low expectation or a negative idea of how the workshop would go; it was that I didn't have an expectation for Him to do something great. Why wouldn't I always expect greatness to happen when the Greatness Himself is in charge? I think I would have to say my favorite thing that
happened was when a 3 year old boy brought me a drawing he had done during my workshop and said, "It’s for you! It's a grasshopper in the grass!" How good it is to be a grasshopper if you are in your source!
-Larissa Cunkle

One of the most impacting experiences I had giving a word of knowledge was in Louisville, Kentucky. I gave a word to a young man about being an overcomer; God has made him a victor over situations in his life. This was really impacting to him because we had talked the night before about how his brother had really hurt him over the years. He wanted restoration in the relationship and to be able to forgive him.
After praying for a while, I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to ask if I could stand in the place of his brother and apologize for all the things he had done. We both began to weep and he experienced a great level of freedom from the pain his brother had caused him.
In keeping in touch with him, I have found out that his brother has come back into his life! He feels like God is still working in helping him love and forgive him completely.
I’m so glad God used me to speak into this young man’s life and that he will never be the same!
-John Port

Monday, May 25, 2009

We're Back!

It has been a few days since we arrived back in Oklahoma City, but I’ll update you on our visit to Ithaca and the end of tour.
We arrived in Ithaca, New York last Tuesday afternoon. Faith, Pastor Ken’s wife met us and took us to a nearby waterfall. It was so beautiful! We felt like God wanted to come to us and to this church just like a waterfall.
Wednesday morning we ministered at their school, Covenant Love School. The kids absolutely loved having us there, and we got to meet some of them and pray after our dances. John got to pray over an entire class for their relationships, and Laura prayed for two girls who were nervous about their transition into high school. Covenant Love only goes though eighth grade.
After the kids went to their classes, we prayed over the principal as well as a special education teacher from the district who was there. The two women were blown away by the presence of the Lord they felt as we prayed, and they were very blessed.
In the afternoon we worked on re-staining their playground. We got to go to our host homes for a couple hours and then come back for an evening youth service. God really used us in the service, and we were excited about how many youth were there!
Kristen gave a word to a girl about God’s love and prayed for her about her relationship with her boyfriend.
Laura gave a word to a girl about God wanting to increase her joy, only to find out later that Joy was her middle name! She also prayed for several other girls, one of which really struggles with shame. She prayed God would release her from that. A lady also came up to Laura and said she was really inspired by her treasure hunting workshop because she has all these ideas and has needed an outlet for them.
Larissa prophesied over a girl who is about to graduate from high school about her desires to serve the Lord. The word touched her really deeply as she has been considering possible MC programs or college. She felt connected with Larissa immediately, like she was her sister.
Genesis sang and danced over a girl and also was really touched by getting to meet another girl.
John gave a word to a young man about being a son in the house. He came up for prayer and really opened up to him about some deep things. John also prayed for other guys about similar struggles.
Jordan had a word of knowledge for a young man about being in business and found out that he was majoring in business in college. He released destiny over him. Jordan also prayed for a boy who received some deep healing concerning circumstances surrounding the funeral of his uncle.
Denica prayed for two sisters who were really touched by our ministry. One of them is going to move to New York City to be an actress and the other said that Laura’s testimony related to her senior year in high school and she is still working through some of those things. Denica also spoke to a girl about her age who struggles with not being seen and being “shy.” Denica shared her testimony and encouraged her.
After the meeting, one of the pastors, his wife, and a couple other people began to prophesy over people in our group and pray over us. It was such a time of refreshing. We felt like everything we poured out was being poured back out on us.
We left Ithaca the next morning and headed to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. It was an awesome time of fun and relating with one another. We headed home that night and arrived Saturday afternoon! We are glad to be back and are so grateful for how God used us on this tour!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Seven Ducks Down, Two to go

Hello! We are in Ithaca, New York now, our last tour stop on this trip! From here we'll be heading off for a day at Cedar Point and heading home Friday evening. I'll just update you a bit about what took place in Middelfield, our last stop.
We arrived on Sunday night and had a service with some of the people from the church. We were able to bless them with some prophetic paintings, drawings, and words, and a couple dances. Kristen gave her painting to a lady about her heart "singing with joy," and it ended up hitting her right on the spot. She was very grateful for the word. Denica then gave a drawing to that lady and her husband about the Father being their home. That was also right on because they haven't been able to settle into a permanent home yet.
Mike Southern is the pastor in training there, and he will soon take over the job of senior pastor. Laura had a word for his wife without even knowing who she was, and she told her afterwards that she knew Laura was going to have a word for her!
On Monday morning we got to be with some high school kids from Cardinal High School, which is a public school. It was their "Christian Club." We spoke some words to them afterwards and invited them to come to our evening service at the church.
When we got back to the church, the Lord had us pray and prophesy over Pastor Mike. It was amazing how the spirit was flowing, and he was extremely encouraged by what God apoke through us. There was so much confirmation and breakthrough for him--he was blown away! We can see that God is making him strong, and making him a warrior who won't back down.
As Middlefield is known for having a significant Amish community, we had lunch at the famous Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen. It was delicious! Just to explain the title a bit, there was a gift shop at the restaurant. We have been on the lookout for a duck for each person on our team, because a duck is our "mascot." So we found several there, and we only have two more to get. :)
In the afternoon we went to Cardinal Middle School and connected with some of the kids there from the after school Christian Club. There were two guys there with hurt leg or foot. One of them prayed for the other, and his own leg started feeling better! Then the one who was prayed for felt better too! We also invited the kids here to the evening service.
We were so pleasantly surprised by how many of the highschoolers and middle schoolers came to the meeting that night, plus others from the church! There was so much hunger and life in them, and we knew God was using us to touch their hearts. Larissa and Laura did the prophetic arts and treasure hunting workshops, and the kids there just ate it up! Even one young man who is an artist himself was really inspired to start doing prophetic painting. He has felt that his art hasn't had a place, but now he knows what his place is. We did a few human videos after the workshops and then released prophetic words. We could tell everyone was very blessed and that God touched them that night. One girl that Laura connected with was thanking God because He knew that talking to Laura was what she needed that night.
There is a girl from this church that wants to do MCOKC next year, and some of the girls got to stay with her.
Well, we had a good time ministering at Covenant Love School this morning and then staining their playground, and we are going to head off to our final service tonight!
See you soon!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Lansing!

We had a great time in Lansing last week! From the time we arrived on Thursday afternoon, we knew we were welcome, and there was much anticipation in the air. We had the opportunity to talk with Pastor Fred McGlone and Ron Burns before heading to our host homes for the night. Pastor Ron asked each one of us to share what we felt God was going to do in our time there. Several of us had words of joy, celebration, or new life for the church and the area of Lansing. A few others felt that God wanted to bring increase of His Word, His anointing, and His Presence. Pastor Fred summed it all up to be a time of refreshing, joy, and empowerment. We definitely saw these things take action in the church while we were there. The people are so hungry for God’s Presence and full of life.
On Friday afternoon we got to be a part of an after school elementary program that some people from New Covenant put on called “Fire Up Friday.” It was their last time for this school year, so they talked a lot about Jesus and salvation. Almost all of the kids stood up to receive Christ at the end! To show them how Heaven celebrates when people decide to live for Christ, we did our dance “Rejoice” at the end. There was such a sense of joy in the place and it was cool to see how God is using this program to speak to kids’ hearts.
That night we had a service with the church; it’s something they have once a month on Fridays called “Encounter Night.” God really showed up in the worship time, and everyone responded to His Presence. Larissa was planning on sharing her prophetic arts workshop, so before she taught, each of the MC’s shared a piece of their own prophetic art. Kristen prophetically danced over the church for her first time, and a lot of people were very touched by it! Jordan and Laura drew pictures; Jordan’s was for the church and Laura gave hers to specific people. Denica shared a prophetic poem and gave it to a girl, and John played and sang prophetically on the guitar. Genesis had some breakthrough in dance during the worship time. Our goal was to show them all the different ways we can express worship or prophecy in the arts and to release the body even more into that, whether they have the specific gift or not. Larissa then did her teaching, which was incredible and produced a lot of excitement in people. She then had everyone practice drawing a “prophetic sketch” for someone. So everyone got a partner and they exchanged pictures. Many people got up to share what they drew or what was drawn for them and how it encouraged them. The girl that Denica drew a picture for was amazed by how accurate the word was and how it confirmed everything that has been spoken over her before. We also got to pray for people at the end. Laura really connected with a girl about her age and got to speak a word over her which she had gotten herself that she is not going to be alone.
That night Jordan had a pretty huge breakthrough in worship. At the beginning of the MC year, God gave him a picture of him waving a pink banner. Now, Jordan hates the color pink, so this was pretty improbable for him. But God told him that the color pink was going to symbolize change for him. So, to his surprise, there was a huge pink flag at New Covenant, and Jordan had the wonderful opportunity to wave it during worship! And on Sunday, two people gave him pink shirts; he said he would never wear a pink shirt! But he did. We all see this as a major turning point for him.
On Saturday we watched some videos on Communication by Dann Farrelly from Bethel church in Redding, California. It was actually very timely and helpful in knowing how to relate with one another and be clear in our intentions. We then had some “team time” where we got to connect as a group and pray for each other, which was needed. The rest of the day we worked outside at the church and then hung out at Laura’s house. Genesis went on her first canoe trip and loved it!
Sunday morning we did our dances and testimonies for the service. During worship, we had two guys from the church do prophetic paintings along with Denica. It’s awesome to be able to release people into that when they probably never thought they’d be able to do it. We prayed and prophesied over people at the end of the service. God released many words and touched a lot of people’s hearts. He also brought some physical healing to people! We were so blessed by the way this church opened up their hearts to us and pulled out of us what God has given, and we are excited for where God is taking them. It was also a blessing for Laura to be home and even have the opportunity to invite some people that wouldn’t normally come to church. Overall, it was an incredible time of seeing God move once again!
Well, we are in Middlefield, Ohio now and will tell you more about what God is doing here in a day or two! God bless you all, and we can’t wait to see you when we get back, all of you in OKC!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Toledo

Monday night was our first day in Toledo, Ohio! That night we had a prayer and worship time. Laura drew a picture of a butterfly and had the scripture from Ezekiel 36 about the land changing from something ugly to something beautiful; the Lord is going to tear down the old to build something new.
On Tuesday morning the MC’s went to Toledo Christian School to do two chapel services. This was an exciting time for us! The kids were full of life and joy and were so excited to have us there. They were from K-5 through 6th grade. They were our most participating crowd yet! The scripture a teacher spoke to them at the beginning of the service was, “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Kristen’s prayer for the kids were that after they saw us, that they would have a new perspective of what it looks like to rejoice and to have joy all the time. At the end of the service, there were several kids who told us they would do Master’s Commission when they were old enough to do it. Oh, and anyone want our autograph? We are pretty much famous now! The kids stood in line with Bibles or spare paper having us autograph them as they left!
Tuesday afternoon, the MC’s went to the YMCA to minister to young kids, and also a group of teens from the neighborhood. Genesis got to lead a young girl to the Lord for the first time! You should have seen Gen’s excitement! Kristen and Denica also led a young girl to the Lord! John prophesied over one of the girls that she was beautiful and spoke the Lord’s love over her.
Tuesday night we had a service with the church. Pastor Dwight and his family had lived in Toledo, and Toledo is the church where his brother-in-law pastors! There were at least 12 people including Pastor Dwight related to each other at the service that night! It was a small family reunion! Kendra and Larissa both did prophetic paintings. Kendra painted trees that represented oaks of righteousness from Isaiah 61. Larissa painted an eagle that overshadowed Toledo and had the scripture from Hosea 2—that Toledo would represent a valley of trouble turned into an opportunity for hope! John also had a confirming word after seeing Larissa’s painting that Pastor James and his wife are where they are supposed to be, and that there is hope, and they can bring change to the city. Pastor Dwight also had a word for the Mann’s (Pastor James and Sue). He gave them Jeremiah 29:11 and said that they have felt like exiles, but they are seeking the welfare of this devastated city. Kristen felt the Lord tell her that He is changing the name of the city from Toledo to the City of the Redeemed. These words went along with what Pastor James and other pastors have been crying out for. They have been crying out for restoration. There is a high unemployment rate and a lot of policemen being laid off.
Detroit then Toledo are the top 2 economically oppressed cities; you can feel the oppression and depression, so the words we gave brought hope to Pastor James, and to the congregation.
There were also a few words specific to members in the congregation. Laura gave a picture of a flower to a lady in the church with the scripture, “Those who look to Him are radiant. Their faces are never covered with shame.” (Her husband said he could see light coming out of our team and many young people’s lives being affected from our lives.) Kristen gave a young girl a picture that represented the Lord’s love. She prayed that the girl’s heart would be broken for the Lord. The girl decided to start being discipled now, and has interest in doing MC’s in a year. Genesis prayed in tongues over the congregation, and a lady came to her with an interpretation that sunlight was breaking through, that there would be breakthrough in the city.
After the meeting was over, the youth and young adults came over to The Pastor’s house for pizza. Pastor Dwight talked to an exchange student from Kurgyzstan who is Agnostic. Pastor Dwight got a word of knowledge that he came to America to find the truth and bring it back to his family. He was very impacted by that word.
Wednesday morning we went over to a senior center and did some dances and shared our testimonies with the senior citizens. We had some time to spend talking with them. It was a pleasant time, and they all wanted us to come back again someday.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Winchester


At RACE on Friday night, after doing our dances and testimonies, there was more worship and a speaker. The speaker asked our team as well as the other adults who were there to just begin ministering to the youth and releasing more prophetic words. Laura felt prompted to speak to a girl and ask what was going on inside her. It turned out she needed some inner healing, and Laura was able to lead her in that. The girl said she heard Jesus tell her she was beautiful. Afterwards, she felt so loved that she asked Laura if she could call her her sister. Others also gave some prophetic words and prayed for the youth. As was mentioned before, Denica had the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord. She ended up talking to her the next day through texting because she was having a hard time and having thoughts of killing herself. Denica gave her some scriptures to read and encouraged her while everyone else on the team prayed where they were at. After a while, the young lady told her that she was reading the scriptures. Denica invited her to come to the park on Sunday night because we were going to be there performing. She wasn’t able to go because her parents wouldn’t let her, but Denica found out later that she went to church that night and brought her unsaved parents. She said she “got the Holy Ghost” and her parents were saved!

Saturday we had a day off to go spend time at the Marlowe’s house. The guys were shooting guns, and the girl decided they would too. So we girls each had a turn to shoot a gun! Later that day we went to Melissa Camenisch and Joel Marlowe’s graduation party. Melissa is planning on coming to Master’s Commission next year, so it was good to connect with her.

Sunday morning we ministered at Steve Humble’s church. We released several words over the church and the people. John called them up to a new level of warfare before we did our dance “Soldier’s Cry.” Kristen got to publicly encourage her host family, which blessed them. Genesis spoke a word of blessing to all the moms as it was Mother’s Day and drew a picture to go along with it. Laura had a word for the Marlowes, which was very timely, and Jordan released a word over his own church, which they were really encouraged by. Denica had a word of knowledge for one young girl. She ended up being right on and the girl’s dad especially was very touched and blessed by the word.

That night we ministered at College Park. A lot of people from the church came plus some that just happened to be there. We were able to encourage a lot of people in talking to them afterwards.

Earlier that afternoon we did some dances at a nursing home. They all expressed that they were blessed by us being there. Genesis connected with a lady who was having a hard time having faith in God because of losing her mom when she was young. Gen encouraged her that God was ready for her when she was.

We are in Toledo now, having the opportunity to minister to children today and do the church service tonight. Please pray for health and continued energy. Thank you so much!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Loo-e-vul

On Wednesday while in Louisville, we had the opportunity to go prayer walking with Pastor Ted and another local pastor named Pastor Milton, whose church is set right in the “bad” part of town. We went to a couple areas that had ungodly businesses and sang worship songs and proclaimed scriptures in order to shift the atmosphere. While we were in one of the parking lots, there was a man who drove by and was smiling. He asked Pastor Dwight what we were doing. The man drove all the way back around, parked, and got out of his car because he was so blessed by what we were doing and he wanted prayer. His name was Milton, which was funny because that was the pastor’s name! I think Milton showing up was a gift from God to us as if to say, “Keep going. I’m proud of you.” Plus, it really blessed him, too.
That night we did our ministry service for the church. Here are some of the ways God used us that night:
-John talked and prayed with a young man who is having some difficult family issues. People that knew him were amazed by how much he opened up to John, because that is not common for him. The young man was holding a lot of anger, but he wanted to forgive his brother. John was able to stand in for his brother to ask forgiveness, and that brought a huge release, and he was able to forgive him. John and Jordan prayed for him to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and gave him some scriptures to help him.
-Jordan did a prophetic painting that applied to a word he later gave to a man named Job, who is actually an MC graduate. He also gave a word to a family whose dad is starting up a ministry. The word applied directly to where his ministry is going.
-Laura prayed for a few people. One girl really opened up to her about feeling alone, and she got her facebook so they can stay connected. Another girl is going on a mission trip soon and really has a heart for the nations. Laura connected with her because of that and was able to encourage her. Laura also had a word of knowledge about hands needing healing, and three people came up to her for prayer for their hands!
-Kristen had a word for a young girl. She came up to her afterwards for prayer and told her about some of her struggles with rejection. She really needed to hear Kristen’s word.
-Larissa also prophesied over a couple people. One of the young men came to find her later, which apparently was rare for him to do. He told her he really needed to hear what she said.
-A lady came up to Genesis and told her that her testimony really blessed her because she can relate with the warfare and the struggles. Genesis gave her Psalm 27 to help encourage her.
-Denica also prophesied to the same girl as Kristen. Her word was also right on and she was able to pray with her and also find out that she almost didn’t come that night! She gave a word to another girl that God has not forgotten her. She went to pray for her and the girl was crying and said, “I guess I didn’t know I needed to hear that.” Denica gave her painting to the girl who Laura talked to who has a heart for the nations, because it was about being backed up by the prayers of the saints.
We had an incredible time in Louisville. We are now in Jordan’s hometown of Winchester, where God has already used us greatly to minister at Winchester Christian Academy and a once-a-month youth event called RACE. At the school that we went to, there were a lot of kids who struggle with rejection or depression. They were so hungry to talk to us after we did our dances and testimonies. A lot of them really opened up and we were able to get info to stay connected with them.
We also got to pray for a few of the young people at RACE. One young lady actually asked Denica to pray with her to receive Christ! God is so good!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Newport Continued

Saturday morning and afternoon Larissa and Laura taught on prophetic painting and treasure hunting. Although not many people from the congregation showed up, the few who did and the MC’s took the opportunity to ask God for clues and venture out to the nearby Levee where there was plenty of treasure to discover. Probably the story that stands out the most is when Laura had the clues “yellow shoes” and “green hair.” After a while Denica spotted a clown that fit that description and also had striped socks (stripes were one of Denica’s clues). Laura got very excited and we proceeded to go talk to her and pray for her. The lady was very surprised that our clues matched and she was more than happy to receive prayer for her and her husband’s health. Also, Jordan had “scoliosis” on his list, and he saw a man with a broken foot. He figured he might as well pray for him because he obviously needed healing. When he asked him if he could pray, the man said, “Actually I’d like you to pray for my mom who has scoliosis.” One of the young men from the church, Joe, came with us too, and he found a guy that matched four of his clues. Joe prayed for the man’s loneliness because he is not with his family at the time.

While in Newport, we had the opportunity to pray for healing for Pastor Cole’s shoulder, Mrs. Milar’s knee, and Ryan’s foot, as mentioned before. While praying for Mrs. Milar, she said she could feel heat in her knee, and I believe some of the pain was diminished. When we saw Ryan again, he was almost putting full weight on his foot. He confirmed that it was feeling much better!

Sunday night service!

-Kristen prophesied over a family in the church, and when they came up to her for prayer, they confirmed that everything she said was right on!

-Kendra gave a word to a young lady about increasing her creative gift and again, the word was confirmed and matched with something that was in her heart to do.

-Jordan prayed for a couple young guys who were very encouraged. He was able to speak into their lives because of the things he had in common with them. Also, Jordan went to a new level in sharing his testimony. He was vulnerable and it was very impacting.

-John Clark prayed and prophesied over four young men. One of them said he was seriously considering not coming to the service until God told him directly he needed to go and ask John to pray for him!

-Laura really connected with a girl about her age and was very encouraged by her excitement and openness. The girl even deliberately went to stand by Laura during worship.

-Denica painted prophetically during worship, and when she was finished sharing what it meant, one of the young men in the church got up and said that while he was wondering to himself what was being painted, he pictured something extremely similar to what Denica painted! He said he was floored when he saw the painting! God released over him through that a vision to step into more prophetic art. He used to be into drawing but hasn’t done it in about 5 years.

-Genesis was able to personally share her testimony with a lady who could relate a lot with what Gen had gone through.

-All of the MC’s got up after the dramas and dances and prophesied either over specific people or the church. Most of the words were confirmed and people were very encouraged!

-There was a lady who was at the prophetic painting workshop earlier that day whom Larissa thought should do a painting that night. She was actually really excited about it even though she formerly doubted her artistic abilities. She ended up doing an incredible job and hearing clearly from the Lord. It was cool to be able to release her into one of her gifts!

Jordan was pleasantly surprised by a visit from his family on Sunday! He will see them again when we go to Winchester.

We have been so blessed by the offering taken for Master’s Commission at the different churches. And we are blessed by the offering taken at Covenant Life while we have been gone too! God has provided in ways we never expected!

Yesterday, on Monday, we had the opportunity to clean up the Coles’ yard because they are getting ready to sell their house. After our time with them, we drove to Louisville, where we are now with Pastor Ted and Dawn Sandquist. We get to work at the church today, and tomorrow we will do a prayer walk in the city and do an evening service. Thank you everyone for your prayers and your support! We love you!!!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Ketchup!

Yes, it’s true. We saw the largest ketchup bottle in the world in Collinsville, Illinois. We arrived in St. Louis, just outside of Collinsville, on Thursday night. We had some time to go see the famous arch and take a quick tour of the museum beneath it.

Later that night we went to Pastor Tim Stark’s church (who is a former MC director) to have dinner. There we had an unexpected encounter! Tim runs a juvenile intervention program called Diversion designed for youth who get caught in illegal acts to have a way to divert the effects of a ticket or a fine. They serve the church and the community and take some classes. Thursday night is usually Diversion night, but it was cancelled because Master’s Commission was going to be there. However, there were about six young men who didn’t realize this and showed up anyway! It was awesome how God set this up! Tim had them each share their stories about how they got into the program, and the MC students as well as a couple of interns had the opportunity to share their testimonies with the boys. We could tell right away that God was at work in their hearts. These boys come from a lot of different religious and family backgrounds, and most are not Christians even though they might know about the Lord. We could see their hearts softening as we spoke what God put on our hearts and shared our stories. When we were finished, we asked if we could pray for them, and they each told us something specifically they wanted to ask God for. One young man wanted prayer for his friend who was in a car accident and in the hospital, and it was apparent that he was really touched by our prayer for him. Before they left, some of them gave us hugs and they all expressed gratefulness to us. There was a such a connection between us and what we were realizing was that we all have struggles and we all do “bad” things, but we are in this together, and God wanted to show these boys that He wanted relationship with them.

We arrived in Newport, Kentucky, near Kristen’s home, last night, Friday. A few days earlier Laura had a word of knowledge that God wanted to release the miraculous, and she sensed that there was a young man or boy that had a broken leg or foot. When we arrived at Lifegate Church last night, a young boy named Ryan came in with a foot brace on. We prayed for him and he said there was a lot of improvement!

Pastor Dwight also had a prophetic word for Kristen’s brother, Nick, and his girlfriend, Ashley, about the threefold cord that cannot be easily broken. We felt led to look up Ashley’s name and it means “harmony,” which totally goes along with this word. We are so excited about everything else God wants to do here. God is helping us to come together as a team and break through the “membranes” that hold us back from becoming all we were meant to be.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

"I Will"

And we're off!
Today we have officially left for tour and had our first stop in Vinita! We were welcomed with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. On our way here, God spoke to several of us about what He wanted to release to the people here as well as what He wanted to do to build our confidence. One of the things He said was that we don't have to worry about our effectiveness, because God will! He will do the things He said He would do, and He will use us, and we will see miracles. A couple people told us after the service that even though we might not have seen a lot of response tonight, they knew that there would be lasting change in people out of what we imparted.
Kendra and Denica did prophetic paintings, releasing the words "revolution" (specifically a revolution of love) and "explosion" to the church. The paintings really spoke to two young kids, and so we gave them to them.
Also, in giving her testimony tonight, Genesis in particular stepped into a whole new level of freedom in her openness, and much power was released as a result! We know God touched the church here, and we are so blessed to have been a blessing.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Kristen's Picture at Ponca

While we were ministering at Ponca City, the Lord gave Kristen a picture of a bright red heart in the midst of everything around it being black and white. He said to her: "Your tour will be awsome but don't leave people remembering you and your dances. Leave them with the image of me and the embrace of my love surrounding them." May we carry this perspective with us as we go!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Itinerary!

April 29: Vinita, OK New Life Foursquare Church
April 30: Collinsville, IL Son Life Church
May 1-4: Newport, KY Lifegate Church
May 4-7: Louisville, KY Louisville Covenant Church
May 7-11: Winchester, KY Winchester Covenant Fellowship
May 11-14: Toledo, OH Northgate Community Church
May 14-17: Lansing, MI New Covenant Christian Church
May 17-19: Middlefield, OH Christ Covenant Fellowship
May 19-21: Freeville, NY Covenant Love Church
May 21: Begin heading back to OKC, arrive May 23
May 27: Tulsa, OK Tulsa Foursquare Church

Ponca Love

Last night, April 21, 2009, was our first official tour stop in Ponca City, where we had the opportunity to minister to the youth group of Foursquare Gospel Church. God showed us a piece of what we can expect for the rest of our tour and is giving us more of his heart. More than anything, we felt that God just wanted us to love on the kids there, and we had the opportunity to do that! Several came up for prayer, some of which were really hurting from relational issues or people in their lives recently dying. We prayed for them and God spoke through us. We believe He will continue to set these youth free and also to set them on fire to be "trendsetters" in their world. We are very grateful that God used our dances and dramas and our prayers and words to touch these youth, and we can't wait to see what else he will do on the remainder of tour! Last night raised our level of expectation and passion!