Miracles & A Good God!

Today I saw a woman who had a torn meniscus & couldn’t bend her knees, get up on stage and kneel down. Yep, you read that right. Wanna know what the best thing is? That isn’t even the half of it. I saw a woman who dances through her pain from severe arthritis worshiping God, get healed. I saw a woman whose body was so weak from having Parkinson’s disease for 5 years walk up on stage without her cane which she has used everyday coming to school. Today, she walked laps around the auditorium, jumped up during worship & testified of a good God!

don't need that cane anymore!

“God is good” isn’t just a call from stage for the church to respond, “all the time”! It’s the truth! God is good! Believe it!

Oh dear friends, believe it.

I was in a room full of people praying for friends who had one arm shorter than the other, I prayed an off-handed, “God please do it” not really believing it could happen, heck, I didn’t even stand up from my seat, I just did the standard, hand stretched out toward them thing we do in church. Two seconds later, I jumped up from my chair because I literally saw the shorter arm growing 2 inches to be the same length as the other. With my own frigging eyes! I saw a drunk man give his life to Jesus.

As my friend so aptly put it, this is the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry dang it! And we believe in a good God!

I saw a room full of people today, with their arms stretched out to celebrate and adore their Savior. God isn’t just laid back on His recliner basking in the praises of His people; He’s on the edge of His seat, raring to move when His people finally start believing & declaring who HE IS. He called Himself Healer. We didn’t call Him that, He said, word for word, I am the Lord who heals! He called Himself Provider, I’m not putting this label on Him He said, I will surely provide. 

I should know...I'm an international student. I can't work. I can't just call home for money, but this is my 5th month here & the bills are getting paid. I don't know how, but it happens. He called Himself Provider, His will, His bill.

I saw a woman. People look at Heidi Baker & admire all the work she’s done and the sacrifices she’s made being a missionary in Mozambique. I saw her deep, deep love for Jesus. Nothing stood between her and Jesus. All she did, she did for the love of Jesus. When she smiles, she reminds you that Jesus smiles. 

Painting by Theresa Dedmon (Compelled by Love The Movie)

The savior smiles! That’s the picture we need in the front of our Churches, not a forlorn savior with His hand on His heart, or worse, a crucified savior hanging on a cross. A smiling Jesus who delights in His children. In His friends. A good God who gives good gifts!

PS:

You can read about my life moving from Nairobi, Kenya to Redding, California and read about my Mission Trip to spread more of the good news that God is Good, to Piemonte & Naples in Italy this March. The trip costs $2550 & so far I've raised $255 and need to make my 2nd payment in 2 short days. Here's the link, and the link to donate!

Mission Trip Update 2 - Team Meeting 1

Catch Up:
Update 1

OK, so I just got back from my first Mission Trip Meeting that was all sorts of exciting!

Tonight we just got to meet the team, hear each others stories and each of our hearts about how we got here and why we picked this trip. We also got to hear from our amazing team leaders their hearts for Italy and some of what we'll get to do or accomplish there.

One of the things I'm excited about is we hold a conference for Pastors & Business Leaders and Youth who are absolutely hungry for God and really pursuing what we get to live and grow in here in Bethel, that is God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven...in other words a lifestyle of love encounters with Jesus and displays of that through healing, breakthroughs and miracles. It's personally exciting to me because I was that "hungry youth" pursuing that in my home country with no idea what it looked like and no connection whatsoever. So our team is going to be focused on not just hosting a fantastic conference, but also establishing a network and relationships that will be built on for years to come. I think we are in the 2nd year of the school going on this particular trip, so really being at the forefront of that is so exciting to me, and totally up my ally in terms of learning how to foster relationships for when I start a Church or Ministry or something like that.

Another thing is learning what the stuff we've been learning looks like placed in this cultural setting. Italy is really the heart of religion and whatever affects the heart affects the body. I can't begin to describe how great I feel just to begin to dream with God about what that will look like when old cathedrals are filled with ardent worshipers filled with the Holy Spirit. The family heart is also so strong there and my mind is swimming with possibilities of how this nation can change the world. God is SO good! When I started this blog post I had no idea it would end up here :-)

Financial update; we had some crazy testimonies released over us. Expenses decreased just enough to cover the deposit, anonymous donations that went just over what was need to cover both tuition and the deposit, finding money, receiving unexpected money, how a group didn't lose a single student due to finances. I am just pouring that over myself as I go to bed tonight! God is so good and beautiful & sweet and He is absolutely perfect and I choose to believe Him. God do it to me!

If you guys want to partner with me & this big crazy dream, please head on over to https://missiontrips.ibethel.org and fill in my name (Joan Maina) in the search box or use the easy link below. This gift is tax deductible(!) and you will receive a statement at the end of the year for your tax records. If you wish your gift to be anonymous, please check the anonymous box. This will allow you to receive an end of year statement, but will not allow me, to see your name.

https://missiontrips.ibethel.org/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&donor_search=Joan+Maina

(If online payment is not an option, check donations can be made payable to Bethel Church and mailed to the following address: Bethel Mission Trips Department, 915 Twin View Blvd.,Redding, CA 96003. Please include a note with my name (Joan Maina) with the donation to specify which student you are so generously supporting.)
I love you guys, thanks for reading. Please keep me & the team in your prayers!

Joan

Mission Trip Update 1 (of Many!)

Isn't God amazing?! This past year has rocked my world. I applied to come to school here on January 1. I got here on September 2nd. Airfare, tuition, all fell into place. God is so good! I've been able to learn so much the past couple of months. From studying past Revivalists, to being taught by amazing world-renown speakers like Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, Bobby Connor, Ben Armstrong, Jason Vallotton & Havilah Cunnington just to mention a few, to witnessing miracles of provision & healing, including seeing arms aligned & stretch out to normal size!

Bethel Mission Trips

The heart and passion of the Bethel Mission Trips Department is to see the sons and daughters of God in all the nations awaken to His goodness and love. As children of Heaven, we have access to His Kingdom and demonstrate His love, glory, and power in all aspects of society. Our strategy is to raise up a generation of world changers in their own nations to begin to run with their God-given inheritance to bring heaven to earth and transform their nation. This trip, through Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), ultimately reflects
the vision of the Bethel Mission Trips Department.

I get the amazing opportunity to be a part of a team of 18 going to bring down heaven in the land of hospitality - Italy! We get the honor & opportunity to pour into leaders, artists, business people and pastors in the ancient heart of Europe. The people we'll meet here want to draw on what God has given to us. We will be ministering in local churches and holding a conference in Tuscany. This is an amazing opportunity to help to nurture long-term, transformational relationships.

God's shown me His goodness so much! It defies logic for me to even be here in California, yet I am! God is so good. He is such a provider! Come On! Wow!!! I wanna request you guys, to keep me in your prayers most of all. Just a thank you to God for what He's doing in me. A prayer for strength & courage to impact lives like I know He wants me to.

If you guys want to partner with me & this big crazy dream, please head on over to https://missiontrips.ibethel.org and fill in my name (Joan Maina) in the search box or use the easy link below. This gift is tax deductible(!) and you will receive a statement at the end of the year for your tax records. If you wish your gift to be anonymous, please check the anonymous box. This will allow you to receive an end of year statement, but will not allow me, to see your name.

https://missiontrips.ibethel.org/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&donor_search=Joan+Maina

(If online payment is not an option, check donations can be made payable to Bethel Church and mailed to the following address: Bethel Mission Trips Department, 915 Twin View Blvd.,Redding, CA 96003. Please include a note with my name (Joan Maina) with the donation to specify which student you are so generously supporting)

If you wanna give to my living expenses also, (as an International Student I'm legally prohibited to work in the US). Please email me at joanmainabssm@gmail.com for my address & details!

Thank you so much for being a part of my life! I'll write back soon with some ideas of how you can pray for my team and I. I would also love to get an update about what is going on in your life and how I can pray for you. I look forward to telling you all the amazing things that you helped make happen as we prepare to go on this trip!

Even though miles may separate us, it’s really important to me to keep in touch with you! Feel free to send me an email at joanmainabssm@gmail.com if you have a prayer request, testimony, or just to say “hi”.

Look forward to hearing from you!

I pray that the life changing power of Jesus invades your life and sends encouragement your way today. I’ll keep you updated on what God is doing in my life and would love to hear He’s doing in yours as well.

Love & Blessings,
Joan Maina