October and November have been fruitful months for our Ministry. In addition to ministering to church services the Lord has also opened doors for personal ministry prayer sessions. Some sessions dealing with spiritual paranormal manifestations, sexual abuse and heavy drug use took place - sessions for FREEDOM and HEALING - Another session involved ministering to a Pastor and his Spouse to help through this difficult season they are currently in.
I've been asked many times recently - where do you serve? Usually these questions come from church members at churches where I get the opportunity to preach. I respond this way. "I don't pastor a church or have a facility where I work. I just go where the Lord leads. Sometimes this is ministering to a single person, while others times it may involve speaking at churches, prisons, and recovery programs as well as funerals and weddings. "We - Michelle, Hannah and I - are each getting opportunities to serve and advance HIS KINGDOM, while our youngest Aaron Sophia is observing all that is taking place and her FAITH is beginning to grow as well. Recently she had an ache in her arm and she asked for prayer for the Lord to bring healing from the pain. She and I prayed while walking through Super One Foods and the Pain left immediately. These little moments are what I call FAITH BUILDING MOMENTS.
"ACORNS BECOMING MIGHTY OAK TREES."
I would like to share about 2 other young ladies whose lives have intersected recently. They are currently in the process of becoming new oak trees. These young ladies names are Ashley and Jada. Each one have been RESCUED from the arena of drug use. Let's begin with JADA.
I received a text by a local lawyer David Doughty asking if I would reach out to a family whose daughter was in need of RESCUE. I contacted the family and spoke with the mother. The mother asked if I could attend a prayer meeting lifting up her daughter for prayer to come out of her lifestyle of drug use. I met the family in Monroe at a New Church Plant to lift up JADA with other family members for the Lord to RESCUE her from the life she was leading. We spent about 2 hours praying and worshipping the Lord.
Immediately following the prayer and worship time we went to eat at a Restaurant. While eating dinner with JADA'S family I received a text from my wife. But before I share about that text msg let me just say that my wife Michelle and I had gotten into a little TIFF earlier that day and Michelle wasn't feeling spiritual enough to attend the Thursday night celebrate recovery service. As the Lord would have it Michelle decided to walk into the church building with Hannah to drop Hannah off to attend and assist the worship team for the CR Service. Others asked Michelle to stay so she decided to stay. While sitting through the service a volunteer by the name of Clarence saw my wife and waved her up to come and give counsel to ladies during the Altar call at the end of the service. So here's the reason for all of this backstory. Ashely Evans was living in a Storage Unit Building while being addicted to Meth. Ashely's mother Kim was attending the Celebrate Recovery service and approached my wife Michelle to pray with her about Ashely. She then asked Michelle if I would be willing to go and visit Ashley that very night to see if she would allow me to pray with her. So picking back up with the dinner I'm having with Jada's parents. I received a Text Message from Michelle asking if I would go by and visit Ashley at the Storage Unit. The family had already asked me to go back at a previous time and Ashley wasn't on site; I encountered a drunk man living in a small RV for my FIRST ATTEMPT. That man came out of his trailer storming at me as if I were there to rob him. Thankfully Hannah and I were able to pray with him and he told Ashely the next day that we had came by to see her and that he had experienced the best night of sleep that he could ever remember. So I decided to go and visit Ashley that Thursday night at around 9:00 P.M immediately leaving from visiting with JADA'S PARENTS. I don't usually go visit women alone but in this moment I just went with it. I'm thinking to myself... Time truly is of the essence and I may not get another chance.
So, I went to see Ashley and I saw her walking around outside of the Storage Unit Building where she was living. These UNITS are located near cypress street in WM near Silmons. Surprisingly, Ashley was very receptive. She had already heard good feedback from her RV neighbor about Hannah and I and I really think that helped out. Ashley knew I had already made multiple attempts to connect with her. VISIT W/ ASHLEY: So I visited with Ashley for about 45 minutes that Thursday night in August. Ashley seemed to be coherent and was receptive to all that I had to say to her. I remember telling Ashley, "There is a more excellent way than this for you Ashley" "The Lord has more for you than this life" You Matter... When you decide to walk away from this life He will use you to RESCUE OTHERS... I just began to prophesy to her while she was in her CAPTIVITY... Sounds alot like Isaiah 61 Where the captive becomes the one who rebuilds the ruined cities and ancient ruins... Ashley allowed me to pray with her before leaving and we had a powerful prayer together. As I drove away Ashley's Ex-Girlfriend drove up to bring Ashley a pizza. I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, just like the enemy to try and take away the seed of God I just planted" The enemy wasted no time... I left not knowing how things would transpire.
The following Tuesday night Hannah and I were ministering over in Jonesboro Hodge at Hope Chapel. During the invitation time the Spirit of the Lord was moving powerfully among this new church plant - 3 teen boys came forward to get baptized that very evening - so we took them to a swimming pool :-). This was the night I got a text message from Ashley Evans brother Ryan who is a very close friend of mine. Ryan let me know that a big step had been taken by Ashley to go into DETOX. This really was a major step by Ashley. I was celebrating with JOY.
A few more days passed by and I then found out that Ashley had moved back to the Storage Unit Building. I was dumbfounded at this point. I had hoped that Ashley would move forward with a Spiritual Rehab program. But she had not yet made that decision. As the Lord would have it a lady who had been observing Ashley's life at the Storage Unit Building intervened and came by to take Ashley to the PECAN HAVEN REHAB program. She was there for 30 days. I had the privilege of meeting with Ashely on about day 29. Ashley and I visited for 1 hour thanks to her COUNSELOR HOLLY SAVAGE. Ashley was very hungry for God and had many questions. I shared a spiritual resource with her by Katie Souza - A book entitled "Soul Decree". She was excited to receive it and I was able to explain to her how to use the book. The book is full of decrees to be spoken out loudly over one's life.
The next day Ashley was to begin a 7 month program with Fresh Start in Winnsboro, La. I had recently ministered a prayer session to a Fresh Start Leader and as I was leaving my hospice office I saw a group of men from Fresh Start driving through town with a TRUCK FILLED WITH CHOPPED WOOD. This reminded me to go check on the Fresh Start employee that I had recently ministered to. Sure enough I got to see her and to hear that She was doing well.
As I was there visiting the employee then out of nowhere Ashley appeared. Full of Joy and excited to see me Ashley said, "Whit it seems like you just keep popping up in my life about every 30 days". She said with tears in her eyes... "Whit, I really feel like God is calling me to be a MISSIONARY to spread his GOSPEL abroad to other COUNTRIES". I was blown away. This is what the Kingdom of God is all about. Just like I mentioned earlier. The captive, the broken, the blinded, become the SOLUTION to advancing HIS KINGDOM!!!!
So here is how JADA'S and ASHLEY'S lives connect. Right about the time ASHLEY went into Pecan Haven Rehab JADA was placed in OCC Detention Center in Monroe La. JADA'S mother Vickie reached out to me to let me know that she would really like for me to visit JADA while she was at OCC. I immediately felt led to put Ashley's mother Kim in touch with Jada's mother Vickie. This proved to be very beneficial. Since Kim had already walked down this PARENTAL path a little longer than Vickie she was able to give Vickie profound advice. Vickie, don't put any money on Jada's commissary account because if you do so she will call her thug friends to come and bail her out of prison. This seemed to be very hard for Vickie to do since JADA would not be able to purchase anything while in prison. But the plan would work.
I had some real struggles getting in to visit with JADA since I've never ministered out at the OCC. I called the OCC and requested to speak with the Chaplain about 4 to 5 times with NO SUCCESS. I even drove out to the OCC and was rejected from being able to go in to see the Chaplain. I found out that an appointment has to be made beforehand with the Prison Chaplain before being able to enter into the facility. So I sat there outside the OCC GATE wondering to myself... and I prayed.. "Lord, show me how to beat this" I then remembered having GREAT FAVOR with the Richland Parish Detention Center. I called Lynn Allen who has worked with me numerous times with the chapel service at Richland DC. I told Lynn what my challenge was - how difficult it had been to schedule a visit with JADA. Lynn said let me see what I can do. I received a call back from Lynn within 5 minutes. Lynn said, "Whit, I have someone hear at Richland DC that once worked at OCC. He's given me the extension to the Warden's office. When you dial the extension you will be connected directly to the Warden. So I called the number with the extension and I was shocked to find that I was speaking to the Warden. I explained my challenges to visit with Jada. He told me "hold on just a moment". He got off the phone with me. I thought.... "Hmmmm, wonder what that means?" Then within 5 minutes I got a phone call with the Chaplain and he said, "I have a time available tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. if you can visit then." I said "YES."
I arrived the next morning to visit JADA while having to visit her having to look through a thick glass and speak through a telephone. We only had about 25 minutes, but during this time I was able to hear her concerns. I told her, "Jada, your only way out of Prison will be attend a Faith Based Rehab. We were able to pray together and I was also able to take her a book by Katie Souza - Soul Decree. JADA was not happy with her parents and was blaming everyone for her being in Prison. I left wondering if I had made any difference at all. Not long after this visit Vickie contacted me asking if I knew of any transitional homes where JADA could stay before checking into a Faith Based Rehab. I gave her some different contact numbers. Then not long after this I discovered that JADA was in Fresh Start Faith Based Rehab. So both of these girls that I was ministering to ended up at FRESH START at about the same time. Also, both mothers continue to stay in touch with one another as there daughters are FINDING HEALING AND FREEDOM. This STORY is still UNFOLDING and these ACORNS are beginning to grow into MIGHTY OAK TRESS. One day soon they will begin producing forth great production to feed others who HUNGER FOR GOD. Please continue to pray for ASHLEY and JADA as they continue attending the FRESH START PROGRAM.