The Faces of Children in Canada

The Face of Perseverance

“I’m still being impacted by what He (God) said…”

Every meeting that happens with Chris looks different, but there was something about the glory of God that was being displayed through the children while we were in Regina, Canada.  Before I get to that, I want to let you in on another part of my process while on this trip. 

As you have read in my other blogs, there are a lot of healings that have happened, yet before I share more, let me tell you about a little 3 year old girl that wasn’t healed.  We had plans to go visit and pray for her during one of our layovers on the way home. This precious girl had a brain tumor that ended her life at way too young of an age.  We found this out the night we arrived in Canada with several healing meetings ahead of us.  Why do I share this, you might ask?  Well, it impacted my heart and until the fullness of what Christ paid for is manifested on this earth, we will have to choose to hang on to hope in Him even when circumstances don’t line up with the Gospel. We easily could’ve let that news affect how we viewed God or how we ministered the rest of the weekend.  Yet with hearts that have decided that “God is good” no matter what, and our minds fixed on the truth that God is not the author of sickness, we pressed through.  I remember being in worship and talking to the Lord about this girl and I heard Him so clearly say to me “That didn’t have to happen” in regards to her death.  The manner in which He said it was very unique and the tone of His voice was one of love but of also an invitation.  Tears began to stream down my face as I realized the weight of that statement. I’m still being impacted by what He said… She didn’t have to die…Things could’ve been different…Lord please take us deeper into Your heart to see, know, and reveal the fullness of what Your Son paid for on the cross!

The Face of Glory

During another time in worship, there were all ages of children dancing in the front with streamers, from toddlers to teenagers.  You could feel the presence of God strongly in that place as they worshiped.  One was this beautiful dark-skinned little girl in a red dress who was no older than 3 years old.  She would just walk around and wave her streamer in worship to God.  As this was happening, an invitation was given for anyone with a terminal or incurable disease to come up to the front to receive ministry.  Several adults lined the front and the children were released to pray and dance around them.  There is no junior Holy Spirit! I love the faith of children and how it touches the hearts of adults.  It wasn’t about the “cute” children laying hands, but rather the power of God being released through the hands of the mighty!  What a beautiful moment!  The Kingdom of Heaven was on display that day and the glory of God radiated from their faces like the shining of the sun.  It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 19:14:

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

The Face of Freedom & Hope

The following story was my highlight of the weekend in Canada.  If this was the only person who received breakthrough, it would’ve been worth it just for her.  But first, the background story:

We had invited parents with children with special needs or chronic conditions to come to the church an hour before service to receive ministry as we understand that it can be difficult for these families to sit through an entire service to wait until the end for prayer.  We had approximately 30 kids show up with their families ranging from children with brain injuries and down’s syndrome to autism and cystic fibrosis.  Ministry looked different that hour.  It wasn’t about lining the kids up and laying hands on them, but rather it was about meeting them where they were at and loving on them.  This is Chris’ approach when ministering to children, and I love it! Whether they were sitting with their family or dancing up front to the music, we would just sit with them, get to know them, love on them, and release the power of Holy Spirit through our actions and words.  I already had so much honor and value for my mentor Chris, but it went to a whole different level.  With my passion and heart being for the restoration of children and seeing how sensitive he was to the needs of the families and kids, time and time again I realize that I am in the exactly right place in my life right now.

So we began loving on and ministering to the children.  One little kid with autism hugged Chris and when he asked the family how they would know if some breakthrough was happening, they said that their son doesn’t normally hug people. Healing through hugs! I love it!  Another little kid had growths on his feet about a half inch high that were going to need drained through a procedure.  During service, as other members of the congregation prayed for this kid, his growths dissolved right in front of his eyes! No procedure needed!

Now back to the face of freedom and hope… Towards the end of ministering and loving on the kids, there was a woman sitting on the floor near the altar area.  When asking her if her son still needed prayer, she stated that he already received prayer but that she needed some.  She began crying and was trying to tell us through her tears what she needed.  She began to explain how her 3 year old son has autism and how it’s getting too hard for her to manage.  She doesn’t know how to help him and has a husband who isn’t a believer or supportive of her, so it’s really hard.  She admitted that just the other day she was seriously considering giving her son up for adoption because of how difficult it is.  We ministered hope and released grace to her and was able to hold her son during part of the worship service, just so she could have a moment of undistracted worship time with the Lord.  During this time with her, there was a revelation of grace and how it’s viewed through the eyes of God.  For some people, grace is seen as just the ability to help you “bear up under your burdens” when God sees it as the power to overcome them!  At the end of service, we were worshiping some more, and we look over and see a woman in abandoned worship to the Lord, waving a flag, dancing like no one was watching! There was so much freedom in the way she was giving her whole heart to the Lord through worship.  A look closer and it was HER!  This was the mother from before!  We went up to ask her what had happened and she literally looked like a different woman.  Her countenance had changed. She stated that as Chris was speaking, she felt “something lift off” of her and felt a new boldness.  She now wanted to lay hands on and pray for her husband.  Also, when asked about her son, she was able to identify that her son sat longer than he normally would in church.  She went from a state of hopelessness and being ready to give-up her child; to having hope, being free, and grasping onto what little breakthrough she could see in that moment.  I believe with my whole heart that more happened to that child that day, but I am overwhelmed with the goodness of God in this mother’s life.  This night for her literally changed her life and the trajectory of her child’s!  Freedom came! Hope restored!  Thank you Jesus!

More Testimonies:

A  lady who had hearing loss for 20 years was prayed for by some people in the congregation.  For the first time in 20 years, she was able to talk to her husband on the phone without wearing hearing aids as well as hear the dinging of her apartment elevator, hear what people were saying behind her, and hear the pastor speak at the front! 

In a congregation of approximately 400 people, around 300 came forward acknowledging that they had received some level of healing in their bodies this weekend!  As they were up front, other people were standing up with conditions involving the neck and with deviated septums and as they stood up, instantly healing happened.  One guy stood up and exclaimed, “it just popped”, referring to his deviated septum and could now breathe easily through both sides of his nostrils.  As he exclaimed this, you could feel faith being released and others continued to receive healing instantly!

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These are just a few highlights of what happened during that weekend. I am so grateful to be given these opportunities to serve the body of Christ around the world. There are so many people who are hungry for more of God and to have people come alongside them in their journey.  What an honor and privilege! It’s worth everything that it has cost me.  It cost Jesus His life, the least I can do is serve Him with mine! Bless you all! May we all open our eyes to find the “ones” like the woman I mentioned that just need one touch from God that restores life-changing hope and healing!