More Amazing Things.....

My husband is blogging about his experiences at: http://www.billvanderbush.blogspot.com

I am only writing about my first-hand, up-close and personal experiences, so there are actually several miraculous events that I have not mentioned on this particular blog. So please see his blog for some really cool things!!

This past Wednesday night, a man from the other side of the island came to visit our church and he ended up sharing some things that God is doing. Afterwards, he walked over to someone who had survived a suicide attempt and he said to that person, "The thing that tried to kill you is broken. You will write things that will set people free." The man who spoke this knew nothing about this person.

We have seen God break addictions in people's lives, from alcohol to meth. We have watched little children lay hands on their own parents to ask God for healing. In one case, a mother was able to walk out without her crutches and without a limp! She had been on crutches and in lots of pain for several weeks due to a torn ligament. Last week, I thought that I should go over and pray for her, but I talked myself out of it and decided that I could quietly pray for her on my own. Well, leave it to the faith of a child! I have lots to learn.

Thank You, Lord

There is so much to write about, but I don't have the time right now. All I can say is that on Tuesday, I went to a 9:30am prayer meeting. I thought I had prayed for about one hour. I was absolutely shocked to find that 4 hours had passed! My husband and I had a very peace-filled day. Our children were asking lots of questions about God and they even had great insights. It seemed as if God was grabbing our attention and we have been praying that we will hear Him clearly.

On Wednesday night, I had a wonderful time with my children's class as I taught them about the armor of God. The children are so open and excited about what they are learning. In the adult service, which usually ends at 8:00pm, people stayed and prayed and worshipped until around 10:00pm. When we encounter people from the other side of the island, they are reporting the same type of thing. What is God up to??

Thank you, Lord, for all of these great things.

NO CANCER!

My father-in-law, who is 78 years old, just went through a series of tests that came out good! Even though the doctor's were concerned about a very enlarged prostate and a PSA of 13, they found no cancer! We are so thankful for this good report. My father-in-law is faithful to preach the Word of God and his level of faith has often blown my mind! I am grateful to God that despite how everything appeared, there was really nothing to fear.

Remember those spies that went in to check out the Promised Land? Ten of them were too afraid of the giants they faced and only two of them trusted that God had already given them victory over the giants! My father-in-law is like those two faith-filled spies. That's how I want to be.

Wonderful Sunday

Wow! Where do I start? We had a great Sunday morning service. It was a beautiful, breezy, sunny day (as are most days in Hawaii). This day felt particularly good. The Spirit of God was evident and I found that my heart was overflowing with the desire to give something to Him.

We had a wonderful time of worship in which the hula dancers so beautifully worshipped God. The children came forward and performed a song they learned. We had a time of prayer over a friend who is being ordained and then my husband preached. Something very different happened as he preached. There were several moments when the Holy Spirit was so present that I sensed my husband was having a difficult time expressing the fullness in his heart. When he would begin to express it, his voice would crack and his eyes sparkled, full of tears. I noticed several people dabbing their eyes with Kleenex. The atmosphere in the room was sweet and you could taste the desire of God that filled the room.

Our secretary called at the start of service to let us know that her grandfather had been rushed into the hospital. The doctor told them they needed to make him as comfortable as possible because he would not live much longer. Our secretary asked for prayer and she refused to believe the report that her grandpa would die. At the end of the service, someone came in to tell us that she had called again.....this time, the news was that grandpa's vitals were all normal. He made an incredible comeback and he would be just fine!! There was much rejoicing.

After service, some people lingered and prayed for one another. We finally left at 2:30pm!

That evening, we had guests from Texas come for dinner. The evening was sweet and we stayed up very late having prayer. We marvelled at all that God has done in our lives over the past two years. There is so much to write about, that it would take several blog pages, so I won't go into detail. Finally, we began reading over a book about the history of Hawaii and God filled our hearts with a vision and plan that we are taking to prayer. I cannot write about that just yet, but we feel that we have a better idea about why we are here and what God wants us to do.

One other cool thing: I woke up this morning with hope for my family and friends back in Texas. Usually, I wake up with a longing to see them. I still desire to see them, but this morning I feel an assurance that God is taking care of them and He has something special for them while we are away. I simply have to trust Him and do what He has called us to do....and He will answer prayers for them. I am looking forward to what God is going to show us!!

Lunch with the Lieutenant Governor

My husband and I have really had the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii on our minds a lot lately. I have been praying for them and especially felt the need to pray for the Lt. Governor, Duke Aiona, and his family. My husband has been greatly inspired by what he has learned about the Christian heritage here in Hawaii, and he had hoped to have a moment to discuss it with someone in authority over the state. Well, that may happen at the end of this month.

My husband was introduced to an elderly, wealthy landowner on Maui. This man is related to the first missionaries that came to Hawaii, who were part of ushering in a great revival. Through a series of meetings, my husband was asked to do a favor for this older gentleman. He helped the man to find a rare copy of something on DVD, and the man was so grateful that he has asked my husband to accompany him to a private lunch with the Lieutenant Governor. He bought my husband's airfare to Oahu, so they will be dining together in a few days.

We are praying about this divine appointment and believing that there will be an open door to discuss what the Lord is doing in Hawaii. The Governor and Lt. Governor are both Christian people, so that should not be too hard!

She Told Me My Dreams.....

Today, I had a good day as I taught my children their language arts lessons and then I prepared to teach my Wednesday night class about the armor of God. Throughout the day, I kept saying, "Lord, what can I write about on my blog tonight that would be really cool?" At first, I thought it might be about my children's class. While it was very good and the kids seem to understand more about the armor of God, that was not the miraculous event of the day.

After I dismissed my class, I cleaned up the room and then waited for my husband who was closing a class that he was teaching about the Kingdom of God. I was ready to leave! I was hungry and tired. I walked into the church sanctuary and met a woman named Rae. After a brief introduction, she said to me, "God showed me some things about you that I would like to share with you if you have time." I was a bit cautious at first.....I mean, God is talking to someone about me?? Oh, boy. That sounds scary. I told the woman I would like to hear what she had to say, especially since she knows nothing about me. She has only lived on the island for 2 weeks.

She opened her Bible and read a few scriptures, which really spoke to me about some things I had been feeling in my heart. ***It all had to do with God wanting to remove my timidity so that I could do more of what He was asking, as far as sharing His heart with people. She said that God looked at me as Gideon; a warrior. That's funny, because I recently had a dream about me being like a warrior.
***Then she spoke of Timothy and how God spoke to him about stirring up the gift that God had placed in him. The interesting thing about that is that I just asked God yesterday in my private prayer time to bring out the gifts He had placed within me.
***She told me: "Where you were before, you were like Gideon threshing the wheat in a winepress. He did not thresh the wheat out in the open where he should have been doing it, but he hid inside the winepress doing the work. God has brought you here to bring you out of the winepress. It's time to do the work out in the open." This was interesting to me, because my husband always tried to get me to do more publicly at our former church, but something held me back. I felt smothered, judged, and was sometimes treated as a child (not by my husband). He was also treated that way as well. Now I see him flourishing. It's as if we were pressed down by some spirit that wanted to make us ineffective.
***Next, she read something out of Jeremiah. It was about God telling Jeremiah to go and speak to the nations and Jeremiah saw himself as a child, without the ability to do what God was asking. Okay....it was just this past week that I had told God that I don't have what it takes to speak well. I am not the best communicator. This scripture really hit home.
***Finally, she said I would be dancing for the Lord and that my dancing would be used to usher in the King (Jesus). Just a few months ago, I joined the church dance team. Here's the wildest part: she began to describe a dream I had about standing on a mountain, barefooted and dancing in a field of flowers. In the dream, my husband was playing the guitar and I felt great joy. As I danced, I knew that Jesus was about to come. She described my dream in detail. This is a dream that I had about 3 years ago and I had only shared it with my husband.

I wondered if the woman was an angel or simply a human with a true prophetic gift. I don't know, but all I DO know is that God really addressed everything I've been talking to Him about in private and that is truly amazing. I feel peace tonight because I have been reminded that He hears and He desires to respond. I also feel a bit uneasy with what it is that He is going to do in me and through me, but it's also exhilarating to know there is more to come. Isn't God awesome???

Knee Healed!

A woman came to our church today and she asked for prayer for her knee, which was in pain and requiring surgery soon. As my friend, Lyn, laid hands on her knee, the woman felt something happening and she began jumping around the room, thanking God for healing her. She claims to be free from pain now.