I just felt the need to write a LONG post about this amazing conference I just got back from. Everything was a big deal. I had planned on going for a few months but with who was the question as the plan kept changing for everyone interested in going. At the very last minute the plan changed again and the group was opposite of the original plan. Once we finally settled on who was going the four of us began the journey from Colorado to Seattle. The trip there was pretty uneventful and we got there in one piece. The overall theme of the entire conference was exploring the revolution that occurred in the early church as depicted in the book of Acts. What did they do differently to achieve such results? How did they facilitate such a large increase to God’s kingdom in such short periods of time. Starting with only 12 men the world was turned on its head. One miracle and testimony at a time. They called for the youth to invite the Holy Spirit to guide us in becoming once again like the early Christians. On fire for missions, passionate about studying God’s Word, devoted to His cause, willing to lay everything on the line for Him, to let go of self and yield our paths and lives to Him. There were over 120 seminars to choose from for the separate sessions then 2 collective meetings every day. No way we could easily choose which 6 out of 120 to attend. It took at least an hour. Everything they were covering was present truth and very relevant to the times we are living in. We as SDA’s have a work to do. We have to spread the 3 Angels message and take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Well things started getting heavy on the second to last day. I have always had a part of my heart that was empty since I had to give up my decision to do long term mission work overseas. Coming back to America had its purpose and all as I needed to take care of mom and the kids but my heart still pulled and pulled at me. Well this Australian pastor was speaking and began talking about how our members needed to return to to missionary spirit it once had. “If we wait until we think we are ready we will never go.” He spoke of how we all know that if the church doesn’t get its act together and spread the gospel the work can’t be finished and Jesus can’t come back. There has to be a revolution in the church for the prophetic events to unfold. His speech was powerful and hit me right in the core of my previous stand. At the end he made a very serious appeal. That anyone that was willing to go into the mission field, and we are talking 3-7 years of your life, please come forward. Don’t come forward if you aren’t serious. There was an instance of an alter call he knew of where 400 people went up in commitment and only one person followed through and went to the mission field. He called for the ones being impressed to come up and solidify their commitment before God. My thought process went as follows. ” Man I wish I could. Ugh…I have the kids as my responsibility now, it is too complicated, there is too much involved now. But it won’t leave my heart, I can’t ever kick the urge. Huh…this is a big deal I don’t know what to do, it’s like he has been speaking directly to me this whole time, like he read my mind. Is it God’s will for me to go? Well…the great commission has been given to all of God’s followers…it’s what He expects us to do, maybe not everyone overseas…but He seems to have put a special burden within me for that kind of work. Man…it isn’t ever against His will to submit to His cause and give your life to His service. Oh…the kids. Lord Jesus help I don’t know what to do I’m panicking here what do I do? Do I go? Do I walk up? I don’t want to go up then back out. This is a huge deal! Life changing. Please Lord tell me what I need to do.” Before I knew what was happening my legs were carrying me forward and I was in tears in front of over 4,000 people with my heart going 120 beats per minute. It feels as if God decided for me and I felt happy. Peace. And NERVOUS! What did I just do! I planned to work as a surg tech in the states, buy a house, and live the normal  life. EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE VERY LIFE I AM SOOOO AVIDLY AGAINST BEING COMPLACENT WITH! It was my plan still. Not anymore. I don’t know where He is calling me or how He will work out the details but by the grace of God and if within His ordained will when I finish the surg tech program in July I am going back into the overseas mission field full time. God will have to work out the logistics all I know is that I was impressed and I am putting it in His hands. I have committed. Right now I am feeling mild impressions toward India and going back to Bolivia. But I have literally no clue which God has in store if either. I know many people will think its crazy…given my particular life situation…but I am accountable to God on this one. One or both of the kids will be going with me depending on what happens. After that meeting the conference ended with a bang. We did outreach in the city and among all of us knocked on almost 20,000 doors. Washington is said to be one of the most closed states to religion…we pray that hearts were reached anyhow. A little over 400 people pre-registered for the prophecy seminars (in a period of an hour and a half of knocking) and thousands of flyers were left for those who were not home or unsure. I believe God will work in a mighty way and if even 1 soul is reached it is worth all of the effort in God’s eyes. We are just that important to Him. We were sad to leave the conference but filled with new passion and on fire. We left with Glow tracts to hand out and the philosophy “always have literature on you, always be prepared for a divine appointment…be ready to be used always and affect as many people for Jesus as you can.” We were ready to go! Well little did we know that God would put our new commitments to the test sooner than expected.

In a nutshell we were borrowing a rental car from the father of one of the guys in our group. He extended the days so we could use it since our original transportation fell through. However we didn’t realize we weren’t listed as drivers on the agreement or listed to be taking the rental out of state. We made it 13 hrs out of 19 on the way back to Denver when one of us got pulled over for speeding. We were not thinking about the car at all. When the cop saw the rental agreement he took the driver with him to the cop car and called the company in regards to the lack of permissions on the agreement. As soon as the driver left the car I immediately began to pray that this situation would work out only according to God’s will good or bad because this was a bad situation and the only good thing to be was within His will. The driver came back distraught with news that in 10 degree weather 6 hrs from our destination we were ticketed and our car was getting towed back to the company and someone would simply have to “pick us up”. Four people and a ton of luggage stuck in Middleofnowhere Utah…great. The first reaction wasn’t to panic. It was more shock. Just within minutes of getting our bags out of the rental both of us girls were literally on the verge of frost bitten toes. I began to cry and huddle into Rachel for warmth. The cop after a while offered to drive us to the tiny town and leave us at a gas station that had a Subway. (That would really help us after closing time! NOT!) Apparently the tow truck guy said to one of the guys in our group that he would actually take us with him to the rental company with the car since that was in a bigger town 60 miles away from where the cop was trying to leave us. 60 miles closer to where we needed to go. We were told later that the cop told the tower not to take us anywhere because it was against company policy to transport towees. He said something to the effect of ” I already told them I would and they won’t fire me because I AM the tow shop in this little town.” He went against the cops advice and stuffed us all into his truck and put our stuff back into the rental. Before leaving we encouraged one of the guys to take the cop a couple Glow tracts on the true Biblical teaching on Hell, the Sabbath, and making sense of natural disasters which goes over a bunch of neat stuff. He said “in spite of you getting us towed we’d really like to share these with you.” The cop said thanks and that it was nothing personal and that he could use a little help understanding Revelation. Score! If That was the only encounter it would have been worth it but…it wasn’t even close. On the way in the tow truck we got to know the guy and he told us about his life’s turmoil. Divorces and hard times. Felt like God was smashing him pretty hard. We encouraged him and told him God had a plan for him and that we would pray for him. I also let him know that all things work together for our ultimate good, even if only after death in the kingdom of heaven and that is more than worth it. All we need is Jesus. While he was out of the car I sneakily placed the three Glow tracts in this compartment in his console and prayed quietly and fervently for his soul, his struggles, and that he would find those tracts when and only when he was open to their words and could use them. I was just tickled pink…giggling as I imagined him finding them at random. Then as if 2 seeds planted weren’t enough we stopped off at his girlfriend’s house and he let us use her bathroom. She was very nice. Rachel and I sneakily left one tract in her bathroom mirror cabinet, one clipped onto her ipod on the washing machine, and the other tucked between two towels in her linen cabinet. We giggled our way out excited that we were up to 3! For me this was great! Definitely worth the trouble already. Well…that wasn’t it. We get to the rental place and they inform us that we MAY be able to get a different car the next day but it would be $300. Money none of us planned to spend and didn’t budget for. This trip already cost well over $1,000 between us 4. That was pretty bad news considering he slapped on the fact that we had to get a hotel for the night and wait until he could help us in the morning. There’s another $100 bucks down the drain. No one fretted quite yet. I kept thinking that obviously since I prayed about this when we got pulled over it was VERY INTENTIONAL that this was playing out how it was. On top of this two days earlier my bank took $150 in overdraft fees because for the whole trip I couldn’t find a branch to deposit at and unexpected charges hit my account. This made me cry for sure since that is a huge chunk of my part for the trip and I didn’t have it to spend.  I sucked it up and stopped crying and enjoyed the rest of the conference trusting that God wouldn’t leave me hanging…we were here for Him after all. Preparing to do His work. It would all work out no matter how bad it seemed. Well the Lord had my back on that one, knowing we would be in even more of a bind and He impressed my grandparents who I saw before the pull over on the way down (while seeing my dad) for the first time in years to give me 3oo bucks (also before we left to Seattle one of the guy’s dad gave us $200 for expenses which saved us from yet another unexpected hi-jink with the hotel billing that would have definitely prevented us from checking in at all. God prepared for every detail before we knew to). Now we had to get to the hotel. Super nice tow guy to the rescue threw our stuff on the flat back of the tow truck and drove us to the hotel. We couldn’t thank him enough. Once we were at the hotel things got even more interesting. Forgive me for the length…it gets really good I promise.

After one of the guys paid for the hotel we were about to walk out of the lobby when I turned and looked at the serious man behind the counter. I asked him his name. He told me it was Sam and I noticed he looked Indian. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT INDIA…so I always have to ask. When I inquired as to his ethnicity he perked up instantly then I asked if he spoke Hindi, he said yes, then I asked if he spoke Gujarati, the language from the state my boyfriend at the time was from (never would have known about it otherwise) and he brightened up even more. He wanted to know how in the world I knew about that, because that was the state he was from. At that point we were hitting it off left and right swapping names of the Bollywood actors and our favorite Bollywood movies. He told me the difference between the flat breads in the different states because I was confused. Then he told me a little about how the caste system is still in place and how marriage among villagers works. The conversation changed when I asked him if it was true that Hindus believed in Jesus. He said yes. They believe He was here and son of a God. We continued to talk about spiritual things such as state of the dead according to the Bible and he told me how that can’t be true because of possessions he had seen in his country. I explained how that related to demons and how demons can impersonate humans perfectly and are often channeled to do so in occult ceremonies. I explained the principle of hell not being a place of eternal torment according to the Bible. I told him why we worshiped on Sabbath and why it was such an important controversy between denominations because it is the one commandment that names God as creator of the universe and is the one the devil hates most since he wants this title for himself. I also explained how it was changed and claimed by the Catholic church to uphold their authority on earth. Then people started walking into the lobby to get rooms and refill the coffee 4 total over the period of the conversation. Each of them received Glow tracts from me with a smile and a thank you. One of the ladies asked where we had been and I explained a Christian youth conference and how I was recommitted to go into the long term mission field because people needed to know Jesus and be ready since He is coming soon. She smiled and approved then left. When I turned back to Sam he looked at me seriously. “You mean to tell me that Jesus is COMING BACK…to THIS EARTH!? Literally?” I told him it was absolutely going to happen and many fulfilled prophecies and evidences stand behind the fact. He looked concerned. “Well what does that mean? What will happen.” I explained how everything will be over at that point. That the dead in Christ will go with Him and that at a later period the evil will be destroyed but not eternally tormented. He was still a little blurry on the details so I asked if I could tell him the Christian story in a nutshell. He said yes. I told him about the war in heaven and the division of the angels. The false accusations Satan made against God and the fact that Satan serves as prince of this earth basically trying to prove his point before the entire universe. How all the terrible things that go on are a necessary manifestation of what sin and separation from God causes so that in the new earth it will NEVER come up again. The case must be made plain for all thinking men without constant intervention by God. Free will and consequences as well as naturally caused atrocities must play out in order to lay all things plainly before men and angels. He then asked me why some kids are born poor and some born rich or some born deformed and explained how this justifies reincarnation. All bad lives are results of evil deeds in a previous life. I explained to him that this wasn’t the case and that each person was an individual soul…extremely important to God and that if he only knew the value of a soul in the eyes of God he would be shocked. We don’t need to live a hundred lives. We live one and it is short and should be filled with purpose. I then explained how Jesus would have died still if it was ONLY for him. Before our conversation he never knew or believed that Jesus came to DIE FOR OUR SINS.  I told him that a sould was so valuable to God that God places that selfless love for souls into his children and that if I had to right then and there die so he could make it that I would die…for him because of the love for souls God put within me. He looked perplexed. I explained spiritual warfare and the good angels and bad ones. At one point I told him that in fact there were angels good and bad in the same room with us as we spoke, watching us…hearing us speak. His eyes grew wide and concerned “RIGHT NOW RIGHT HERE!?” Then I explained that he had his very own personal guardian angel. I explained how life is never promised to be easy for Christians on earth God promises to work things out for our ultimate good and all deeds will be repaid in heaven. He didn’t understand how without reincarnation a bad man would receive punishment. I explained to him that the worse punishment is waking up and looking God in the eyes and knowing that you and your own decisions kept you from all the beautiful things He planned for you. How much of a punishment it would be to know your life was over for good and that you chose that path. Seeing everything you ever did, every opportunity you ever shunned to get to know Jesus. That would be ultimate torture. I also told Him how I believe God may allow some people that He knows will never choose Him to have some enjoyment here on this earth with their riches since that is all they will ever have and He at least wants them to have something out of love. How our lives are like specks of dust and nothing here matters. How if the entire world crashed down around someone without God in a natural disaster or something they have NOTHING left, no hope. If everything they know and love is gone they are at rock bottom. The same scenario with a Christian would be laced with hope and joy beneath the mourning because they know what to expect for their future. Eternity with their Lord.  Told him how eternity goes on and on and never runs out and makes our pathetic 120 years max on this earth look like the most insignificant chunk of time. How the hope of Jesus makes a poor man richer than any rich one. How you couldn’t get most people in our country to pay attention to anything but themselves but how the poor are so open and desirous of God. His whole world view was flipped in his head if only for but a second. He admitted how freeing it would be if there was no reincarnation cycle because men spend their entire lives trying to break the cycle by avoiding anything bad. All works and no hope. No love. At one point I kid you not he was tearing up. He had to low key wipe the tears from under his eyes because the Holy Spirit was obviously tugging at his heart! HE WAS IN THERE WITH US WORKING ON HIS BELOVED SAM! I was overjoyed and could have talked for hours. I can’t believe we went over so much in so little time and He was open and hearing me. Not blocking it out like most people who think they have it all figured out. None of us have it ALL figured out. I even gave him a mark my words moment and went over what to look for in the coming time of trouble. The Sunday law enforcement. The false Christ coming, not to believe it unless it was in the exact manner scripture lays out, how the natural disasters will grow worse and church and state will merge enforcing Sunday laws as a way to bring the people as one back to God to stop the Chaos. And how when this happens God will lay the issues plainly before ALL men so with their reasonable minds they could decide between the two sides. I also let him know that after this the second coming was very soon. I left him with a bunch of pamphlets that covered some of what we talked about and left him with the statement that he didn’t have to forsake his religion to check out the Bible. Later that night I came with more pamphlets and left a note with my name and number. This was my best encounter…in my life. I couldn’t get over how God could use me in such a mighty way, strand me in a cold town just to bring hope to an amazing Hindu man who had much truth but was missing the joy and love that comes with the gospel. On top of this when we left our cab driver to the Golden Corral got literature, the cashier, and whoever the unknown souls are that picked up the ones I left in the bathroom. Then on the way out I felt impressed to give one to a guy sitting alone at the table. I thought he was about to give it back so I walked away quickly. He asked what it was but I was gone. Luckily one of the guys was there and said it was a little happiness and to share it with others. He looked happy and said thank you!!! Then of all things the cab driver that took us back to the hotel was a paranormal activities investigator! He had a hat on that said so and all. Well we talked to him and I hid a tract by his clip board. I pray God reaches him for his kingdom. We also left a book in the hotel room. So the point is over 15 people were affected by us being stranded for one night. Any single one of them, if truly touched in any way, was worth the inconvenience. My friend Sam put more of a burden in my heart for the beautiful Hindu people and now I am feeling a pull toward India. If God opens those doors I think that’s where I will go. In addition to that the philosophy is paying off and have been carrying Glow tracts in my purse with me. Half the adults in Chuckie Cheese including another Indian couple got a set yesterday and one lady in Toys R Us. There ARE people that are open and hungry for something more. He just needs His children to care enough to trust, sacrifice, and work to bring them in. Let’s not go to heaven alone. Let’s bring as many people as we can. Don’t let Satan stop you from outreach. As I have learned you can do mission work anywhere…at a birthday party you weren’t planning on being at, in a public bathroom, at Walmart. Improve on as many opportunities as possible. ALWAYS BE READY FOR A DIVINE APPOINTMENT. And pray for a burning passion for the souls of God’s children. If we can’t be missionaries and brave here at home for our Jesus, how will be do any good abroad??? Are we disciples if we aren’t discipling? The answer is simply no. If only we take God at His word and have faith that He will move mountains and work small miracles to His glory in our day to day lives with everyone we come into contact with we may be able to see the revolution of the early church alive again. A church where hundreds of thousands are reached in a day. This must happen before the second coming. So let’s go people!!! Mobilize! This is war! A war against the thief of souls. Wake up from your stupor. Pray away your modern day distractions, and strap on the armor of God. The Coming of Our Beloved Lord is upon us and the pain is ALMOST over. Let’s do our part to finish the work. Be the first part of the revolution to take off in your circle of friends. You never know how many people the friend you reached will in turn reach. This can be REVOLUTIONARY!