I promised Mageso i’d share his story, so here it goes 🙂 Back in the Dominican Republic I met Mageso during one of our house visits in the slum Goachupita. He was just sitting outside his little house (about the size of a small bedroom).With the help of our Spanish translator Olvis, we were able to sit down & join him. Despite having a high fever & severe body aches due to arthritis in his arms & legs, he was quite hospitable & happy to have our company.He seemed very lonely.We chatted for about an hour & a half about life. He shared his story.He was born in this little slum & was going to die here.Never went outside of it or knew of life outside of it. He has had a rough life of poverty & has survived alot. He was in his 60’s but looked alot older. But boy, did he have some interesting stories! I could have sat there all day listening. He was a very humble, sweet man. He mentioned he believed in Jesus & had a relationship with Him, but when it came to Heaven, he didnt believe in it. He believed that when he died, he became worm food & there was no after life.We shared some scripture with him about Heaven & Hell. He listened intently but wasnt convinced. That’s ok, God is the one who changes/transforms the heart of man, not us. He asked us if we could pray for God to heal his fever & pain in his arms & legs, & so we laid hands on him & prayed for healing in Jesus’ name!
The next day we returned to find him sitting back in his old little wooden chair in the same spot. We hung out & stayed another hour & half. He reported that God had healed his fever & he actually got sleep that night, for first time in days! Praise God!!! He also said that his arms & legs were in less pain. before his arms were bent so tightly that he could barely function & that day he was able to move them. He had more questions about Heaven & Jesus, so we looked up answers in God’s word. At the end, he seemed to be understanding a bit more. He gave us a big hug this time & said to come back again soon! We returned few days later, & i could hardly believe my eyes! His arms were almost completely stretched out & looked normal!!! His pain was gone & his leg pain was almost gone also. He could walk better than he had in months! His arthritis wasn’t paralyzing him as much, God was miraculously healing him in front of our very eyes!!! He praised God for Him healing his arms & legs & said his faith grew so much! We sat for about 2hrs & talked, like old buddies. He shared with us that he really felt the love & peace of God in us, which encouraged us a great deal. He mentioned that not many people stop by to hang out with him or spend time to get to know him. Many come by his door & preach at him but dont get to know him. He felt loved. He is loved! By us & especially by God! He began to also believe in Heaven. We could see the lightbulb turning on!! It was so exciting. He said that no one had clearly explained the Gospel to him & after reading him scripture he began to believe! God’s Living Word pierced his heart like a double edged sword! He couldnt read so he loved having us read to him. We told our ministry contacts who live in that area to try to get him the Bible on audio so he can listen to it in Spanish.
When it came time to say goodbye to him & to tell him we were leaving for Haiti, he teared up & said that he was going to miss our company. I tried to be strong, but tears fell down my face also. I gave him a big hug & told him i’d pass his story along. He looked up at me with his crooked toothed grin & said i will see you again one day, in Heaven! It was so beautiful to hear that. I nodded & cried, smiling. Yes, i’ll see you one day in Heaven.We encouraged Mageso to spread his story throughout Goachupita, about what God had done in his life the last few days! I’m praying for you Mageso. God bless you. Love you. Hugs.
Me joking around with him, after i prayed for him.he had a great sense of humor, funny guy. I miss our chats. Someday we will be able to sit together & chat again 🙂
Reading scripture to Mageso. Olvis is translating it to Spanish for him.
‘FOR EVERYONE WHO CALLS UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
ROMANS 10:13
“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONE & ONLY SON;THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.” JOHN 3:16
