Encounter

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7

July 17, 2010 my life was turned upside down. My world was rocked. I could see clearly for the first time in my life. That was the day I encountered the love of God in a tangible way and experienced His love, power and presence... and LOVE. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire.

A few weeks before, I was in a bar celebrating my 21st birthday. The day after I was in Wal-Mart laying hands on the sick. God brought to life His Word that tells us that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). He closed the chapter of religion in my life and welcomed me into a relationship.

I was technically a Christian before this encounter; but after I experienced the gospel and He opened my eyes to His kingdom I realized that what I thought was Christianity was really just an institutional set of rules and guidelines to get into heaven. It was not a happy thing. Nor was it joyful or loving or peaceful as the Bible says it is supposed to be.

The encounter took place in Pt. Charlotte, FL at Mama Jo's house. I had never met her or spoken to her but she was like a spiritual mother to my best friend Yvana. Yvana had told me all these amazing things that were happening at a church there and I had to see it. I was crying out to God the whole way to Tampa to pick up Yvana. I was so tired of being dry. I tried to worship but I realized I didn't know who I was worshipping; I tried to pray but didn't know what to say. I was thinking about the Bible and how it did not align to my life at all. Is it even real? I don't know what peace is, I don't feel loved, and I am sick of people telling me not to depend on my feelings and just know that there is a God. I read about the Good News, the gospel, that the disciples were risking their lives for; what were they willing to die for? So that I can go to church and be good? It didn't line up to me.

By the time I picked up Yvana I was desperate. We had an hour and a half drive to Pt. Charlotte and at this point it was do or die. "God please show me why the disciples were willing to die for the gospel... If I have all that you have to offer, then this whole thing is fake. There must be more." We ended up praying for an hour straight; asking God to show up, begging Him for more.

When we first arrived at Mama Jo's house in Pt. Charlotte, we were just sitting there and talking. I took a spiritual gifts test and the top 3 were Faith, Missions, and Singleness [there will have to be a whole different blog for my journey with this third one]. We talked about how I always wanted to be a missionary. We also talked about favorite colors; Yvana and Mama Jo's favorite color is blue and they were discussing the spiritual meaning of that. My favorite color is purple but I didn't tell them; I quietly pondered what purple could mean.

As we were talking, Mama Jo's son, Rolland, came home from youth camp shaking. I had never seen him before but I heard he was fun and goofy so I figured he was playing around. As he was shaking he was saying profound things that sounded like something that would be in the Bible. His friend said that he was shaking and prophesying for hours since they left the youth camp (after he had an encounter at the youth camp). I started praying in my mind, not out loud, "God, if this is You... I need You to talk to me. If this is real, talk to me. I have never heard Your voice." Immediately after my silent prayer, Rolland put his hand on my head and said "I will give you the nations..." and spoke into every area of my life. As he was talking I would pray silent prayers like, "But God what about this, and why that?" and He would immediately answer through Rolland. He even said "I am placing a purple robe over you, purple for royalty." Wow, God!! You even care about my unspoken favorite color? As God was talking to me, He spoke healing into every emotional pain that I had, "Years of pain gone in minutes"; and He confirmed my desire to be a missionary. He gave me His plans and purpose, he even gave me specific countries to go to! The same thing happened with every person in the room. That whole thing lasted about an hour and a half.

We stayed in Pt. Charlotte for five days (even though we originally were only staying for the weekend.) The morning after that first encounter, God told Yvana to lay hands on me to heal me physically. I was sick with either the flu, bronchitis, or back problems for all of 2009. I had always been anemic and would have periodic black outs (also due to a concussion I had in 2003); I also had some serious female problems. I was sick as usual with cramps and other pains while we were in Pt. Charlotte. As soon as Yvana laid her hands on me to heal me- all the pain left. And it never came back! Hallelujah! Right after I was healed, God started speaking through Yvana. He said "What do you want? Ask me." I silently prayed, "God, you're sending me to the nations. I have to have the languages. Please." After my silent prayer, Yvana placed her hand on my mouth and said, "I give you the tongues of the nations." I started speaking in tongues! (By the way, before this encounter I didn't believe in speaking in tongues; it was against my religion.)

We spent 12 hours in church. Over five different people prophesied over me. Someone came over for dinner and their left knee was healed. God kept on speaking through different people for hours at a time. Just teaching and loving. I got baptized.

This is the short version by the way. Like, really really shortened.

My life has never been the same. I believe the Bible. I live the Bible. God's Word is living and active. His love heals. He speaks. He listens. He cares. He provides. He protects. He loves. It's all real. Hallelujah!!

God is so cool, if you want it- He'll give it to you! If you ask, He answers! I have watched similar encounters happen to other people who want it. :)

In His presence,
Reida