The Unstoppable Gospel
October 19, 2020 - January 8, 2021
The Unstoppable Gospel
Anika Hochstedler, 25, New York
[January 2018 DTS, Wild Heart, Outreach location: Solomon Islands]
My favorite part of outreach was when we went to the outer islands of the Solomon Islands. For a week, our team went from village to village; some of the places we visited had never even seen white people before. We had ministry time where we would share a “program” with them, bringing testimonies, leading worship, and giving a message from the Word. We were able to hand out bibles that were translated into their native language and pray with them.
A week before, our team got words about getting the chance to pray for people who were practicing ancestral worship. One night, one of the beach villages invited us to speak to them, and we had no idea, ministry wise, what we were going to bring. Going with the Holy Spirit, we hoped that everything would come as He led us. And boy, did He surprise us! We were sitting in this little chapel on the sand, waiting for the Lord to give us direction with where to go. Honestly, we just sat for a while. The whole village was outside staring in at us, expecting something to happen.
Finally, we received the words “simple gospel”, leading us to do a skit that we made up highlighting creation and Jesus’ ministry. Afterwards, one of our team leaders shared his testimony, where he was taken out of witchcraft and gang affiliation and into a life with Jesus. He was able to relate to these people, yet also share how Jesus changed his own life and revealed God’s loving nature. We had just about every hand raised when we asked who wanted to receive Jesus as their Saviour. We prayed for everyone that night! There were so many with pain that were hungry for freedom and in need of healing. We explained that they needed to renounce the gods that they worship, and accept Jesus as their only God. The chief of the village stood up and HIMSELF declared that he would no longer worship other gods, but God alone.
We then went into an incredible prayer time with them, where I sang some worship in the background and my team went and laid hands praying for healing. The chief and some of the elders of the village gave us this vision that they saw tongues of fire standing over our heads like the church in Acts during pentecost. Come to think of it, it was in the time between Easter and Pentecost Sunday that this happened. Pain left and blind eyes opened! I think the coolest part of this was that even though we didn’t speak or understand each other because of our language barrier, they still received a revelation of who God is, and His healing through the Holy Spirit. The chief again stood up and thanked us saying they thought we would have come with material things like clothes, glasses and medicine, but instead we brought something so much better. Late in the evening as we left that village we praised God for all that we had just witnessed. It was one of the most remarkable and memorable nights of my life!
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
“In the Kingdom Come stream, we really focused on what the kingdom of God is and how to live that out on earth. The most impactful aspect of this was walking out a miraculous lifestyle and being in an intimate relationship with God, where you can expect miracles to happen.”
Peter Seip, 25, Virginia, USA
“Wild at Heart? Yes, of course! But whatever adventure I went for, I wanted to be the one in control. During my DTS, God changed my heart to go wild with Him. I learned to trust in God and that I don’t have to be in charge, as long as I know the One who is!”
Silas Bauer, 21, Germany
“Being a part of the Pilgrimage Stream impacted my life for the better. Not only did it teach me how to function in a small community (as we shared the burden of climbing those mountains together), but also how to rely on one another, have fun and worship together, and, most importantly, how to be vulnerable with each other. The focus of our Stream taught me what it looks like to be on a pilgrimage for God. God calls us out of our homes to the wilderness, where we’ll see Him face-to-face, and are forced to fully depend on Him before we receive His inheritance.”
Harty Dumalagan, 21, B.C. Canada
“Coming into the medical compassion stream, I thought it would just be an addition to my medical experience. But after laying down my expectations I was able to grasp the essence of compassion through ministry, experiencing a new perspective on medicine. Choosing to serve in love, and taking the time to seek out and care for the one who need it most.”
Yekaterina Lukyanchina, 20, Russia/America
“Did you know that according to WHO more than half the world does not have access to healthcare? After seeing those statistics first hand, while in the mission field, I was heartbroken, but I was not without hope. God used my SPHC team and me to meet the needs of many individuals both physically and spiritually, and He opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in healthcare. I now attend the University of Missouri and I am pursuing a degree in Public Health. I hope to one day work for the WHO and take on the challenge of reaching those without healthcare with God’s healing hands.”
Caroline Wilson, 21, Colorado, USA
“I’ve learn what the Kingdom means for us, how can we bring the Kingdom here and just share it with others… That makes me super excited! The key is to listen to God’s voice, seek His face and His presence! Everything else will be added as he promised is Matthew 6:33!”
Estera Welchar, 22, Poland
“Through prayer and passion stream, I was able to see how prayer could be a place of so much intimacy with God. Finding my secret place with Him allowed me to fall in love again with His beauty and goodness. At the same time, God revealed to me the secrets of His heart- how He saw me and how He saw the world. It’s such a privilege to know that there’s a big God up there who trust us and partners with us to bring the kingdom of heaven down on to earth through our prayers!!! And never once did He let me down.”
Jesse Chua, 22, Singapore
“This is the craziest stream ever, not just doing fun activities, but the people I was with; they are wild as! Throughout the school, I’ve learned so much from the Bible that doing life with God and living my life on the edge is so much more interesting.”
Mun Hei, 21, Malaysia
“Our DTS was a time set apart to seek God’s face and encounter Him in a completely new way. During those five months, He realigned our heart and mind with His heart and His thoughts for us. We found that to love Him and to sit at the feet of Jesus is the only place we want to be and to live our lives from.”
Emmanuel & Emelie Linder, 28 & 26, Sweden