Well these past few weeks, since I have been here at RSW, have been bitter sweet. God has really been speaking to me and changing how I think. He has done quite a bit of pruning and it is not very pleasant during the process. However, I have felt His presence so strongly, like I haven’t in a while. My dad is a pastor so I have been taught right and raised under the anointing and the power and presence of God.

But before I came here I was at a place of familiarity and comfort. Well, at least I thought it was. But the whole time I was in that stage, I didn’t have peace. I was not living a holy lifestyle. I was in a relationship that wasn’t of God. I knew unless God got a hold of him that it wouldn’t last from the beginning. But of course that didn’t stop me from entering into it. So, I knew that when Virginia told me about the scholarship I had to come.

Otherwise I would probably stay in the rut I was in forever. Honestly, this has been a very difficult time for me, but I am trusting in God completely. I left not only my fiancé, but my well paying job and the life I had built in KY. But that is just it. It was the life I had built for myself, not the one that God has for me. So I am already learning to surrender it ALL to God.

I have to learn to trust Him with everything and stop trying to do everything myself. I feel free and clean and at peace with being here and being led into the destiny God has for me. It is painful right now, but I know God’s healing comes after His pruning. I can’t wait to see where God has taken me at the end of this year…..Julie C.

Since I’ve been here, the Lord has reminded me that I have been appointed for such a time as this and that I am a warrior, in the spiritual realm.  That very thought has also impacted my life in a great way.  It has taken a few weeks for me to get past my natural thinking and into the realm of my spirit man.  I believe that this place will help propel me into the next realm and dimension of the things that the Lord has for me.  In the past, I’ve tried to do things on my own and figure things out in my flesh, but it has gotten me nowhere!

I am now determined that nothing will stop me from following through with the Lord’s perfect plan for my life and I now know what it means to truly love the Lord with all that I am and all that I have. The fact that I have changed so much within the small time period of a few weeks excites me, because I know that the rest of this year, as a RBI student, is going to be indescribable! I have no idea what all the Lord is going to do, but I know that it is going to be better than I could ever imagine.  I am extremely thankful for Pastors Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne, I sincerely respect their obedience to the Lord and following His call with their whole hearts and nothing less!

I am pleased to be a part of RBI and the River Church which you lead. I feel that it is no coincidence that I am here. I come from Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. I was very honest in my application to the Bible Institute, that I am not very fluent in English, for my first language is Spanish. But God told me to come here to your Bible School, Dr, Rodney. I was only born again 7 months ago, but the Lord has spoken to me and He is doing a quick work in me. I have been obedient. I have made a covenant with the King of Kings. This is a very trying time for me..

As you may know, the situation in Mexico has been critical. But God spoke to me that He’s taking care of them, and I believe Him. God spoke to me and confirmed with many ministers, that I was to go abroad to a Bible Institute, and here I am. I was at the house of my spiritual father  when he played a DVD of you, Pastor Rodney. Immediately my spirit knew that is where I was to go.  I’m the first believer in my family and I have been persecuted for this decision. God has done supernatural things on my behalf to bring me to this place. I have left everything to follow Him. I am an attorney and also have a degree in Communication as well as have a bakery.

I left what I had in the hands of women of God to use for the ministry (to battered women). I was given a word by a preacher in Mexico that I would have a scholarship to the Bible School He called me to, and I drove here by faith and was so blessed to be informed that I had a scholarship. I have been received so wonderfully. Your heart for the Hispanics blesses me so much! Last night, when I heard Pastor Daniel share with Hispanic Pastors, I was so excited that I’m going to be trained with this fire to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils and set the captives free! I have so many testimonies…Thank you Dr. Rodney.

I came to Tampa nearly four weeks ago from North Carolina. God has been doing awesome things through me and tome. Before I go into that I must give you a background concerning before coming to The River. In 2007 I was saved, set free, and delivered from drugs, alcohol and tobacco.  I was radically changed, and knew I would never be the same ever again. I had a passion for God, and loved the things of God. I got plugged in at the church that I got saved in. Pornography plagued me the whole time in my walk with God. I was always condemned and defeated. I would serve the Lord for two or three weeks, then I would run back into the world. I knew of God, but didn’t really know Him. Fast-forwarding four years

to January of this year. I started watching the Great Awakening, I was greatly blessed, started winning a few souls, but still struggling with pornography. RMI started offering scholarships to anyone feeling called to the ministry and I knew it was for me. So I moved down here with nothing planned in the natural, just a little money and a plane ticket. I took the city-bus to the river, and started walking down the drive. Overwhelmed with gladness I couldn’t believe I was actually here. Jesus started doing awesome things from the very start. I felt different every single service, I felt free. I knew Jesus was breaking things off of me, probably more than I know. I feel like I have grown ten years in the spirit. Words really can’t explain what has been going on in me. I’m giving more than ever before, soul-winning like never before. I’m learning to truly trust

God and over 100 people have been saved on the streets since I’ve been here. I have finally figured out why I’m alive. God is so good……Nick B.

God is so awesome!!! This week has been great! I love fourth quarter; I know it is going to be awesome!! I stayed in town over Spring Break, but was able to get some rest over the week which was nice! And on Saturday, Ignite went out to the beach all day. That was amazing! We all hung out together and then we all worshiped and took communion together right there on the beach! It was powerful! Some people saw us and came up and joined with us.

And then people got baptized right there in the beautiful ocean. It really was an amazing thing. Then some of us stayed after and played volleyball until the sun set. The sun sets are pretty insane. It looked like the sun was going into the ocean and the water turned this liquid blue silver color! I love this place! There are a lot of really awesome people here!

It’s nice to be in fourth quarter. Graduation and Banquet are coming up! In June, I am going on two back- to-back expeditions with Overland Missions over to Mozambique and Malawi! I thank God that Overland is friends with RMI so I could see what they’re all about. God really moved in my heart when they came! My heart is most definitely in missions! I’ve been thinking about home and my church a lot, and my pastors. I love them so much!

The classes this year are awesome and the Great Awakening has stretched into this quarter! The Great Awakening rocks! It’s so awesome to see people around the WHOLE WORLD catch on and we are seeing this whole world shaking! My life is really being changed! It’s amazing to have services every night and to be in a place where there is a pure stream of God flowing ALL THE TIME! God definitely brought me here! And it’s amazing to be a child of the Most High! -Ethan S

I just have to testify about the presence of God that is so strong in these meetings! I have never experienced anything so tangible in my whole life. As the song Holy Holy Holy is sung the atmosphere in the sanctuary transforms as if we were right at the throne of the Almighty God! His presence was so thick people could no longer stand. Falling to our knees, on our faces, just consumed in the awe of his sweet anointing! We began to sing in the spirit sounding like an army of Angels worshiping the Lord from our inner most being! One service lasted until early in the morning.

I just couldn’t leave. I was in a place where I never wanted to flee. It felt like eternity had arrived and I was in heaven. I can’t imagine how it is going to be when I am really there! I feel as though God is preparing us for heaven. After experiencing his Glory and his sweet love and his oh so tangible presence, I am motivate even more to tell people about Jesus Christ! I want everyone to experience what I have experienced in these meetings! I do not want one person to miss out on Heaven and I think it has had this effect on many others because there have been so many new faces in the soul winning classes each day!

The outreach department had to even make a whole new sin in sheet just for the visitors and each day there is a list of fresh on Fire ready to spread the Gospel faces prepared to demonstrate the power of God out on the streets! I do not even have words to describe how I feel to be in the midst of all this! -Virginia H.

This week here in Tampa Florida is the Winter Camp Meeting 2011. And the fire of God has been so amazing. I have the privilege and joy of being in the Great Awakening Call Center every Monday night. Honestly I would go in every single night if I had the chance. I see so many things done just speaking to people over the phones. People are getting saved, healed delivered and set free! And in all of this I am beyond blessed, I get so mightily touched by the Holy Ghost and I am taking everything and pouring it out even outside of the church and call center.

I received a phone call from my sister on Wednesday night saying she couldn’t breathe and was having sinus issues. I asked my husband to pray with me over the phone for her, while we prayed she said she felt the sinus cavity open and all that was inside blocking drain out. She said a she could breathe clearly. We prayed for her the same way we pray for anyone who calls the phone lines. And the very same power of God touched her and healed her. It is so amazing to see the extraordinary work of the Lord Jesus Christ being done here.

People are being touched in their very own homes all over the nation. How amazing is that? I am so proud to be a part of a God fearing church with a Pastor that’s number one vision is to seek and save the lost. I can only pray to catch this same fire and take it with me to use one day in my own ministry.  –Jennifer W.

This deep work that God is doing on the inside, its to shake, break, and kill if need be things that are not needed, because in order for us to see a Great Awakening here in America and abroad there has to first come one on the inside of us individually. So I must say that God is awakening the church, not a building or some manmade denomination but the “Church” His ordained Body of believers in Jesus Christ. Awakening my vision, taking the scales off where I can see Him, like the scripture say we behold Him as in a glass (mirror) and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18) Notice it is “by the Spirit of the Lord,” that is what has been preached since day one of the Great Awakening, and that is why we need the Holy Spirit, to be transformed, I believe that God is calling me to yield even more to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, its as if God wants to reveal Himself to the lost and dying world;

He would definitely have to do that through me, sorry to be personal but this is my blog so I’ll speak about the work He is doing in this heart, which I believe is congregation wide, so He would have me yield to the Holy Spirit, in turn being transformed into the image of the Son, which is Love, that the world can see Him! I believe even though the momentum is just being built up God has already begin to work on the inside of every individuals heart who has decided to plug in, and press in, awakening us to His heart and that is seeing that no one perishes, the lost, backslidden and even weak knee believers be reconciled back to Himself.          -Terrance S.

The Great Awakening has not only changed my life but, others around me. I have had the pleasure to travel on the road, with Pastor Rodney and Adonica, I have seen the work and effort of what it takes to go in and take a city. But with the Great Awakening, being live every night, we get to see America shaken by the power of God! The thing I love the most about being live is that now we can reach more people. It’s all about people getting off their seats and going into the streets. This Awakening is not about one man, or one church but the body of Christ doing what the body has been called to do.

This a challenging to every person who calls themselves a Christian. It’s to live Mark 16:15 to go out and preach the gospel to every creature. I know that to some this a hard thing to do because, we have our idea of what we think makes a good Christian. We think that it’s just loving the Lord, doing good things and being good people. Yes, all those are things that we do, and are great, BUT God has called all of us to do so much more! We can’t just sit and do nothing, when God  has  given us everything we need – Jesus! Someone came to you and told you about God how can you not go tell someone else about Him.

The Gospel Soulwinning Script is the easiest and most effective tool, to bring people to a personal relationship with the only person who can save them. It takes all the pressure of you and puts it on the word. Where it should be because it has nothing to do with you. The only thing you have to do is open your mouth! And He will fill it. It’s just that simple. We don’t have to work for it, the bible says to love others, and the best way I know to do that is to tell people about Jesus. And that is what will do every night! Jesus Loves YOU-Teresa T.