[another testimony]

Looking back from a conversation I had with a lovely lady called Eva, I said I won´t be able to join the tour as much as I´d love to. However, after God told me to step back and cancel the School of Worship this year (supposedly in July), doors of opportunity to move around Finland were opened. Things I´ve never imagined God would do this summer.... First, I just planned to go to Ruurikkala to rest for a few days before seeing my friend in Oulu. So when the base leader of YWAM Ruurikkala called me that there might be a limited space coz they´re having a full house that weekend; also the BURN tour was coming, which I was not aware of. Anyhow, I asked God if I was to join the tour and when I finally talked to Tiffany, who was leading the tour, she mentioned that there´s plenty of space in the cars. Later that day, I really felt at peace and knew that there´s something He wanted to show me in the tour. I also realised that they had the same route as I had in mind - from ruurikkala to Oulu then down South!

 

Someone from the team encouraged me by saying "this is your school of worship, and we are the students". I think I´d rather say, God has put me on my own school of worship where the Holy Spirit is my teacher. I have learned so much from these wonderful, passionate worshipers and lovers of Jesus. I was reminded that to hold back and to not release what God has for His people is stealing the blessings from others. I remember one situation in Oulu, where I felt so strongly that God wanted me to do a joik. I argued with God that I don´t know how. And I heard Him say in my heart,"nevermind child, just open your mouth and I will let the sound out." However that sounds like, I said YES. When the time came for me to do it, I felt something was released. I belive I heard the sound God wants to release in this country. Then one of our team stood up to ask forgiveness on behalf of what happened in the past, where doing a joik was considered unacceptable in the worship service. After this, people were encouraged to bring their praises through joik. It was powerful! We all felt there was a breakthrough. And that´s when healing after healing happened; people were asking for prayers, the Holy Spirit moved among us.

 

Just before the tour was over, it dawned on me the significance of doing the joik - I realised that after this trip, I´d be off with a friend to Lapland for a worship and prayer drive. I felt God prepared me for Lapland.

 

I believe each one of us were changed during the trip. Personally, God deepened and widened my heart for His people in this land. I know that there will be more schools of worship I will be leading or serving with, but this is incomparable. He does makes things beautiful in His time and every single thing He does is unique.

- Mary

[Testimony]

I think that one of my favourite times of prayer on the tour happened at the YWAM base in Ruurikkala, long after the meeting had ended. We'd already seen in the meeting God do some awesome things: first releasing the Finnish men in the room to worship in this strong movement/dance which truly felt strong and warlike to me, and then also bringing the men and women together again in worship in a beautiful prophetic dance. There was more He did in that meeting, and we prayed with a number of people afterwards, listening to God for them and sharing with them what we heard. After all this had happened, the girls on the team went to where they were sleeping, and the boys headed to the kitchen for a snack before bed. It was getting late and we were all pretty wiped after a few hours of travel and a meeting where the Holy Spirit was doing a lot of unexpected and powerful things. There were others from the base in the kitchen hanging out, talking about the Holy Spirit, spiritual warfare and spiritual gifts with a young Catholic girl, which seemed to me to be the kind of conversation I'd really enjoy being a part of. So somehow I managed to find a way of subtly joining in.

The rest of the BURN Tour boys went to bed, but I'd already figured out that God wanted me to pray with her to receive the Holy Spirit, so I stayed behind with the YWAMers in this massive kitchen full of stainless steel worktops until we had an opportunity to offer it. While we were praying, I felt the Spirit was saying He wanted to give her the gift of tongues. This both delighted me and freaked me out all at the same time - what if we shared that with her and she ended up disappointed? But at the same time, I was convinced it was the Holy Spirit and was aware of His genius at work. She had been asking us how could she really know the presence of the Holy Spirit was in her life, and we spent some time encouraging her and explaining how we can know Him. I know speaking in tongues is a sensitive subject for some, and He doesn't give that gift to everyone. However, for those that the Spirit has given that gift to, it can perhaps be a visible way in which we know His presence dwelling within us - we can't operate in any gift from the Holy Spirit without the Holy Spirit living in us. Anyway, I figured I needed to step out and trust what the Holy Spirit was telling me. When I shared it with the others praying, it turned out they heard the same thing from the Spirit too. Well, that clinched it.

We prayed for her to receive that gift, and then I encouraged her to try and copy me speaking in tongues. After a minute I stopped speaking and she carried on, in a completely different tongue to the one I'd been speaking in. She was so surprised and happy! She couldn't believe that God would want to bless her with a gift like that, one that she could be certain meant the Holy Spirit was living inside her, and yet that was exactly what He'd done. I was so glad I'd stuck around in that really functional looking kitchen with complete strangers to pray for this girl. I went to bed very late, but praising God!

Ben