Twenty-eight people showed-up to minister. The mall and the streets were busy. When I first arrived at the mall I noticed a woman with a severe limp. Iris and I followed her and caught up to her on Portage Avenue. We explained that we noticed her limp, and would like to pray for her. She said she didn’t believe in God, but we could pray. After the first prayer, she thought something had improved a little. She said her pain was normally 10, but she had recently taken some t3’s and it was a 6, but after prayer maybe a 3. We prayed again and asked her to test it out. She took a few steps and said it was definitely better, but not totally better. We asked if we could pray a 3rd time, and she agreed but added after that she had to catch her bus. We prayed, she thanked us, and she walked to her bus with much less of a limp. Our hope is she will ponder, Jesus, the source of the healing she did receive.
Shortly after that, I was called outside the mall to the bus shelter, by a lady who is banned from being in the mall. She had sent her friend to go into the mall and find one of the praying Christians. I took Michelle F. with me. We bought her some food and prayed for her. While we were there an intoxicated man dragged a passed-out elderly lady into the shelter. He said she was his sister and she hadn’t eaten for 2 days. Michelle got down on the floor next to her, embraced her and began to pray for her, and she began to come around. Another lady in the shelter asked me if I was ‘first-aid’, and I answered, no, I was ‘Jesus-aid’. She said she knew first-aid and said she thought the woman was possibly a diabetic who probably needed some carbs, so I went and bought her some food. Security had shown-up and called an ambulance. As she began to eat the paramedics arrived, gave her several tests, and took her to the emergency. I suppose we may never know what will happen to her.
Lots of drama on the streets – read-on…(better still come and join us – there is nothing more rewarding than witnessing Jesus perform miracles)
Kevin’s Report of Blind Eye Being Healed:
The first person our group got to encounter was Stephanie. She said she had a stroke on her right side 14 years earlier and her face was visibly sagging on the right side. Her sight in the right eye was 2/10. I pulled out my red hanky and told her when I made the hanky disappear, the blindness in her eye would also disappear. We had her cover her good eye and confirm her sight was very bad. After the hanky disappeared a quick test revealed 6/10 sight, and a quick extra prayer by our newest team member Irene brought it up to 8/10. She also noticed that her face no longer felt like it was sagging and her droopy eye was now fully the same as the one on the left.
Stephanie then got scared, something very real was happening and she didn’t have a grid for it. She knew it was supernatural but only knew the Devil as one that did the supernatural. I calmed her down after she ran down the sidewalk freaking out. I called to her and she cautiously came closer. She said don’t touch me or do anything, just talk to me and tell me what is happening. I explained that Jesus was completely in Love with her and that He had always been in love with her. Her face welled with tears and she started to grasp the reality of God’s love. She allowed another prayer to her eye and after a quick test confirmed it was 10/10 in both eyes.
She started to feel a deep warmth in her chest, her whole body started to shake and uncontrollable tears poured from her eyes. “I don’t understand what is happening”, she said as she had a deep, personal encounter with God right there on Main street, Winnipeg. I gave her a great big hug and asked Michelle C. to step in and continue ministry. Michelle explained God’s love and prayed with Stephanie for other issues and needs in her life.
Stephanie, Kevin, and Irene (Michelle and Andrew were also on the team, but not in the picture). Stephanie’s blind eye had just been healed.
Jeremiah’s Report (14-year-olds 1st time leading a team)
My team consisted of Gaylene, Annette, Valour, and myself.
When we first got there we met a lady from the Congo who arrived at Manitoba 10 years ago. She kept telling us how powerful we were and how much she loved us. She also told us that her children were with CFS and that they gave her kids to her mom. We asked if we could pray for her and for her kids to be returned. We also prayed for her to be filled with God’s peace and Spirit. While we were praying she was shouting in the mall “Hallelujah” and some other words I couldn’t make out. I couldn’t quite make out her name because of her accent.
Our group then split up and I joined Trevor at a table speaking with a regular who refuses to give any of us his name. He is usually waiting for our group to come to the mall and I have had multiple conversations with him. He is very interested in what we do but reluctant to give himself over to the Lord. Almost every week he is there, waiting for us, waiting for conversation, waiting for someone to show him, love, validate him, show him attention and talk with him. It’s obvious to me that the Lord is drawing him to Himself, why else is he so eager to hang around God’s children? I believe one day “no name” will realize this and surrender, I look forward to that day.
I then joined a man by the name of Ron, who was sitting by himself so I thought I would go talk with him. Sancho bought him a meal and we talked with him about his new electric wheelchair that he was very proud of. (Al’s note- Ron is also a regular, and we have prayed for him several times. He only has one leg, and is usually in need of a bath.)
Shortly thereafter, Valour and I spoke to a lady just outside the mall by the name of Adrena. Valour asked if we could pray for her. After requesting prayer for her family, she said she had pain in her knee “because she is old.” Valour asked her to sit while we prayed. After Valour prayed for her family, I told the pain in her knees to leave because it had no right to be there. Valour asked her to check her knees and she said she felt heat when I laid my hands on them. When we asked her what her pain level was on a scale from 1-10, she replied with “yea,” “yea,” “yea.” I asked if the pain was gone she said, “yea.” I rephrased my question as I wasn’t sure she fully understood what I was asking. I then asked what her pain level was before we prayed, on a scale of 1-10, she said 10, quickly reminding us that her pain was now all gone.
It was at this point I understood that if we didn’t pray for this lady, she would have gone home with pain that night. This magnified the urgency in me to be obedient to the Spirit’s promptings. The realization of letting God use me became that much more apparent after this particular encounter.
John’s Report:
I was part of Pastor Tom’s group, and we discussed splitting into two groups (there were six of us). First, I talked to a man behind the mall (I forgot his name). I started a conversation with him and I asked him if I could pray for him. He said, “yes please do”. I asked, “What for?” He replied for his girlfriend Roxanne who was mad at him. So I prayed for them both and a couple minutes later she joined us. While making small talk, Roxanne started laughing; it was like the Holy Spirit came over her and she couldn’t be mad anymore. They asked for cigarettes which I didn’t have so I offered food or drink which they accepted. So I went and bought them food and coffee and told them how much Jesus loves them. I prayed a blessing over them and moved on.
I went back outside the mall and met two guys drinking near the entrance. I approached them and made conversation. They thought I was an undercover cop. Security came shortly after and made the guys leave.
I went down to Central Park and that’s where I met Jimmy. I sat down with him, talked to him, and told him how much Jesus loved him, and then I prayed for him and he started weeping. He told me how hungry he was and I asked what he wanted and he said chicken. He wasn’t allowed in the mall so I took him to a chicken and pizza place 2.5 blocks away. On our way there, he sat down on the steps of an old church, declaring Jesus was Lord and repenting of all his wrongdoings. I had only told him how much Jesus loved him, he did the rest on his own. As we kept walking, he told me he’d had a dream a man would meet him and talk to him. He kept telling me I was his angel. After that encounter, I went back to Central Park and met with the rest of the group.
Lorraine’s comment on her 1st Anniversary of being on the streets:
After seeing what God has done over this past year I am absolutely positive that revival is on the way and what we have seen is only a very tiny taste of what the Lord will yet release upon the entire earth. And the most incredible part for me personally is that I get to see this and be a part of what He is doing! Can’t even describe how humbling and deeply moving that is. I have prayed for this for many, many years now and I get to be in the very centre of what He is doing! I know in my heart that I was born for ‘such a time as this’ and my expectation of much more has increased in ways I never even imagined! Praise the Lord!!
****Join us this Saturday
Fellowship BBQ – Saturday, May 13th, 5 PM, at Zion, just before the 7 PM H20 service.
Coming Sept 29th – Oct 1st – Zion presents – Azusa Winnipeg Conference
Guest Speakers: Steve and Ruth Moore from Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry
Kingdom H20 Equipping & Healing Nights (7 PM at Zion)
Saturday, May 13 – Daniel Fewster – Luke 10:20
Saturday, May 20 – Thomas Campbell
Saturday, May 27 – Kevin Penner
Saturday, June 3 – Al Bayne – Busting Myths About Giving
Saturday,June 10 – Erin Mohr
Saturday,June 17 – Lorraine Peladeau
Saturday,June 24 – Kevin Penner
Saturday, July 1 – ?
Upcoming Opportunity:
Sanctuary House of Prayer’s outreach during Ramadan 2017
For 11 years, Sanctuary House of Prayer (SHOP) has been interceding for Winnipeg including immigrants, refugees, international students, and the inner city. As part of its 10 year anniversary in May 2016, we started ‘SHOP in the City’ in Central Park with a team of intercessors, worship leaders and youngsters who prayed for dozens of people and handed out water. As well, Zion Church’s Thursday night evangelism outreach regularly goes to Central Park in the spring, summer, and fall.
This year SHOP will be in Central Park, providing food, and prayers, during the Muslim’s month of Ramadan. Zion ministry teams are encouraged to partner with SHOP in Central Park during this month. There is a mosque across the street from the park, and many Muslims frequent the park.
