Answered Prayer – Mission Critical International

Pray Bold

Pray Bold VII

by Matt Bullen July 11, 2017

[lightbox full =”https://missioncriticalintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Pray-Bold-copy.jpg” thumb=”https://missioncriticalintl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Pray-Bold-copy.jpg” title=”Pray Bold” /]

Be surrounded by prayer warriors. Someday YOU will NEED them…

MY MIRACLE

See previous posts in this series

Wow! How could I have known that when I started writing this blog series a few months ago I was about to personally experience the greatest prayer miracle of my life? But not my prayers, oh NO! rather the mighty prayers of my warrior princess wife, my warrior kids, my amazing pastor and his family and our church, my precious Tres Dias Ministry brothers and sisters around the state, and thousands of friends and family around the world. They prayed oh so very BOLD prayers on my behalf and God so tenderly heard them and literally saved my life. Praise Jesus!!!!

This April 11th, 2017 I went to do a commercial building inspection to make a little money to help fund our ministry. The first thing I needed to do was inspect the roof which was 16′ high so I extended my ladder to full height, put my camera strap around my neck, and climbed to the edge of the roof. That’s the last thing I remember…

As I am told now, I fell 16′ and landed on concrete on my left side. Miraculously there was a young woman named Renee eating her lunch in her car nearby which was totally unplanned because she usually brings her lunch to work and eats at her desk BUT that day she forgot her lunch and so drove and bought some and was eating in the back parking lot (where no one usually is) and saw me fall. If God hadn’t placed her there I would have died there in just a few minutes. She called 911 and the EMTs got me to the hospital in 11 minutes. My now hero Dr. Timothy Hodges, trauma surgeon spent the next 8 hours working on me “putting out fires in my body” as he says. I had extensive internal bleeding, 3 brain bleeds, 8 broken ribs, my whole face was shattered with scores of fractures, 3 broken vertebrae, a Hemothorax lung, a Pneumothorax lung, dead spleen, partially damaged kidney, damaged colon, and later we found out partial blindness in my left eye and total blindness in my right eye.

My family rushed to the hospital and began to pray! Soon over 40 Christian brothers and sisters flooded the ICU waiting room that first night and prayed! Doctors told my family to prepare themselves because there was no way I would survive this. But they prayed! The next morning Dr. Hodges was shocked to find me still alive when he came in. I ended up with pneumonia, sepsis, a urinary tract infection, and a blood infection. I lay unconscious in that ICU for 25 days. My wife Lisa and my daughter Rebekah rarely left my side. My pastor, other pastors, and many friends and family came every day to pray over me. Many drove from Dallas and other parts of Texas. My daughter and son in law, Brooke and Oscar, were flown in from Colombia by my daughter Beverly, my daughter Mercy and her fiancee, Bobby came from Dallas and stayed, my mother and brother and family came from Missouri. A mighty wall of prayer surrounded me and rose up to heaven and pulled me back from the edge of death. Messages came in from around the world where I have ministered of people praying for me. One day my wife received a message from the radio host of an underground Christian radio station in Pakistan assuring her that 2.7 million Christians in Pakistan were praying for me!

Not only prayers but funds came in from precious brothers and sisters everywhere. Tens of thousands of dollars for medical bills came in. People would bring my family so much food and waters and Gatorade as they camped in the ICU waiting room day after day that my wife began to distribute the extra among other families with a loved on in the ICU and then she would go around and pray for each of them and share Jesus with them. Mighty miracles began to take place in that ICU with me and with others. Some of my Tres Dias sisters went way beyond in helping Lisa to protect me and to get me the best possible care. Others created artful fundraisers with a theme from one of my sermons of the past “But God…” It was beautiful the love, prayers, and help that was poured out on us.

Finally on May 3rd, 2017 the doctors told my wife she needed to put me in hospice to die. I just wasn’t going to get any better. She said,”ok but we are praying that he will wake up…” The next morning she had gone home to shower and change and was kneeling in her prayer closet begging God to wake me up when her phone rang and our pastor, Frankie Mazzapica said, “tell me what’s new.” She explained about hospice and that she was kneeling in her prayer closet praying for me to wake up. Pastor Frankie prayed over the phone that I would wake up. Lisa drove to the hospital, walked in my room and I said, “Good morning beautiful!” I was wide awake and my mom was holding my hand. Everyone started coming to see me and I knew each one and I was so happy to hear how I got there and that God had raised me up!!! I was moved the next day to a new room in the hospital and then a week later to Rehab to learn to walk and talk and such and in 3 weeks I was so back to normal that I got to come home!!! On the day I woke up when Dr. Hodges came to see me I took his hand in my two hands and said, “Thank you for saving my life.” He cursed accidentally and said, “YOU ARE A MIRACLE! sorry for my language” and then left. We laughed and praised God!

I’ve been home 5 weeks. Have loved attending church and many precious friends coming by and my pastors encouragement and time with my AMAZING family. Still praying for my left arm to work again and my right eye blindness to heal but filled with unspeakable joy because it is obvious that I will be strong enough soon to preach again and someday to travel and minister again and God did it all in answer to the promise that He loves, He hears, and He answers bold prayers!

[quote]”Every time you pray the tide of the battle turns” – Frankie Mazzapica (Psalm 56:9)[/quote]

A big thank you to our dear friend and ministry partner, Shannon Arnold, for prompting this series…

Pray Bold

Pray Bold IV

by Matt Bullen February 3, 2017

Pray Desperate, Pray Daring, With Or Without Words Just Keep Praying

Psalm 34:6 (NLT) In my desperation I prayed, and the lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.

1 Samuel 1:10, 12-17 (NLT) Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the lord… As she was praying to the lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

Romans 8:26-27 (NLT) …the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

I believe the most important thing we can bring to our prayers is desperation. I believe nothing touches the heart of God like our desperation. I have preached a sermon all over the world called Recipe For A Miracle. It is the most favorite sermon the Lord has ever given me. I wish I could preach it to every person on the earth. I contend in this sermon that the recipe for a miracle is three ingredients, 1. Desperation, 2. Daring, 3. Divine Encounter. I illustrate that these three can be found in every miracle in the Bible including the greatest miracle ever, the cross.

Every answered prayer is a miracle and I believe these three ingredients are critical to praying BOLD and sometimes words don’t suffice to express desperate prayers. Hannah’s prayer follows this pattern. 1. She begs God out of her desperation. She’s so anguished Eli thinks she’s drunk. 2. Her desperation drives her to make a daring bargain with God. 1 Samuel 1:11 And she made this vow: “O lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the lord, his hair will never be cut.” And what was God’s response to that BOLD bargain? Samuel, Israel’s greatest prophet who anointed Israel’s greatest King, David, the ancestor of Jesus Christ! WOW!! That’s quite an answer!

Some prayers are so desperate that words fail. Praise God in those moments the Holy Spirit Himself groans with us. I love the story of the four men carrying the paralyzed man in Mark 4:3-5 & 11 Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, (DESPERATION) so they dug a hole through the roof above his head.(DARING) Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. (DIVINE ENCOUNTER) Seeing their faith, (WORDLESS PRAYER) Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven… Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” MIRACLE!!! These stories are all over the Bible! The woman with the 12-year hemorrhage in Mark 5 has no words nor friends to carry her to Jesus. She’s so DESPERATE, having spent all she had on doctors who couldn’t heal her, she claws her way through the crowd (DARING) and grabs Jesus’s robe (DIVINE ENCOUNTER) and is instantly healed! MIRACLE!!!

How about the blind man in Mark 10:47-52 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (DESPERATION) “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder,(DARING) “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, (DIVINE ENCOUNTER) he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road. MIRACLE!!!

Is it possible that we are way too dignified, distracted, doubting, or indifferent for a miracle answer to prayer? God help us! Someone once asked me how to get desperate if we aren’t. I thought about that for awhile and I think first a great need will make us desperate, also fasting helps make me desperate, but also picturing what could be if I will pay the price of travail before God makes me very desperate. How many times those whom Jesus healed must have dreamed and hoped beyond hope of being healthy again.

From the time my wife and I met our freshman year of Bible college and married the next summer at 19-years-old for me and 18-years-old for her we had dreamed of having a family of warriors for Christ making a difference in the world. We read literally hundreds of books, listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of cassette tape sermons and Bible studies, we taught and trained and worked in the Lord’s vineyard and prayed for our 6 children and did our best to pass on our faith and passion and vision for shaking the world for Christ. We gave everything we had to Christ’s mission (you can read our story HERE) and yet in 2013 it appeared that this vision was as impossible as walking on water. First, we had lost everything and everyone through church splits, unbelievable Satanic attacks on our family, the financial collapse of 2008, and battles that we took on because we knew we couldn’t look the other way and still name the name of Christ. Second, I had spent a third of the year in bed with terrible Lupus flare ups. Third, many of a our children were bitter, cynical, and wanted nothing to do with church or ministry again. One daughter was a missionary in Africa with another ministry but another daughter was estranged from the family and another daughter was running around with a very bad crowd and becoming a girl we didn’t recognize and another daughter married a man that year that none of us knew was a meth addict and five months after their wedding he went to prison for a long time and she crawled into a bottle to deal with the pain and ended up in jail and one son was away in the Navy and made it clear he was never coming back and for sure he was never working in ministry again. And fourth, the stress and discouragement of it all caused my wife to retreat into a depression that also took her health.

From one perspective, it could’ve appeared that Satan had won and that God’s promises had failed us. But another thing was also happening. Something I believe Satan is quite frustrated at today. We were becoming CRAZY DESPERATE. And that desperation was driving us to be CRAZY DARING in our prayers and in our actions. We got mad at the devil. We threw caution to the wind and began to run after God like never before, we got ahold of the hem of His robe and refused to let go. We gave our kids to God and began to put every minute and every dime and all of our energy into pushing out the borders of the kingdom of God into dark places. I would get on a plane every 90 days wether the bills were paid or not and go preach the gospel to desperate people. Lisa and I began to spend more and more time in prayer and we began to pray crazy prayers. I remember stomping around the neighborhood at night wrestling with God like Jacob at Peniel and many times I had no words at all. I would walk for hours just saying, “Oh God!” or “Mighty God!” or “Come on, Lord!” I didn’t know what else to say. I’m grateful the Holy Spirit was saying it or groaning it for me.

In the fall of 2013 our oldest son and I had a supernatural trip to Colombia. God met with us in ways I don’t have room to tell you about here but neither of us have ever been the same. Today he and his wife are an integral part of our ministry. In the spring of 2014 our youngest daughter and I had a crazy supernatural trip to Colombia. She had a DIVINE ENCOUNTER that so transformed her life that she came home, quit college and her job, and went to Colombia full time as our missionary. On that trip she also met my dear friend and translator and a deep friendship developed between the two of them. They were married this last August and God is using them in ways my wife and I never dreamed we would live to see! In the fall of 2014 in the midst of putting her life back together our middle daughter went to Colombia with my wife and me on a supernatural trip and recommitted her life to pursue Christ among the nations. She and her family is a huge blessing to our ministry today. Also, while we were on that trip our daughter who was formerly estranged from the family came home and we have had the sweetest relationship ever since. She is now serving in our ministry and also serving in a church in the DFW area. She is nothing short of a miracle and our inspiration for much of what we do around the world. In the winter of 2014 God miraculously called our daughter in Africa home to give herself to our family ministry around the world. She is a mighty warrior princess for Christ and a powerful leader in our family and ministry. My wife and I watched in awe as God answered our desperate prayers in ways we hadn’t even imagined. I was thrilled and grateful beyond words but anytime someone mentioned our son in the Navy and when was he going to come home and join the family ministry I would shake my head and say, “No, that one will never happen.” He was extremely successful and loved what he was doing and he had made it abundantly clear that he loved us but he would never put himself through the pain of working in ministry again. BUT GOD! In the fall of 2015 through a series of Book of Acts like miracles and Damascus Road revelations, God made it clear to this last son that he needed to come home and join the family ministry. Wow! Words cannot express the inexplicable joy that we have experienced this year as we have traveled the world with these amazing children of ours on God’s mission. Many a night this last son and I have sat on our balcony and laughed and talked about the crazy things God is doing for us and through us and he always says, “Dad! Look at the crazy lengths God went to to get me home working in this ministry! I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on this.” This Sunday he will be preaching in a church in the bush of Zambia, Africa… DESPERATION + DARING + DIVINE ENCOUNTER = MIRACLE!

[quote] “The Kingdom of Heaven is not for the well meaning; it is for the desperate.” – James Denney[/quote]

[quote]“The condition for a miracle is difficulty; the condition for a great miracle is impossibility.” ― Angus Buchan[/quote]

[quote]”We pray not out of discipline, but out of desperation.” – Paul E. Miller[/quote]

Pray Bold III

by Matt Bullen January 26, 2017

Pray, Record, Rejoice, Pray Bolder

Psalms 116:1-2 (NLT) I love the lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

David says quite tenderly that his love for the Lord and his commitment to pray is significantly bolstered by the fact that God hears and answers his prayers. I know exactly what he means. One of the most encouraging things you can do and one that will become an impetus for bolder praying is keeping a prayer list and marking down the dates when those prayers are answered. Oh my goodness! I can’t count the times I have gone back and looked at my old prayer lists and realized that God had answered some HUGE prayer request but in my frail humanity I had already forgotten that I prayed for it or at least that I had written it down. And oh! the joy and the upbuilding of my faith when I go back and read those old prayer lists and see all that God has done. It makes me want to pray all the more and it makes me want to PRAY BOLD because I know He hears me and He answers.

When our children were young we had a spiral notebook in which we wrote our family prayer requests. We would sit down periodically, review the former prayer requests, write down the answers that had come, pray over the ones not answered yet, and write in the new requests on a fresh page with that day’s date. It was stunning how specifically and supernaturally God would answer those prayers. Eventually it was many pages long and we would go back and just rejoice in seeing the crazy answers God had given. Our children didn’t have to be convinced that God answers prayer. They witnessed it firsthand! And talk about life impact! Many of the dreams/prayers we wrote in that spiral notebook we are living today.

On January 1, 2013 I wrote out 6 items in my Evernote App that for the most part seemed totally impossible to me at the time but were heart desires that I wanted to ask God for in 2013. I wrote them, closed the app and frankly forgot all about that note. I didn’t see it again until December of 2013 and I’ll never forget the way my heart leapt into my throat when I ran across it again because God had stupendously and miraculously answered each one and I had forgotten that I even wrote them down. My oldest son Luke and I did have a miraculous mission trip to Colombia together that forever changed both of our lives. On that trip was born the idea for our current Global Evangelism ministry. Also on that trip we cemented our relationship with a young man by the name of Oscar Useche who is now my son-in-law and our director of Mission Critical Colombia. And Rebekah did go to Zambia 2 months later and lived there for 2 years and was instrumental in establishing an orphanage that is changing the lives of children every day and gave us the idea for Mercy’s Houses all over Africa. I love the Lord because He hears my voice…

Well, you can bet I have made a similar list at the beginning of each new year since and you can bet that they have gotten larger and bolder… much BOLDER. And you can bet that God has and is answering them in stupendous ways. On January 7, 2014 I wrote a list of 21 things I desperately wanted from God. Not all of them have been answered yet but some of the most outlandish ones have been answered in vastly more outlandish ways than I even asked for. There were names of some of my children on that list who at the time were VERY far from God with only one word “Awakening” written next to their name. Praise our blessed Savior!!! They are all on fire for God and working with us in the ministry today. MIRACLE!!! OUTLANDISH CRAZY MIRACLE!!! I can hardly type right now for the tears in my eyes. I love the Lord because He hears my prayer for mercy… In 2015 I named the list “My Crazy Prayers 2015” (See Photo). You can see the answers in bold type next to the prayer request (PTL is Praise The Lord). The requests with nothing after them are as yet unanswered… I love the Lord… He bends down to listen to me…

I have 4 Evernote prayer lists going right now called “Personal Prayer List”, “2017 Prayer Budget”, “Crazy Prayers”, and “BIG HARRY AUDACIOUS PRAYERS” (BHAP)… You don’t get to see the last three. Those are for our (superlatives fail me) God’s eyes only! I can tell you that the BHAP prayer list starts out like this, “Written on October 15, 2015 on the porch in Liberia looking out at the sea…” I can tell you the Crazy Prayers list starts out, “Written on the balcony of Dian Fossey Hotel, Rubavu, Rwanda July 20, 2016.” I can tell you that the 2017 Prayer Budget is over a half million dollars and that $36K has already come in this month for projects in South America and Africa solely by prayer alone. The answers are not all about money either.

The miraculous money answers are just easy to cite but He has healed people, saved people, dramatically called and sent people into the mission field, literally saved lives that were about to perish, paid the rent at the last moment straight out of the blue on numerous occasions, and on and on solely by prayer. And He has done it in ridiculous ways that can’t be explained apart from answered prayer. So even having 4 prayer lists with each one escalating in ridiculousness, God gave my wife and me a wonderful gift this year that was so crazy it didn’t even dawn on me to ask for it or to put it on any of those lists. That gift was our entire family, minus one daughter and one daughter-in-law, ministering together on the same mission trip in Colombia in June. He even answers prayers we haven’t thought of or don’t have the faith to pray.

I hope you know I am only sharing these things because I want YOU to PRAY BOLD. We’re dumbfounded and humbled by what God is doing in our ministry and family and we never ask for money except from the Lord. No one has ever seen these prayer lists until now, not even my wife. But I knew when I started this blog series that I would have to show some of them because He deserves the glory!!!! We also have a journal that we sit down as a family and just like back in the day review previous requests, marvel and rejoice at the answers, write down our new requests, pray over them (sometimes this gets pretty wild, lots of tears, agonizing, and lasts a long time), and then we charge ahead trusting Him to carry our burdens. I have prayer notifications on my phone that go off everyday at 7:00 a.m., noon, and 9:00 p.m. that remind me to pray for certain people or things on other lists. And at the end of every day I wish I had prayed more. I plead with God to make me a mighty man of prayer because I know that the greatest need of the thousands of people I love is more of Jesus.

Many a night as I fall asleep, I can see my wife’s candle flickering under the prayer closet door and I know she is shaking heaven’s door off the hinges. Many a morning when I awake, I can see her candle flickering under the door and hear her cries for God to move on our behalf and I know craziness is about to ensue. I’ve watched God answer so many HUGE prayers for my daughter Rebekah that I tease her, “Please, just don’t ever pray against me about anything!” In January 2016 our son Luke stood up at a Mission Critical meeting and said, “We just need to write down every crazy thing we want to do for God this year and pray and believe it.” And we did and God heard and gave us the best year of our lives. When my daughter Misti decides God wants her to pray a little boy out of foster care in Florida and into her home in Texas, better get a room ready. Sometimes the answers to my son Levi’s prayers are so sudden and showy they scare me a little and I look over at him like, “Dude! That was you wasn’t it?” When my daughter Brooke starts beating the floor and marching around and singing while she’s praying for someone, get ready! You had better get ready!! When my son Oscar says he is praying about a preaching tour with me through Colombia, you better get some sermons ready and pack your bags! When my daughter Mercy tells you she asked God for a school for Liberian orphans, watch out! When our daughter Beverly writes down big crazy prayers on yellow poster board and hangs them on your living room drapes, get ready for your ministry to go to whole new levels! When your son Travis says he is praying about going on a mission trip with you, get ready for the whole family to get in on he idea. When your son Juan David that you adopted out of the streets of Bogota, Colombia tells you he’s praying for you, your heart just melts and runs out onto the floor… BOLD Prayer is REAL, POWERFUL, and REQUIRED. He hears us and He acts. He alone has done these things and is doing these things in answer to the feeble prayers of a little family from Texas… and He will do it for you. We will PRAY as long as we have breath…

[quote] “So take Jesus at his word. Ask him. Tell him what you want… Write out your prayer requests; don’t mindlessly drift through life on the American narcotic of busyness. If you try to seize the day, the day will eventually break you. Seize the corner of his garment and don’t let go until he blesses you. He will reshape the day.” ― Paul E. Miller[/quote]

[quote]“If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy. But, if like Jesus you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time to pray.” ― Paul E. Miller[/quote]

Pray Bold II

by Matt Bullen January 19, 2017

Read Part I HERE

Pray, Risk, Pray Harder

1 Kings 18:36-37 (NLT) At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

I said in our last post that often we don’t PRAY BOLD because we have never allowed ourselves to get into a situation where we REALLY need God to show up. Praying bold requires RISK. Elijah’s prayer is all the more bold because he is standing on Mt. Carmel in front of the leaders of Israel and 450 false prophets with an altar that has been doused with water three times and if God doesn’t answer in the next few seconds, he is going to be cut into little pieces! Nothing elicits bold prayers like getting yourself in a jam that only God can get you out. BOLD PRAYERS go hand in hand with BOLD RISKS for God.

1 Kings 18:38-39 (NLT) Immediately the fire of the lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The lord—he is God! Yes, the lord is God!”

Looking back on the greatest personal stories of answered prayer in my life, I’m amazed that so many times it was when I had felt the nudge of the Spirit to step way out on a limb for Him and I was absolutely in trouble if He didn’t come through. That will make you pray bold prayers! The Holy Spirit and I have some things in the works right now that scare me to death! Whether BOLD PRAYING or just terrified CRYING OUT best describes it, I can’t quite tell but I am knocking hard on heaven’s door right now!

What little nudge or perhaps giant push from the Holy Spirit have you been shrugging off because it seems foolish, scary, ridiculous, irresponsible, or maybe even “calling fire down from heaven” level absurd? Maybe God in His tender lovingkindness wants desperately to show you an astounding miracle if you will just trust, step out… and pray like crazy. Jump out of the boat! You might just find yourself walking on water…

I’ll never forget the time my wife and I needed to travel 800 miles to preach somewhere. We counted up our nickels and dimes and realized we had only enough gas money to travel 600 of the 800 miles and no money for food. We decided that we would head out anyway. We would fast and we would pray that our little car got the best gas mileage of it’s life or that God would give us a strong tailwind all the way. We prayed like crazy. But God didn’t do either. As our fuel light was blinking 600 miles in, we pulled over to a little truck stop in the middle of nowhere to use the restroom, lay hands on the car, and pray until God showed up. When I came out of the restroom I saw three rough looking men speaking to my wife and she looked concerned. I walked over and introduced myself. They asked us to sit down at a table in the diner with them and we reluctantly agreed. They began to ask about our ministry and it was then I realized we were both wearing matching ministry T-shirts. As we told them about what we were doing for the kingdom they became very excited. One of the men asked if we had eaten and could he buy us dinner. I said, “Oh, no thank you. We are fine.” I felt my wife kick me under the table. Of course, they knew nothing of our current situation. We talked a little longer and then we told them we had to get back on the road. As we stood to go, the same man reached into his pocket and handed me the exact amount of money we needed to get to our destination. He said he felt the Lord wanted Him to invest in what we were doing. We thanked him profusely, walked outside, and began to dance around the car praising God! That trip lead to over 1 million people hearing the gospel. To this day I half believe that those three men were really angels but I don’t know. All I know is God shows up when we PRAY BOLD, RISK BIG and PRAY HARDER.

[quote] “I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap, and then you grow wings.” ― William Sloane Coffin Jr.[/quote]

[quote] “But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” ― Francis Chan, Crazy Love[/quote]

My God Will Hear Me

by Rebekah October 4, 2016

In May of this year my adopted sister Mercy and I had the unbelievable opportunity to visit her biological family in Liberia and see the work God is doing through Mercy’s House there. During our trip we had a life altering experience and it has taken me this long to write or even talk about it because I needed time to understand what God was telling me through this experience. For you to understand the significance of my experience I need to tell you some of my past struggles.

I had what most people would think was a perfect life. I was raised in a loving family who were totally devoted to God and His mission in the world. I met God at a young age and fell in love with Him as a teenager. I never “sowed my wild oats” as a teenager. I committed my whole life to God which lead me to serve in inner city Los Angeles, Zambia, Rwanda and Colombia. But even with this seemly flawless life, I was tortured by self-doubt, depression, anxiety, worthlessness, and a desire to leave this life. I was never suicidal but I wanted God to take me “home”. I prayed that He would give me an incurable disease or let me die on the mission field somehow. I had this overwhelming feeling that this life was to hard and I just couldn’t take anymore disappointments or hurts. You see, I was molested at a young age and I know that had a lot to do with my feelings. But through counseling and Bible-studies I had started healing and even forgave the person who hurt me. I started understanding my worth in Christ. I knew He had a plan for me and He had a mission for me in this world. I knew He loved me and I was His spotless Bride but still I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t want to live here any longer. Every time I took a step in the right direction; I would pray and admit to God what I was feeling and ask Him to help me; I would still wake up the next morning feeling the same way. I was still living the life I knew God wanted me too but my heart was never fully in it. So now that you are caught up, back to Liberia.

Liberia has some of the most beautiful beaches and ocean I have ever seen. So one day while Mercy and I were in Liberia we decided we wanted to go swimming at the beach right next to her sister Olive’s house with Olive and her daughter, Little Mercy. Mercy and I had played in the ocean the day before but didn’t go in very far. We wanted to jump the waves and play in the beautifully warm and clear water. We were having the time of our lives until a wave more powerful than the rest came and quickly pushed us both out to sea. Suddenly I couldn’t touch the sand any longer and the waves were so strong I could barely keep my head above the water. Mercy was right next to me screaming as loud as she could for help. I am a better swimmer then she so I tried to swim back to the beach while holding onto her but I only succeeded in allowing Mercy to push me under the water and hold me under until I almost filled my lungs with water. When I finally struggled free of Mercy and lifted my head out of the water, I was nearly out of strength. As I looked back at the beach, I realized we were so far out now that even if I swam by myself I couldn’t get back. At that moment I thought, “why are you trying so hard, isn’t this what you want, to die here in the mission field? This really isn’t your fault. You could just stop swimming now and it would all be over.” But as I looked at Mercy desperately trying to keep her head out of the water, I knew I couldn’t give up. I had to keep on trying. And at that moment I began to hear Mercy praying “God please help me! This can’t be the end!” And I started praying too, “God please! I don’t want this to be the end!” Suddenly I heard God answer me, “are you sure, I thought you where done, I thought you wanted to die.” I said, “ No I was wrong, I have so much to live for, I want to see my nieces and nephews grow up.” Then I thought about my family and all the people God had given me in my life and I realized how selfish I had been and I repented and asked God for one more chance. At that moment a huge wave came literally out of nowhere and shoved Mercy and me back toward the beach and I was able to make it back to again get my feet on the sand; I helped Mercy reach me, pulled her in, and we walked back to the beach hand in hand then dropped on the sand and lay there a long while just breathing. From that moment until now I have been free from all the depression I had felt and I wake up every morning thanking God for another chance to live and do what He has called me to do.

After four months of reflection on why God allowed us to almost drown and then saved us, I have come to some conclusions and I want to share then with you.

First, God can deliver you from anything. He not only saved us from the water but also freed me from the depression that had haunted me most of my life. I can truthfully say I am finally and fully fee! Praise my Jesus!

Second, You can’t save someone if you are also drowning. This might sound weird but it has opened my eyes to most people’s condition. We always want to judge people and be angry at them for not being better people and helping us when we need them. But most people are going through more than we know or will ever know. They can’t help you when they can barely keep themselves swimming. God, however, can save you and He is all you need.

Third, Jesus hears you and will answer in His time. Maybe not as dramatically as He did for me but He will answer you as He see best.

Here are some of the scriptures that have meant the world to me in the last couple of months. I hope they show you how Great our God truly is. He can do what He wants at any time and He is so passionately in Love with us that He hears us when we pray!

[quote] “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with Joy, their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.” Psalm 34:4-6[/quote]

[quote] “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the One who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God.” Isaiah 43:1-3a[/quote]

[quote] “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.” Psalms 18:16-17 [/quote]

[quote] “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you . Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 [/quote]

[quote] “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust in Him.” Psalm 91:2[/quote]

Love, Rebekah Bullen

At Large Missionary

Mission Critical International

Photos of Rebekah’s Ministry

Rebekah depends on the donations of big-hearted people like you to continue the amazing work she is doing around the world.

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

301 Pruitt Rd #1030

Spring, TX 77380

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

Rebekah Around the World

Just Remember and Trust

by Rebekah December 10, 2015

One reason I forget God’s grace in my life or how He has come through for me is fear. I start to believe God no longer cares about me because of my failures or that I have somehow stepped out of His will for my life. One day I hear one of my friends has cancer, or one of my family members are in the hospital. I get sick and have to stop serving on mission. Then I begin to ask “Why God?” “What did I do or not do?” “Why are my prayers bouncing off of the ceiling?” Then I start to believe God is not the good God He said He is.

But why do I do this? Because I am allowing myself to live in fear and I stop trusting in God. Trusting God means I believe He is who He says He is no matter what I see in my life. Trust means I believe I am who God says I am, no matter the mistakes I make. I have to believe that God feels about me what He said He feels, that God loves me and wants me as His bride, no matter what I feel like on any given day.

[quote] “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Matthew 6:28-33 [/quote]

Do I really believe this passage when that job falls through or the rent is due and I don’t know where the money is coming from? Do I truly believe and trust that God loves me more than the flowers or birds of the air? Sure it’s easy to believe God loves and cares for you when you have a big bank account and a nice new car but what about when you are on the mission field and you are down to your last fifty dollars, and suddenly your missionary sister wants to make a donation to a church that is struggling and it almost physically hurts you to give that money away? What about when the only car you have is totaled in an accident, what then?

That is what real trust in God looks like. Believing He has you even when you can’t take another step because life isn’t going the way you want it too. Knowing He has your best in mind even when you can’t believe saying “good bye” could be anywhere near best for you.

[quote]“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11[/quote]

That is what real trust in God looks like. Believing He has you even God knows no matter how dark the night is, the beauty of the morning is worth the night. The joy of seeing God give you just what you needed just in time is worth any trial. I know with out a doubt that losing a car or a job means God will give us a new one or He has a way for us to make it without one. I know and trust He would never harm us. God is a good Father! All I have to do is trust that He is good and remember how far He has bought me! Every day God shows me just how much He loves me through giving me just what I need no matter the circumstances.

Like the time Brooke and I were eating at a restaurant in Colombia and just as we finished we realized that we had forgotten to go by the ATM first but when we counted out the money we had between us it amounted to exactly what we needed down to the last peso (1/3000 of a dollar). Like my dad being able minister in Liberia, Africa through a miracle, with my beloved adopted sister Mercy in her home city. Like my friend in Zambia asking me to help the ladies of the Bible study group I was a part of buy some paint because they wanted to bless my beloved church I attended while there and I had just enough to help them buy all the paint they needed. Like a dear friend giving my family her car! God has been too good to me to doubt that He is anything but the loving Father He is! And He is the same in your life. You just have to remember and trust! Trust that He loves you and will never harm you!

[quote]“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11
[/quote]