We
started with a worship time focused on God’s presence. Devotional was on ‘courtroom prayer’, where
we looked at God’s judicial system and the need to use Scriptural warrants to
ensure we have a favorable judgment for us (and against the enemy of our souls)
as we seek to make a spiritual impact.
Victor
and Betty met us just before our prayer time.
After prayer, we followed them to the park they minister in, and as they
set up their kid’s craft program we began prayer walks around the park. Jonathan and Claudia (sent by the Atizapan
church to minister with Betty & Victor) were there to help too, and they
brought two kids. The team began to
prayer walk, and immediately an old lady sitting on a bench called to Sandy,
recognizing that we were speaking of the Lord.
She was concerned for her older friend, who had an encounter with the
Lord some 20 years ago and was healed.
Sandy, sensing an important spiritual conversation was about to be
engaged, waived Paul over. The lady said
that she’d never testified about that healing, but she needed to do that
now. After listening to her story, Paul
told her that the Lord not only heals, but saves. PTL, Sandy and Paul were able to lead this
dear lady to Christ, right there and then as some of us prayed nearby. Kim joined Betty in ministering to the kids
as we continued doing prayer walks around the park, and after a few slow laps Victor
purposed to take us outside of the park.
Praying
as we went that the Lord would take back every place we put our feet, we went
to a more difficult neighborhood and looked at a shrine to La Santa
Muerte. We took a few pictures of it,
and then Paul and I stook back and began praying against it and for protection from the demonic forces it represents. Suddenly a man came up and unlocked the side
door of the shrine so our group could look inside. We knew right away that something was wrong,
and as the six of us (Kim and Betty were still with Jonathan and Claudia and
the kids back at the park) walked away we found ourselves suddenly surrounded
by three young thugs. They looked at us,
and then grabbed at Kathy’s camera (which she had tightly to her chest and
almost completely hidden). She began
struggling as Victor, Paul and I yelled and then rushed him. Two of them ran at that point. The fellow intent on robbing Kathy wrestled
the camera away and began running, as we kept yelling and gave chase. The three of them ran around the corner,
where the first two of them had jumped into a car. As they started it the last guy (the biggest
and the one with the camera) opened the passenger door and began to enter, but
Paul grabbed him and began wrestling him out of the car. He threw the camera down, distracting us (as
we glanced at it) just a split second but long enough to get away. PTL, no one was hurt and the camera was
undamaged (though it hit the pavement hard).
We
immediately began praying for protection and peace. Now we had just gone around the corner and
the three ladies were standing close together praying also. We rejoined them and then crossed that same
street the robbers drove down. There was
a group of people on the corner of the
street who had obviously witnessed the whole event. A lady asked if we were hurt, and Paul spoke
to her in Spanish, telling her that we were there to pray over and bless the
community and support Betty and Victor’s ministry in the park. He began praying over them too. Their spokesperson was a lady who owned a
business there, and was so taken with this action that she said she would send
over all her employees to participate in Victor’s ministry!
Arriving
back to the park, Jonathan and Claudia were talking to a couple Betty and
Victor had met there. They were from up
north and as we arrived they asked us to pray for her 2yr old daughter Allyson,
who is in need of a liver transplant (the whites of her eyes were yellow). They take a 12hr bus ride down every two
weeks to see a specialist in the city, and with nothing but time on their hands
for the time after the appointment they spend the day in the park. As we began to pray a group of other people
(all people Betty and Victor had befriended during their times in the park) saw
what was happening and asked us to pray for them too. An impromptu healing service kind of broke
out. We prayed for an older lady who had
a back problem, and then for Isabella, and then for young Ethan who had a respiratory
infection. It was an unusual opportunity
of ministry.
As
a group of twelve went for a local lunch at the market. It was great to talk and laugh after the
morning’s events. We walked to Jonathan and Claudia’s place a
few blocks away so we could pray over them there – they had just taken up
residence there to better partner with Betty & Victor. A powerful time of prayer ensued as we prayed
over them and anointed their place as a place of peace and ministry. By this time it was 4:30 in the afternoon, so
we walked back to the car at the far end of the park and drove to the ministry
center to park. From there we walked to
Betty & Victor’s place (which is only a few blocks from there). There was a new freedom there, and we
debriefed a the day’s events so far. Of course we also prayed for and over them,
and were blessed to anointed their new place too!
We
went back to the ministry center, ordering pizza as we went. About an hour later Betty, Victor, and Rick arrived. Paul picked up the pizza and we began to eat. Ramiro arrived a bit late (he does run on Mexican
time, after all) and we had a great time of sharing our Kairos experiences (Betty,
Victor, Kim & Paul have not yet taken it, and Ramiro just finished facilitating
the very first two Kairos course in Mexico).
We did some vision casting as to what next steps might be for the Alliance
in joining the Kairos movement in Mexico.
After prayer and more discussion, we said goodbye and retired for the night. It was after 10:30. A long and profitable day of seeing advances
in the Kingdom of God. Praise the Lord.
