The Born & Raised Mormon Woman Encountering Jesus Up A Hill
Yesterday I had my plans firmly in place for the afternoon. I was going to drive across Menai suspension bridge and have a walk across to Church Island to be with the Lord on my own, the same walk I did earlier in the week.
It was around 3pm in the afternoon in Bangor, and after spending a few hours meeting different people on the streets of Bangor to share the Good News, I started to walk back to Open Heavens Cafe to get my car keys, ready to head out for my walk.
Suddenly God started turning my plans upside down, with some unexpected but divine exposure of unclean spirits seeking to bring discord and division. As God says in His Word, everything done in dark will be brought in to the light, hallelujah.
It got to around 5pm and I was at the cafe, when I shared with a brother that I’m now going to head out for a walk as I had planned.
My brother immediately said to me “I usually walk up there” pointing out of the window to the very steep hill facing the cafe. As I looked up I saw 2 people stood on the very top of the hill, and the Lord immediately confirmed to me that He wants me to walk up this hill, and not drive to Church Island.
I set off, and soon started to feel it on my legs due to how steep the hill was. The path wound in a criss cross route, and about half way up I had a decision to make, to head left or to head right.
I knew I would probably have to head left to go in the direction to the 2 people, but the Spirit led me to head right. I kept on climbing up, stopping a couple of times, then I finally made it to a bench overlooking Bangor and Anglesey.
I saw a young women sat on her jacket to the side of the bench I was going to sit on, then on the next bench was a man playing the guitar.
It was a truly beautiful location.
I said hello to the young woman, and sat down to get my breath back after the severe climb.
Shortly after I opened up a conversation with the young women, and when I told her about the cafe, she told me she was in there earlier in the week and bought a bag from Moirah. I suddenly remembered that I saw the woman when she came in, as I was working on my laptop at the time in the cafe.
I asked her about her faith, and she shared with me that she was raised as a Morman with the Latter Day Saints, but when she decided to come away from this a few years ago, she was rejected and left confused and hurt. She shared that she has been baptised and she fully believes in God, but through what she has been previously taught, including by spending some time since leaving the LDS with Jehovah’s Witnesses, she is struggling to understand who Jesus really is, and is He God or is He separate.
I give God all the glory, praise and honour for orchestrating this truly divine encounter, and for using me as the hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus, to begin to open the woman’s heart and mind to the divine truth that Jesus is desiring that she comes in to a personal, deepening, intimate relationship with Him, and that yes, Jesus is God.
Truly, this was one of the most beautiful encounters God has given me over the last 5 years since I started speaking to complete strangers to say “God bless you, Jesus loves you.” I estimate there has been over 2000 1-1 encounters.
I smiled and gave thanks to God when the young woman explained that she has been in this place earlier in the day, but then she walked to a different part of the hill, but then not long ago she felt led to come back to this place where we met at the bench.
God was truly showing how His Spirit was working through both of us to bring us together at the top of the hill.
The Spirit led me to read out to her Revelation 3:20:
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20 NLT
After reading this she showed me her phone screensaver - it was an image of Jesus standing at the door knocking from this same scripture.
I was also honoured to read to the young woman the prayer of Jesus in John 17, following which I explained to her how she is the hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus.
I also shared Romans 10:13-15 which divinely explains how non believers will come to call out to Jesus by learning about Him through disciples of Jesus, who are not just hearing God’s Word but doing God’s Word:
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
Romans 10:13-15 NLT
I shared with the young woman how there are opportunities to gather with other believers every day through Open Heavens Cafe & Become Born-Again and Worship Harvest, the 3 ministries God has divinely joined. Gatherings are either in the cafe, in a home gathering or on Zoom.
We connected up on WhatsApp, and I shared with her that the Lord has placed a few things on my heart to share with her.
I offered to pray for her before I went on my way which she was appreciative of.
I prophecy that this young woman is going to be used mightily by God as a truly on-fire disciple of Jesus, a Daughter of the Most High.
Always, always, always, God’s way are HIGHER than our ways….
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
ALL glory to God.