On Sundays we go to the “Aldias” meaning
the villages in the mountains to do church evangelism. This Sunday we went to
two churches and two different villages. Let me tell you about the worse part,
well kind of fun part too. We get to ride in the back of a truck with bars. So
ok these hills are really steep! I’m not even kidding when I say that! Plus
they are not paved to make it worse they have huge stones in the middle of the
roads. As we go up hill we must hold on for our lives so we won’t be thrown out
off the truck, hahahaha… (sorry mom if you read this). It really is a fun
adventure! I will come back buff from just holding on so hard to the bars to
stay on the truck, ahahahaha… It really is one of my favorite parts of
traveling, but not on steep hills.
Ok back to the story about what we do on
Sundays. So we went to two different churches today. Howe ever I did not know I
was going to be a translator of a whole sermon that I have never even heard. I
was really nervous because my Spanish has been really rusty from not speaking
it as much. Plus I get really nervous when I have to talk in front of a whole
bunch of people. So, at the first church it went ok and we got the message
through and touched some lives. Then after leaving that church I was so exhausted,
so we all got on the truck and came down the mountain for lunch. After that I
really did not want to go to the next church. I felt really nervous about going
and speaking again in front of people. The one of the girls form the other team
gave me a letter of encouragement and it warmed my heart. I felt like I was
ready to go up in front of theses people since churches here in the villages
are always less then 10 people, and plus I know the sermon now. I was set to
go!
After an hour of travel and holding on for
our lives we got to the church at the peak of the mountain. I got off the truck
and thanked God for my life, ahahahaha… Seriously! Then I looked around at the
beautiful people of the village and started to greet them with “Dios te
Bendiga” which means God bless you (it’s a Latin thing). There were no 10
people!! I would say over 20 people plus kids. I started to get even more
nervous!! Ayeeee! But I started to fall in love with the people there. They
were so sweet and humble. Most of them did not even have shoes on them or clean
clothes. All the kids were so dirty with torn clothes. I loved it more that
they looked like that because I saw even more beauty in them. They were
gorgeous!
As we started to walk in our entire group
sat down we saw even more people come in. But then we noticed that we (girls)
were sitting on the guy’s side, good times! So, the pastor welcomed us and
called us to the front to sing two songs and then we sat down and the person is
our group that was going to preach had to go up, so that means me too. I really
wanted to run out at that time. There were so many people!! So, the Warren
(person preaching) starts to talk and says “I had a sermon ready for you all,
but God is asking me to preach on something else.” My heart dropped! I was like
oooh CRAP! No he was changing the sermon on me! NO good! Translation in Spanish
can be very hard because most things that you say in English don’t mean the
same thing in Spanish. You must know the sermon before hand in order to
translate it.
All I could say is Lord get me through
this! He was faithful! The sermon was about how sometimes we are so broken a
hurt by people, friends, family, etc… Also that God is always with us. Just in
case you wanted to know. Then we asked people to come up to the front that
needed prayer and needed their hearts healed. We had lots of people start to
come up. The broken hearted, sick, hopeless, etc… We were able to lay hands
over them. I went to the first person and she needed healing, so prayed for
healing. But, I felt like I had to move
on and the next person needed healing and I prayed for healing. I still felt
like God wanted me to go to the next person so I did.
I
came upon this young girl that had a deep cry. I stopped and laid hands over
here while my friend Leigh was praying over her as well. Then God spoke to me
and asked to tell her that He loved her and that He had huge plans for her. I
started to pray that out loud and speak truth into her. Then I lifted he head
and wiped some of her tears and told her that God loved her so much. I told her
that he brought me here to speak to her. I told her that God had big plans for
her. Then she started to tell me that she was lonely. That she was told that
she was worthless. She had no hope. She was living in darkness. She was not
loved. I told her that she is God’s creation and that she is made perfect in
his eyes. That she is his princess. I told her that God sent his only son to
die for her and that she worth beyond anything that she could ever dram of. I told
her to stop letting Satan put those lies in her head. That Satan was putting
those lies in her head because God is going to do huge things in her life. I
just started to speak truth and light into her life. To tell you the truth I
would have not been able to say what I said if it was not for God. As I looked
at her I felt her pain and I started to cry with her. I gave her a hug and told
her that I loved her. My heart went out to this girl, but my heart also broke
for her.
As I stopped hugging her and got up from my
knees I had to run outside and just cry. I fell in love with that girl. After
the service I went up to her and talked to her some more. She told me about her
brother that was killed 2 months ago and how he was her support. She came to
God because of him. He was the only Christian in her family. No one in her
family was Christian and she did not have that support towards her walk with
the Lord. She said that she has been really mad at God because he took her
brother away. She hated God. I told her that God used her brother to bring her
to Him and now the big plans will be complete through her. Also that her
brother is in a much better place and we should rejoice as he is in heaven. I
also shared how no one in my family is Christian and how I don’t have that
support too. Also, how my father died. I was able to relate to her in so many
ways. God had placed me there at that moment to speak to Rachel.
It was an honor to be beside Rachel and the
work God did her through that day. As we left in the truck everyone from the
church followed us and she was one of them. I could see her face glowing with
joy as we left.
I am so happy to be here and so what I
love. I get to speak truth and encourage people in their walk with the Lord. I
am so unworthy, but God has chosen me WOW! Thank you Lord. Also thank you to
all my supporters how have brought me here to do God’s work. You are part of
ministering to the different people who have come into my life and that will.
Thank you!
