Yeah, things like this actually happen.

Original blog here.

This is a blog by a World Racer named Kristen Aperfine that you just HAVE to read. It is BLOWING MY MIND! I love stories that come from the field, from a Racer on the same trip that I went on, because I know they are genuine stories about a real God truthfully touching His children. I rarely share blogs written by others, and maybe I should do it more. Because there are just some stories that absolutely need to be heard!

 

 

During our night of worship a few of the girls decided that we needed to heal a little girl named Fea.

Let me tell you a little bit about Fea. She was found in a trash bag in the middle of a field when she was only a couple of weeks old; she is now 3. She has cerebral palsy because she was deprived of air for who knows how long. She is constantly drooling and cant form any words. She has little to no control over her bodily functions. She can barely hold her head up, her arms are constantly folded in toward her body and her hands stay clenched in a fist; she doesn’t have control over her fingers. One of her legs is about 5 inches longer than the other one, her feet are turned over in a way and she is not able to put her feet flat on the ground. She has been like this her whole life and we wanted to heal her. We knew that because of our faith God would heal her. She is His, she is His child, she is His daughter, His bride, His beloved. He gave her a voice and He wants her to use it! He wants her to be able to run, jump, skip, play with the other kids. Her story will glorify the Lord, her story will reach nations, her story will point to him.

The next day we brought her into the house where the volunteers live. We began to pray over her. Prayed for healing, for strength. It was so encouraging because I would be hearing a word from the Lord and then someone else would be getting the same word. It was like God kept confirming,

“See Kristen, I am speaking to you, you ARE hearing MY VOICE, continue to listen”

 

So I would, every time I felt the Lord telling me we needed to pray for something in particular I would say it out loud and listen to what I was discerning. The rest of the team was getting words as well and we all kept listening to our spirit and praying over her, over her body, over her brain, her muscles, every inch of her body was covered in prayer.

We all had our eyes closed praying to God and then he just told me:

 

“You are asking for a miracle, yet you close your eyes, OPEN your EYES and WATCH me work! Believe that you are going to SEE it Happen!”

With this we all opened our eyes we waited knowing that God was going to show us something, we were going to watch Him work. And with that we saw that leg that was about 5 inches shorter than the other GROW until it was the length of the longer one! PRAISE THE LORD!

Side note: The whole time we had been praying Fea had not drooled one time! Her usual never ending pool of drool was completely dry.

The praying continued. Soon she began saying our names! This child had NEVER spoken a single word in her whole LIFE! There was a carpet on the floor (it had animals on it), she began pointing to the animals and saying what they were… “Elephant, Lion, Giraffe” What! She knows animal names!!

Her arm muscles began to loosen and little by little they fell to her side. Her fingers became unclenched and she began grabbing things around her.

We wanted her to WALK. We wanted her to RUN! Prayer prayer prayer. And then God said:

“Why are you waiting to see some drastic transformation in her body before you let her try? You say you have the faith that I have healed her, yet you aren’t letting her up to actually try and walk. If you truly believe she is healed then have her WALK, give her room to WALK. You are waiting to see before you actually believe! Believe she is HEALED! Believe it enough to TEST IT!”

 

Moment of truth. We all backed away from her. She had NEVER walked before. She can barely crawl. She was on her knees hobbling from one person to the next, trying to grab hold of her. She was going from person to person trying to get someone to hold her.

And then it dawned on me. What would I feel like if I had never walked, never talked, never crawled, never been able to do anything in my short life and these strange women were proclaiming things over me and telling me that I can walk! Would I believe them? Probably not. Then I realized she needed truth spoken into her. I looked in her eyes and began telling her YOU ARE LOVED, You are Gods DAUGHER, You are BELOVED, You have an INHERITANCE in heaven, He wants you to WALK, He wants you to SPEAK, he has a plan for YOU, you have a STORY to tell! Over an over! Do you know you can walk Fea? Do you know God Loves you? Do you know Jesus DIED for YOU!

She lifted her arms, looked to the sky and said “Amen!”

Its time to take her outside. God wanted us to TEACH her how to walk. Standing behind her, I barely touched her with my fingertips. The kind of trick your dad plays on you when you learn how to ride a bike, you think he is holding on but really he has already let go and you are riding on your own. She started with little steps, slow and cautious. Then little by little it got faster. Her little steps became a run. I was still afraid to let completely go of her. I didn’t want her to fall on her face. Again the Lord calmed my nerves

“Kristen, let her go. Do you believe she is really walking? ‘yes’ Then let her walk, let her run’ ‘but what if she falls?’ ‘Did you fall when you learned to walk? She will be OK, She will get up and she will walk again. Even if she falls it doesn’t mean she is not healed” ‘ok God, ok, you have her.’

 

PRAISE THE LORD! That little girl was a moving like never before. I looked at her “FEA Jesus healed you!! Jesus LOVES YOU!” She started jumping up and down and screaming sweet praises.

Two of her orphanage brothers that had watched her grow up came over and were in awe! “How, what, when, Fea? Did Jesus do that?” One boy told the other “See I told you God was real!” They then asked “Does God only do miracles at night?” sweet sweet boys! They both accepted Christ in that moment!

Fea’s story will be told all over the world! And every single day she will continue to get stronger and stronger.  Praise God for his daughter!

2012 is delicious. (and here’s a glimpse into my plans…)

It’s amazing to think about the food that we eat. I am always baffled by the flavors that God managed to squeeze in to little shapes full of color and smell.

Food is fuel for our bodies, and he very well could have made it taste that way. It could have been flavorless and void of color. It could have been bland and boring.
It could have still served its purpose even if He chose not to give food so many elements that we enjoy.
But He did.
He gave apples a crispy sweetness that bursts between our molars. He gave avocados that creamy texture that sits perfectly on top of our tacos and tortilla chips. He put the tangy citrus flavors into lemons and oranges. He filled pomegranates with colorfully vivid seeds coated in juicy bursts of sweet and bitter. He gave us salts and spices that tickle every tastebud on our tongues. We can taste the bitter, the sour, the sweet, and the savory.

Our tongues were designed to enjoy what we eat. Then He gave us the creativity to combine these colors, flavors, and textures into the most extraordinary dishes imaginable. We have structured so much of our lives around enjoying the food that we eat and the company with which we enjoy it. We make memories while we break bread together. We laugh and talk about life over our meals. We build friendships and open our hearts to each other as we share in the miracle of delighting in the food before us.

God didn’t have to make food so delicious.
But He did.
I think it is because he came not only to give life… He came to give it abundantly. He created us to enjoy the gifts and fruits of the earth. He delights in our enjoyment of creation.
Today I am in awe of His creativity in the food that I eat. Everything has its own color, flavor, texture, and purpose. And the opportunities to enjoy food prepared in different ways are endless. I am in awe of that.
So I made tofu fajitas and I let every bite blow my mind. Every meal is epic. It’s an adventure. It is meant to be enjoyed. It is meant to nourish our bodies. It is an awe inspiring part of life in front of me.

In other delicious news…

2012 is looking exciting!

Here’s a few bullet points of what will be happening:

• I am moving to Decatur with four other amazing women of God. We have a beautiful house with a garden and all sorts of things I know I will love. I am going to live in an incredible community of women and I can not WAIT. (For those of you who I have talked to about moving to San Francisco… that is STILL on the table. It just wont likely be until after the summer at the earliest.)
• I am going back to school. Not sure where yet, but it’s going to be for nutrition and (possibly) spanish. I have a whole vision that goes along with it that I will share at a later date
• I am dating a wonderful man and part of this year will be spent praying about what God may have for us.
• I am running. I started at the end of 2011 so it wouldn’t just be a New Years Resolution. I am loving it.
• I am planting at Bethel Atlanta as my home church and I am SO excited about that.
• There are lots of other things that I want to put on this list… but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

  So there is a glimpse

  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Eucharisteo

Today begins my Eucharisteo challenge. Charis means grace. Chara means joy. Eucharisteo reads “he gave thanks”. It means thanksgiving. Grace. Joy. Thanksgiving.
I am challenging myself to find beauty in what sits right in front of me every day.
Ann Voskamp writes in her book one thousand gifts…
“I remember once sitting at the hairdresser’s. The woman beside me reads, and I read her title in the reflection of the mirror: 1000 places to see before you die. Is that it? Are there physical places that simply must be seen before I stop breathing within time, before I inhale eternity?
Why? To say that I’ve had reason to bow low? To say that I’ve seen beauty? To say that I’ve been arrested by wonder? Isn’t it here? Can’t I find it here?…
Isn’t it here? The wonder? Why do I spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it? Do we truly stumble so blind that we must be affronted with blinding magnificence for our blurry soul-sight to recognize grandeur? The very same surging magnificence that cascades over our every day here. Who has time or eyes to notice?”

And that is why I am here. To record, every day, the things around me that are filled with wonder, awe, and beauty. I believe life is epic and mysterious. I believe it is wondrous and incomprehensible at times. I intend to have eyes to see it, else it pass me by.

These will not be simple posts. I intend on descriptively capturing the wonder of what is before me with both language and photography.

My hope is that it would open my own eyes to see the whole earth filled with His Glory. My hope is that it would open your eyes, too. My hope is that it would aid in creating hearts that are thankful and joyful. Hearts that do not only break for injustice, but rejoice in His goodness. Hearts that beat like they used to in the Garden of Eden.

Here goes!