Bethel, which means "house of God", is our new church home
In the summer of 2007, I was in a prayer meeting at our former church where the leader selected II Peter 1:3-15 as our focus. The statement that stuck out to me was verse 3:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him, who called us by his own glory and goodness."
I asked God right then and there how we unleash his power in our lives, since Peter states it has already been given to us. This question originated from a hunger to see the works of Jesus in my life and ministry (i.e.- healing, casting out demons, prophecy, etc). God's immediate and direct response to me was to do a 40 day fast. Apprehensive at first, I began speaking with Jenney and we confirmed through prayer that this was something we were being called to do. I say "we" because, although Jenney did not physically fast with me (as she was in her 3rd month of pregnancy with Abigail), my wife is my biggest supporter and encourager. And so on July 23, 2007 I began a 40 day fast for the Lord. Again, I share this not out of a desire to gain spiritual accolades, for fasting is a work of the flesh of which there is no boasting. Rather I want to declare the Holy Spirit's move in our lives and allow the testimony to encourage and transform others.
On the ninth day of the fast I started to feel ill. By 8:30 pm I had a fever and chills and couldn't stay warm, even though it was in the middle of summer. I began to pray fearing that if I got sick I would have to end the fast. I was able to fall asleep for about an hour and when I awoke my fever was gone and I was no longer cold but very warm! I found out later that Jenney was downstairs praying for me. Not only was I healed, I was able to hear the Holy Spirit in my mind and it was wonderful. I know that the Holy Spirit resides in us and that he intercedes, instructs, and illumines. But up to that point in my life, I had never been able to speak with the Holy Spirit so freely. The first thing the Holy Spirit did was teach me Scripture. The Spirit talked about the Parable of the Sower. I always thought this contrasted believers (good soil) and non-believers (rocky soil, path, and thorns). However the Holy Spirit instructed me that this message can apply solely to the believer as well. Even as Christians we have a responsibility to make sure our heart is "good soil" for the word to take root and flourish.
Throughout the rest of the fast and beyond, my journey of conversing with the Holy Spirit continued. In January of 2008, I woke up and the Holy Spirit said very clearly, "You are going to move". However, it did not tell me where or when. A few weeks later, Jenney and I were attending a prophetic conference at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena. We had the privilege of receiving a prophetic session with a group of intercessors. Jenney and Isaac went in first to get prayed for and, after they were finished, I entered the room. The leader introduced me and said I was the husband of the woman they had just prayed for. One of the intercessors shared how she saw a vision of a boat on water while praying for Jenney but wasn't able to tell her because of time. When Jenney exited the room, the vision went away but as soon as I walked in the exact same vision of the boat came to her. When she learned that we were married she realized it was a vision for our family. The intercessor interpreted the vision by saying God is preparing us for a journey or move. Later in February, I had a very vivid dream. Growing up I used to have nightmares and I think the way my mind coped was to forget my dreams as soon as I woke up. However, since the fast God has been giving me dreams and allowing me to remember them. In this dream, I was in front of a stage and this young woman was praying for me. As she was praying she said she saw luggage but did not interpret what it meant. There was a pastor on the stage who exclaimed that he saw luggage too and immediately he said, "That means you are moving!".
Three times in a span of two months, I was getting a clear word to prepare for a move. But I still did not know when or where. I had been ready to seek an ordained call in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for over a year but did not feel prepared or convicted to pursue that route. The next logical option was to go back to school. However, upper level seminary degrees (ThM, PhD) are more geared for teaching in academia. I wanted to stay in the church setting and so I began exploring practical ministry training programs. That is when I learned about
Our family in front of the prayer chapel
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