Spiritual Experience
“Mom, that was the most Spiritual experience I’ve ever had.” A sweet 9-year-old boy exclaimed to a woman who has become one of my dear friends.
As she shared this moment with me, my heart leapt. Sometimes we have expectations of how things are to unfold in our lives. However, as I start to pack our bags to go home early due to medical issues with our daughter, my heart has been heavy. Yet during our worship and intercession time, this young boy had been touched. He had been telling his mom that he wanted to hear God and couldn’t. That morning, he joined us for a time of worship led by his mother and a time of waiting on Jesus to speak. He joined the guys, and he couldn’t contain his excitement as each person shared what God had spoken to them. He, too, had received a picture from the Lord.
Passion was raging in this young boy. For the first time, he had truly encountered God speaking to him, and it was the first time he had been involved in a group of guys hearing God’s voice together.
During this worship and intercession time, I had also heard the Lord speak, “Be still, my child.” Then, I saw myself running through a field as a child, carefree. I knew the Lord was beckoning me to trust Him in a new way because our daughter, Esperanza, had just confided in us that when she looked in specific directions, she experienced double vision. And the ER doctor in Kununurra was very clear that this means she is getting pressure from the tumor, and we need to start heading home for medical attention.
Therefore, we now begin the journey home. Missing out entirely on the actual filming process, which starts next week. However, as I sit in prayer with the Lord, processing why He asked us to come to Australia, the Lord begins to reveal to me that sometimes when He asks us to do something, it’s more about obedience than the outcome. And in our obedience, the Lord has allowed us to be touched by so many amazing people in the Kimberleys. Through multiple conversations, I have also come to realize that the Lord has used us to bring encouragement to others.
We were even able to assist numerous outstanding ministries with their filming needs throughout the Kimberley region. One specific ministry used his footage to raise funds for a radio ministry that shares the gospel in closed nations along the Asian peninsula. Bruce captured multiple time-lapses and hours of drone footage, which will be utilized for the film.
A few weeks ago, I was connected with a passionate Christian indigenous woman. As I began to hear more of her story, I knew she would be a key person for the film. Our team met with her for hours. During these meetings, the director would gather stories and present her script ideas that he’d written, and she’d give her feedback based on her cultural experiences. The rest of the team hosted her child and other children she’d bring. Soon, the first three scripts began to take shape.
The more the team connected with her, the more quickly we realized this woman was a firecracker with numerous ideas. One specific idea she had was to launch a business selling handcrafted items, employ other indigenous people, and help them grow into all that God has in store for them. She had already done all the paperwork for the business but didn’t know how to set up a website. Therefore, she and I met a few days before we needed to leave. We got the website up, and some of our team will capture photos that I will utilize to help her get her website up while we are back in the USA.
Therefore, even though things are turning out differently than expected, God is still God. And obedience is key! Even if the only reason we came here was to allow this young man to have the “most Spiritual experience he’d ever had,” it was all worth it.
As we head home, we have no clue what this next season will look like. My heart’s desire and prayer is that by the time we are home and have Esperanza’s MRI on Monday, the tumor in Esperanza’s head will be gone. After 10.5 years of praying for this and not seeing any results, I will be honest, my faith is wavering, and I ask that each of you stand with us in prayer. We need our arms to be held up as we enter this next battle, just as Moses did.
Thank you to each of you for allowing us to be obedient to the Lord in this season and the next. We know we have not and will not be alone on this journey.
Prayer Requests:
Healing for Esperanza.
Healing for Bruce.
Safe travel.
