THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

The certainty of God's calling for me came at a Charismatic Conference in Anápolis, Brazil, on September 29th, 1989. During an explanation by our leader about the gifts of the Spirit the power of God came upon me. It was during a time of silent prayer that the preacher invited those who wanted to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and to receive the gift of speaking in tongues to stand up and repeat a prayer after him. I remember that I stood up to receive that gift when the preacher commanded us to let our tongue lay loosely in our mouth. He prayed for us and I felt my tongue moving up and down by itself. I also felt wind blowing on my face in a closed auditorium with about 3,000 people present. That was the sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and a few minutes later I was praying and speaking in tongues. What an exciting experience! After that incident I was convinced of the calling in my life, and I decided to study the Bible with intensity, and the desire to learn and to receive more from God consumed me.