Where God Leads He Provides!
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Nice to Meet You...Mom & Dad
I’m so excited to finally pick back up from where I left off in the blog entitled, “Welcome Home?” To recap,Thomas and I had just arrived back home from our first visit to Thailand. We had also recently made the gut-wrenching decision to attend another church for the month that we would be in the US before we moved abroad. God had confirmed between Thomas and I that it was of the utmost importance to seek spiritual counsel as we begun this spiritual journey across the world. So, the same Sunday morning that we chose not to attend our former church, God led us to a spiritual oasis. In our search for a place to worship, I kept getting the word "deliverance" in my spirit. Thomas kept getting the word "faith" in his spirit. Then we came across a church online, literally 5 minutes away from us entitled “Word of Faith Outreach & Deliverance Ministries.” That was all of the confirmation we needed to go! As we prepared to leave that morning, I had a tangible excitement in my spirit that I usually get when God has something amazing planned for us. Even though I was grieved that we weren’t attending our former church, the anticipation for our visit to the new church overshadowed everything else. We knew that we were in the will of God, therefore we believed that He would provide us with spiritual guidance to perform it. As we walked into the church, the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The people were genuinely friendly and welcoming. It was a small church but the people had big hearts. As the man of God introduced one of his associate pastors to preach, the feeling of divine providence grew. The sermon was excellent! I felt as if God was speaking directly to us through the pastor’s words. We soaked up every bit of encouragement we could get because we had literally been through the ringer emotionally and spiritually, trying our best to hold on and follow God’s will for our lives. Even though we were excited to walk in our purpose, it came at a great cost! We were constantly being discouraged from without and within. It was a real struggle day by day and hour by hour, to stay the course. After the sermon and a wonderful time of worship, that’s when it happened… Right when we thought the service was nearing it’s end, the man of God, Apostle Byron, started to prophesy to certain ones in the congregation. Immediately, I knew in my spirit that God was going to speak to us. After all, it has been His primary way of directing our lives. As a couple, we have received several major prophecies that have literally changed the course of our lives. And since we were headed into completely unfamiliar territory, we knew that God wouldn’t let us leave home without first giving us comfort, confirmation AND instruction. And that’s exactly what He did! Apostle picked us out of the congregation and proceeded to tell us all about our current situation. We had never laid eyes on him before or anyone else in that small church but his words were like fire in our spirits. As he spoke bold yet loving reassurances from our Father and validated our radical faith, our knees gave out. We found ourselves bowing before the direct word of God with tears of relief, joy and gratitude streaming down our faces! We were in total shock and amazement of the accuracy of his words and it was clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was speaking on behalf of the Almighty God. It was absolutely no other way to know what he knew about us. That’s when we realized that it was by no coincidence that we ended up at this little church, that we had never heard of, that was located practically right in our own backyard. As we weaped openly before the Lord, we didn’t care about the spectacle we were creating. It was an uncontrollable outburst of an emotional build-up of over 4 weeks of intense spiritual warfare! In that moment, we KNEW that God was with us, and that meant EVERYTHING to us! After we picked ourselves up off of the floor, wiped our eyes and noses, fixed our clothing and got back to our seats, the service concluded. Shortly after receiving more hugs and encouraging words from people in the congregation, that now felt like brothers and sisters, we were approached by the man and woman of God. They invited us back to his office to speak. It is no doubt in my mind that it was God who provided this divine connection. Immediately, we felt such fatherly and motherly love from this couple. They listened to our story and were even astonished themselves at the accuracy of the words that God spoke through Apostle. They shared some of their testimony with us and prayed over us for strength and increased faith to stay the course. We exchanged contact information and promised to get together within a few days to fellowship. In the following weeks before we moved to Thailand, these two people of God became genuine family to us. They spoke words of life into us at every opportunity. Their encouragement and advice was priceless at such a pivotal, life-changing time in our lives. One thing I’ve learned about my awesome heavenly Daddy is that when life or circumstances do me wrong, as long as my heart is pure towards him and I maintain my faith and a forgiving nature, He always makes things right. I had been really disappointed that we wouldn’t have a “send-off” at our former church. It would've been a time to say our goodbyes, give and receive encouragement, as well as make an impact on the faith of others. But I was determined to stay positive and not allow the enemy to make me bitter over it. I truly believe that it was that heartfelt determination that Thomas and I shared that freed God to work on our behalf. Let me tell you, everything is a test of faith. Will we choose God and the high road that leads to Him? That’s always the question. To our surprise and delight we were given unlimited access to our new church home as well as a beautiful send off celebration! We were able to have a slideshow of our first visit to Thailand, share our life testimony and also play a game my hubby made up called “Let’s Make a Donation Deal!” It was so much fun! Not only did we get to enjoy our new church family but we also enjoyed fellowshipping and saying goodbye to some of our other church family that attended. God is truly a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him. The week before we left, God had one more parting gift in store for us. Our man and woman of God invited us to meet them at the church office. Apostle had an assignment from God to fulfill. He told us that ever since we walked through the doors of his church, God had been giving him prophecies and words of knowledge for us. So, out of obedience, he set aside as much time as he would need to tell us everything God put in his heart for us. This took approximately 30 - 45 minutes. Once again, we were absolutely floored with the accuracy and power of God’s words. Not only were they incredibly encouraging, but they were full of God’s faith in us! It was really overwhelming to hear the vast, detailed plans that God had in store. It humbled us greatly to hear the confidence in us that God so lovingly conveyed. It was also a little intimidating, to be honest - BUT because He left no doubt whatsoever about His approval and backing of us, it made it easier for us to trust Him and take that giant leap of faith. In the brief 3 weeks that we spent with Apostle Byron and Pastor Pat, they truly became our spiritual mother and father. They’ve known us on a spiritual level that few have. It is definitely a divinely inspired relationship! Their hearts for God and others is really unparalleled. They unselfishly opened up their church, lives and hearts to us at the precise moment that we needed it the most. No one could ever convince me that this wasn’t God’s doing. And even though we have “forsaken houses, family and land for the sake of the Lord,” (Matt 19:29) He continues to provide loving, parental support, encouragement and counsel from these wonderful, godly people. We just praise God for always providing exactly what we need, when we need it! My husband and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, APOSTLE BYRON AND PASTOR PAT! We love you!! If you’d like to visit their church, here’s the location: Word of Faith Outreach & Deliverance Ministries, Inc. Apostle Byron Lampkin & Pastor Patricia Lampkin 21 Main St. Darby, PA 19023 (484)494-1755 * www.wofoutreach.com But Everything Isn’t Perfect
Even though life is wonderful when you are in the will of God, please don’t expect everything to be perfect. There will always be sacrifices that you make along the way. Here are a few that I have made that most of the ladies will be able to relate to. For one, since I am African-American and I’ve chosen to wear my hair natural, free from any chemical straighteners, I find it virtually impossible to find any hair care products suited for my hair here. All of the products are geared toward Asian and Caucasian hair. The reason this is so challenging is because my hair is very dry in its natural state so, it’s necessary to provide it with lots of moisture. In the United States, black hair care is big business so it’s never a problem to find a variety of products to fit my every need. Here in Thailand, specifically Hua Hin, the percentage of African-Americans are less than .1%, no exaggeration. Over the last 5 1/12 months we have met about 7 other African-Americans. We are definitely even more of a minority here. That leads to another issue that we experience on a daily basis. Everywhere we go, I especially, get stared at relentlessly. In American culture most of us were taught by our parents that staring is rude. Apparently that isn’t taught here at all. It isn’t hostile in any way, just curious. Many have never seen an African-American person so they stop what they’re doing and literally just stare...sometimes with their mouths open and eyes wide. At first it was funny and amusing but now sometimes it just feels weird. It has made us realize how much we took for granted living in a place where there were people that looked like us. Don’t get me wrong, we love experiencing this new culture and making friends from all over the world but there’s still something necessary about being around people of your own culture. Currently, we have about 2 friends that are African American that we see often. This is really important to maintaining a sense of normalcy in our lives. Another major adjustment for me is the lack of shopping options. I love fashion. And I love to shop. But I’m a thrift shopper. I love to find beautiful clothes at the fraction of the cost. It’s like a treasure hunt. Actually, in the US it was my hobby. I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt just as much as the actual purchase of the clothes. I always had plenty of clothes to choose from and many favorite stores to shop at in my neighborhood. It was a favorite activity I would engage in at least twice a week. I knew moving here would challenge me in this area...but I just didn’t know how much! First of all, I feel like a giant in the land of little people. The sizes here run extra, extra small. This isn’t good for a curvy girl like me. Especially, since I’m in this place in my life where God is teaching me how to love myself regardless of whether or not I fit the description of what society calls beautiful. So, it’s really difficult to go into store after store and the largest size they have is an 8...that’s really a 6. Thailand defines beauty as having the whitest skin possible and being as small as humanly possible. Neither of which I am. So, it’s extremely challenging to get stared at every day, everywhere I go, look COMPLETELY different from everyone, and not even be able to shop because I can’t fit anything in the stores. Oh, but how could I leave out the lovely stores that I can shop at? They often have names like the Big Shop or Jumbo Size. They haven’t gotten the memo about fat shaming here yet. There is absolutely no delicacy used here when it come to size. I’ve been told when trying on something - “No! You’re jumbo size, you need this!” And then they’ll hold up some house dress looking thing. Ugh! That’s when I have to smile and say no thank you. Inwardly, I pray for strength and usually right about that time Thomas will offer me some loving words of encouragement and remind me of how beautiful he thinks I am. Thank God for a good husband. So, those are just some of the things that I personally struggle with from time to time. I think it’s important to be honest about our experiences here. Everything isn’t perfect but through it all, I thank God that He’s causing it all to work together for our good. The lessons that we’re learning here couldn’t have been bought back at home. I never realized how sheltered we really were from the world living in our own little bubble. This experience continues to open my eyes, not only to how others live on the the other side of the world but also it helps me to see how I used to live in America with fresh eyes. I will never look at life quite the same anymore. Today, God led me back to this old video I did 10 years ago. He allowed me to see just how far he has taken me. This is just the beginning of what he has for me and my family. A few things stick out about this video, it was made Oct 4th 2007 and on Oct 5th 2016 we arrived in Thailand nine years later. I didn’t have a job then nor do I have a job now but this time it’s by choice. The purpose then is still the purpose now, but now it’s being fulfilled. Since this video, God has given me the ability to have a few good paying jobs. My last job I resigned from after 6 years of being their highest producing sales rep, selling health insurance. My wife and I have been ordained Pastors for over 2 years and on Oct 5th of 2016 we moved to Thailand to become Pastors for a church in Hua Hin. But more than anything, it amazes me how God gave me the ability to speak my current life into existence! This video demonstrates how our words have POWER. Get a clear vision of what you want for your life and then speak it. God can use all of your life's experiences to bring your words to fruition. I have proof! Prayerfully, by reading our blog about our journey you will be encouraged along your journey with Christ. God bless you! |
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AuthorJennifer Stearns is a fun-loving, devoted wife, pastor and mother of three. Spoken word artist and first female recipient of the Talitha Cumi Communications "She Has Arisen Award," currently serves as a pastor and missionary in Thailand along with her loving husband, Thomas Stearns. Archives
July 2017
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