Monday, September 25, 2006
Elizabeth
While doing street evangelism, a lady asked what we were up to. I told that we were doing interviews and that if she agreed to do an interview, we’d pay her one dollar. She agreed, so I asked one of the ladies from the church to do the interview.
As is our practice, we start with easy questions about Ecuador and gradually transition to questions about death, what happens after death, and then about the spiritual condition of the interviewee. This lady accepted Christ, and prayed the sinner’s prayer during the interview process.
Afterwards, the crowd was dwindling so I got up on the platform and did a few magic tricks to gather the crowd. One man was leaning on a motorcycle, and I was kind of picking on him. He was a good sport. A student came up to me and said he had another interview, so I gave him the microphone. The man with the motorcycle then asked me, “Will one of your ladies pray with my wife?” I said, “Sure,” and asked Elizabeth a student from Columbia to come over. I was surprised to see that it was the same woman who had accepted Christ.
Elizabeth asked her what she wanted to pray about. She informed us that she had leukemia. So Elizabeth began to pray. The four of us had our arms around each other there on the main street in Comite del Pueblo. Buses and cars were going by, dogs were barking, one of our seminary students was conducting an interview with the microphone, vendors were calling out, and lots of people were walking up and down the sidewalk. But as Elizabeth began to pray, the Holy Spirit came and anointed her words. Shortly after she started, all of us were in tears. She prayed for at least 10 minutes and maybe more, claiming the promises of God in behalf of this new convert. When she was finished, we all hugged knowing that whatever had happened, God had been with us.
On the way home, I had nine people in my five-passenger Ford Explorer plus my equipment. Elizabeth had to sit on the console between the two bucket seats in the front. She told me, “Hermano Stan, nothing like that has ever happened to me. When I was praying I just knew it was God praying through me.”
In my seminary class this past Saturday morning after a time of prayer, I stated that we should never pass up an opportunity to pray for someone. I looked over at Elizabeth, and with tears in her eyes she began to tell the story of the lady with leukemia.
We’ve not had further contact with the couple, but I can’t help but believe that in heaven the four of us will meet again in heaven and wrap our arms around each other and praise God for his sweet presence and wonderful mercy.
