D.L.

Oh my word!
He brought me back to the Chilean Pentecostal Church—a church where I spent most of my early years and part of my youth.
Alfred Cooper, Bishop Alfred was at New Wine Ireland with his wife Hilary. He preached on the last evening, Friday, about the outpouring.
He had two seminars on the Pentecostal Revival that happened in Chile back in 1909. I told him that my great-grandfather prayed with the American missionary who the Lord used to bring revival in Chile, Rev. Hoover.
So, there I was with Ramon (another Chilean) and his wife, Karen, from Derry. They have been working with YWAM for many years.

So, what happened? Bishop Alfred, who is also Chilean and has led the Anglican Church in Santiago, and who was Chaplain to the late Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, made us to worship; well it is more like a greeting, a statement of worship. He made us stand up and lift our arms to heaven and shout three times “Gloria a Dios, Gloria a Dios, Gloria a Dios Para Siempre, Amen. ( Glory to God (three times) forever.

I felt the presence of the Lord as I made that declaration, and something within me clicked. I was born and raised in the Methodist Pentecostal Church in Chile, and my family was at the very heart of the revival. Then, in my late teens I committed my life to Jesus in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Chile, a local Church that also experienced the power of the Holy Spirit.

By the way, I am at Cafe la Casa. I was the first to arrive, as I let myself in before they opened. There is nothing as lovely and refreshing as fresh coffee!

That declaration brought me back to my childhood and youth. It made me realise, not that I have forgotten it, but that I carry a generational blessing from that revival.
Some years ago, one of the Chilean miners came to Northern Ireland, and Bishop Alfred was there. I asked him to pray for me, and something then was ignited, like the flame I was carrying became more like a torch.

Last Friday was another powerful experience; I knew I needed to be there, and I am so thankful to Karen and Ramon came too. We were blessed, touched, prayed for and loved.

This morning in Dunfanaghy and Carrigarrt, I am preaching about the People and the Kingdom of God, which was the theme of last week. Still, I gave the reader the wrong reading, and I did not want to embarrass her with something that I got wrong, so I preached from 1 Peter 1:1-10, which was meant to be 2 Peter 1:1-10. I opened my mouth, and the Lord did the rest. This does not happen to me very often; in fact, it does not happen, as I prepared the texts and preaching months in advance. But it was a reminder that I can let go of some control and trust myself to the Holy Spirit. Looking back now, I realise that the Lord was asking me to trust Him more, and Friday was the blessing and the Uncion del Espiritu Santo that I was seeking.

So, I don’t know what you’re going through, but whatever that is, please seek Him, ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and let Him remind you where you came from and how far you have come under the guidance of His grace. Repent, come back to him! Leave all bitterness behind and grudges, put them to the sword!

Gloria a Dios! x times!
Para siempre!