The Next Chapter: Day 422

Where to begin?! Today was one of the most amazing days I've ever had! I was at Church at 0830 with George & Elizabeth for the morning service. They left after that & I stayed to sit in on the Firestarters class, with Kevin Dedmon. Elizabeth lent me her cell phone to call George when I was done. He picked me up shortly after 1300 & I went home for a little rest. George & I watched Furious Love in the afternoon, before the evening service. I didn't get home until shortly after 2200! I had to be up at 0345, so it would be a short night! A rather strange visitor to the Church really interrupted my 'high'. He had the worst case of verbal diarrhea I've ever witnessed, coupled with paranoia, bragging, and just plain bizarre behaviour! Yes, I prayed for him!

Here's the excerpt from today:

The next morning, at church, I saw my Sozo friends & sat with Kathy. Eric, the Pastor, shared an inspiring message about community. This church is like NOTHING I’ve ever been to before. I’ve never enjoyed a service to this extent before! Praise Jesus! After the service I went up for prayers. Diane from the choir prayed for me. She asked my name & when I said ‘Jill’, she said, ‘Like Jack & Jill, you’ve took a tumble or two, but the water that’s been spilled is Christ’s blood & you’ve been renewed & healed.’ Little did she know, but my husband’s name is Jaco. Close enough! :o)

Are you still with me? I know it’s a long story, but it was a life changing weekend. And NONE of it would have happened if I hadn’t seen Finger/Furious. I’m praying right now that Father of Lights isn’t the end!

Next up was Firestarters. I walked in & there was Kevin Dedmon! I was so excited to share my story with him (see end of this really long story!), but I decided to wait until the end of the class. Unfortunately Kevin left early – something about Hawaii & laying hands on turtles & tropical fish… :o) During the class we heard 30-45 minutes of incredible testimonies of the Lord using people just like you & I to heal people! It was incredible & inspiring! One fellow was only in his 4^th week & he had over 12 testimonies from the previous week! Wow! Go Tarry! At one point, they shared prophetic words with the class & one of the gentlemen had words for me! Little ol’ me! He said ‘Peace & Freedom’ and that I share it with everyone wherever I go. He also saw a diamond & that I am one of God’s precious gems. Our lesson that day was about developing a hunger for the Lord. Let me tell you, after hearing all the incredible stories of healing, I was STARVING!!!!

I found Craig Mercer in the classroom & shared the other story with him. (See below) He was excited!

I picked up the Furious Love Deluxe Edition at the bookstore & boogied back to the house for a quick break before the evening service. George & I watched Furious – he hadn’t seen it. I get giddy watching it with someone else! I’m so excited for them to see & learn the amazing things that happen! I think my favourite part is the last bit with Robby Dawkins at the New Age Festival. That used to be me. I had no idea of the darkness lurking there too!

Back to church I went. I went to the Encounter Room before the service started & the first person I saw when I walked in was Kevin Dedmon! (He had left Firestarters before I could share my story & I really wanted a photo!) I went right over for a photo & shared my story with him. He was elated! I then visited with Don, a 72 year old man visiting from Oregon on fire for the Lord. What a beautiful smile & laugh he has! His son’s friend prayed for me. Then we both went over & prayed for a lady in a wheelchair. I saw her yesterday. Her skin was green. Tonight she looked yellow. I’ll take that as improvement!

Then it was time for the service. We listened to Garrett Viggers & beautiful Christmas music, singing & bagpipes! Pastor Paul shared an incredible story about his family’s journey to America during 9/11 & an Angel that assisted them greatly! After the service they offered prayers for healing. I think I was the 3^rd person up there! Lynn prayed for me, along with Alex, & Holly from the Healing Rooms. I felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit. And the tears, oh were there tears. I cried like I’ve never cried before! Lynn prayed for my destiny, restoring childhood dreams & having those dreams again. On my way back to my seat, Pastor Paul stopped me & asked me what kind of cancer I had. He himself recovered from cancer and he wanted to pray for me. When I sat down, the people behind me recognized me from the Firestarters class & they prayed for me too! I then went through the fire tunnel & received even more prayer & healing!

After the service was over, I went to say goodbye to Kathy, when Paul approached me. He was also in the Firestarters class. He said the Lord sent him over to talk to me & he had no clue why.

Ha ha. He had Nodular Sclerosing Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. So did I. He tried to treat it for 2.5 years alternatively. So did I. He ended up doing chemo. So did I. We had a great talk. He also found a feather floating in the air & gave it to me. At the time I was clueless & thought to myself, ‘What’s so great about a feather in the air?’ It wasn’t until I was at home & talking to Jenn about it that she revealed the wonder of the floating feather indoors!

Thank you for reading about my experience! It's been a life changing weekend - to say the least!

xxxx Maria