BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

HOW TO USE THEIR FAITH. JOIN US IN TEACHING BELIEVERS 2 4 : B V O V PARTNER WITH KCM. in me, and I heard these words come out of my mouth: 'Well, there is one thing I desire. I'd like to go to Africa.'" Where had that come from? Every day, Denver and Stacey read one chapter from the Old Testament and another from the New Testament. They also began attending church and memorizing scripture. One verse in particular grabbed Denver and wouldn't let him go. It was James 1:27, which says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (New King James Version). A couple in their church had visited an orphanage in South Sudan and supported some of the children there. Denver and Stacey had sent money, sponsoring three children. They got a letter from Oliver, a 10-year-old orphan they'd sponsored. He ended the letter saying, "Please come to Africa and visit me." Tears streamed down Denver's face. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure where South Sudan was located. However, he knew there was war there and people were dying. He and Stacey contacted the orphanage to ask about visiting. They were told that because of the war, no one was being allowed to visit. "But since your friends have already been here, we'll make an exception. You can come in February of 2013." The following February, Denver and Stacey began making plans to go to Africa. An Explosion of Truth In 2012, Denver and Stacey attended the SWBC. They listened intently as Brother Copeland taught on how righteousness is from Jesus. "My senior year in high school," Denver said, "I'd memorized 471 verses from the Bible. I believed in Jesus. I knew He rose from the dead. I tithed and honored God. But somehow I trusted in myself to be enough to please God. Therefore, I believed that my works could also displease God. During that message, all of those wrong beliefs blew up like the explosion of the Hindenburg. Every lie the devil used to hold me captive disintegrated and I was set free. "We arrived for Pre-Service Prayer and found they'd broken us up into groups. When we found our assigned group, the sign read: Today we're praying for widows and orphans. During prayer, I had a vision of a little boy laying alone in the dust. He looked weak, dirty and torn. Somehow, I was there to help him. Soon, other children of all ages joined him. By the end of the vision, they were standing with raised hands, worshipping God. Afterward, we knew we were called to go to Africa." The first evening they attended Pre-Service Prayer, Terri Copeland Pearsons explained that everyone was supposed to listen to her while praying in the Holy Spirit. Here we go again! Stacey thought. Now what am I going to do? She would have left, but she'd purposed in her heart not to miss anything during the meeting. So she decided to stay and pray in English. Except, when she prayed, the words didn't come out in English. She prayed in other tongues as if she'd done it all her life. "I finally got my prayer language!" Stacey says. "But that wasn't all God did for me. Sixteen years earlier, I had been in a skydiving accident and crushed some vertebrae in my back. I had been in pain every day since. If I sat too long, it hurt. If I stood too long, it hurt. If I lay too long, it hurt. "It wasn't until Friday of the convention that I realized I hadn't experienced pain all week. I believe the Lord healed me at the beginning of the conference. With knees shaking and my heart pounding, I went forward and gave my testimony." The Miracle of a New Heart Denver received a miracle too. During the conference, the love of God so filled his heart that he fell in love with people. He loved them so much that he tried to talk to everyone. "Hi, my name is Denver," he said to a stranger. "What's yours?" "My name is David, and I'm from Uganda." David Condole, a pastor, was a longtime Partner with KCM. The men quickly became friends. Later, David called Denver. "Will you preach at my home church in Mukono?" With that call, Denver and Stacey's trip to South Sudan to visit an orphanage grew to include preaching in Uganda. Denver hung up the phone and swallowed hard. He hadn't preached in 25 years. KCM.ORG /PARTNERNOW

• Cover