Street Stories - A Ringside Seat To Over 4 Decades Of Taking Jesus To The Streets Of The World

church in Mexicali. One day Pastor Velarde had an encounter with the Lord as he had never experienced before. He was filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. The large denomination didn’t like this because they didn’t believe in that as part of their doctrine. Rather than fire him completely they gave him the opportunity to move his family to Tijuana to a very small building. If I recall correctly that building wasn’t even 12 feet by 12 feet. The place was way too small for a family of six to live in. Martha has shared with me that she remembers her father having them duck down to the floor because of gunfire. Jesus Velarde was a gentle man, a righteous man who loved the Lord with his whole heart. It was fascinating to watch him. He was almost like a pied piper, walking through the neighborhood with children following him every step of the way. At a very low point in Jesus Velarde’s life, he was bedridden and wasn’t expected to ever have a normal life again. His heart was broken at this news. He was not finished serving his Savior. He prayed and asked God to use him in spite of his present circumstance. When we pray God hears our prayers! God most definitely heard the prayers of Jesus Velarde. God used him in the most amazing way. As he laid in his sickbed, Pastor Velarde began to handwrite his own Gospel tracts or testimony. The window by his bed was open. Pastor Velarde held what he had written outside the window and asked the Lord to take these messages to someone who needed to know the Lord. God not only hears our prayers, but He also answers them!

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