Power of Forgiveness: the Miracle of Reconciliation (Rick's Story)

Chuuk has a reputation among the islands for being violent.  And the men from Losap are known to be very tough and unforgiving.  The youth and young men stand around looking very tough and up to trouble most days, they all dress like American gangsters, but with more interesting hairdos.  God has really been putting them on my heart and I know that they are central to the revival and awakening of love that he wants to bring to these islands.

Rick was attacked from behind on New Years Eve, and injured pretty badly.  The young man that had attacked him, accepted Jesus during one of our meetings and wanted to get baptized, but felt that he needed to apologize and make peace with Rick first.  But he was afraid for his life to even be seen by Rick.  So Saturday morning, it was on Mama Rose's heart that we go visit Rick.  We took his brother, also a new believer, with us.  And T.K. was there (a deported ex-con who had met Jesus in an American prison and backslidden, but had great english and was often in the right place at the right time to translate for me during really powerful moments of the love of God and repentance).

Rick asked us to pray that he wouldn't take revenge or murder the guy who hurt him.  Even though all the culture and his history is to always fight back and always take revenge.  We shared with him the power of Jesus' forgiveness for him and the love of God, and the importance of receiving his love and grace to forgive one another.  And Rick and T.K. were both in tears as we prayed and the presence of God and the power of Jesus' sacrifice impacted them.

The next morning, before our ship arrived to take us home, Rick came by the house to ask Mama Rose to go get the man who'd hurt him so that he could forgive him with us as witnesses (so that the guy would be brave enough to come around).  So we prayed for them to receive the love of God and grace to forgive and humility to apologize.  Then I thought they should talk it out or whatever they needed to say to make peace.  

They just stood up in front of us and said one word to each other and shook hands.  

The guy who was forgiven, as Rick shook his hand, he looked at me in utter shock and surprise and relief and thankfulness.  

And that was it.  That was the miracle of peace and reconciliation for them.  

Afterward Rick said he felt so strong and joyful, he had never been able to forgive like that before and he had never felt this way before.  He had never experienced the love and forgiveness and presence of God like that before.

Crazy Transformations

Two more stories from our trip to Losap Island this month

Sabine - Crazy Transformation:  

We heard about Sabine, who is known to be crazy and have violent outbursts and attacks people frequently for years.  So we began praying for him and a few days later we got to visit him.  He welcomed us into his empty living room and pulled out an old chair for me to sit in.  He sat just inside his bedroom doorway on a bucket.  He wouldn't make eye contact, and he picked up an old thesaurus and pretended to be looking through it like a Bible while he listened.  I figured I might only have a few minutes because I didn't know what his attention span would be like, and what other voices he might be hearing.  I just knew that he needed Jesus asap.  So Mama Rose and I shared the gospel in the shortest, simplest way possible.  (God really loves you and he wants to live in you and change your whole life.  And he sent Jesus to forgive all your sins.) And he just kept nodding his head and saying "Ewer. Ewer" (Yes. Yes.)  

"Do you believe that is true?"  Ewer.

"Do you want know the love of God?" Ewer.

"Do you want the forgiveness of Jesus?" Ewer.

"Do you want to repent and ask him into your life right now?" Ewer.

So we prayed with him.  And then he looked smiling and his whole face had changed.  He looked us in the eyes and started to have a normal conversation with us.  He came to the meeting that night and sat there smiling the whole time.  

Early the next morning we were baptizing several people, and waiting for everyone to gather.  I asked someone to go make sure Sabine was awake and let him know we were baptizing because he had wanted to get baptized.   When the locals heard me ask about him, they all just laughed in disbelief.  But Sabine came, and he was baptized that morning.  And every meeting after that he came, joyful and peaceful and no more attacking anyone.  Jesus really came to set us all free!  And he really changes lives!

Kevin climbs:

Kevin and his wife Kandice had been believers for a long time, but been kind of discouraged and asleep in their faith.  But they asked us to come pray for them because of curses that were being put on them by some other famliy members.  They were really eager to repent and learn about their authority as followers of Jesus over all the powers of darkness and even sickness.  We read Mark 16:15-19 and Kevin was so excited to hear it he asked us to read it again.  God healed arm from numbness and pain that day.  They were both baptized later that week, and went home so excited to share with each other for hours about what God was stirring up in their hearts.

A couple nights later we were teaching on the Holy Spirit and how he works in the lives of believers and I was really trying to activate the people to pray for one another to be healed of sicknesses.  But no one was willing to step out in boldness yet.  Except Kevin.  He came up to the front and was so excited to share that his arm had been healed but asked that we pray for his strength to come back because he still had generalized muscle weakness. (Most of the islander men can climb straight up coconut trees from the time they are young boys.)  So we prayed and asked if there was any way he could test his strength there.  He looked around and pointed to the pillar next to him. 

"I could climb this pillar right here."  "Ok sure, try that."  

So up he went, he climbed to the top of the pillar right there in front of the church meeting.  Hahaha.  He was so excited and I couldn't believe that I had just seen someone climb a pillar in the middle of a church.  He has the personality and faith like Peter, to just jump out of the boat.  So that night he was the only local man bold enough to start to pray for the sick, and they were healed too!

Losap Island: Revival begins

   Mama Rose, my adopted Chuukese grandmother, and I had the opportunity to spend the past 4 weeks in her home island of Losap.  We really had a heart to encourage them and bring the love of God and revival there.  Its a small island that takes about 30 minutes to walk around, maybe a 100-200 people live there.  We took a wild, long, wet, sick, ship ride to get there, but well worth the journey.  Losap has one old traditional church there, and plenty of coconut trees and crabs.God showed us that he was going to "awaken hearts to love" there, and that he wanted to pour out his love and his Spirit in a new way.

me and Mama Rose, the Kingdom Bringing Duo

     Everyday we just spent time praying and shared together and then went and did whatever we felt God was telling us to do, and visit whoever he showed us to.  The first week or so I felt like we just kept declaring and prophesying what God was doing and for them to get ready to receive his love and his Spirit in a new way.  We spent time in homes listening and blessing people and praying for the sick and visiting the widows.  And we met with the hungry believers and taught and encouraged them.  And saw God do so much to awaken hearts and stir up hunger for him.  

     We really had a heart for the young men and youth who were pretty excluded and caused a lot of violence and worry on the island.  So our last week there we had meetings in the school to preach the gospel to the youth and young men and so many of them met Jesus for the first time!  I still cry with joy when I remember the changes on their faces as they lit up with hope and began to receive the love of God in their lives.  We have so many stories to share, that I'll try to get out on my blog soon.  Healing, restoration and reconciliation, restored peace, repentance, joy, and lots of new life in Jesus.  And Mama Rose and I had the time of our life believing God and pressing through when we felt crazy for believing him, and obeying anyway, and seeing him light a fire in the hearts of people.

     One story I'll share is about Saingo, a 12 year old boy, who offered to help us and came by to see us wherever we passed him on the island.  I had felt for several days to stop and pray for him individually when we passed him.  Finally we had the chance and we just encouraged him, I saw such a tender and hungry heart for God and the Spirit of Jesus in him to love and serve and grow into an example and leader in the Kingdom of God.  Later I found out that he had a terrible reputation among the island for something bad he had done, everyone hated him.  So Mama Rose testified in a meeting that night about what God had shown us about him, and how God changes Sauls into Pauls.  His older sister cried as she was listening. I had been trying to teach about prophetic and hearing God and encouraging each other, because I know that God is going to be moving in new ways with them and they haven't experienced it yet.  But God taught his own lesson as he transformed a boy and his family's lives and an island's perspective with one simple blessing.  The next day Saingo and his sister got baptized and later several others in his family also decided to follow Jesus!