Holy Spirit Week part 1

So I don't even know how to start..but this week was crazy and some of the things I will mention may be hard to understand or comprehend but all I can say is the holy spirit moved and he moved in large ways. During the mornings our speaker and leader of Southern Africa Stefan Hugo talked about what the holy spirit is and how God uses it in us. On Monday night he showed how the holy spirit can work through us and how the holy spirit can manifest in us (I will talk more about this in a second). Wednesday night I rededicated my life and will talk more about that in a second. Also that night we had a time of giving and again I will mention more in a second. Finally Thursday afternoon we had a great time of receiving different gifts from the holy spirit which once again I will talk about in a second.

Firstly, Monday night was the most powerful time I have had with the Lord. Stefan is amazingly gifted with being able to allow the holy spirit to touch people through him. As he prays for you you start feeling the holy spirit....which for me made me very light headed and I started to sway back and forth in my chair and the first time he prayed for me to receive the holy spirit...BAM...I fell out of my chair and was on the ground. The presence was so strong I collapsed. Only about 15 min later I was being prayed for again this time I was standing up and the holy spirt again came on me and I started swaying and light headed and very light. If anyone hasn't felt the holy spirit it is well amazing. As I started to sway I eventually fell to the ground and unlike last time I couldn't get up. As I layed there the presense was so strong I could only lay there and soak it up more. I asked God for more and more and he gave it to me. I started to cry and then laugh so hard and so deep that it started to hurt. Soon the Lord showed me a picture of the gates of heaven and I saw Jesus there with a glowing white robe on. Soon I saw myself and he had given me a white robe as well and said that in Him I am righteous and he has cleansed me from any sin. I soon looked over to the left and there was my Dad, which as many know had passed away 11 years ago now. As I looked at my Dad he was smiling and had a white robe on as well. After I saw that I got an intense feeling of Gods love (which basically felt like an intense chill and peace) and as I tried to get up a few times over the next hour I would get weak and fall back to the ground. I layed flat on the ground for about an hour or more just in His presence. Once I was able to get up I was so light headed and dizzy from the Spirit I felt drunk. So I always laughed before when people talked about being drunk in the spirit but I was having a hard time walk and I stumbled around till I got to my bed.

Wednesday night.... After we had our class in the morning Stefan asked us if any of us would like to baptized or rebaptized and at that point I didn't raise my hand because I felt that I had done it before and didn't need to do it again. Over the rest of the day the Lord had put it on my heart and really wanted me to do it. Over the week he had shown to me that he wants me to forget the past and look to the present and start anew. I then felt that getting rebaptized would be good to start my new time in life with an act of transformation. So that night I rededicated my life to Jesus and have surrendered my life to where he wants to take me.

Also wednesday night Stefan had asked us to pray about what God wants us to give to someone else. Wednesday night was a time of giving and after time the Lord put it on my heart to give ever cent I had in my wallet and my extra savings in my backpack to an african girl that was struggling to pay for her DTS. As the night came and I gave her all I had seeing her break down in tears of joy and having the Lord giving me a sense of peace and joy I know I did what was right and would do it again. I had never been one that was good at giving...many have given a lot to me but I have not given back and that was the first time I had given something like that and what I received in her smile and Gods presence was worth way more than the money. God wasn't done with me either.... Later that night God then told me to give up my favorite sandals...the same sandals that I have had for 6 years and have gone to 4 continents with. As i took them off and gave them to my african co-student people where shocked...I did talk about how much I like them a little to much haha. Although I now dont have sandals again giving them was more worth it than keeping them. That wasn't the last thing I would give up....After we had all finished giving..and I had received a baseball cap... the guys started going to bed and one of the guys had given his nice phone to a student and then another student gave that guy his phone and so the last guy that gave his phone was without a phone. I had just bought a phone 2 days prior to communicate with someone and the Lord told me to give him control of that potential relationship...and to give up the phone..it took me a second but finally I gave that up as well. That night I couldn't sleep the Lord keep showing me more and more things. I saw a picture of me backpacking with a group of college and high school kids (basically the age of DTS students) and taking them to different hostels on our travels and getting to the know the fellow travelers. Through the relationships we would grow I was able to talk about Christ to these travelers in which many where running away from there problems by traveling. I also saw a picture of me having a night of worship once a week with my team and I was playing the guitar and many of the people where attracted to the music. Through the relationships and worship many where brought to Christ. That night after I got to sleep I also had a dream which was very similar to what God had shown me while I was awake. I see it as a one two punch...discipling the students while reaching out to the travelers in hostels and around.

I will continue my next part of holy spirit week in the next post...