Christine Dunbar-Thomas, team lead for one of the Peaceful, Purposeful, Persistent, Prayer Protest, continues to stand against the forces of darkness and champion righteous revival after embarking on a journey of boldness.
Stationed on Municipal Boulevard, formerly called ‘I-95’, in Portmore, St. Catherine, Dunbar-Thomas says since she began participating in the Prayer Protest, she has become bolder in her stand for holiness. This transformation, she says, is an attribute that she has not always exhibited.
“I’ve gotten bolder,” she told Freedom Come Rain Newspaper, “because before, if somebody had told me that I would be out there, I would say ‘Me, no, no, no’, because I am, you know, very reserved, quite shy.”
This new journey, she testified, was God’s way of answering a previous prayer point.
“When the Lord told me to go out there, I was kind of, you know, questioning it, and then the Holy Spirit would have said, ‘But you were praying for boldness.’ And I said, ‘Oh, okay.’ I’ve gotten more bolder, you know? A little more outspoken.”
Her journey started last July, when she received a dream indicating that she should participate in the movement. The location, she said, was not initially clear, but as she listened to TBC Radio’s Morning Joy Special Edition, with Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth, the revelation came.
“I was awoken from a dream. In the dream, the Lord would have shown me the location. So when I got up, I was like, Lord, I know you’re indicating for me to stand somewhere, because it wasn’t clear. The location wasn’t clear. At the same time, I heard Brother Richard’s conversation with the Apostle.”
“I was just in time to hear him state the location, which is Hung Way Shopping Mall. And then, right away, the Holy Spirit brought the dream back to me, and then the picture became clearer…I asked the Holy Spirit for another confirmation, and at the same time, I heard a person ask Brother Richard, “If the Holy Spirit is prompting somebody to come out here, how can they tell whether it’s the Holy Spirit or just their mind?” And as he spoke, something inside me just shifted, and I said, “Okay, well, yes, that’s the confirmation.”
Dunbar-Thomas also shared cases where the experience of standing for Christ has not always been pleasant. In one case, she received a warning from the Lord that people were planning to have them removed from their location, which was initially in front of a well-known call center in Portmore. In other cases, the group was faced with verbal rebukes.
“Some persons would say some negative things, but we still stood there…and when it came to my spirit that we should move, I said, ‘Move?’ I don’t understand why we should move. Because I know this is the location where the Holy Spirit said I was supposed to stand. Then the next day, another team member said she got a vision, and they’re planning to have us move from there. And I said, Okay, this is confirmation.”
Lives have been transformed, as she said that this new boldness has also played a role in the lives of other persons as well. One passerby returned to the location to testify that having read the ministry cards, she surrendered her life to the Lord. She also testified that three more persons who had walked away from their faith, recommitted their lives to the Lord after speaking with the team. Children have also stopped, read the ministry cards, and asked questions of the team members.
“We had a set of children; they looked like teenagers as they were passing, and they were reading the cards. And one of them stopped and said, ‘Miss, what does this mean? What does this mean?’ Because there was a sign that says, ‘God detests same-sex relationships.’ He knew what it meant, but, you know, I guess he wanted to just engage in conversation. So, you know, we spoke to him about it. And, you know, they were saying, ‘Yeah, man, a true, a true’, and they were in agreement. And, you know, other children pass as they’re with their parents, and they stop. These were about like six or seven, and they stopped to read the cards, stopped with their mommy…So, it’s just, it’s amazing being out there…especially when I get the positive feedback.”