Alajuelita, Costa Rica
It is only our first week of the Race, but it feels like a month! It has been a blessing to be a part of so many different ministries in such a short time. As much as I love playing with the kids, one of my favorite things we've done was actually helping with a feeding center at the church for the homeless men of Alajuelita. It is not uncommon for these men to be treated like stray dogs and coming to the feeding center is often the only time they have to be loved on. I was prepared to give these men some attention, love, and respect, but I was not prepared to see how powerfully the Lord is already moving in their lives.
Before serving lunch, we sang in worship together. While they all stood for worship, I noticed that only a few joined in the singing. That is until the song "Hombres de Valor" began to play. Suddenly I was surrounded by the strong voices of 20 men. It was obvious that this is truly the cry of their hearts: to be men of valor, men of value, men of worth, men of courage.
The next morning I was still praying for these men as I read about God's temple:
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:4-5
So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubabbel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua so of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God's people. They began to work on the house of their God. Haggai 1:14
I realized that what I had witnessed the day before was the Lord sparking the enthusiasm of these men to build the temple–these men who have had nothing to be enthusiastic about, nothing to put their hope in. He is revealing to them that they have worth and value as living stones of his temple.
This man shared with me that his baby niece had died that very morning. Although he seemed mostly concerned for his sister while we talked, he worshiped more enthusiastically than any of the other men and was the first to stand up and go forward for prayer. I believe the death of his niece was a wakeup call. He shared with one of my teammates that he needed to repent to God and she was able to lead him through prayer.
These men have been forgotten and treated as nothing by the world, but God has not forgotten them and he is moving powerfully in their lives. When I looked around the room that day I saw fathers, warriors, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. I saw a beautiful temple.
