Chapter 9

9.

"How many of you feel like this group? You believe God can heal, but you don't know if He is willing?" Terrelle asked from behind the pulpit.

Lydia looked around the worn down church as the question was being translated. Even fewer people than before stood up. Terrelle was teaching on the four types of faith and was asking the congregation what category they fit into. With the first category, of no faith, a lot of the people stood up. Then with the second group, those who didn't believe but wanted to believe, even fewer people stood up. Now with this third category, that one believed Jesus could heal but didn't think He was willing, only a handful stood up from their orange, plastic seats. This was becoming discouraging. It looked as though there was very little faith in this place. That would explain the struggle the girls had notice the night before.

Terrelle looked down to where the team was sitting. He looked to Allie with a perplexed shrug and waited for her direction. "Why don't you go into words of knowledge,"Allie said after a moments thought.

"You want me to do that?" Terrelle asked.

"Yes, go ahead."

"All right I'm going to ask any of the team who has a word of knowledge to come up and give it..." Terrelle paused so Alzira could interpret. "If you have the problem they call out I want you to stand and then I'm going to give a prayer for all of you. When I'm done if you've been healed eighty percent or better I want you to wave your hands like this." Terrelle demonstrated, waving his hands above his head and crossing them when they met in the middle.

Those on the ministry team who had words of knowledge went up and gave them. Several people stood up when they heard the ministry team call out their problems. Terrelle then held out his hand and began to ask for those people's healings. He then asked them how many had gotten healed. Several pairs of hands started waving.

"Praise God!" "Thank-You Jesus!" "Hallelujah!" Lydia and the others exclaimed as they and the rest of the congregation clapped their thanks to God.

Terrelle prayed two more times and after the second time eight pairs of hands waved thanks to Jesus, their Savior and healer. Lydia smiled, pleased by even that small number of healings. Even one healing is enough to be overjoyed about, worth praising the Lord for!

Once all the clapping had subsided Allie went up on the stage and took the microphone from Terrelle. "We are now going to have a break. So you all can go grab something to eat." Allie looked to Alzira to translate her announcement. "We will have another meeting in one hour." She paused again as Alzira interpreted for her. "We hope to see you and your guests tonight."

After that last part was translated the Brazilians got up to go while the ministry team headed to the back of the sanctuary and up a rickety old stair case for their supper. "YES! Fresh tangerines!" Lydia squealed her delight. Pastor Rod prayed a blessing over their meal and then everyone started digging in.

"Yum!" Lydia murmured swallowing the succulent bite of tangerine.

As they ate they melted into several groups and talked among themselves. "No, I'm used to this kind of thing. A friend and I lead a Bible study at our school during lunch break," one kid with blond hair and hazel eyes said to Pastor Rod, Mrs. Olsen and a few of the kids. Lydia's ears perked up. "So yes, I've seen quite a bit. The Holy Spirit really shows up during our Bible study time."

"How old are you, Savoy?" Pastor Rod asked after swallowing a bite of his sandwich.

"Fourteen," he answered.

"Wow, you sound mature for your age," Mrs. Olsen said with a smile.

"Thank-you," Savoy returned the smile.

Lydia listened as he talked on for half an hour. He had a lot of cool stories to tell. He was passionate in his relationship with Christ and deeply compassionate for those who hadn't yet accepted Christ as their Savior.

"Everyone, we need to be finishing up and heading downstairs. I'm going to be preaching tonight so could you all give a corporate prayer for me before we go?" Allie coughed. "Especially that my voice doesn't give out on me."

Everyone surrounded her and began to pray. They prayed for fifteen minutes, asking the Lord to bless her speaking, for unity between her and Elana, who was going to translate, and that God would make Allie's voice strong and sure. They then prayed for Elana separately; that God would bless her translation, and that her mind would be clear to understand Allie.

Elena was a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties. She had come as Izabel's friend, the Brazilian who was one of the preachers for the attack force team, and was serving as translator. She was as white as Lydia with chocolate brown eyes, and long, flowing hair that was the same color. She was tall and skinny.

"Now I need at least three people to stay up here to intercede," Allie said once they were done praying.

"I will," Abram, Natalia's brother offered. Then there was silence for several minutes. Lydia wanted to, but she felt weird being the only girl to offer, and especially if there was going to be only one boy in the room.

"What are we deciding on now?" Natalia asked coming out of the bathroom that was adjoined to the little classroom they were having supper in.

"I need volunteers to stay up here and intercede. So far only Abram has offered," Allie explained.

"Oh I can do that," Natalia volunteered.

"I can too," Lydia finally spoke up, grateful that there would be another girl.

"Great! All right the rest of us better get downstairs. It sounds like they are starting worship," Allie said gathering up her stuff.

For an hour and a half Lydia, Natalia, and Abram prayed up in that little classroom. As she prayed and talked with Natalia and Abram, Lydia looked around at her surroundings. The room was in a desperate need of a new coat of paint. The wood floor was scuffed with only a rug thrown to the side, and the only furniture was a table pushed into one corner and two chairs. She smiled at the cute, little Styrofoam cartoon bugs that hung on the walls. They were the only evidence that the room was used for children. The room, like the rest of the church, spoke of its location.

After an hour and a half Pastor Tiago came into the room and beckoned them to come out. "It's time to go down?" Abram asked pointing his finger at the floor. Pastor Tiago nodded his head and turned around to lead the way. They passed another room and down the narrow steps.

Lydia, Natalia, and Abram went up the middle aisle and up onto the stage with the rest of the team as the people began to come up to the front. One lady who was about in her fifties came up to Lydia. Lydia looked to Izabel. "Can you translate?" she asked. Izabel shook her head.

The older lady who had come up to Lydia began to speak in Portuguese to Izabel, as though expecting her to explain. Izabel looked at Lydia. "She has...heaviness...here." Izabel put her hand on the lady's chest.

"Depression?" Lydia guessed.

"Yes, and pain...through...body." Izabel said in very broken English, using her hand to indicate the lady's whole body.

"Vem, Senhor. Vem com seu poder." Lydia began to pray. For the first few minutes she prayed about the lady's depression, asking the Lord to take it away. "Is she still feeling the depression?"

Izabel asked. "No...it...lifted."

"Praise the Lord! Lord, we ask that You would come again and take away the pain." Lydia continued to lift the lady up in prayer. Izabel slipped away to look for someone else to pray for. Lydia could tell she wasn't comfortable with the translator position she had been pushed into.

"Esta melhor?" Lydia asked after a few minutes. The lady tested her legs. Her tan face screwed up in a look of extreme pain.

"Qual e seu nome?" Lydia asked remembering she didn't know the lady's name. Many times she would forget to ask. She didn't know why. Maybe it was being unfamiliar to being thrown into a large group of people, who she couldn't even speak to, on top of having to pray for them and interviewing them on their problems. A lot of the time she would forget most of the interview questions she had to ask: what is your name, do you know what caused it, etc.

"Catalina," the lady answered.

Lydia continued to speak to the Lord on Catalina's behalf. Once or twice Lydia asked if she was feeling any better and every time she got that look of excruciating pain. Finally Elena came up. "Can you ask her how long she has been in pain?" Lydia asked, beginning to wonder what was going on.

"Five weeks," Elena answered.

Lydia continued to pray but could see nothing was happening as Catalina persisted through the pain of moving her legs and arms with a lot of difficulty.

Lydia had learned in the training sessions that sometimes physical problems were cause by emotional or spiritual things. "Something is dreadfully wrong," Lydia thought, looking up at Catalina as she knelt in front of her. She sensed it was something more than a terrible accident.

"Does she know what caused this pain?" Lydia asked Elena.

Elena asked Catalina and then looked at Lydia as though she either didn't understand the question or the answer. Lydia tried to reword the question thinking that would help her understand. It didn't. She tilted her head and looked more confused. She got a very thoughtful look on for several seconds before standing up and walking off.

Lydia sighed in frustration. She should of been asking the Lord how to handle the situation, but she didn't even think about it at the moment.

She stood up, her legs harassing her for keeping them in the hunched position for so long. "Ohhh," she moaned under her breath. She placed her hand on Catalina's arm.

"Mais uncao para a cura. Mais uncao para a cura. Mais Senhor."

Several minutes passed before Elena returned. "Her father is a witch," she explained.

"Oh Lord! I know You are stronger, but I don't want to do this alone. Especially on my first time!" Lydia cried out. It was rather ridiculous, because she wasn't alone. Still she wanted a person there with her. What she didn't realize was the prayer was evoked from a lack of knowing what to do. This was probably more her problem than anything else. She wasn't really afraid. All that hindered her was the nervousness that came with not knowing how to go about this situation.

She looked around the crowded front. She saw Mrs. Olsen a few feet away praying for a young boy. "Mrs. Olsen, I need your help when you are finished," she called over to her pastor's wife.

Once Mrs. Olsen was finished praying for the boy she came over to Lydia. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Catalina has extreme pain in her whole body. Her father is a witch," Lydia explained.

"Oh," Mrs. Olsen murmured in understanding and took over. "Lord we ask that You would break these chains off of Catalina. Break the power that has been binding her for so long." Mrs. Olsen started pulling at Catalina's clothes, symbolically breaking the chains that bound Catalina.

They prayed for her for five minutes. As they prayed Lydia got a picture of chains and heard the word broken. So once Mrs. Olsen had stopped for a second she gave it. Mrs. Olsen nodded her head in agreement as Elena relayed the message to Catalina.

"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Olsen asked.

"She is feeling much better," Elena said.

"Praise the Lord!!" Mrs. Olsen and Lydia chorused.

Catalina smiled at the two of them and walked off. Lydia watched her as she walked down the aisle and started talking to some of the other Brazilian women. Lydia was glad for her. It had been obvious by the look on her face when they had finished praying for her that she did feel better. Lydia smiled to herself, inwardly thanking the Lord. Afterwards she went to look for someone else to pray for. There was no one else at the moment. She headed over to pray with Natalia for a little girl.

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Allie turned around to find a young lady who was in her twenties. "Hello, I have someone for you to pray for," the lady said.

"All right. I'm Allie." Allie extended her hand to the woman.

"I'm Victoria," The lady said, pulling Allie into a hug.

Victoria led her to a young boy about ten who was sitting in a chair and it was obvious that his right eye was blind. It was glazed over and staring off into space. Allie could feel the anointing was heavy in this spot. The Lord is going to heal this boy!

"Qual e seu nome?" Allie asked the boy kneeling in front of his chair.

"Emilio," the boy answered his left eye focusing on her.

"How long has his eye been like that?" Allie looked up at Victoria.

"It has been six years," Victoria answered.

"Does he know how it happened?"

"No, I've prayed for him four times already and nothing has happened." Victoria knelt down beside Allie.

Allie sensed that that wasn't right. She could tell he knew. She looked Emilio straight in the eye until she had gotten his attention. His eyes confirmed what the Holy Spirit had already told her. He knew what it was. "Will you just ask him, please."

Victoria raised her eyebrow as though she really didn't think this was all worth it. "He doesn't know what caused it."

"You've said that. Even so, will you just ask him." While Victoria was talking to Emilio, Allie noticed something she hadn't earlier. It was an undercurrent of something she couldn't quite decipher, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. It seemed to emanate from Emilio. As Allie paid closer attention the realization of what it was came to her. Within a second, it was as plain as day, and she wondered why she hadn't noticed it before. He had unforgiveness in his heart.

"His brother kicked him and it caused nerve damage," Victoria finally told her.

"Did he ever forgive his brother for what he did?" Allie asked pretty sure what the answer was already.

Victoria asked Emilio. He lowered his head in shame and slowly shook it. Allie gently tilted his chin up so she could look into his eyes. Those deep, dark eyes looked at her with "caught red handed" guilt. She smiled at him with an understanding smile.

"Do you want to pray a prayer of forgiveness?" she asked this question directly at Emilio. After a second of translation he nodded his head slowly. "All right, repeat after me," Allie didn't break eye contact with Emilio. "Dear Lord, I apologize for not forgiving my brother for kicking me in the eye." Victoria translated, and then Emilio repeated the prayer with a soft, musical voice. "I was angry with him for doing this to me." Allie waited for Emilio to say the next section. "Even so, I will set that aside..." Victoria translated, but Emilio paused a second, this time, as though to process the words. Finally he said them. "...and I will choose to forgive him." Once more there was a pause before Emilio restated those words. "I will no longer hold this against him." This time he said them without giving them a second thought.

"Did you really mean all that? You've truly forgiven him; you will no longer hold a grudge?" Amy asked.

"He says, 'sure I did.'"

"Good," Allie gave him a brilliant smile, "I'm going to cover your eye to pray for it, all right?"

Emilio nodded and closed his eyes. Allie covered his bad eye with her hand, bowing her head. "Dear Lord, come and heal Emilio's eye. Give him twenty-twenty vision," Allie prayed.

She uncovered the right eye and covered his left, good eye. "All right now, how many fingers am I holding up?" She held three fingers up a foot away from Emilio's face.

"He says three," Victoria answered.

Allie looked over at her surprised, "Really?" Victoria nodded her head, acting a bit annoyed. Allie's faith faltered. She struggled to believe her ears. She prayed two more times and each time afterward Emilio correctly answered her questions.

"Praise the Lord! Thank You, Jesus!!" Allie said taking Emilio's hand in her own and shook it.

Emilio beamed at her and nodded his head. "Nice...meet...ing...you," Emilio stammered in broken English.

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Lydia gave a weary sigh wondering how much longer they had to stay. "Lord, I need Your strength," she whispered. She was tired and ready for the soft bed that awaited her at the hotel. As much as she loved ministering to people, the late nights and little sleep was starting to take its toll on her. When Allie finally said it was time to go, she was relieved.