Every three years, the Every Nation family gathers from all over the globe to connect and celebrate what God is doing in our movement. It is also a great time to be on the same page about where God is calling us next. I have personally never attended any of our world conferences. When I became part of Victory (an Every Nation church in the Philippines), the 2010 conference just commenced and in 2013, it was in Florida, USA and I didn’t have enough funds to go. It was then that it was announced that the next one, this October 2016, would be held in Cape Town, South Africa. Fidel and I, new friends then, started believing for God to take us there along with our other friends. So before he and I even started dating, this was already something we’ve been praying for as individuals!

Why is it important to gather everyone from all over the globe together? As Pastor Steve Murrell (President and co-founder of Every Nation and co-founder of Victory Philippines) puts it,

“Today, we’re all over the world engaged in the very important mission to which we are called. If, however, we’re not careful, we could end up being spread so far and so thin that individual leaders will begin to feel isolated and alone. Every so often we need to sound a trumpet and gather together to rekindle the vision, renew relationships, and reaffirm the commitments we have made to one another… October 3-7, 2016 is the time to come together to rekindle the passion, renew the relationships, and be refilled with the power that has enabled and sustained our progress thus far. It’s costly, it’s inconvenient, but it’s as essential for our movement…”

We are sold out for the calling God has placed in our lives and the spiritual family He has given us. That’s why at the beginning of this year, with no allotted funds for any trips, Fidel and I, in faith, put the Every Nation World Conference on our faith goals, and did the early bird registration for it last February. To be honest, my faith for it was probably even smaller than a mustard seed. It was impossible. Plane tickets alone were too much for us, add to that accommodations, and our pocket money. It was like getting married again. haha! But seriously. That’s why every time someone would ask us if we were going I would always say, “Let’s see. If the Lord wills, we would.” Fidel, on the other hand, had so much more faith than I. He would, with conviction, say “Yes!” hahaha! I’m glad my husband is like that.

A couple of months ago a dear couple asked us when we were flying to Cape Town. We said, we didn’t have it figured out yet coz we hadn’t bought our tickets yet. They said, “You have to book it coz it’s only a few months away.”  We said, “Yeah… hopefully soon.” They said, “WE’LL TAKE CARE OF YOUR PLANE TICKETS.”

WHAAAATTTT?! kjdbvjhegvojeyrgfjebvefjhbwl!!!!! We were speechless, and all we could say was, “Thank you!”

When we got home all we could say to God was, “GRABE KA LORD!” This could just be God. Indeed, the Lord has willed for us to go, and we didn’t only thank Him for the plane tickets, but also for how he would provide for our pocket money and accommodations. We only had plane tickets at this point but we knew God wouldn’t leave us hanging. True enough, weeks passed and eventually God provided through different means and finances started coming for this trip. Again, God wanted to lavish His love on us by providing every single need and more!

This experience has taught us, again, to never put God in a box, and to trust His will. If God didn’t allow us to go, we would’ve celebrated His faithfulness still. We would’ve been okay with it. My husband and I only had faith for this trip. My faith for it was even too small but God proved that His faithfulness was never up to us. If you’re believing for something impossible, I hope this encourages you. I also hope that more than God’s blessings, that we will seek Him first because, really and truly, His presence in our lives is more than enough!

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask for or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. – Ephesians 3:20