May 2009
Dearly Beloved of Our Lord:
Greetings in the mighty and wonderful name of our Lord, our Savior, and our King – Jesus Christ. We have been enjoying some good weather and excellent opportunities to bring the good news of the Kingdom to many people. With the construction ending and buses and MAX trains testing out the new bus mall more and more people are coming by Portland’s Living Room, Pioneer Courthouse Square.
~ CONTRASTS ~
We would like to share a couple of street stories with you. These especially contrast the times in a person’s life before and after encountering Jesus Christ.
Karen’s Testimony ~ A woman in her fifties stopped by and shared her story with me. She has multiple sclerosis and lives on disability income. She gets $400 dollars less than her rent money so some of the months of the year she has been homeless. She said that if she had run into us two years ago, she would have mocked us and told us she was going to make her decision for Christ later. She said her heart was really hard.
One year ago she was out on the streets and collapsed. She remembers a man nearby calling 911. She woke up in the hospital five days later. She said she was in total darkness for five days. When she woke up in the hospital, she decided to seek a relationship with Jesus Christ. She said everything changed. Ever since she received Christ the Lord has provided for her. She spent the whole winter indoors! The Lord provided enough money to pay her rent and even a group of intercessors that are praying for her healing of multiple sclerosis. She said that they had just prayed for her and that something deep happened. The Lord has totally changed her heart!
Not everything we do happens downtown. One day I was grocery shopping at Fred Meyers and I ran into Annie. I had not seen her for about three years. When Ron and I first met her she was addicted to Meth and was a prostitute to get money for drugs. She would come by and ask for prayer. The Holy Spirit would touch her deeply and she would weep but she remained addicted to drugs. One day I was reading “Chasing The Dragon” by Jackie Pullinger. She is a missionary to the opium addicts in Hong Kong’s infamous Walled City. She said the only thing that would deliver the opium addicts from opium was to have them baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were exhorted by Jackie to pray in tongues whenever they felt tempted to take drugs. Many were delivered from drugs without any withdrawal. Ron and I prayed for Annie to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. She received her tongue and said she used it in warfare. She was involved in a program to get free from drugs. She was free for a year and then dropped out of the program. But when I saw her at the grocery store she said she had now been free from drugs for two years. She looked good. There were no longer the affectations of the sexual spirits that were hanging on her. It was very encouraging to run into her. We have prayed for many on the streets with little change so it is exciting and encouraging to see that prayers and His presence make such a difference. It usually takes faith and patience to see the promise.
Ron’s Testimony ~ Bill signed up and joined the Army rangers. He told me that he had been involved in many secret operations in the Middle East. After 9/11 he became involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. While in Iraq he experienced an awakening in his heart concerning Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies. This caused him to seek Jesus and he was filled with His presence and a desire to bring the good news he had received to others. He feels called to minister the gospel and is studying and asking guidance and counsel from many. He is seeking out older men concerning forgiveness and one day he came to me and we talked for about twenty minutes. He was asking for the ability to forgive himself for what he did in the wars.
He talked about the killing of women and children who got caught in the violence of war. He seemed to have a great burden upon his conscience and said that he could not experience forgiveness and cannot forgive himself. We talked of the cross where Jesus expressed forgiveness in His prayer: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” When I asked him if there was anyone Jesus had forgiven that he would not forgive, Bill experienced his heart being touched. Jesus had forgiven him so how could he withhold forgiveness from anyone, even including himself? This was a deep time together and I hope I meet him again in the journey.
Most of us are hearing stories from brethren who are going through difficult times such as sickness, emotional breakdowns, persecution, afflictions, and financial stress. As we hear of these difficulties we commit them to prayer. And not everyone we pray for lives in North America. Each morning we pray together and then read some portions of the scriptures with one another. This has been a fruitful time for us and we have received many answers to prayer.
A married couple who has been supporting us with personal gifts emailed us a while ago about how they both had been laid off work. Here are some excerpts.
“Ron and Karen. Praying for you two often. Pray for me and my wife. We both have fallen victim to the current economy. My wife's been out of work since January and I recently lost my job of 23 years. I know its no surprise to the Lord. We're leaning on him daily and praying for his guidance. I'm hoping to use my free time to do volunteer work at our church. It's like these Christians that are on the front line, much like yourselves, are sensing that something is about to happen. Now is not the time to shirk back in fear and trembling but to boldly go and witness to those around us. So many are fearful of what’s going on around us. Praise God that he is in control!!! -- Your friends in Christ. G&B.”
As we were writing this monthly letter we received a large gift from G&B along with a note in which they said that G has just been hired at a good job, close to home. They write, “We were so excited to see God at work! Still praying for both of you. Love you, G&B.” This note was especially encouraging to us because we had been praying for them and answered prayer builds our faith!
This testimony encourages us to pray for one another during these difficult times and it is a great joy to hear of His answer. Thank you for your much-needed and welcomed prayers and support as we labor in His harvest during these challenging and difficult times. We pray with many people who are often greatly distressed. Many are hurting emotionally, mentally, physically, and some are broken-hearted or spiritually oppressed. We send you our prayers, love, and thanksgiving for your kind and generous support and encouragement. Thank you for your love!
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
~ Ron & Karen
E-mail: awakening1s@comcast.net
Home Page: awakening1s.net
church @ 24/7
Ron & Karen Rohman
PO Box 14292
PORTLAND OR 97293