Faith Journeys!

Merry Christmas season! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving day and spent some time really thinking about what you are thankful for. I think it's appropriate that Christmas follows Thanksgiving, because Jesus really is what I'm most thankful for...and following behind Him: family, friends, chocolate chip cookies, boots, scarves, spending time in NYC for the break with my friend, Kim, and my brother, and decorating the tree while playing Christmas music! It's been a lovely, busy, but restful break for me!

These last few weeks have flown by (which keeps happening the older I get) and God has been teaching me so much. Two weeks ago Tom Osterhus, from the YWAM Maui base, came to teach our class on worldview. It was so impactful and I realized a lot of my thinking has turned to a more humanistic view rather than having a Biblical worldview (scary!!). Last week Doug Tunny (YWAM Boston) came to speak on evangelism. One of the best teachings I've had on practical evangelism. We went into the streets of Harrisburg and saw 31 salvations and 12 re-dedications in 2 days!!! Praise the Lord! I learned that people really aren't that scary and I need to just open my mouth! Doug said, "The best way to do evangelism is to just do evangelism." So simple, but so true. It's just starting a conversation and then sharing about Jesus. He brought up the idea that if we had the cure to cancer and we didn't tell anyone, wouldn't that be cruel. So how much more cruel is it to keep to ourselves the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ?? Everyone was pretty nice, even if they didn't want to accept Jesus they still appreciated someone talking to them and encouraging them.

Doug's week on evangelism was a perfect way to lead into our Faith Journeys. It was a 3 day trip where they divided us up into groups of 4 or 5. We were dropped off in different cities with 3 envelopes, a backpack/sleeping bag per person, 1 phone, and a contact number if we needed one. We could only open the envelopes on the day it said to and inside we would find tasks to complete for the day with some money (we never knew how much money would be in there, if any)...oh, and we were responsible for finding our ride back to Harrisburg! My team (Shannon, Matt, Chris, and myself) was taken to Lebanon, PA (about 45 minutes from Harrisburg) and dropped off. We were given $50 for the day and some of the tasks were to 'buy lunch for a homeless person and eat with them', 'pray for someone for healing', 'all team members buy someone a coffee and share Jesus with them', and 'at some point during the week get on the radio or news'. We wanted to go to a coffee shop to strategize and figure out what to do and where to go. Across the street from where we had been let out we noticed Legend's Cafe and decided that's where we would begin. This ended up being the most Divine drop off I could ever have imagined!

When we walked in we found out it was a part of a church, Calvary Chapel! They were about to close the cafe, but we got to meet the pastor's wife, Sue, who gave us some free soup for lunch. There she connected us with Marcio who worked with the local YWAM base and a contact for a radio station!! Already God was providing and in more ways than we even knew at that point. We then met Ebeneezer who came to the church every week to pick up food and distribute it. So we helped him load his car and then piled in for the mystery drop off. We ended up at the first service of the new Nigerian church in Lebanon and the food was to be given to the congregation at the end of the service. It was so much fun and I kept looking at my team asking how it was that we got there again. We met Nigerian pastors from all over PA and got connected with a missions organization in Africa. They even recognized the 4 of us as representatives of YWAM. We also met Kristin and her fiance, Ken, who offered to be our ride home on Tuesday! Remember....we had no contacts upon arrival and within 3 hours were in a Nigerian church service being recognized and thanked! Ha ... God really does have a sense of humor and if we just let Him, He really is faithful to guide us!! The service and all of the people there were so sweet and even had us be in the picture with all of the Nigerian pastors to commemorate their first service! We decided that with how the Lord was providing we would give all of our $50 to the church and would trust the Lord to provide whatever we needed. What a great start to the next few days!

After, we were dropped off by the Legends Cafe/Calvary Chapel and decided to go talk to people on the streets for the next hour or 2 before a Bible study at Calvary. We met a few people, prayed for them, shared the gospel, and even invited a girl we met to hang out with us the next day. We walked back to the church and joined in on the last of The Passion of the Christ and the Bible study, along with some snacks (dinner!). We met the pastor, Thom, and a few of the members of the congregation and felt so blessed at how the Lord was guiding us already. On top of that Thom and Sue offered to let us stay at the church for the next few days!

The next morning Marcio picked us up and took us to the YWAM Lebanon base. When we got there we opened our Day 2 envelope and found out one of our tasks was to serve at a local YWAM base or a church...perfect! So we offered our time to do whatever the base needed done and ended up raking leaves for a a few hours. The directors of the base, David and Miriam, made lunch for us and sent us off with about 3 boxes of food! We were dropped off again at the church and decided we needed to give all of the food to a family in need. We ended up knocking on the door of Robin and Gloria. They were homeless the month before and would have stayed homeless if they couldn't find an apartment that would allow their 3 dogs to move in with them! The apartment was pretty run down and smelled like cigarette smoke. They told us they just got a refrigerator and had been eating soup for the last month, so the food we brought them was much needed. They talked a while about their dogs and then we somehow switched the conversation to talking about Jesus. Robin said he didn't think hell could be any worse than the life we were living now and how he knew about Jesus but nothing more than the stories told in his past. We talked to them for about 30 minutes going through the Gospel, telling of the hope with Jesus, and the gift of eternal life in heaven where their would be no tears, pain, or hunger anymore. I asked them if they wanted to accept Jesus and they said YES!!!! Hallelujah. 2 new family members into the Kingdom. And since they lived down the street we were able to get them connected with Calvary Chapel. I truly look forward to seeing those 2 again because they are riots!

Those are probably my favorite stories of the 3 days. The rest of the time we talked to/prayed with more people on the street, joined the church one evening to help with their prayer station and hand out hot dogs to the homeless and anyone who came around, did some worship on the streets and read Bible verses aloud so that the name of Jesus would be enthroned over Lebanon, and prayer walked around town. We also were interviewed on the local radio station (93.1 The Truth) and became the Thanksgiving spotlight for the next couple of days!!! I learned so much during this Faith Journey. My team was incredible and God wow-ed us all with His provision. He provided things for us before we needed we knew them, every single meal was provided to us free of charge, we had a place to stay, the name of Jesus was proclaimed, and Robin & Gloria made Him Lord of their lives! Thank you, Jesus! Those 3 short days will leave a lasting impact on me and we now have friends in Lebanon that I look forward to connecting with in the future.

Below is a video of some of the other teams favorite God stories from the week!


Thank you again! Everyone who reads this and prays and supports financially and offers encouraging words, you have no idea how much you mean to me. I just can't tell you enough how appreciative I am and how I would not be here without you. Enjoy this Christmas season and remember that Jesus is the reason we celebrate.

I love you all,

J

P.S. You can download the podcasts of the speakers we've had for class by searching for "Fire and Frangrance" on iTunes. It will be the speakers for Harrisburg: Andy Byrd, Sean Feucht, Ivan Roman, Tod McDowell, John Leach, Corey Martin, Tom Osterhus, and Doug Tunny...and more to come! I highly encourage you listen to some of these...they've all had a hand in the change going on in my life!

Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Psalm 84 - ESV

Salem Haunted Happenings- Outbreak of Miracles!

Here is a video for you guys that tells about all of the miracles that happened in Salem last weekend! Once you get to the end you'll notice my numbers were actually low compared to the amount of people we actually saw healed and prayed for! And if you look closely you may even see me in the background :)

Enjoy :)

Update on Salem!!

Thank you so much for everyone who prayed for our trip to Salem!! It was legitimately one of the best experiences in my life and the name of Jesus was lifted high!

We left Saturday morning and 26 of us loaded into 5 cars for the 7 hour trek to Salem, Massachusetts. We self-named our van the Daughters of Jerusalem...with father Bo driving. So quick thank you to Bo for allowing 6 girls to ride with you!

We arrived around 6:30p and went straight to the House of Prayer at East Gate Christian Fellowship, which right now is located next door to the Halloween Festival...prime location! We worshiped and interceded for the city until about 10p before heading to different pastor's houses to stay the night. Sunday was a pretty full day packed with church, much more worship and prayer, prayer walking and getting a sense for what we were stepping into, and soaking in the presence of God before we hit the streets from 6-10 that night (which is when most people are out at the festival).

Salem is a quaint little town and so on the verge of breakthrough. There is a heaviness in the air and a spirit of witchcraft that looms over the area. Witches and warlocks roamed the streets, stores glorifying darkness were everywhere, psychics and tarot card readers were kept busy with people looking for answers, and tourists packed the festival not knowing what they were opening themselves up to. Salem actually means peace; so we prayed that Salem would become the City of Peace; and as the eastern most city, it would become the Eastern Gate to usher in the Gospel of Christ. I pray blessings on those God-fearing believers who are living in Salem and are continually crying out for their city and I pray that God would completely wipe out the darkness in the area and every knee in Salem would bow at the name of Jesus.

Anticipation filled as the hours of intercession went on and I was overflowing with excitement and nervousness and love for God and I was just ready to go see what God was going to do. We split into 4 teams for the first 3 hours and then came together for the last hour and literally took over the streets with heaven! We held up signs that said "Free Spiritual Healing" and "Free Spiritual Readings" (aka prophecies). Other psychics and tarot card readers had the same signs...so why not!? Initially it's a bit nerve-wracking to try and get people to come talk to you especially when they look at you like you're crazy...but I kept wanting to say 'I mean, you're at a witch festival....so how is this weird?'...but I refrained and then we just went for it only with boldness that came from God. My group was praying for healing and so we started shouting for anyone who had pain or sickness in their bodies. It was a slow start but then the Lord started bringing people in.

Overall we saw over 100 healings and shared the Gospel with around 200 people Sunday night!! God is so great and so much bigger than we give Him credit for. Firsthand I saw 3 people get healed of asthma (one being a fellow YWAMer!), multiple people get healed of back pain, 1 person with diabetes was healed. 1 guy had a cast on and told us he had a tendon that was cut in his hand. We prayed for him and he started moving his finger and said he couldn't move it before!! We saw arches grow in flat feet (which is something we've been seeing happen over the last month around PA!), pain in legs, shoulders, and ankles were immediately gone, among a plethora of others things...all in the name of Jesus!! We told them that Jesus healed them and then got to share the gospel with them. A lot of people knew about Jesus but couldn't believe that He could and would heal them!

Some of my teammates have some radical stories of healings and prophesies. Major walls came down in people's lives and one of my friends had multiple girls crying on her shoulder as she called out what the Lord wanted for their lives and ended in hugs and I love you's from the strangers on the street!! Some even giving their lives to Christ that night! One guy had gotten healed from pain and was talking to a guy on my team. He asked if God would love him even though he had a 666 and a pentagram tattooed on him...my friend answered "Well, think about this. You already had those tattooes and God just healed you...so yes He still loves you!" And the guy was like wwhhooooaaaa!!! Even some professed atheists and wiccans came up for prayer!! Haha...God is so good!!

I have so many stories I could tell you, but I don't want to take all of your time! I met so many precious sons and daughters on the street. All lost and seeking love and comfort in something. I watched shock and awe on their faces when God healed them. I watched many tear up when prophesied over and told about God's love and how He desires to know them and has a plan for them. Excitement rang through our section of the street as God did what only He can do! A bit of heaven opened over Salem that night and God encountered so many people Sunday...and I have full faith that He will continue to pursue those we came in contact with.

Side note: If you have some time, I recommend downloading the link that says Halloween from the link below. My young adult pastor from Nashville, AJ Jones, spoke on the origins of Halloween and I think everyone should know about where this holiday started and make an informed decision to celebrate it or not :) ... So click here -> Origins of Halloween.

THANK YOU again for praying!!! I am so encouraged and in awe by God's love and power and His willingness to use broken vessels to share His Kingdom with others. It was an experience of a lifetime and I look forward to maybe being a part of it again in the future. My comfort levels were stretched and my faith was expanded! Can't wait to keep sharing God's love and I encourage you to do the same. Walk up to someone on crutches and ask if you can pray for them or get a word for someone and share it. Just telling someone God sees them and has a plan for them can make a world of difference. It's just your job to be the messenger and God will do the rest! So be encouraged today and many blessings on you all!!!

J