You learn a lot more about a state by walking its roads rather than driving them and, in 1997, Georgia Penniman got to know Montana well. It took three months for Georgia and three other women of "grand-ma age" to walk the perimeter of Montana. They prayed the entire 1,500 miles.
"We asked Jesus to bless every area," Georgia said, "and we held a prayer rally in a different town every night. On Sunday, we went to a local church and prayed for healing for them."
Georgia and her prayer partners did not overlook Montana's nucleus.
"The next May (1998), we prayer-walked the heart of Montana," she said. "It was 2,000 miles all together. We found the interstate had a life of its own, so we walked the frontage roads. We prayer-walked from 5 in the morning to 11 a.m., when it got hot. You concentrate on hearing from the Lord and doing what He says. We watched things happen that we were led to pray for. Sometimes, He would show me things 'in the spirit.'"
One of those "things" was the vision of an angel Georgia saw near an offramp. The angel held a sword, and when Georgia asked God about the angel, it was revealed to her that it was there to cut off the trafficking of drugs in that area. After Georgia told several pastors about the angel and God's revelation to her, one of them gathered his elders for prayer. Within days, the local newspaper broke the story of Montana's largest drug bust to date.
The ways Georgia has seen God move, well, she said, "I could write a book."
Georgia, Kalispell, Mont., is one of the speakers at the Daughters of the King Conference on Sept. 21-22 in Kiehle Auditorium at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Open to all women, Friday night begins with registration at 6:15 p.m., followed by praise music led by Terry Jahner, Bowdon, N.D. Saturday's session is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost is $42 per person through Tuesday, $47 after Tuesday, with Sept. 14 as registration deadline. Send checks payable to Women's Conference Fund to Janet Sannes, 21408 205th St. S.W., Crookston MN 56716.
The first Daughters of the King Conference, held in 2005 in Grand Forks, was the result of area women attending Equip 21, a discipleship training ministry in northern Minnesota in 2004-2005. "Georgia was our instructor," said Connie Moland, Fertile, Minn., another conference speaker.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for women in the corporate body of Christ to come out from their own church walls to get together to have meaningful worship that will inspire," said Connie, who also has experienced the God of Wonders.
"Equip 21 was a dream of mine that came to pass," Connie said. "I also was liberated to do what God showed me to do in India and Thailand, and then God led me to start a radio program." Connie is producer and host of "Jewels for Women," a 2-minute devotional heard at 10:20 a.m. Monday through Friday on 104.9 FM, Grand Forks, and 107.9 FM, Thief River Falls. The program is "something I wasn't aware had been in my heart," Connie said. "It was so far down, and because of Equip 21 and things I experienced in India and Thailand, the Lord led the way."
Connie feels a close kinship to women in the rural areas. "There's a tendency for women to feel isolated and that they don't have a safe place where they can freely express themselves," she said. "As has been my experience, we tend to put our dreams and desires on a shelf, thinking that because we live in a small area, none of them could come to pass anyway. I want to encourage women to pursue their dreams and not let them die. God knows all about the women of the north. He wants to draw out of them that which he already has deposited there."
Now more about Georgia, 66, who has worked with Youth With a Mission (www.ywam.org) since 1976. She has served on leadership teams not only in Montana but Kenya, Brazil, Russia, Hawaii and Oregon. Youth With a Mission "is the largest volunteer missionary organization in the world," Georgia said. "It's multinational and multidenominational. I teach and help pioneer schools and mission bases. Right now, we're on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. We have 25 men meeting to pray every Friday morning at 6 a.m. They want to see change for the good of their children. It's very rewarding to watch people become what God called them to be."
In her spare time, Georgia writes and records contemporary Christian music. "All different styles," she said. And she loves to teach people how to be disciples.
During the conference, Georgia will speak on the topics "Keys to Life" and "Can You Hear Me Now?"
It's so important, she said, that no matter where we are in life, we need to "be still to hear the Lord, how he communicates and how we hear him. It isn't spooky. It's very natural. God is big enough to get through to each of us, and that's real because he knows who we are."
Dunavan is a Herald columnist. Reach her at (218) 773-9521 or naomiinthespirit@aol.com |
