Luauna Stines shared a powerful testimony of how her life was transformed nearly 50 years ago in Colorado Springs after the murder of her husband left her broken, angry, and struggling as a young widow and mother. After repeatedly rejecting a woman who tried to tell her about Jesus outside a 7-Eleven, Luauna eventually cried out to God months later and surrendered her life to Christ after visiting a small church on Boulder and Weber. That experience launched a ministry that began with taking one troubled young woman into her home “for one night,” which turned into three years
It’s Mike Triem with 670 KLTT. We’re so pleased to be joined by Dr. Luauna Stines from A Touch From Above. Dr. Luauna, thanks so much for taking time with us. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate that. Your program is heard at 4 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus various times on the weekend. Our listeners can go to the website to find out 670KLTT.com. So, we are fully invested in your ministry, and your ministry started here in Colorado. Tell us about that, please.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, Mike, for asking. Actually, I’m so excited inside about being in the state of Colorado. You know, 47 years ago, I was a lost and broken young girl. My husband had been murdered. I was a widow, two small children. I was hurt. I was angry. And one day I was walking out of a 7-Eleven store and a young lady came up to me. And, of course, I was hurt. I was angry because my husband had been murdered. So I didn’t want to hear nothing about Jesus. Don’t even tell me anything. And I was walking to my car out of the 7-Eleven with a pack of cigarettes. Mind you. And I get in my car and the young lady walks. She follows me. I saw her looking at me really kind of staring at me in the store. And I thought, what is her problem? So I get in my car and lo and behold, she follows me to my car. She knocks on my driver’s window, driver’s side. And I grabbed my cigarette and I lit it and I rolled down my window just a little bit and blew the smoke in her face. And I said, what? And she goes, excuse me. I want to tell you about Jesus. And I looked at her and I thought, honey, I’ve been to hell and back. They kicked me out for selling ice water. I really don’t want to hear that. And I rolled back up my window and she knocked again. And I was so irritated. And I took another drag of the cigarette and I blew it in her face again. And she knocked again. I thought, if she knocks again, I’m getting out of this car. And sure enough, she knocked again. I was so upset and so angry. Now, remember, I’m not a Christian. I jumped out of the car, got right about two inches from her nose and said, what is your problem? And she looks at me and says, you don’t remember me, do you, Luauna? I said, I don’t know any Jesus freaks. She goes, I said, who are you? And she told me, do you remember my sister, Mary Lou? And I looked at her and I said, are you Maria? Well, Maria used to be a heroin addict. And I, in my mind, thought she was a loser. But I had no idea. I was just as much of a loser. I was a functioning drug addict at the time. I was angry. I was mad. I was on cocaine. I was doing my own thing. I thought, I don’t need anybody. My husband had been dead several years. I was angry. I was upset. I’m going to go to school. I’m going to be a lawyer. I’m going to make lots of money. I don’t need anybody. And so that was my mentality. And she looked at me and says, do you think I’m going to let you get out of this parking lot without telling you about Jesus? She goes, you know what? Her sister was one of my friends five years before who had killed herself. And I had found her. And I looked at her and I said, wow, Maria, you look so different. She goes, Jesus changed my whole life. I gave my heart to Jesus right after my sister’s death. And I’ve been praying for you for five years now. Well, I would love to tell you, Mike, that I got saved that day, but I didn’t. I said, well, that’s good. I’m glad you found something. You needed it. P-R-I-D-E, my pride. And I got in the car, went out that night. Six to eight months later, though, Jesus has a way of getting your attention. And sure enough, six to eight months later. I came home from the club with my friend. My friend was still at the club. I came home. I said, I’m out of here. This is what life has to offer. I’m going back. She was a single mother. I was a single mother. I said, you know what? I’ll pay the babysitter. I’ll wait there. You stay as long as you want. I went back and I remember standing there in that front room of my friend’s apartment and I said, God, I don’t even know. Now, remember, I’d never been to church. I didn’t know anything about a Bible. I didn’t know anything at all. And I said, God, if you are really God, I don’t know who you are. I don’t even know your name. But if you will show me who you are and prove yourself to me, I need to know you. And if you don’t show me who you are, I will never ask you again. Of course, I had a couple of cuss words in there at the same time because I didn’t know. And I woke up that next morning completely different. I can’t even explain it. I picked up the phone book. I was in Colorado Springs on the corner of Boulder and Weber at a little 7-Eleven store when the first young lady witnessed to me. But before I left that parking lot, she said, you know, if you ever need a change in your life, on the corner of Boulder and Weber, there’s a little white country church right there where Jesus is Lord and lives are being changed. And six to eight months later, I thought, you know what? I had pulled out the phone book. I didn’t know what church to find, that great big old line after line after line of all these different churches. And then I remembered her words, the corner of Boulder and Weber. So I said, forget it. I’m going to walk into that church. I’d never been to church before. Thank God for a good usher. I never will forget, 47 years ago, that usher is named Ted Beccara, one of the best ushers. I knew that he knew that I had never been to church. I walked in pretty wild. He looked at me. he walked right up to me greeted me put out his hand said hi what’s your name uh uh my name is luauna he goes welcome let me get you a seat and he walked me all the way up and put in a place where i had to walk by everybody if i wanted to leave and i was so insecure and i was so broken there was no way i was going to walk out in the middle of a service And he said, you know what, I’ll be back later. So glad you’re here. Thank you for coming. But you know what, I never forgot that. That morning, I gave my heart to Jesus. My whole life changed. That was 47 years ago. And right after that, it was not even, I hadn’t been even saved maybe almost a year. I was still pretty insecure. pretty shy. I could barely speak. I could barely spell. I could barely read, you know, and I just felt like I was so I felt worthless, Mike. I was in church. I loved Jesus. I was saved. I loved Jesus. I got tracts. I started passing out tracts. And I was walking out of church one night, and one girl, everybody had left. I had two small children, so I was loading them in the car. It had been snowing, and I was putting one in the car, came back, get my other one. And this girl’s sitting at the front of the area where the pulpit is, and she’s weeping. She’s just crying her eyes out. And she’s talking to the pastor. And I’m trying not to listen, but I can’t help but hear her. My mom kicked me out. I told her I was a Christian. And she said, there’ll be no Christians in this house. And so her mother threw her out. And the pastor, poor him, he’s going, oh, well, we’ll work out something. And just as I got to the door, I didn’t realize the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in my heart said, take her in. I said, no way. I said, no way. I’m not taking her in. I don’t even know her. In my brain, there’s this battle going on. I don’t know her. I’m a single mother. I got two kids, you know, and the Holy Spirit said, take her in. And he said it again. I remember turning around. I told the pastor, okay, she can stay with me just for tonight. That started me on a road of ministry I never dreamed that God would use. I ended up getting an old Victorian house there on Boulder in Colorado Springs. And before I knew it, I had 18 women living with me and five children. And I started my first women’s home.
SPEAKER 01 :
Wow. So you started there. That’s where God captured your heart. And then you recognized, huh, I don’t know what this is, but I’m supposed to have this gal come stay with me. And how long did she stay with you? Three years. That was a great one night. Okay, one night. No, all right. Well, we’re speaking with Dr. Luauna Stines, by the way. Her program is A Touch From Above, 4 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on 670 KLTT. That’s Monday through Friday. And then there are also some additional weekend times that you can check out on the website. Dr. Luauna, go ahead. I think you were going to add to that.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, it’s amazing. God will put you in a place you never dreamed. And here I am in this woman’s home. Number one, I was very insecure. I was very meticulous. And here I am living with 18 women. Do you realize living with 18 women and five children, that changes your entire life? Well, God began to change my life because at first it was like, don’t break my dish. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Don’t do this. And one day the Holy Spirit said, what’s more important? What is more important? Your dishes or people? it’s like oh smack yeah okay well from one home it ended up being we ended up with the second home ended up with the third home then i helped open up a men’s home and before you knew it 13 years and 500 women came through our women’s home and 250 men have been through our men’s program as well And that’s where I think God, he trains you. He trains you in ministry in the least likely. I was cleaning the toilets at church. I was helping paint or whatever needed to be done. It didn’t matter. What do you need? I’m there to help. And I think that’s where God begins to choose those that he can use when we’re in his service.
SPEAKER 01 :
Dr. Lana, that is, Then transition to how long were you here in Colorado? And then did you move to California? Was that your next step? Or was there something else in between?
SPEAKER 02 :
I ended up pioneering my first church in Portland, Oregon. And then the Lord opened up the door after a couple of years. And then I went into Seoul, Korea. I went into Seoul, Korea. God opened the door. I was able to preach throughout all of Seoul under Dr. Cho Young-gi, which is probably the largest spirit-filled Christian church in the world. And I learned something in those. I lived there for a year, traveled back and forth for 13. And while I was in Seoul, Korea, the Lord spoke to me. I began to see the powerful prayer in Seoul, Korea. They would pick me up. I usually would preach anywhere from four to five meetings daily. in a day at different churches. And the pastor would have a driver pick me up early in the morning at four in the morning to take me to their morning prayer so that I could minister a little bit at the morning prayer. Well, the morning prayer starts at five, six, seven, and eight. And there were over 10,000 people at the morning prayer. I thought, oh my gosh. And then my interpreter goes, Oh, no, this is nothing. You have to go to Prayer Mountain in Korea. So I said, well, okay. So she took me up to the Prayer Mountain, and I could not believe it, Mike. There were 10,000 people at the Prayer Mountain 24-7, seven days a week, nonstop prayer, 350 prayer grottos. And I am walking down this aisle of little small prayer closets, And I’m hearing these Korean people praying. And they’re praying for America. Oh, Hananim, Hananim. Hananim in Korea means Jesus, Jesus. Save California. Hananim, Hananim. You know, Colorado, New York. And they are praying. And my hair is standing up. And now remember, I’m speaking. I’m a preacher. I’m evangelist. I’m traveling around. I’m sharing the gospel. But I am so burdened. And I thought, dear God, why did you bring me here? And the Lord stirred my heart in Korea and said, come back to your homeland and build a place of prayer. That’s how I ended up in California. um it’s a miracle of god’s grace i actually started looking for land from washington oregon california i’d never been to san diego and every major city i would stop and i would just get a hotel and just pray didn’t feel anything came all the way into san diego i was at hotel circle and motel 6 we keep the light on for you and i was praying and praying and praying and the lord really just stirred my heart and said the only thing i heard was behold there’s much land And I thought, wow, okay, it’s here. And, you know, it’s a miracle of God’s grace. We have 25 amazing, beautiful acres. And it’s been 22 years. And little by little by little, we have been building out the prayer mountain. And people now, we’ve had 39 nations, pastors come from 39 different nations to come to the prayer mountain and pray. Wow. And it is amazing to see all these amazing, wonderful pastors, their leaders, Christians, take time out. Some people call. They say, I’m coming in from New York. Can you pick me up at the airport? We have somebody call next week coming in from Washington. And they just come to pray and fast.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s just been a miracle of God’s grace. Dr. Luauna, I want to extend this interview a little more. So continue to tell us a little bit more about that, the prayer mountain concept and what you have going on there, because I did not know before we started working together. And I think you told me there’s already 40 or more than that prayer cabins there. Tell us kind of what the layout is so we can picture it, please.
SPEAKER 02 :
All right, well, you come in the main gate, and then we are actually building a television studio because the Lord is stirring my heart to do Christian movies because our testimonies give God glory. And because we have seen some of the roughest people get saved, when I hear their stories, I thought, that needs to be a movie. So the Lord stirred my heart about four years ago. So we started building a small television studio. But you come in, we have a beautiful, we call it the tabernacle. But it’s a church without walls. There’s no walls, of course, thank God for California. But we can roll down some little side walls in case it gets a little chilly. But it’s a tabernacle that holds 250. But we can accommodate 45 people, actually, to come and pray. We have our Africa cabin, our Joshua cabin, our Caleb cabin, our veteran cabin. We also have our Israel cabin. Isaac. We have Abraham. We have our Sarah cabin. We have our Daniel cabin, our Mary and Martha cabin. We have the upper room cabin. And our goal is to build out probably about 20 more small cabins. And we’ve had some requests for some pastors that say, we don’t need a big cabin. We like private. Make us little teeny small cabins. We don’t care. And I said, no problem. We’ll do that. So hopefully in the future, we’ll have a total of anywhere from 45 to 50 small cabins for people to have for private prayer and fasting.
SPEAKER 01 :
Is that what happens, Dr. Luauna, is people will request or you’ll reach out to a group, say, if you want to minister to them, and they come in solitude, I’m guessing, and a chance to pray and just be with God and really hear from Him.
SPEAKER 02 :
so yes that’s kind of a purpose yes absolutely now there’s trails we made trails and then we the higher part of the prairie mountain has a cross up on the hill some people will go climb all the way to the top of that and sit by right below the cross and just cry out um also lord be willing we are working on the plans now where the cross is a little bit below that we’re putting a full size jesus tomb with a roll-away stone and say, He’s risen. What are you looking for? He’s alive. And then we have another great big field. Lord be willing, we’re putting a life-size Old Testament tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant, the candle, the lavers, the washing, to lead people to help them understand why Jesus had to come. Why did he have to be the Lamb of God and how that happened and the crucifixion, you know, to lead people up to the cross and he’s risen, he’s alive. And we also are working in our design is to have scriptures all etched throughout the prayer mountain and seating areas because that’s, you know, we want people to pray. You get people to pray, you change a nation. Yes. You get a pastor to pray, you change the church. You get a mama and a daddy to pray, you change your family. Prayer is the biggest key of all. And I think that sometimes we’ve lost that in America. And I say that with grace. Yes, we pray over our food. Yes, we whisper a prayer in the morning. But to separate yourself and really pray and seek God and read your word and cry out to God, you know, take 24 hours. Let me give you, do I have time to share one short story? Yeah, please.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
One lady called from Florida. She was almost 80 years old. Precious, beautiful black woman. She called and said, I’m coming in from the airport. Can you pick me up? I’m coming in from Florida. We said, yes, ma’am. She goes, I don’t need a cabin. I’m going to take my tent. So I didn’t know who she was. So we said yes. So we went to pick her up. She gets out of the van and she’s this cute little precious lady that’s 80 years old, kind of hunchback. And she’s got this little tent and she’s trying to pitch a tent up on the hill. And I’m watching her. I said, ma’am, you probably should go in the cabin. She says, I’m not here to play. I’m here to pray. I want you to know something. The devil’s messed with my family for too long. I’m going to fast and pray for 40 days. I thought, oh, okay. Well, she tries to put her tent together. Of course, she didn’t want any help. And then I hear snap and her tent pole breaks. So I had one of our workers, I said, go up there, take her by the hand, walk her into the Joshua cabin and tell her this is her tent. So she did that. She goes, well, thank you. Praise the Lord. I couldn’t fix that old tent anyway. But you know, that woman prayed for 40 days, fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. You know, I just was amazed. We had another gentleman come. His mother was a preacher, and her son had a terrible accident and hurt his back terribly. And she called and said, my son is going there for 21 days. He’s going to fast. He’s going to go on a Daniel fast. We do have a kitchen facility. So our team said, okay, Daniel fast. We’re going to do all vegetables for him. So we prepared all his meals every day. He had a nice big green raw vegetable salad. And, you know, he came with a walker, could barely walk. Stayed here for 21 days, prayed and fast. At the end of 21 days, he closed up that walker and said, my goodness, God has done a miracle.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Jesus. Wow. He was healed. He was healed. Wow. I think those are important things for our listeners to hear because some are going to want to visit, come out, and others… When they listen to A Touch From Above, you get a touch, if you may, of the importance of prayer and your ministry to others and how God’s put you in a unique position to help them.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, I know one thing. I was rejected when I was young. My mother put me in an orphanage. My husband was murdered. I fought through cancer, raised two children, fought all the way through. The only thing that helped me through that was the grace of God and prayer. One thing I learned was how to pray. And I know that when we pray, we get heaven’s ear. And when we get the master’s ear, I’m telling you what, God is so faithful to hear our prayers. The Bible says the children of Israel cried out before the Lord and the Lord heard their prayers. And I really think that the reason that America is in trouble is because Christians, we have to pray. We have to pray. I’m not talking about little prayer. I’m talking about really cry out for our president, for the vice president, for the House, for the Senate, for the justices. We’ve got to pray for every leader, every state house, every government position, our educational system. And when God finds a people that really humble themselves and really cry out and pray, he said, I will hear from heaven and I will heal their land. That’s the key to me is prayer is the key.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s so encouraging and so reassuring because we just don’t pray, you know, and I see you, I mean, uh, generally speaking, people around me, we know when we hear somebody who’s, who’s praying powerfully, not to, not to make men happy, but you just know that difference. You think, you think, Oh my goodness. Okay. This person knows how to pray. Now it’s just a different thing. Um, So we’re going to learn so much from you. Dr. Luauna, before we go, would you mind praying for our listeners before we go?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, amen. Yes. What a privilege it is. Let’s pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we come humbly before thy throne. Father, give us the ear of the listener. Give us their heart, O God, that we may lead them to your throne room, O God. Father, give us the mind that may be renewed and transformed, O God. Father, we pray in Jesus’ name, every single person that is listening to this radio program, Father, that they would be encouraged, they would be blessed. Father, you would heal their homes, heal their bodies. Lord, you know every situation, even before they even mention it. Father, we come against every force of darkness that have come against the children that love you. Father, we love you. Father, there are those that are listening that are not saved. There are those that are backslidden. Father, you said you’re married to the backslider. Quicken their hearts, O Lord God, and draw them back to you in the name of Jesus. Father, you see those single mamas that are out there and they’re struggling, single daddies that are struggling. Father, Let them know that you hear their cry. You know their need. I pray in the name of Jesus, Father, that you pour out your spirit upon them. Build a shield around and about your people, Lord God. Keep us in the very palm of your hand. Father, we will find safety under the shadow of thy wings, O Lord God. Cover us in your precious blood, from the top of our head to the tip of our toes, O Lord God. We surrender all to you, O sovereign God. Father, thank you for… Thank you for this radio station. Thank you for KLTT, O Lord God. Father, bless it abundantly. Bless the listeners. Increase in Jesus’ name. Multiply the listeners, O God. Give us Colorado in Jesus’ mighty name. Father, we’re not just praying for Denver. We’re praying for Denver. We’re praying for Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Rocky Forge, Sugar City, Lahani. Lahana, Crowley, Lord God, every single area, the mountains, Aspen, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain. Father, give us Colorado for thine inheritance. Lord, you said ask for the nations and I’ll give them to you. I’m asking you, oh sovereign God, give us Colorado for thy namesake in Jesus’ name. Save the multitudes, oh Lord God. Let them hear your word, oh God. Let your name be whispered on the wings of the wind across this station, oh Lord God, and touch the hearts of your listeners, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. That’s Dr. Luauna Stines. A Touch From Above is the program, 4 p.m. and 8.30 p.m., Monday through Friday, plus on the weekends. Just go to 670KLTT.com for more information. And Dr. Luauna, if people want to connect with you, how should they do that?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, there’s two ways. Number one, they can log on to our website, atouchfromabove.org, or they can go on my Facebook, Dr. Luauna Stines. I’m trying to learn all this social media stuff, so bear with us there. Atouchfromabove.org. They can email me. I read every single prayer request. We write it down. We take it before our team. And if they want to ever come to the Prairie Mountain, they just got to call, make reservations. And if they need a ride from the airport, our team will go and pick them up, bring them up to the Prairie Mountain. And they have to make reservations at least a week and a half to two weeks in advance because the cabins get filled.
SPEAKER 01 :
So wonderful. We’re going to have some people coming up your way to pray. It’s going to be amazing. Dr. Lana, thank you so much for taking the time with us. What a blessing. We’re grateful to be partners with you here in Colorado. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you. And thank you for the radio program. Thank you. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of KLTT. Thank you so much for having me. God bless you.
