Healing Love

Katherine and I just returned from a whirlwind mission trip to Mexico. Over the course of two weeks we traveled hundreds of miles throughout the Yucatan Peninsula. We shared the good news of God’s love each day, alongside of a diverse team that my dad organized. 

Everywhere we went, the theme of the Holy Spirit’s healing love remained the same. It was as if God had orchestrated one continuous healing service in more than a dozen places. The love of God flowed like a river the entire duration of our missionary journey. It touched thousands of hurting Mexican and Mayan people in the towns and villages where the Lord had opened the door for us to go. 

Our mission team gave testimonies, preached, and led worship in English and Spanish each day. The heart response from those to whom we ministered was overwhelming in every place we visited. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was not limited to the church services however. His healing love flowed through the streets of a small village during a special evangelism outreach. In this unique public setting, the Holy Spirit saw each need. He healed each hurt in the hearts of those who came forward and responded to the gospel.

Jesus also touched the homes of the sick and the burdened, whom the local pastors had asked our team to visit. He transformed a family that was running a taco stand, where we had stopped for breakfast one morning. Tears flowed freely as we prayed for this impoverished family. We left them with a monetary blessing. More importantly, God gave them His priceless hope. He saw their need. His healing love ministered to their hearts right in front of their taco stand.

Through my dad’s ministry contacts, we partnered with a network that oversees hundreds of churches in the Yucatan Peninsula. At the invitation of their apostolic leadership, our team ministered at their two-day pastors’ conference. Church leaders, many of them no doubt weary from their daily responsibilities, came by the hundreds. Many of these pastors and their staff traveled long distances from across the Yucatan. 

Our mission team ministered to each minister who came forward to receive prayer. The Great Shepherd saw their needs. The healing love of Jesus strengthened their hearts.

As Katherine and I have reflected on our mission trip, one moment in particular is etched on our hearts. Out of the thousands of Mexicans that we stood before, it was a young girl we prayed for that made a lasting impression. She could not have been more than six years old.

This precious little girl was standing all by herself, behind those who had come forward to receive prayer. I noticed that her eyes were closed. God seemed to be ministering to her heart already. As I held her tiny hands in mine, asking the Lord to touch her heart, she suddenly burst into tears. She began to tremble and then collapsed on the concrete floor. 

For some time she stayed in that position, oblivious to what was taking place around her in the small church. This girl was much too young to be coached into such an experience. It was the presence of Jesus that rested on her.

After witnessing this divine encounter, I did not immediately move on to pray for someone else. I stood there, transfixed on the experience that this little girl was having. She remained on the floor for a while, seemingly unaware that God was using her openness to stir a hunger in me. 

I prayed, “Lord, I want my heart open to You like this little girl is open.” To have the faith and trust of a little child, this is the greatest surrender that we can know (Matthew 19:14).

Reflecting on all that the Lord did in Mexico during our trip, Katherine and I are stirred.

Our prayer is that God would help us surrender our hearts to Christ anew. We are grateful that we were allowed to witness God’s wondrous work in the lives of so many.

We saw the Holy Spirit fill the heart of a little girl in the Yucatan Peninsula. We heard the heartfelt prayers of Mexican pastors, asking the Lord to touch their nation. We felt the hope that Jesus gave to a family running a taco stand. 

As we have prepared this special issue of our monthly publication, Katherine and I pray that your faith would also be stirred in a new way. 

Whatever you may be going through, the Lord already knows. His Spirit sees our deep need for Him. His healing love will transform our lives and the lives of those around us, as we reach for Him. He still heals the brokenhearted.