It all began on a Tuesday morning in April. Ed Silvoso was speaking at our church that evening to all the intercessors and leaders and also at a breakfast the next morning. I called my good friend Lynn Suzuki to ask if she was planning to attend that evening and she gave me every excuse there was! I already knew that she was supposed to be there (and also attend the Transformation Hawaii conference in November) so I just listened to her go on and on until she finally blurted out, “Ok, I’m going”! Then she apologized because she said she wasn’t yelling at me but confessed that she clearly heard the Holy Spirit that she was supposed to go. She then went on to apologize to God for yelling at Him!
That night, as we sat in church and listened to Ed speak, Lynn leaned over and whispered to me, “Ok, I’m going to the conference in November”. I told her, “I know, I told you that you were supposed to go”. Then Ed announced that he negotiated for the hotel to extend the early registration discount and she looked at me and said, “Now that is confirmation”!
The next morning at the breakfast we were hungry to hear more of what Ed had to say so we decided to sit front and center! During his message, Ed spoke of a woman in Thailand who had a tricycle ice-cream cart who caught the vision of transformation from listening to one of his messages. She went back to her business and said that she was no longer just an ice-cream vendor but a marketplace minister and with every cone she sold, she would now be a blessing to her community. Lynn was floored! The Holy Spirit hit her so hard-she caught the vision for her own business! She and her husband Eddie, have two photography businesses, one in Hilo and one here on Maui. The Holy Spirit showed her that she could bless all of Maui and The Big Island by praying over each packet of photos that leaves her studio! And it wouldn’t stop there because each packet contained many photos that families usually cut up and send to grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends all over the world!
After we left the breakfast, she happily went to her car and blessed the large order of pictures that she was intending to deliver that morning and was so excited that she couldn’t wait to share her new revelation with her office staff. Jodi, her office manager, caught the vision and shared it with her grandmother who lives in Hilo and operates a shaved ice truck. She was equally excited because she had been contemplating giving up the business because her new husband kept telling her that she was poisoning the kids with her sugary shaved ice. But now, she would not be selling poison, but handing out blessings and peace to families all over Hilo! (She purposely drives to the neediest areas of Hilo to bless the families there!)
We had been trying to get others to sign up for the Transformation Hawaii conference in November but progress was slow and tedious. At our regular cell group meeting that Thursday, Lynn couldn’t wait to share her newfound revelation with the rest of the group. Her excitement and enthusiasm was infectious and before long everyone in the group had committed to going to the conference. My sister, Kathy, made a very profound statement. She said, “I never thought these conferences and meetings applied to me, I always thought they were for others like you, as she pointed to me”. Lynn agreed as did the others in the room. However, that night one ice-cream vendor in Thailand and one photography business owner on Maui became partners in the overall plan of God to see transformation in their cities!
I left the meeting that night convinced that this testimony needed to be heard by our church congregation and I called our Pastor Jonavan the next day to share the exciting news. He made time for us to share on Sunday and I, for one, feel that the vision was caught and others will be transforming their spheres of influence. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!
