There is a Cloud
By CHÉ AHN
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And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; then he bowed down on the ground , and put his face between his knees , and said to his servant , “ Go up now , look toward the sea .”
So he went up and looked , and said , “ There is nothing .” And seven times he said , “ Go again .”
Then it came to pass the seventh time , that he said , “ There is a cloud , as small as a man ’ s hand , rising out of the sea !” So he said , “ Go up , say to Ahab , ‘ Prepare your chariot , and go down before the rain stops you .’” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind , and there was a heavy rain .
- 1 Kings 18:42-45
The history of HIM really begins when I was a junior at the University of Maryland , just a 20-year-old , as I was driving up to the main campus entrance . I was at a red light and the Lord said , “ Look out the window , I want to show you something .” When I looked out the window I saw a relief map of the world , in the cloud ’ s formation . I thought to myself , surely I must be making this up , but the wind wasn ’ t distorting the image . The clouds stayed in perfect formation of the world ; North America , Latin America , Europe , and Africa . But , China and India were twice the size of the rest of the map - twice what should have been to scale . I pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked up . The wind still wasn ’ t distorting the clouds for at least five minutes , so I said , “ Lord , why are You showing me this ?” In that moment , He spoke to my heart that I would impact every continent , especially Asia .
So , I immediately shared this encounter with my pastor at the time , Larry Tomczak . He told me to record the vision and if this was of the Lord it would surely come to pass , but to wait on it , according to Habakkuk 2:2-3 . I told him that my interpretation was that I ’ m called to the nations and maybe I should drop out of college and become a missionary . Larry said no , you ’ re not ready yet and you just need to mature and continue to be faithful to what ’ s in front of you . But , I also shared the encounter with my dad , and I said to him , “ Dad , maybe I am supposed to drop out and become a missionary .” And my father said , “ No , you ’ re going to graduate from college .” He also said something very interesting to me . He said what felt like a promise to me that , “ Not only will you graduate from college , but you will also go to seminary .” That was the first time that he ever mentioned that he wanted me to go to seminary . So , my “ small ” interpretation of that experience , when I was just 20 years old , was more of the traditional missionary . I had no idea that I would be leading an apostolic
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