A testimony from a team from the International House of Prayer .
Some Highlights:
-Prophetic discovery of our camp. We waited on the Holy Spirit, and He gave each of us different pictures, words, etc. related to the location of our camp. As we forged ahead into the Gathering, we saw most of the words, and He led us right to the spot. This increased our confidence that we were setting up camp exactly where the Lord wanted us.
-It rained steadily the first two days of the trip, during which time we hauled all of our camp “stuff” for 2.5 miles each trip. We were exhausted and came to a place of utter dependence on the Lord. Scriptural motif: circumcision at Gilgal before taking Jerico. I do remember that at one point I was utterly exhausted, and when I went into the prayer tent, the Lord’s presence came and I felt a supernatural strengthening that enabled me to carry several more loads before nightfall.
-We named our camp “Goshen.” As we visited other camps, it seemed to me that the instances and severity of poison ivy were reduced in our camp. It was everywhere, and we all should have had it more severely than we did.
-When we carried the prayer tent into the camp, because of the size of the tent and the distance to the camp, we needed about 6 men to carry it. We carried it on poles on our backs, and it looked like we were carrying the Ark. There were a number of passers-by who asked if we were carrying the Ark. It was a powerful prophetic picture. We found the perfect place for the tent: a little hill that overlooked the camp. The worship - raw, bold, and straight from the heart - was some of the best I’ve ever experienced. The Lord’s delight was on that little prayer tent. In one of our teammates’ terms, we were “soggy sacrifices.”
-One evening, God multiplied food was as we continued to feed an increasing number of people.
-We had many conversations on the Main Trail. The Holy Spirit came on a number of people through simple conversations along the trail. One night, Chuck was walking and asking people why they had come. Many of them began to weep.
-Many of us noticed that the batting average for healings really went up. Many took notice of the number of healings. Some were healed of poison ivy, cuts, and one woman was instantly healed of a knee injury. She began to tremble with the fear of the Lord as He healed her. One man was instantly healed of a toe injury, and another healed of a foot injury.
-One of the most enjoyable evenings was sharing a cross-cultural gospel presentation in a camp called “Pop-corner.” This camp makes popcorn all night, and they invited us to come to their camp and “drum” with them. We used drums and the harp and bowl format to sing a gospel presentation that employed Rainbow terminology and culture. We sang the gospel from the Creation to the Judgment. One person who started to sing along apparently got filled with the Spirit. 2-3 people got saved through this event, and 7-10 received prayer and prophetic ministry. Some were weeping as we prayed and prophesied over them.
-We tried to share the gospel in the Jewish camp, but were asked to leave.
-Many people who visited the camp received healing prayer or prophecy. One demonized man walked into the camp, and the Spirit’s presence was heavy. He said that he didn’t want to leave the camp because it was the only place where he did not feel tormented.
-One morning, the Lord told two in our midst to walk around Jerico seven times. We knew that Jerico meant the place where they would have the main “Om circle” on July 4. When these two arrived at the circle, there were two pagan altars on the island in the river. As they walked, something amazing happened. After two or three laps, they came around the corner, and the first altar had fallen to the ground. No one had touched the altar. As they continued to walk, some kids who were swimming in the river got out of the river and tore down the other altar. Both altars fell down without us touching them. The Lord brought down the walls of Jerico.
-Throughout the two weeks, the Lord had been using Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal to prepare us for a power encounter. On July 4, the Rainbow Family meets in the center of a field, where they hold hands and pray to their pantheon of gods via an “Omm circle.” This year there was no field, so they met at the river. When we got to the river, the Holy Spirit came on one of the leaders from a group from Pennsylvania that had joined our camp, and he said that the Lord wanted us to actually be in the river. The Lord also spoke this independently to the person in the prayer tent. So, we went into the river and formed our own circle within the circle. We were about 25-30. 10-20,000 Rainbows gathered on the banks of the river. They formed a circle and were looking in. In the river, we formed our own circle and were facing outward. We were eye to eye with them. As they began to “Om,” one from our midst blew the shofar 7 times, and another broke his staff on the water. We chanted “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.” While we did this, some demonized guy who looked like Satan from the passion stood on the bank of the island where the Asherah pole was and began to stare us down. His lips were moving and it seemed as if he were trying to curse us. However, we prayed in the Spirit, and by the end of the encounter, this man had fallen on his face. The spiritual atmosphere in our camp that night was totally changed. It seemed as if there was not a demon for miles.
