Please excuse typos….. it was typed on my tiny phone keyboard so I’m sure there are typos and autocorrect errors galore! But I am too exhausted to fix them lol.
Have you ever gone somewhere or done something that made you think, “This is a game changer; I’ll never be the same after this”? That’s exactly what I was thinking to myself as I sat in my multicolored Adirondack chair at my hostel, La Iguana Perdida, at Lake Atitlan. As I sat staring at the lake, surrounded by my team and the wonderful people we’d met during our stay, I was convinced that this awe-inspiring locale was precisely where I was supposed to be and, even though I didn’t know why I was meant to be there, my stay at the lake would be unforgettable. Somewhere in my intuition, I knew I’d have divine encounters, deep conversations and new friendships. And I am happy to say that all of that turned out to be true and there’s one person in particular who I want to tell you about: Alex.
Alex came to our hostel because he’d heard about us. See, a bunch of missionaries at hostel at Lake Atitlan creates quite a stir. Alex took a water taxi and came to meet us after a friend has mentioned that there were “missionaries at the hostel who were actually really cool”. He arrived and was eventually introduced to the majority of our team; a few of us hung out and talked with him on the front porch of our dorm discussing our trip, what we were doing and why, and how each of us felt called to The World Race.
Alex then shared with us that he, too, was a Christian and that he’d given his life to Christ a few years prior. He shared with us his journey of learning how to pray and listen–really listen–to what the Lord has to say. He told us of his adventures around the world, of how he’d spend over 30 days at a silent retreat, never speaking to anyone other than God. We were so encouraged by the stories he told and the truth he spoke we asked if, when our conversation was over, could we pray for him. Thankfully, he was down for some prayer. So we crowded around him and laid hands on him. We prayed for direction for his life; for discernment of his purpose; for safety in his world travels and for him to continue to have a heart to seek the Lord and hear from Him.
While we were praying, I was overcome with joy; like, I was experiencing ‘I can’t pay attention because I feel so wonderful’ joy! I knew that this was all coming from Alex through the Holy Spirit so I told him. I told him that he’s been blessed with this gift of infectious joy and that he should use it and take pride in it. He was clearly moved by what I said and admitted, through a choked up voice, that he’d recently prayed to God, asking what his gifts were; he wanted to know how he could help the world in Jesus’ name. And during listening prayer, the Lord clearly told him that he could help change the world with his joy. Joy is Alex’s tool to let the light of Christ shine in this world. And so, when I told him how I was overcome with joy as soon as I laid hands on him, he felt a confirmation from the Lord that encouraged and emboldened him.
Afterwards, my teammate, Neala, said she also received something from the Spirit and that was that Alex is similar to Jonah: running and running and always avoiding where he should go. Again, Alex as almost speechless due to the accuracy of what someone had said. With a smile on his face, he explained that he knew exactly what she meant and that just two weeks prior, he’d sent an email to a friend explaining how he’d felt a lot like Jonah because he was avoiding what he believed to be a call on his life to serve in the Middle East.
We were all so excited to see how our conversation and immediate friendship had been so divinely appointed. Alex’s deep love for prayer and meditation touched my teammates and I greatly; our boldness to step out in faith and do the World Race deeply impacted Alex. Iron was sharpening iron as we spoke! At the end of the conversation, when Alex had to hurry to catch the last water taxi back to his part of the lake, I told him he’d inspired me to take mediation and listening prayer more seriously and that I’d do some listening prayer for him. He then gave me his email so that I could share with him what I hear from the Lord. And, friends, I’m happy to say that I’m ending this story here because I have a pretty amazing email to write to my new friend, Aex!
