At Pizza Ranch in Pocahontas today we noticed that one of the waitresses had been around our table several times. A couple of times she asked if she could take our plates and then she very slowly removed them. She obviously wanted to talk so the third time she stopped, we all said hi to her. She said hi and then turned to Emil and said, “What’s your name?” He told her, then she pointed to his big cross earring and said it was really beautiful. He thanked her and she continued to stand there.  God was up to something so Emil asked if she was a Christian and she said yes, then he felt the Lord said to ask her where she goes to church. She said she stopped going when her mom passed away last March. When asked why, she said her mom lived in a nursing home and the last time she had visited her was Christmas Day 2014. Her mom did some things that greatly embarrassed her that day and she had not gone back to see her. She felt very guilty because her mom died 3 months later. We got to talk with her about forgiving herself and releasing the guilt because the Lord had already forgiven her. After listening intently, she brightened and smiled and said she would. The Lord said to ask her if she wakes up on Sunday mornings thinking about going to church, missing it, wanting to go? She said, “Yes all the time. I really miss it. But I don’t want to go alone.” We introduced her to the friend with us who told her about the great church she attends nearby and encouraged her to come with her. She became very excited and said she would love to come this Sunday. They made arrangements and then Emil said, “I just heard the Lord say that He’s very proud of you. Do you know that?” She shook her head no.  Emil said, “Well, He really is. He’s proud of you and He loves you very much.” We all agreed and encouraged her in His love and she thanked us. When she left our table, she had a huge grin on her face.  God is always working even when we don’t realize it. We just need to open our spiritual eyes and be willing to love whomever He brings in our path!

DirecTV guy came to relocate our dish the other day. We were talking when he finished and he said, “Hey, I saw you! You and your wife were praying for people all through RAGBRAI and I was riding in it!” He thought it was really cool. He said he saw us every day when he rode into a new town for the night. He asked if a lot of people stopped so I got to share some of what God did! God is so awesome. You never know who you’ll touch when you take Jesus out of the church.

Our new set-up location in Storm Lake is a huge success. We are very visible and situated in the middle of the main thoroughfare through town. We have had many many people stop in the short time we have been blessed with this location.

We didn’t do a good job of posting here on our website along the route of the 7-day, 980-mile ministry trip. We experienced some discouragement along the way but ended up praying for so many people that we lost track! And for those moments of discouragement, God ALWAYS provided immediate encouragement through the many, many people who called out that they liked our shirts or stopped by to talk about the ministry. For a day-to-day report, please sign up for our newsletter under the “Contact Us” tab. We will be emailing it out today!

Day 1 of RAGBRAI ended with us praying for four cyclists as we walked through the vendor area in Storm Lake. It was amazing to see 20,000 cyclists camped everywhere and anywhere around town. About 100 tents were set up right across the street from our house, all US Air Force men and women. On to Fort Dodge today, an hour from our house, for the Day 2 stop along the 7 day ride. RAGBRAI is the oldest, longest and largest bicycle touring event in the world so people are here from not just Iowa but from around the world!

June was an extremely busy month and now only 11 days till the start of RAGBRAI! Every day from July 19-25 we will be set up at the spot where the cyclists will be spending the night. We are working out logistics and are grateful to all who have contributed financially toward this week-long ministry opportunity.  For info about the ride itself, check out ragbrai.com.

Just had a great time with my friend Doug at BVUniversity coffee shop in Storm Lake. Wore my Free Prayer shirt. People kept coming up and commenting on the shirt. Many people were coming in to prepare for the Governor’s Volunteer Award Banquet so we had a pretty captive audience in the rotunda. A lady called out to me in a loud voice, “I love your shirt!” and then came and sat down with us. She said with all the TV crews and others standing around, “What a terrible shame about Charleston,” and hung her head. “My husband said he feels this is a message from God to us but we don’t know what it is.” I said, “I know what  God’s message is.” “Really? What?” she asked.  As we talked, people were looking over the railing. I said, “The enemy is trying to make Christianity illegal in the US, but now every TV station in the country is showing prayer services, worship services, pastors, people all talking about Jesus and His love. God’s not done. The world’s trying to eliminate Jesus but now every station is talking about Jesus! God is reversing what happened in Ferguson. The way to correct a wrong in the world’s eyes is rioting but Jesus’ way is to overcome the wrongs by love, prayer and worship. This is uniting Christians across the country. What the enemy meant for evil, God is turning to good and Jesus is getting lifted high.”  The Bible says there is no greater love than laying down your life for another. We are broken-hearted for the families of these nine people who tragically lost their lives, but Jesus is bringing LIFE from them.  The love of Jesus covers a multitude of sin. That’s what happening in Charleston and across the country. Thank You, Lord!

We have studied the recently-released RAGBRAI route  and are contacting churches along the way to see if they have a recommendation as to where we could set up Free Prayer each day along the route. We will be preaching in Mason City June 14th and from there will ride the route from Eldora to Davenport to finalize our plans and figure the cost involved for us. It starts July 19th so it’s getting close!

We have had amazing reports from an appointment with a woman in which God revealed that she had lived with an assignment of abandonment from an early age.  We broke the assignment and cast out all demonic attachments from it and she was transformed before us. We are receiving daily texts regarding the joy she is now experiencing along with many, many changes in every area of her life!  We are planning to meet with her again to get all the details! Thank You, Lord!