sozo mINISTRIES

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, please send us an email sozo@coastchristian.org and we will contact you with further information.

Fernanda

I would like to share my testimony. A year ago I returned to the feet of Christ after 5 years in rebellion and I fell into a church where they hurt me, making me think that because of my past God could not even looked at me because He is Holy and I was full of sin. That caused me severe Anxiety problems, Depression and lack of self-esteem: Feeling condemned by God and being accused by the enemy. This event led me to insomnia nights, hallucinations and a deep religiousness that far from enjoying my relationship with God, I felt that I had to do a lot of work so He would notice me and love me again. Even so, in the church that I used to attend, my pastors looked at me and spoke with judgment and condemnation. Asking me to stop being a bother to them, to the members of the church and even stop bothering my family, since I asked for constant prayer for my situation. Thank God a friend brought me to Coast and told me about SOZO, my experience was sensational!!!!! Discovering that Jesus loves me, he always loved me and will continue to love me. He told me that he had already forgiven me but that it was necessary for me to forgive myself for my past, that he no longer remembered what happened, that HE came for the lost and that he had come for me because I was lost.
I found a love so immense that little by little it has been revealing its love and working on my heart, body and emotions so that it glorifies Himself.
the whole process that I went through was not in vain since he allowed all that to realize that people can hurt us and fail us but He won’t.
He said "the truth will set you free" and He is the truth, just as he took the keys from Hades himself to rescue the prisoners, so he took the key from the prison in which I felt captivated and condemned because he is a lawyer who intercede for me
I had a beautiful encounter with Jesus, He even took me into the arms of the Father because he said no one can come to the father if it is not for me.
I am in love with him and I know that this is only the beginning of his work. He constantly speaks to me in dreams, visions and thoughts. Little by little I began to read his word again (because at one time I was afraid to read the Bible because I felt that it condemned me).
He freed me from guilt, condemnation and judgment (spiritual, physical, emotional and soulful).
He is teaching me to have His heart to Love as He loves and Forgive as He forgives.
God is good and His mercy is forever!


Christine


"Transformation is a process but I must express about how my session with Sonia and Mercedes saved, healed, and delivered me from sickness and suffering that for me was caused by the enemy in my life.  The enemy: an evil spirit was sent by an evil person to reside in my body and work hard to try and strip me of everything he possibly can.  But now I am less afraid of this.
      The Sozo session was a great organic process.  They started me with foundational knowledge (for my identity as a Christian) and then they created a safe way for us to dig deep into all the areas of my life that most likely made me vulnerable to the enemy’s grip later on in life.  When it came time to start the repentance act, their powerful praying enabled me to release my whole heart, directly, to Father God.  In His presence, holding on to the Cross of Christ Jesus, I was expressing with love the sorrow I felt about what was displeasing to Him.  And that turned out to be the medicine, to my surprise—on and on; freedom and healing by releasing my heart to God, with Sonia and Mercedes there as shining examples of the love of Jesus.
     They led me through more issues at hand and at some point Mercedes thought I needed a bucket to throw up in haha because I was crying so many tears through the growl of my soul.  Good tears.  They went on to show me how the evil demon can be expelled.  It was miraculous.  Getting rid of the enemy completely will be a process but experiencing that freedom and it making me a healthy instrument right away—there’s no greater reminder of hope.  I just have to go on to transform my circumstances from the inside out.  Other parts of my sickness like anorexia and addiction can get way better too.  Thanks to the Sozo women, I will always know just how powerful prayer and love can be.  No better gift!  I know I can start helping others very soon.
                                                                             


Theresa
 
For most of my life I have been riddled with a lack of self-esteem and anxiety that caused my mind to race. I was subjected to a few very evil influences. My half brother sexually abused me and my father exceeded the boundaries of acceptable sexual relationships with me. This mainly took place in Saigon, South Viet Nam, where I was exposed to the horrors of war. On two occasions the Viet Cong from the north, bombed the kings palace, which was right up the street from me. I was terrified and handed off to my abuser to go inside and try to calm me down.
I did not have a healthy relationship with men. The love of my life, my fiancé, dumped me after seven years. I was left with a total distrust of any man. I was left with a Jezebel spirit to get the attention I so greatly desired. My family abandoned me because I was abusing pain medicine to kill my pain.
I was so insecure. I was diagnosed by the psychiatrist as having manic depressive illness. I was never at peace, I never felt comfortable with myself, or with my life. There were also generational curses, mostly on my father side of immoral sexual relations and who knows what other evils. I was exposed to something in Vietnam that was very evil. Exactly what I do not know. It was horrible to have my mind racing all the time, never allowing me to have peace of mind, not to mention a very nervous relationship with others. I was a miserable person most of my life.
Then I had the Sozo session at which time I saw just where God was during the traumas of my life. He was right there with me, in my heart and that is why I was able to survive. We broke off generational curses and unhealthy soul ties. We broke off soul ties that I was not aware of their existence. The feeling of an evil presence in me was broken off. For the first time in my life, I was filled with this great peace and contentment that only comes from being in relation with God. My mind stopped running and I was filled with a kind of love that no human could give. My heart became warm instead of cold. God was there for me, and he accepted me as I was, in spite of all the sin in my life. God is so amazing. At once, my heart was made whole. All of the holes in my heart from past hurts were filled with the love of the Lord. I was consumed with the love of God.
Since then, I have been filled with such peace and joy. I thought that I was unlovable and he showed me I was lovely. My heart has been broken and he made it whole. I lay for almost a week and a half in the arms of the Lord, just letting him hold me, soothe me, and rebuild my heart. It felt so nice to finally be at peace with God and with myself. This was a piece beyond human understanding. The mental issues I was having were really a lack of God in my life. I was able to get off of my psych meds and for the first time in my life I felt whole. I began to love myself and feel acceptable and beautiful because the Lord says I am. This has been such a wonderful experience and it definitely changed my whole life. I was able to feel good about myself and my relationship with God.
I can’t wait to have another session and I would highly recommend this to anyone with self doubts or out of relationship with God. The Sozo team was able to bring forth such a strong presence of the Holy Spirit. They were able to lead me right into the presence of God. I will be eternally grateful.
 
 
Jamie
 
Hi everyone. I’m pretty new to Coast and I wanted to share my testimony with you. Specifically, my recent experience with Sozo at Coast.
A little background on me. I, like a lot of people experienced childhood trauma. Some of the ways I struggled in my adult life because of this childhood trauma was a difficulty regulating emotions, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, problems in my interpersonal relationships, a failed marriage, and several unhealthy coping mechanisms. I sought out therapy for many years. I think I had eight different therapists over the course of 30 years. I have tried EMDR, body work, Cognitive Behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, mindfulness, PTSD treatment and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. I did learn new healthy skills, but I wasn’t able to heal the core wounds. I worked hard at my mental health, and it was frustrating because for all the hard work, I still felt I was on a hamster wheel with my struggles.
On the outside, it looked like I had it all together, three beautiful children, a great career, smiling on the outside, but inside I was in so much pain. I prayed for many years for God to heal me but over time I came to accept the lie that this was my fate, that I was destined to live in inner turmoil for all my life.
I came to know Jesus in my teens, but I didn’t have a strong walk, nor did I attend church regularly. I tried to attend a few churches, but nothing really took. I did enjoy listening to different sermons online from various churches.  Earlier this year, I stumbled upon Coast Christian Fellowship’s online services. It was like no other. Every message really resonated with my Spirit. Often, I would get words and they would be confirmed in the messages shared by Pastor Joe. One day, Pastor Eric shared that he had a dream the night before about a woman struggling because as a child her father was in and out of her life and today there is this missing part and this feeling of uncertainty because of a seed that was planted by her father. He mentioned poor decision-making finding men. He said that the woman knows this but that she hasn’t had a breakthrough yet and that he believes that God wants to bring healing and sever all ties and agreements she had with who God is as protector and provider in her life. He wants to set you free in that area he said. He also said that the dream was for more than one woman and particularly a woman watching online.
At that moment, holding my phone in my hand, I burst into tears because it was as if God was speaking directly to me. I had a failed marriage and now a relationship that was on the brink and I felt my heart was bursting because I just knew I found my church finally and I found the pathway to the healing I had been searching for. I started coming to Coast and when they announced the Sozo ministry, I immediately signed up.
But before I share about my Sozo experience, I want to say a little more about how instrumental and encouraging the prophetic prayer ministry has been in my life. I mentioned I didn’t attend a church, but from time to time I would go to PIHOP for Prophetic prayer. I was blown away by some of the things that were said to me. For example, one of my fears is that my son would grow to follow in my dad’s footsteps and a woman asked me if I had a son and encouraged me to continue disciplining him and carving out boundaries for him. Another women knew that I had a career in finance without me mentioning anything, and she told me that I would do new and innovative types of kingdom type business. Another person told me that my testimony had a special anointing, and I was going to help people who have struggled in similar ways to me. All of these things were true weapons in times of despair and low points in my life. I think they saved my life actually.
Back to healing, when I signed up for Sozo, I didn’t know what to expect. But after two sessions, I feel that Sozo was the missing puzzle piece to my journey on healing. It addressed the core issues that were triggering bad behaviors. With the help of Sonia and Mercedes, and the Holy Spirit guiding us, we were able to identify those lies that I had been standing in agreement with about not being wanted since I was a unplanned pregnancy, we prayed for the baby in the womb, and spoke God’s truth over that, that God knew me in my mother’s womb and created me in His image. We broke other agreements that I came to believe as a child because of the abuse I witnessed, neglect, addiction and abandonment due to the incarceration of my father. Also, we addressed the sin wounds that were covered with guilt and shame that I discovered stood in the way of my intimacy with God.  Mentally I knew I was forgiven for my sins, but in my heart, I hadn’t forgiven myself for one particular sin. God revealed that to me in the session. I had buried in deep down with denial. Something about the process of confessing it to others and bringing it to the light and having God’s Word confirm it really freed me. It was then I had my breakthrough and saw GOD’s FACE for the first time in my life. And in that vision while sitting on the Sozo couch, God handed me a bright, beautiful new heart. He handed it to me! Halleluiah! We prayed and declared that all past and present lies, and agreements be broken in my family line before and after me.  The enemy was kicked out of my family. It was deliverance, freedom, and healing and it was beautiful.
What came next was truly amazing to me. In my discussions with my sister and mother, I was able to let the Holy Spirit guide me, and I had breakthroughs with each of them. We were able to talk about some deep things we hadn’t before discussed. Because I am different now. I am softer and more loving, less defensive, no longer triggered.
In closing, I’m excited about the future. I’m no longer operating life from a Spirit of Fear…fear of abandonment, fear of rejection, fear of intimacy, fear of my own emotions. I’m more present than I’ve ever been.  I’m able to walk now. What I mean by that is I’m not held hostage by my core wounds. There will still be good and bad days, I will still have to work at things, but I feel every day is getting brighter and brighter. I hope the same and more for you or your loved one if they choose to sign up for Sozo. Blessings and love.
 
Anonymous
 
I’ve had three sozos so far this year. Going into the appointments, sometimes I didn’t even feel the Spirit, 10, 20 min into it but I noticed that the more I broke off the lies, the more that I pushed through and stopped caring about trying so hard, by the end of the time, I would feel lighter and could sense the Spirit with me. I have dealt with a lot of pain and hurt from the past form my parents and community, with rejection, abandonment, and experienced a lot of anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness towards a lot of people in my life.
It got to such a bad season where I was completely numb to feeling emotions and was wearing a mask of happiness to hide what was really happening. I’ve been working though some things on my own, but coming to the Sozo really provided the space and resources to move deeper and really knock out what the enemy was trying to feed me for so many years.
It was a lot of tears and letting go and pain, but living in the weeks after, it has been a time of refreshment and rest from the lies. I’ve really come to accept what the Lord has spoken over me :)

Esther


Yuvi

My first Sozo was back in December 2022. I heard and read about “Sozo”. It felt like a “Home” (like a comfort feeling, safe and open). Two days before my Sozo appointment, I was feeling  doubt or that it was not for me and thought not to go/cancel that appointment, but I just ignored  it. In the middle of the session, Sonia had a revelation about a “tea party”. I was really surprised  because that was an event that I had completely forgotten about. It seems like I erased it  completely from my memories. It’s a beautiful memory I had with God when I was 4 years  old. In my background, my family has practiced Occultism from one generation to the next. My  family has no idea about “Christ”. All my family knows is that idols are gods of the universe. I  am number 4 of 5 siblings in my family. I have 3 older brothers and one sister. Since I was little,  I always experienced death. One death after another. Since I was in my mother's womb, my  mother almost lost me when she was 36 weeks pregnant. However, God saved me. I was born  prematurely and saved. After birth, my journey of experiencing death never stopped. I was in  and out of the hospital a lot. I still remember seeing my parents feeling sad, frustrated, and  hopeless about my situation. They always sought help from different gods, but it never worked. I  still remember they had to give me away to the god of fire in order to save my life. The funny  part was it only happened to me. My brothers and sister were fine.  
During the Sozo, I felt like a “veil” was torn down and something in me was broken. I saw more  clearly who God is and I felt like something in the atmosphere had broken. Also, there was no  heater on in the Sozo room and both Mercedes and Sonia had their own jackets on, however, I  felt a warm feeling surrounding me. I felt so warm that even my left ear was completely red,  which Sonia and Mercedes witnessed. It is just amazing how God worked that day. God  completely restored me, who I am, my identity that I am actually HIS child. Before my Sozo, I  just felt like living in a cocoon. That part of me, who I am, was missing. Wondering what my  purpose in life and my destiny and of that all is and “child of God”.  
After the Sozo, my life has completely changed. I’ve gone from one breakthrough to another  breakthrough. I have had more than one breakthrough in my life. It’s like an open door that just  opened for me to walk through. I can feel completely “This is what the meaning of salvation is”.  I can enjoy the fullness of salvation that God has promised me from the beginning. I am not  living as if walking on eggshells because of my salvation anymore. Confused about who I am  anymore. I know my identity so clearly now. What God loves for me and Who He is and who  He is as a father and that I am not afraid of my own enemies/Giants anymore.