When you look at his smile, you probably think exactly what I thought when I first met him…�this boy is something special.�
And he is.
I met him our first day in Nicaragua, which marked the beginning of two months of unfiltered relationship and community building in the tiny town of Candelaria. Our only directive for our time at New Song Mission was to build relationships. Disciple. Bring the Kindgom. And so that is what we began to do. I think it took about 5 minutes for our entire team to fall in love with Anthony…because he was one of those kids in the youth group that EVERYONE loved. His spirit just invited you to a place of joy and acceptance. He was a light, and he shone. He just attracted love.
It was about two weeks later, on our way back from a trip to a neighboring city, that our team received the call. Anthony and some of the other youth had gone to the beach to celebrate Holy Week and, despite their fear of water, had gotten in to swim. Before long, the current became too strong and several of the kids were fighting for their lives under its grip. Many were pulled to safety, some by each other, some by strangers, but Anthony was lost. Slipped through the fingers of one of his closest friends.
What followed next is hard to describe. I guess it always is when the unexpected comes. Search parties were formed. Vigils were held. Mourning came in waves and droves. We cried out to God. We held each other. We believed for his miraculous discovery. Whether he was dead or alive we didn’t know…all we knew was that God held the keys to life and death, and we were pleading and believing for life. We prayed. And we cried. We asked for a miracle.
And God brought it.
Somehow, against a sea of impossibilities, Anthony’s body was found within two days. Given the recent rains (a miracle in itself considering our teammate Char had just prayed for rain…during the driest, hottest part of the year), the resulting rising water levels, the lack of resources or manpower, and the manner in which he was found (by his estranged father), God’s hand was clearly all over it. But still, we kept hearing this whisper over and over and over….�Life.�
So we asked God for what only he could do. We asked him to raise the dead. To command there to be life where none was present. After all, he’d done it before. At creation. With Lazarus. With his own Son. Easter was just a few days away. Resurrection power seemed to fill the air around us and shake the ground beneath us. And we believed. So we asked.
My heart still trembles to think of the size of God’s presence during that time. Anthony did not wake up that day. We buried his body at sunset, still believing that the God of the Universe, should it be his plan, would raise him even from the grave. Yes, he has the power. There is no doubt in that. And yes, he is able. But God had a different life in mind for Anthony. A better life. An eternal life, free from pain and struggle and the prison of flesh. God had freedom in mind for Anthony, and that is what he gave him.
And want to know the craziest part? God is STILL bringing life. Life from death. I’ve always known this was a reality of the Kingdom, but now I have seen it in a whole new way. I’ve seen it in the stirring spirits of the youth at New Song. I’ve seen it in the way their hearts are desperately turning to God. I’ve seen it in the way they are coming alive with purpose and passion, refusing to settle for less than what is rightfully theirs as children of God. I’ve seen blinders come off and lives changed. And there is more…SO much more, to come.
“I am the Resurrection and the Life,” said Jesus; “he who believes in me, even if he has died, he shall live.â€� – John 11:25
