A Broken Projector and An Answer to Prayer

Hello, my name is Betty; I am 15 and am a sophomore in high school. In the past year, I had really had the desire to preach. I knew it was something I needed to experience. I don’t know why, but something kept telling me to go.

I remember thinking that I couldn’t do this. I remember being scared and doubtful. I can now say that I know anything is possible through the power of God. And you don’t really know this until you have really experienced it. Today, I can say I have. I am convinced that there is nothing in the world like putting yourself in the hands of God and preaching. When you ask for the Holy Spirit and really trust in God, He will use you and work through you. I remember that, from the very beginning, I was really freaking out when I had to preach for the first time. I didn’t know what to expect I went up; I took a couple deep breathes, and somehow, I began to talk. Pretty soon, I realized that I was almost done. I was getting to the end; I wrapped it up and invited the people and sang. I‘ve always loved singing, but this time it was different. I suddenly felt so good, so relaxed, so into what I was doing. It’s indescribable the feeling—that feeling you get after preaching. It’s something you have to experience for yourself.

I also remember one time when I was doing okay. I was tired because I hadn’t got much sleep, and I was kind of getting sick. I got to my site and began hooking everything up. That day Karen, our campaign manager, had stopped by my site. I kind of tried to ignore her, but she made me nervous. Anyway, I was into the song service when I realized the projector was not turning on. I thought for a while it was warming up or something, but it wasn’t, because it was about time to play the Jesus movie and it still wouldn’t turn on. It would turn on for about two seconds, and then it would start flashing and turn back off. I started freaking out, and so I turn around and looked to the back to call Karen up. All the while, they keep singing. So Karen came up and messed with it, and then she looked at me and told me she has another projector. Now the interesting part of this story is the other side—what Karen told me when we got to hotel that night. She told me that when she was driving around with the pastor, he asked whose site they were going to, and he asked her if they were to go to my church, and she said, “No that’s ok,” since she had already visited my site. When the pastor announced “Ok, we are here,” Karen realized they were at my site. She thought, “okay, whatever.” So they went inside and sat down. When we were talking after afterwards, I noted that it wasn’t just a coincidence that they stopped at my church. God knew I would need a projector, and He knew that Karen or Pastor Jay or whoever was with Karen had an extra projector. I am thankful to God because, thanks to Him, I didn’t have to preach with my paper notes. I used the projector that Karen brought me. And thankfully I had a good sermon, and the slides were up so people could see them. When you pray, God will find a way.

My experience isn’t as intense as others, but I think it’s the same because the important part is that I learned. I experienced the power of God! A lot of times, and I mean A LOT of times, Satan will tempt you bug you, and try to mess things up. If it’s not technical, like with the computer and stuff, he’ll mess with you in other ways. I remember feeling discouraged and out of it; I felt like everything was going wrong a lot of times. And I know it was Satan messing with me. Once I pray and ask God to send Satan away, I feel sooooooooooo much better. Once I put my self in God hands and trust in that He will work through me, I can preach and count on the Holy Spirit to take over. If we do our part, God does the rest. So even though I don’t have too many complications with technical things, I do have to deal with Satan trying to bring me down, and that’s where God comes in. So, whether it’s technical or spiritual, God will help you make it through.

So this is a little bit of my experience in Dominican Republic, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all the people who made this happen. Thank you to The Quiet Hour, ShareHim, and everyone else who is involved with this. Thank you all very, very much. This is an experience that changes lives, not only for those who come to Jesus, but also for those who are bringing the message. I know it’s changed mine. So thank you.