First off I just want to say that the speaker we had is one of the most humble, genuine hearers of God's voice that I have ever met. I had the pleasure of translating for him all week and I am so thankful that I got to help transmit such a wonderful teaching.
During the week we did various exercises to help us hear God's voice. The students quickly realized that it is something that is easy to do when you have a clean heart. Worship is the best way to get into God's presence, so we had some great times of worship as well.
Then, on Thursday we had a time of intercession for the place we are going on our short national outreach. Intercession was a word that I was intimidated by before I came to YWAM, but I have come to love it. It is a time where we can hear from God what is on His heart and then stand in the gap, or pray, that the things on His heart would become a reality. The students did not know where we would be going and when first told them about it we didn't give any details, just the name: Livingston. What happened next was completely God and was amazing for us as leaders to be able to experience. The students started listening to God about Livingston. They weren't afraid to share what they heard, even though it sounded crazy. This is where I should say that Livingston is part of Guatemala, but is a peninsula that can only be reached by boat on the Caribbean coast. It has a totally different culture than the rest of the country. The people who live there are called Garifunas, or Black Caribs. So back to intersession. The students were getting pictures of boats, water, and to quote a few of them "tanned people who looked like they had been in the sun for a long time" and "people who looked like they belonged in Africa". As soon as they started sharing these things out, I started jumping up and down with excitement! How amazing and faithful is God to show them these pictures about Livingston, even though they know nothing about the place, and have them be right on with what it is like there!?!?! It was definitely a time that encouraged everyone who was part of this intercession time!
I have lots of other stories to share, but the last one I want to share right now is about a time we had on Saturday. YWAM is committed to partnering with local churches, and so we decided that we would go with the youth group from our church to give out soup and pray for the people who are waiting outside the hospital. Most of the people waiting are there because they can't go in with the loved ones who are being treated inside so we got to pray with a lot of them for healing for their family members or friends who were inside the hospital at that time.
Then I saw a woman and a man walking outside the gate of the hospital and knew that we needed to pray for them. The woman had a freshly placed cast on her arm and was crying as they walked out the gate. I approached them and asked if we could pray for them and they immediately agreed. We started praying for Annabella and her freshly broken wrist and I knew that God was working in her as we prayed. She opened her eyes at one point and I will never forget the look she had on her face when she said to me, "I don't feel the pain anymore". Praise Jesus! A miracle had happened and a woman who was crying just minutes before because of the pain of a broken arm was now crying because she was healed! I felt like God wanted to share with her how much He loves her so we prayed with her some more and she left with words of affirmation from her Heavenly Father. It was such a great time and I know the Holy Spirit wants to keep moving and keep healing even more people!
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