Recent Ministry
As we ministered at Centro Cristiano Esperanza up in Orange County, we experienced a very powerful move of the Holy Spirit as we prayed for people. I had shared a message about reaching into different cultures with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, something that flows from the Great Commission Christ gave to His disciples. It was a blessing to see so many there who were filled and empowered, as well as ministered to deeply, even seeing some who received healing as the Holy Spirit swept across the congregation with awesome waves of power! The Kingdom of God was indeed at hand!
We were glad to have our son Patrick and his girlfriend Emily there, as well as our friend Dave E., who happened to be down visiting family in the area from Central California. They all helped us pray for people at the service, which added to helping us see so many of those who were at the service get prayed for and ministered to in a very deep and powerful way, praise God!
We were also glad to see the pastor’s granddaughter get touched later. She had been working the audio and couldn’t come down to receive during the ministry time but ended up getting powerfully ministered to later when we went out to get a bite to eat with the pastor after the service. I felt led to pray for her after we ate and she was powerfully ministered to in a deep way with tears streaming down her face as the Holy Spirit filled her. She just recently arrived from Argentina, so we were thankful for that added opportunity to pray for her.
We ministered up in the mountains in the town of Mammoth as well. We were up north of there actually, when we had a schedule change and a couple of days opened up, and we felt like we should see about the possibility of ministering there. While we were in the process of praying on it, we were surprised to hear someone mention the same name of the church in Mammoth in a TV show later that evening. That seemingly random moment turned out to be confirmation as the Lord opened the door to minister at the Lighthouse Church in Mammoth as well as stay in the area. We were stoked to share some Holy Ghost Ski Stories ( https://youtu.be/lV17tbOC_v4) as we spoke and then prayed for many of the people there. We had a special moment when things were seemingly winding down at the end of the service…and then we ended up praying for a few more people up in the front, including a lady we had just experienced a divine connection with recently, that group at the end up front all got especially powerfully ministered to by the Holy Spirit in a deep way, the Lord saved the best for last!
We also ministered up in the Central Coast of California at the Salinas Vineyard. We had an awesome Holy Ghost outpouring while Mercedes and I ministered with our friend Dave, who we mentioned earlier, and is from the Central Coast! The power of the Lord was present in a glorious way and kept pouring out the power of the Holy Spirit over those in the meeting with healing and freedom being released on so many, long into the evening, including ourselves and the pastors. Praise God, we all got deeply ministered to! We also joined them on an open-air outreach the next day doing a bit of worship on the guitar, as well as connecting with a blessed time of food and fellowship together afterwards.
We experienced a powerful time of visitation as we ministered after that in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at Iglesia Arbol de Vida! We shared about how the Pentecostal Movement came to Europe, which was something we learned about through a divine detour while on a mission trip in Europe some years back. We had a powerful move of the Holy Spirit that day which turned a moment of divine visitation when the Holy Spirit unexpectedly poured over all of us, and we ended up all being refreshed as we found ourselves overwhelmed by God’s presence and just receiving! It was also great to get to see and catch up with our old pastor friends out there, as well as other friends in the area, and getting to enjoy a few activities in the region along the way.
We experienced a blessed time of the presence of the Holy Spirit moving in power as well as filling, empowering, and healing many who were there as we ministered at Iglesia Zoe up in La Puente! We shared about some of our past mission trips and learning to pay attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is something Paul exhorts us to aspire to and is an ongoing growing and learning process for all believers. We were glad to have our son Patrick and his girlfriend Emily help us pray for those in the congregation which helps spread the blessing and gives more people an opportunity to receive. We also enjoyed some fellowship with the pastors who are old friends while grabbing a bite to eat after the service.
We were also blessed to do a number of small group home meetings with some friends along the coast, where we got the opportunity to lead worship, as well as have some intimate ministry times praying for one another. One of the blessings of home meetings is that there is way less of a focus on a typical traditional church schedule, and it also opens up the opportunity for “the priesthood of all believers” to come more alive and function, like John Wimber used to say: “We all get to play.” We all did and were blessed and refreshed with a unique time of fellowship and ministry to one another.
Speaking of worship, we were blessed to record a new podcast episode with our friend Cheryl on The Art of Worship. We had the opportunity to share some songs I’ve written and recorded, which includes one that is a worship piece that was inspired by reflecting on the Lord’s glory while enjoying God’s creation while out on the sea and taking some time out in the mountains (“Break Over Me” on spotify.com/bryanmarleaux and on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/bryan-marleaux/907765533).
Divine Appointments
Speaking of time on the snow, we had a divine appointment after a little time on the snow together with some friends in the local mountains. We went out for a bite afterwards and Mercedes and myself ended up talking to a Hispanic waitress. We then continued the discussion after dinner and found she had something of a religious background but never really heard the Gospel shared clearly to her before. She responded with an open hungry heart as we explained the Gospel to her and then opened her heart to Christ as we prayed with her there that evening! Hallelujah!
We had another divine appointment with another Hispanic woman as well who we were sharing with while out in the Inland Empire area for a family event. Mercedes had a word of knowledge for her which greatly blessed her. She said that we had reignited the flames of her faith after we finished praying for her, praise the Lord!
We also had some other divine appointments in Central California while up in Salinas. One was when we ended up praying together with our friend Dave for a lady in a pizza restaurant who got visibly touched by the power of the Holy Spirit when we ministered to her, hallelujah!
We had also been talking with Dave when he mentioned a little town he’d stayed at while out on the road. We actually ended up in the same town while Mercedes and I were traveling out to Colorado a little later on. In the morning we were packing up to leave our motel when we ended up talking with some of the housekeepers which turned into a divine appointment! We led one of the Hispanic housekeepers to the Lord and her friend ended up rededicating her life to Christ, all this while we were on the road traveling to go minister…hallelujah…the Lord can have some surprises in store when we pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s leading even when we were still a bit hazy from just waking up!
We had another divine appointment when we met a guy from India who used to be Hindu but has come to Christ and is stepping out to serve the Lord and evangelize. We talked with and prayed for him while we were visiting Biola University, which is Mercedes’ alma mater. Being on campus there also sparked some memories, one being of how I’d pick her up while driving home from Fuller Seminary, since we only had one car she would have to wait in the dreary commuter lounge—seems they fixed it up after she graduated—same thing with Fuller—they fixed up the place after I graduated! We put over 300,000 miles on our little Honda Civic while we were both in school as well as driving around ministering all over the place. We went through those schools mentioned above as well as UHK: “The University of Hard Knocks” which had some important lessons coming out of it, as well as entering “The School of the Holy Spirit”; however, this particular school continues on as an ongoing blessed learning process!
Media Ministry
In a recent blog posting and video, we share how the Lord can turn trials around and can even use them for good sometimes. We told the story of St. Patrick and the way the Lord has worked through Celtic Christian believers throughout history. Talking about the real Patrick—who was not Catholic nor Irish but a Christian missionary to Ireland—can often open the door to share the Gospel with others, much like the early apostles, who sometimes found open doors with those who were seekers at the synagogues, as seen in the Book of Acts. There are many people today who may have somewhat of a religious background, but may not know nor have heard the actual Gospel shared with them. They can be open sometimes when they hear the Gospel shared and explained clearly to them. If you want to check out the real St. Patrick’s story, a person who grew up with a religious background but didn’t yet come to Christ until later, here’s the link:https://youtu.be/puQ-sT0K2dU.
We greatly appreciate all your prayers and support!
Blessings!
Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux
