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About Shawn and Kristina
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Shawn
In 1981 in a jail cell, I called on the name of Jesus and He set me free. The Holy Spirit filled me with fire, tongues and power. I was saved and lived for 30 years like I didn't even know Him. I was caught back up in addiction to alcohol, drugs, lust and lying.
I believed that God had abandoned me. What I didn't know is that He never abandons us, but the devil lies so well and for those of us who don't renew our minds, we end up believing we blew it, which was my case.
Then in 2013 I went on a missions trip to south Africa and inside I was filled with guilt, shame, and condemnation, but I always hid it well. Some of the women came back from the brothels and they said the Glory of God on those women in the brothel was incredible. My mind said Gods Glory? Hookers? And the Holy Spirit said to me, He said: "You see Shawn, it's never been about you loving me, it's always been about my Love for you."
I came home and started learning what the bible said about me after a woman contacted my wife and said she just heard in prayer that your husband has the gift of healing, so I chased after God like never before and then all the miracles started happening. I wasn't perfect, I still lived out of the flesh but God was teaching me and He also led me to create Happy Hands Ministry to preach and heal all over the world, which is what I do today. God never gave up on me, and He never will give up on you!
Shawn Hurley
I believed that God had abandoned me. What I didn't know is that He never abandons us, but the devil lies so well and for those of us who don't renew our minds, we end up believing we blew it, which was my case.
Then in 2013 I went on a missions trip to south Africa and inside I was filled with guilt, shame, and condemnation, but I always hid it well. Some of the women came back from the brothels and they said the Glory of God on those women in the brothel was incredible. My mind said Gods Glory? Hookers? And the Holy Spirit said to me, He said: "You see Shawn, it's never been about you loving me, it's always been about my Love for you."
I came home and started learning what the bible said about me after a woman contacted my wife and said she just heard in prayer that your husband has the gift of healing, so I chased after God like never before and then all the miracles started happening. I wasn't perfect, I still lived out of the flesh but God was teaching me and He also led me to create Happy Hands Ministry to preach and heal all over the world, which is what I do today. God never gave up on me, and He never will give up on you!
Shawn Hurley
Kristina
In the summer of 2002, I’m existing in life but it is a hot mess. I’m miserable, alcoholic, angry, depressed and filled with anxiety almost all the time. I live in the past, suffer from PTSD, and have flashbacks. I hate my life and myself. At this point, I'm incapable of living life on a daily basis. I couldn’t look at myself eye to eye in the mirror because I hated who looked back at me. I was working part-time at a small country store in the town I lived in at the time and was absolutely miserable with a big phony smile on my face.
Let’s start with my prayer. One night I was at my wit's end, probably drinking and had enough misery. I was laying on the floor of my bathroom in the fetal position crying out to God, who I didn’t have much faith in. Begging him to please give me the courage to kill myself or please, show me how to get up every day and live my life. I laid on the floor contemplating the knives in the kitchen but, as you can see, I didn’t have the courage to follow through.
Elizabeth’s prayer... In a town close by Elizabeth was on the hunt for ice cream. Friendly’s Ice Cream restaurant was down the road but something in her wanted some good old-fashioned homemade ice cream. She prayed, searched and asked people if they knew of a place that served this particular ice cream. Finally, someone suggested a country store in the next town. They directed her to Hall's Country Store where they served homemade ice cream in an old-fashioned setting. So off she went with her husband and three children to have ice cream.
I’m at work behind the counter at Hall's Country Store and Elizabeth's husband came in first. I checked him out because, let’s be honest, I was always looking for someone to save me. Elizabeth was right behind him with the children. Almost immediately I felt a connection to this family. There was something about them that I was drawn to and I didn’t really know why. Coming for ice cream became a regular event for them and I loved when they came. There was a peace I felt when I was around this family.
Their kids were very young and I had a new digital camera. I asked if I could take pictures of the kids. Elizabeth then asked if I could email her the pictures I took and handed me a business card with her email to send them to. Have you ever had someone show you something and you try not to show any emotion or shock by what you see? I took the card and look at it and it says, "Believe in the Truth Ministries." I’m like um, oh, ya that's cool trying not to look surprised. Elizabeth suggested I check out the website and said her testimony was on there if I wanted to read it and send the pics to the email on the card.
As uncomfortable as I felt when reading the card I knew now why I felt the connection. God had answered my prayer and was going to take me on a journey of healing. He was using Elizabeth to walk with and guide me through the journey. It was going to take a bit because, over the next few months, we somehow lost contact. I lost their card and went on to my winter job at Otis Ski Ridge. Wonderfully, my life that already sucked and I thought couldn’t get worse, did.
I think it was October when I lost contact and March when I saw Elizabeth again at the ski area where I worked, and I was excited to see her and had a question for her. Sitting with her on my break and I stuttered nervously and asked if maybe I could go to church with them. She, with her perky personality, said sure you can come this Sunday and I was like oh, um, I wasn’t thinking that quick, but ah okay. Went to the church that Sunday, and honestly, it was the last resort for me, and I accepted Jesus as my savior that day.
For me, it really was my last resort. I had tried everything out there to be normal. I lived always believing there was something wrong with me and I couldn’t figure out what it was. Why couldn’t I be normal and make my head stop and let things go and stop drinking my pain away? Over the next couple years, I was like a puppy following this family around to all kinds of church functions.
They traveled to places and I'd sit in the back with the kids who honestly were a great distraction for me because I was so filled with fear everywhere I went. Nervously, I'd hold Elizabeth’s daughter on my lap so I didn’t have to stand and sing, and watched in awe and wonder how happy people looked. It was so foreign to me because in the circles I hung in people were always partying and miserable.
It was a gradual process for me over the first several years. I had trust issues and addiction issues I wasn’t willing to really give over to God. I fell down often but I always got back up. There was something in me now that wasn’t going to let go of me until He finished what He started. Jesus had me hook, line, and sinker. He fished me out of the depths of my misery and brought me on a journey of healing that changed my life forever.
As for Elizabeth, we are still great friends today. This woman has stood by me and supported me through all the times I fell. She never judged or stopped loving me even when times would get bad for me again. I gave her a run for her money for sure at times. She is truly a friend.
I would not have picked Elizabeth for a friend. She would have irritated me to death, and she did in the beginning, and she would not have picked me. Being somewhat of a tomboy aka very casual jeans and t-shirt dresser, although I do clean up well. I like playing and watching sports and don’t wear makeup, and I have a deep voice. Elizabeth is this tiny little thing, doesn’t leave the house without makeup with this squeaky voice and perky personality all dressed up for the occasion. In a normal setting, she was everything I wanted to be like and everything I hated at the same time. We were polar opposites and yet it worked.
When we speak together at functions we share, if you pray for God to send you someone, don’t turn them away because it's not who you would have picked. God knew what I needed and sent the right person to answer my prayer. If I waited for someone to come that was to my liking I’d still be waiting. I didn't like anybody, not even myself, so how could I have picked the right person.
Two prayers were answered and an unlikely friendship was formed and healing took place. We are still friends today. When we pray and God answers it might not come in a way we expect because only He knows what will work best.