Early in the morning of December 11th a homeless lady froze to death on the street in front of Portage Place. Her name hasn’t been released, and we don’t know if she is one of the people we have ministered to. We can only hope she knew Jesus. Our hearts were heavy this week, but our sense of purpose was heightened.
Thirty people showed-up for ministry this week. Some of us were surprised as we thought our numbers would dwindle due to everyone’s busyness this time of year.
Difficult and bizarre situations exist on the streets here are a couple of examples.
Planting – As soon as I entered the back door of Portage Place, Gaylene and Iris were beckoning me to follow them up the escalator. In front of the Dollar Store was a distraught young First Nations lady crouched on the floor against the railing. Her name was Courtney. A man came and was yelling at her, and they were arguing about a coat he was carrying. He was saying it was his, and she was saying it was hers. Eventually, he left with the coat, but we could see him lurking about nearby. Gaylene then engaged her in conversation. The story is that this is her boyfriend, who is on meth, and he is abusive. (When Gaylene asked her why she didn’t leave the abusive relationship her tearful answer was that she didn’t want to be alone.) We talked with her for quite a while and learned that she had recently attempted suicide and that she had voices in her head telling her all kinds of negative things. We cast-out the spirit of suicide and the condemning spirit, and then we spoke words of life and truth to her. Gaylene encouraged her and advised her on how to get out of her relationship. She then wanted to go to her home, so Gaylene gave her a bus ticket, and we walked her to Portage Place’s front door. She said she was afraid her boyfriend might still be around and asked us to watch for her in case she didn’t make it to the bus.
After that I visited with some of the regulars, wishing them a Merry Christmas, and gave them each a pre-paid gift card as a Christmas present.
While I was doing this a middle-aged First Nations lady walked-up to me and asked me for help. Her top lip was swollen, she had dried blood on her chin, and bruises on her forehead. She explained that she had just been beaten-up outside by 3 other women, who had kicked her several times in the head. Norma wasn’t making sense as I couldn’t understand what kind of help she was asking for. I decided to take her to Tim Horton’s and buy her a hot beverage. While we were in line I asked her if I could pray for her head and lip, and I also noticed she had a finger that was bloody and missing skin. After I prayed she noticed her finger healing and said, “Look, I can bend my finger again.” She wanted an ice cap instead of a hot beverage, and as we left Tim’s she informed me that she was going to hang-out with me for the rest of the night. I wasn’t comfortable with that, so I recruited Michelle, one of the team members to sit and talk with her. Michelle told me later that Norma just wanted someone to keep her company as she was afraid of getting beat up again.
Watering – As I left the two of them I noticed that Courtney was seated in the Food Court with Lorraine’s team. I quickly gave Lorraine some background information on Courtney from our earlier encounter with her and left them to minister to her.
Harvesting – I found out at the end of the evening that Courtney gave her life to the Lord through Lorraine’s team, and that her countenance changed completely after she prayed. She was happy and smiling – not the fearful gloomy look she had earlier. Hopefully, she will be strengthened to make some tough choices.
It was after 9 and teams were beginning to meet and debrief near Center Court. Most teams were reporting a fairly quiet evening with only a few healings. Trevor’s team had several healing engagements including healing a man who was in a wheelchair, but now no longer needs it. Kevin’s team was still active somewhere in the mall, so I didn’t get to hear a report from them.
Kingdom H20 is a Facebook page where you can view videos of people who have been healed and garner other info about this ministry.
Teaching in January – Zion has started Saturday night services that provide teaching on the ministry of healing and provide a place that people can come for healing. On Saturday, January 7th I will be teaching on the Biblical basis for praying with authority, and on the 14th I will also be teaching on the subject of risk-taking in the ministry of healing. In February Lorraine will be teaching on the subjects of using prophecy and words of knowledge effectively in this ministry, as well as teaching on delivering people from bondage. More info on the upcoming teaching will be forthcoming.