Resurrection: Stillborn Baby Raised by Praying Teens

- 27 Hours after the baby was delivered// July 3, 2008
Testimony from Abby:
“My name is Abby. I am 14 years old. I live in western North Carolina. During the summer of 2008, I went on a ministry trip to Guatemala. During part of the trip, we divided up into small ministry teams (5 to 7 people) and visited different villages in the San Pedro La Laguna area. We traveled from village to village telling the Indian people about Jesus. On one particular day, we were visiting in the home of a young woman. She lived in a small village of about 14 or 15 houses. We were trying to lead the young lady to Christ, but it was not going very well. After awhile, we decided to move on. Before leaving, we asked the woman if we could pray with her about anything in her life. She told us that just the day before, she had given birth to a stillborn baby and that we could pray with her about that.

“In Guatemalan culture, there is great shame and condemnation on mothers who give birth to deformed or stillborn children. We prayed a simple prayer that everything would go well with the funeral and burial of the baby and that the mother would be spared the shame and condemnation associated with having given birth to a stillborn child. As we were praying this simple prayer, my friend and fellow ministry team member, Julia (age 17), told me that we needed to pray over the baby’s body. I thought she was crazy to suggest this and that it was not a good idea. Julia was persistent. She said again that we really needed to pray over the baby’s body. She told me to ask the mother if she still had the baby’s body. When I asked, the mother told us the baby’s body was wrapped up in a burial cloth in the back room. I asked her if we could pray over the body. The mother hesitantly said, yes. We went into the back room and saw the baby’s body wrapped up in a bundle on the bed. Julia poked her head out of the back room and asked if she could unwrap the baby’s head. The mother said, yes, if we wrapped it back correctly when we were done. Julia picked up the body and unwrapped the head. The baby’s head was tiny and pale. The baby was stillborn and had been dead outside the womb for 27 hours. Her skin had turned shades of purple. Our entire ministry team, five of us, began crying and praying over this baby.

“We prayed for thirty to forty minutes. At the end of that time, Julia screamed out to God, telling Him that she believed with all of her heart that this baby could be raised from the dead. After Julia screamed out, everyone was silent. We were quietly interceding and praying. Within a few minutes, the baby started moving. Then the baby coughed and began crying. The mother came rushing into the room. She was screaming, what is going on? No one could answer her. We were just staring at the baby, who had come back to life. The mother asked us again, what is going on? She began crying as she saw that her baby was alive. She ran out of the house and banged on every door in the village, telling all of the people that God is real because her baby was alive. Within about thirty minutes, the baby’s skin tone and movements had become completely normal.

“The other villagers came to the house to see this amazing miracle. They asked us which of the Indian gods we had prayed to for such a miracle to happen. We told them we had prayed to the biggest God ever and we began to explain to them about Jesus. Soon, we realized we would not have time to minister salvation to each person individually. So, we gathered all the villagers together, turned on our little sound system and explained the way of salvation. Everyone in the village, 80 to 90 people, prayed to receive Jesus. Each of them was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues. Many would fall to the ground as the power of the Holy Spirit came on them.

“Five days later, we returned to the village to check in on the mother and the baby. The village had prepared a big dinner in honor of our team. We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship together. The baby, whom they named Julia, was perfectly healthy and had gained weight. Even after five days, the mother was still shaking from the impact of God on her life through the resurrection of her child. Two days after our follow-up visit, the mother brought baby Julia to church. The mother was still shaking from the power of God on her life following this astounding miracle.”

-Abby

Source: Breaking Christian News

Wonderful Germany premiere of Prince Caspian

Yesterday I had the wonderful chance to be at the Germany premiere of "The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian". The whole day the weather was inconstant and rainy. But when I went on my way to the Central station there was wonderful sunshine - for the rest of the day.

At the station there was a special train to NARNIA. The full train was full of movie posters. On every seat there were water bottles and coke. Florian, a friend of mine was with me. after arriving we were able to get some of the posters.

As we were invited we were able to walk on the red carpet. Very cool. We first took a look around at the middle ages market (the location were the Kaltenberger Ritterspiele, a famous place for Knight's Tournament), were eating some roasted beef in bread, drinking hot mead. Delicious!

Some time later the stars of the movie arrived (before there must have been some other German stars I did not know - how embarassing^^). Unfortunately it was only William Moseley (Peter) and Anna Popplewell (Susan). The excitement was not smaller though. They were posing for photos, signing autographs and were being among the people.

Then we went to the arena to catch a good seat. Here we had to wait first until the program would start. Later the stars arrived here too. Again the fans were coming to get photos with their stars. When we finally decided to go forward to get some pictures to we were told to go back to our seats so that the program could begin.

After a few introducing sentences of the German Disney boss and Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, the head of the Kaltenberger Ritterturnier, the medieval program was beginning. Knights, sword fighting and pyro effects. It was made pretty good, an impressing performance, but the story really shallow. But what can you exspect if you only have a few minutes...

Then Anna and William were called to the "stage" for a short interview. That was pretty cool and could have taken longer in my opinion. Really charming and funny answers. Great actors! Then the movie was about to begin. The floodlights went out and then it cracked loudly: there was a big fireworks going on that did not have to be ashamed of itself.



And finally the movie started... A really visually stunning and rapid epic. Cinema at its most. Admittedly with many changes to the book. At the first part of the movie I really liked the changes. But later the put in some things I did not find really logically and they took a lot of the charm of the book. In return there were some pretty good scenes. The beginning is really great, the introduction of Reepicheep, the mouse, is really gorgeous. For me the movie has some lengths, the Spanish accent of the Telmarines is really annoying. But altogether a real worth seeing movie! I will see it some times in the cinema for sure.

We were taking back to Munich with a shuttle bus. Unfortunately there were no more subway trains going any more, but luckily I had the chance to take a nightline bus. So I arrived good back home, happy that it did not rain the whole evening and that it was not as cold as expected. It was a wonderful scenery for this premiere. Disney had found a really great location for that! Thumbs up!

There was a report on the German TV with nice pictures: click (in German)

Photos: © 2008 Jocky, Florian Kislich

Edit: This post is now featured at Narniaweb.com

70th birthday of my mother

Last weekend I spent at home with my family in Naila. My mother celebrated her 70th birthday. Several of my relatives were there. It was nice to see them all and to have some good food.

Bayernstock 2008: Great meeting of the bavarian freaks

On the first weekend of July we had again a new Bayernstock - a meeting of the bavarian Jesus Freaks. It was organised by the Jesus Freaks Wollbach, the youngest group in Bavaria. Happily it was my free weekend and I was able to go there. Originally I had someone who would take me there with his car. But he had to work in the end. So I was pondering a lot if I really should go. It was a 5 hours trip by train. And I would only be there on Saturday and Sunday.

In the end I went there and did not regret it. It was really superb! Storch and Alex from Remscheid (a city in the North of Germany) were there. Pretty cool to have them there.

Storch was preaching very inspiring. The first on the regional meeting on Saturday about the Supernatural. If we want to experience the supernatural we would have to do the things that Jesus had done. We have to overcome and have to really pray for the sick. It is good to read books, listen to sermons and hear stories about where it happened, to be encouraged. And then to go and do it!

Afterwards we had a great prayer time expressing that we really wanted it, that we would enter into the supernatural, that we were willing to pay the price.

We prayed for the Jesus Freaks in Bayreuth who are in a time of difficult change. I had some impressions that really fitted in: It is time to really focus on prayer and to breakthrough and not to be let hold back. Strangely I had for one of them an impression since the beginning of the meeting. It was very fitting also. On sunday I was able to pray with him. He told me about some decisions he had made, some things he now could see clearer! Pretty cool.

Later during the regional meeting it was about how the regional work and leadership would look like. Several of us had a heart for the region but no one really wanted to be the regional leader. It is really nice to see what cool people we have in our region, how much potential is there and how much union we have about a lot of issues.

For diner we had delicious fried sausages. They were self made and out of the meat of wild pigs.
In the evening we had a worship session with a band from Bayreuth. They were pretty cool but faaaar to loud.

I was able to have some cool talks with some guys. About 2 o´clock I went to sleep. I was able to get a place on a couch. But the flies and midges were annoying.

For breakfast we had white sausages (a bavarian special) besides the normal deliousnesses. I was afraid that I would not be able to attend the service as I had to get a train. But luckily some girls took me with them in their car to Ansbach. So I was able to stay until the end of the meeting. I would have missed something If I would have left earlier.

Storch was preaching that the love of God must become visible. We had to encourage one another, stand up for one another. It must be sensible that if one limb suffers that the whole body would suffer. Some stories are very challenging were people in certain places live it - where the love amongst the brethren is present.

During the sermon I had the impression that we should build a circle and that we should pray that this very thing happens: the region would grow together, love amongst us would be visible and that there will begin a good regional work. The prayer time was really intense. Storch was standing amidst the circle and was praying heavily for us. He entered into a holy rage and bound the things that went wrong in the past in our region, that that would not happen again. He challenged us to stand up more for one another, that intercessors would rise...

A great meeting and weekend. Was good to travel with the girls in the car, had good conversation there. And I got a train right after arriving in Ansbach though the travel time was not shorter. But it was good to have the time on the meeting there.