It was a reconnecting with our families and children and with many friends we had not seen in a long time. As we were making the last leg of the journey home on Tuesday I had an overwhelming sense that this trip was a beginning of a season in which Father is asking us to reach out to our families and do all that we can to love them into the Kingdom - forgiving offenses and healing old wounds. The time is short and we are in a valley of decision right now!
The trip began with a visit to my sister, her husband, and their son and his little girl in southern Illinois. Although my sister is on fire for the Lord, the rest of her family remains unsaved. She and her husband were preparing to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and that represents 40 years of her fervent prayers over her husband, that he would come to belief in Yeshua. Such patience and perseverance she models for us!
Next we traveled to see John's nephew, Joe, who is a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army in Paducah, Kentucky. Together with his wife and children, they have devoted their lives to God's service through this charitable organization; yet, it was Joe's wife Lorraina who inspired me as she told me about the missing pieces. Her parents were Salvation Army officers and so she was raised in this organization all her life, and she told me, "Lately God has been showing me that we are doing works, works, and more works - but where is the relationship? Where is the prayer?" So, as we headed down to the Salvation Army building with them to help with an outreach project for the needy, I was aware that we were going to have a special opportunity to show the workers how to really bring the Holy Spirit into the work! We helped them carry dozens and dozens of boxes into the big gym where there were tables labeled with numbers. "Each of these numbers represents a family," Lorraina told us. "And each family got into this dire situation because of something bad that happened. They need our prayers." So John and I began to walk along the tables, stopping at each number, and asking the Lord to reach into the lives of those families and bring jobs, or deliver them from addictions, or heal sicknesses. The room was filled with a sweet Presence of the Ruach, and the workers got quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Lorraina told us they probably weren't sure what to make of this! Afterward, Joe ushered me into the worship sanctuary and asked if I'd be willing to lead the workers in some worship before they all went home. The Ruach brought songs back into my memory and I began to praise God. These folks seemed a bit uncomfortable with this also, but by the time I finished the worship, I sensed they had experienced something new and powerful.
Continuing on to the east side of Kentucky, we visited Frank and Mary Houtz and their family in Winchester. What a refreshing blessing they are! I led worship on Erev Shabbat for their wonderful congregation and we marveled at the great facility and beautiful location they have. One of their sons had built an amazing sukka on the grounds from pine trees and boughs, and we were so inspired by his creativity! On Shabbat we had a bible study together in the book of Hebrews, and then celebrated the first night of Chanukkah with joyful singing and a healthy dinner of fried funnel cakes, popcorn, and ice cream! (Hoping I can make this a tradition and be a "Houtz guest" every year for Chanukkah!)Next we headed south for a visit with John's son and his wife and family in north Georgia. This was one of the places where we knew for certain that Father is about the business of reconciling and restoring in this hour. They had just separated and were struggling in their marriage as they tried to blend their children (from past marriages) together. We spent two full days of counseling and prayer with them, and at this writing I am giving God great praise that they are back together, committed to healing their marriage and pressing through to make HIM the head of their household.
Visits with both John's daughters, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter followed, and those times were filled with much laughter and lots of restoration. We know that every family and marriage has its baggage of old wounds and unresolved offenses; but it is time for healing, and on this trip the Lord quickened Malachi 4:5-6 to John: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers." We crossed over into Alabama to have time with John's sister and brother-in-law and to minister at His Gathering Place - a Messianic congregation in Phenix City. The attendance for our scheduled evening of teaching and worship on Erev Shabbat was disappointingly scanty. We had taught there last year when there were twice as many people. For a moment, during the worship, I wondered, "What did you bring us here for, Father?" The answer came at the end of the evening. We offered prayer to any who wanted it and a few came forward. Then we began packing up the keyboard and equipment and suddenly the pastor came to us and said, "I need prayer." As we prayed over him I heard the Spirit say, "discouragement...high blood pressure." I asked him if this was accurate and he nodded in affirmation. The Spirit began to flow as I repeated to this weary pastor the words I heard through the Lord, "Don't give up! The days are coming soon when many will desire the wealth of the Word that you have. There is a famine of the Word, and if you do not give up, this room will soon be filled with those who want to know Me. Press on! I know you are weary, but I will be with you to strengthen you." Tears flowed down his face and we knew we had come just for him, his wife, and the other man who helps with the leadership. This man also asked for prayer and I heard the word "addiction." I asked him, "Are you caught in addictions?" He said, "No, not anymore. But I've been ministering to an alcoholic and helped him break free and to find Yeshua." So I began to pray for him in the Spirit and the Lord said, "You will have a ministry to men in addiction. I AM in the midst of it and I will equip you and lead you. Be ready, for many will find their way to your door!" We left there rejoicing, knowing that these words of encouragement from Father would keep two of his soldiers from giving up the fight!
Traveling back across Georgia, we spent a few days with my son and his wife and family in Sugar Hill. I wasn't even close to prepared for the surprise I would get there! Although the family is unbelieving, my six-year-old grandson, C.J., was filled with enthusiasm and questions about God. "Mama Kelly, tell me about Jesus! Is He God's son? Did God make me? When did He make the first man?" John and I answered his rapid-fire questions the best we could, and then he grabbed my hand and practically drug me upstairs to his room where he excitedly pulled four children's bibles off his shelf and asked if we could read the stories! So we sat cross-legged on his bedroom floor for hours and read about David killing Goliath, and Jesus in the boat rebuking the storm, and then we read about how Jesus died on the cross and C.J. said, "Yeah, he's dead now." Surprised I said, "C.J., haven't you turned the page and read about how He's ALIVE now?!" I cannot tell you how thrilled he was to read the story of the Resurrection! Then he asked, "Mama Kelly, would you teach me how to pray?" So, I did. We prayed simple prayers of healing over his cut knee, and that his sister would do well the next day on her finals, and that God would take care of the families whose kids had just died in their classroom in Sandy Hook. The next day I came down with a virus so vicious it could only have been the norovirus I've been hearing about. I've never experienced such violent retching, that lasted for hours and hours. When C.J. got home from school, he asked Papa John where I was. "She's really sick and in bed," John told him. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "we have to pray for her!" John said he dropped his school stuff on the floor and RAN into the bedroom where I was. So Papa lifted him up where he could put his hand on my hand and he prayed, in his precious little-boy-voice, "Father, my Mama Kelly is really sick. Please make her well. I know you can. I love You. Amen." Within a couple of hours strength returned to me and I knew my grandson had prayed with that incredible childlike faith that most of us used to have and then lost in the complexities of adulthood. And miraculously, this opened up a door for John and me to gather my son and his wife and both kids around the table before we left, to do a little bible study all together. Reconnecting - restoring - reconciling a family back to the FATHER!
Following that very special time we drove to Columbia, South Carolina for a very memorable weekend of ministry at Gates to Zion, with pastors Craig and Jan O'Dell. We had met many of these folks at the last M.I.A. Conference in Orlando last August, and it was such a joy to reconnect with them and spend a Shabbat in teaching and worship. One man, whose name was Barry, (not pictured here) was particularly helpful in running sound for me, running the power point for my teachings, and making sure everything was set up. He was a gem, so eager to help, and making us feel welcome and valued. Right before we left Barry came up to our car and said, "I'll come out to Colorado this next year to see you guys!" About 3 days later we got word that Barry had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away and gone to be with the Lord. I am still not over the shock - and the Lord reminds me that something I may have taught or said may have had an impact on him just before he left this world. We are called to be always prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in us!
Now we would begin the long ride back home; eventually the trip would total 5,381 miles! We made stops along our way, reconnecting with several dear old friends. First we stopped in the small Louisiana town of Gloster, where I had spent almost five months living in a huge antebellum plantation mansion, caring for a woman dying of heart failure. Those five months had been a source of great healing for me, following my divorce, and to reconnect and return to this place where my own restoration had taken place was a tremendous blessing. The family that still lives there has been family of my heart all these years - and John was deeply blessed also by their love and generosity to us. We made two stops in Texas - one in Grand Prairie to see John's dear friends, the Frosts, and meet their newest little baby girl; and one in Sherman where we spent the night with the Strayhorns, my friends from a long-ago year I spent in Florida. Patty and I recalled how I had stayed with her during her knee surgery to care for her, their 8 dogs, 14 alpacas, 5 horses, 1 cat and 1 bird! Some of you may have been on this blog long enough to remember that adventure!
The last two nights of our trip were spent with our beloved friends Vernon and Rosemary Norton, who often travel with DoorKeeper Ministries. We were able to get a DVD made of our new teaching, "Linen and the Bride," and enjoyed a wonderful day of fellowship with them, their friends the Nevilles from Oklahoma, and their precious elderly Jewish friends, whom the Lord has placed in their lives. Though this couple does not believe in Messiah Yeshua, the Nortons are keeping the feast days with them and we are all witnessing Yeshua's LOVE to them in many ways. They are living out the old saying, "Preach the Gospel - use words only if necessary!"We spent TIME with so many people - and I believe that investing our time in PEOPLE is what the Father desires. How we spend our time in this season and who we spend it with will make a difference in the Kingdom. And we must not forget that this includes first and foremost the time we spend with the Master. After we fill up on His wisdom and guidance, we are able to impart worthwhile time to others. We reconnected with people on this trip with whom Yeshua desired to reconnect! If we drove 5,381 miles just for C.J. to know there is a God who loves him and calls him, it was worth it! If it was just for John's son and his wife, so that their marriage would survive, it was worth it. If it was just for the pastor in Phenix City, to encourage him when he'd lost all hope, it was worth it! Reconnect - reconcile - restore: I believe these mandates are the Father's heart for all of us this year. Many thanks to all of you who helped us financially to make this trip.
Now the sun is just setting and the Shabbat descends upon us in our little Colorado home.
Shabbat Shalom to you all!
