Untold Stories: Nuns, Pigeons and Fleas

 

El Salvador– 

My team and I had an amazing host! She was a strong and joyful woman of God with a beautiful family. She spoke very little English, but one day God used her testimony to change my prayer life forever. She talked about how she continuously prayed for God to change her husband, he was not a follower of Jesus. One day she decided to switch up the prayer, and she began to pray for God to change her instead. In a short time God changed her, her husband noticed this change in her and ended up giving his life to Christ. He is a pastor now. 

 

Guatemala–

It was a cool rainy day in Antigua. A lot of my teammates were blowing bubbles, giving free hugs and evangelizing in Central Park. I felt The Lord asking me to go off by myself. So I walked the perimeter one time with a sign that read “abrazos gratis”, which means free hugs in Spanish. I gave a few hugs and smiles, then noticed a woman sitting alone. She was having a donut and coffee on a bench in the park. I asked if she would like a free hug. She said 

“is it that obvious?” 

I sat beside her and we talked. She shared her life story with me and I was able to share scripture with her. I reminded her of the love of Jesus. She cried a lot, laughed a little, and told me that this encounter has renewed her faith in Jesus.

 

Honduras–

This month was tough for me, but it ended on a good note! One of our last days in Honduras we took part in a teachers retreat. It was a spiritual retreat led by nuns. These nuns were fun! They taught us fun dances and we were able to disciple the teachers as we played ice breaker question games. 

 

Nicaragua–

We had American hosts for Thanksgiving, praise God! After 4 months away from home it was nice to have a traditional thanksgiving meal. We went all out with the turkey decor, and streamed football games on the TV. We had a crowded house with over 50 people. We even put up a Christmas tree to end the night, as we watched Elf with overly full bellies. 

 

 

 

Portugal–

In between Central America and Africa we had a 17 hour layover in Portugal. After a couple days without sleep I had a choice, sleep in the airport or spend the day exploring Lisbon, Portugal. I chose to explore! It was an amazing day, that place is beautiful. I had a lot of fun, used an airplane blanket as a scarf and fell asleep in public 3 times. One of those times was on a staircase. 

 

 

Ghana– **this story deserves its own blog** Stay tuned to find out how God appeared to this man in a dream! Look for a blog titled, 

“He once was drunk but now he’s scared.”

Will be posted next week!

 

Nepal-**this story deserves its own blog**

Stay tuned to find out how I became friends with a man who hates Christians! look for a blog titled,

“He drinks, flys helicopters and hates Christians.”

Will be posted next week!

 

 

India– 

hmmm well, there was the time the monkey put a watermelon half on his head, or the time I had a high fever on a 12 hour train ride. I think my favorite story though, was when I prayed for a small child after church. He was very mature and asked me to pray for him because he wants to be a pastor. I was blown away at how focused and spiritually aware these children were. 

 

 

Thailand–

I helped save a pigeons life! Sometimes ministry is caring for Gods creation. One day a few of us went to the park and noticed a pigeon with its legs tied together. It was trapped in string and clearly struggling. It had obviously been struggling for a while because it had lost circulation in its toes and they were about to fall off. Two of my good friends and I decided to free this bird of its bondage. We caught it, and there was a crowd forming around us. After a lot of intense focus, and me running to 3 pharmacies for supplies, the pigeon was free! We washed our hands and enjoyed ice cream as we sat in amazement at what just happened. There was also the time I walked straight into a Mormon church and had a discussion with them about the truth. 

 

Malaysia–

A few weeks ago my team and I played a full on soccer game against a team of Nepali men. We lost by 1 goal, only because it was pouring rain and the puddles of water helped even the teams out. We had tons of fun competing with each other, trying not to slip around everywhere and trying to kick the ball out of the 6 inch water puddles all over the field. We were soaked and exhausted, but the day wasn’t over. After that game we ended up going to play more soccer at the indoor fields. We were completely drained after 3 hours of soccer. After all the soccer, we had only a couple hours to shower and catch a 1:00AM bus ride. I must give the Lord credit for providing the stamina  needed to pull this off. 

 

 

Singapore–

Singapore was beautiful, but I’m just not a fan of the city life. I spent a whole day alone walking and talking with The Lord. I ended up writing at a coffee shop for a couple hours, and even walked alongside a river as I prayed and enjoyed the scenery. I walked 7 miles that day. Spending a day with Jesus helped me forget the distractions of the city and all the walking was so worth it.

 

Indonesia–

I haven’t even been here a week yet, but let me tell you about my first night. Our flight landed in the evening so we decided to find a hostel and stay overnight in Jakarta. The hostel was really nice, unique and comfortable. I was so excited to get a good night of sleep. As I lay in my comfy bed and snuggle in, I began to feel itchy and uncomfortable. This went on for about 30 minuets. I finally decided to turn the lights on and check this out. Turns out my bed has fleas, hundreds of them! I sprayed bug spray all over the place and prayed they would go away. They didn’t go away but I moved my head to the other end of the bed and was able to get some decent sleep.