TESTIMONY: Risch Minford

As I stepped out in faith and decided to trust God for Him to provide the finances for me to go on the trip I knew that if it did not happen He did not want me to go on the trip at the time. As the months, turned into weeks God came thru with the finances. I had to deal with a lot of negativity from people I knew that heard about me going on the trip. At a prayer night I asked them to pray for me, for the trip and the direction in my life. God spoke thru one of the people that were praying for me and told me that this is exactly where He wanted me to be and that the trip was what He wanted for me.
As the weeks got closer I still received some negativity but I now had confirmation from God that this is where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. As I got to know the people that were on the team, I was so amazed to see how passionate, how talented and how much love for the Lord that they had. I did question as to what my purpose would be on the trip or the reason I was going, but also knew that God would reveal things to me at the right time.
On the second day God really gave us an amazing day and provided an opportunity out of the blue for us to minister and share with members of the village. I felt my heart jump for joy as I watched the team members act out The Everything Skit and see the reactions of the village members as they watched. I witnessed our team members as they guided new believers with the sinners pray. This experience led to a great worship service that night. We really sought God, prayed for each other and for the children and people we would minister to in Jamaica. We truly believed that God would touch so many in that village, and that we would witness His miracles and awes of wonder. One consistent prayer that we all had was the healing of Javon a deaf boy from the village that had touched us from the moment we met him. What an awesome and amazing day! I could not even believe the day that we had and it was only our first day ministering. I knew that God had so much in store for each one of us.
As the week progressed I was touched by the children that I met, bonding and growing experiences within the group, and just the beauty and the journey that God put us there to experience. My eyes were also opened to the living conditions I saw that I take for granted. I could not wait to see the finished church or what God could do in that little village. As Sunday grew closer and we were going to have the dedication service we were asked to go and canvas the village and tell them about the church service. This was something that I had never done before and it really challenged me. I could feel the Holy Spirit fill me as I approached different people to talk to.
During Saturday night family time we were told to be prepared to pray for people and with people, and that the Sunday service was going to be amazing. Sunday morning came and on the drive to the village we prayed. I could see how much each of the people in my van were excited for the day but had also grown in their faith and comfort in praying out loud – myself included. We arrived at the village for the church service and witnessed the construction team putting the final touches on the church which literally had some of us teary eyed. It was amazing to see that an entire church had been built in 4 days. I knew that this was truly a blessing from the Lord.
The service was amazing and I know that God had the Holy Spirit really filling the entire building. I was especially excited because when they called for people to pray for those that needed healing I jumped at the chance. I did not even have a chance to fear if I was going to look foolish, because I could feel that the Holy Spirit was upon me and the words just flowed from my mouth. I even found myself excited going around to different people and praying with them without caring what they might think. I watched and joined the entire team as we prayed tirelessly over the deaf boy. I truly believed that God would heal him when the time was right. The things I experienced and witnessed in that day made the entire week worth every minute.
Monday was our free day which we took advantage of by going to the beach and relaxing and enjoying our team dinner on a boat. That evening we learned the good news about Javon the boy from the village. Part of the Georgia team had returned to the village to finalize things and Javon was giving them hugs and interacting with them. A far change from what he used to do by hitting or running from people because he did not know how else to communicate. He was even asked a question and answered “Yes”. Are you kidding me……He spoke……AWESOME! We were so grateful and gave praise to God that He healed Javon in His time. We were so thankful that we were able to witness this miracle before we left Jamaica.
What I experienced on this trip not only led me out of my comfort zone but also stretched my faith as well. I learned that my laugh was blessing and encouragement to the whole team and that God used my special gifts to be a part of the team. I learned so many new things and how much more I can do knowing that God is right behind me. I really began to believe the verse Joshua 1:9 - Be strong and courageous; do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. I know that I will always be truly grateful for such an amazing opportunity and experience to witness how God moves in so many ways and in the lives of so many people. He truly is the One True God that answers prayers, fills us with His Spirit, provides strength and courage, forgives us, breaks our hearts for what breaks His, provides the right people in our lives at the right moments, and loves us unconditionally.