Australia is a beautiful country and the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. This is where I was born and raised. My home country is one of the largest countries in the world, with one third dessert and most of the farms and cities located in the southwest and southeast, which receive the most comfortable climates. Dense rain forests are located in the northeast. The country’s famous outback contains the largest desserts accompanied by scorching temperatures and virtually no vegetation.

When I was 25 years old, I was introduced to a Canadian girl, through a mutual friend, on Instagram. I reached out to her online and we began to communicate back and forth. We got along on so many levels. I made the decision to move to Canada to get to know her better. Soon we were engaged and we married in the summer of 2019.

Shortly after arriving in Canada, I became involved in outreach in downtown Winnipeg, which is a very dangerous area with lots of drugs, crime and violence. Winnipeg has often been called the murder capital of Canada. While doing ministry downtown, our team has faced some dangerous situations.

One such occasion was a mid-summers afternoon, a warm and windy day. My friend Dillon and I had decided to go and do some outreach in downtown Winnipeg. Dillon was part of our house fellowship group and I had often shared some stories of outreach with the group. Dillon was interested in trying it out. This would be Dillon’s first experience doing this; and what an experience it would be.

We drove the hour long car ride from Steinbach to the core of Winnipeg. On arriving, we parked at Calvary Temple and walked across to Central Park. We approached different groups and had multiple chats with people. There were a couple of guys from Africa we chatted to. One of them had a bad shoulder and we asked if we could pray for him. He agreed and so we laid hands on him and prayed in the name of Jesus. As I prayed, with my hand resting on his shoulder, I felt multiple cracks and vibrations. After our prayer, he moved his shoulder around and all the pain was gone and he had full mobility. Praise God! This gave us a great avenue to share with the man about God’s love for him.

When that conversation wrapped up, Dillon and I moved on to converse with a group of First Nations people. We ended up chatting with two First Nations women and a First Nations man. We were able to share bits and pieces of God’s love with them in conversation. The women told us the dangers of living in downtown Winnipeg. They asked if we could give them a ride to The Red Sun Gas Station north of the city as they wanted to return to their home up north. They told us that it was just too dangerous living in the city core. Dillon and I both felt that we should help them. So we told them we would give them a ride to The Red Sun.

Suddenly, a young man walked up to the women and said to one of the ladies who was wearing a backpack, “Hey! You owe me money.”

Everyone was a bit shocked at the unexpected intrusion.

She replied, “No I don’t!”

The young guy demanded, “Give me your backpack!”

She said, “No!”

This went back and forth for a few minutes while the women tried to move away and ignore the young man. The First Nations man tried to calm the younger man down but to no avail.

Dillon and I decided to steer the girls toward the car to try and escape. The young man kept harassing the woman more and more. I felt like I shouldn’t get involved physically but just keep moving toward our vehicle. By this time, the young man was following us and trying to grab the backpack. The situation was deteriorating quickly and growing more dangerous.

As we were crossing the road toward our car, things were really heating up with the young guy pushing and pulling the backpack, the girl being swayed back and forth while she desperately hung on.

Suddenly, a car stopped in front of us with two men inside. The one driving was a white man around seventy years old with white hair and beard. His passenger was a fit, forty year old, African Canadian man who opened his door and stepped out. As he walked toward the aggressive young man, the muscular African Canadian held both hands out in front of him.

The woman kept saying, “Calm down, calm down. It’s okay.”

The young man faced the African man and yelled, “This is none of your business.”

“I know it’s not. I know it’s not,” the African Canadian man said, as he steadily kept moving toward the situation. “I know it’s none of my business.” he said with a calm but strong voice.

This man carried such strength of character, calmness and boldness to enter this volatile situation. Moving steadily toward the woman and young man with arms outstretched, when he was close enough, he suddenly grabbed the young guy and pinned him on the ground with precision and speed. The young man had no hope; he was outmaneuvered and overpowered in a moment’s time.

I said to the girls and Dillon, “Quick! Let’s go!”

We all raced to the car and drove away safely. As we travelled to The Red Sun Gas Station, I explained about God’s love and protection. I also shared the Gospel with them and urged them to put their trust in God, the one who would take care of them.

When we dropped the girls at the gas station, they assured us that they had a ride going further north to their home.

On reflecting on this encounter later, specifically the old white man and the African Canadian man, I found it quite odd that the two diverse looking men were travelling together. The timing of their entrance into the situation seemed supernatural to me, right when the volatility of the circumstance was intensifying so dramatically. The African Canadian man just happened to enter the scene just at the right time. Plus, he held himself with such confidence, boldness and calmness that it disarmed the young man’s fury and he was able to apprehend him. God was certainly involved and had sent help.

I still wonder if that man was an angel. I’m sure that both of the men in the vehicle were angels. There is no concrete evidence to prove it, but I believe that their appearance on the scene was God’s protection over us and the two women. Whether God directed these two men down that particular street that day to help, or they were angels sent to intervene, one thing is for sure, I will always be thankful for God’s intervention in that situation and how he protected all of us that day.

What a crazy first experience for Dillon doing outreach in downtown Winnipeg! Neither of us will ever forget this dangerous encounter and God’s supernatural mediation and protection.

 

***** 

 

Once we get to Heaven and God shows us a reel of our life, we will discover how many times we were rescued, protected or redirected by supernatural means. What a divine privilege it is that, during our time on earth, God gives us snapshots into the supernatural realm, unusual happenings that announce that Heaven is present and involved in our lives. 

 

For he will command his angels concerning you 
    to guard you in all your ways. 

Psalm 91:11 

 

If you would like to share a personal story of supernatural protection or angelic activity in your history, please reach out. Private message me on Facebook messenger and I will explain the details. I would love to share your testimony through my newsletter mailout and, if you are willing, on my blog as an encouragement to others. As it says in Hebrews 3:13, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’”. 

 

Also, you are welcome to share this story with your friends and family, or with anyone who needs some encouragement.