Mazatlan Fun!
A team of us from the school just returned from an amazing missions trip in Mazatlan, Mexico with so many stories it's hard to know where to start! We met up with Kirk and Taty Lonsdale, previous students in the school, and their family who all live down there. These people are incredible! It was so much fun and such an honor to hang out with them, serve them, pray for them, and partner with them! We had wild Holy Spirit parties, saw lots of people healed in the name of Jesus, prophesied and encouraged tons of people, surfed, drank coffee, and laughed a whole lot :) We started out the first night by praying for people during Carnival, much like Mardi Gras in the US. Several people got healed, encouraged and accepted Jesus right in the middle of massive partying. It set the whole team on fire with confidence, boldness, and faith that continued through the entire trip! We helped Kirk's dad, Tom, start a house for their friend Benita who lives just out side the city dump. As we dug the deep holes for the foundation and started laying the brick, we learned more about this precious grandma. She is raising four of her grandkids and recovering from an accident that almost left her dead a year ago. As we prayed for her, she got more mobility in her arm and neck and all the pain left. (pictured with Jordan on the top right) We also got to pray for her daughter-in-law Mira who could barely get out of bed. She also was healed and her reaction was priceless- she started laughing and shaking her head in awe of what God just did! (you can see her joy affecting Ang on the left) One afternoon we even brought out the BBQ and cooked hot dogs for about 200 people out of the back of Tom's truck. Some of the team watched as swelling in a ladies wrist visibly went down after prayer, and another lady was healed of hip/knee pain and blurry vision after she saw a tall man in white chase a old lady in black away from her as the team prayed. It was also so much fun playing with all the kids as their parents received prayer, encouragement and prophetic words. Over the weekend we partnered with a local church- the sign on the outside of their building said "Final Harvest Church: Raising up a New Generation!" There was an instant heart connection with the pastor and his wife, as well as many people in the church. They are so hungry for more of God and His power and it was so easy and fun to minister with them. We took food and coffee to the hospital waiting area and prayed for many relatives who had injured family members. So much peace and comfort came over the whole place! Some of the team even went in the hospital and prayed for some of the patients. One man they prayed for was in a lot of pain due to a gun shot wound to the leg. He instantly felt the Holy Spirit heal him and then asked the Lord into his life on the spot! We also prayed for a women in a wheelchair who lost the liquid in her knees due to medication taken for a kidney transplant. As we prayed her knees went cold and then numb, she was able to take 8 steps without pain whereas before she couldn't take more than 3! We also did a mini movie crusade with the church, inviting people from the surround neighborhoods for prayer and encouragement- it was so fun seeing people healed and encounter the Holy Spirit. On Sunday we ministered at the church service and the Holy Spirit showed up through worship and the prophetic so that many people left feeling known by God and encouraged! The rest of our time was spent hanging out and ministering to all the Lonsdale's friends and family. We had home church meetings, worship nights, and small group meetings that really encouraged everyone involved. A few times the Presence of the Lord showed up so strongly that we just soaked it in for hours! The last night we built a bonfire on the beach, Kirk shared testimonies of our time, and we ended the trip worshipping God for all the amazing things that happened in and through us. It was a perfect way to end a great trip (even if the Mexican police showed up and tried to bribe all us foreigners because they thought we were doing drugs and partying:)
