This was written after attending a Power and Love Conference September 2018.
During our third outreach, we went to a city called Amersfoort. While ordering a latte macchiato, I decided to step out in faith and share with the barista whatever the Holy Spirit would bring to my mind.
As I opened my mouth, I heard the word creativity. So I said to her,
“It feels like you are a creative person who really puts passion into the coffee you prepare for people.”
She agreed immediately and asked why I would say something like that. That opened the door for me to share about the love of God for her.
She then told us that on two occasions she had felt a hand on her shoulder that protected her from getting into a dangerous situation. All we could do as a group was lovingly tell her that God was pursuing her, and that those moments in her past were His invitation to step into a relationship with Him.
By then, other customers had lined up and our coffee was ready, so we wanted to honor her work and respectfully wrapped up the conversation.
After that, the Holy Spirit highlighted a man standing across the market square. Honestly, this felt a bit frightening to me. I didn’t receive a word of knowledge—nothing specific at all. In fact, I had no clue what to say. The only word I had was “hi.” So I took a deep breath and decided to go for it.
But the moment I said hi, God showed up again.
Almost like a river, these words flowed out of my mouth:
“It might be that a lot of heavy things have happened to you in the past, but none of this was God’s plan. His thoughts for you are good.”
In response, he said that what I shared made complete sense. He told me he had been through very heavy circumstances and that he had also been involved in church for a long time.
I shared how special it was to meet someone who had a connection with God. During our conversation, I told a testimony about how God had healed my knee two years earlier. While sharing the story, I suddenly interrupted myself and said,
“Hey, I think the reason I’m sharing this is because something is going on with your knees.”
He was amazed and told me that he couldn’t stand or walk for long periods of time without pain. I finished my testimony and asked if I could pray for him. I prayed for healing in his knees and also spoke over his circumstances.
He was deeply moved. It felt like the Holy Spirit was encouraging him again after a long and difficult season in his life.
After this encounter, I crossed the market square and noticed two Jehovah’s Witnesses. The woman who was with me on outreach actually begged me not to start a conversation with them—at least not to make it too theological.
At that point, I completely ignored her request, simply because the Holy Spirit showed me something else.
(For the record: she is an amazing woman of God, and I know God uses her in a mighty way.)
I approached the couple and asked if they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They said yes. I told them,
“I really respect that you stand for what you believe. You practice what you preach, and I admire your dedication.”
Genuinely, I also shared that I am a Christian and that I could learn from their commitment. They told me they had noticed the conversation I’d had with the man I had just prayed for and assumed I was a Christian.
Instead of debating theology, Scripture, or doctrine, I shared what God had done in my own life—how He had set me free from addictions and transformed me. Very personal stories were shared with these two precious people.
It was clear that one of them—the one who wasn’t leading the conversation—was deeply touched.
They didn’t allow us to pray for them, but we prayed for them afterward as a group. Once again, it struck me how much power there is in simply sharing our own God-stories.
I strongly believe that a seed was planted in their lives that day.
