WWL Global Connections THE POWER OF THREE: ABOUT KAYLA FOLLIN, LIZ STREDDER, AND CONNIE HECKER written by Carrie Christopher
PART I We prayed with her. Her breathtakingly beautiful face beaming, shining, and inviting love. She was a child of God, His child. She was absolutely darling, from head to toe. Her voice pierced our hearts with an English accent set aside for only the elegant beauties of this world. She carried purpose-filled words of God, provided to all from the depths of her heart. She was radiant, prepared for something that none of us could understand. She was battling stage 4 cancer, and from the discouragement on her lips, she needed hope for another day. Her sisters had set up a Zoom prayer call, some of them living in the United States, while she lived in England. There we were as a ministry team with the God-blessed opportunity to pray for and with her. She invited us into her pain, her suffering, and her great travail as she fought the one battle none of us ever desire to experience; life versus death. But there she sat, in this Zoom meeting, with grace-abounding courage to keep fighting. We prayed; we prayed in our ashes and in our tears. Her husband popped in on the Zoom call. He was a man of honor, clearly held in high esteem from the Lord. You could see that this man wore Christ’s love. He would’ve given his very own life in exchange for his wife’s. You could see the Holy Spirit harbored deeply in his heart as he wrestled with his wife’s illness. There he battled, day in and day out, tirelessly seeking the Lord for healing. This family was purely in love with Christ, willing to fight and also willing to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Their lives marked with the radiance and imprint of Christ’s everglowing glory.
Onto this Zoom call came a stranger to intercede, a heavenly God-sized miracle. This woman had gotten an invitation from a pastor’s email encouraging folks to join in prayer. We were blessed by this dear woman and intercessor named Connie, who did not know our gracegal living all the way over in England, but joined us out of love, sacrificing her time to pray for a need that was brought to her attention. Days later, we got word that God had strengthened our sister in England after our time of intercession. She was able to walk more than she had in previous days. Inspired by this good news, we all wore garments of hope for her, hanging on every bit of healing in the Word of God. Now, this warrior princess’s voice had touched us inwardly in such power that we invited her to recite Psalm 91 during one of our Facebook Live monthly events. It was there that we saw continued glory pour forth through her life. Even in her pain and suffering, she was willing to speak God’s Word forth, not afraid, in love to nations. As time went on, though, we lost her. We lost her presence in the body of Christ. We lost her beaming radiant smile and her warm glow of Christ that she carried. We lost her undeniable JOY and the generosity that lived inside of her. How could it be, and why did God allow it? Questions infiltrated her family, her friends, and our ministry. We all stood overcome by grief and a lack of understanding. And more profoundly, we couldn’t even imagine the unmatched grievance that her dear husband and sisters must have been feeling. Liz Stredder
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