Prior to travel to Greece the squad congregated in Bogota for World Race Leadership Development Weekend. After having completed the first quarter leg of the journey we spent some time reflecting on our experiences and created new ones! After a little listening prayer exercise the squad broke down into small groups and went into the community following the Lord’s lead as to who we could pray for.
Earlier in the day, prior to our ministry in the community, I was in a café picking up some bread for lunch. A man came to the door of the café and shouted for me to buy him some bread. The woman at the café yelled at him for soliciting her customers and he went away without any food. In my time of listening prayer God spoke to me about finding the man to feed His lost sheep the bread of life. Being not sure as to where to find the man, I relied on the others in my small group who had received some different visions. A jewelry vendor, saltine crackers, an orange, something about earbuds exploding and Moscow. I laughed at how random this was but trusted God to guide us on our journey to find the man. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up an orange and saltines and headed towards the jewelry vendor we met earlier. She knew of the man but informed us that he leaves the area after lunch each day. We offered her the orange and prayed for her ailing mother. She was touched by this as was her jewelry vendor neighbor who gave us all free bracelets. Despite the gifts of love and a blessed time we left feeling defeated about our quest. That was when we passed him.
Not the him who we were searching for but the him who God wanted us to reach that day. He sat on the sidewalk plunging a skewer into his grossly enlarged green and red leg which was infected and bleeding. His ear looked to have been torn off at some point in time but wired back on. He had no shoes and his clothing was soiled. He was talking to himself while his head bobbed up and down. Immediately I knew in my spirit that this man was being tormented by demons. My small group turned around, we all felt the need to do something. My friend asked him if we could pray for him, the man raised his skewer as if to plunge it into the nearest of us. He layed it down just before we offered him the crackers but he didn’t move to take them. Then there was a man looking from the window of the building he was slumped up against, this man called to the police nearby who started walking up. That was when the demoniac got up and ran off.
He did not go far, he sat at the edge of a water feature up the road. He was splashing his wounds with water. We passed by and prayed at the corner for all that was afflicting him. As we did this little did we know he was approaching us from behind. My friend in the group called to him, asking him his name. God had already spoken it to my friend who whispered to us that his name is Miguel. The man ran past us and grabbed the arm of my friend with his bloody hand and said my name is Miguel. As I was squeezing the last of my antibacterial hand sanitizer on my friend’s arm we planned to go after him. A woman nearby approached us worried and started talking about his infection. We crossed the street in pursuit and my friend was approached by some gang members looking to mug him. An older gentleman on the street shouted to us that the men we were passing were very dangerous. When my friend told the gang we were going after Miguel and pointed to him, they backed off and looked a little afraid.
Miguel sat next to some girls at a park, who fled after looking at him. My friend sat down next to him. Miguel started scraping and poking his leg with the skewer all the while saying they tell me to do this to myself. He then held the skewer very close to my friend, who asked if he could take it. I really wasn’t sure if I needed to scream in terror that my friend was about to be stabbed but opted instead to trust that God was at work here and that my friend, having had experience with mentally unstable people knew what he was doing. Miguel never gave up the skewer but he did allow us in to his life. He started to share with us about his devastation at not being able to have sex because of the way he looks. In an effort to prove that everything works fine he took out his genitals to show us. He also alluded to his desire for sex with me. My friend told him to put everything away and asked him if he knew Jesus. Miguel responded with a look of anger but there was also pain, sadness and desperation in his eyes so he let us pray and we did!
We prayed against the evil voices he hears, for his deliverance, for his bodily restoration, healing and that he would accept the bread of life being offered that day. I kept my eyes on him as we prayed, he stared me down while uttering all sorts of things. I knew the demonic spirits were definitely attacking me in my vulnerability as a woman. My fear induced response was to want him to hurry up and take the crackers so we could get out of there! It was then God calmed my racing heart. The Lord asked me to see beyond the possession, beyond the spiritual interference to the child he created that was lost and hurting. As the veil over my eyes was lifted I got to see a glimpse of his soul pleading for help. He was despised and rejected by everyone in the community, he even rejected himself but he recognized truth and he pressed in to accept whatever we offered. He gulped the water I gave him and he took the crackers. He also took in everything of Jesus that was ministered to him and I trust God for his deliverance.
Please pray for Miguel and for the hearts of the people in Bogota to be softened towards those who are in need! Please also pray that I am fully funded by the end of April as that is the final deadline and I am still in need of $1000 to continue my journey.
