People have asked what drew me to doing the World Race. My response usually has to do with visiting different cultures/people groups, traveling around the globe & bringing the love of Jesus to these people. What didn´t occur to me was that these people would bring Jesus to me.
While it has been over three weeks since we left Peru, there is a moment from our time there which stands out vividly.
Our team had been working with a church in Ventanilla. We were helping them with their VBS program for the week. They were more than capable of this task without our assistance but they graciously invited us to participate. Really, I think they wanted us as entertainment. We ´learned’ choreography to do with the kids for some songs. I´ll just say that laughs were aplenty.
I sat next to a young man named Piero. We quickly maxed out my Spanish skills with questions like ´What is your name? ´How old are you? ´ ´Do you have any brothers/sisters, how old are they? ´ I noticed he had his Bible with him. I asked if he had a favorite verse. He did, he immediately turned to Jeremiah 33:3, I showed him a passage in Joshua. He nodded and smiled, then it was time to start the program.
I observed him throughout the afternoon. He tied his brother´s shoe, he volunteered to participate in a game, and he helped his neighbors find the passages from the Bible that were being discussed. Good kid.
I asked him if he would share another passage with me the next day, he said he would.
The next day when he arrived, he waved me over to him to share our passages. He had chosen Psalms 103:3 & I chose Jeremiah 1:1-5. Again, the program beginning interrupted our visit.
I again observed him being kind to those around him. His friend didn´t have offering so Piero gave him half of his and together they walked to the front to drop it in the can. He excitedly greeted his cousin with hugs and kisses atop his head when he spontaneously arrived. Piero used his Spanish skills to be a sort of translator for us who weren´t able to understand the adults in the room. He would use easier words for us to understand.
The program was over and it was time to say goodbye, our team would not be there the next day. I asked if his mom was there and Piero introduced us. I explained to her what I had observed her son doing the past few days and told her that whatever she is doing at home is working.
She let me in on her secret, he was the reason she was there, not just at church but alive! When Piero was 2 or 3 she had cancer, nobody expected her to survive. He was her motivation to keep fighting. He told her she needed to be strong, be a woman of God and the family needed to go to church. Soon she was better, the doctors were shocked that they didn´t have to do the surgery they had planned but told her she wouldn´t be able to have any more children. Emanuel was born about a year later. Have you already looked up those passages we shared? Be sure to look at Psalm 103:3. She asked me if I was the friend that Piero was sharing passages with, I said I was. She mentioned that the night before he had been looking for just the right verse. Piero interrupted at this point, he said ´God gave me that verse´. The three of us exchanged addresses and Facebook info and it was time to say goodbye. We hugged and kissed cheeks and then Piero reached for my arm and said ´God wanted us to meet´. Heart officially melted. It doesn´t hurt that he´s super adorable.
photo cred: Mike Ward
If I can hope to share 1/2 the love of Christ Piero has shared with me, this race will be a grand success.
