( 04.15.07)
Laurie Park

My name is Laurie Park. Just to give you a background, on the week of the Encounter, our cell group met to have time of prayer to prepare for the retreat. When we were individually praying, God gave me a verse and a picture. The verse was from Jeremiah 33: 3 "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" and the picture was of an empty cup being filled with crystal clear, fresh water. Then, the day of the retreat came. Friday was just a low -key since we were traveling and settling into the camp site but that night, as I laid down to sleep, I heard a still small voice saying " Receive, receive, receive" and fell asleep to His voice.

Day two came was packed with the majority of the talks. In the morning sessions, as I was sitting and listening, I could not concentrate. It seemed as if something was blocking me from receiving or taking in what was being spoken so my cell group prayed for me and after that point, I started absorbing everything like a sponge. After each afternoon talk, I was crying and being blessed by the Holy Spirit.

The last night, we had a time of ministry and prayer session. As I was standing and praying, my sister Agnes came to pray for me. I knew God was speaking through Agnes to me because she was telling me "Let go, let go." I had been struggling with letting go of some issues in my life and I had never told Agnes about these issues but during prayer those words were coming to me through her. Then, something within me was happening. The best way to explain it is that I felt like a big chunk of something was being removed from me. Of course nothing physically came out. After that, I could not to stand up anymore, so I kneeled and continued crying out and praying to Him. Then, I heard Him say in Korean... (I don't consider myself a fob but I guess He does... or maybe its just more endearing to hear him in Korean) He said, "I'm sorry it had to be so hard for you... I'm sorry that you had to be in so much pain... "I'm sorry." When I heard that from him, my heart tore into pieces. I guess a part of me needed to hear that from Him. Knowing that He was there in my struggles and pain, and knowing that He was in more pain to see me suffer, gave me so much comfort and peace. Knowing that he just understood..

After having that intimate time with God, I had the strength to come back on my feet again. A couple of other sisters came to pray for me and I was just trying to listen to His voice even more. The grand finale of this testimony is when Min SMN came and prayed for me. The picture of the cup and the flowing water that I saw as I was praying at our cell meeting reappeared filling my empty, lonely, and wounded heart with His fresh cleansing, renewal, and healing.

After that, I could not stop smiling, I was even laughing. Then I saw a glimpse of His smile and heard him say again in Korean, "My Good daughter, MY good daughter." I've experienced so much joy, peace, and most importantly, sweet freedom from MY encounter with God at this retreat.

I want to thank God for His faithfulness and goodness. I know that He who has started a good work in all of us, especially the lady attendees of the Encounter, will be faithful to complete it. Thank you.