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At Benny Hinn, last January. I was able to make only one night. Well on that night God spoke to me this: "As you loose the weight I will completely heal and restore you." Well I was so excited, because my efforts in the past to get my weight under control was fruitless and never saw real breakthrough. I was 70 lbs overweight and I was feeling and seeing the effects, but not only from that but so much more. I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in 5-6 of my discs, I have a micro tear in one with a nerve growing in it. I was in continual pain for so long I can't remember. Pain shooting down my leg, toes numb and tingling, and hindered in even doing the simplest of chores. Every time I would try to exercise or loose weight, out would go my back and put me back 10 steps. But more than physical my mind was tormented with post partum depression and silly mind games I just couldn't break free from. Well let me tell you Pastor, God started it in January and through your countless alter calls...God dealt with something different every time I would go up, and bit by bit I became more free. In February I started this cabbage soup diet, lost about 15 lbs. Then Leticia asked me to come and do a program called Weigh Down. These were merely tools God used to 1) expose my addiction to food, 2) to break that addiction and 3) to change my mind set and my thinking about not only food ....but really so much more.

Well to date I have lost 61 lbs and have 9 to go. All God. When I couldn't walk hardly a mile I now jog 2 - 2 1/2 miles 5-6 days a week with an added exercise routine. (Even in High School as an athlete, I was a sprinter...I could never run over a mile). I have energy, joy and peace. And when I run I feel God's pleasure and He runs with me. It's an amazing time. I get an overwhelming sense of His love, Joy and for lack of better words, like He is saying, "good girl, that's my girl" I have confidence in who God has made me, I like who He made and I am so excited about the transformation He has done in me (I have never in my life experienced this level of freedom and sense of whom I am in Christ). But on top of all that He's done so much more and continues to do more and more.

Some of what He's done is in April I noticed an amazing decrease in pain and numbness in my legs and feet (today I have none WOW!!!!!!), my husband got a new teaching job and received @ a $10,000/ yr raise in September. (Our finances is a whole other testimony.. wow), September, God called me to a 21 day Daniel Fast , nothing man-made or from animals of any kind- only fruits, veggies and beans with flat bread. I fought Him on it but on the day I agreed and started, He showed His faithfulness again on His provision. My kids needed shoes, A friend called and said she found shoes at the store for .75 cents, in the end I was blessed with 20 pairs of shoes (sizes 1-4 for kids) for $18.00 and the Lord showed me He would not only provided for my need today but for tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, etc. (by the way, we found out later the sale was in error but we were given them anyway).

Then my little Jena (5 yrs) asked while putting a puzzle together. Mommy how do you speak in 'Lungs' so I shared and she received and she started speaking in tongues ('lungs') A week later on our bike ride , she was happily going along praying in tongues and screamed at the top of her voice, "Thank you Jesus for letting me speak in 'lungs', My husband's first pay check with the new raise ended with 777, I don't now a lot about how God uses numbers but instantly my husband and I new our breakthrough was here. God is faithful to His tithers, We gave tithes and offerings and alms if when we didn't have it to give and God has payed every bill on time and we've never lacked for food or clothing. He is so faithful. From gifts, to sales, to faithful friends sharing God uses so many different avenues to bless and provide for us. Also during this fast, I got a knock on my door, it was the man in our neighborhood who, his wife and him bought our piano earlier in the year (we had to sell it, for the money), Well they hadn't forgotten the reason for selling the piano and At the door he says they have a business right around the corner and If I would be interested in cleaning on the weekends for them for $50 a week ( I had asked the Lord for a way to help out the family), I could bring the kids if I needed, I about fell over the timing was perfect and it has been a special time for our family as we all do it together .

Then, on October 7th, 2007, the most amazing thing happened. HUGE FREEDOM! Two weeks prior to this I went up for an alter call, my husband, Lance was with me. And I saw all these chains on him. Well this particular Sunday. He was going up. And i was just fine staying, but the Lord said," go with Him. You are one" So I went. And the Lord continued," The chains on your husband are yours, because you are one and with your freedom will come his freedom." Well as I hit my knees I saw in my minds eye the chains fall off my husband and I pulled at his pants leg to say step out of the chains they fell off and he did. And I felt it. WOW! (Note: I am seeing changes in Lance too.) I felt like I was in a whirlwind God was dealing and doing so much. At some point I looked up and in my hands I saw my three children, Jeron, Jena and Audrey and I heard the Lord say, " and your other one." (in 2004 just before hurricane Ivan I miscarried) And at that moment I saw heaven open and there was my Father, a baby about 2, and lance's mother. They were all holding hands. I gasped. Then I heard, "Hi, mommy." I gasped again. and the Lord said (This was audible and at this point I was in a different realm....can't explain it but to say I was caught up with the Lord) , "This is your son, Caleb" I started weeping uncontrollably and by this point was completely undone. I heard then Caleb say, "I love you mommy" and I held my child. And the Lord spoke again and said, " I have four children and one more to come." I was back at the alter and collapsed to my knees in awe of the amazing gift I have been given. I wasn't even thinking about the baby or that situation. And the Lord healed such a deep part of me I, myself , can't even grasp it fully. My baby I lost, was a boy and the Lord gave Him a name. WOW! God is truly amazing.

Everyday, I am in awe of Him. With this, He brought Healing to my husband, my two girls, my mother and a friend of hers and others I have shared this with. God has done so much for me this year. The woman I was last January is not the women I am today. And still everyday God seems to do more and more and shows me more and more of Himself. Just this Last Sunday I went up again following my husband, interceding for him, and the Lord had me crying out for more of Him and Debra came by and ever so gently began to pray for me ( what peace and stillness there was from her), and I felt something depart, when she left I felt 50 lbs lighter, Then Pastor Tim came up and put his hands in mine and blessed me and I felt the Lord filling me up, and then someone else came, my eyes were closed, ( a man) and with a soft voice, spoke something, all I felt was this huge rush of wind and down I went. I left feeling yet stronger and changed.

I tell you, Pastor, I am simply in awe of all God is doing for me. I am humbled and undone at His faithfulness, kindness, love, mercy, goodness, and patience. What a wonderful God we serve. Thank you for your faithfulness to hear from God and follow the Holy Spirit, God is using you so mightily and we are so blessed to have you as our Shepherd. And we are blessed to have The staff and leadership we have. I am continually being ministered to, loved by, supported and encouraged, especially through these past few years I've struggled so much, by your leaders ( I thought you should know how wonderful a team you have) The following people have been pivotal in my life and all that has taken place: Tomi and Marshall Seymore & Pastor Tim ( Colossians teaching in marriage matters was life changing), Melody Weber, Renhee Wilson, Denise Tisdale, Leticia Dennis, Trent and Caroline Lawrence, Delicia Jackson, Betty Johnson, and Pastor Gretta.

Thank you for letting me share with you Pastor. You and Debra are such a blessing to us and we appreciate all you have done and are doing. May God's richest blessing continue to flow in and through you this coming year.

In His Love,
Jill

I wanted to share with you a quick testimony about the Walk and Pray on Saturday night. 13 people from the youth department showed up to the church at 5:00 on Saturday night to walk the neighborhood and pray for those in need. The youth have really used this time to show the love of Christ to our neighbors in the Brownsville community. Erin and her group had already arranged for an outreach to take place Sunday night so we took a handful of fliers and passed them out to the people we saw on the street. During the entire hour we were walking through the community we talked to probably 3 people. There were just not a lot of people out on the street. We walked up to this one house and started talking to this one lady. She was very kind and told us that she has a son that is 17 years old. She does not attend church and her son has not attended church since he was young and came on the bus to Brownsville. I talked to her for a little while about getting her son involved in Hearts Ablaze and she said she would try. Molly got to pray with her and then we left not expecting anything to happen.
Well, yesterday the outreach started at 4:00 and there was no sign of this kid. Pastor Paul was out driving around with one of the students from the area so I called him and told him to stop by that house. Paul got to the house and talked to the mom and there was no sign of the son. Paul came back to the church and I was pretty disappointed that we had not seen any fruit from our walk the night before. Around 5:45 (just before the basketball tournament started) in walks a group of about 6 guys. The 17 year old kid came and he brought all of his friends! The guys had an amazing night of playing basketball and hearing a couple rappers. They sat around till after 8:00 and got to hear the entire gospel message from Karlis Burton. It was so powerful. The guys were so rough and do not attend any church, BUT God had a plan. I talked to the guys before they left and they were so happy and cant wait to come Wednesday night at Hearts Ablaze.
It is just so encouraging that the seeds that we are planting in our community are beginning to bear fruit. Last night there were over 50 from the community at the event. God is doing something new at Brownsville and it is exciting to be a part of it.

"Last week at my office, my wife's cousin came by to see me. I've always liked this sharp, athletic, good looking young man, now 22. He began to open up, saying, "I love God, grew up in a Christian home and I try my best to do what's right, but there's something missing...a void I can't fill. I figured you might be able to help me." I said, "I can't, but I know who can...His name is Jesus." So I led him in a salvation prayer...praise the Lord! He works off-shore for 4 wks-2wks off and is now looking forward to getting plugged into B-ville's 'college&career' group when he is home.

My dad is having hernia surgery tomorrow and asks that we say a prayer for him. He had open heart surgery in July and has done amazingly well but it is a little stressful going back under just 4 months later. A portion of his heart had atrophied, like it had died, stopped working at all. They had not given him much hope before the surgery in that part ever coming back. He went to be checked out to make sure he could have this surgery tomorrow and all portions of his heart have come back to life! His whole heart has blood flow! Praise the lord!

I have frequently wanted to contact you to tell you what an impact your and Deborah's ministry in London has had on my spiritual growth over the years. I think you knew that at the time but it bears my writing to let you know how much it has meant to me. You were instrumental in taking me from a Christian content to be nourished on milk to one hungering and thirsting after more substantial food. I think of you both often and fondly. I have followed your career over the years and have listened appreciatively to some of you sermons on the Brownsville website.

There is one other thing I would like to update you on - it is a testimony to God's faithfulness and His ability to bring something beautiful out of the mess we sometimes make of our lives. You may remember my telling you I had a son, David, who I gave up for adoption shortly after his birth. You prayed with me for his welfare, his health and that he would come to know the Lord. We also prayed that he would meet and marry a Christian woman. I have to tell you that all but one of these prayers have been answered - and I am still praying he will come to know the Lord. In the early nineties I heard that the Public Registration office in England had created a register to enable the people involved in the adoption triangle to contact one another. I joined the registry and then waited 13 year hearing nothing. Four years ago David contacted me and I have formed a beautiful relationship with my son, his Christian wife and three young grandsons. About the time we were praying for him, David was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He made a good recovery from surgery and treatments but still has some active cancer cells around his thyroid area for which we continue to pray they do not become aggressive. He also met his Christian wife around that time...such answers to prayer! He tells me he had a happy childhood and never suffered any concerns about being adopted. His search was inspired by the birth of his children and a desire to know more of his genetic background. He is a neuro-pathologist in a hospital in northern England. Just after our reunion my middle grandson was diagnosed with a recurrence of a Wilms tumor they thought had been cured two years previously. His odds for survival were very slim but God does not deal in odds and he is now in remission and seems wonderfully healthy. He is still very much at risk for further problems both from Wilms disease and from the results of all his radical treatments - but we have seen what God can do. I have visited three times now and am currently planning my next trip.

I am sorry to make this such a long e-mail but I have often wanted to share that testimony with you - who were one of the few people outside my family to know of David's existence and who prayed for him with me.

I trust that all is going well with you and your family. Do know how much I appreciate you and Deborah and I trust that one day our paths will cross again. With prayers, love and affection. Margaret