As a matter of fact, He can!
We know He moves in signs and wonders in places like India or Africa. And He certainly is still keeping busy with the miraculous in Mexico City. But what has been incredibly exciting to see this month is that God is on the move in Western Australia!!
Students from the school of worship have been going out to Perth city center to worship and share the gospel. Last week they saw the city more open than they have ever seen it before.
They were drawing crowds to the music and preaching, something missionaries only expect to see when they are the “weird white people.” They saw four instant healings in one morning, including someone who was on crutches until the students prayed and he walked home on both feet.
During the same week, while doing evangelism as a base in the town of Belmont (just outside Perth City), a woman’s knee was healed. Two young YWAMers prayed for her and she was thrilled when the pain left her. Later in the evening she ran into two other YWAMers and proceeded to tell them about how God had healed her through two boys’ prayers.
He is definitely stirring something up in Western Australia, which is western not only in name but also in mindset. Such visible fruit is often hard to come by in a nation like Australia, but something has shifted and we are seeing breakthrough!
Two weeks ago I was invited to go with a small team to share at a Christian high school. Though our main purpose in the day was to share about missions and YWAM, it turns out God had some other things up His sleeve as well! We had a two hour break between classes, so we went to the town centre to worship and share about God with people. One of the YWAMers, Denise, started talking to some scruffy looking characters as Manny played his guitar. They were really interested in his music and they all started talking, the conversation soon turning to God. They expressed some doubts and one in particular, a guy named Daniel, said he had learned too much about religion and he didn’t buy any of it for a second. He was friendly, and listened, but quite resolute about not believing. A few other ragamuffins showed up and soon the five of us were sharing with five of them. One boy, 15 years old, sat and asked questions about God for an hour and a half. He was incredible open and hungry and even started asking about how to do a DTS. Then all of a sudden one of our team members starts hollering up a storm “God healed him, so crazy, this guy just got healed!” The guy she was referring to was nodding his head in shocked but enthusiastic agreement. She had told him about how God heals and how she had seen God heal people in Mexico. He mentioned that he had been blind in one of his eyes since a bee sting incident 2 months ago. She tested his vision as he covered his good eye. She tested his reaction/sight by putting her hand really close to his blind eye and sure enough he didn’t blink. She prayed and he was healed. He could barely believe it, but then they ran the test again. He covered his good eye and counted fingers, and bushes, and trees, and people walking by. He could see perfectly again. His skeptical friend, Daniel, was genuinely surprised his friend’s eyesight had returned, but would still not believe it was God. “See Daniel,” I shared, “there is a difference between intellectual ideas and real experience. Your friend just experienced God and His healing.” He protested: “No way. Nah man, Hey mate, you don’t believe God just healed your eye do you?” “Yeah, man! God just healed my eye.” Was his firm, delighted reply. Daniel had nothing to say. But as we left the group (determined to get to class on time) we could overhear the guy who was healed telling his other friend “hey man, does your leg still hurt, because I could pray for it and maybe God will heal you, too.”
Yep. Even in Western nations, God is demonstrating His awesome power and reality.
Thanks for being a part of God’s miracles in all kinds of nations!
Bless you heaps
Claire Griffin
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
MEXICO CITY BOUND!!! IN 13 DAYS AND COUNTING!
I’ve discovered that God likes to surprise us. 
Like when He said to me this week:
“SURPRISE! I AM SENDING YOU TO
MEXICO CITY IN
2 WEEKS TIME!”
Let me get you up to speed. When DTS finished in December I was placed into the ministry here on base called Megacities. It is a vision that Shirley Brownhill, the base director, got several years back of transforming nations by targeting the heart of the nation: big cities. Megacities goes into a city with a population of over a million for one year at a time and connects the local body of that city to short term teams from all over the world to join together in reaching the city. The integrated, unified, grassroots approach to outreach serves as a catalyst to ignite the local body and bears fruit that lasts for years. I have seen the effectiveness of this approach first hand. I did my outreach in Jakarta during the Megacities focus in 2008. God used our tiny team of 10 to stir up a youth group, get them fired up for God and involved in reaching a neighboring slum community with His love. More than a year later, those same teenagers are still going into the same community and seeing miracles and transformation in peoples’ lives week after week.
This year Megacities is focused on Mexico City!
It has been quite busy and exciting in the office over the last month. I have been corresponding with teams and churches via email about joining Megacities in Mexico City and have been phoning pastors in D.F., confirming details about the teams that are coming to work with them.
Then came the surprise!
On Wednesday afternoon my leader, Rod, asked me to pray about going to Mexico City at the end of this month to serve as a coordinator. Coordinators are the bridge between the local body and the visiting teams. They bring vision, encouragement, and direction and help to build relationship. Coordinators are also the face of legitimacy for Megacities during the beginning of the year, as more pastors hear of what is going on in their city and decide whether or not they want to be a part of this major effort. Despite the size of Megacities (dozens of teams and local churches are involved, and we’re hoping for hundreds more) there are only a couple of coordinators working in the city at any given time. It is a huge responsibility, privilege and honor.
As I sought the Lord about this decision, He reminded me of the words that He had already been speaking to me over the last few weeks. He had said to me that this is not a season of standing still, but of RUNNING… that I am to step out of my comfort zone so that He can move in big ways… and that I have been brought to this position for such a time as this! The final reassurance of His hand in this came through the scripture “I will be with you where ever you go.”
This is a major leap of faith… a leap bigger than He has every asked me to take. The role that I will be playing will be challenging and stretching, in ways that I have never experienced before. It is also a financial leap of faith. I have trusted Him for provision before, but never in such a short period of time. God has increased my faith a hundred fold in the last year and a half of serving Him in missions. I believe He is ready to multiply again.
o I need to raise $2300 for a plane ticket by Monday the 18th.
o I will also need $2000 for ground fees (transportation, food, and accommodation for the ten weeks) by January 25th.
One of my favorite YWAM speakers said that “the big things we want to see God do will never happen in our comfort zone.” I am ready to step out of my comfort zone to be a part of an incredible move of God in Mexico City!
I would like to ask you to please pray about supporting me as a Megacities coordinator in Mexico City. Your support would be a part of what makes an eternal impact on a city of 20 million souls.
Thank you!
In His amazing grace
Claire Griffin
If you are able to give, please do as soon as possible via:
Bank transfer (preferred method so that I can pay for airfare by card):
Bank of America checking acct # 0437305391
From BofA acct you need to know: zip code is 95835
From other bank you need to know: routing number 121000358
Give online at http://www.ywamperth.org.au/
Scroll down to donate/pay at the bottom of page, fill out online form (payment type = ‘other,’ recipient = Claire Griffin, school or ministry = Megacities)
Like when He said to me this week:
“SURPRISE! I AM SENDING YOU TO
MEXICO CITY IN
2 WEEKS TIME!”
Let me get you up to speed. When DTS finished in December I was placed into the ministry here on base called Megacities. It is a vision that Shirley Brownhill, the base director, got several years back of transforming nations by targeting the heart of the nation: big cities. Megacities goes into a city with a population of over a million for one year at a time and connects the local body of that city to short term teams from all over the world to join together in reaching the city. The integrated, unified, grassroots approach to outreach serves as a catalyst to ignite the local body and bears fruit that lasts for years. I have seen the effectiveness of this approach first hand. I did my outreach in Jakarta during the Megacities focus in 2008. God used our tiny team of 10 to stir up a youth group, get them fired up for God and involved in reaching a neighboring slum community with His love. More than a year later, those same teenagers are still going into the same community and seeing miracles and transformation in peoples’ lives week after week.
This year Megacities is focused on Mexico City!
It has been quite busy and exciting in the office over the last month. I have been corresponding with teams and churches via email about joining Megacities in Mexico City and have been phoning pastors in D.F., confirming details about the teams that are coming to work with them.
Then came the surprise!
On Wednesday afternoon my leader, Rod, asked me to pray about going to Mexico City at the end of this month to serve as a coordinator. Coordinators are the bridge between the local body and the visiting teams. They bring vision, encouragement, and direction and help to build relationship. Coordinators are also the face of legitimacy for Megacities during the beginning of the year, as more pastors hear of what is going on in their city and decide whether or not they want to be a part of this major effort. Despite the size of Megacities (dozens of teams and local churches are involved, and we’re hoping for hundreds more) there are only a couple of coordinators working in the city at any given time. It is a huge responsibility, privilege and honor.
As I sought the Lord about this decision, He reminded me of the words that He had already been speaking to me over the last few weeks. He had said to me that this is not a season of standing still, but of RUNNING… that I am to step out of my comfort zone so that He can move in big ways… and that I have been brought to this position for such a time as this! The final reassurance of His hand in this came through the scripture “I will be with you where ever you go.”
This is a major leap of faith… a leap bigger than He has every asked me to take. The role that I will be playing will be challenging and stretching, in ways that I have never experienced before. It is also a financial leap of faith. I have trusted Him for provision before, but never in such a short period of time. God has increased my faith a hundred fold in the last year and a half of serving Him in missions. I believe He is ready to multiply again.
o I need to raise $2300 for a plane ticket by Monday the 18th.
o I will also need $2000 for ground fees (transportation, food, and accommodation for the ten weeks) by January 25th.
One of my favorite YWAM speakers said that “the big things we want to see God do will never happen in our comfort zone.” I am ready to step out of my comfort zone to be a part of an incredible move of God in Mexico City!
I would like to ask you to please pray about supporting me as a Megacities coordinator in Mexico City. Your support would be a part of what makes an eternal impact on a city of 20 million souls.
Thank you!
In His amazing grace
Claire Griffin
If you are able to give, please do as soon as possible via:
Bank transfer (preferred method so that I can pay for airfare by card):
Bank of America checking acct # 0437305391
From BofA acct you need to know: zip code is 95835
From other bank you need to know: routing number 121000358
Give online at http://www.ywamperth.org.au/
Scroll down to donate/pay at the bottom of page, fill out online form (payment type = ‘other,’ recipient = Claire Griffin, school or ministry = Megacities)
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