In March 2014, 1600 students had raised a total amount of $3 million to go out on 72 mission trips to 48 different countries.
I went to South Africa March 19 - April 2. I want to start off with just thanking everyone who supported me with prayers and money for this trip. THANK YOU! The testimonies below is a small portion of the fruit of your contributions. May you be richly blessed as you read them!I've decided to write down only a few of the testimonies in this blog post which then mostly will be my own experiences, and later, when I have all the details of the testimonies that I wasn't directly involved in, I might post an extended list of what Jesus did.
We told him we were from BSSM and were on or way to South Africa and so was he. He asked me what made me choose to do the ministry school and it felt so special to be able to tell him how I, when I saw him and the others in the movie 'Father of Lights', saw what I wanted to spend my life doing and how that was what made me apply for the school. It was so awesome being able to talk to one of my absolute role models.
Healing on a Plane
Kaylee and I were talking to a stewardess on our airplane. The stewardess was very interested in the book on my lap, Steve Backlund’s Igniting Your Faith in 40 days. I gave her my book and she was overwhelmed. Kaylee asked about her nose, and she had sinus problems. We prayed for her and I told her to take a deep breath. Her sinuses cleared up completely. Then Kaylee got a word of knowledge about her back. Her back gives her problems all the time, but was not hurting her at the time. We prayed for her back. Unbeknownst to us, a Muslim lady sitting across the aisle from us was listening the whole time. She too had sinus problems and breathed in deeply when I told the stewardess to breathe in. Her sinuses also cleared up. As we were praying for the stewardesses’ back, the Muslim lady also decided to check her back out. She was having a lot of back problems and the pain completely went away. She decided to check out her knee too which she had surgery on because of a meniscus problem. The pain in her knee completely left too! We didn’t even know that she was grabbing onto healing.
I love how Jesus was healing the Muslim woman in a way that very much resembles the story from Mark 5:25-34, where a woman reaches out and grabs her healing.
After having arrived to East London and slept our first night in South Africa, we got to choose between three outreaches. One group went to a hospice, another group went to a trash dump where people lived, and I chose to go with seven others to a hospital.
Already before entering the hospital I saw a man with crutches who walked extremely slowly. Me, Kylee and Elisa approached him. As we began talking to him, his mother, who sat at a bench, rose and entered the conversation interpreting for us since his English wasn't very good. We prayed for him and he got a smile on his face and his mother told us he was better. We were allowed to take the crutches from him and we held him by his arms. The mother said that he was better but that he was too scared to try to walk without the crutches. He got the crutches back and we told him to try it out. He then began walking away with the crutches and we could see that he was walking a bit faster than before. His mother and her friends, on the other hand, were very thrilled and happy, pointing at him and telling us that he was walking so much better. "Look! Before, he never put down his foot like that!!" Personally, the only difference I saw was that he was walking a bit faster and more securely, so if it wouldn't be for the mother and her friends' reactions and seeing their joy and excitement over what had happened, I wouldn't even take time to write it down. But even though he wasn't completely healed, at the spot, I still want to give glory to God for what He did. Thank you, Jesus!
While we were ministering to the man with crutches, some of the others had spotted a man in a wheelchair who couldn't walk because of problem in his knees. After praying for him, he stood up and walked and, after they had parted, he walked away rolling his wheelchair in front of him.
1. Grandma watching over granddaughter in a paediatric ward. Grandma had a bandaged thumb on left hand and was painful so we prayed for it. She claimed all the pain has gone and she started rotating the thumb and said she couldn’t move it like this before. She said diabetes had affected her peripheries. We commanded diabetes to go and told her to check her blood sugar when able to. We accidentally met her outside of ER and she approached us to tell us that her blood pressure and blood sugar has both come down.
2. Man with bleeding cuts on head above left ear as a result of mum beating him. He was really drawn to us immediately as we stepped foot in ER and claimed his pain left immediately as we entered.
Saturday, March 22, our second day in East London, we spent the first part of the day in a church where church- and city leaders came to us to get prophesied over. I was still quite new in the prophetic before going to South Africa, so it was very good to get more established in that having to sit for a couple of hours with person after person coming in wanting a prophetic word.
Later that night, we went out in the streets on an outreach to the prostitutes. Some people from the church hosting us in East London came with us. Among them was a woman who was blind on her one eye. Kylee prayed for it and then she began singing prophetically over the woman. As she sang, we saw how God was ministering to the woman's heart and it was beautiful to see God touch her. After a few minutes of resting in God's embrace, she looked up at us and from not having seen anything with her one eye, it could now see the difference between light and darkness.
We found a brothel that night. In the brothel were the couple who owned the business, their daughter and one prostitute. There were no "customers" (oh, how I hate using that word in that context) so we got to come in and began to prophesy and pray over all of them. The brothel owners were very touched and began crying as they experienced the love of God, the woman got healed from back pain. The prostitute woman was filled with hope, got tears in her eyes and a smile lighting up her face as we prophesied and prayed over her. We could feel that the whole building was filled with hopelessness and depression, so we worshipped in there until it changed. They were all so thankful for the love they felt from us and from God. I love how God is pursuing every person's heart. God will never stop trying to win your heart.
For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged 1 Cor 14:31
Sunday, March 23, our third day in East London, was amazing. We spent our day with the church "God Adventure", a name that makes you think of a theme park rather than a church. In the morning, I got to teach loads of children in Sunday school about the prophetic. Afternoon was spent with the church having picnic in a park. In the evening we were back in the same church for evening service. It was probably the most memorable service I've ever been to. God came with glory and power. Ask me more, if you are interested! I would love to tell more of what God did in that service.
Monday, March 24, our fourth day. We came to a Christian school who had invited us to prophecy over the students. I was terrified when I found myself alone with five 8th grade boys, supposed to prophesy over them. Silently, I quickly invited Holy Spirit telling Him that if He doesn't show up it's all going to end in failure, "but I trust that You will show up and that this can be really good".
I immediately after got the thought that I were to teach them how to prophesy. I went through the ABCD's of the prophetic (Always Build up, Cheer up, Draw near to God - a simplification of 1 Cor 14:3: "The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.") and quickly explained how you could get a prophetic word (i.e. listening to God and waiting for a picture, a Bible verse, a word popping up in your mind, God's direct voice etc. etc.).
Me and the boys then began to prophesy over one person at a time. To my astonishment, not only did I get good prophetic words for them, but all of them began to prophesy with good prophetic words that both confirmed the prophesies I spoke and that just fit perfectly into what I just prophesied.
With our prophetic words there were words of knowledge wrapped inside that revealed to us that two of the students were going through hard times, which they confirmed, and we were able prophesy life, joy and an end to depression. I guess I should explain that clearer for those not familiar with the prophetic yet: So, one boy said to his classmate "I see you walking through a very dark and scary forest. But then, a Man in white clothes approaches you and puts his hand on your shoulder. As soon as He does, the forest is transformed... it turns greener than green and flowers more beautiful than any flowers ever seen pops up from the ground and the whole forest is amazing." As he had said that, I thus asked the boy if this made any sense to him - if he felt as if he were in a dark place and if he were going through a hard time that made him very sad. "Yes!" he said. And I then continued saying "God, we say yes to this prophetic word and I ask You, Jesus, that You now would come and put Your hand on his shoulder and put an end to his depression and turn his darkness to light."
One of the students prophesied over his friend that He was taken up to Heaven and was given healing powers and that he is going to go lay his hands on the sick and they will get healed.
So later, when I met them all in the courtyard, I asked them if any of them had any pain. One of the boys had a problem in his back with a pain level of 6,5 out of 10. I ordered the one boy, who was prophesied to lay his hands on the sick, to come put his hand on his friends back and command the pain to leave in Jesus' name. He was very hesitant but I convinced him. The second time he ordered the pain to leave, it immediately went down from a pain level of 6,5 to a 2. Praise Jesus!
I was in awe that God had used me in this way to both prophesy and activate the students in the prophetic and in healing. We were all very encouraged.
We spent our last day in East London as tourists. In the morning we drove out to a safari and I loved every bit of it. We saw zebras, giraffes, gnus, impalas, warthogs and ostriches and much more. I had one of the best meals I've ever had, when I ordered buffalo flambé in a very nice restaurant. It cost as much as the cheapest thing you can get at a Swedish restaurant. In the afternoon, I got to swim in the Indian Ocean.
After one glorious week in East London, we flew to Cape Town for a second week.
Many more things happened in East London, but I don't want this post to be too long and I hope to be able to write another post with an extended testimony list.
CAPE TOWN ‒ March 26 - April 1
Sunday, March 23, our third day in East London, was amazing. We spent our day with the church "God Adventure", a name that makes you think of a theme park rather than a church. In the morning, I got to teach loads of children in Sunday school about the prophetic. Afternoon was spent with the church having picnic in a park. In the evening we were back in the same church for evening service. It was probably the most memorable service I've ever been to. God came with glory and power. Ask me more, if you are interested! I would love to tell more of what God did in that service.
I immediately after got the thought that I were to teach them how to prophesy. I went through the ABCD's of the prophetic (Always Build up, Cheer up, Draw near to God - a simplification of 1 Cor 14:3: "The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.") and quickly explained how you could get a prophetic word (i.e. listening to God and waiting for a picture, a Bible verse, a word popping up in your mind, God's direct voice etc. etc.).
Me and the boys then began to prophesy over one person at a time. To my astonishment, not only did I get good prophetic words for them, but all of them began to prophesy with good prophetic words that both confirmed the prophesies I spoke and that just fit perfectly into what I just prophesied.
With our prophetic words there were words of knowledge wrapped inside that revealed to us that two of the students were going through hard times, which they confirmed, and we were able prophesy life, joy and an end to depression. I guess I should explain that clearer for those not familiar with the prophetic yet: So, one boy said to his classmate "I see you walking through a very dark and scary forest. But then, a Man in white clothes approaches you and puts his hand on your shoulder. As soon as He does, the forest is transformed... it turns greener than green and flowers more beautiful than any flowers ever seen pops up from the ground and the whole forest is amazing." As he had said that, I thus asked the boy if this made any sense to him - if he felt as if he were in a dark place and if he were going through a hard time that made him very sad. "Yes!" he said. And I then continued saying "God, we say yes to this prophetic word and I ask You, Jesus, that You now would come and put Your hand on his shoulder and put an end to his depression and turn his darkness to light."
One of the students prophesied over his friend that He was taken up to Heaven and was given healing powers and that he is going to go lay his hands on the sick and they will get healed.
So later, when I met them all in the courtyard, I asked them if any of them had any pain. One of the boys had a problem in his back with a pain level of 6,5 out of 10. I ordered the one boy, who was prophesied to lay his hands on the sick, to come put his hand on his friends back and command the pain to leave in Jesus' name. He was very hesitant but I convinced him. The second time he ordered the pain to leave, it immediately went down from a pain level of 6,5 to a 2. Praise Jesus!
I was in awe that God had used me in this way to both prophesy and activate the students in the prophetic and in healing. We were all very encouraged.
Many more things happened in East London, but I don't want this post to be too long and I hope to be able to write another post with an extended testimony list.
A Lost Son Came Home
I was walking with Caitlin, Kylee, Maren and Bethany in central Cape Town. Maren and Bethany stopped when they saw a man who was limping and had cloth wrapped around his right leg. He had been accidentally shot and his pain was at an 8 out of 10. We prayed for him a few times and according to him the pain was then all gone. Maren got to share the Gospel with him and asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus. He said that he had been thinking about it for a long time but that he still wasn't ready because he knew that if he received Jesus he had to give God his entire life. I was very impressed by his understanding the sincerity of the decision. We continued talking, and after a while he told us that he was now ready to receive Jesus. The girls, then, let me lead him in a prayer of repentance and welcoming Jesus into his heart. He was so happy afterwards. His eyes were different. I explained to him that now God lived inside of him and that he was now a new creation and he is a son of God according to John 1:12. I explained the concept of prayer - communion with God, I explained that reading the Bible now would be very different, because now the Holy Spirit lived inside of him and would speak to him through the Bible in a whole new way. We took him to KFC, and while the girls ordered him food, he took out his New Testament that he always carried with him and he asked me "where should I start reading, now that I'm a son of God?" I was so blown away that he had just grasped it all so well. I told him to start reading in Luke and then to continue in Acts. We told him to start visiting a church and we asked if he knew of a "His People-church". He told us he had been visiting one last Sunday and when we asked him how he liked it, he replied "I loved it!" He was so sweet and his eyes were shining. We all fell in love with him. God is so good!
God lives inside of me, and now also in a university student
At another time, we were on a University Campus, activating the students' church there in evangelism. I walked up to a group of students while mentally scanning through my body for a word of knowledge. As I said "hi" the only thing left in my mind was my left elbow, so I asked if any of them had any problem with their left elbow. One of them replied, telling me that he took painkillers every day because of his elbow. Because of the painkillers, he didn't have any pain at the moment but I prayed for him and I believe God healed him. The guy was very interested in how I knew about his elbow and I got to explain how I practised hearing God's voice. One of the students seemed especially interested and asked me for prayer for his shoulder blade that it would stop hurting when he wrote on his laptop. Now, in hindsight, I would guess that he mostly asked for prayer in order to get my attention, because he just wanted to talk to me. After asking him for permission, I got to share the Gospel with him and when I asked him "How does that sound to you?", he replied "No one has ever told me this. I have never heard this before." I asked him if he believed this and if he wanted to receive Jesus into his heart. He said yes, and I then got to lead him in a prayer of repentance and asking Jesus to come into his life. It was amazing! I afterwards asked him if he now felt any difference, to which he replied "Ever since you walked up to our group, I could feel something shift in my heart." This blew me away with a deeper revelation that God really lives inside of me.
I was walking with Caitlin, Kylee, Maren and Bethany in central Cape Town. Maren and Bethany stopped when they saw a man who was limping and had cloth wrapped around his right leg. He had been accidentally shot and his pain was at an 8 out of 10. We prayed for him a few times and according to him the pain was then all gone. Maren got to share the Gospel with him and asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus. He said that he had been thinking about it for a long time but that he still wasn't ready because he knew that if he received Jesus he had to give God his entire life. I was very impressed by his understanding the sincerity of the decision. We continued talking, and after a while he told us that he was now ready to receive Jesus. The girls, then, let me lead him in a prayer of repentance and welcoming Jesus into his heart. He was so happy afterwards. His eyes were different. I explained to him that now God lived inside of him and that he was now a new creation and he is a son of God according to John 1:12. I explained the concept of prayer - communion with God, I explained that reading the Bible now would be very different, because now the Holy Spirit lived inside of him and would speak to him through the Bible in a whole new way. We took him to KFC, and while the girls ordered him food, he took out his New Testament that he always carried with him and he asked me "where should I start reading, now that I'm a son of God?" I was so blown away that he had just grasped it all so well. I told him to start reading in Luke and then to continue in Acts. We told him to start visiting a church and we asked if he knew of a "His People-church". He told us he had been visiting one last Sunday and when we asked him how he liked it, he replied "I loved it!" He was so sweet and his eyes were shining. We all fell in love with him. God is so good!
At another time, we were on a University Campus, activating the students' church there in evangelism. I walked up to a group of students while mentally scanning through my body for a word of knowledge. As I said "hi" the only thing left in my mind was my left elbow, so I asked if any of them had any problem with their left elbow. One of them replied, telling me that he took painkillers every day because of his elbow. Because of the painkillers, he didn't have any pain at the moment but I prayed for him and I believe God healed him. The guy was very interested in how I knew about his elbow and I got to explain how I practised hearing God's voice. One of the students seemed especially interested and asked me for prayer for his shoulder blade that it would stop hurting when he wrote on his laptop. Now, in hindsight, I would guess that he mostly asked for prayer in order to get my attention, because he just wanted to talk to me. After asking him for permission, I got to share the Gospel with him and when I asked him "How does that sound to you?", he replied "No one has ever told me this. I have never heard this before." I asked him if he believed this and if he wanted to receive Jesus into his heart. He said yes, and I then got to lead him in a prayer of repentance and asking Jesus to come into his life. It was amazing! I afterwards asked him if he now felt any difference, to which he replied "Ever since you walked up to our group, I could feel something shift in my heart." This blew me away with a deeper revelation that God really lives inside of me.
This woman didn't need her crutch anymore after receiving prayer outside a clinique in Khayelitsha township.
Eyesight Restored
We visited a church in Cape Town and our team leader challenged us to speak out very specific words of knowledge.
Bianca got the microphone and shared a word of knowledge about a woman who really loves books, "you don't just like them, but you love them", and who reads every day but who has a problem with bad eyes. A woman in the back raised her hand and I was sent to go pray for her. I asked her about the problem and she told me that she's in the library every day and she loves to read. But she has an eye problem which makes her unable to read even in full daylight without the use her flashlight that she always carries with her. I asked her to put her hands on her eyes and then I put my hands over hers in order to pray. But, as I did, she immediately fell under the power of the Holy Spirit. I was not prepared for that. Haha! A man behind her managed to catch her and he raised her to standing again and then I commanded the eye sight restored in Jesus' name. I asked her to try read her Bible without the aid of the flashlight. The lighting where she sat was really poor and not many her age would be able to read in such dim light, especially not her since she hadn't even been able to read in full daylight before. But she tried and she read aloud perfectly without any stumbling on the words or anything. Completely healed! Hallelujah! She was so thankful.
That time in South Africa was sort of a launching pad for me and nowadays I get to see the hand of God powerfully at work almost every week. I love everything He does in me and through me.
Thank you so much for all the help in sending me to South Africa! I feel so honoured for all the support!
