Resurrection of a Promise: The Testimony of Maria Merola & Gary Wold

By Maria Merola

© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance September 2014

http://www.DoublePortionInheritance.com/

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/DPIMinistries

Edited and reformatted by Gary Wold

It was the year 1996 when I received a wonderful teaching on C.D. by the late David Wilkerson of “Time Square Church” in New York City. This teaching is entitled “Death of a Promise,” and it has been by far, one of the most impacting teachings that I have ever heard in my entire life. I must have listened to this 3-part teaching repeatedly over the years, until I could almost recite the teaching verbatim. I even memorized his voice inflections on certain words and phrases, which my children found comical. 

My two sons, (Elijah & Jeremiah) were ages 12 & 14 at the time, and they had this teaching forever etched into their brains, as they sat in the back seat of our 1994 GMC Jimmy while I drove and listened to it again, and again. You see, I had suffered much trauma from my previous abusive marriage, and this teaching was the only thing that gave me hope for a better future for me life.

This teaching is still available on Youtube, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who has suffered disappointment over a promise, that they have received from YaHuWaH.

The basic premise of this teaching, is that YaHuWaH will often give each one of us a special promise, but he will ALWAYS put a sentence of death on that promise, before he can resurrect the promise at a later time. He does this in order to teach us to trust in him, instead of the promise itself.

YaHuWaH knows that in our weak human nature, we have a tendency to make the object of our affection (the promise) into an idol, therefore, he has to make sure that our focus is completely upon him, before he can grant us the desires of our heart.

For me, that desire, that thing that I asked YaHuWaH for in prayer, was that he would bring me “his choice” for a husband. I had already made two mistakes previously, in marrying men who had issues with substance abuse, adultery, and physical, as well as mental abuse. 

Now, it was the year 1997, and I was going through an unwanted divorce again. This would be my second divorce from my second husband. For those of you who have been put under unnecessary condemnation and guilt because you have been the victim of an unwanted divorce, please see my other article entitled: “Does Scripture Allow Remarriage After Divorce?”

After my second husband divorced me in 1997, I began asking the Heavenly Father to show me if it was his will to bring me a husband, who would truly love me as Messiah loves his assembly. The principles that I had learned from “Death of a Promise” sustained me as I waited 17 years for my promise to be resurrected.

My constant prayer was this: “Heavenly Father, I want to be like Rebekah…I don’t want to make another mistake by marrying the wrong man; and so this time, would you please show this man to me in a dream before I meet him in person?  I want to be like Rebekah in the same way that she knew she was to marry Isaac before she met him in person.”

What struck me about Rebekah is the fact that she was busy doing the work of the kingdom as she watered her father’s sheep. Watering her father’s sheep symbolized sharing the word of YaHuWaH with the sheep of his pasture (his elect).

Rebekah was not searching for a husband. She was busy watering the sheep and doing “kingdom work” when along came Eliezer (Abraham’s servant).  Eliezer prayed to the Elohiym of Abraham and he said in Genesis 24:44-46 (my paraphrase) “Let the first woman who offers to water my camels be the one whom YaHuWaH has appointed for my master [Abraham’s] son, [Isaac].”

When Rebekah offered to water the camels, Eliezer knew that she was the one whom YaHuWaH had chosen for Isaac. Rebekah introduced Eliezer to her family and gave him lodging to sleep and plenty of food for his camels also. When Eliezer explained to Rebekah’s family about the way that he had prayed and how she had been chosen by YaHuWaH, they gave her the option to go with this man to become the wife of Isaac. They asked her if she wanted to go with the man and she said “yes” to becoming Isaac’s wife, even though they had never met in person and neither of them knew what the other looked like. Rebekah’s faith impressed me many times as I read this story in Genesis 24.

I wanted YaHuWaH to do the same for me as he had done for Rebekah. I asked him to show me my husband in a dream before I even meet him in person so that I would not be fooled by an impostor.

August 18^th 2001

The night before my 41^st birthday as I was falling asleep, I prayed and asked YaHuWaH to reveal my husband to me in a dream. This is the dream I had the following morning on my birthday:

I was at a prophetic conference of some kind being held in what looked like a ball room in a hotel on the main floor. In this dream, I was the “keynote speaker” at this conference.

*Note: At the time I had this dream, I was running a full time daycare business in my home and I had not yet entered into full time ministry.  For me to be asked to be the keynote speaker at a conference seemed out of the realm of possibility.

At the end of my lecture, there were people approaching me with questions, and they were waiting for a chance to speak with me. Off to the side (out of my peripheral vision), was a man waiting to speak to me but, I was unable to speak to him because there were people lined up to speak with me.

Then, tired of waiting, the man went to his hotel room.  Somebody (it may have been the Holy Spirit) tapped me on the shoulder and said to me, “Hey, did you see that man who was standing over there?  He was waiting for a chance to speak with you---he said, ‘Yah spoke to him that you are meant to be his wife.”’

When I heard this, I was surprised and I said, “Oh---okay, well let me go see if I can find him.”

Next, I found myself walking down a long hallway of what seemed to be the same hotel.  As I walked down this long hallway, I was aware of the many doors to my right and to my left.  I knew that in each room were men and women staying there who were attending the conference.

I instinctively knew which room the man was in. I went to the end of the hallway to the very last door, and I knocked on it.  The man opened the door and he looked at me with disappointment on his face. His facial expression seemed to be saying “You ignored me and made me wait.” I said to him, “Somebody downstairs told me that you wanted to talk to me… They said that you heard from Yah, that I am to be your wife.”

He nodded his head and said, “Yes,” but his countenance still seemed sad and disappointed. Then I said to him, “The answer is, yes, I will marry you.”

At this point we kissed and we were suddenly engaged. I instantly fell in love with him as soon as I realized that he was the man Yah had hand-picked for me to marry.

I had always been attracted to men who were at least 6’0” tall or taller, and I was aware that this man was very tall and that he was younger than me.

For many years following this dream, I had attended various conferences, but I was never asked to be one of the speakers, much less the “keynote speaker.”

Back in the summer of 2006, I met a man on Myspace who I will call by a fictitious name, “Philip.” Philip was reading many of my blogs, and he enjoyed the revelations that I had been given about the “end-times.” He asked me to call him, and when I called him on the phone, he said that he was planning to conduct conferences about end-time prophecy in Tennessee, and he wanted me to be one of the speakers. For the next 3 years, I developed a close friendship with Philip and even met him in person at a prayer rally down in Tennessee in the summer of 2007. 

Because Philip asked me to speak at his conference (which never did actually take place), I began to think that he was the husband that YaHuWaH was bringing into my life. 

February 23^rd 2008

Though I had stopped attending Grace Church of Fredericksburg back in 2003, I attended a conference there to support my son Elijah who was leading worship at the conference. This night just happened to be the biblical holiday of “Puwriym” (Esther 9:26) according to the “sighted moon calendar” (not the Rabbinic Jewish Calendar). The reason why this was significant is because YaHuWaH had already been speaking to me about my calling as he revealed that I would be like “Esther” in the way that he would have me meet my husband. He showed me that I was going to remain “incognito” (under a hidden or secret identity) before I would be revealed as “Hadassah.” He let me know that I would go through a “twelve month preparation period” (Esther 2:12) before meeting my husband in person, but I would already know who he is ahead of time.

On my way to this conference, these were my exact words as I had been praying in my vehicle “Father, please show me if you still have a husband for me….show me, please show me…..show me…”

I was still wondering if the man that Yah had for me was Philip from Tennessee, but I needed confirmation. When I arrived at the conference, there was an announcement that there was prophetic ministry taking place in one of the rooms adjoining the main sanctuary. I went to that room to see if YaHuWaH would give me a word of confirmation about my future husband.  I sat down in a chair and a lady named Bonnie whom I had never met before turned on the tape recorder and she began to prophecy over me.  The first thing out of her mouth was this:

“Maria, I hear the Lord say ‘if you were a State, you’d be Missouri, the ‘show me’ state, because you keep on asking him ‘show me, Lord, show me’ but the Lord says ‘daughter, I’ve already shown you that what I have promised you is going to come to pass. Some things you are just going to have to take by faith. You are going to have to stop trying to figure it out. You can’t work it out with all of your statistics. You are just going to have to believe that what the Lord says is really going to happen.”

Wow!  This lady read my mail!  I mean, there is no way that this lady could have known that I was praying this way while I drove to the conference.

May 6^th 2008

I was reading Esther tonight and I realized that Esther had 12 months of purification to go through before she could meet King Ahashuerus:

Esther 2:12 Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

The prophetic significance of myrrh is that it has to do with “death” (death of a promise) as it is used for embalming.  Also it is used for incense which is figurative of “prayer” (Revelation 8:3-4), since I am called to pray for my future husband.

Research on myrrh:

MYRRH: This is perhaps the most mysterious of the Gifts.  It is a resin produced by a small, tough, scraggly tree that grows in semi-desert regions of North Africa and the Red Sea.  Myrrh is an Arabic word for bitter, and it is considered a wound healer because of its strong antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.  Calling it “mo yao”, the Chinese used it for centuries to treat wounds, bruises and bleeding and to relieve painful swelling. 

*Note: Yah showed me that I still had a wounded spirit from past rejection, so the myrrh is for the healing of my spiritual wounds, and death to the old man.  I’ve also had to drink a bitter cup because of Gary’s rejection when he dated someone else for 6 months.  However, the bitterness serves to bring death to the old man and ultimately healing.

In Biblical times (about the fifteenth century B.C.) the Egyptians made Myrrh famous, having acquired it from Africa where Cammiphora trees were abundant.  It was used in incense, perfumes, holy ointments and medicinally as recorded in the Ebers Papyrus.  It’s most notable use was as an ointment, used in embalming mummies.

It’s a significant fact that, Myrrh was one of the burial spices of Yahuwshuwa (John 19:39). He was born to die for the world.

Then, I searched the term “sweet odours of Esther” and I came to this website which described the 12 months of preparation of the bride as follows: 

http://www.thewayprepared.com/studies/how-bride-prepare.html 

Summer of 2009

After three long years of praying about Philip, and asking YaHuWaH to “show me” if he was the one, my relationship with Philip ended on June 17th 2009.  This was the last time that we spoke on the phone. By July of 2009, Philip emailed me and told me that he thought my calling was legitimate and he agreed with mostly everything that I teach, but he did not feel that his profession in the Christian Music Industry in Nashville was compatible with my ministry. He expressed concerns over the Christian artists who record Christmas Music and his involvement in promoting them versus my calling to expose pagan holidays to the Church.  I had not yet met Gary but he was also separated from his ex-wife on June 10^th 2009 (about the same time).

August 10^th 2009

I was in a place of doubt and bewilderment as I realized that I had totally “missed it” by thinking that Philip was the one for me.  I cried out and asked the Heavenly Father to speak to me about my future husband. My question was, “Father, should I continue to intercede for Philip or do you have someone else for me?”

Once again, YaHuWaH told me to read the book of Esther. Again, Esther 2:12 stood out.  I was being shown that the name “Esther” means “hidden” and YaHuWaH told me that I would be like Esther. Esther was in the Persian Palace and she knew that her destiny was to become the wife of King Ahasuerus. She knew that she had been brought there “for such a time as this.” However, she would remain “hidden” from her husband for twelve months while she was in preparation. She had “six months of preparation with myrrh” and another six months preparation with “sweet odors.”

By August 10^th 2010, (exactly one year later) Philip would be married to another woman, and then I would know that he was not the one for me. It would be another month before I met Gary Wold on Facebook on September 12^th 2010.

August 18^th 2009

I found it fascinating that YaHuWaH confirmed what he had spoken to me concerning the “Double Portion Anointing” of Queen Esther, when a complete stranger sent me these two bottles of “Hadassah” anointing oil perfume. It was even more interesting that this happened on my 49^th birthday. YaHuWaH seemed to be sending me a message on the 8^th anniversary of when I had that dream about meeting my husband at a conference. 

As I pondered why Yah would often show me prophetic things on my birthday, I discovered that my birthday often falls at the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul which is spelled with these four Hebrew Letters: Aleph-Lamed-Vav-Lamed. In Hebrew, this is an acronym for “Ani, L’Dodi, V’Dodi, Li” which is translated “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” YaHuWaH was showing me that he was going to “birth” my promise on my “birthday” (the month of Elul) at some time in the future!

The darker bottle seemed to represent the “six months of myrrh,” whereas the other one which had the jewels adorned on the bottle seemed to represent the “six months of sweet odors.” As I researched the meaning behind these oils, here is what I found: 

http://www.hegai.org/his_bride.html 

This paper below was included with the bottles of perfume and it gives a detailed explanation of the meaning of these oils:

August 30^th 2009

I prayed and I asked YaHuWaH to give me confirmation about my future husband out of the mouth of two or three witnesses. The very next day, a man from Africa (a complete stranger whom I had never communicated with before) posted the following thread on my Facebook wall: 

September 6^th 2009

This total stranger who I am friends with on Facebook left me this message tonight:

September 12^th 2010

Looking back in retrospect, I find it interesting that Gary Wold first wrote to me on Facebook on this particular date, as it was the Feast of Trumpets. In prophetic typology, the bridegroom catches away his bride on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah). This date was also significant because it is the wedding anniversary of my parents.  Gary said that he had read a lot of my blogs and liked much of what I had written. He also proceeded to ask me many theological questions as I wrote back to him with answers. I remember thinking that Gary was very attractive, but I also noticed that his relationship status on Facebook was “married.” And so, my relationship with Gary remained strictly platonic for 3.5 years as he would occasionally write to me with other theological questions. 

On this particular date, I went for a power-walk, praying as I walked.  I had been in a season of deep disappointment because “Philip” (the man whom I thought would become my husband) had gotten married to another woman in August 2010.  A month had passed and I was still perplexed and bewildered about it all. As I walked that day, I noticed a train sitting idle on the tracks near my neighborhood where there was a railroad crossing.  

In very large fonts, this train had the numbers “888” painted on the side of it!  The numbers were so large that it took up the entire area of the train car.  Why was this signify-cant?  Because the numbers “888” began to appear for me in many random places ever since I had received the prophecy about “The State of Missouri” on 02/23/2008.

From that time moving forward, these three numbers had been showing up in the most unlikely places such as receipts, billing numbers, invoice numbers, account numbers etc.  As an example, back in the summer of 2008, as I was driving, my cellphone fell on the floor of my car, but when I reached for the phone to pick it up off the floor, I was shocked to find that the numbers “888” dialed all by itself on the screen of my phone!  That same summer, I had ordered a shofar from Israel and the invoice number had “888” on the end of it.  A few other times, I had made purchases at stores or restaurants while traveling and the purchase came out to be $8.88.

What does the number “888” mean?

In the Hebrew Alphabet, the 8^th letter is called the “chet,” and it means “a gate or an enclosed area.”  Our Messiah has set up a boundary to protect his sheep from being eaten by a wolf and that boundary is the “Towrah” (instructions).  In Greek the Alpha-numeric value of our Messiah’s name adds up to “888.”  This can be interpreted to mean “I am the Towrah, I am the Towrah, I am the Towrah.”

The name “Yahuwshuwa” in English Gematria adds up to 444, and the name “Messiah” in English Gematria also adds up to 444.

The 4th letter in the Hebrew Alphabet is the “dalet,” which means “the door.” The name “Yahuwshuwa” adding up to “444” is telling us “I am the door, I am the door, I am the door.” The Greek name “Ihsou” adding up to “888” is telling us “I am the gate, I am the gate, I am the gate.” The formula can be seen below:

IhsouV (Ieosus or Jesus)

Iota = 10

Eta = 8

Sigma = 200

Omicron = 70

Upsilon = 400

Sigma = 200

Total = 888

Ever since I received that prophecy about the State of Missouri on Puwriym (Purim), February 23^rd 2008, these numbers “888” have been a continual reminder to me that Yahuwshuwa himself had sealed his promise to me about bringing me a husband.  I remember that day, September 12^th 2010 very well, when Gary first contacted me on Facebook, because that was the day that I went for a walk to pray and along the way while in prayer, I saw the numbers “888” on the side of a train.  If that was not enough, as I turned the corner, from the railroad, I saw a Real Estate sign in front of somebody’s yard that had a phone number ending with “888.” Immediately after that, I saw a vehicle parked in somebody’s driveway that had the number “888” on the license plate!  This was a “witness of three” which I could not deny!  I knew that YaHuWaH was speaking to me through this sign.  It was as if he was telling me “Don’t worry, Maria, I have not forgotten the promise that I made to you.”

January 12^th 2011

On this date, Gary attended one of my podcasts where he requested prayer for his marriage. That’s when I found out that he had been separated from his wife since June 10^th 2009, but he had not yet changed his relationship status on Facebook to “separated,” and so I had thought that he was still together with his wife.

At this point, I asked Gary if he wanted prayer over the phone and I gave him my phone number. Gary called me and we talked for several hours as I listened to his story. Gary thought that many marital stresses lead to their separation. Among them were problems at his work, finances, the looming loss of their home and his wife being in school.

Additionally and ultimately, the last straw was an ongoing disciplinary issue with their children. Gary’s wife told him she was moving out with the kids and she would expect him to support them while she went to school.  Instead, Gary arranged to leave the home not wanting to uproot the children, figuring it would be easier for him to find a place to stay while trying to support them, and praying for restoration. By the following spring his wife had filed for divorce.  Gary continued praying for his marriage, though he suspected another man was working to win his wife over even before the separation.

June of 2012

The man who had been a gym buddy to his wife a few years before the separation introduced himself to Gary’s mother as the new boyfriend. All the while, Gary and I maintained a distant friendship on Facebook, Occasionally, Gary would call me or I would call him and we would catch up on what was going on with his wife and children while I continued to pray and intercede for the restoration of his marriage. 

January of 2013

A friend of mine on Facebook named Jessica called me to inquire about some theological questions that she had. During this conversation, Jessica brought up Gary Wold’s name and I told her that I had been praying for his marriage for the past three years. Jessica sounded as if she might have an interest in Gary, and so I told her that he was still legally married and that he had been praying for his marriage. As Jessica and I talked, she related to me that she liked older men, while I replied that I usually was attracted to men who were slightly younger than me. I also used Gary Wold as an example of the “type” of man that I find attractive, but I also explained that he was legally married and so I did not see him as a prospect.

It was shortly after that phone call with Jessica, that Gary began to call me much more frequently and it began to be almost every night. Gary shared with me that he had suspected that his wife had been involved with this man at least emotionally since before Gary had moved out of the house. Gary told me that he had found photos on his computer tucked away in a folder of his wife with this other man that were taken before the separation. I asked Gary what he was going to do now that it was confirmed that she had been in adultery the entire time.

He decided that he was ready to let his wife go and he was not going to wait on her to file the necessary papers. Gary said that he would begin filing the remaining papers required to complete the divorce that she had served in March 2010.  I was interested in Gary and I found him attractive, but I was also concerned about the fact that he was still legally married and I am in a public ministry. I began to ponder the fact that he was calling me with more frequency, and I wondered if he was interested in me. As I began to ponder this, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “Jessica told Gary that you like him.” I called Jessica to ask her if this was true, and she admitted that she had written to Gary privately and said to him “Maria likes you….she thinks you’re cute…”

I was very angry with Jessica because this is something that kids in High School would do. I did not want Gary to think that I had put her up to this or that I had not really been praying for his marriage the entire time. I wanted Gary to know that I was genuinely interested in the restoration of his family and I was not pursuing a married man. I merely used him as an example of the “type” of guy that I was generally attracted to.

I asked Jessica why she would write to Gary and say such a thing. I asked her “Were you interested in him and were you trying to find out if he had an interest in me also?” I continued to ask her “Were you probing to find out if Gary had an interest in me to see if you had a chance with him?” Jessica replied with this answer “Well, you licked the doorknob!” I had no idea what Jessica was talking about until I later had a conversation with Gary about this, and Gary seemed to remember a Volkswagen Commercial where a man licked the door handle of a car that he liked in the showroom as if to “mark his territory.”

In this commercial, the man had his eye on this particular Volkswagen, when another prospective customer came into the showroom and was looking at the same vehicle. The man in the commercial then licked the door handle as if to say “The car is mine now, because I licked the door knob.”

As Gary & I discussed the fact that Jessica made that remark about me “licking the door knob,” we laughed and found it amusing. See the video below:

February 23^rd 2013: The Yellow “Sticky Note” Dream

After talking to Gary mostly every night on the phone for hours, I began to develop romantic feelings for him, and I could tell that he was also beginning to have feelings for me as well. I had the fear of YaHuWaH because of my public ministry, as well as the fact that he was still legally married. I went to sleep that night praying and asking YaHuWaH to show me what to do.  I did not want to offend him or push him away, but I knew that I had to tell him that we had to put our relationship “on hold” until his divorce was finalized.

On that night, it just so happened to be “Puwriym” (Esther 9:26-32).  This was significant for me since I had already been shown that I was going to be like “Queen Esther” in the way that I prepared to meet my future husband. This was also the 5-year anniversary of when I had the prophecy about the State of Missouri! I had a dream about Gary that night.  It was a very short dream, but when I awoke from the dream, I knew that it was from YaHuWaH.

In this dream, Gary & I were kissing, and then I stepped back from him to see that he had a yellow “sticky note” in his hand that read “Will you marry me?”  This was not just an ordinary sticky note, however. It had lines going through it as seen in the illustration. In the dream, I said “yes”and then we began kissing again, and the dream seemed to fade away like in the movies. I was aware as I awoke that we were going to be married one day after his divorce was final.

I knew that I had to find a way to tell Gary that our relationship was moving too fast and that we had to wait until he was divorced to be able to talk to one another on a romantic level. I knew that if this was the will of YaHuWaH for me to marry this man, that I had to “put him on the altar” in the same way that Abraham had done with his son Isaac in Genesis 22:9.  I said to Gary one night when we were talking on the phone “Gary, please don’t get me wrong---I really enjoy talking to you. However, because I am in a public ministry and you are still legally married, I think it is best if we cut back on how frequently we talk on the phone.”

I told Gary that I still want to keep our friendship, but I felt that it was best if we put our romantic feelings on hold until his divorce was final.  He agreed with me and he seemed to be very understanding.  At that time, I also suggested to Gary that he should give his wife a biblical “Divorce Certificate” also called a “Get” according to Deuteronomy 24. He agreed and he thought that was a great idea.

February 26^th 2013

On this night, Gary & I joined with Angela & Jason Stobbe (mutual friends from Facebook), for a prayer conference call on Skype.  I was flowing very freely in the gifts of the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) that night.  I had received a “word of knowledge” about Gary’s mother that seemed to be pretty accurate.  I said to Gary “YaHuWaH is showing me that your mother feels helpless and worthless in life. She feels as if there is nothing left for her to do. YaHuWaH says to tell her that he has not forgotten her….I see her sketching with charcoal pencils and making beautiful artwork.  I even see her publishing some of her work and doing children’s story books.”

Gary acknowledged that all of this was true and that his mother had been feeling this way. He also told me that his mother had at one time made many drawings with charcoal pencils, and she had much of her artwork framed and hung in their home.  He sent me photos of some of her work to show me her talent and it was very good. Gary also told me that his mother had prayed and asked YaHuWaH for the talent to be able to draw and see with new eyes and almost “overnight” she received the supernatural talent to draw.

At this same time, I also had some prophetic words for Gary as well. I heard YaHuWaH say the following words for Gary:

“YaHuWaH says that you have always taken the ‘safe way’ or the ‘path of least resistance,’ but he wants you to be like Abraham. He wants you to learn to hear his voice with more clarity and to ‘walk by faith and not by sight.’ He wants you to venture out into ‘unchartered territory’ and to learn to trust him.”

As I heard this word for Gary, I also heard the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) say to me “Gary is going to be your husband.”

I spoke to YaHuWaH in my spirit and I said to him “If this is a word from you, can you give me a scripture to confirm what I am hearing?” I then heard YaHuWaH say to me “Read Genesis 12:18:”

And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that you have done unto me?  Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

When I first read this verse, I did not see the connection. But as I continued to ponder this verse, I realized that I had just spoken to Gary about being “like Abraham.”  YaHuWaH was showing me that Gary was going to go through a season of being a coward just as Abraham had done when he risked his wife Sarah’s safety in order to protect himself. Gary was about to do the very same thing when he was willing to risk losing me in order to protect himself and to seek after his own interests.  But we know what happened to Abraham.  

Abraham recovered in his faith and he stopped being a coward. I was being shown that Gary would also recover in his faith and he would indeed begin to walk by faith and not by sight. I knew that Gary was going to be a mighty man of faith in the future and I trusted that I was going to also be like Sarah as we would both inherit the promises of YaHuWaH in due time. 

March 4^th 2013: Gary’s Dream about “Maria Merola.”

On this night, I had just come home from working out at the gym and as I was sitting in the bathtub, I began to cry out in prayer to YaHuWaH. I knew that I was already in love with Gary, but I was scared because he was still legally married and I did not know what to make of the dream that I had had. So I asked YaHuWaH “Was that a dream from you?....If, indeed, I am meant to be married to Gary, then will you please give him a dream about me also---tonight?”

Well, to my surprise, that prayer was answered within 6 hours!  I had prayed that prayer at around 4:00 a.m. EST and by 10:00 a.m. EST, Gary sent me a text message on my cell phone saying to me “I had a dream about you.” I wanted to know more, so Gary offered a brief Skype call before he went to work. 

On Skype Gary explained his dream to me.  Later on, Gary typed out the dream for me and he sent this to me in a word document:

Gary’s Dream

First scene:

I woke up in a bed but not in my house, like I was a guest in someone’s home.  I heard a couple quietly talking about going to the airport.  I got up and came out to show them that I was already awake so that they would not worry about waking me.

The man and woman had been speaking just inside the dining room near an opening to the bedroom a hallway.  The woman was about to move a chair (to tidy up or to make room to walk by).  My pistol was sitting on the seat of that chair and I could see that it was going to fall from the opening at the back of the chair as she began to move it.  I began to call out but it was too late and the pistol fell to the floor and fell apart into its components.  Her face turned very red and it was obvious she felt she had broken it.  I assured her that my pistol would be fine that it was not damaged it just came apart.

Second scene:

Still in my early morning haze, I washed my face in the bathroom.  My right ear felt crusty… I looked at the washcloth and saw blood.  So I looked into the mirror and saw blood painted on my face around the eyes and small marks all over my face.  Oddly, I began washing my ear further without much alarm then realized what I had seen and looked in the mirror again.  The marks were still there.  I knew these were not injuries nor was it a joke being played on me by the man and woman.  I knew these were “Voodoo” type markings finger painted on by a demonic force.  Now I was fully awake!

Immediately I was concerned that I was possessed or was under serious spiritual attack.  I knew I needed to find my phone and call my friend Maria because she is familiar with spiritual warfare and I was in need of help. As her name came to mind I heard a demonic voice in my head speak her name “MARIA MEROLA…” as if it dreaded her being involved much in the way demons might dread hearing the name of Paul the Apostle.

Suddenly my thoughts were clouded I could hardly remember what I was going to do. The demon was desperate to stop my calling for help.  It took all my concentration to regain my thought and look for my phone to call Maria.

Third scene: 

I was parking on the street next to a house (my house?)  My mother who lives with me was standing on the front porch sobbing bitterly and frightened. The window to my vehicle was rolled down and I heard her say, “Something horrible just happened on the freeway and Instantly that same voice as before rang through my head and said, ‘MARIA MEROLA…’” 

After Gary shared this dream with me, needless to say, I was quite upset, because I did not understand what it meant. However, I went into fasting and prayer that entire day asking YaHuWaH to give me the interpretation of the dream.  What follows is what I was shown about this dream after much prayer and fasting.

*Note: Gary’s interpretation of the dream differs slightly from mine, as I was sure at the time, that the “voice” was the voice of YaHuWaH. But Gary believes that the voice was demonic. I am still unsure of this, but the rest of the interpretation of the dream is not changed either way.

Maria’s Interpretation of Gary’s Dream:

In this dream, the married couple I believe represents this wedding that you are invited to in Ohio.

*Note: Gary told me that he was invited to a wedding in Ohio in June 2013. He was asked to bring his gun to this wedding to be a body-guard. Gary and I talked about perhaps meeting in person in Ohio (since my parents live only 20 minutes away). The couple who invited him were going to pay for his plane ticket, and so I thought it would’ve been a perfect opportunity to meet in person, but I also thought he would be divorced by then. I thought the dream was addressing this and showing him that his plans to go to this wedding would be broken (like the gun), but also, it had to do with spiritual warfare, and Gary allowing his gun to fall (his weapons of warfare abandoned).

Whenever I dream of a table, it usually represents the marriage supper of the lamb. When you heard the man say “we have to catch an airplane” I believe it may have to do with this wedding that you are invited to.

Dining Room Table = Wedding:

Tehilliym (Psalm) 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Chazown (Revelation) 19:9 And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of Elohiym.

The fact that your gun was on the dining room table represents the fact that you are invited to that wedding for the express purpose of bringing your gun, but the gun fell and broke because Yah is saying that he has another divine purpose for you being there and the gun has nothing to do with it.

The next part of the dream involves you washing your face. Our “face” represents coming before Yah with an open heart.

Looking at your face in a mirror = looking into the word of Yah to see a reflection of yourself:

2^nd Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of YHWH, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of YHWH.

Ya’aqob (James) 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

The reason why you were washing your face by itself is because Yah is saying that he wants you to develop deeper intimacy with him so that you can come “face-to-face” with him and not be afraid of what you see in the mirror.  The mirror is the word and it reflects who you are.  When you look into the word, you see that your face has been cut and there is blood.  I believe that this has to do with “cutting covenant.”  When Yah entered into covenant with Abraham, there was the “cutting” of the animal pieces.  You are in covenant with YaHuWaH and he wants you to come face-to-face with him, and that is why you washed your face first.  It is also possible that the cuts have to do with your self-image being marred by this divorce and YaHuWaH wants to restore your self-image so that you see yourself as he sees you.

Washing your face = intimacy with Yah and being laid bare before him (introspection, self examination): 

  

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 32:30 And Ya’aqob (Jacob) called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen Elohiym face to face, and my life is preserved.

Shemoth (Exodus) 33:11 And YHWH spoke unto Mosheh (Moses) face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Yahuwshuwa (Joshua), the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

1^st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

The priests in the Temple had to “wash” in the bronze laver before they ministered to YaHuWaH. When you took a shower, I believe it means that he is preparing you for ministry. Yahuwshuwa was first baptized before he entered into ministry as well.

Taking a shower = preparing for ministry: 

Bemidbar (Numbers) 19:7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 3:16 And Yahuwshuwa, when he was immersed (baptized), went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of Elohiym descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Right after you took a shower and prepared yourself for ministry that is when you heard this terrifying voice say my name.  You might think that this was a demonic voice, but I believe it was the voice of YaHuWaH which is always terrifying to people in the Bible.

Hearing the Terrifying Voice = the Voice of YaHuWaH:

Bereshiyth (Genesis) 3:8 And they heard the voice of YHWH Elohiym walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH Elohiym amongst the trees of the garden.

Debariym (Deuteronomy) 18:16 According to all that you desire of YHWH your Elohiym in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of YHWH my Elohiym, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

In dreams, a highway always represents “life” or the pathway to the marriage supper of the lamb.  We see this pattern in scripture.

The Freeway = the invitation to the wedding

Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 22:

8 Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

9 Go you therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage.

10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

In dreams, your mother usually represents the Holy Spirit who also “mothers” us and nurtures us.  It can also mean Jerusalem who is called “the mother of us all.”

Your Mother = Symbolic of Jerusalem, the mother of us all

Galatiym (Galatians) 4:26 But Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 

Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 19:

1 Moreover take you up a lamentation for the princes of Yisra’el,

2 And say, What is your mother?  A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 23:37 O Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!

Your mother was crying because she represents Jerusalem (the mother of us all) and she was grieved because of the lost sheep who are not coming to the marriage supper of the lamb (via the highway). You heard my name because I have been called to gather the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el to the marriage supper of the lamb (via the highway).

After sharing with Gary via “Facebook chat” what I had received in prayer about this dream, I could tell that he did not agree with my interpretation. I could tell that Gary was preoccupied with another woman, because suddenly, he was no longer answering my messages on Facebook for many days, whereas before, he would answer my messages within minutes. I began to notice a woman on Facebook “liking” many of Gary’s posts as he began to withdraw from me.

I was deeply troubled after having the interpretation of this dream and seeing how Gary was beginning to ignore me and pull away from me. I cried out to YaHuWaH for days asking him to show me what was going on.

Finally, about a week later, Gary & I spoke on Skype and he shared with me his take on the dream. He said to me “I believe that this dream means that you should be careful of who you marry because you are a prayer warrior, and whoever marries you will get caught in the ‘cross-fire’ and come under attack of the enemy.”

At this point, I thought to myself “Wow, Gary is really being a big chicken…He does not want to be a prayer warrior and he wants to bow out of this relationship because he misinterprets his dream.”

I finally asked him if he was seeing someone else and he was completely honest with me about it. He told me that he had met another woman at his fellowship and that he was beginning to spend time with her and her family. I highly suspected that this woman was the same one who had been “liking” his posts on Facebook, and so I asked him about this and he replied, “Yes!  How did you know?” And then he said to me “You have discernment like a bloodhound!” This woman whose pseudo-name we shall refer to as “Patty” was the object of Gary’s affection for the next few months as I continued to pray and intercede for him. 

I was disappointed that Gary would begin a relationship with somebody while still legally married, and he had still not given his ex-wife a biblical divorce certificate. 

Well, needless to say, I was crushed! For the next few days, I cried and poured my heart out to YaHuWaH. I did, however believe that I had heard from YaHuWaH about Gary being my future husband. Even though I knew that it was not going to last between Patty & Gary, it did not stop me from feeling deeply hurt and rejected by him.

I continued to pray for Gary, as I knew that he would someday become my husband. I knew that this was a temporary set-back and that he was going to realize it one-day. Five months later, after Gary & Patty broke up, Gary repented before YaHuWaH for committing adultery, and he also repented to me and his two daughters for his sin.

March 7^th 2013

I called my friend Zina who lives in North Carolina, because I knew that Zina was a prayer warrior and an intercessor. I wanted to see what Zina’s interpretation of Gary’s dream might be. I had not spoken to Zina in about a year, and so when I called her, she had no foreknowledge about my relationship with Gary. Before I could even tell her about Gary and my friendship with him, the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) had already prepared Zina with an answer for me. The moment that I said to her “There is this guy named Gary…..” Zina interrupted me and said to me “Hold up…I just heard the Holy Spirit say to me that Gary is your husband.”

After I finished my phone call with Zina, I had a strong leading of the Holy Spirit to go and look at Angela Stobbe’s Facebook page. When I looked, at her page, lo, and behold, I noticed that the profile of me, Gary & my two sons were all in a row as follows:

I remembered at that point that I had received a prophecy back on February 23rd 2008 that I was like the “State of Missouri—the ‘Show-Me-State’.” I remembered thinking to myself “Wow! YaHuWaH is using Angela from Missouri to ‘show me’ that Gary, and I and my sons are all going to be a family some day!”

March 25^th Passover 2013

My friend Conny from New York had come to visit me for me for Passover and I had not told her about Gary yet. When Conny came to stay at my apartment, she sat down in my recliner and I began to tell her about my relationship with Gary. As I shared with Conny the story of how I met Gary, I noticed that her eyes kept on moving away from me to my bookshelf. I wondered what she was looking at, but I did not say anything.

The name of my bank is called “Union First Market Bank,” and I had a pocket-folder on my bookshelf from my bank with this logo on it:

When I finished telling Conny about what had transpired between Gary & I, she said to me “Before you started telling me about Gary, I wondered why my eyes were being lead to that folder on your bookshelf that said ‘Union’ on it.”

But after I told Conny the entire story, she said she believed that the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) was pointing out this word “Union” to her as a prophetic sign of my future with Gary.

That same night, Conny & I talked on a 3-way call to her friend Belinda who has a lot of prophetic dreams. I shared Gary’s dream with Belinda, and her interpretation was interesting. In Gary’s dream when he heard the “couple quietly talking about going to the airport,” Belinda said “I think the airport means that you are in a waiting period right now, because, usually, when you go to the airport, you have to wait before the airplane takes off. But once the airplane takes off, it takes off very fast.” Her interpretation was that I was in a waiting period for Gary’s divorce to become final, but when his divorce was finalized; our relationship was going to ‘take off very fast.” 

March – June 2013

During this time, I had to completely let go of Gary as I was aware that he was now in a relationship with this other woman.  I continued to pray for Gary, but it was very painful for me to invest my heart into praying for him. By June of 2013, I had completely turned off all of my feelings for Gary and I began to accept the fact that he might end up marrying this other woman. Even though I continued to pray for Gary, I began to doubt the things I heard from YaHuWaH about Gary being my future husband. Part of me wanted to believe it, but another part of me was protecting my heart from being hurt, and so I braced myself for the worst case scenario---Gary could end up marrying this other woman.

June 12^th 2013

I had been in prayer asking the Heavenly Father “Please show me if Gary is indeed going to be my husband…”  I continued to cry out to him asking him “Please show me so that I won’t end up being hurt again.”

June 13^th 2013

The very next day, my friend Angela Stobbe from Missouri wrote to me on Facebook and she told me that she had had a dream the night before about Gary & I getting married! Wow! I had just asked YaHuWaH to “show me” if Gary is my husband, and he used my friend from the “Show-Me-State” to show me!!!! 

At this point, I knew that I had to continue praying for Gary, even though I did not really feel like it.  I was trying to harden my heart, but YaHuWaH would not allow me to do so. During this time, I heard YaHuWaH say to me “Gary will start calling you on a regular basis again after the Feast of Tabernacles.” 

August 2013

My friend Belinda who has a lot of prophetic dreams called me and she said that she had a dream about me. Belinda said in this dream she was calling me by the name “Sarah.”  I immediately remembered what YaHuWaH had said to me that night on February 26th when I was on Skype with Gary & Jason Stobbe. I remembered that YaHuWaH gave me that scripture about Abraham & Sarah, and I knew that Belinda’s dream was further confirmation of the promise given to me about Gary & I.

Belinda also said that in this dream, she kept on saying to herself “Maria really reminds me of Sarah Palin.”  Belinda said that the dream had a “two-fold” meaning. She said she knew that her calling me “Sarah” had to do with me inheriting the promises of YaHuWaH (just like Sarah in the Bible), but it also had do with my role as a prominent leader like Sarah Palin.

August 5^th 2013

I messaged Gary on Facebook to see how he was doing.  I told him that I was fasting and praying to get ready to speak at a Conference in Philadelphia, and I wanted to know if he had any prayer requests.  Gary called me that night and we had a long conversation, followed by prayer.  He requested prayer for his back and his foot and I suggested the use of some essential oils and I told him that I would send them to him.

I realized much later that my sending oils to Gary for his feet was symbolic of this woman who anointed Messiah’s feet:

Luqas (Luke) 7:38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

As I prayed for Gary and shed many tears for him, I was just like this woman who washed his feet with her tears. YaHuWaH was showing me that this woman represents back-sliding Yisra’el who would repent and return to her bridegroom in the last days. 

September 17^th 2013 (Yom Kippur)

Gary messaged me on Facebook and said “May your name be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

September 30^th 2013

The day after the Feast of Tabernacles, Gary began calling me regularly and we began talking again.  After a few phone conversations in October, I asked Gary one night “What ever happened to you and that woman?’”  To which Gary responded “She and I are not compatible at all….we are too different in all the areas where it really counts.” At that point, Gary asked me to take the “Brigg’s Meyer’s Personality Test.”  I took the test and found out that my personality type is an “ESFJ” which stands for “Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging.”  Gary, on the other-hand is an “INTJ” which is the opposite personality as I am, but we are compatible because “opposites attract.”  It’s said that opposites complement one another and they balance each other out.

But the part that was so crazy, is that when I took the Brigg’s Meyer’s Personality Test, at the very end of the result’s profile page, there was a list of celebrities who also have the same personality type (ESFJ) as I do.  To my amazement I discovered that Sarah Palin was also an ESFJ!

I immediately remembered Belinda’s dream where she said that I reminded her of Sarah Palin!  I related this to Gary, and his response was “I have always loved Sarah Palin.” I thought that perhaps YaHuWaH showed this to Belinda in a dream ahead of time, because he knew that I was going to be taking that test and this was a sign to Gary, that I was the right woman for him. 

October 2013

During this time, Gary & I were chatting nightly on Facebook on a platonic level, but I could tell that Gary was probing and asking a lot of questions in order to get to know me better.  I knew that Gary was going to be my husband, but I don’t think he knew that yet.  I knew that he was being cautious because he was still legally married.

November 2013 – December 2013

By the end of November, Gary & I began to pray on the phone frequently. By December of 2013, Gary had a two-week vacation and he had expressed a desire to fly out to meet me in person, but we both knew that was not an option until his divorce was final.  During those last two weeks of December, Gary & I spent a lot of time praying together on the phone.

December 1^st 2013

My friend Belinda who operates in a lot of prophetic dreams called me to say that she had a dream about me again.  In this dream, I asked Belinda this question “When am I getting married?”  Belinda responded by saying to me “Nine months from now.”  Since this dream took place on November 30th nine months moving forward would take us to the month of August 2014.  I knew at this point, that my wedding day with Gary would probably take place sometime in August.

December 14^th 2013

On this particular night, (Friday Night), as Gary & I prayed, he asked YaHuWaH “Please show me who I am supposed to be married to.”  I thought that was funny, since I knew that Gary was specifically asking “Is Maria the right one for me?” But because he was still legally married, he phrased his question very vaguely. After Gary asked YaHuWaH that question, he then asked me a poignant question.  He asked me “What exactly is your calling?”  I replied by telling Gary how YaHuWaH had called me back in 1997 to become “a watchman to the House of Yisra’el.”  I told him the story of how I had come home from Divorce Court back in 1997 and I cried out to YaHuWaH asking him “What am I going to do now!?”

YaHuWaH had spoken to me at that time to read Ezekiel 3, and after reading it, I understood that I was being called to be a “Watchman to the House of Yisra’el.”  Also during that time, I began to frequently hear in my spirit “Read Ezekiel 19.”  After reading Ezekiel 19, I understood that YaHuWaH was calling me to be a “Mother Lioness” to two whelps (cubs). But it would be 10 more years before I fully under-stood who these two lion’s whelps were.  By the year 2007, I heard in a dream from YaHuWaH that “The two lion’s whelps represent the House of Judah & the House of Ephrayim.”

December 15^th 2013

Gary sent me a couple of teaching videos that his mother had watched, and he wanted me to watch it with him at the same time.  These teaching videos were by a man named “Dr. Frank Seekins” who has been a marriage counselor for 25 years.  He was teaching at a marriage seminar in these videos, and what he shared astounded me because it matched almost “word-for-word” what I had said to Gary the night before on the phone about my calling.  There were two videos.  One was for women and it was entitled “Mighty Warrior” and the one for men is called “Wimps, Warriors & Rebels.”  As I watched these videos, Doctor Frank Seekins began by explaining this verse from Proverbs 31:10: Who can find a virtuous woman?  For her price is far above rubies.

Dr. Frank Seekins explained that the phrase “virtuous woman” is often-times understood to mean “a good woman” but in Hebrew, the word“virtuous” means “mighty, powerful, army.”  Dr. Frank Seekins gave an explanation of the Proverbs 31 woman as he broke down all the Hebrew words.  In this video, he explained that the Proverbs 31 woman is “a watchman, who watches for her household.”  He went on to explain about the Proverbs 31 woman as he said “this woman is a mother lioness who nourishes her baby cubs.”

It was uncanny how Frank Seekins repeated the very same things that I had spoken to Gary the night before on the phone concerning my calling, and now he was describing this same type of woman as a “watchman” and “a mother lioness.”  This was an answer to Gary’s prayer the night before when he prayed “Father show me who I am supposed to marry.”  The very next night, the answer came when we both listened to these videos by Frank Seekins:

January 11^th 2014

Gary and I prayed together on this Friday Night and afterwards I said to Gary “It is as if there is an elephant in the room because we know that we want to be married to one another, yet we have not even said those three words.” Of course I meant the words “I love you.” Gary had told me before that he thought I had a memory like an elephant, as elephants are known for their keen memory.

January 12^th 2014

I went to my Sabbath meeting at Susan & Mark Wood’s home. Susan had just returned from India to visit her sister, Sarah who is a missionary there. Susan said to me “I bought you a gift while I was in India, Maria” and she handed me this wooden box with two brass elephants on top! I began to chuckle as I had recalled the conversation that Gary & I had the night before:

When I returned home from the Sabbath meeting, I was in the process of sending a photo of this wooden box to Gary, when at the very same moment, my friend Rachel (who was visiting my home) began to watch a YouTube Video on my computer about two elephants who had been separated for 22 years and they remembered one another: 

These two elephants on a wooden box seemed to be illustrating Gary on the West Coast and me on the East Coast and yet we are meeting in the middle.  It was as if these two elephants were about to kiss each other. This was yet another confirmation that YaHuWaH was putting Gary & I together for marriage.

January 12^th 2014

Gary and I had a conversation on the phone this night where I shared with him about the way that I had been raised in an Italian family.  I shared with Gary the type of work ethic that our family comes from and the way that we are resourceful and not wasteful with our money or material things. That conversation is what sealed the idea in Gary’s mind and that is when he knew that he wanted to marry me.  At this point, we began asking YaHuWaH “When do you want us to get married?  Please show us the date.”  I told Gary about the dream that Belinda had had about me getting married within 9 months and he did not want to wait that long. So we planned to get married at Shabuwoth (Pentecost) on June 8th 2014. 

March 17^th 2014

In the eyes of YaHuWaH, Gary was already biblically divorced from the moment that he served his ex-wife a Biblical Divorce Certificate according to Deuteronomy 24. But on this date, the State of California finally granted him a civil divorce. 

April 2014

Gary & I had planned to have our wedding at “Harvest Rain Fellowship” in Allentown Pennsylvania on Pentecost (Shabuwoth) on June 8th 2014 after finding out that I was invited to be the “keynote speaker” there on that date.  We had been planning for this event, but a series of events led us to realize that June 8th was not the right date for us to have our wedding.

Friday April 18^th 2014

I had been working hard to reach my fitness goals and to get into my size 8 wedding dress by June 8th, but I was beginning to feel the pressure and did not think I was going to make it by then.  While I was at the gym that day, I spoke with a fitness trainer and told him of my fitness goals that I was trying to reach by my wedding day, and he responded by saying “I think you can reach your goals by August if you keep on doing what you are doing now….but I think June is too soon and unrealistic.”

About an hour later, I arrived home from the gym and my friend Connie from New York called me.  Conny is a life-long friend of Belinda (the woman who had those two prophetic dreams about me).  Conny said to me “Maria, I talked to Belinda today and she was surprised to hear that you were getting married in June because of the dream that she had ….she thought you would be getting married in August.”

That is when I realized that we had planned the conference and the wedding too soon.  And so I called Pastor Joel Wolensky from Harvest Rain Fellowship and Perry Gerhart (who had both invited me to speak back in August of 2013).  I explained to them about Belinda’s dream and my not being able to reach my fitness goals in time for June 8th.  I asked if they would be okay with changing the date of the Conference to the month of August.  It turned out that they were relieved to hear my suggestion because this would give us more time to promote and advertise the event.

Additionally, Perry’s daughter, Lydia was planning to be married on June 8th, and so this posed a problem for Perry. Finally, my best friend Conny, could not attend on the June date because of her job.  As we planned the event, we realized that the church building could only seat one hundred people and Perry was hoping to invite many of the First Nations (Native Americans) to this event, so we decided to plan to host the event at the local Holiday Inn in Allentown Pennsylvania. We were considering a few other hotels in the area, but when I saw the ballroom to this Holiday Inn, I suddenly recognized this as the same ballroom that I had seen in my dream from 2001 with the chandeliers suspended from the ceiling.  This was the very same ballroom that I had seen in my dream where I met my husband for the first time!

At first, we were trying to have the event on August 6^th, 7^th & 8^th, but that later-on proved to not be the correct date for the wedding because Gary had to be back at his job by August 12^th to video-tape an event at work.  That would only give us 4 days for our honeymoon before he had to leave.  We also tried to schedule the event for August 21^st, 22^nd & 23^rd, but Perry had suddenly been invited to go to Africa, so that date was not going to work either, because his presence was needed for the event to be a success. We finally decided on the dates of August 28^th, 29^th & 30^th for the conference, but then we found out that there was already a wedding scheduled on the 30th at this Holiday Inn, and all four ballrooms were taken.  That meant that we had to move the dates to August 27^th, 28th & 29th making our wedding day August 29^th 2014.

I didn’t realize until after we were forced to select these dates, that this was exactly 9 months (a human gestation period) from when Belinda had the dream about me getting married nine months from November 30^th! I suddenly realized why YaHuWaH wanted us to wait until then. It was because he wanted to illustrate the woman in Revelation 12 (who symbolizes Jerusalem) and she is about to give birth to a “man-child” or “one new man”(Ephesians 2:15).  YaHuWaH spoke to me that if we had gotten married in June, June is the month of the “twins” and this means that “both houses of Yisra’el” are still divided (like Tamar’s twins in Genesis 38).  

YaHuWaH wanted this conference to take place in the 6th Hebrew month of Elul and the 27^th of August 2014 begins the 6th Hebrew month of Elul!  Why Elul?  It is because Elul is prophetically connected to the “woman” of Revelation 12 who is about to go into labor to give birth to a “man-child.”  This also happens to be “Labor Day Weekend!” I also remembered that 5 years earlier, Joe Adduci said that Yah had come to me on “Labor Day” to remind me of his promise! 

As I mentioned previously, the month “Elul” in Hebrew is spelled with four Hebrew Letters: Aleph, Lamed, Vav, Lamed which is an acronym for “Ani La’Dodi V’Dodi, Lee” from Shir ha’Shiriym (Song of Solomon) 6:3 “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”  This means that the month of Elul is prophetically connected to the bridegroom and the bride coming together.

May 10^th 2014

Gary was at his regular fellowship meeting on Shabbat, and a married couple by the name of Valerie & Yosef resurfaced after approximately three years of not visiting the group.  Valerie and her husband Yosef had not visited this fellowship in three years and now, they were visiting again for the first time in three years. Gary had not divulged anything about our relationship to any of his friends at his fellowship, due to the fact that we had been shown by the Ruwach Ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) that it would be wise for us to wait until after the wedding to tell everyone

One of the ladies at the meeting was complaining that she wanted her son to shave his beard in order to attract a wife.  Valerie retorted “Well, actually having a beard might make him more attractive to certain women within the Hebraic Root’s Community.” Gary replied “Well, that’s not necessarily true, because some women say that they ‘don’t go for all of that.’”  That comment led Valerie to say to Gary, “Well, you would know because, you are in the dating world, now, right?”

And then Gary replied “yes, I am.”  That is when Valerie said to Gary “Well, what about Maria?”  And Gary responded by saying “Maria who?”  Valerie then responded with “You know, that prophetic lady whose in the ministry named Maria Mereli…Marelo?” as she struggled to remember how to pronounce my name.

Gary had a “pained look” on his face (described later by Valerie), as he said “Do you mean Maria Merola?” And Valerie said “Yeah, that’s her!”  Gary replied to her “Yeah, I see her posts on Facebook---she has some good teachings, and we are friends on Facebook.” Gary tried to not let on that we were engaged, and he made it appear that we were merely Facebook acquaintances.

After the meeting was over, Valerie and her husband Yosef left and Gary followed them out to their vehicle. When Gary caught up to them, he asked“Hey, Valerie, I want to ask you something while nobody is around---What made you ask about Maria Merola?”  Valerie thought that she had done something wrong because of the pained look on Gary’s face when my name was brought up, so she asked him “Oh, Gary I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

Valerie, later told me that she thought that I had broken Gary’s heart and that is why his face looked like he was in pain at the mention of my name.  Gary replied with “No, but why did you bring up her name?”  Valerie then answered “Because three years ago, when I used to have Maria Merola as a Facebook friend, I always thought the two of you should be together.”

Valerie, had deactivated her Facebook account, and had not been on Facebook in the past 3 years to this day.  That is when Gary divulged the full details of our relationship and our up-coming wedding in August of 2014 to Valerie and her husband, Yosef.

Valerie and her husband were very excited to hear the news as they promised not to divulge Gary’s secret until after the wedding. Gary & Yosef exchanged phone numbers and so the next day, Valerie and her husband called me to introduce themselves and to pray a blessing over us as they expressed their excitement about our future together and what YaHuWaH was doing in our lives. When I spoke to Valerie on the phone, I told her the entire story of how Gary & I had come together on Facebook.  I also shared with her the prophecy that I had received in 2008 about the state of Missouri, the “show-me-state,” and my friend Angela from Missouri who called me to tell me that she had had a dream about Gary & I getting married.

When I finished telling Valerie the entire story, she said to me “Maria, I have to tell you something that will blow your mind…”  I replied “Okay, what is it?”  That’s when Valerie said “I’m also from the State of Missouri!”

This means that YaHuWaH sent “two witnesses” from the State of Missouri to “show me” and to show Gary that we were meant to be together!

Gary later-on asked Valerie if my name had previously been mentioned three years earlier when they had been fellow-shipping more regularly. But Valerie assured Gary that they had never before brought up my name or even my ministry until that day on May 10th 2014.

Valerie had remembered me three years previously from her old Facebook account and she told me that she would often see my profile picture and Gary’s profile picture, and she would often think to herself “these two would make a great couple.”

Gary was very excited when he called me that day to tell me what had transpired. He began by saying “Honey, you are not gonna believe what happened today….this is the most prophetic thing that has ever happened to me…”  That was further confirmation for Gary that we were meant to be together.  Not that he doubted, but this event made it even clearer.

June 8^th 2014

It was on this date, the original date that Gary & I were to be married; that I prayed on the phone with Gary when and I asked the Heavenly Father to make a way for Cheri DeHaro (a good friend from Facebook) to be able to come from California to our conference and wedding. Cheri and her husband Brian have been good friends on Facebook since 2011, as we have talked on the phone and on Skype and have prayed together over the years. Cheri is a professional wedding photographer and her work is outstanding.

I really wanted Cheri to be our wedding photographer and videographer, but Cheri & her husband Brian could not afford the airplane tickets and the hotel stay.

So I prayed specifically that if it was the will of YaHuWaH, that he would make a way for Cheri to come to our conference to be our wedding photographer. The very next day, Trisha Camacho (another Facebook friend and a mutual friend of Cheri DeHaro) called me to tell me that she and Cheri were coming to the conference and that she had paid for Cheri’s plane ticket!

I was in shock, because my prayer was answered overnight! Trisha had no idea that Gary & I were getting married at this conference, so when she called me, Cheri was with her in the background and we were both laughing hysterically. Trisha wondered why Cheri & I were laughing, and so when I told her that Gary & I were getting married at the conference, she was amazed!

This was further confirmation for Gary & I that he wants us to be married, because now he was even making a way for the wedding photographer!

The “Spirit of Python” Rears his Ugly Head July 1^st 2014

A man whose name we shall call “Rick” as a pseudo-name sent me an email and he told me that he lived only 20 minutes from my house.  He explained that he was interested in attending one of our Sabbath meetings and that he also wanted to volunteer his time to help out with the ministry. He sent me his resume and his credentials to show me his qualifications. He gave me his phone number and he asked me to call him to discuss how he could be of service to my ministry. I strongly discerned that this man had a false notion that he was going to be my future husband, and so I decided to call him to make sure that he did not show up to any of our Sabbath meetings with false hopes of there ever being a romantic connection with me. I called him to tell him that our Sabbath group decided to no longer meet in person during the next two months of July & August, due to the two conferences that I had coming up and the preparation needed for me to get ready.

Rick also mentioned that he was planning to come to the August Conference in Allentown Pennsylvania called “The Bridegroom’s Chamber.” He proceeded to tell me about all the prophetic confirmation that he had received about attending this conference and that is when I knew that my hunch was correct. I was concerned that he was going to show up to this conference with false expectations of connecting with me on a romantic level, and so I began to tell him about my future wedding with Gary Wold on August 29^th at this conference. Rick, at first acted as if he was happy for me, but the next day on July 2^nd 2014, he sent me a false prophecy telling me that YaHuWaH wanted me to give up Gary and to wait for the man that was going to be my true husband, which was “him” (Rick). I related this incident to Gary to let him know that the enemy was trying to sabotage our marriage before it could take place.

I strongly discerned that this man, Rick was praying Voodoo prayers and witchcraft against Gary & I.  I was outraged that this man would try to manipulate me with false prophecy, and so I wrote back to him letting him know that I rejected his false prophecies against Gary & I. He persisted the entire day to write to me false prophecies that were meant to sabotage my relationship with Gary. I finally warned him to stop sending me false prophecies or I would have to block him on Facebook as a friend. Rick finally beat me to it and he blocked me when he realized that I was not going to listen to his lies.

July 2^nd 2014

YaHuWaH knew that this man named Rick was using false prophecy to manipulate me, so he used this married couple to reinforce the legitimacy of the union between Gary & I on the very same day.

This married couple from Kernville California named Cassandra & Eugene Conroy wrote me a long letter and sent a donation to me in the mail.  I called them on the phone to thank them, and during this conversation, I found out that they had been listening to my radio shows for 3 years and they had followed me on Facebook since 2011.  Since that time, however, Cassandra deactivated her Facebook account, so she had lost track of me on Facebook.  During that time in 2011, Cassandra noticed that Gary had been interacting with me on Facebook and asking me some theological questions.  She told me that at that time, she said to her husband, “that man Gary is courting Maria, but he doesn’t even know it yet.”

Back in 2011, I did not even know who Cassandra Conroy was (even though we were friends on Facebook), simply because I had 18,000 friends and 4 Facebook accounts at that time.  I had never interacted or spoken with Cassandra, even though she followed my posts on Facebook.  Cassandra knew in her spirit that Gary was going to be “courting me for marriage” even though, at that time, Gary was still praying of his marriage to be healed and I was in agreement praying for his marriage as well.  Cassandra was obviously being shown things by the Spirit of Yah that was going to come in the future.

Now, on July 2^nd 2014, we were having this conversation on the phone and Cassandra asked me this question: “What ever happened to that man who was leaving comments for you on Facebook?” To which I replied, “I don’t know who you mean, because there are a lot of men who leave comments for me on Facebook.”

Cassandra then replied “This was back in January 2011, when I noticed this man---I think his name was Gary, and he was asking you theological questions on Facebook. And then I said to my husband, Gene, ‘that man is courting Maria and he does not even know it yet.’”

I found this interesting, because on January 12^th 2011, was the first time when Gary had requested prayer for his marriage on my podcast and this was the first time that we ever talked and prayed together on the phone. What is also interesting is that 3 years later on January 12^th 2014, Gary had received confirmation about marrying me.

On January 17^th 2011, Cassandra Conroy told me that she had a very obscure dream which was difficult to understand, but as she prayed about this dream, she understood the interpretation was about the future marriage of Gary Wold & Maria Merola. She understood that the marriage was going to take place in August of 2014 from this dream.

As Cassandra and her husband Gene & I spoke on the phone on July 2nd 2014, I asked them if they had ever gone to Orosi to fellowship for Sukkot to which they replied by telling me that they had gone there, and they had met my other friends Cheri & Brian DeHaro, Trisha Camacho, and David & Shannon Szatkowski. I found this to be fascinating as YaHuWaH has been making connections for me on the West Coast in preparation for me to move to California to marry Gary. 

July 15^th 2014

I was driving home from a conference that I had spoken at in Michigan, and as I drove home, Gary & I struggled to communicate effectively. I had gotten very sick due to sleep deprivation and consequently, I had completely lost my voice and had laryngitis. I felt as if there was a demonic attack against both Gary & I and our relationship, but I was so weak physically that I barely had the strength to fight in the spirit.

As I drove home that night, I prayed to YaHuWaH and I said “Father, please give Gary a dream tonight to show him the root of the problem that we are having...”

YaHuWaH answered that prayer because the very next morning, Gary had two dreams which exposed the spirit that was coming against us.

Gary’s Dream: the Spirit of Python 7/16/2014

I was in the woods at the end of a dirt road that opened into a small clearing.  I saw a giant python coming towards me through the trees.  It was as big as a house making its way through the trees coming towards me.

I ran and got into my 4Runner and started backing down the road as fast as I could.  I was not sure if it was chasing me or just coming my way.  Ultimately, I made my way back to civilization and I was safe.  Then the scene changed.  I was in a city.  Again I saw a python but this time it was normal-sized, and I knew it was coming after me so I climbed down into a storm drain hoping I could lose it in the storm drain.  The water in the drain was thick and orange like the liquid vitamin/mineral I take.  I am not sure why.  So I’m on my belly backing up in the water hoping it does not come after me but it does. I can see the python moving through the water like you see the form of someone’s leg under a blanket.  I tried to move to the side out of its path to see if it will pass by me unnoticed.  But as it begins, it gets beside me and its head turns towards me and I realize that I can’t avoid it.  Immediately I grabbed its neck right behind its head and used my elbow to crush its head two or three times crushing its head.  I lifted its head out by the neck to see that its head was smashed and the python was dead.

I remembered studying about the “Spirit of Python” in Acts 16:16 where a woman who had a “Spirit of Divination” had been vexing Paul & Barnabas for days on end before Paul finally rebuked that demon spirit in her.  The Greek word for “divination” in that passage is “python.”

I decided to do some research on the Spirit of Python and I found this on a website:

Financial problems/Loss of Vision/Anointing stifled/Joy disappeared/Fatigued?

The Spirit of Python works through the spirit of Jezebel and causes divination/a false counterfeit Holy Spirit to operate.

It latches on through past fears/sins/curses and starts to constrict, slowly taking everything from you. Get back your anointing today!! And give Yah the glory.

Prophetic people will feel this spirit constrict around the mind to cause pressure and frustration stifling the Spirit of Yah and anointing.

This spirit is the strongman against YaHuWaH’s prophets, he is a general that hides behind ruler spirits such as Jezebel and Ahab.  Jezebel spewed this Python spirit after Elijah when he ran to the mountain of Yah for direction. Elijah then anointed Jehu as King to slay Jezebel; then Israel was saved from Baal/Asherah worship. It does not come out to fight until confronted.

After I read this, I realized that this man named “Rick” who tried to sabotage Gary & I with false prayers and prophecies had sent out Voodoo and witchcraft against us.  But Gary was victorious when he crushed the head of the python.

Immediately after Gary had gotten the victory over the Python Spirit in his dream, he had another dream where he was training to become a race-car driver. I knew what this dream meant, because in dreams, cars represent our ministry calling. Gary had just been advanced by YaHuWaH after he crushed the head of the python to being in training for ministry. In scripture, preaching the good news of the kingdom of YaHuWaH is likened unto a race:

The Race Dream 7/16/2014

I was an amateur race-car driver entering into a qualification for some sort of race.  We were all looking like we were wearing old used racing uniforms.  We were on our way to a room to be briefed on rules and the day’s schedule.  As we walked to the room down a dark narrow cement hallway I heard people making snide remarks under their breath, “who’s the new guy?” Or “I bet he thinks he’s hot stuff.” etc...  I felt that a little extra pushing and bumping going on for my sake.  That’s where that day ends...

The next day...I came into the classroom not wearing the used gear I was wearing before but I had VERY nice all clean new gear.  Everyone else’s clothes & gear still looked grey, shabby and old. Still, I heard some snide comments but no bumping as before.

We must have waited outside the class room before the briefing began because I had left my helmet on the floor along the wall of the opposite hallway wall just outside the room.  When our briefing was dismissed everyone walked out and I was the last one.  Looking ahead, I saw a guy and girl looking like they were a team.  I saw her kick my helmet.  She missed and took another kick at it and succeeded in kicking it.  When I got out into the hall I confronted her/them, I was very angry.  I told them I would never do anything to damage their equipment or cheat them, and that I expected the same.  They tried to deny intending to kick my helmet.  I told them if continued their behavior I would use the rules to wait for an opportunity to take them down by their own actions in accordance with the rules.  I grabbed my helmet and walked away.

In this dream, Gary had been given a brand new racing suit, a promotion in the spirit.  Like when Joseph was given a coat of many colors by his father Jacob, I think this suit represents favor with our heavenly father, YaHuWaH.

Ephesians 6:17 speaks of the “helmet of salvation.” Gary left his helmet in a place where it would be vulnerable to being assaulted.  We must be careful to always put on “the full armor,” especially our helmet of salvation.

Tehilliym (Psalm) 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race.

1^st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 9:24 Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize?  So run, that you may obtain.

Ibriym (Hebrews) 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

2^nd Timoteous (Timothy) 4:

5 But watch you in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry. 

6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which YHWH, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

August 2014: YaHuWaH Shows Himself to Us as Provider 

As we approached the conference, Cheri DeHaro informed me that she would not be able to attend the conference nor do our photography unless she had $700.00 by August 15^th. She had to pay a babysitter for her 8-year old son Ezra, because she could not afford the airfare to bring him to the conference. Once again, it seemed as if we had run into another snag, but Gary & I prayed and believed that YaHuWaH would provide the money to pay our Wedding Photographer. YaHuWaH came through for us because just in time, a donation check came in the mail for $700.00 and I was able to send that to Cheri by August 15^th!  

August 2^nd 2014 

In the days leading up to our wedding and the “Bridegroom’s Chamber Prophetic Conference” in Allentown PA, Gary & I prayed on Skype daily with the others who were involved with the conference. One of the things we prayed about was the money needed to pay for the ballroom. We were asking the Heavenly Father in prayer for the ballroom to be completely paid for, so that we could make the attendance free to all. We had been charging $105.00 per person, but thus far, we only had 8 registrations for a total of $840.00. All of that money had already been spent on the supplies needed for the conference, such as the chuppah, flowers, flash-drives, artwork and advertising.

On Friday Night, August 2^nd, a few of us were praying on Skype about this conference, and I prayed that enough donations would come into the ministry so that we could make the event free to invite anybody who wanted to come according to the parable in Matthew 22:1-10. As we prayed, Trisha said “I hear Yah saying ‘get ready because he is going to open up the flood gates.’”

Then I heard this passage of scripture in my spirit from 2^nd Kings 7:1-20. I understood from this passage, that YaHuWaH was going to perform a miracle for us “suddenly” so that all the funds would be made available at once to pay for the ballroom at the Holiday Inn. In this story, four leprous men stumbled upon an abandoned camp of the Syrians, and as a result, there was enough wealth to feed the entire nation of Yisra’el. Suddenly, the price of barley and fine flour were being sold for a ridiculously low price compared to the day before. Nobody would have believed it, but the prophet Elisha prophesied that it would come to pass by the next day and it happened just as he had spoken.

August 3^rd 2014

On this day, Conny and I prayed on the phone, and as we prayed, Conny repeated the same passage of scripture to me from 2^nd Kings 7:1-3 that I had heard in my spirit the night before! Conny had not been present on Skype the night before, so she was not privy to the fact that I had heard the very same passage of scripture, as I read it aloud to the prayer group.  Conny said to me “I hear YaHuWaH saying that he is going to do the same kind of miracle for this conference as when those four lepers stumbled upon all that wealth in the camp of the Syrians.”

August 18^th 2014

Once again, YaHuWaH was granting me another prophetic sign on my “birthday” that he was soon going to birth my promise. The Holiday Inn was charging us $2,000.00 for the three days and nights of using the ballroom. We had already given them $500.00 for a down-payment to hold the room for us. Pastor Joel had gone to the management at the Holiday Inn to inquire about when the remaining balance was due, and this is when he discovered that we were supposed to pay the remaining $1500.00 by August 17^th. Technically, we were in breach of the contract, and had not even realized it! 

However, YaHuWaH worked a miracle on our behalf. Not only did the management agree to give us “grace” so that we could come up with the money by the day of the conference on August 27^th, but two people from Pastor Joel’s congregation came forward to donate enough to pay for the ballroom. One man named Joe donated $1,000.00 and another married couple donated $500.00! Pastor Joel called me that day to give me the good news as he said “I have a birthday present for you....” 

The prophecy came to pass as I had heard YaHuWaH tell me back on August 2^nd, that “suddenly” the provision would be made overnight in the same way that he did for those four lepers in 2^nd Kings 7. What was also interesting is that this all took place on the 13^th year anniversary of when I had that dream about meeting my husband at a conference! The dream I had was on my 41^st birthday, and now the fulfillment of it was manifesting on my 54^th birthday!

The Hotel Rooms Paid For in Full

One of the things that Gary & I had prayed for all along was that we would have enough money to pay for our hotel room at the Holiday Inn. Gary stayed in a separate hotel room for the first 3 nights and then he moved into my hotel room for the last 2 nights. This meant that I had to pay $500.00 for my hotel room and he had to pay $300.00 for his hotel room for a total of $800.00. A young man named Simon from Pakistan who I am friends with on Facebook wanted to attend the conference, and so my friend Trisha offered to pay for his hotel and registration fee. One week before Simon was supposed to fly here to the United States, I heard YaHuWaH tell me in my spirit “Simon will not be able to attend the conference, and Gary will be able to stay in his room.” 

Just as I had heard YaHuWaH speak, Simon messaged me on Facebook and he said that his Visa was denied by the government of Pakistan. I was sad that he could not come, because I was praying that YaHuWaH would grant him favor for the Visa to attend; I had even written a letter to the Embassy inviting him to come to the conference.  However, I am grateful that YaHuWaH provided the money for our hotel rooms.  By the last night of the conference, we had received exactly $500.00 in donations which was just enough to pay the Holiday Inn for my hotel room!

The Chuppah Miracle

Since January 12^th 2014, Gary & I had been praying about the chuppah. I had envisioned this using a tent that I had purchased in the Fall of 2013 for the Feast of Tabernacles. Perry Gerhart (one of the men who invited me to the conference) had paid for this tent when he and some friends had come to visit me. Little did Perry realize that he was being used by YaHuWaH to provide for my future wedding chuppah.

As I typed out the instructions for the wedding chuppah, I envisioned this tent frame and decided to cover the black metal frame with white ribbon; The next step would be to drape sheets on all four corners of the frame. We used lace curtains for the “see-through” roof of the chuppah and I had made flower arrangements in advance to attach to the corners. The finishing touches to the chuppah were the lights and ribbon etc.

I was concerned that we would not have enough volunteers to help us put together the chuppah and that we would run out of time. But YaHuWaH provided just in time as usual!

August 27^th 2014

It was 4:00 p.m. and the black metal frame of this tent stood bare in the ballroom as I stood on a ladder and wrapped the frame with white ribbon. I burned myself with a hot-glue gun and I spilled hot glue all over my clothes. I knew that Gary would be coming to meet me for the first time at approximately 9:00 p.m. that evening. I had only 5 hours left to finish the chuppah, take a shower, and get ready to speak at 7:00 p.m. for the evening session of the conference. I was in full-blown panic mode, and then I had a “mini-melt-down.”

I began to cry and complain like those unbelieving Yisraelites in the wilderness. But then “suddenly,” all the volunteers showed up and the ballroom filled up with enough people to help me finish the chuppah! By 5:00 p.m. the chuppah was finished and it looked gorgeous! I want to personally thank all my friends who helped me put together this chuppah for the Bridegroom’s Chamber Conference: 

Rachel Christine Moberley, Cheri De Haro, Trisha Camacho, Lisa Gootee, Perry Gerhart, Joseph Schaefer, Charles Hauswald and his lovely wife, Linda Hauswald....and my friend Conny Joy who helped with taking it all down and storing it away after the conference!

Needless to say, I had to repent for my brief moment of unbelief, as I praised YaHuWaH for his wonder-working power!

That night, Gary walked into the ballroom as I spoke at the podium.  It was just like the dream that I had back in 2001! I looked over at him and tried not to laugh, but I was happy to see him. After the conference was over, people were approaching me to ask me questions (just like in the dream), and Gary stayed in the background waiting. Finally, the ballroom cleared out and Gary & I were the only two people left. It was awkward at first, since this was our first meeting in person. Then, I escorted Gary to the chuppah to show him how it all came together miraculously. As we stood under the chuppah, Gary reached over and kissed me just as it happened in the dream. 

After that, we walked down the hallway, each to our respective hotel rooms. Gary stayed in room #254 and I stayed in room #244. I found this interesting since Gary’s age was 44 and mine was 54 as we each had rooms that reflected the age of one another.

I then knew what room he was in, just as I knew in my dream which room this man was in. Just like in the dream, Gary is 10 years younger than me, and he is 6’4’’ tall.

August 29^th 2014: The Wedding Day

This was the last day of the conference, and I finally announced to those attending that there would be a wedding later on that evening at 8:00 p.m. I started out by sharing the testimony of how YaHuWaH had brought Gary & I together. Then, I also shared how YaHuWaH wanted to use Gary & I as a live illustration of Messiah and his bride. I also called Gary up to the podium, handing him the microphone so that he could share some of the story from his vantage point. Just like the dream from 2001, we were announcing that we were getting married that night! 

The Yellow Sticky Note

I had already told Gary about the yellow sticky note dream months earlier, but I was not sure if he was going to remember. The afternoon session of the conference was over now, and people were leaving the ballroom to go to lunch. Gary & I were the only two people left in the ballroom, and that is when he said to me “Honey, look! There’s something underneath your laptop....” I was apprehensive because I thought Gary planted a booby trap as a practical joke. I was expecting it to be one of those “snake in a can” tricks. Gary finally exclaimed “I placed a spider under your laptop----just go look!” Gary knows I hate spiders, so he finally had my curiosity peaked. I chuckled and looked underneath my laptop which was still sitting on the podium, and there was the familiar yellow sticky note with lines going through it. Wanting to be original, he wrote:  “Tonight, we wed...I love you, Gary.” 

That evening, at 8:00 p.m. Gary Wold & Maria Merola were joined in a marriage covenant with one another, as the guests of the conference watched. We had prepared a wedding ceremony in advance which was also a power-point presentation. This wedding ceremony is chock-full of prophetic illustrations pertaining to Ancient Hebraic Wedding Customs as it paints a picture of the ultimate wedding between Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach and his assembly. 

This story is not finished, because YaHuWaH has continued to perform miracle after miracle for us, even following our wedding day. As this story continues to unfold, we are ever learning and being tested in our faith as we move on to the next phase of our lives together.

As I dropped Gary off at the airport on 9/9/2014, I wept bitterly because we would have to be apart for another three months. Gary will return to Virginia in December 2014 to help me move to Sacramento, as we continue to have faith that YaHuWaH will provide the funds. In the meantime, I am packing and preparing for the move.

David Wilkerson explained in his teaching “Death of a Promise,” that YaHuWaH will not only put a death sentence on your promise, but he will also put a death sentence on all the ways and means by which your promise can be fulfilled. He makes it look impossible so that when he resurrects the promise, nobody can take the credit but him!

Like Sarah & Abraham who had to wait 25 years to give birth to their “son of promise,” YaHuWaH caused me to have to wait 17 years to bring my promise to pass. YaHuWaH waited until Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah, 90 years old to bring new life out of their old age and barrenness.  

The story of Gary Wold & Maria Merola reminds me of a principle that our Messiah taught regarding a seed going into the ground. When a seed goes into the soil, it literally dies before it begins to germinate. But after it dies, it literally comes back to life and bears much fruit:

Yahuwchanon (John) 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.