God used the people of Nicaragua to teach me some very important lessons about love. Here is one of them.
It was a typical day in Nicaragua. Very Hot. Our group went to a village we had never been to before. Like most days on the World Race, we were unsure of exactly what we would be doing. When we arrived, we were told that we would walk around the village in small groups and talk to people about Jesus. We were given small booklets to hand out and also a local to help us translate.
Gulp.
This is precisely one of my biggest fears. Evangelism. Especially door to door evangelism. Looking like “one of those crazy Christians,” not having the answers to people’s very real and understandable questions, and the fear of rejection have kept me from sharing my faith with others. So, I was terrified. Inside I was thinking of how I could put myself in a position where I didn’t have to say anything. And then, because of God’s great sense of humor, I got chosen as a group leader because of the amount of Spanish I know. Pause. I don’t know any Spanish, especially enough to tell people about Jesus. So, I panicked and said “okay, Holy Spirit. When I open my mouth, make me speak Spanish.” Funny, I know, but I believed it could happen.
As we walked, our leader led us to talk to a group of sweaty guys playing a soccer game. She introduced us in Spanish and then turned to us and said “tell them about Jesus.” Umm. Me? “In Spanish?” I asked. “Yes,” she says in perfect English. I’m still not sure why she wouldn’t translate for us, but that’s not the point. God showed me in that moment that no matter the language, I wasn’t ready. Gratefully my teammates jumped in and shared with them. We ended in praying for them. Of course, I was humiliated and ashamed. But, we had to keep on moving…yay!
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it; with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
The day did get better as we sat with a woman and in very broken Spanish shared our stories of what God had done in our lives. Kristina and I shared a scripture with her that God placed on both of our hearts. We then prayed for her, specifically her son Estaban, who is addicted to drugs. She began to cry and like many that we met last month, thanked us for what we were doing as she hugged us goodbye.
For the next two days we did the same thing. Every day I prayed for courage and boldness to share Jesus with others. I prayed for the words to say to encourage people. Fortunately, for the next two days the local person they put in our groups took the lead and I didn’t have to do anything! Yay?
So what does all of this have to do with love? I’m glad you asked!
As I continued to reflect on my experiences with evangelism (here and in the U.S.) I was really challenged by the people we worked with. They were so bold, confident, and persistent in their passion of telling others of God’s love. They spoke words of encouragement over everyone we met and didn’t take offense to resistance as they shared their faith. And they did this with genuine love and concern. I began to see how precious and how much of an honor it was to stand in front of those guys and tell them about Jesus. But the reality remains, I didn’t say anything. I froze in nervousness. I was stifled by the fact that I don’t speak much of the language. I was embarrassed and consumed by the fear of sounding stupid. At that moment of reflection, the weight of my silence began to surface.
It made me think: why is this so hard and uncomfortable? If Jesus is the best thing that has happened to me, if I truly believe that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to God except through Him, why have I not told people about Him? How have I kept silent all these years? Why is it so hard to tell people about Jesus back home? My teammate Carly wrote a great blog answering this exact question. I encourage you to check it out. However, this blog is about a lesson in love.
In the context of love, it made me realize that I can’t possibly love my friends and family if I do not tell them about Jesus. If I don’t give them an opportunity to accept God’s gift; an invitation to a life of freedom, joy, peace, purpose, and eternal life; I am in fact hating them. I am doing exactly what Satan does. Satan wants to hurt God so badly, that he hates us, the crown of his creation, a reflection of God Himself. He hates us so badly that his mission is to condemn us to a life and eternity separate from God. He does all he can to make sure that people don’t know about Jesus and give their lives to Him. The hard truth is that I am partnering with Satan when I stay silent. My silence is a statement of agreement that says “you don’t need Jesus.”
And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus (Revelation 12:17)
A week later, my team took a Spiritual Gifts test. We all laughed and joked because we scored the least on the gift of Evangelism. As we talked about it, I realized one sad but startling fact. Christians use “not being gifted” in something (in this case Evangelism) as an excuse to not do it. In some cases, we can get away with that. But not this one. In fact, sharing our faith with others is one thing that sets Christ followers a part from others. We have been changed by Him. We have experienced things in our lives that can’t be explained any other way. Our perspective and desires are radically different from the majority of people. We have been healed. Relationships that have caused us much pain and heartache have been reconciled. It’s all supernatural and it’s all because of the love of Jesus. And we know that Jesus commands that we don’t keep this truth for ourselves. He commands that we share it with others. And the truth is, there are some people that will only hear about the love of Jesus if you or I tell them.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
When I think what Jesus has done in my life I get overwhelmed and overjoyed. Even if I could find words to describe it, they could never fully capture it. As I continue to share the love of God around the world through my words and actions, I am challenged to confront the reality that I have not only been disobedient at home, but I have also been selfish. Scripture says to love others as you love yourself. If I cared enough about myself to follow Jesus, then I should love others enough to give them the opportunity to do the same, no matter where in the world I find myself.
FOLLOW MY BLOG: Click on “SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG” on the left hand side and new posts will come to you so that you don’t have to remember to check here for new posts!
You can also join my Facebook Group or follow me on twitter (@teriantoinette) to stay up to date on my journey in between posts!
MAKE A DONATION: I still need $4,192 to cover the cost for this trip. If you are able to support me financially, click SUPPORT ME” on the left to make a tax-deductible donation. Or, cut out the small online processing fee by mailing a check to:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Checks should be made out to “Adventures in Missions”.
***Put “PERKINSSHATERIKA” in the memo line of the check!!!!!***
