Chapter 11
11.
The next night Lydia crossed the hotel lawn with book bag bouncing against her hip. She headed for the row of white vans parked along the curb. She popped into the van that had Allie Nopp's sign on it, only to find she was the second one to arrive.
"Hello, my name's Katie," the girl introduced herself. She had a very marked southern United States accent.
"I'm Lydia." She extended her hand to Katie after settling on the bench in front of her. "Where are you from?"
"West Virginia, and you?"
"Minnesota. Have you been on any of Randy Clark's other missions trips?"
"Yes, last year was my first time," Katie informed Lydia. She had long, orange hair, creamy white skin, with a smattering of freckles.
"Really? Which trip have you liked better so far?" Lydia asked turning sideways on the bench so she could look back at Katie.
"Well there have been things I've liked and not liked about both trips. This hotel is a lot nicer, but I think the anointing was stronger last year."
"Tom gave us sandwiches. The church will be giving us a snack after the ministry time but that's going to be a long time," Allie informed hopping into the car with a plastic, grocery sack. She handed each of them a sandwhich.
The others began to arrive. There was Randy, Savoy, Pastor and Mrs. Meyer who were friends of Pastor and Mrs. Olsen and had flown down with the Mt. Zion team. The rest of the people were unfamiliar faces. The girl who was to be one of the translators for the team looked as though she was from Indian descent. Her name was Cindy.
During the sermon Lydia, Katie, and another girl named Laura went up to a classroom to intercede. This church was a bit better off than the one Lydia had been to the past few nights. This classroom had a small collection of children's books, a long low table, and several kids-sized chairs.
When it came time for ministry Randy poked his head in. "C'mon down," he whispered.
They went down the steps, through the kitchen, and out the door of the partitioned off hallways. They lined up with the rest of the team as Allie opened up the front for anyone who wanted prayer. A man who was about her dad's height and had bleached, curly hair came up to Lydia. Her chest got tight with the feeling of anxiety. She looked to her right and then to her left looking for someone to change places with. Global Awakening had told the teens not to pray for anyone of the opposite gender unless there wasn't anyone else to pray for them, and Pastor Rod had said to use one's own good sense. "You will know if a man's reason for having you pray for him is not right," he had told Lydia. Lydia wasn't sure, the almost hectic atmosphere of having so many people around her and wanting prayer had often left her flustered. So trying to discern something on top of that was difficult for her.
Mike, who was on her left, had a woman in front of him and was also looking around. "I'll trade you," Lydia said, thankful for an excuse to not pray for a man.
"Thank-you," Mike said in a heavy, British accent.
The two switched spots and Lydia asked the translator what the lady needed. "Her son is backsliding." Lydia put a hand on the woman's shoulder with a smile.
"Vem, Senhor. Vem com seu poder. Lord I ask that You would touch this young man's heart." Lydia waited for the translation. "Stir up a hunger in him for You. Vem com seu paz."
Lydia prayed with the lady for several minutes. The lady smiled. "Obrigada," she said before walking off.
Another lady in a pink sweater came up to Lydia, and she guessed that the lady wasn't much older than her mom. Lydia tapped Cindy on the shoulder and Cindy turned around. She talked to the woman for a moment. "She has been struggling with arthritis." "What is her name?" Lydia asked.
"Lucilia." Cindy then walked off to help others.
"Vem, Espirito Santo. Mais uncao para cura. Lord, I ask You to heal Lucilia. Bring Your healing anointing." Lucilia began to shake under the Holy Spirit's power. She began to sway back and forth, looking like she would topple over backward. Lydia put a hand behind her. Yet, Lucilia was Lydia's height and heavy set. Lydia knew she wouldn't be able to catch her. "Pastor Meyer," Lydia called out to the pastor who was walking by at that moment. Seeing the predicament, he was behind Lucilia in one long stride.
Lucilia, who now had no way of staying on her feet, fell against his chest. He lowered her to the floor. She shook wildly the whole way. Lydia knelt down beside her to pray awhile longer while Pastor Meyer walked off.
"Mais Senhor. Mais uncao para cura," Lydia prayed unsure how long she should keep praying. The youth had been taught that when someone started manifesting that it was up to their own discernment how much longer they should pray. After awhile longer Lydia straightened and walked off. She would have to remember to ask Lucilia if God had healed her later, once the anointing had lifted.
The sanctuary was a fair sized room. On the left there was a fake partitioning wall that ran the length of the room, with a door at the back and one up front by the stage. The makeshift hallway led to a bathroom, the kitchen and the stairs up to the classroom where Lydia and the two others had interceded earlier. The chairs, like at Pastor Alda's, were plastic, white lawn chairs.
A man came up with a little, blond-headed girl in his arms. In Portuguese, he called out to the translator in a striped wool sweater who had glasses perched on top of his nose. "He wants you to bless his daughter, Beatriz," the translator explained.
"Thank-you," Lydia said. The translator nodded and walked off.
"Vem, Senhor. Lord, I ask that You would bless Beatriz abundantly! Si Senhor. Bless her with a hunger for You and a passion for Your word. I ask that You would give her many Christian friends. Friends who would build her up when she is feeling weak, and I ask that she would be able to do the same for them." Lydia began praying in tongues for a minute. She smiled at Beatriz. The girl was beautiful with golden curls, sparkling blue eyes, and fair skin. Beatriz stared at Lydia wonderingly as she prayed.
"It's time to start wrapping things up," Allie called out.
"Lord, I thank You for this precious little girl. May she give You praise through her life, showing many Your salvation. Amen!" Lydia finished and waved to Beatriz smiling. "Chow."
Beatriz's father spoke to her and after some cajoling a little uncertain hand began to wave at Lydia. Lydia smiled with delight. With one last wave she turned around and followed the others down the aisle to the waiting van.
--------------------
"Have you seen any amazing miracles?" Lydia asked striking up a conversation with Allie the next afternoon.
"I've seen blind eyes see, I prayed for several people with headaches, and a few broken bones. One thing I've learned though, is that all healings are amazing! I could never heal someone whether it be a sore knee or a cancerous tumor."
Lydia nodded. "Very true." She had been bummed. She had only been getting people with sore knees or things like that. She had thought those healings were small and of little significance. What Allie said was right, and it made Lydia realize how wrong her thinking had been.
Lydia looked out the window at the passing scenery. They were driving parallel to a river that was filled with garbage. It gave off the worst smell, making her feel queasy. On the medians between the busy highways people stood with booths of things to sell. Big balloon Pooh Bears and Mickey Mouses were tied to tree limbs and tables were arrayed with various items. Lydia had learned that Sao Paulo and its suburbs were filled with extreme contradictions. There were areas of big beautiful homes, expensive stores, and restaurants, while at other places there were only ramshackle buildings that were sorry excuses for abodes. There were men and women in fancy cars who paid poor children to clean their windshields while they were stuck in traffic.
--------------------
"The five steps to praying for healing are simple. This is not the only way to pray for people. Global Awaking uses it though because it is easy and proved to be effective." Paul was teaching on the "Five Steps of Healing". He had the translator who seemed to always wear a wool sweater and had glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Always rely on the Holy Spirit and what He is saying. The first step is to introduce yourself to the person and get their name. Be friendly and polite. Second, you want to find out what they have come up for. The third step will kind of just slip in with the second one here. Find out what caused the problem, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual. By now it is time to decide what prayer type is appropriate to pray. There are two types of prayer, petition and commanding." Paul looked to the translator and the translator interpreted for the Brazilians. "Petitioning is where you ask God to come and heal the person. Such as 'Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that You would heal Jack's leg.'" Lydia looked around the room. There weren't many chairs filled. There was probably no more than twenty or thirty people there. That was including Allie Nopp's attack force team.
She began to fidget a little. It was a beautiful day, that really should be enjoyed outside taking a walk or something of the sorts. It didn't help she had already heard this teaching several times already.
"Commanding is where you command whatever is causing the problem to leave. 'In the name of Jesus, I command the spirit of infirmity to leave Elizabeth's back.' When using this type of prayer, always remember to say 'In the name of Jesus' as it is in His authority that you pray for healing. You may want to command when there is some kind of spiritual attack causing the problem. Remember to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying and ask Him what prayer type you should use. Step five, invite God to come with His healing power and wait to see what He does. From there it's just following His leading."
"Every once in awhile you will want to ask the person how they are doing, and if they can sense any change. They may feel heat or electricity in the area receiving healing. Just because they don't feel anything, though, doesn't mean God isn't healing them. Global Awakening has found out that fifty percent of the people who get healed don't feel anything."
If it hadn't been for the fact that so many different people had taught this teaching at the different churches Lydia had been to, she might of had parts of it memorized by now. "Remember-thank God for what He has already done and what He is going to do. If you run out of time, encourage the person to come back again to receive more prayer some other time, or to find someone else who could pray for them. Also if the person has several conditions they want you to pray for, always pray for them one at a time, asking God which one He wants you to start with."
"I prayed for this elderly lady the other day who believed she was going to be healed. She said that she had a pain in the neck, pain in the back, it was hard for her to breathe, and she said her legs didn't respect her any more." Paul bent his legs mimicking the lady in his story.
"So we started with the chest and prayed for a minute. I asked her to take a deep breath to test it and see if there was a difference. She was healed of that so we went on to her back and neck next. After awhile, she swung her torso side to side-no pain! We prayed for her legs last. She was going to test them by getting into her car at the end of the meeting, because that's where she had the most trouble with them. Yet, she said she believed they were also healed."
Paul then asked if somebody wanted prayer and would allow him to use them as an example of how to use the five steps of healing. A lady came up, and he and Allie prayed for her, talking through the steps as they prayed. After several minutes, she announced that she had been healed, and everyone clapped. Once she had stepped down, Allie called the rest of the attack force up and opened the front for anyone who wanted prayer.
---------------------
"Gabriella, can you tell me what she's saying," Lydia called to a girl about her age that she had met before the meeting had started. She had greeted the woman who had come up to her in Portuguese. That had been a mistake. The woman assumed Lydia knew more Portuguese than she did. She had burst into a torrent of words Lydia had never learned.
"She asks that you would pray that God would send her a boyfriend. Do you want me to stay?"
"No, you can go help somebody else." Once Gabriella had left, Lydia turned her attention to the woman. "Qual e seu nome?"
"Claudia," the woman answered Lydia's question.
Lydia prayed for several minutes for a godly boyfriend who would love and cherish Claudia. She prayed that it be someone Claudia could someday marry and live with for the rest of her life.
"Tell her how precious she is. Tell her that I love her very much," Lydia heard the Lord whisper. His still, small whisper was followed by an urgent pressure in her chest. It was a feeling she got when she had a word she needed to share.
"Gabriella, will you translate for me again?" Lydia laid a hand on the back of Gabriella's shoulder. Gabriella turned around and flipped her straight, black hair over her shoulder in one fluid motion.
Lydia then turned her attention back to Claudia. "Claudia, the Lord sees you as a precious jewel," Lydia began as she felt the Lord lead. "You are so beautiful! The Lord has made you very special. He wants you to know He loves you more than you'll ever know! He has the perfect man picked out for you. He will reveal him to you in the right time." Tears, that had begun to well up in Claudia's eyes when Lydia had begun to say this, now were trickling down her cheeks.
"More of Your love, Lord." Lydia prayed with Gabriella continuing to translate. "Reveal Your love to Claudia, Father."
A few minutes later Claudia wiped the tears away with her palm. Looking Lydia straight in the eye she smiled and said something in Portuguese. Lydia looked to Gabriella for the interpretation. "She thanks the Lord for His amazing love, and she thanks you for praying for her." Lydia watched as Claudia walked off. Her flowered skirt swishing around her legs. As there was no one else to pray for, Lydia went looking for Lucilia to ask if she had been healed after Lydia had prayed for her. Lucilia was at the back manning the table that had Randy Clark's books and tapes that were for sale. Gabriella had already walked off, so Lydia had to look for another translator. "Cindy, can you help me with something?" Lydia asked Cindy who was standing nearby.
"Sure, what?" Cindy asked picking up her Portuguese/English Bible.
"I prayed for this lady last night but she was slain in the Spirit before I could get a chance to ask if she'd been healed," Lydia explained nodding to Lucilia. "Could you ask her for me?"
"I can do that." The two began walking toward her.
"Thanks."
"Boa tarde," Cindy greeted Lucila.
"Boa tarde," Lucilia returned.
Lydia recognized the greeting as "good afternoon." After that the conversation was lost to her. "The Lord has completely healed her," Cindy finally told Lydia.
"Gloria a Deus!!" Lydia smiled at Lucila. She was pleased and thankful for another answered prayer.
"Gloria a Deus!" Lucila agreed matching Lydia's smile.
Lydia looked over her shoulder at the front at the sound of Allie's voice. Allie was dismissing the people and inviting them to come to the night's meetings. "Chow." Lydia nodded to Lucilia and headed back toward the front with Cindy following her.
When they got up to the front Allie was talking to the pastor of the church, with Gabriella's help. Once she was finished, she motioned for the team to gather around. "It is going to be about half an hour to forty-five minutes before they will have our supper ready. Does anyone want to do some street ministry?"
Paul, Mike, and Savoy all volunteered. Lydia looked out the big door at the beautiful day thinking it over. In the end, she decided not to. She was tired, and she still hadn't read her Bible.
-------------------
"Pastor Meyer, will you pray for the meal?" Allie asked once everyone was gathered. All heads bowed as Pastor Meyer began to pray. After he finished, everyone started to fill their plates and to pass around the beverages.
"How did the street ministry go?" Allie asked pouring a cup of coke and handing it to the van driver who had joined them for the meal.
"Fine. We met up with this elderly women who knew a little English. She asked us to pray for her son and daughter. Something about struggling with some issues in life. We prayed for her for fifteen minutes. Then she had to leave so we invited her to the meetings," Mike reported.
"I knew this lady who heard God tell her to go to China and translate for some big speaker...what was his name..." Pastor Meyer mused playing with his mug handle. "Ah, well, it isn't important. Anyway, she argues with God saying, 'Lord, I don't even know Chinese.' He told her to just go to China and let Him worry about the details. So she went, and the second she got out of the plane she could speak Chinese. Now, whenever she gets out of a plane in a new country she can speak the language."
"That's amazing!" Lydia shook her head in astonishment. "Does she remember all of them after she leaves the countries?"
"Well, from what she's told me, she processes everything through in her mother tongue," Pastor Meyer tapped his forehead, "but it comes out in the language of the country."
"Incredible!!" Mike said chuckling.
The rest of their supper time was spent passing stories around. It was a lot of fun and interesting. Lydia sat enthralled hearing stories from all over the United States, and in Mike's and Cindy's cases from different countries.
----------------------------
Pastor Rod sat down at the desk. His team had gotten back early, and he still had a little energy left. So he went to the job of telling the families what had been happening.
Oi.
It is late evening now:
I made it home by 12:15am. I went to a church of 250 people packed into a little building. It was a poor area of the city. When we walked in we walked into an open heaven. The people were hungry for God's presence. Worship was exciting!
Our team leader is 20 years old, knows 5 languages, and is planting a church on a college campus in Tennessee. When he graduates he plans on helping plant a church in Jerusalem. He gave a powerful message. He preached on the power of the testimony. In it he used the example of how April Heller’s missing muscle was restored, then the next day when her testimony was given two more were healed, then in the next city others were healed from hearing the testimony. If anyone sees April, they can tell her that her testimony is healing people all over the world now.
After the message we started praying for people. I saw three people healed when I prayed. One man had pain in both of his ankles. After a short prayer the pain was gone. An older lady had a buzzing in her ears and pain under her right shoulder blade. The buzzing went away and she felt no pain. Another younger woman testified that 8 years ago she had been paralyzed from the waist down due to an accident. God healed her 3 years ago but she still had pain in her back, and her feet remain very cold. God knocked her down, and she shook for 20 minutes. When she got up, her pain was gone and her feet were warm! I felt like Jesus was right beside me hugging the people! Ministry was easy tonight. There were about 80 people at our church who said they were healed!
It always gets better after the first night!
Thanks for you prayers,
Pastor Rod
-------------------
"Hi, Corrie," Jordan greeted his roommate coming into their room.
"Hi, Jordan." Corrie looked up from his Bible on the desk. "What happened with your team tonight?"
"Well we arrived at our church early tonight, so the Brazilians decided to take us to their prayer room to intercede for awhile before the night got rolling. It was awesome!" Jordan threw his blue book bag down on the suitcase stand. He plopped down on his bed and leaned over to untie his shoes.
"Really? Tell me about it?" Corrie asked twirling the chair around so he was facing Jordan.
"First off it wasn't even anywhere near the church. We started on this rocky path that led us into the woods and up a hill until we came to this large white building. The whole walk took about fifteen minutes.
While still outside, we removed our shoes. Then we walked through these huge double doors and into the prayer room. When we first walked in there was this huge room with nicely kept wooden floors. There were pillows lying everywhere. There were six smaller closet type prayer rooms off of the main room.
It was so peaceful and serene. When we first walked in, I was overtaken by it. The love for God in that place was just so amazing! They told us that there are literally people in there praying every single hour of the year. I don't know if that church was the most powerful one that I went to, however, it definitely was the hungriest for more."
"Wow!" Corrie whispered, his eyes lighting up with interest. He twirled back around and put a bookmark in his Bible and shut it.
He grabbed his guitar and strummed a few bars tuning it by ear. "What song do you want to do?" he asked looking up at Jordan.
"I Can Only Imagine."
Corrie nodded and began the song. The two began to sing their praises to the Lord, making sure not to be too loud. Jordan's deep voice and Corrie's higher one mingled and rose to the heavens in a pleasing sound to their Maker. They had been in Brazil almost two weeks. They had both been changed in many different ways. They had both come loving God, yet they would both go back to their homes with a deeper love and hunger for Him! It was an experience they would never forget! One that would open doors to new journeys for them.