Mateus
Manuel Moises
Today, a random
guy that I had never seen showed up in our yard. His name is Mateus (Mathew) Manuel
Moises and he just stood there patiently until I went to talk to him. Mateus is
24 years old and in love with the Lord! He comes from a family of 6 (Dad, Aunt
(now step-mom), and three younger brothers and sisters). His mom died in 2003,
so his dad married her sister so that he could have a woman in the house. Wow!
You gotta do what you gotta do I guess…? He told me that he saw me walking
through the market yesterday and tried yelling at me but I didn’t hear him, so
he came to find me at the house here! I invited him onto the porch so that we
could sit down and read scripture, which was what he wanted! We finally sat
down and eventually I figured out that the chapters that he was taking me to
were the ones that he knew VERY WELL. He took me through about 6 chapters in
Genesis, 3 in Proverbs, and a few in Psalms. Mateus asked me if I had an
English Bible. He had a Portuguese Bible that he was reading out of but wanted
to see an English Bible. Every chapter that he wanted to talk about, he got me
to read, then he would comment with his best English. After a few chapters, I figured out what he was trying to do! He
wanted me to read it in English so that he could figure out the English words
by following along in his Portuguese Bible! This was English class and I didn’t
even know it! He already knew a little English but by the end, he would know much
more! After reading a TON of chapters, I was getting a bit tired of reading and
in conjunction wanted him to learn to read English well too! He knew how to
read some English but it wasn’t that great at all. I said, “Mateus, why don’t
you read this chapter?� He was surprised that I asked him to read the English
Bible but agreed with joy to give it a shot! He pronounced word by word slowly and when he had trouble, I would
guide him along. The next time we got to a previously troubled word, he
would look at me and make sure he said it right. After about ten minutes,
Mateus was reading very well compared to his starting point! I left him for a
second wondering what he would do but he kept on reading out loud to himself!!!
I LOVE IT when that happens (as it did from time to time in my classes over the
past two years)!!! He had enough
confidence to continue without me!!! Well, after much more reading and
discussion, he looked at me and said, “This is you. I have for you.”
“What’s for me Mateus?” I asked. “Mathew 7:7 for you.” he
said. “Go to Mathew 7:7.” I did and read it out loud. It reads,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you.” He grinned and said, “THAT is for YOU my
friend!” …hmmmm… I smiled and soaked it up, knowing that God was speaking and talking to me about what
I had talked to Him about just before Mateus showed up. YAYUH!!!!! And
plus, he had NO IDEA that I had been thinking on that verse A LOT over the past
week…. HA! Praise God for a new friend, some good scripture study, and a word
from the Lord!!!!
MATEUS
