Our annual Women's Retreat 11/2/07 - 11/4/07 with Brenda Peters http://www.ohmint.org/ was FANTASTIC! Brenda ministered in the prophetic with tremendous humility and grace. Her personal stories were encouraging and faith-building, and her testimony was confirmed through the miracles that followed. I personally received an encouraging word from Val, a member of Ben & Brenda's proophetic team. It was such a blessing to receive that word and I am so glad Val was able to join us! Val brought with her Aimee, a teenage prophetic psalmist, who played the piano while Val ministered.

On Saturday night, while Brenda was ministering, God led me to pray over someone who was out under the power of the Spirit on the floor. After awhile (in a VERY QUIET room) she burst out with uncontrollable laughter. God continued to have me pray for her. Eventually she tried to get up with several of us assisting her. The weight of the glory was still on her and she struggled. I heard God ask, "Are you sure you want to get up?" So I asked, "Are you sure you want to get up?" to which she responded, "That's what God just said to me," and BAM...we both hit the floor. I had never before experienced God transferring laughter to me from someone else...it was awesome...I was then taken up into a vision into heaven...which I shared with the women while leading worship the next day...and I remained drunk for MANY hours into the night on Saturday...and woke up totally refreshed on Sunday morning...

When the woman who was laughing was finally able to get up off the floor, she reported breathing problems that were the result of asthma had been healed! Glory to God! Not only that, but earlier, while Brenda was prophesying fire over her, she literally felt burning in her lungs as God was healing her...

An elder's wife who has been occasionally getting a little bit of glory dust on her skin showed me her hands on Sunday...there was an increase of this manifestation as her hands were COVERED in the visible glory of God's presence...wow God!

During some free time on Saturday afternoon, God spoke to me from 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." Toward the end of the worship on Saturday night I sang & prophesied this to the women. This tied very much into Brenda's message about how God wants to move through each of us, and how every single one of us has a destiny in Christ.

Throughout the weekend Brenda kept telling us we think too much...that we should stop thinking and instead of getting offended when God moves...we should just go soak until God deals with us...and because of Brenda's graciousness and transparency about God's dealings with her...the women openly received her message...

She also shared that we can have as much of God as we want...but it will cost us...and she shared numerous stories of how that has played out in her life...it was so encouraging as a pastor's wife to hear her stories...there is a cost to following Jesus...but He's worth it!!!

It is now my prayer that we would carry the fire of what God imparted to us this weekend and release His glory everywhere we go! For He alone is worthy, and He is worth it!

Dawn Okpisz
Pastor's wife
Worship director
earlydawnministries@yahoo.com