any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray
over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And
the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord
will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may
be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ~James 5:13-16
Granada is a city that attracts a large amount of foreigners to Nicaragua; in fact I’ve been told that it is the largest tourist town in the country. Realizing that there wasn’t a Christian church ministering to the travelers, some of the foreign residents came together and established a church. They hold services every 1st and 3rd Sunday morning and had asked our group if two people would share their testimony. Katey volunteered but we still needed a second person to share.
Decision time came Saturday afternoon as we were walking back from the feeding program service in the barrios (~slums). We had a couple of days to pray and discern if we felt led to share our testimony. I admit I didn’t pray because I don’t like public speaking and was sure someone else would. No one else had volunteered yet and we needed to confirm who was sharing. Then Christy says, “How about you Tamara?” I instantly felt convicted and knew it was my time to share as I let out a, “Fine, I’ll do it.”
As I prayed Saturday evening God confirmed with me that I was to share. He reminded me of prior days in which he showed me how I was being prepared for that moment.
- Calling me to stay in Granada and not go to Puerto Cabezas
- Crying at arrival
- Already having partially sharing with the guys and Katey
- Completely sharing with Christy the night before being told about needing testimonies
- Providing the opportunity and only one responding
That morning I cried before the service, during the service and a couple times in my testimony. I’m a crier, it generally doesn’t bother me, only in that it distracts and bothers others. I embrace that tears are cathartic and can also be full of love and happiness. It was part of the process I had to go through, but I wasn’t alone. I was surrounded by a church family with open arms and encouraged with grace and mercy. Sharing seemed like such a stretch and an internal fight, but I was able to push through knowing with full confidence that I was in God’s will.
Later that day we went to an island for the baptism for 3 of the people from the church. It was an amazing day full of growth in relationships with our Lord.
Enrique and Danilo (2 of the 3 guys that stay where we lived)
