Ministry Update: Fall-Winter 2025

We recently returned from a two-month mission trip to Europe where we ministered in three different countries. We are thankful for the opportunity to minister in Europe once again after having experienced a hiatus due to the pandemic, as well as some other factors, including our son Patrick getting married last year. 

 

Europe 

We ministered in the countries of England, Germany, and France, along with visiting some historical sites and other places along the way where we shot some videos on different aspects of Christian History.

Running Before We Hit the Ground 

The Lord was already at work while we were on our way to Europe. We had divine appointments with 2 different Uber drivers when our flights were rerouted by the airline. What looked like a hassle turned into divinely orchestrated opportunities of witnessing to, and praying for, two different drivers who had to get us to and from rerouted situations: Our first flight out of the OC was delayed messing up our connection, so the airline sent us up to LAX for a different flight and had a driver get us up there. 

We ended up sharing the Gospel with the driver and then praying for him on the way to LAX and when we landed in London, we had a driver who was from Kosovo. When we told him that we had been to Kosovo on a mission trip before—he was surprised since not many people go there—and we ended up witnessing to him and praying for him too! The Lord worked out the rerouting for good!

England 

We ministered in London at Ark of God Church with Pastor Daudet and the Holy Spirit’s presence was evident as both of us took turns preaching, and then as we prayed for people, the Lord brought an outpouring, with many experiencing a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, as well as having a few people receive and recommit themselves to Christ! 

The pastor himself also got deeply ministered to, and greatly encouraged—I felt led at the end of the message to share about how some of the leaders who ministered in the Argentine revival had to sow and sow and sow, as well as suffer with extremely small beginnings, (we know that drill too!) for many, many years and some for some decades, before the Lord brought forth a harvest—the pastor took to the microphone afterwards to share how much that had ministered to him and touched his life.

We were also blessed to receive some powerful prophetic words of encouragement ourselves from some of the prophetic people who were there at that particular meeting in London! Hallelujah!

 

Germany

Our time in Germany included continually ministering, regularly in some capacity, for around nine days straight. We ministered at two different Sunday services at Giessen International Church with Pastors Helmuth and Adriana as well as preaching at Frankfurt International Church with Pastors Tony and Sarah. We were also teaching at a number of different meetings during the week in Giessen, doing 6 meetings altogether, this along with meeting with different people, and sharing and praying with them. We also were able to get to visit some nearby historical sites that involved the Reformation and filmed some historical videos while there as well.

 

The Holy Spirit moved powerfully as we ministered in each and every meeting bringing many into a fresh experience and encounter with God, filling, empowering, renewing, and healing, as well as having some who rededicated themselves to Christ or received Christ for the first time, which included a young man who had come fairly recently from Iran that happened to get unexpectedly and radically touched by God’s power and was overcome by the presence of the Lord and he ended up giving his life to Christ! Hallelujah! We received numerous testimonies from other people of how their hearts were filled, healed, transformed, and renewed!

 

The Church in Giessen is next to an International University, so many of those coming are new to the church and many are fairly new believers. A youth meeting where we ministered and led some worship at, had a number of testimonies come forth about the Lord bringing a deep infilling and healing to many hearts. In fact, one young lady shared how she got a revelation from the Holy Spirit that she needed to forgive her father who had been absent from her life…she had never thought of this before…which brought forth a release of freedom! Praise the Lord! There was also a young French lady who had just arrived there in town right as we began to minister that got powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit when we prayed for her! Glory!

 

It was also a blessing to share in some meetings about Martin Luther and The Reformation, especially while in the land of The Reformation. This included sharing how Martin Luther experienced and then taught about God’s grace so profoundly, as well as saying “that we need to be continually baptized in the Holy Spirit—the rest of our lives—so we don’t get pulled back into the world or unbelief.” (Quote from Martin Luther.) We had numerous people tell us they were blessed and encouraged, saying they don’t hear about this subject as much as you’d expect in Germany. Back in 2017 when we were in Wittenberg, Germany for the 500-year anniversary of The Reformation, we got the sense that the Holy Spirit was stirring up something in our hearts in regard to Germany. It’s a blessing to have begun to experience the revelation the Lord was giving us back then.

 

France 

 

The Lord’s power was demonstrated in our weakness in France in the towns of Tours and Marcon. We had an exceptionally powerful move of the Holy Spirit while ministering in Tours, where we ministered in two different church services. The Holy Spirit filled, empowered, renewed, and brought some healing too at both Ciel Ouvert with Pastor Alpha and CDLR with Pastors Pete and Gwyneth. 

 

A powerful outpouring spontaneously took place on some kids in the morning church service. There were about 8 kids aged about 6-13 that were touched mightily by the Holy Spirit with tears streaming down their faces and hands lifted as they were overcome by the Lord’s presence! It was a glorious demonstration of the verse “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.” 2 Cor. 12:9.

 

We had experienced a lot of Spiritual Warfare coming into France and I got almost no sleep the night before preaching in two different meetings, along with interpretation challenges in the early meeting. I was feeling the weakness of the physical body …. When we were just praying for some people after the message and then out of nowhere a kid by us started getting touched by the Holy Spirit. I began specifically praying for him and it just accelerated, then other kids came up and we started praying for them and it just began to multiply and eventually turned into a powerful outpouring on the kids as more came up and joined in and quite a number got powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

We had a powerful move of the Holy Spirit in the later meeting in the other church too! We know it is all by the grace of God whose power is perfected in our weakness… I was tired and laden down from the lack of sleep but the Lord went above and beyond in our weakest moment, all by His grace and power! Lonnie Frisbee used to experience children getting touched by the Holy Spirit in some meetings now and then. He talked about what a miraculous thing it is; we have been stoked to experience it now and then too! It seems to happen sometimes when you least expect it!

 

Speaking of Lonnie Frisbee, we shared later in the week in Marcon, ministering with the fellowship pastored there by the Gotte’s, sharing about the Jesus People Revival and Lonnie Frisbee. We had a blessed prayer time afterwards with the Holy Spirit moving amongst us and touching and filling and ministering to most of those who came as we prayed with the people some of whom were actually touched by that Jesus People Revival back in the day themselves! 

 

We had a blessed time of fellowship with the Gotte’s afterwards sharing about how the Holy Spirit has been leading us lately and brought us back to Europe and kept it on our radar screen even when we didn’t get a chance to go there for a little while!

 

Spiritual Warfare - Victories in the Midst of Battles

 

We experienced some spiritual warfare as we ministered and traveled which happens when the Lord is working and moving. However, the Lord turned difficult situations into victories more than once. 

 

When we first flew into France after ministering in England, we had a difficult flight on a rough low budget airline. Blank expressions were the usual response to the most basic questions! Then we had to run about two miles to get to the boarding gate, after enduring miles of road works and traffic on the way to the airport in England and had not had a chance to get food nor had eaten much that day.  

 

We landed in France starved… only to find everything closed. Our stomachs were growling but nothing was available. We checked into the place we were staying and nothing was available there either. We figured it was going to be a long hungry night… then the heater broke in our room. 

 

We called the front desk to have it fixed. The guy they sent asked if we needed anything else and we asked if there was any way to get something to eat. He said, No, everything is closed. But then he thought for a moment and said, Well, let me actually check something out for you and come back. He came back with some food he was able to wrestle up, yay! The wild thing was he said, This is my gift to you, there is no charge. “Every good gift comes from above…” Friends who live in France said that this is extremely unusual in itself, but especially there in France! It was clearly a sign of the Lord’s care and provision in the midst of difficulty! Hallelujah!

 

It happened again when we drove into France from Germany after ministering. We needed to stay somewhere as it was too far to our destination.  We booked a place but when we arrived the door to get into the hotel was locked… we tried and tried calling the number provided but got no answer. We weren’t sure what to do other than pray. After about 40 minutes stuck outside praying in the cold a couple showed up who were staying there and let us in the locked front door, then they also helped us find the little package for our reservation that was sitting right there with the key to the room… it was a mystery what had happened to the hotel manager…? 

 

The next morning, the manager of the hotel showed up and asked why we didn’t call her… we explained that we tried calling the number numerous times… she looked at the number on our phone and it was the right number. She said she always comes over right away when late arrivals come and call her and she lets them in… she said this was a complete mystery that she for sure should have gotten the calls… there was no logical explanation as to why she didn’t get any of our calls? We knew it was spiritual warfare hitting when we were tired and right in between ministering in Germany and France.

 

The Lord turned it around for a blessing, though, as she felt bad that we had to wait out in the cold and gave us a free breakfast… which was pretty expensive … and was another little miracle! 

We’ve had incidents in hotels in the past in France where they did absolutely nothing in response to a problem so we were glad how the Lord intervened and turned these things around for good.

 

A Little R & R

 

Constantly moving and sleeping in unfamiliar conditions, along with long hours traveling, along with the spiritual warfare that inevitably hits, taxes the body and soul. We have learned from those who went before us to take breaks and get some R & R to avoid burning out. We got a chance to get down to the coast for a few days to get in a few activities including a little bit of surfing! Taking time to get refreshed, renews the body and soul. It also opens doors at times to witness and share Christ with people who may never darken the door of a church.

 

New Videos 

 

We were able to shoot, edit, and upload a couple videos even as we traveled including on the subjects of “Martin Luther at the Wartburg Castle” and one on location in Plymouth, England on “The Mayflower Pilgrims” who made the first permanent Colony in the New World. Check them out on YouTube at the Grace World Mission page: www.youtube.com/graceworldmission

 

Quick Review

 

We were also blessed to minister in Colorado, Salinas, San Diego, and Orange County, amongst other places last year, as well as doing a number of online meetings, along with experiencing numerous divine appointments. You can read more about those blessed ministry times and moments here:

https://gwmgracenotes.blogspot.com/2024/07/ministry-update-spring-summer-2024.html

 

We always appreciate all your prayers and support.

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name!

Bryan and Mercedes Marleaux

 

 

Grace World Mission—

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/graceworldmission 

Donate online: www.graceworldmission.org/contact_us.htm

Ministering in the Land of the Reformation

Luther at the Wartburg

Video link: https://youtu.be/rOVMh-VSSMU

Happy Reformation Day!

October 31 is the Anniversary of the Reformation, and it just so happens that we have been ministering here in Germany this past week and have had a blessed time as the Holy Spirit has been moving powerfully during the meetings we’ve been doing. (We have a little update at the end of this.)

It has also been a blessing to be sharing in some of our messages about Martin Luther and the Reformation, in the very land where the Reformation actually began and took place. Luther had an amazing encounter with the grace of God that is so central to the message of the Gospel. God’s grace is life-changing and it is inspiring to see how it worked through history. Quite a few people here in Germany have been coming up to us and telling us how they don’t hear about this subject often enough.

 

We got to visit some towns and cities along the way with connections to Martin Luther and the Reformation that are listed below with some interesting facts about them. (If you’d like to get a basic overview of the Reformation, click here.)

 

The Wartburg Castle: This is where Luther was hidden after the Diet of Worms, keeping him alive from Catholic assassins out seeking to take his life. After the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther was declared a heretic, and it was open season on Luther-hunting for anyone who would want to take him out. Luther’s Elector Prince “Frederik the Wise” had come into the fold and was convinced that Luther was doing nothing wrong but rather was just teaching the truth from the New Testament. He thus arranged to have Luther kidnapped and hidden in the Wartburg Castle to be kept alive and to help further the Reformation. Though he experienced serious spiritual warfare, his time at the Wartburg ended up being providential, as it was there that Luther translated the New Testament into the common German tongue from the original Greek language. This had a huge impact, as it gave people direct access to the Word of God, it furthered the Reformation, and it also codified the German language into a comprehensive whole, promoting literacy and education in the general population. Check out our new short video filmed on location at the Wartburg:

 

Eisenach: Right near the Warburg is the town of Eisenach where Luther spent his youth and attended school. There is a Martin Luther Museum as well as a Johann Sebastian Bach Museum because he lived there too. Bach was heavily influenced by the Reformation and the life story of Martin Luther. (Check out this short video we made on Luther and Bach.)

 

Heidelberg: After Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses, he gave a disputation at Heidelberg, where he explained and expounded on the doctrine of justification by faith through grace alone in the New Testament. Remarkedly, he said that he must rely on the Holy Spirit completely to lead him into all truth so as to be able to teach this effectively and correctly. Hearing his clear biblical teachings won him followers there, including Martin Bucer who became a stalwart leader of the Reformation and became pastor of the Reformed Church in Strasbourg. 

Strasbourg: This city used to be part of Germany and today it is in France. It was a free city and a refuge for many persecuted Protestants. The Reformation in France amongst the Huguenots had heavy persecution break out against it, and many fled to safety to Strasbourg, amongst other places. Amongst those fleeing who came to Strasbourg was a theologian named John Calvin, who Martin Bucer would go on to mentor. Calvin would move on to Geneva from there.

 

Marburg: Roughly 20 minutes away from where we were ministering in the town of Giessen is the town of Marburg, Germany. It’s connected to the Reformation through the Marburg Colloquy, which was when a group of the main Reformers was asked by the Landgrave Phillip to join together for discussions on the Reformation including Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and Martin Bucer.

 

Here's a little update on our recent ministry in Germany:

We ministered at two different church services this past Sunday in Giessen and Frankfurt, as well as preaching the Sunday before that in Giessen also. We have also been teaching at a number of different meetings during the week in Giessen, doing six meetings altogether. The Holy Spirit has been bringing many into a fresh experience and encounter with God, filling, renewing, empowering, healing, as well as having some who rededicated themselves to Christ and received Christ for the first time, including a young man who was from Iran that got radically touched by God’s power and was overcome and gave his life to Christ! Hallelujah!

 

Praise the Lord, it’s been a blessing to see the Lord moving like this and also get to experience these Reformation places!

Ministry Update--2017 In Review

We are thankful for all the Lord did in 2017 as we ministered in a number of different places and saw the Lord save, fill, empower, set free, and heal.

We were also blessed to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. This being quite the milestone, we headed up early before some ministry in Canada to take some time to celebrate and enjoy a little of the scenery before we ministered. We were blessed to visit Banff and Jasper National Parks taking in some of the awesome views of the glaciers on some hikes.

We ministered in Canada on Vancouver Island, where we saw the Holy Spirit move in power and do some amazing things, powerfully filling people and breaking into the lives of those who didn't have a Spirit-filled Christian background at all. In fact, one particular guy who had come to a meeting we did, who was not from a Spirit-filled background, had encountered a verse from the book of John on the Holy Spirit earlier that day. Then, when we did some worship and without knowing what he had read earlier, I felt led to play a song based on that very verse as well as share on it. He came to the realization that the Lord was preparing him and that he needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We began to pray for him and the Holy Spirit came upon him in great power for the first time in his life and he experienced the gift of tongues. He was so powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit he couldn't continue to stand and had to be held up by others, he was so touched! Another guy helping hold him up also got filled with God's power and exclaimed: "That was amazing, never in my life have I experienced something like that!" Hallelujah!

We ministered up and down the West Coast of California, down upon the Southern border region, and up along the Central Coast of California, as well as many other places where the Holy Spirit moved in power, including Isla Vista, Shell Beach, and Salinas. The Lord met us each step of the way here and overseas!

We were blessed to minister for three months in Europe in 5 different countries. The Lord did so much it would be easy to rewrite a whole account again, but rather than doing that, we'll just recap some of the highlights. You can check out our recent newsletter for a more in-depth report at: http://gwmgracenotes.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-praise-report-winter-2017.html

In England we were blessed to have some youth open their hearts to the Gospel and the message of Christ and also get powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit in a very dramatic way. The Holy Spirit came upon some of the kids in power who found themselves resting in the Spirit on the floor for some time. God touching the youth became a theme for many other places on the trip!

We were blessed in France to minister on the Reformation in preparation for a Reformation-based outreach event some friends were doing. In fact, some brothers from South Africa with a French Reformed (Huguenot) background showed up to intercede; led by the Spirit they showed up and came and prayed for the meetings. After a meeting where the Holy Spirit powerfully filled many there with the Holy Spirit with some dramatic manifestations, as well as some opening their hearts to Christ, they told us that was exactly what they'd been praying and interceding to see happen in France!

In Spain we ministered in Catalonia in the cities of Tarragona, Reus, and Barcelona, where we taught on being empowered and operating in the gifts of the Spirit. We were stoked to see the hunger there for the Holy Spirit and many were filled and empowered and moved to step out and minister. We also experienced a few being healed and coming to Christ! A divine appointment on the coast in between ministering led to a board being supplied and a chance to share the Gospel with a local Catalan surfer!

We were blessed to minister in some different regions of Sweden including Skåne and Småland. In Skåne, we preached in Hässleholm, Örkeljunga, and Trelleborg. The Lord moved in power and we got a lot of response, many shared how filled and renewed they were as we ministered. We were stoked to see the daughter of the family hosting us get powerfully filled and then join us in every meeting praying for others! Some of the leaders got powerfully filled too and were very insistent that the ministry we are doing is so needed there, and we must keep coming back. We also ministered in the region of Småland, on the East coast of Sweden, where a young lady came and told us how impacting and life changing our ministry was to her. 

We also had a couple of people open their hearts to Christ, some who had Muslim backgrounds. We spoke at a youth meeting focused on getting some of the youth filled with the Spirit, and out of nowhere, the Holy Spirit just swept in and started powerfully filling a group of them. They began to lift their hands and tears streamed down some of their faces as they prayed over one another and gave words of encouragement to each other. New believers with Muslim backgrounds joined in for the first time and began to pray for one another too, including the guy who had just accepted Christ earlier on in the meeting. The Holy Spirit continued to pour out long after many had gone home. A friend noticed the powerful change when the Holy Spirit swept in and said, "This is a miracle!" We knew it was a special moment as the Lord poured His Spirit over many who had never experienced His power like this before. 

A young guy who had been filled and touched in those meetings shared the following with us: The Lord had put such a fire in him that he had begun to share the Gospel with others, even sharing with a tough guy in town. He also was evangelizing on a bus and prayed for a lady who got healed, which opened a door to tell her about Jesus. This is a huge deal for someone in Sweden to step out like that as it is a very shy culture, but the Holy Spirit can transcend, and this is why we ourselves come to minister in God's power that others may be equipped to be His witnesses.

We ministered in Norway, in the town of Mandal. From the very first meeting, the Lord poured out His Spirit in a very powerful and remarkable way. In one of the youth meetings, late in the evening, the Holy Spirit just descended all of a sudden in power on a group of young teen girls, and the Lord touched them so deeply for such a long time that a puddle of tears gathered around their feet, and the Youth Group leader pointed out that it looked like pearls that had fallen down from heaven! You know it is significant when young people ignore a waiting pizza and flow with the Holy Spirit instead! We were stoked to be able to preach on Martin Luther and the Reformation at their Sunday services, two days before the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Many of the older generation were very thankful to hear the story and were touched and refreshed, but many young people had never heard the story at all and were blessed by it as well. We closed by sharing about how Martin Luther emphasized the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and prayed for many to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

We were also blessed to get to go to Wittenberg, Germany, for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. October 31st, Reformation Day, was a pretty extraordinary day to be right there where the Reformation all began! The little town was packed with people from all over the world coming to celebrate this momentous event. Since it was so crowded, we rented and rode bikes into the town center, and as we were getting closer, a huge group of black cars and police with a helicopter hovering overhead passed by us. We hadn't known that the Chancellor of Germany would coming for a special service at the Castle Church. We had lots of divine appointments throughout the day with different people whom we shared with and prayed for as we were equipped with quotes from Luther and the Bible about the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit! 

There were many special events going on, including museum exhibitions as well as a sound and light show. There was also a musical about Luther in Berlin which was broadcast live all over the nation, and actually quoted many Bible verses. It was quite a unique moment for sure and we believe the Lord was using this occasion to plant many seeds in people's lives about the Gospel as well as draw many to Himself!

We truly appreciate all your prayers and support.
Many blessings to you!
Bryan, Mercedes, and Patrick Marleaux

P.S. We had a bit of a rough return coming back from Europe with the recent wildfires that hit the Southern California region. To read about our own experience during the wildfires in San Diego, click here.

The Praise Report: Winter 2017

Euro Mission 2017

We recently returned from a 3-month extended mission trip to Europe where we ministered in England, France, Spain, Sweden and Norway! We experienced the Holy Spirit meeting us at every turn and were stoked to see people opening their hearts to receive Christ in the different places where we preached.

London 

We ministered at a weekend outreach in London, England, where people responded and made decisions and re-dedications for Christ, and where there was also a very powerful visitation of the presence of God. 

In fact, there were many who were filled with the Holy Spirit in a significant way, including some young kids who had also responded to the Gospel message we had shared. When they opened their hearts they were overcome with the Holy Spirit as the Lord poured out His power on them and some fell to the ground as the Lord flooded them with His presence. Some even laid on the floor inundated by God’s power, and were there receiving after being overcome by the Spirit for quite a long time. Young kids’ attention spans are always rather short, thus clearly God’s power took over as He filled them!

Saving and equipping the younger generation was a theme the Holy Spirit divinely brought up unexpectedly right from the beginning of this trip, and carried through in many other places. In fact, a taxicab that was supposed to come and get us did not show up. We called the company to find out they had somehow set up in their computer. So we contacted an Uber driver at the last minute. We were able to talk and connect with the Uber driver on the way, and as we shared with him, he began to point out how the younger generation in Europe especially needed the message of Christ. I felt what he was saying was prophetic for the service we were about to do. Then the pastor unexpectedly opened the meeting by talking about the importance of reaching the youth, as did Mercedes when she shared as we began to preach!

Like in many places today, secular humanism dominates in European public institutions that claim to be teaching but are instead indoctrinating. Also, there are clearly not enough vital, alive, gospel-communicating fellowships throughout Europe; this leaves a void in many young people’s lives. That void gets filled instead often by drugs, promiscuity, wanton living, cults, and on and on. A friend over there who goes to an upper-class, private, rather posh, private school, described the insanity of the rampant drug use, and wanton living, that goes on even there. Thus, it is imperative that the Gospel of the Kingdom be preached, shared, and communicated in all ways possible. The future generations must be reached if we want to have a future. 

Both of us preaching and sharing at an evangelistic outreach at Ark of God Church
in London, Patrick also got to share some too!

It is the Gospel of the Kingdom that is necessary in this day, the Gospel that has power to save, heal, and deliver from darkness! Those reached must also be filled with the Spirit! The power of God is a necessity with all the evil around these days. The pastor closed by stating what a blessed moment we had witnessed, as it isn’t so common to see young kids like this get so powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit. Praise God! The Lord poured out His power in a remarkable way and we had about 10 people open their hearts to Christ and many including kids get powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit as we ministered in London!

Praying for young kids in London who got
powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit.

We also had a historic moment in London, one of several on this trip. When Princess Diana died 20 years ago, we happened to walk, somehow, right into her memorial in Paris with all the activities going on. Just randomly, having taken a wrong turn, we came upon all the flowers and cards grieving her untimely passing. We just happened to be in London on this trip exactly 20 years after she died. There were many events carried out in her memory in the UK while we were there. It reminded us of how fast time goes by and how fragile and quickly life passes, whether one is a princess or a pauper, thus “we must do the work of the Kingdom while it is yet day.” (John 9:4)

France 

We then ministered in the Loire Valley of France. We spoke in Neuillé-Pont-Pierre and in Tours, at different meetings and services as well as a prayer meeting. We were speaking and teaching on the Reformation in preparation for an event the churches we worked with there were having celebrating the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation. Yes, a Reformation event in France of all places! The Reformation did touch France back in the day but serious persecution limited its impact.

With friends in France and the posters for the Reformation Event.

We shared about Martin Luther’s powerful conversion to Christ and awakening to the grace and mercy of God. Luther had run into desperation and exasperation with rituals and penance as a Catholic priest; however, revelation of Christ’s full payment for sin on the cross came to him as he read Paul’s letter to the Romans. 

The timing was strategic, especially with their upcoming event, as most there were not familiar with the story of Luther’s conversion. We communicated further how the subject can be used as a way to share the Gospel with others as a tool for evangelism, especially with those who may have a bit of religious background but don’t know Christ as their personal savior, as is common in France. The event itself was an outreach, so it was important to equip those involved with how to share the Gospel in conjunction with the event.

Speaking of evangelism, we had about 8 people altogether come to Christ in the various meetings we did while there, which also included ministering at an African church. A young guy from Kosovo, as well as a young French guy, were amongst those who opened their hearts to Christ, having been impacted by the Holy Spirit as there was a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit at some of the meetings.

In fact, there were a couple of believers from South Africa who were of French Reformed (Huguenot) background, who were there specifically to pray for the meetings. They came up all the way from South Africa to intercede in prayer. They communicated to us personally after one of the main meetings we did on Sunday morning: the way the Lord moved, bringing some to salvation, as well as pouring out His Spirit, filling and empowering and refreshing many there, was exactly what they were interceding for! One of the sisters helping lead one of the churches told us how encouraged and strengthened she was by all the Lord did!

We were glad to see the Lord move in this way in a place that needs the Gospel so much. We were talking and praying with some friends on the way out of town whose kids told us how hard it is there in France as one often feels very isolated as a believer. Praise God for the comfort and encouragement the Holy Spirit brings!

Spain 

We ministered in the region of Catalonia, Spain. It was nice to minister in Spain again since we haven’t been there for some time. We actually connected through some friends who pastor a church in Colorado where we ministered at earlier this year. The new co-pastor and his wife were previously doing mission work in Catalonia and were so blessed by our ministry—the wife got powerfully ministered to when we prayed and prophesied over her— that they invited us to come to minister in Catalonia next time we traveled to Europe.

Praying as the Holy Spirit fills people at a workshop in Barcelona, Spain.

We were blessed to experience the Holy Spirit moving in a powerful way as we first ministered in the cities of Tarragona and Reus, and then after a short break, in the famous city of Barcelona. We were teaching at several workshops on the empowering of the Holy Spirit and how to operate in the gifts of the Spirit.


There was a receptive attitude amongst those who came to all the meetings we did to what we were teaching as well as to the work of the Holy Spirit. We experienced many getting filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped as the Spirit of God was poured out as we ministered and taught with many powerful manifestations of His presence, along with about 7 people altogether in the different meetings who opened their hearts to Christ.


Preaching as Mercedes interprets in Barcelona, Spain.

We also had some who received healing, amongst them a gentleman who regained lost sensation in his hand after praying for him. The pastors and their wives also expressed how encouraged and blessed they were. One of the pastors said publicly that these meetings we did were a line of demarcation and that he saw there would be a difference in his congregation and fellowship after these meetings where the Lord had so poured out His presence!

Holy Ghost Surfing Divine Appointments

We had a nice little break by the warm Mediterranean, in between ministering in Barcelona and Tarragona and Reus, where we enjoyed a few days on the beach. It was a necessary break in the middle of this long trip packed with lots of ministry. 

There were actually a few small waves that looked like they could be fun for a longboard or SUP if we could rent one or something. I checked out three different beach places that normally would rent equipment like that, but they all said it was past the season and had already stored that type of equipment away elsewhere. 

I was praying on what to do when Patrick and I were taking a little stroll on the boardwalk and a woman was walking a dog in front of us. I just felt led by the Holy Spirit to talk to her, completely out of the blue. I came up and started talking to her and it turned out after a few moments speaking Spanish that she spoke good English. I asked if she knew a place that might still rent surfboards or SUP’s anywhere in the area. She said everything was past the season for renting stuff, but, she knew the one guy in the area that could possibly rig us up with something to use.

She actually called him right then, and after some conversation we arranged to pick up an SUP the next day. Even though we had only met him on the phone he just let us take the board and didn’t even ask for an ID or a credit card deposit. We were stoked to have an SUP for a couple days, which turned out to be the right thing for the small waves there.

After a couple days of refreshing in the sun and surf—it was actually the only warm weather we had the whole trip—we returned the SUP to the guy. I felt led to share with him how I had prayed and then met his friend and that him providing the board was an answer to prayer. I witnessed to him and we were stoked to be able to share Christ's love with him and plant the seeds of the Gospel to a very receptive heart, and also nice to get a little refreshing on the SUP via divine appointment!

Turbulent Times in Spain 

We were in Barcelona during the Independence Referendum, which has been much in the news this year. The Spanish government had declared the Referendum illegal, and sent in the Guardia Civil (Federal Police), as well as local police being out everywhere. We were actually preaching in the center of the city the day it was all happening, right next to all the referendum activities. In fact, the pastor happened to turn on the news that Sunday morning before we ministered. The broadcaster warned to stay away from areas where voting and protests were going on. Some violence had already broken out in different places along with many protesters out and about, chanting and picketing and stuff.

It definitely brought some concern to our hearts, but as I took a moment to pray, I felt the Holy Spirit speaking peace and saying not to worry. Lo and behold, we ministered and people got saved, healed, and filled, and we had a blessed time in spite of all the craziness going on right around us everywhere outdoors. God gave us peace and blessings in the midst of the storm at every turn all around us. In fact, we actually went out and walked 8 miles around town checking out all the sights and activity after ministering and being treated to an awesome lunch by the pastor! 

God blessed us with peace, protection, and grace by the Holy Spirit. It was a unique and historic moment to be there and we are praying whatever the outcome of all this that more openness to the Gospel will result as part of everything being so shaken up. It was actually after a significant shake up that revival broke out in Argentina years back. 

This ended up being another unique and historic moment on the trip!

Sweden

As we ministered in Sweden we experienced the Lord moving powerfully in the different places we preached. We were ministering in the region of Skåne, which is by the North Sea in the South, as well as in the region of Småland on the Baltic coast. While in Skåne in the south of Sweden, we ministered in the cities of Hässleholm, Örkeljunga, and Trelleborg.

Mercedes speaking at New Life Church in Hassleholm, Sweden.

The presence of the Lord was manifest in the meetings we did and we got a lot of response as many shared how filled and renewed they were by what the Lord did in them as we ministered. One sister shared how encouraged and renewed she was by the way the Lord touched and filled her as we ministered. We were stoked to see the daughter (who is just 15 years old) of the family hosting us in Skåne get powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit and then join us in every meeting praying for others! 

We also got a very positive response from some of the leaders. In fact there were some who got powerfully filled themselves and others who had been part of the Jesus People Revival and were very encouraged as well as touched and renewed as we shared about that topic. They were very insistent that the ministry we are doing is so needed there, and we must keep coming back. We saw many people, young and old, get filled with the Holy Spirit and there were also some who opened their hearts to Christ. 


We also ministered as well in the region of Småland, on the East coast of Sweden along the Baltic Sea, in the town of Gamleby. A young lady came and told us before we even began ministering, how impacting and life changing our ministry was to her the last time we were there when she was at one of our meetings. We also had a couple people open their hearts to Christ there as well, some who had Muslim backgrounds.

Posters for our speaking engagement at Citykyrkan in Örkeljunga,
Sweden. We didn't know they'd be all over town. We even went
for Chinese food and one was there. Lol!

We spoke at a youth meeting where we shared some Holy Ghost stories in hopes of getting some of the youth filled with the Spirit. It started a little slow as they just kind of stood there staring off when we first started praying for them, but then after some time, out of nowhere, the Holy Spirit just swept in and started powerfully filling a group of them. They began to lift their hands and tears streamed down some of their faces as they prayed over one another and gave words of encouragement over each other. Some new believers with Muslim backgrounds who just recently came to Christ, joined in for the first time and began to pray for one another too, including the guy who had just accepted Christ earlier on in the meeting. 

The Holy Spirit continued to pour out for at least another hour, long after many had gone home. An old friend named Jan who had been radically saved in the Jesus People days, noting the powerful change in the atmosphere in the room that had taken place when the Holy Spirit swept in, looked up in the middle of it all and said, “This is a miracle!” We knew it was a special moment as the Lord poured His Spirit over many who had never experienced His power like this before!

A young guy who had been filled and touched in those meetings shared: How, as a result of the Lord empowering him, he had begun to share the Gospel with others. In fact, he began sharing with a rather tough guy in town who was way more open than he suspected he would be, and would continue to reach out to him. He also was evangelizing on a bus and prayed for a lady who got healed which opened a door to tell her about Jesus.  This is huge deal for someone in Sweden to step out like that as it is a very shy culture, but the Holy Spirit can transcend, and this is why we ourselves come to minister in God’s power that others may be equipped to be witnesses!


Denmark is just across the border from Sweden and we had a few free days before heading on. So we hopped over the border and saw a few sights in Denmark and even got a few cold water waves. Wow, surfing in Denmark was pretty unique; in fact some Scandinavian surfer friends had just gone to the exact same spot right before us and it was completely flat without a wave to be seen. So the Lord gave us another little miracle to provide a little refreshing before moving on to even more ministry in Scandinavia!

Norway

We ministered in Norway, in the south of the country, in the town of Mandal, as well as doing a youth meeting in the city of Kristiansand. Norway has beautiful scenery at every turn and we also had great fellowship with old friends. We had some very blessed meetings with the presence of the Lord moving powerfully amongst us.

Preaching to the youth in Familiekirken Mandal in Norway,
showing them the old Jesus People "One way" sign.

In fact, right from the very first meeting, which was a special midweek meeting they set up, the Lord poured out His Spirit in a very powerful and remarkable way. That first night went quite long as the Lord poured out His power long into night with powerful manifestations of His presence!

In one of the youth meetings in Mandal, the Holy Spirit then swept in with surprising power, late in the meeting. We had shared and prayed for people and even had a couple people open their hearts to Christ. But then late in the meeting when everything was seemingly wrapping up, the Holy Spirit just descended all of a sudden in power on a group of young teen girls, who began just praying and hugging each other and giving prophetic words to one another. 

The Lord touched them so deeply for such a long time that a puddle of tears gathered around their feet, the Youth Group leader pointed out that it looked like pearls that had fallen down from heaven! You know how significant it is what God was doing when young people ignore a tasty pizza waiting for them that had been prepared, and instead keep basking under the waterfall of the Holy Spirit for a good hour instead, all while the pizza gets eaten by others and gets cold! Hallelujah!!!

Holy Ghost afterglow in Norway. The Spirit of God came upon these girls
at the end of the meeting and extended things another glorious hour!

e were blessed to do a service with an Eritrean immigrant church in Mandal, where we saw a powerful move of the Spirit, which led to some getting radically filled with the Holy Spirit and also some getting deliverance as well!

We were stoked to be able to preach on Martin Luther and the Reformation on their Sunday services, two days before the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, while there are in Mandal, Norway. Many of the older generation were very thankful to hear the story and were touched by it and refreshed, and many young people had never heard the story at all and were blessed by it as well. We closed by sharing about how Martin Luther emphasized the importance of being filled the Holy Spirit, and prayed for many that were filled with the Holy Spirit that day. It was an awesome time in Norway!

Germany and the Anniversary of the Reformation

We flew to Germany just in time for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

October 31st, Reformation Day, was a pretty extraordinary day to be right there where it all began, in Wittenberg, Germany! 

The little town ended up being packed with people from all over the world for the celebration of this very momentous event. We ended up having to stay in another town because everything had been booked up far in advance with all the people visiting for the big event.

Scenes from the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany,
including the leader of Germany who showed up to pay homage to the country's
indebtedness to Martin Luther and the Protest Reformation.

We were stoked to find out the place we were staying had bikes to rent at a very reasonable price. We figured the 35 mi (56 km) round trip adventure would be good exercise after so many planes, trains, and automobiles on this trip. 

So we got up early on the 31st and started biking towards Wittenberg. We passed through some quaint little German towns and farms and enjoyed taking in the sights; however, it seemed like every last store and place of business we passed was closed. We found out later that October 31st had been declared a national holiday for all of Germany for the first time in its history.

Then, as we were getting closer to Wittenberg, a huge group of black cars and police with a helicopter hovering overhead, passed by us. We hadn’t known that the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, would be heading into the Reformation City for a special service. Because we were on bikes we got a unique view of all this as we rode in.

It was a blessed time to be there and we had lots of divine appointments with many different people whom we shared with and prayed for as we were equipped to share quotes from Luther and the Bible about the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit! 

There were many special events going on, including many special museum exhibitions, as well as a sound and light show, and a huge panorama exhibition on Luther and the town of Wittenberg by a well-known artist. There was also a big musical play about Luther in Berlin which was broadcast nationwide and actually quoted many Bible verses throughout!  

It was quite a unique moment for sure and we believe the Lord was using this occasion to plant many seeds in people’s lives about the Gospel as well as draw many to Himself!

Luther is often called the "accidental revolutionary" because of the amazing chain of events that were set in motion by this then unknown monk in a little insignificant town who was touched by the Holy Spirit as he read the truth of the Gospel in the Scriptures. That truth reverberated throughout the land and even crossed the sea with those early Pilgrims coming to the New World, a place that would later be called the United States of America!

Being in Wittenberg was a blessing capstone to an already very blessed trip. We praise God for everything he did on this journey!!!  Read more on Grace Notes.

Thanksgiving 

We hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving! We have a blog that we just put out on Thanksgiving, the early colonies, and the Reformation. If you would like to read it you can find it at http://gwmgracenotes.blogspot.com/2017/11/thanksgiving-blessings.html.

Thank You

We praise God for your prayers and support! It helps us to be out there on the road, preaching the Gospel and bringing the Kingdom into emerging mission fields like Europe!

Many blessings!

Bryan, Mercedes 

and Patrick Marleaux