.four months.
.four countries.
.four lifelong prayers.
Prior to departing on the Race, I chose to bring eleven Threads of Hope bracelets with me. My intent was this—to distribute bracelets to people who grabbed a hold of my heart in each country.
These bracelets come with a message and a promise.
The message for those who receive is to remember that Jesus loves them.
The promise from me is a lifelong commitment to pray for the one who received the bracelet.
.four months.
.four countries.
.four stories.
Ecuador: Carlos
The eight year old with a broken arm and a sweet, shy smile. He didn’t want to seem too eager, but his entire face would light up when I would embrace him to say hello. It was as if he was scared I would change my mind about him…that I would overlook him, that I would forget him. And each time I hugged him hello and began conversation with him, the lies of unworthiness and unnoticed were rebuked and cast off. The orange bracelet I gave him is to serve as a reminder…
He is seen. He is noticed. He is known.
Peru: Ana
I walked with this precious one to the sandboarding dune—holding hands the entire way. A sweet nine year old- content to be close to my side as we trekked through the desert. She softly answered every one of my many questions—no father, no schooling, no hope, attempting to just make it through every day. She beamed with delight when I tied the purple bracelet on her wrist. So much love welled up in my heart for her.
She is to live a life worthy of God’s calling. She is to be a woman of virtue, a woman of vision.
Bolivia: Juan Carlos
A man in his late fifties who has lived on the streets for eight years. He loved telling me his story—mostly because it is clear no one has listened to him in a long time. Every day at 4:00pm for four straight days, we would go and sit with him. We talked with him, we brought him bread, we talked about the Bible, we sat and listened to him read the tiny New Testament Bible he pulled out from his sweater pocket, a Bible he found in the trash. We loved him as best as we could. And then, he disappeared.
The black & white bracelet I was to give him still sits in my Bible, a perpetual reminder of the brevity of the time we have.
His hope and motivation is in the Lord. He is to have the hope of heaven always on his mind that he might endure his current circumstances.
Romania: Elena
A stunningly vibrant thirteen year old gypsy girl who, from the moment we met, decided we would be friends. We had, approximately ten words we could say to each other (some Romanian, some English). Yet, we hung out together, sometimes for an hour. Words are extraneous when there is so much else to communicate! And the purple/pink braided bracelet I gave her is to be a mark of the Holy Spirit upon her.
She is His. She is loved. She is set free from the bondage that surrounds her.
.four countries.
.four months.
.And seven more to go!
