Sunday - special encounters and blessings

In the morning we drove to the prison in San Juan. After a long wait we were allowed in. We were searched, had to hand in our passports and keep the numbered card we were then given safe, so that we could be set free again afterwards!

When we came in, a service was under way. After a number of contributions from another group of missionaries, Marien was given the floor. He said to the inmates: you are important! That hit home…. He also told the story of the house of life with its rooms, and called them to give their whole house to Jesus and not just a few rooms. Then Jesus makes the devil flee from you. Mathijs was able to play along on the keyboard with the music, which as always was ear-splittingly loud and above all rhythm. We handed out Bible verses and gave Bibles to the prison's assistant pastor (an inmate). It was impressive to experience this.

In the afternoon we drove on to Apostle Eli's church. We arrived at a service that had already begun but went on for about another three hours. Apostle Eli had been on his knees at the front of the church praying for two hours while someone else led the meeting. Truly a man of prayer. At a certain point we were called to pray, literally on our knees in front of our chairs. Not for a few minutes but for a whole hour. Then Pastor Eli began to speak; he spoke a word over Marien and anointed him with (a lot of) oil. Marien spoke about taking hold of the blessings God is going to give this church, and about walking in healings and other miracles. Marjan sang the song Yeshua in Spanish with Mathijs at the piano. People were visibly touched. At the end of the service we each received a word from Pastor Eli. Very special to experience. A blessing we take home with us!

While there we also took a look at the Bible school under construction, with accommodation for missionaries and students. For this community it is a gigantic building project, with an estimated floor area of about 45 m by 20 m. In all four corners of the building there will be prayer rooms, like cellars under the floor. Apostle Eli's vision is clearly behind this. After eating a hot meal prepared especially for us, we drove back to Barahona.