Street evangelism.
This is something my squad does a few nights every week. It usually consists of broken spanglish, tracts, and on occasion, a really neat encounter with the locals.
So last week I was passing out tracks with two of my squadmates, Elise and Bern.
The three of us decided to stop in a little tienda and talk to the store owner, a little old man named Lucio. As we talked to him with our small Spanish knowledge, we asked him if we could pray for him. He gave us a cheesy smile with squinted eyes and broken teeth and nodded. He then asked us if he could pray for us, and we learned that he is a Christian and attends a church near us in Pacasmayo.
He offered the three of us sodas, and we spent the next hour learning that he has a son in Ohio that lives a half hour away from Bern, and he showed us lots of pictures of his beautiful family. Even though we could hardly understand his rapid-fire spanish, we nodded along and laughed at how refreshing this man was.
As we were about to leave he invited us over for dinner that next week. We then spent the following evening at his house for tea and avocado and cheese sandwiches with his whole family.
It was there that a beautiful relationship was born. Lucio made us promise to invite him to our weddings, so that he could pray for our spouses. We couldn’t believe it.
The day before leaving Peru they invited the three of us to go with them to a river an hour away. The whole day they treated the three of us like a part of thier family and it was such a blessing. We had lunch, ice cream, and swam in the river with his grand children. Before we left he told us that we were a blessing from God, and that the Lord sent us to him specifically. He came to church with us and was moved to tears by the message, and later that day actually shared the gospel with someone at the river!
Every time I stopped in his shop I left with a free coke and feeling absolutely full with the Holy Spirit. It wouldn’t be to hard to convince me that he is an angel. It’s the little stories like these that make this race so worth it. Meeting other believers all around the world that treat you as family, and making relationships that are such a blessing.
To Lucio and his family:
If you are reading this, thankyou so much for your hospitality. You truly treated us like family, and I know how much that meant to me and Elise and Bernadette. I will be praying for you all, and cannot wait to see you again one day.
