Emil received a new assignment from the Lord last week in addition to the Roadside and our Friday night home group! He is preaching this Sunday and next Sunday for the pastor of two churches: Trinity UMC in Webb, about 10 miles away, and Faith United in Sioux Rapids. We have attended the Webb church off and on this year, when we aren’t on the roadside being the church on Sundays! He was asked last week by the pastor if he would consider being her back-up preacher, to preach every 4-6 weeks. She is a high school teacher in addition to her pastoral duties and so is extremely busy and rarely gets a weekend off. This will allow her to have some badly-needed R&R with her family. Emil was honored to be asked and accepted! We believe it will be a great partnership.
Fall Already?!
Wow, August went by so fast! And already, our leaves are changing and falling–early this year. Our humidity dropped dramatically just yesterday and feels great to have our house windows open and the a/c off –for now, anyway. The weather changes weekly so we may still need it in the coming couple of weeks. It has also been great to be back out on the roadside again and people have been responsive. We’ve had at least one person stop almost every day we’ve been set up! Thank You, Lord, for all You’ve done in a short time. For instance, we had a woman with curvature of the spine which God healed when we prayed; and another woman who came in with both wrists wrapped and the doctors didn’t know where the pain was coming from–we prayed and all pain left her! Jesus is all for healing! We just have to believe that!
Returning to “Normal”
This week it feels like we are returning to normal, or what has become normal around here. The town of Sioux Rapids is still recovering from the flood. The streets are open and clean but most of the downtown main street (2 blocks) businesses are still closed. Some of the buildings will be bulldozed as they’ve been deemed unsafe. It will have a whole new look after that is done. Most businesses are looking for new places to set up. A friend of ours who had a very successful craft and gift shop is letting a hair salon move into that small building and she will build a bigger shop on property she owns behind it. That is exciting. One single woman lives above her store and she lost everything in the flood. The community is coming together to clean out and rebuild her buiness which seemed impossible at first. So lots going on behind the scenes, not to mention the houses that were trashed.
Our Spencer set-up spot just opened back up so we are getting the trailer out and ready to go. The businesses in that parking lot are still closed and everyone’s favorite thrift store will not re-open, a huge loss to Spencer and surrounding communities within a 50 mile radius. Good news has emerged this week that several restaurants are getting ready to re-open.
We look forward to putting out our Open banner again tomorrow.
Be Led by Truth, Not Opinion
It’s so important to know what God is saying about everything in our lives! When we believe in Jesus and listen to Him, we can live in discernment. Emil and I have learned through the years to always ask, “Lord, what’s the truth about this [situation, person, decision, etc]?” After all, He IS truth! Once we get His heart and direction, we can walk in faith in what He told us and not be influenced by anyone but the Lord. We don’t want the world’s opinion, only His. In fact, when He set out the Free Prayer ministry to us 20 years ago, He said, “People don’t need another opinion, so you are never to give them your opinion. You are only to ask Me what I want to say to them. They will stop with a specific prayer request, but I have something to tell them that will set them free. That’s what I want them to hear.” We have seen incredible things over these many years because God ALWAYS goes directly to the heart of the matter in EVERY situation and heals it, setting people free to hear Him, believe in Him, be filled with His incredible love for them, receive their healing, whatever He wants to happen in that encounter with Him! He is so good and so awesome! Being led by Him, we walk in freedom!
Presence of God
The Holy Spirit led our Friday night home group! We always pray for His presence to intensify, and Friday night His presence was strong from the beginning and only got stronger as the evening progressed. There were miraculous deliverances and healings and the Lord had a specific word for every person there! Joy and praise went home with each person and continued to be shared with each other Saturday and into Sunday! God is so merciful and gracious. He sees us!
Our Testimony Published!
We were surprised to find our testimony of our new trailer published in the June Voice of the Covenant magazine! It was completely unexpected! One person read it and looked up the ministry on the internet, subscribed to our newsletter, and wrote us a very encouraging email because of it. Thank You so much, Lord!
On the Road!
The new trailer’s maiden voyage on Easter Sunday was a great success! We were out for hours at our regular Sunday Spencer Iowa location, The Commons. Four people stopped for prayer and one received salvation! The heater and carpet make it warm and cozy, and it is so roomy, it feels extravagant! It is so much more than we envisioned!
New Trailer Finished!
Tomorrow morning we clean it and furnish it with chairs, Bibles, tracts, give-aways, and necessities like toilet paper and paper towels! Then to the roadside in the afternoon! Thank You, Lord! It’s finished!!!!!!!!
Graphics are Beautiful!
We drove the trailer home this evening with its new graphics, and we couldn’t be more pleased! Today the flooring is being put in and the total interior could be done by Friday. We pray so as we would like to be set up in it Sunday morning at the site where we have been the past few Sundays. It has been a good spot and several people have stopped!
Trailer Update
Our new orange trailer is in the shop this week in Orange City! Solar is being installed as well as all the wiring for lights, etc. Next Wednesday the graphics will be applied.
And then our construction guys will lay the flooring and build out the room for the porta potty and storage. THEN we will be on the roadside with it! We are excited to see the progress!