A Milestone
It was, however, an unexpected word that the Lord gave me, which at the time seemed to have nothing to do with what happened later—meeting a young lady—that actually connected Patrick and Emily.
We had recently connected with Dave and Natalie Hess on the coast for some lunch after years of emailing one another but never being here in the US at the same time.
However, the Lord’s timing is so different than our own and He knows what needs to happen and when.
After connecting with them and getting to know each other, we were getting ready to leave to go to a meeting they were hosting, when I saw Patrick getting ready to do something else and I told him: “I just got an impression from the Lord, and I think you are supposed to come to this meeting with us tonight.”
We celebrated 10 years of ministry in Canada on our latest trip there last year. This video shares about the supernatural way the Holy Spirit led us and opened the doors to begin ministry there!
Direct link: https://youtu.be/OD_-ve4G81s?si=KhUqPmUo1JqPuyJo
We were actually going to dinner with Dave and Natalie first, and Patrick wasn't even invited…but I just brought him along because the Lord gave me that word! It was important to listen to the Lord versus following social decorum.
I figured Patrick was just supposed to come with us and help pray for people at the meeting after dinner…
Instead, the Lord had a different plan and he met Emily who wasn't even supposed to be there at that meeting that night either. They connected at that meeting and went to an evangelistic outreach down on the coast together shortly after that.
Mercedes and I actually ran into them down there at the outreach and we also had a divine appointment with an old friend down there. As we were all talking with them, I got a leading from the Holy Spirit to have us all pray together in our own little circle of about 8 of us, off to the side, over by the beach. As we joined hands to pray, the Holy Spirit just fell on all of us in this little prayer circle with power and grace and we all ended up down on the ground as the Holy Spirit moved on us all with His presence, hallelujah!
The police actually showed up and started giving the guys leading the outreach over on their platform a hard time and they were just staring over at us as not knowing what to think of this strange little group off to the side and down on the ground getting hammered by the Holy Spirit! While the Holy Spirit touched us, I got an impression from the Lord that He was doing something significant in this relationship that was forming. That was quite a wild night being their first outing together.
After about a year later of them going surfing and to ministry outreaches etc, Patrick proposed, and they began making wedding plans. They are now married and leading worship together regularly! The worship leading thing was another word I had for Patrick early on. However, the Lord had to bring it to pass himself in his own way!
I had a word while on a trip that Patrick would lead worship later—this was in his early teens. I tried to help that word get going in my own way—which met a lot of resistance—but the Lord had his own plan, which he worked out in His own way, in his own time, that I didn’t foresee. Praise the Lord! His ways and thoughts are higher than ours!
Divine Appointments
We have had numerous divine appointments over the last year. Each unique in its own way, here’s a couple highlights:
There was a recent divine appointment that took place just a few weeks ago: We started conversing with a young lady up in the mountains. One thing led to another, and we began sharing the Gospel with her and as we did, the Holy Spirit began to visibly move upon her heart, and she began tearing up! She then shared that she was a believer who had drifted away from the Lord in the last year. She knew that the Lord had arranged this moment of us sharing with her. We prayed together with her as she re-surrendered her heart to Christ while tears fell down her face! Praise the Lord she was a prodigal that has come back home!
It was one of those moments that required us to slow down and pay attention to what the Lord had in store, something that requires constant learning in this go go go world!
We also had a divine appointment with a security guard at a beach mall. We ended up in a conversation with him and it turned out he was a believer. We shared and then prayed with him about the filling of the Holy Spirit, and he was greatly touched and encouraged as the presence of the Lord filled and renewed him, hallelujah!
We had another divine appointment driving along the coast on our way north on a ministry trip. I was about to get off the coast route and get on the freeway…when I sensed a check and felt I should stay on the coast route at the moment. We finally stayed in a place where we ended up ministering to one of the Hispanic housekeepers the next day who we ended up talking with and then prayed for! She responded to a word I had “about a burden she was dealing with” turned out she was a believer who had an estranged son that was weighing heavily on her heart… the Lord touched her with His presence and buoyed her heart…the maid ministry continues on 😎!
Ministering Our Way Up The Pacific Coast Trail
We were blessed to minister our way along the coast in 2023 all the way from San Diego up to the northern tip of Vancouver Island in Canada at Port Hardy.
We experienced the power of God being poured out as many were baptized in the Holy Spirit, others received Christ into their lives, along with many others who received healing and breakthroughs along the way.
A few moments that stand out: A man in Port Hardy receiving Christ as his Savior and also getting empowered with the Holy Spirit right after he was so overcome, he had tears and snot just flooding down his face as he was getting so touched by the presence of the Lord!
There was also a First Nations lady there who had received Christ as we ministered on a previous trip and shared how she now regularly attends Bible Studies and is serving the Lord! A woman in Salinas who received tongues finally after many years of praying and seeking the Lord for a breakthrough in that area, she along with many others was overcome by the presence of the Lord and impacted powerfully.
There was an old friend who was just radically overcome by the presence of the Lord as we prayed for her while she experienced a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and healing that was releasing her from some heavy burdens, this along with others who surrendered their hearts to Christ as well rededicated themselves to the Lord, along with numerous others who were touched and filled as the Holy Spirit was poured out in power at the CDO Church in Downtown San Diego just recently as we preached and ministered there. Many were also touched by God’s presence and filled with the Holy Spirit, along with others who received healing, as well as some who received Christ in North County San Diego, Santa Barbara, Costa Mesa, Orange, and San Clemente and down in the Southern Border Region, as we ministered in those areas.
Deeper Healing
Looking back at the last few years 2023 is actually the first full year where things were not hampered by lingering Covid restrictions. It was only the latter half of 2022 when a lot of the restrictions were finally done. It is an unusual time we have all lived through that still requires some reflections and processing. On our end we are thankful of how the Lord can: “Work everything together for good.” (Romans 8:28)
That unusual season of Covid was actually something where the Holy Spirit began to take things to a whole deeper level in the area of healing of past things that involved growing up in broken situations in both of our lives.
This felt unusual at first since we have both already experienced healing like that before, however, this was on a much deeper level. Moreover, He’s God and we are not, and the fruit has shown the wisdom from on high that surpasses the weakness of our puny little human minds.
One thing needed on this journey was a surrendering of the will and human reasoning—possibly some of the hardest things we can ever lay down—the path did not make sense at first, but the Lord knew the end from the beginning.
His infinite divine wisdom surpasses our lowly human intelligence. While there may always be some things still to walk through in life, that season of intense healing has brought forth divine fruit that continues to bless us! Hallelujah, He is able to work everything together for good!
After walking through that season where the Lord did so much deep stuff, we have both been blessed to experience new levels of freedom and peace in certain areas of our lives and there has been a definite strengthening in our marriage—things just went from good—to even better.
This involves some of the mystery of the divine grace of God. He has taken us both on a journey that may have been a bit tough at first to embark on and walk through, but in the end, things have gone from good… to even better! Praise the Lord!
We pray that the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ refresh and renew you as you walk with him into this New Year and beyond!
We thank the Lord for each and every one of you and always really appreciate all your prayers and support.
Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name!
Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux
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