Bringing in Some Ripe Fruit

Sorry I have left you all hanging for a week, but it’s been a little crazy.  We had some AIM staff in this week, and I felt like we never stopped running around, showing them how great our team is and how great J-Bay is, not to mention just enjoying their company.  They left yesterday morning, which was bittersweet, but now life resumes to “normal” (whatever that is!), at least for the next few days.

So last Sunday was a little swamped, even before the service.  I spent a couple of hours after the morning service putting some finishing touches on my message (read: starting from scratch), and then went to pick up Charl, the manager, around 6:00 pm.  Jakke, one of the waiters whom I thought was pretty ready for the night spiritually, met us at the church.  The other server, Zaldi, whom I had also invited, didn’t come.  We had a time of praise and worship, which Charl appeared to engage in pretty readily, and then I was brought up for the message. 

Pastor Freddy had asked me ahead of time that evening to give an invitation at the end of my talk, which made me a little nervous.  But the Lord was doing some amazing things during the time I was up there, as there were hearts that were obviously being worked on as He was speaking loud and clear to many in the congregation.  So I invited those to come up and receive prayer if the Lord had spoken to them, half expecting to hear crickets, which would require an awkward segue into the closing music.  Instead, however, a good handful came up, and I went up to pray with one of the guys, and others came up to pray with other people.  After I finished praying with the first guy, I found that many more people had come up for prayer.  It was pretty unbelievable. 

The best was yet to come, however.  I picked up my head after having some incredible prayer time with another guy, and over to my right, with his head down and tear-stained cheeks, was Jakke!  He was the one that I felt that God was going to touch that night, and there he was!  Needless to say, my heart almost jumped out of my chest, as I half-ran over to him to pray for him.  And as I proclaimed the freedom that we all have in Christ over him, I felt his shoulders shaking and knew that the Holy Spirit was hard at work.  Following the prayer, I gave him a hug, not expecting at all the long bear hug I would receive in return.  It was absolutely phenomenal.  Jakke went back to his seat, knowing that the Lord had shown up in a powerful way in his life.

Since then, I’ve seen Jakke a few times, and each time I can tell that the Lord is drawing Jakke closer and closer to Himself.  It’s amazing to see how his heart continues to be softened, allowing me to be more and more up front with him about what the Lord wants for him and how much He loves him. 

Charl is somewhat of a different story.  I could tell from the beginning that he would be a little tougher of a nut to crack, but I know that God is not going to let him go, so I need to continue to be faithful to His timing, all the while praying that I will be open to opportunities that the Lord lays in front of me for deeper conversations.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us.  Know that your petitions are making a difference in the lives of people you don’t even know!  So keep praying!!