Friday, April 25, 2008

Adventures with God


My day started with an adventure. My cell phone rang at 5:30 a.m. Sleep is still a precious commodity to me, so I grudgingly woke up enough to squint at my phone and see who was rude enough to call me at that hour. The called ID just said "private number," so I turned the phone off and tried to go back to sleep.
Two minutes later, on the other side of the room, Greg's phone came to life. Not a good sign. My adrenaline pumping, I made a dash through our dark room to answer it.
"Hello," I croaked.
"Hey Mom!" said the chipper voice on the other end. All of my daughters sound alike on the phone and my muzzy brain couldn't quite decipher which one was calling me at this ungodly hour. But her next words clued me in . . .
"It's me Candyce--in India!"

My brain kicked into low gear and we spent the next few minutes having a lovely chat. It always amazes me how clearly I can hear someone who is half the planet away. She was calling from Pune, hadn't gone back to the villages like she'd planned because of sickness.

"It's not malaria like I had in Africa, mom," Candyce assured me. "I just haven't been able to keep food down for the past 24 hours. No big deal."

Yeah, right. For her, though, the "big deal" was the deliverance her team had witnessed in a village they'd visited a week ago. A mixture of hinduism and witchcraft practiced there had opened the people up to demonic oppression and possession. But Candyce and her team saw first hand how the Spirit of the Lord can set the captives free.

Candyce described how she laid hands on one woman and began to pray in the name of Jesus. The woman began to convulse and then passed out! When she woke up, she was in her right mind and rejoicing in the Lord. Candyce told me about one woman who fell to the ground and started "slithering like a snake" while the team prayed for her--and was eventually set free from her torment!

Definitely not your typical prayer meeting!

Candyce also told me of their near arrest--how people from one village reported them for proselytizing and so the police met them at the next village and threatened to put them in jail if they preached the gospel there! How intense is that? Kind of like the book of Acts . . .

I shouldn't be surprised, though. Back when she was a small child--only about five or so--a very wise woman prayed over her. She prophesied, really, declaring that Candyce's strong will would be shaped and used by the Lord for His glory. That He would put on her the spirit of Paul the apostle . . . that He would give her a holy boldness and she would do great exploits in His Name . . .

That prayer--which brought me great comfort at the time (because Candyce was a VERY strong-willed child)--has given me great joy as I've witnessed its fulfillment in Candyce's life.

And I'm pretty sure her adventures in God have only just begun . . .

2 comments:

jenzai said...

Dong Joo, T.Michael, McKenzie and I stopped to pray right now for your girl in India...thanks for the update.

Free Spirit said...

Wow! I love reading of these kinds of current testimonies so reminiscent of Acts. I just got done with a study of the book of Acts, and kept asking myself thru-out, "why don't we see more of this in today's world?" I'm a mother of 4 children, under age 7, and pray that one day, I'll not only live those kind of experiences, but see my children walk in them as well. What a blessing!! Right now, so much of life feels like survival, and I often feel like a failure when it comes to modeling the kind of relationship with Father that will inspire them to "go and do likewise."

I will be back frequently to your blog. I found you through the Lifestream website.

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