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Have you heard the expression “Boots on the Ground?” Well our Live Dead Missionaries are the boots on the Silk Road. Here we’d like to take a moment and allow one of them to share a snapshot of their life with you. Some names and details have been changed, but this is a true story from this colorful, vibrant, and sometimes surprising region.

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful reality in the lives of those who surrender completely to his trustworthy guidance and leadership. I can’t help but revel in God’s greatness when I think about how the Spirit led me so directly and so purposefully just the other week.

It had been impressed upon my heart by the Holy Spirit to do my own personal Daniel fast, eating only fruits and vegetables and denying other foods. Accompanying this change in diet was also the need for the first 20 minutes of my day to be spent on my hands and knees, interceding in prayer for my friends and family.

On the ninth day of this routine, I was content in this schedule and expected no change. Yet again the Spirit impressed upon me, and I was overcome with the need to pray in tongues fervently. Through my morning routine I prayed, and I expected it to stop there. I was wrong. On my morning commute to work, I prayed. During the breaks in my teaching lessons, I prayed. During the afternoon relaxing time with my family, I prayed. During the entirety of two church services I happened to attend that night, I prayed. As we all drove home in high spirits, I sat in the back quietly and prayed.

Now this is a result of surrendering your entire life to the work of the Lord – walking in the Spirit produces spiritual effects you may not even be aware of. You may be fighting a battle you cannot see. Little did I know what mission God had equipped me for simply in my obedience to the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoicing Over One

I returned home with my parents after church to find my brother home from hanging out around the city with his friends. He was positively glowing and obviously had news to share with us. With a smile that enveloped his entire face, he told us of how him and his friends from school had sat down with a girl they’d met, and told her the whole truth of the gospel.

That night, the Holy Spirit gave my brother the boldness to witness – using his personality and words, he anointed and inspired the gospel message to come forth.

That night, this girl sat with her eyes filled with desire and hope, repeating again and again that she wanted to know this Jesus.

That night, my brother and his friends led this girl in a sinner’s prayer, leading her to the Lord.

That night, she surrendered to the faith the Holy Spirit had been pressing on her heart to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

That night, the Holy Spirit brought this girl into the body of Christ, into a unified family greater than she could imagine.

That night, the angels rejoiced as one more sinner repented and would now enjoy eternal life with them in heaven.

That night, the Holy Spirit orchestrated an entire production – utilizing me as an oblivious prayer warrior, my brother as an anointed witness, and this girl as the joyous recipient of grace.

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful reality in the lives of those who surrender completely to his trustworthy guidance and leadership. I can’t help but revel in God’s greatness when I think about how the Spirit led me so directly and so purposefully just the other week.

Most of all, I can’t help but revel in God’s greatness when I think about the grace given by God the Father, the sacrifice made by God the Son, and the faithful, incredible guidance of God the Spirit.

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