I went on a Journey to the Heart in 2007. I knew that I’d have some stuff I’d need to get cleared up before I left, as I didn’t really want to be calling home to confess stuff to my Mom. I’d been meaning to go for a while, but had simply procrastinated in my confessions to my mom. Finally, I realized I could hesitate no longer, and after confessing some of the transgressions to her one night, I signed up to go. As previously stated, I had confessed “some” of the things I’d done to her, using justifications such as “That’s a sin against God” or, “she doesn’t need to know” as excuses to not confess everything. These were just lies that Satan had used to keep me in bondage even longer. I went on the journey, and it didn’t seem like anything special. At this point in my life, I was in a stage of “spiritual deafness”. I knew God heard my prayers, but I believed I was too far away from him to hear the answers.

In a way, it was true, as sin can deaden the conscience and will prevent our spirit from communicating with God’s as a result. Despite this roadblock, God was good. I had one question on my mind going up on the journey, and through one of the other guys up there, God provided the answer to my question, and the next step for me. I was still in high school, but I was anxious concerning what I would do after I was finished. On my journey, God gave direction for the next step after graduation, and I was able to start preparing to go through Basic Training down at the International Alert Academy.

With the fact that I needed to prepare for Alert in mind, I was aware of the money needed, and physical preparation necessary to go to Basic Training, but had faith in God that, despite the fact I still could not clearly hear God’s voice, He’d revealed his direction, and would provide for it. During my final year of high school, I got a call from a friend concerning an offer to work for him doing landscaping over the summer. This was in reference to an off-handed comment I had made to him at a party one month before I’d gone on my journey, stating I thought it would be fun to work with him some time. Over the course of the summer, I got physically fit by way of spreading over an acre of mulch, and various other activities. During my time of employment with him, I made $300 more than was needed for Basic Training! To see God provide a way to get the necessary funds as well as providing me with an all-day workout schedule confirmed once again his direction in my life.

After bidding my employer and friend a farewell, and thanking him for the summer job, I departed to Texas for 9 weeks of intense physical and spiritual training. During that nine week period, I was in the word on a daily basis, memorizing, and meditating, but I still didn’t feel any closer to God, and I still didn’t feel as if I could hear his voice. The scriptures were not coming alive to me. I had no doubt about my salvation, but I was desperately aware that something needed to change. Even after finishing that program, I felt as if my relationship with God was merely confined to me getting in trouble, and Him getting me out again.

After the completion of Basic Training, there was a ten month period wherein I returned to neglecting the Word, and only praying in times of dire need, or when constrained to do so.

I heard about the WIT Singles conference about 3 weeks before it actually happened, with my sister planning on attending, and both her and my mom lobbying for my attendance. There were still those lies I believed about the sins which I’d committed in the past, and a new one had been added to the list. “Those are so far in the past, nobody would care about them anymore.” The truth was, they really weren’t all that far removed from the current time, and I still struggled with them occasionally. There was also a young lady whom I’d been interested in pursuing a relationship with, and so I signed up to go. Shortly after I signed up, events changed and I realized that the relationship I had envisioned wouldn’t work, but I was already signed up, so off I went.

Man, I did not know what I was getting into. Being in sessions all day doesn’t appeal to most people, but the material was refreshing, and surprisingly relevant. And to be perfectly honest, if you’re going to be hanging out in sessions all day, it might as well be with several other young people to converse with during breaks. Aside from the principles learned, the biggest for me of which was building a relationship with God, the biggest breakthrough I had was after the teaching on being completely open, and confessing everything, bar none, to your authorities, at the end of the week, I made a call home to my mom and just confessed to her everything, starting with the one thing I had been withholding from her for over 5 years. After that, I experienced such a joy and freedom, and as Paul Speed had mentioned earlier in the week, “You know you’re free when you’re able to make a choice. As a slave to Satan, you’re forced to do whatever he wants you to.” I had that freedom to make a choice. I also started experiencing the voice of God speaking to me, and giving clear direction from his Word.

Now, the hard part is going to be making the right choice every day, for the rest of my life, and by God’s grace, I will be able to.

Stephen is currently working at the IBLP Headquarters. For more information on the programs mentioned above, please visit: WIT! Ministries, The Alert Academy, or Journey to the Heart.

“As soon as we stepped into that room, we knew something was different. It was no longer our meeting room, the place we had been coming to each morning to meet with our teams to share about what we were learning. It was no longer the place of constant chatter, of the low rumble of voices floating all across the room. Now it was still and so quiet. Even the lighting had changed, it wasn’t the brightly lit room we had just been in that morning. Now it was dark , almost somber, except for the hope of dozens of candles, so stark in the darkness, quietly shining their light from all corners of the room.

But it was something else that caught our attention and kept it, something that arrested our senses as soon as we entered the room. All these other things were simply a complementary setting, background for the main focus. And there it was standing in the center if this sacred place. Everyone immediately noticed it, and we took the whole scene in as we silently gathered around it, though no one told us to.

It stood tall, it’s base was surrounded by white cloth spreading in drapes across the floor, and candles were circled around it, putting forth their humble light. It was simple, maybe that’s why we liked it, It was ugly…but yet it was so beautiful. I went up to it, I felt it’s rough surface; looking up at this symbol of suffering, wondering why He did it. Thinking about what it meant, what it meant for me….and what it had meant for Him. Many of us sat there for hours, simply singing and praying, proclaiming freedom and blessing.

No one needed to say it, we all knew it. Jesus was there. We were living in that knowledge. Of course Jesus was there; He said He would be. Along with this, we also knew just as fully that Jesus’ love was there. It was so easy to tell. You could see it. It was standing in the center of the room.”

Written by Sam, June 2010.

Libby Zellon, who works in the ATI Department at Headquarters, went to the WIT Conference as an Assistant to Paul and Jenny Speed.  The following is her testimony of the conference.

Have you ever experienced the presence of a Holy God? Have you ever realized that you were on sacred ground? Have you ever looked into the eyes of a hopeless person searching for love? As I was able to watch and examine the people surrounding me I was in awe. To see the people lost in darkness and death is something I can’t really describe. However, when I saw them embrace the light and freedom that comes along with it, it causes my mind to explode with thanksgiving. Our God is so good to rescue those lost in themselves.

What happened at the WIT conference is beyond description. God is amazing. He doesn’t need to prove it to me, but when He does it usually blows my mind. That is exactly what He did this past weekend. He allowed me to be a part of a movement of Him that was powerful-the movement of the WIT conference.

The WIT conference is not your typical marriage conference. It deals with the things that you normally don’t want to deal with. They are things that people would rather shove under the rug and forget about them. However, when people try to ignore this ugly beast of sin it usually ends up destroying families. The beast rises in many different ways and quickly shackles its victims. When these couples come they are bound and chained by their sin. They are trying to blame the other person for putting them in their bonds but miss the fact that they are they ones who allowed the chains to be placed on them. I watched couple after couple enter the auditorium that were oppressed and tormented. Couples entered the room apart from each other as if this invisible wall was standing firm between them.

Before the conference began we met in a room for a meeting that lasted about 3 ½ hours long. In the meeting all the table leaders met and shared amongst each other. They shared their hurts, fears, pain, tears, and allowed their masks to be torn off. They declared in that room that they would be wiling to go back to their past for the sake of freedom for others that would be attending. One proclaimed, “I will NOT stop! I will declare to the spiritual realm victory and freedom!”

Session after session Paul and Jenny Speed repeatedly opened up their ugly past to these couples, reliving the memories and visited each story with a yearning for those listening to find freedom. The power of the openness and brokenness was beyond human power. People often question the reality of ‘supernatural’ power at events such as this. What happened as they spoke was indeed supernatural. It’s almost like you could see freedom coming out of their speech and reaching into the lives of the people around them.

I will admit it was a hard thing to sit back and watch it happen. I wanted to go around and inject truth into these people’s lives. It was like looking at a person that was dying and wanting to just shoot them up with life. But we couldn’t do it; we couldn’t force it upon them. The people there had to choose life for themselves. There was one time I won’t forget for a long time. My parents attended and so I met them in the hallway as they were talking to another couple. This couple was entangled in darkness that they were totally unaware. I had the opportunity to speak to the man and drench him with perspective, life and love. Watching him react to all of those things was heart wrenching. The man broke and tears streamed down his face. It was a beautiful thing to see how Jesus love can be used in people to reach people. To be used by Him was so humbling; it caused me to weep for this man and wife that were struggling in the chains that were tearing them apart.

Please allow me to paint a picture of what freedom looked like at this conference. Imagine this man-once full of strength and honor is now sitting in a dark room looking haggard and shrouded in black. What once used to be a man that people looked to for guidance now was under the control of something more powerful. This power pulsed through his being, changing his appearance and glazing over his eyes. He was so manipulated by the power that he couldn’t even recognize that the people he had loved were now in pain and agony because he had given in to this power. The power is that of sin. It completely changed him inside and out to the point that it looks like he will never return to how he used to be. Suddenly another man in white steps in to the room. He starts speaking truth and life to this man. He commands the possessed man to look him in the eyes. The glazed eyes fight not to look, the strain is evident throughout his entire being. Finally they make contact-the Man that is full of light starts proclaiming that the man can be free. Suddenly, as the man accepts it, the darkness is bound and caste out of the room. Life rushes into his body and floods his soul. His eyes are lit with fire as he rises from the place he has been sitting in. He finally goes to his family and embraces them and is able to rise up again in the position of honor.

There are so many vivid images that will remain with me for a while. They are those of couples finally understanding pure love as they come together in communion, husbands drawing their wives close, and wives becoming beautiful from the freedom they have found. He made beautiful the ashes that were once there.

"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."

Philippians 1:27

(photo via Flickr)

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

(photo via flickr)