The story that starts on day 1 of ministry:
I’m standing in a room full of men. Men who are looking at us, with eyes full of question. They are serious faced and stern, their eyes say “what the heck are you doing here?”. I crack a smile so small that I’m not sure it was noticed. I’m nervous. I’m supposed to talk to these men? Make friends with them? I’m supposed to speak Spanish and translate for my group? I feel like this is going to be awkward, going to be weird…so I try to hide my discomfort and I hear someone yell “Her! Yes right there, she speaks Spanish! Talk to her…”Someone walks over to me excited that there is someone in our group that will understand them. Somehow though, my eyes glaze over and I begin to freak out. I see his mouth moving but all I can think is “Oh my goodness, I haven’t had to speak Spanish in over a year! What if they don’t understand me? What if I forget a word? What if I don’t remember ANYTHING? Just then I realized that the man had finished talking and was waiting for me to respond in all I could say was “huh?” What pressure! I tell you when you’re only kinda fluent and you still have to think to understand a language and then you’re so worried about it that you don’t even listen to what people are saying because you are so worried about being wrong.
I know what you’re thinking…I shouldn’t let that pressure get to me….yeah, yeah, I should relax and trust in the Lord and not be worried about the wrong things. This trip isn’t about speaking Spanish. I know this stuff people, but still it’s hard to shake. So I did what any good missionary would do in a case like this; I prayed about it and talked to a teammate about it which help me to loosen up a bit. Once the Lord lifted the stress and pressure off of me I was on a roll. I was able to understand and have meaningful connections with the men struggling at the ministry site home. Thank God for the comfort He sent to that place, not only was there a change in me but there also was a noticeable change in the men and their reaction to us. No longer do we walk in and see hard faces. Now they welcome us with smiles and laughter and we get to spend time connecting, building relationships, having fun, and sharing Jesus with men who have carried unique burdens in this life. Oh, how I love what God is doing there. We thought we’d come with some goal to transform them. But God is transforming all of us together.
Stay tuned for more updates on our ministry as so much has happened this week that I’d like to share a bit more as our ministry is a huge blessing to us and we are loving the opportunity God has given us to be a light here in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Happiness. Grace. Joy. Love.
Alyssha
