Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among the peoples.     (Psalm 97:2-3)

The other day I posted on facebook telling you to read one of my friends blogs about a healing that happened through our prayers. I said that I was not going to write about it but I have been nudged by God to share this story with you so here it is…

A few days ago I went out into the village of Candelaria to evangelize. Those who went with me were Allegra, Lisa, Rosa, and Coni. The first house we visited was Rosa's brother. He was beat up by some guys in the neighborhood 8 days before we visited him so Rosa wanted to take us to his house so we could pray over him. As I was praying for Him, the Holy Spirit started telling me to ask him to forgive the guys who beat him up. So I relayed that to him and he told me that he hadn't forgave them yet then the Holy Spirit told me that He was not a believer. So I asked Him if he followed Jesus and he told me that He did not. So I was able share with him more about Jesus and how good he is. Then I told him how important it was for him to accept Jesus.

The Holy Spirit spoke through me in that conversation. We stayed there for about 20 or 30 minutes then we started making our way through the village.

The next house we came to was the house of a widow named Ingracia. We stopped so we could pray over her and when we did we quickly found out that there were other situations that needed prayer as well. Ingracia's daughter, who has 6 children, completely left her kids with Ingracia and has not been back in 7 months. The oldest of Ingracia's granddaughters was in the house lying on the bed with a fever and a stomach ache. So our immediate reaction was to pray for her.

Lisa, Allegra, Rosa, Coni, and I went to battle for this girl, Julissa, in prayer asking that the Lord would heal her of her sickness. We prayed and prayed. As we prayed I thanked God that He wanted to heal her and told Him that we did not want glory for this healing. When He healed his daughter we would give Him glory for it. While we were praying Allegra and Lisa had their hand on Julissa's forehead. In the middle of my time praying the Holy Spirit told me to put my hand on her head. So I moved my hand to her head and as I did I felt a blazing forehead. She definitely had a fever because I could feel how hot her head was.

Then about 2 minutes later Lisa, Allegra, and I all felt God take her fever away immediately! Her temperature immediately dropped and all of us recognized that God just took her fever away. About a minute later I received a vision from God. My eyes were closed and I saw the exact same picture of the little girl laying on her bed in my vision as I would have seen if my eyes were opened. And in the vision I saw the hand of God grasp the little girls head and bring healing to her!

After we were done praying Lisa asked Julissa if she felt the fever brake. She told Lisa that she knew that she had been healed in that moment.

We left the house shortly after Julissa was healed. I give glory to God for healing her! He is the one that broke her fever and I was one of the people who got to experience the healing. Even thought the miraculous happened, I don't want to end the story there. This family needs your prayers. Ingracia is a grandmother who does not have the energy to provide what these six kids need. Please pray for the family as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray for them. The kids need a mommy who will love them so please pray the God will capture the mothers heart and bring her back to her kids.Pray for provision for the family. Their tummies need food and water.

Through conversation we found out that Jason did know about bits and pieces of the word but only through stumbling upon it somewhere. He told us that he had never read the bible and that we were the first people who have ever told him about Jesus.

Blake is a 24 year old man from Arizona who joined the conversation when he overheard us talking about Jesus. When he came into the conversation and started speaking about God something in my being did not sit right. I kept thinking that he was sitting in on our conversation trying to twist the truth somehow but didn't really know why I thought that.

About a month ago I read a blog from one of my friend's who was living in Amsterdam. She mentioned a guy in her blog that was a false prophet who showed up one day for her bible study. That's another story but I share that with you to tell you that thoughts about the guy who was a false prophet who entered Janell's bible study in Amsterdam continued running through my head as Blake talked about the bible during this conversation. However, I didn't tell anyone and just let him speak a little more.

He spilled verses out to our new friend Jason so after a while I thought to myself that I may have been judging the Blake and asked God to take that judgment away from me. I didn't want to judge a fellow brother who was trying to help us. However, something still wasn't sitting right. About an hour after he joined the conversation he left. He didn't have a hostel he was staying in yet so I pointed him to our hostel that we are staying at in hopes of catching up with him later to encourage him. I did get to minister to him but we will get back to him in a little bit.

In 4 ½ hours we discussed about a million things. Jason asked question after question about our faith. Allegra spoke then Josh would speak then I would speak. Back and forth we went answering questions and listening to Jason's thoughts. He was so open to what we had to say as we tried to explain the gospel to him and also he is very intelligent. He has done his research on many things including other religions. So of course other religions came up in the conversation.

Jason has a hard time believing why we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. From what I gathered, he believes that all religions are equal and that Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus, etc. will also receive a spot reserved for them in the kingdom of heaven. He also has created his own beliefs through much study stimulating from what scientists believe. He told us that he thought Jesus was a beautiful spirit but he also thought there were a lot of other beautiful spirits. As we tried to explain to Jason why we believe what we do more questions stimulated. For 4 ½ hours we talked about many different subjects pertaining to the gospel.

 In the beginning of the conversation Jason told me that he wanted to read the bible one day but it wouldn't be anytime soon. Throughout the conversation we would always refer our answers back to the bible. Also throughout the conversation I kept telling him that the only way for him to know for sure if we were telling the truth was if he read the word for himself.

Jason loves to research and look into anything and everything and I think that it bothered him a little that he didn't fully know how to defend his point of view if he didn't read the bible. So I am happy to give glory to God by telling you by the end of the conversation he told us that he was going to read the gospels in the next month! God worked in Jason's heart much more than we even saw today. Today we saw God use us to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to someone who has never been evangelized to! Praise Jesus!

After our talk with Jason I went to a restaurant and sought someone else out to talk to. I sat down with a 64 year old man from Japan and chatted with him for about an hour. We talked a lot about him and through our conversation I found out that he is Buddhist and he lives to have a happy life. I was able to share the good news of Jesus with him during that conversation telling him that Jesus is the only way to heaven! He didn't carry on a conversation about Jesus and changed the subject but I believe that God worked in his heart!

After that our team went out to dinner. When our stomachs were satisfied we walked back to the hostel. When I walked through the common area I saw Blake sitting in one of the chairs so I sat down with him and asked him about his day. Soon after that we got into a conversation about Jesus. I went into this conversation with Josh expecting to encourage another believer. However, the conversation took a turn that I didn't really expect it to take.

He started pouring out his heart and eventually told Josh and I that he did not believe that Jesus is God. He believes that the creator is God but that Jesus is not God. He started pulling out all kind of scripture trying to prove his claim that Jesus isn't God. He told us that he believed that Jesus is the son of God but didn't see anywhere in scripture that told him that Jesus is God. Time after time again he used scripture out of it's context. He could not grasp that the father, son and Holy Spirit are three separate beings but one God combined.

Josh did a lot of the talking in this conversation using scripture to show him that it actually does say that Jesus is God. I talked a little bit but we couldn't seem to convince him that Jesus is God. So I just started praying out loud that Satan would not blind his mind to the truth. I believe that Satan has been distorting his thinking. At the end of our conversation we asked him if we could pray for him and if he would pray for us. He told us that we could pray for him but it says in the bible to go into your room and pray by yourself instead of in front of people. Therefore, he couldn't let us pray for him while we were in the common area. Then he walked away. Josh and I talked a little then prayed for God to reveal himself to Blake.  

Through all of the conversation today I saw God move. I came out of all three of those conversations feeling great about what we expressed and also having a deeper desire to know God's word better. I want to be able to defend the gospel by using every bit of the gospel that God has so graciously given us. And I close this blog by giving thanks to God for all that happened in the hearts of those who were ministered to today!

Today, April 22nd, we came to Granada to minister to people who are searching for Jesus. About a month ago God spoke to me about going back to the hostel we stayed in for midpoint debrief that is 3 hours away from where we live. Finally, after much prayer and God's perfect timing, things have been set up for us to be back here. Our main purpose of coming on this three day trip is to evangelize to people who speak English. We want to spread the gospel with no language barrier and the hostel in Granada has offered us this opportunity. Plus it has offered us an opportunity to spread the gospel to many different nations all in the same place.

If you have ever been to a backpacker's hostel then you might know that there are people from all over the world that stay in these hostels. And I believe that most of the people staying in them are searching for something and that something is God. As I write this, we have been here for 12 hours and God has showered His blessing on our conversations. Here is a little snippet of the past 12 hours in Granada, Nicaragua.

When the six of us, Josh, Marcus, Allegra, Haille, Amy, and I, arrived at our hotel we decided to go out to lunch as a group. We had already discussed that we would let the spirit lead us while we were here instead of making plans for ministry. After our 5 hour drive here we were all hungry so we went to a European café that the girls suggested we eat at for lunch. On the way to the restaurant we prayed as we walked through the city and after a short walk we arrived at the restaurant.

When we arrived at the European café four of us, Marcus, Haille, Amy, and I, sat down at one table and Allegra and Josh sat at a different table. The four of us started having a conversation as we ordered food and I could see Allegra and Josh having a conversation 20 feet away from where I was sitting. After ordering my food and 10 minutes of sitting down I was in the middle of a conversation with Marcus when a Caucasian man peeked his head through the door opening looking around the restaurant. As he looked around the room I made eye contact with him. Our eyes locked for about 5 seconds before both of us gave each other a what's up signal with a nod of our heads. Then he turned around and left the room and I continued my conversation with Marcus.

About 5 minutes later the guy walked back into the room and sat down in one of the cozy chairs conveniently arranged next to where Josh and Allegra were sitting. When I saw him sitting in the corner by himself the spirit started moving in me. All I could think about is how the Lord wanted me to go talk to him. So I told Marcus, Amy, and Haille that I was going to talk with this guy and immediately left my seat to approach the guy. Ten seconds later I was in a conversation with him and 4 minutes later God opened the door for me to bring the gospel into the conversation. As soon as I brought the gospel into the conversation he started asking question after question. About 10 minutes into my one on one conversation with Jason, my teammates Allegra and Josh started sharing their views.

Well it's time to write a new blog. Let's see what do I write about? Well the first thing that comes to mind is all that God has been doing. So this is what I am going to do. I am going to just list some of the things that I have seen God do lately.

-Today He provided over $14,000 in one day for a Chinese special needs child to be adopted.

-My next door neighbor gave his life to Jesus and went to church last Sunday!

-One of my great friends, Josh Weems, got baptized a few weeks ago.

-My team is so joyful and free. God has done so much work in them and He is still bringing them deeper into their relationships with Him.

-God has taught me so much about who I am in Christ in the past month.

-Several people have been baptized her in Nicaragua in the last month.

-The Holy Spirit moved in my dads' heart at a funeral service.

-International Justice Missions (IJM) is celebrating their 15 year anniversary. God has used them to bring freedom to slaves.

-Szymon, my friend from Poland, gave up a career as a professional soccer player to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He now teaches the game of soccer to youth trying his best to share the gospel with them.

-Joyce, my friend from Tanzania, still keeps in touch with me. She is pressing into God more and more each day.

-The Lord has healed my broken toe so now I get to go hike up a volcano and slide down it on a wooden board tomorrow!

-God has brought my parents so close together in the past year.

-God has spoken to me about finishing school in the next season of my life.

-God is changing the hearts of the people in Nicaragua.

-God is helping me build relationships with Nicaraguans even though I can't fully understand their language.

-Deep friendships are continuing to go deeper here in Nicaragua.

-God has restored His joy in me!

-God has taught me so much about who I am in him and what He has created me for.

-God told me that “America is about to be set on fire. Christ followers are about to Rise Up. Revival is coming soon.” God is about to set America on fire with His spirit!

-God is allowing me to be a part of His magnificent plan.

-God has promised me eternal life in His kingdom!

Those are only a few of the things that God is doing. He is so good? Have you seen God at work lately? Are you being the change that you want to see in this world?

And the village stops again. Week after week the village of Bethel and the surrounding villages that we are working with stop whatever they are doing when they hear the news. Immediately they will start informing their neighbors, friends, family, and the outside villages. Within an hour people are arriving to comfort the families and friends.

Another person has just died. The village is not chaotic because it has become a normal routine for the village to stop. They know what to do because the village stops usually once a week. Thousands of men have been infected with a kidney disease that is incurable. Some of the men that work on our property have the kidney disease and the women who cook and clean for us are widows because of this horrible disease.

Why are there so many people dying in these villages? Because a few people want to save a few bucks so they can buy material items. The owners of the sugar cane fields buy a cheap pesticide that is killing men and women all over Central America. The U.S.A. has banned this pesticide in the U.S.A. because they know that it kills people however they are still exporting it to other countries. The owners of the sugar cane fields and producers of this pesticides don't care about the thousands of families who are affected. All they care about is the thousands of dollars that fill their pockets.

I have wanted to write a blog about this pesticide issue for a while. However, I have needed to gather information on it so I can explain it before a little better. After talking to several people and doing a little research on this I have a little information that I want to share with you. I'm not going to go deep into the issue but I am going to touch the surface so you will know what is going on.

This blog is going to be summed up in a few paragraphs that won't fully do this issue justice. All I am trying to do is shed some light and get people to start praying. I'm not even sure if a 400 page book would inform you about all the things that this pesticide is doing to people and their families. Words just don't justify how horrible this situation is but faces do.

So what am I talking about? In Nicaragua and throughout Central America there are sugar cane fields everywhere. Thousands of people flock to these fields for work knowing that they are literally signing their life away when they choose to take the job. The workers are mostly men and boys who need to provide for their families. They make about $4 for an entire days worth of work.

(A truck filled with sugar cane)

Why did I say that these men are literally signing their life away when they take the job at the sugar cane field? Well it is simple but not so simple to prove. The owners of the sugar cane fields are using a pesticide that is made in the U.S.A. that is causing the workers to be infected with a kidney disease. Once a persons' creatinine level reaches a certain level that means that they have been infected with a kidney disease that there is no cure for. At the sugar cane fields, the workers creatinine level is tested every six months and when it reaches the level right before they get the kidney disease, the workers are fired from their jobs and sent home to die without any benefits.

The guys who are working in the fields breathe in this pesticide and drink the water that the pesticide has found its way into. Every person that works in the fields is pretty much guaranteed to get the disease. It is just a matter of time before they are fired and sent home to die. The men are leaving wives and children behind and it is a constant cycle of boys and men dying from this disease.

(One of the guards for Vision Nicaragua who has the kidney disease)

Today we were informed that one man, Juan Carlos who was 22 years old, died this morning from the kidney disease. 2 weeks ago Tonio died from the disease. A month ago a 23 year old man died from it. And right now there are thousands of men who are living with the disease waiting for death to show up at their door. Within the next 10 years people have predicted that there will be over 3,000 men who die from this disease.

I know this blog only gives you a tiny picture of what is going on. But I wanted to write this blog to inform you so you can start praying for justice. Hopefully, someone will be able to prove that it is the pesticide that is killing these men and justice will be served. But as of right now, no one has been able to prove that it is the pesticide killing the men. Therefore, the cycle of continues.

In closing, I want to say that YOUR PRAYERS ARE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE! So please lift your voice to Abba crying out for justice. He will get justice when His people cry out to Him.

(Tractor trailers used to transport sugar cane)

Friends and Family,

If you haven't read my last blog please read this blog then go back and read the blog titled RISE UP when you have time. If you have read my last blog then the next couple of lines will make since to you. I need you to RISE UP! I am calling the body of Christ together right now to RISE UP and PRAY for my friend.

Last night my friend, Wayne, had a heart attack. My next door neighbor, in the United States, tried to revive him and after a bit he was taken to the hospital. From that hospital he was airlifted to another hospital to get the necessary help that he needed. He is 40 years old and has been through a lot in the past couple of years. I am not the judge of who will go to heaven or hell but I am pretty sure, by observing his life from the outside and through conversations, that Wayne is not following Jesus Christ.

I love this brother of mine and need you to raise your voices in prayer for him. I don't know all of the details right now because I am in Nicaragua but what I do know is that we can pray. I also know that he may be going home for eternity soon and that could be a place called hell. I would love to say that all people go to heaven but the truth is God does not send all people to heaven. God has prepared a place in heaven for those who have given their lives to Him.

So please stop what you're doing right now and PRAY FOR WAYNE! Pray for healing and salvation. Pray that this is a wakeup call that brings him to Jesus Christ. Pray that God will give him another chance to accept Jesus Christ while he is on this earth. Pray that Wayne accepts Jesus and gives his life to Him as a living sacrifice. And pray what the spirit leads you to pray. As a friend of Wayne's, I need you to RISE UP and intercede on behalf of Wayne. This may be the last chance you get to pray for him so please stop everything that you are doing and raise your voice!

Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

As I was reading the word of God today God spoke to me through this verse. All of the sudden a light bulb went off in my brain and I captured a revelation that God gave me. The revelation is that we should be forcefully advancing the kingdom of God every day that we are living. We are running out of time. Jesus could come back tomorrow. I hope and pray that the kingdom of heaven forcefully advances through me.

On this mission trip in Nicaragua we have been doing a lot of great things. We have done a lot of physical labor and have built some great relationships. I know that we are making a huge impact. God has revealed to me through several different ways that we are making a huge impact. However, I don't feel like the kingdom of God is forcefully advancing through us. Please don't get me wrong. I do think that we are making an impact, God is using us in powerful ways, and the kingdom of heaven is advancing through us. We have seen healings come through our prayers and lives change because of conversations that we have. But is the kingdom of heaven FORCEFULLY ADVANCING? I don't necessarily think it has. John the baptist was a voice in the wilderness and Jesus spoke highly about him. He basically said that John the baptist was forcefully advancing the kingdom of heaven and the way I see it is that John was using his voice to do that.

I have surrendered total control to God for what we will be doing the rest of the time we are here in Nicaragua. As I give control over to God I also pray that if it is His will the kingdom of heaven will forcefully advance through me and this team.I pray that God will use my mouth for His words to flow out of. We are in an emergency and it's time for the kingdom of heaven to forcefully advance again!