Get ready for a TESTIMONY OVERLOAD!

Hey everyone!

Wow, has God been BUSY around here for the past few days! Sheesh! I have so much to tell that I'm stuck in the tension of trying not to explode AND to keep from forgetting any of the details from the incredible things that have been happening lately! Hm, I think the best strategy to share everything will be to split up the testimonies by topic/setting :). Here we go...

Treasure Hunting on Thursday...
...was the phenomenal prequel to this amazing weekend! We've had a guest speaker named Todd Bentley in town since Thursday, and he has been blowing the roof off Bethel. We had an amazing session with him before we hit the streets for our outreaches (he spoke on faith giving us eyes to see into the invisible realm of our resources and inheritance in God, and that in prayer, we can call forth those resources and accelerate God's plans and purposes for our lives), and I'm telling you, the impartation of anointing we received from him DEFINITELY had an effect on us! Honestly, we probably had the most successful treasure hunt so far this year! It was the number of people we found and were able to minister to that really blew me away. Normally, we get to talk with/pray for about 3 to 6 people on a Thursday outreach but I think we found 10-15 people who matched our treasure maps! It was incredible! And it began the very moment we stepped out of the car! We drove to Big Lots as our first location, and I had "lone car in parking lot (white truck)" + two of my teammates had "parking lot" on their maps as well. So we drive into the parking lot and sure enough, there's a white truck parked away from the other cars, with a woman just sitting in there! Since it was my clue, I took the lead and it turned into an amazing encounter. When we approached her, she had just been listening to a guy talk about God on the radio (she told us later that she turned it off because she thought we'd think she was weird;) ), and it became even more clear that God wanted us there because she began to share that she was going through a terrible and painful divorce, and that she had been seeking a new direction for her life and occupation because of it. So we got to pray with her for peace and resolution in her marriage relationship, for God to reveal His heart and purposes to her in this next season of her life, and we got to prophesy and encourage her too. All of that in about 10 minutes. Come one! And God just accelerated things from there... In front of Big Lots we talked with a group of people waiting for a cab and prayed for a lady among them who had cerebral palsy. We didn't see any immediate changes but several of us had "lower back pain" (which was her most painful area) on our treasure maps so we know God sent us there for a reason. Inside Big Lots we talked with several people, including a woman who had been suffering with terrible low-bakc pain for over 26 years. She was a bit stand-offish and defensive toward us but finally let us pray for her very briefly and then she ran off. However, she does live at an appartment complex where Bethel does Saturday outreach so I'm praying that the Lord sets her up with more people to love and honor her. By the end of our trip, we had prayed for a woman in a wheelchair at Michael's, a guy with a toothache at the skatepark, as well a number of other people that we were able to just quickly bless with a word or two.
I'm so undone and thankful to the Lord for how much He accomplished through us just in that afternoon and yet at the same time, He revealed to me alot of things... He showed me that there's SO MUCH more for me to step out into, that this is a time for me to be bolder than ever before in praying for healing and sharing the gospel with people, and He's just really challenging me to get out of my comfort zone for Him. He has given me radical promises and it's time for me to respond accordingly, with radical courage, obedience and faith in Him. Next...

The Lactose Intolerance Healing Update!

God is definitely stirring up something and moving me to new levels because I have encountered SO MANY people with lactose intolerance over the past three days! It's crazy! On Friday, I got to pray for a girl in my Spanish class who suffers from it mildly, but we also prayed for mom and brother because they have serious cases of LI. I'm really eager to hear back from those three to hear of God's faithfulness and power! And then on Saturday I got to pray for THREE MORE people, teenagers attending the Jesus Culture youth conference that Bethel put on this weekend(which will be my next AMAZING topic to discuss :)). And then on SUNDAY I got to pray for a kid named Daniel (who is the best friend of Maggie's son), and I REALLY want him to get rocked! I have to share you this story a bit more in detail... See, he and Maggie's son, DJ, spend a TON of time together and unfortunately aren't a very good influence on one another for the most part. Daniel's parents go to Bethel but don't make him go to church so he's desperately in need of getting his world rocked by God. My prayer is that this healing will shake him up and wake him up to the fact that God is real and important, and that relationship with Him actually is worthwhile. Plus, if he gets impacted, I'm sure it'll have some affect on DJ as well, who also REALLY needs to get rocked and taken by God. So keep them both in prayer and we'll see what God does! With all those healings in the works, that could be another 7 people added to the chain of lives God has touched!! Yay! Keep em comin, Lord!

Jesus Culture Conference!!

WOW. I don't hardly know where to begin on this one. What a PHENOMENAL weekend it was, to be able to take part in the shaping of youth from all over the country and the world (22 states and 4 nations, I think) into an army of revivalists, burning with passion for the Lord! Probably the most impacting thing for me to see (apart from Todd Bentley ministering in radical signs and wonders) was the worship... Even now as I remember it, I am left in awe. Just picture 3000+ youth united in genuine worship to their Lord, passionately abandoned to giving Him honor and praise. It was incredible... The presence of God was SO STRONG in that auditorium that I could literally feel the weight of it on my head. And yet at the same time it was like... you could hardly stand but you couldn't sit down either. It was a throneroom-atmosphere for sure. On top of all that it was just thrilling to see so many youth interested in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth, in doing what Jesus did! Healing, miracles, sign and wonders! These kids were so HUNGRY. Man, if I have anything to do with it (and I most certainly will :) ), the youth from my church will be attending the next Jesus Culture coming in August!!

Okay, NOW I get to tell you just a few more radical testimonies to boost up your faith! I mentioned before that Todd has an INCREDIBLE anointing on his life for healing and creative miracles, and we had the privilege to see God moving through that anointing first-hand! Honestly, these were the most amazing healings I've ever witnessed. During separate sessions of the conference, two different women were healed of multiple tumors on their bodies. One of them had six small tumors on each of her legs (that she could feel by putting pressure on her skin), and Todd simply prayed for her healing and released the power of God, and she checked out her legs, and the tumors were gone! Another lady had over 20 tumors all over her body, and after Todd prayed, many of them instantly dissolved while others began to shrink! Right there on the stage! It was NUTS! Todd was so great about talking with the people he prayed for. He'd ask them (with the microphone) what was wrong with their bodies, then after praying, he would follow up with them and see what they were feeling, if there was any change as of yet, etc. and if neccessary he would pray again! To one man's shock and amazement, the tumors in his stomach completely disappeared! We got to watch him feeling around where they used to be, and the look on his face was priceless :D. God was really pulling out the stops. The most RADICAL and moving healing of the night was for a sweet, sweet lady with an incredible level of faith. She slowly came up on the stage with a walker, a brace on her knee, and bandages on her leg. She explained to Todd that she had been in a terrible car accident that had injured her knee, shoulder and leg, that there was a tumor on her spine that had been causing her pain since her childhood, and that she also had hepatitis C. And with tears in her eyes and determination in her voicce she said, "I just knew that tongiht was my night!" So Todd prayed for her and she was radically touched by the love and healing power of God. The result: Her knee, leg and shoulder were completely healed! The tumor dissolved from her spine (she felt the pain and pressure leave), and with those covered, I have no doubt her hepatitis is gone too! She removed the brace from her knee, ripped off all her bandages and left the stage carrying her walker over her head while dancing and praising the Lord! DO WE SERVE AN AMAZING GOD, OR WHAT??

Well, I've got some personal, heart-stuff I want to share with all too but I am WAY too tired to be able to articulate myself in a comprehensible way ;) so I'll just leave that stuff until tomorrow.

I love you guys! Be encouraged and strengthen by these testimonies. God is really breaking out in new levels of power and wonder among the Church so don't think for a moment that this stuff can only happen in Redding. Store up any testimonies or stories of God's faithfulness, love and radical power, and just let them feed your spirit. Then when a situation arises, you can respond out of the testimony of the Lord, and release Him to do those same things again.

Blessings on your week! You'll hear from me again soon!

Melissa