Pura Vida!
God has already been doing some AMAZING things in just a week of ministry! My team (Relentless) and I have been serving at the Abraham Project. The Abraham Project was started by 5 women with $20 and is now a $2,000,000 organization that holds church services, schooling, housing, daycare, etc. So far we have tied rebar, moved 800+ cinderblocks, done skits for kids, played games with kids (i.e. catch the Gringo), scrubbed rocks, raked, swept sidewalks, swept drains, tilled plant beds, went to household worship services, shared Scripture, shared testimonies, street evangelized, and more! We are at the Abraham Project from 9-5 Monday-Thursday, and we serve most of the day on Saturday.
The last couple Saturdays have been ministry packed and God has shown up in some REALLY awesome ways! Last Saturday my team and I got the opportunity to street evangelize for the first time, we walked around a neighborhood with rocks and tapped on the gates of houses and yelled “upe” with a tract in our hands. When giving the people the tracts I simply said “dios te ama” (God loves you) and then said “tenga un buen dia” (have a good day)! This was my first time doing street evangelism and it was an incredible experience, especially with a language barrier! In doing so we came across a boy/girl scout camp and Jorge, our ministry host, went over to the leaders of the camp and asked if a couple of guys could come down from our team and share the Gospel…they said YES! Trevor grabbed his guitar, I grabbed a deck of cards and some tricks, and we headed down to the camp with Jorge and our translator Steven. We didn’t really know what to expect but we knew God was with us and that He would use us for His glory. The camp was very entertained by the both of us and Trevor got to share some of what Jesus has done in his life and they loved it! They loved it so much the leaders asked Jorge if the Abraham Project could get involved with more activities…GOD IS SO GOOD! God used our gifts to help create a tie between our ministry and a secular camp! I was astounded and humbled when I saw how joyful Jorge was and how he celebrated with us, what I thought was a “whatever” gift God used for His glory. Praise God for opportunities like this!
This past Saturday God gave my team and I a similar opportunity. Once again we met up with some members from the Abraham Project and did some street evangelism, however, this time the neighborhood was a bit more rough. We stayed in groups of at least four and kept in a fairly close vicinity as we went door to door. God used Jonathan, one of our ministry hosts, to bring a woman to Christ…PRAISE GOD! WE NOW HAVE A NEW SISTER IN CHRIST. There was another man we encountered who said he believed in God but wasn’t in a good place so my teammate Jesse asked if we could pray for him, but the man Kindly said “sorry it’s just not the right time for me”. So Jesse Kindly said “we’ll pray for you anyway”, and we did. After some more street evangelism my team and I headed back to the park and one of my teammates showed us how to make balloon animals so we could hand them out to kids (thanks for teaching us your carnival ways Logan!). Our balloon making also attracted some adults, two of which were very intoxicated. One Kindly showed me one of his tattoos, a heart, and asked me to replicate it with a balloon. We did our best to please him and when we gave him his balloon he took off. The other gentleman, however, decided to linger and poke fun as we made more balloon animals. After a few awkward interactions he laid down and passed out drunk on the sidewalk. His hair was messy, his clothes were filthy and torn, he REEKED like liquor, he revealed a cut on his chest as he pulled up his shirt, his eyes were running, and he was breathing hard. A few women from our ministry gathered around him and started to pray for him, a few of us got the opportunity to join them. As we were praying he vomited a bit on the side of his face, and one of the women knelt gently and wiped his cheek with a tissue from her purse. As flies began to fly in and around the man’s mouth, I watched this same woman swat them away as she prayed over him, and she picked up is Coca-Cola bottle (definitely wasn’t coke) and screwed the lid shut. I truly saw Jesus in this woman. She was a praying person, a gentle person, a loving person, and a compassionate person. In this very moment my heart melted and God broke my heart for what broke His, His lost sheep. In a moment of sadness my teammate Alex prayed out loud for God to give us strength and to use us…He did just that. Our translator for the day grabbed a marker and wrote “abrazo gratis” (free hugs) on a couple posters and had Alex and I walk around the neighborhood with her holding up these signs. At first we were uncomfortable, but after giving our first “free hug” away we felt SO joyful. Some people ran away, others were happy to hug, and some were plainly confused. It was such an awesome experience! When we felt down and on an empty tank, God gave us the strength and a joy that could only come from Him. Praise God!
In just two weeks of ministry I have seen God directly move in my heart for His kingdom. He has been pushing me to surrender more of myself to Him so He can give more of Himself to me. He is such a good father and I want to continue to know Him more and grow more intimate with Him! I am so grateful that I can share the work He is doing in and through me as a testimony for His glory! Thank you all for your love and your prayers! Please share and subscribe.
God bless,
Tyler Ballard
