Mississippi Baptisms

Day 1

Woke up at 4 a.m., which has been par for the course lately 😂. I was really excited for Mississippi all week, so I was happy to get in the water and get to work to see what the Lord was ready to do.

Vicki was my partner, and I knew it was going to be good with her excitement. It was her first time in the water, but she had big faith. 💥

Usually, these baptism events seem to start slow for me, but the Lord wasn't wasting any time today! Every one of our first few baptisms was miraculous and powerful.

One couple came in, and the wife got so filled up that she started shouting for joy at the top of her lungs. The Lord had us pray the exact prayer she had prayed before coming. The husband came back later to tell us how big of a breakthrough that was for her. I think they have a big calling — sweet couple.

Then came an older lady with a sweet and kind heart. She had been abused by her priest growing up and had been delivered and healed of many things. She had been serving the Lord for quite some time in her church, but she felt there was still one more thing keeping her oppressed. She said it was like a hand clutching her throat. As she was finishing her story, I asked the Lord what it was, and I heard “control.”

So when I went to pray, I just let it rip from the start and said, “Control, your time is up!” As soon as the word “control” left my lips, she almost jumped out of the water as the demon began manifesting and thrashing. It so wanted us to jump in and try to take control of the situation, but we didn’t match its energy. I just loosened my grip and started thanking the Father for her deliverance. I told it we didn’t even need to touch her because it was finished. We dropped her in the water where it met its ultimate demise. She came back up, and for the next 20 minutes or so, the Lord was putting all the pieces back together. As an Air Force daughter, she only knew to reach for control to put up walls of safety to protect herself from being abused ever again. But she came out with a brand-new freedom and out of the prison that gripping control had built for her. 💥

A few more came in, and the Lord was just wiping them out. There has been something that’s been happening more and more — which has been stretching me (I haven’t had much choice because the presence of the Lord has been so powerful) — is that I’ve been softly singing over these folks as they lay in the presence of the Lord. Vicki encouraged me in it, so maybe I need to not wait until I burst at the seams before I release it lol. Also, a few folks have been praying over me that something like this would happen (Brooke T. and Chris H.). ❤️

After lunch we got back in, and some grandparents brought their two grandsons who had gone through three months of intense abuse locked in a room and came out with demons. Usually, I don’t like baptizing young children if they aren’t excited about baptism, but if the parent or guardian says they are struggling with oppression, that’s another story. The one boy was screaming as the grandparents brought him out, and the Lord gave the words to break the chains and heal the wounds of his heart. I carried him out of the water and just held him in my arms. He was completely relaxed after the deliverance and rested there with his head on my shoulder. He got the best dad hug I could muster as I encouraged him that the Lord was a safe place and that he could always trust Him. 😭

Some of the other team members got to help participate in baptizing people while Vicki was on a mission. They had been a little nervous, so it was cool to see the Lord use them in powerful ways and to watch their faith rise in real time.

Marge and I also got to baptize some siblings together, so I can now confirm that Marge brings as much fire in the water as I always knew she did. 😂❤️‍🔥 She had a word of knowledge for one girl, which brought real healing as they held each other and the girl was able to let go of hurts she had carried for many years.

Glen had a story that’s too cool not to include.

He was praying for a little girl and prayed that the Lord would show her a butterfly to remind her of His love for her. After praying, he asked her what her favorite creature was, and she said butterflies! Not only that, but her family raises butterflies. Then later she came back and said she saw two butterflies. I opened my phone and saw Zabrina had texted the Wednesday group a video of her daughter chasing butterflies, and Jr. responded with his own video of a butterfly that had just landed on his finger. 🤯🤯

Many others had great stories too, but typing all this out on a phone is a little much, and the bed is sounding sweet.

Day 2

Had a great night of sleep and woke up refreshed. The attached picture is the retelling of the dream I had last night to Jordan, who was in the dream 😃. As I headed down the hill to the lake, I felt the Lord’s voice speak to me, telling me not to get out of the water until He told me today. A bit unusual, but I figured with the smaller crowd it would be tempting to leave sooner to get home. Note taken.

As I waited by the worship tent, I saw the young boy who got delivered and healed from abuse the day before. We spotted each other, and I dropped to a knee while he ran up and gave me a giant hug ❤️. The grandpa was with him and said he has been completely different since yesterday. 💥

The line was the shortest I’ve seen for one of these events (still miraculous by any standard). I always pray before starting that the Lord will send us loaves for our friends on their journey. But today I prayed not only for the loaves, but also to bring the friends for us to give the loaves to 😂.

What do you know — a family walks in the water, and their 5-year-old daughter had been begging for some time to get baptized. She was finally getting her wish on her birthday. I about lost it when we asked her name and she looked at me and said we could call her by her nickname, “Bread”! We got the bread and the friend all rolled up together! She got some extra special prayers 👀.

There were again many “rewirings” in the water today. I’ve decided the Lord is a much better minister than I am, so I’ve started praying after they come out of the water for the Lord to just minister to their needs while I try to get out of the way. Seems like it’s pretty effective ⚡ 😉.

So we went in shifts today with the small crowd. After grabbing a bite to eat, I was waiting on the bankside and remembered the word from the morning about staying in the water. I decided to step back in the shallow water and just hang there rather than on the land. About 10 minutes in, my mind was wandering as I was scanning the crowd when I heard “now.” There stood a woman in the crowd with her arms raised to heaven in worship. I walked up to her and asked if I could pray for her. When I laid my hands on her, the Lord touched her, and I could tell she was blessed by it. But as I turned around to walk back, she said, “Can I get baptized?” I led her down to the water, and the Lord finished what He started. ❤️‍🔥

Then things started getting wilder. I was walking over to spend some alone time when I saw Morgan walking to the water with a gal who was ready to get free from a bunch of oppression. We met eyes and we all just went into the water without much discussion, and the Lord once again moved in power. Morgan did such a great job and joked that she probably looked like she was the one who got baptised when she got out, given how much she was crying. 😂 She is a blessing of a young lady — very special.

Marge and I also got another good “floater” together again today. Sweet gal who had been freed of a lot but decided it was time to lay down the tobacco too, after it had kept her in defeat and away from the ministry God has called her to.

My one new friend Brandon, and his wife Kris, who got the joy of the Lord when we baptized her, came back from yesterday. What an awesome couple. He told me more of their story. I believe I will be seeing them again! It’s so awesome when God puts those people in your path.

Vicki and I finished the day off with a few more baptisms before Glen started getting the itch to head back north before too late. So we got unplugged and back on the road. What better way to cap off a great work of God than some Whataburger with friends, telling God stories, and road tripping! 💥🍔

Ready to get back and hug the family ❤️🩷🩷🩷💙