Ramona Trevino and Blossoms of My Life Podcast
The purpose of this ministry is solely to encourage others and share what God is doing in your lives.We have many gifts and talents and if we can continuously give God glory others will be encouraged to also go out and search for ways to help others.
Ramona Trevino and Blossoms of My Life Podcast
Interview with Fire Captain Matt Gonsalves
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One word. Total silence. A raging commercial fire. Matt, a career firefighter and current fire captain, tells us about the split-second moment he heard “Stop” and froze, only to watch a massive hood system collapse exactly where he was about to move. For anyone curious about hearing God’s voice, spiritual discernment, and the reality of the Holy Spirit, this is a raw, grounded testimony from the front lines of public service.
We also talk about the path that led there: leaving a surface-level faith behind, asking uncomfortable questions about prayer, and learning what a Spirit-filled relationship with Jesus can look like in everyday life. Matt shares how faith changes the way he approaches dangerous calls, leadership, and the mental load that comes with seeing tragedy up close.
Then the story widens to a mission trip to Chennai, India, where Christians gather with deep hunger for the gospel under real restrictions. Matt describes praying for long lines of people, relying on the Holy Spirit across language barriers, and witnessing a moment that shook his expectations: a man who had not spoken in 20 years begins to speak, saying “Yeshua,” and whispering “Nandri” in thanks. We close with simple, practical encouragement for anyone who wants to seek God with fresh hunger: read the Word, pray daily, and make room for God to lead.
If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find these testimonies.
Welcome And Guest Introduction
SPEAKER_00God bless you and thank you for tuning in to Blossoms of My Life Radio. Thank you for always tuning in and being faithful listeners. I am very honored and excited to introduce to you a guest. His name is Matt. Matt has faithfully served in the fire service for over 20 years and currently serves as a fire captain. He's a devoted husband and father of two. He invests his time both at home and in his community, coaching football and maintaining a passion for fitness. Five years ago, Matt experienced a life-changing supernatural encounter with Jesus that transformed the course of his life. Since then, he has been committed to growing in his faith, graduating from Promise Bible College in 2024, and participating in a mission trip with Promise Church in 2025. Matt's heart is to serve others, share the hope of Christ, and lead by example, both on and off duty. Matt, it's so good to have you on the air.
SPEAKER_03Yes, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I was super excited. So I don't know how to pronounce your last name. Why don't you go ahead and do that?
SPEAKER_03It's consoles, like dissolves, but consoles.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for that. And so you are on the West Coast and and you know you're a fire captain now. How long have you been working in uh the fire department?
SPEAKER_03I started right out of high school. So when I was about 18 years old, started working in the fire service and have been in such Senate for the last 20 plus years.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow. And how long have you been a captain?
SPEAKER_03I am on my seventh year
Fire Service Life And Pressure
SPEAKER_03as a company officer.
SPEAKER_00Well, praise the Lord. I know that you've probably seen a lot and some things I could imagine are difficult that you have to see when you have to go on calls. And you know, it it's a dangerous work, but then at the same time, if that's what you're called to do, then that's what you're called to do.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's uh it's an opportunity where we do see the worst and also the best in humankind. So it is a it's a blessing that I've been given, and it's also a curse sometimes. So I wear it's I wear it such.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I imagine just like in any type, you know, police officer, sheriff, any type of service work, I mean, you you see these things and they can happen, and like you said, they're just some of the most drastic things that you have to be a part of, but yet there's life in some of these situations where you're like, wow, that was amazing. You know, and then you have to, I I don't I being a Christian, now that you had this experience that we're gonna talk about, I mean, it probably changes the perspective in a lot of different ways because your eyes see differently, your ears hear differently, Holy Spirit guides you differently. You probably have noticed the difference in the last five years since your encounter than from before, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it would be, you know, you're watching TV in black and white, and now you see everything in color. So it's definitely a different aspect.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Right. Because now you pray before you go out on a call, you're praying while you're on the call, you're praying while you're working with other people, you're praying in these situations, and you know God's hand is there.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Wonderful. All right, well, let's just get into what happened five years ago because I think I I just so happened your mom sent me a clip of, you know, a YouTube, and that's when I was like, oh my gosh, you know, I told your mom we need to get him on the air because I want him to share with my audience. Because it's, you know, a lot of people, Matt, they want to hear from God. And some people are just stuck that they have to hear an audible voice. Some people
From Tradition To Real Relationship
SPEAKER_00are just in that place where, you know, I just can't see God's hand in these situations. And sometimes it's even because they've been walking with the Lord for a while that they kind of get stuck in that place where they they in the natural they want to see and hear these things. But a lot of times God speaks to us through the supernatural, and it sounds to me that that's kind of what happened to you.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And leading up to the news that it was, you know, our us walking our faith out. And we were previously with, you know, I was raised Catholic in the Catholic Church, and that's kind of where my beliefs laid. It was a Sunday sermon, it was about my my real relationship with Christ at best. And right before COVID, we decided to start to seek the Lord in a different manner. So actually trying to build that relationship and trying to find different churches to go to, and really became a conversation between my wife and I into how to build this relationship. What is that exactly? So in doing so, we had a lot of conversations. There's testimonies kind of interweaving this whole story, but ending up at a church which is about a half-hour drive from our house called the Promised Church. And you know, very spirit-filled church, and coming from the Catholic Church, it's I would say a a stark contrast in the two. So with that, my wife and I would have a lot of conversations about how to pray, praying, you know, praying in tongues, hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, and trying to kind of figure this out. And I wasn't really too too sold on it, I guess you would say, and was really trying to figure out for myself what that would look like and what that meant. We were on a hunting trip, uh, I was with my son, and we were out, it's it's about a six-hour drive, and my wife had recommended that I read a book, and it was called The God I Never Knew. And it goes into great detail on how to you know hear from the Holy Spirit, how God can speak through you and to you. And reading the book, it was it was very insightful, but I was still having a lot of questions for
Questions About Hearing The Holy Spirit
SPEAKER_03myself and and how that would transpire. You know, can you hear from God? Does God even know that I'm seeking him? And kind of those questions I think that we all ask. And it put a lot of questions in my head. So so those were all very relevant in my heart and on my mind for the over the last several days. And then as a as a fireman, we go to work, we're there for several days, and when you get there, it's like you have to almost check all of your thoughts at the door because you have to be kind of locked into a different world. Um as a public servant, especially in the fire service, we we spend about a a third to a half of our life away from our families and working out the stations. And so when we're there, it's kind of like we check into a different life. So a lot of those questions that I had about you know, hearing from God, the Holy Spirit, what does that mean? Does he speak to me through me? How would I hear that? How would that even transpire? Does God even know I exist? All these questions, you you have to kind of park those and put them on the the back bar for a few days. So it was about 2020, so COVID was happening. It was right before COVID. The timeline's kind of it's right in there because obviously the whole world got real weird.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I'm a captain on a fire engine, and it's late at night. And we get a call for a commercial structure fire. And so we're I'm asleep. I get a call for a structure fire. We respond to this fire. And we arrive on scene, and it's a it's a working fire, so there's active fire, it's uh like a burger restaurant. Um
Commercial Fire Response And Interior Attack
SPEAKER_03and it's very, very normal call, nothing out of the ordinary. So we're we're working the fire. I get assigned to interior, so it means I'm going inside with hose lines to do an offensive attack on the fire. As a company officer, I'm in charge of those individuals going inside. I'm more of an operations level person, so I have people with me who are doing the tactical operation of deploying hose lines, forcing doors, and and doing that kind of work. So I'm usually at that little like a hovering level to make sure that everyone's safe, functioning properly, and everything's going into the plan that we have in place. So it was it was good fire, it was very, very active. We had fire above us, and it was originated in the kitchen area of the burger restaurant. And at the time we were it was it's you know, in my timeline, it feels like we were in there forever, but it probably was more like a few minutes. Right. And it was me and another individual ended up on a hose line pushing into the kitchen. And I just remember uh like kind of in my in my head, I was like, wow, this is this is pretty intense fires. The the conditions are changing. We have very heavy fire activity coming from the kitchen. Uh at that time I'm trying to radio to the engineer who's pumping the water to the hose line to increase pressure to get more volume so that way we can get uh more water onto the fire. And the fire met the firefighter at the time, and I'm kind of right behind him on the hose line, talking on the radio. And uh in a fire, it's very loud. So the the sound of the fire, the the truck companies running saws outside, it's just very loud. It's almost deafening. And your your radio is turned up all the way so you can right next to your ear, so you can hear everything that's going on in case there's any change in tactics. It's communications is very important. So I'm radioing back and forth to try to get some more pressure and to give reported conditions back to the incident commander. And where we were located was just between the entry to the kitchen and the ordering counter. And there was like a partition almost like a doorway that kind of goes that leads back into the kitchen area. And so we're we're both down pretty low on the ground, trying to advance this hose line into the kitchen to wrap around this corner so that way we can kind of get to the main seat or area where the fire is is active. And I'm thinking in my head, and you know, a lot of this is is me trying to maneuver hose lines and be offensive to get into position so that way we can you know suppress the fire. And so I'm I'm l I'm gathering hose up behind me because I'm thinking, okay, if we can just push forward and get around this corner, we'll be we'll be in a good position to have more effect on the fire. So I'm I'm pulling up hose, I'm pulling up hose, and I'm getting ready to go, and I'm I've got my hand on our fireman's back, and and then I'm thinking, okay, here we go. I'm gonna tell him, like, hey, let's push forward and get around this this block or this doorway. And as as soon as I was about to, I mean, in that microsecond that I was gonna push him forward, I just remember it going completely quiet. Just completely dead quiet. And then I heard stop in that moment. I didn't know what it was. So in that moment where I'm trying to re-gather
The Quiet Moment And The Word Stop
SPEAKER_03my thoughts because I don't know what just happened, and what I heard, the the whole hood system that separated the kitchen from the ordering desk collapsed right where we were gonna go. So ended up with a partial building collapse would be on the what we call the Bravo side, or the the left side of the structure actually fell away, and the hood system which was framed into that, which weighed probably close to a thousand pounds, was all metal, and that fell right on where I was trying to go. So in that moment, uh multiple multiple things occurred, is you know, something someone stopped me from doing what I was doing and saved my life. And second, it interjected a lot of questions into what just transpired. So we ended up having to back out and change our operation to a defensive operation, and which means we no longer are in the offensive mode, so we pull all of our personnel out and we start to attack the fire from the outside with no personnel inside. So we had an operational change and we exit the structure. And I just remember walking out and I was kind of like dazed and trying to figure out what happened, and and I it we it was like the Holy Spirit spoke to me and uh in that exact moment where it was it was like this is this is how you can hear from God, the Holy Spirit, and He can really change your life and uh give you that that clarity, discernment, and wisdom as you seek the Lord.
SPEAKER_00You know, and I the part that where he where everything was quiet, and like how you said, like this is all happening, it seems like forever, and that moment was just maybe like a second, but everything was still and quiet, and then you hear the voice. And I love how the Holy Spirit does that because you you have to, you know, your your natural mind goes back and thinks, like, wait a minute, what happened to all the fire and all the noise and all the stuff that was going on before? And then I hear this voice. I mean, it had to be God, like you you step back and you know, like that had to be Him.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I I I know, I know that I know that I know. Yeah. So where I heard it from was over my right shoulder, and I was actually up against a wall on my right shoulder. So I mean, that all those things, there was no one else that was next to me. It was just me and my fireman at the time. My radio was on the other side. So, I mean, there's just so many things, and I was trying to reason and rationalize through it, and I'm like, there's no way that anything could be anything but that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and did you kind of think because something similar happened to me when I was in Germany, but did you happen to think like, did did my partner hear that?
SPEAKER_03And I it never that never really entered my head until I after when I walked out and I was talking to the individual. And it was funny because after in that moment, right? Because I it felt like time stood still. And in reality, it was a snap of a finger, everything occurred.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_03And the fire, the firefighter at that time that was right in front of me, who was, you know, who I was responsible for, who I would have put in that position, who I mean, all those things weigh heavy on me. He was laughing. He turned around and was giggling. I was like, oh yeah, man, what really? So after this transpired, and I walked outside, and I like I said, I was kind of dazed. I I wouldn't talk to him real quick because we were changing our BA bottles out so that way we could uh get reset if we had to. And and I walked over to him and I was kind of like, hey man, like did you thinking I was gonna ask him, did he hear that? And then uh he just kind of walked over and he's like, Oh, that was crazy, and then just kind of walked away. And I was like, What do you mean, crazy? He's like, that whole thing fell right in front of us. That was wild, and he just walked away. So it was like, okay, well, he didn't hear anything. So yeah, I was it was a different experience, I guess, on on both individuals.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, yeah. And you knew it's kind of like your wife was praying for you, obviously. She gave you this book, you're questioning, you're asking. He knows our heart. I love that part about God, and I love that part about the Holy Spirit is he knows, and he knows the earnestness of us, you know, the diligence, just the desire. Like he knows that desire, and he knew with full of passion, you were really curious. Like, could this be real? And he wanted more than anything to show you. And the other thing I look at this now, and kind of you probably the same, is that if that wouldn't have happened and you know, tragic things could have transpired, you wouldn't be where you're at today. You know, we're gonna talk about your India trip, and so you wouldn't have been able to do all that. And so, because God had a bigger plan for you, and all along, because now we know, but he knew your name before the foundations of the earth, so he's like, Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen to Matt yet. And so, you know, he's kind of like there's so much more when you stop and think about it that he's gonna do with your life that he had to save your life. And if you wouldn't have listened, you know, like so many people don't stop and they're not profoundly intuitive to listen to that, it could have been a whole different outcome, right? Because we have free will and free choice.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And that's the scary part sometimes, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and um going forward from there, it's it's just it's incredible the the power of seeking his presence and seeking him. Yes, it just gives you so much to to do, and to it just it's incredible.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love that. I love how he draws you. I know when I first had my encounter with the Holy Spirit, I had been seeking, I had like, I want that. I see all the people in the front of the church, and they're always speaking in tongues, and they they seem like they're the ones, but yet, and the pastor's saying all of us can have this, but I don't have it, and how do I get that? And and you know, I was told, like, well, you have to take this class and you have to do this, and so of
Hunger For God And Speaking In Tongues
SPEAKER_00course I take it, and then okay, now what? And well just pray. And I'm thinking, there's nothing in the Bible that says I need a class. So, why do I need to take a class to learn about something that somebody should just be able to show me? Like, this is let's go to the word, let's pray about this, you know. And I've been praying about how this can happen, and I wanted something more, and I had moved to my your mom and helped me find that's a whole nother testimony of how your mom had how me and her met, and then she helped me find this condo, and I needed a handyman, and this man was referred to me, and he comes into my house and he says he's the pastor, and I'm like, what? Like blown away, like I have a pastor at my house, right? And so he invites me to his church, which is a church that I've always seen on the corner of Fort and San Benito, and I'm thinking, one day I'm gonna go in there, one day I'm gonna go in there. And he that he's the pastor there, and he invites me in there, and I and so I show up and he's like, Oh my god, you're here. And I'm like, Well, you invited me. And and so then I listened to it, and I'm just like, oh my god, this is where I need to be. Like it was on fire. And by the second time I'm there, I stay after service. I'm like, this is what I want, and I don't know how to do it, and this is what my other church said I had to do. And he's like, Come on up, let's pray. He starts showing me scripture, and he's telling me this is what's gonna happen. I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna lay hands on you. These are all the emotions, this is what you're gonna feel from within the belly, and you're gonna, you know, and it's all scriptural. He's showing me as he's so he's teaching me as he's gonna lead me in prayer, and he starts praying for me, and boom, it happens. Like I start speaking in tongues, I have that evidence, and it's like I'm just like all of a sudden on fire and in just like full of power, and so much has happened since then, right? Just so many things that open up, like you said.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, how he does and meet and puts us in those positions exactly where we need to be in the moment.
SPEAKER_00And it's just the desire, you know, like because sometimes when I speak, it's like at church, and it's just like, you know, don't you guys want what I wanted? Like, where's your desire? Where's your hunger? Where's your passion? Don't you, you know, because some people get intimidated. They think, well, no, I don't want to do that, or you know, and I'm thinking to myself, why not? Like it's gonna open up so many things when you have that encounter with the Holy Spirit. Because that's why he left the Holy Spirit. He's no longer here physically, and he's like, I'm gonna send the Holy Spirit so that you can still do the things that I used to do when I was here. And the Holy Spirit allows us to be able to be. You know, I'm here, you're where you are. Excuse me. Are you there? Did we lose each other?
SPEAKER_03We did just for a second.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so here I'm the editor, I'll catch that up. How far did I get?
SPEAKER_03Wanting to hear from the Holy Spirit and all the stuff.
SPEAKER_00So just when I speak at church, I I you know, I I ask people, like, you know, where's your hunger? Where's your thirst? And don't you want what he left us? Because he left Earth and sent us the Holy Spirit, and now I can have what you have where you are. I can speak to people on the East Coast, and they have the same. Like him in his physical form was not able to do that. And he left us Holy Spirit so that every single person in the whole entire world can experience what you and I experience.
SPEAKER_04Amen.
SPEAKER_00And I love that. And just people just need to understand it's so real and and it's there, and you just have to have a passion and a desire. Just ask. Because that's all you were doing. You were questioning and asking.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and to be honest, when I started down my path, I I was on the other, the other side. I uh I remember seeing these people speaking in tongues and praying with reverence, and and it was like, ooh, I don't I don't know about this. This is kind of wild. These people are wild.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And that's where I was really questioning, like, man, does is this for me? Am I I don't know if I'm worthy enough to to be where these people are, like these, you know, because you almost feel like sometimes you walk into church and you know, these are look at these these perfect Christians who do all these things, and I'm I'm I was not that person. I was I was not a godly person. So really going down that path and asking those questions and trying to see how how does that look like for me seeking the Lord and what is what does that have in store for my life. So I love it. I think God met me exactly where I need to be met to to change my trajectory.
SPEAKER_00Right. And he never makes things too difficult, like he's gonna meet everybody exactly where they are. Some people think, well, I don't haven't read the Bible fully and I don't fully understand it, or you know, I'm not ready to go to church yet because I have so much sin. Well, that's why we go to church, you know. We're all sinners, right? He doesn't intend for us to be perfect before we come to meet him, he wants to meet us exactly where we are. And I love that about him too. Matt, so now obviously Holy Spirit and just your walk with Christ has led you just to a closer relationship with him and everything that you do, even with your work now. But it's also leading you. I want to have some time to talk to you about your mission trips.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, which was probably a lot of people, or not a lot of some people asking me about my my trip to India, and my response is it was completely life-changing. So back up from that a little bit. We wanted
Bible College And Marriage Strengthened
SPEAKER_03Bible college was something that was really on my wife's heart, and she really wanted to go. And I remember we were sitting in our backyard enjoying a Southern California day, and she was trying to work up the nerve to ask me about Bible college, and she's very specific on how she does it because she wants to go through the pros and how it would benefit and really sell it to me, and because she knew that I would have been hesitant. And I remember her sitting there talking about Bible college and how important it would be and how it would help her grow, and she was asking if she could go. And yeah, but with my schedule and and everything else that I have going on, there's you know, my as a fireman, our schedule is very unique. We work certain days, we're gone for you know long stretches of a time, and it's it's a very flexible schedule. And when we will be home, not be home, we could call, be called out to a strike team and be gone for 20-something days at a time. So I'm thinking in my head, like, man, I can I don't know if I can commit to something like this. I yeah, there's some benefit to it, but I just I can't. And I remember the whole this that still small voice said, if you do not go to this, you will grow apart. And so yeah, I was like, okay, Lord, then if if this is the direction, then I'll be obedient and walk this out. And it was a two-year Bible college and studying the Bible and how I can, you know, different classes from apologetics to eschatology to different viewpoints. And it was it was very impactful, and it gave me a good reference and a good base to really learn how to build a relationship with God and how to testify to other people and and pray for people and how to pray, you know, properly and to to use the Holy Spirit and the powers that you know he's given us. And great, great opportunity. And like I said, it we would have grown apart. And if anything, attending Bible college with my wife has made us even closer in our relationship. And uh, my wife and I have been together since high school. So and we have two two beautiful kids. Uh I was a teenager's son and a pr a preteen daughter. So it's been it's been very unique times, but um it's been it's been an incredible journey. So with that, at our church, they do they wanted to do a mission to India, and not a nice part of India, it's uh Shennai. So it's on the the east, the southern eastern portion of India, and it's very, very low income. And I remember my wife telling me that she wanted to do this mission trip to India, and I'm like, babe, I go to Lowe's on the weekend. That's about my extent of travel. I'm not a big like let's go out and see the world kind of guy. So uh the same thing. I was like,
Mission Trip To India Under Pressure
SPEAKER_03hey, let me let me pray on it, let me uh think through this. And and uh as I'm praying, I have uh of confirmation that this is what we need to do as a family, and you know, my wife and I to go and to participate. And so leading up to the trip, we were fasting and praying, and with the group that we were gonna go with, there was 16 of us that uh that went. And yeah, it was just an incredible opportunity to go to another part of the world and to see how Christianity plays out in another part of the world where they're just so hungry for the word and their faith is is at another level and the trust that they have in in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and it was it was incredible.
SPEAKER_00And to be able to how long were you guys gone?
SPEAKER_03We were gone for 11 days. Wow, and uh it was about a uh 24 hours of travel to get to India, and it was 36 hours to get home.
SPEAKER_00Wow, just everything that you have to go through, and once you're there, I mean, I've heard that about I mean I've gone just to Mexico on mission trips, but you know, the same thing kind of in the poverty places, and just we built houses for people, but you know what like they don't have Bibles. If they do, they share. They're hungry, like you said. Just talk to us about the Lord, tell us about God, give us the gospel message, tell us about Jesus, tell us about what he did, and you know, they're just they they want so much to know about him.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and in India, when you travel, we had to travel underneath a traveler's visa to get there, and we were under the visa of sightseeing, because they don't allow for religious visas to enter the country. Oh wow, and in India, the obviously the religious accepted religion is not Christianity, and it is not looked upon with great favor to be preaching the gospel and everything in India. And we went there in the sole purpose to preach the gospel, lay hands on people, and fill them with the Holy Spirit. There was no no building, no, no, it was us to be there to pray. And we we would att we would attend three services a day, and it was kind of like an underground Christian network that would spread the word that we were going to these different venues each day. And it was incredible. They were the most appreciative, nice, just welcoming people, and we would see probably close to upwards 500 to a thousand to 1500 people a day. Wow, um, it was it was very incredible. And one of the things that I took away, the biggest thing that impacted me in my life, I remember leading up to the trip, and somebody had gone to India previously, and they were talking about healing and the Holy Spirit working through them, and they had witnessed miraculous, a miracle, miraculous healing in front of them, where a guy had a tumor, and as he's praying for him, and he saw this tumor disappear.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03And I and I remember thinking, like, that is the God that I know, and that is I'm gonna go there expecting my faith is gonna be that high that that's something that I want to see as a a miracle that I can see with my own eyes. And that's kind of where I had established my my expectations for this trip, and it was incredible because very few people spoke English. And one of the the prayer lines that I was in, and our pastor that was with us had called everybody up, and whether it was for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and she had a translator, so this was good to kind of get the people up, but filling of the Holy Spirit or to lay hands on people for healing. And so, you know, I'm in my my prayer area and I have people lined up in front of me, probably a hundred people deep, and I'm just praying over people, and like I said, they don't speak English, so it's really hard to figure out what they're what they're there for. So I really relied heavily on the Holy Spirit to just to listen to what I can pray over these individuals for. And one of the the the moments that was incredible as I'm going through the prayers with these people, a gentleman who was probably close to my age, so late 30s and 40s, he comes up and his mom is with him, and she spoke very broken English, and she had one word, and I thought she said sleep, like praying for sleep. And so I'm thinking, okay, yeah, I can I can do this. And the thing that was unique is if I pray for something like that's not a an instantaneous, miraculous thing, it's like sleep. Okay, well, I can pray for for peaceful, you know, dreams and for rest, and to,
A Healing Moment That Shook Him
SPEAKER_03you know, and he can do that somewhere else. And you know, that's kind of where it's like, yeah, I can I'm gonna pray a good prayer over him and really like listen to the Holy Spirit and what I can say to this this gentleman to bring him that peace. And so I I pray over him, and I just have this weird feeling that that's not it. And I kind of stop halfway through the prayer and I open my eyes and I'm looking at the mom, and she's shaking her head no. Oh and she says, speak. Oh no, speak. And I'm like, okay, well, this is this just uh intensified the level of of faith and expectance because the the gentleman that I was praying for had not spoken in 20 years.
SPEAKER_00Oh wow.
SPEAKER_03So now as I'm okay, and I'm like, wow, this is this is a different level, but because either this is gonna happen or it's not.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_03And I'm praying and I'm praying in the spirit, and I'm just really like, God, I am I'm a conduit of your power. And let me just show show them, show me how how truly amazing how big our God is. And as I'm praying, I get the the sense of I because this doesn't make sense to me, right? So I start I get the the this feeling from the Holy Spirit to put your hands on his throat. And I'm a bigger guy, and especially in India, I'm a I'm a I'm a really big guy. So it probably looked a little interesting to be choking out a little fellow in front of me with my hands around his neck as I'm praying in tongues over him, and I start praying in the spirit, and I have my hands over his throat, and I get this this push from the Holy Spirit to tell him just tell him to say Yeshua.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow.
SPEAKER_03And I start whispering Yeshua in his ear, and I'm just saying, speak, say Yeshua, just speak the word's name. And in that instance, I started to feel vibration in his throat from his vocal cords, and I immediately snap back, my eyes are open, and I am just astonished about what's happening. And he starts crying, and he says, Yeshua again. And the mom is weeping, she's crying, and they're such a reserved people that he's he's literally crying, but he has like a stoic face, and thank you in in their language is Nandri. And he just looks at me, puts his hands together, bows his hands, says Nandri, and walks away, and they're hugging, weeping. And I am blown away. I'm like, what just happened?
SPEAKER_02And I love it.
SPEAKER_03It was the most incredible thing that has ever happened, and they was one of And they just went up expecting, so he's just like, okay, thank you.
SPEAKER_00He liked like that's what was gonna happen.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and his faith met my faith, and it was it was incredible, and that's where when people ask, like, hey, how's your trip to India? I'm not I really don't know how to explain it, other than it changed my life.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was incredible. So and you think back, so now now after hearing your testimony that you shared earlier, God, like the Holy Spirit needed to spare your life so that you could help this one individual speak.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I think that even if that if that was such a just a powerful confirmation of of everything that I've I've been walking out and seeking the Lord and being obedient, and because it I think it's leading me to my next my next goal. And a few years ago, we had a prophet come to our church, and it's funny because I'm I'm the guy like I'll I'll pay the five bucks for the raffle, you know. I always put my money, you know, you know what I mean? And I never get the raffle prize, right? So I'm at church and we're kind of sitting nowhere in particular, just kind of off to the side, and listening to this prophet, he's getting these powerful words over people. I'm like, man, that's incredible. What would it be to get a word where you're getting a word from God about what your your path or your journey is to be, to have some purpose-driven
Prophetic Word And Coaching Opens Doors
SPEAKER_03looking forward? And I remember he just looked right at me and he's like, I have a word for you. And so I'm listening to, and he this guy's from South Africa, he doesn't know me from Adam, and he starts talking about my life in the past and with just perfection to where I've been, what I've done, that I have two kids, and he's just I'm like blown away that he has just the accuracy that he's he operates in. And he's he's talking, he's like, I see you coaching and coaching from a reverence of of God and how important I love it, God God is, and the discipline that you have, and and how you're gonna wrap that all together. And he's like, I see you leading a young generation to God through coaching, through sports, and and I and at the time remember I'm I'm a fire uh for the fire department. I'm like, I can't coach. Yeah, I my schedule doesn't allow for that as cool as it would be. I grew up playing sports, I love sports. I a lot of the discipline that I have in my life and my uh my work ethic is from being heavily involved in sports from a young age. Yeah, and I would love to do that, but I'm already in my head, I'm already doubting, right? So that's another thing I'm trying to work on. But so I hear this word spoken over me, and I'm like, there's no way. I would love to, sounds great, but there's no way. And it all just these doors just open so easy. And probably a year later, my son wanted to play football, and like, man, that'd be really cool to coach football. I love football. And we went to the uh signups, and one of the head coaches saw me and was like, Hey, uh, is this Michael? I see he's on the roster. And he's like, Would you be interested in coaching? Lord. And I'm like, Yeah, I would love to. And he's like, Well, what positions did you play? Or did you play football? And I was like, Yeah, I played football for about six years. I played quarterback and then transitioned to running back. And he's like, Oh, well, we really need a quarterback coach. And I'm like, I'm your guy. And so I started coaching about three years ago.
SPEAKER_00Oh, wonderful.
SPEAKER_03And I'm currently coaching my my son in his last pop warner year, and if these doors have been opening in such that this testimony is about to come to fruition, but my son, who is homeschooled, has had no opportunity to play high school sports because he's in homeschool. And in California, our great and fearless leader, Gavin Newsom, yeah, has taken away the rights for homeschool kids to play in public schools, although I already pay tax dollars for him to be there.
SPEAKER_00Right. That's a whole nother story.
SPEAKER_03A whole nother story. So I'm really trying to figure out because my son is truly a gifted athlete, and I can see that God has given him that opportunity and a platform, you know, moving forward. So me and my wife have been praying, like, how are we gonna make this happen? Like, I don't want him to go back to the public school system because it's you know the indoctrination camps. So as I've been coaching with uh another gentleman, he's the head coach, and I've been run the offense. We have had the opportunity, my son has been offered a tuition assistance program or a scholarship to play for a private Christian school.
SPEAKER_00Oh, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_03And they want to bring the head coach and myself onto a coaching staff. Praise God for the the JV squad.
SPEAKER_02There you go.
SPEAKER_03So I'm I'm like blown away how God just in a private Christian school and football and coaching, and I'm like, okay, I will I can't doubt. There's no way.
SPEAKER_00So you and your household shall be saved. Exactly. I love it. So I love it. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I'm so glad that we had this time to share, and we're getting close to the end. And I just I love how just how God, the Holy Spirit, you know, and those of you that are listening and you're like, I want to hear from God that same way. Matt, what would you tell them?
SPEAKER_03Is seek him, is every day, read the word, pray. Prayer is the the strongest tool that we have against the evil one and to empower us, to empower the Holy Spirit, to give him room to move. Yes, and and trust that God knows every hair on your head, he knows he knows the valleys that we're in, he knows the mountaintops that we're we're heading to, and he's with us every step of the way. We just have to turn to him and see guidance, wisdom, and he will show up.
SPEAKER_00Yep, and it's so important these days. Matt, if somebody wanted to help you, I mean, do you
How To Seek God And Closing Prayer
SPEAKER_00take donations for your upcoming mission trips that you might go to? Is there a way that people could email you or get in touch with you?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for our last missions trip, we did like a GoFundMe, but it was specifically for Christian missions. Okay. Um, like a third party that you could donate to. And and we did that, which was another testimony in itself because we ended up raising the money that we needed to to make that mission trip happen because you know our set income with two kids in California and go so far. Yeah. So but yeah, that was that was a great opportunity, and that's kind of like like a case by case basis. So we had that opened for the India trip.
SPEAKER_00If somebody wanted to sew into what you're doing, you want to share your email with them?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_00Okay, go ahead and say that.
SPEAKER_03It's my first name, Matt M-A-T-T. S is in Sam, G is in golf at L I V E Live.com.
SPEAKER_00Okay, everybody. Do you want to help Matt with what he's got going on? There's his email, and we'll post that in the when this airs on YouTube and everything. So, Matt, thank you so much for this time. And I'm so glad to hear you, your voice, and can't wait to meet you in person. Hopefully, one day that will happen. Until then, I just hear all the stories from mom and just you know, I'm I'm so grateful for you and your prayers for your mom. And just, I know she prays for you. We both do. And so I just thank you for taking the time out of your busy time in your life. I'd love it if you would close us out in prayer, whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to pray about, and we'll be in touch.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And I thank you, Ramona, for for creating this ministry that you have that can reach so many people and to really be obedient and and spend your time and your assets to to reach as many people, to bring them to Christ. And it's it's an amazing thing.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We thank you for all the blessings that you've given us. We thank you for how you work in our lives, for the wisdom, the discernment that you've given us for the Holy Spirit, and allowing us to allow the Holy Spirit to move on this earth. Lord, I ask that you you take away any of the pride that we have, you drop our egos, that we can we can testify on how amazing and how powerful you are, that we don't put you in a small box, that we let you we let you move on this earth so that you can have dominion to reach as many of the people that we can so that they can be welcomed into your kingdom. Lord, you walk beside us. You know the the valleys that we're gonna be in in the future, and we turn to you for our strength. Lord, that you are our great protector and our provider. We trust you with all that we have. Lord, I thank you for Ramona, for her ministry, Lord, that you just bless it, that you let it just spread through these continents, that more people can hear the beauty and the majestic power of your name. And we pray this in Jesus' mighty name.
SPEAKER_02Amen.