Ladies Conference - Western Vasayas District

They came from all over.

They rode in on motorcycles.  They rode by boat, then took the jeepneys.  They walked. 

They brought their clothes, their food, and their bedding.  

And hunger.  For fellowship, for God, for the Word.

They expected about 200.  Before it was over, there were over 400 each night.  Men would stay near the back to protect the women, and some would be in the upper risers.  Regardless of whether they were ladies attending, men protecting, or children wandering, they were all worshippers.

The level of the worship was buoyant...lifting you up as it was raised to the heavens...joyful...free...focused...

Wednesday night was about "Anointing."

Thursday night was about "Worship."

The two must be present for us to be in the Presence.  They immediately latched on to the concept, and oh my!  The atmosphere became electric!  

We passed out bottles of anointing oil on Wednesday which they immediately began using on each other.  The next day, they wanted copies of the "sermon"..(but I'm NOT a preacher! ha!) and, since there is no tape ministry, they asked for my notes and made copies for every lady!  Nine pages!  (I didn't know that's why they wanted them....I would have condensed them.)

Friday night was such a sweet time.  They are givers...the thanks, the love, the gifts....it's all part of who they are and everything they do.  It's like a big party in someone's living room...except it's church.

Then, after the laughter, the greetings, and the gifts, it was time for the Word.  

Kendra greeted the congregation, then gave them something she received from the Lord several weeks ago.  She talked about what happened when the anointing and true worship was present, then asked for all who needed healing to come to one side and all who knew someone who needed healing to go to the other.  She thought a few would come and we would pray, then I would speak.

Every single person in the room came forward to one side or another!  It wasn't loud or exuberant...just calmly walking forward, lifting their hands, and immediately responding to the Spirit.  For about 45 minutes they stayed that way. Some prayed with others, but most just worshiped and prayed by themselves.

Needless to say, I only spoke a couple of sentences at the end!  :-) 

Sister Elsie Valenzuela, the leader of the conference, said she could hear women in their dialect saying "I'm healed! I'm healed!"  Two ladies testified of healing from blindness...one immediately after the service, and the other the next morning. (See the blog post "Sister Rita".)

After the service, most returned to the upper levels, packed up their bedding (they had been sleeping on the concrete floor), their clothes which were hanging over the railings, their cooking utensils and set out to wait on their transportation.  Over 200 women were from another island and had to wait for jeepneys to go back and forth to get them all to the boat.  The boat finally left at 2 a.m. and reports were that they sang, and prayed, and testified all the way back.  When they docked, many had to travel several more hours to get home, but none were complaining...

Why don't we see miracle services such as this in the United States?

Maybe because we don't sleep on concrete floors.  Or maintain joy in spite of intense heat.  Or sacrifice food and rest and sleep in order to get to a meeting where we are knowing that God will move.

Maybe because we only want God to be our Santa Claus instead of our King.