I just want to give God some credit for the amazing things he is doing in Guatemala right now. Here are a couple of testimonies from our last few weeks here:
The team of 7 boys on my squad visited a home a couple weeks ago with a woman who couldn’t walk. Most homes in this area are small, made of cinderblock and tin roofs, dimly lit with a bed and a dresser and maybe a few pictures or a calendar on the wall. The boys crowded in. The woman had been bedridden since her last pregnancy, completely paralyzed from the hips down. They prayed for healing over her body and her heart. They prayed for a total of an hour and a half, while at one point, the woman’s body started shaking as if she were having a seizure. Eventually it stopped and she lied there for a while with her eyes closed. When she woke, she smiled. Her face was now bright and joyful, much different than before. The boys asked if she wanted to try to walk. She scooted to the edge of the bed and Sam wen’t over to try to help her, but she pushed his arm away and shook her head. She didn’t want any help, because she had faith in what was about to happen. Her feet hit the floor, and she took one step, then another. She was walking! Legs that were paralyzed just a moment before! She threw her hands in the air victoriously and started dancing around the room. They all danced and rejoiced with her. What a glorious day! Thank you Jesus.
One Thursday we went to do house visits in a town we hadn’t been in yet- this is because we were practicing something we call ATL (Ask the Lord). When we got there we prayed and asked the Spirit to reveal to us where we should go and to lead us. One person said they had an image of a tin-roofed house and our translator had an image of a particular street (little did we know the house that was envisioned was on the street that our translator envisioned- God is too cool). So we walked for a while, praying for people in the street along the way, and we found the particular street. After walking down a steep road we knocked on the door of the house my friend had seen in her mind. We had no idea what to expect.
A young man answered looking very confused. We introduced ourselves and he welcomed us inside. His two younger sisters (16 and 6) were inside and we called them over as we started chatting with our new friend Antony (22). As we spoke with him we were interceding, asking God what Truth we could speak into the life of this family. Jaime, the older sister, had dropped out of high school to stay home and help care for her sister. I asked her what her biggest dream in life was, and she said it was to finish high school. Antony’s biggest dream was to find a job. One thing led to another as we began talking about Antony’s relationship with his father, the Lord opened ways for us to share the good news of the Gospel and remind him that he has a Heavenly Father who will never leave or forsake him.
We stayed there for an hour and a half, laughing and crying, asking and answering questions. Eventually we asked them, “How do you feel about all of this?” Antony answered, “I want to have a relationship with Jesus, but I’ve done some really bad things. I don’t know how God could love me.” Oh man, I knew how he felt; everyone on my team had believed that lie before too at some point. We shared that, and we told him that nothing he could do could ever change the way God loved him, no matter how bad or dirty he felt. God doesn’t ask us to clean ourselves up- he wants us right where we are.
After that Antony and his sisters said they wanted to accept Christ into their hearts and have a relationship with him. WOOOOHOOOOOOO! I’m still excited!! We prayed and rejoiced with them and I’m overjoyed to say that we have new brothers and sisters in the Kingdom.
These are only a couple of testimonies, and there are many, many more. Our God is a God of miracles. He is alive and active and moving all throughout this nation. Antony’s family coming to know the Lord was the greatest miracle I’ve seen yet. Greater than any healing is the miracle of a heart returning to Jesus Christ- the angles in Heaven are even rejoicing for crying out loud! Blind eyes being opened and lame legs walking are just the cherry on top, the icing on the cake. But a prodigal son coming home, a lost sheep found by the Shepherd- that is eternity for someone. That is LOVE, purpose, an entire life changing course. It’s a divine moment and it was beautiful to witness.
God is moving in big ways in Guatemala. Let’s be real- he’s moving in big ways everywhere, in a capacity that we will never fully know and only get a glimpse of through testimonies. All he requires is a willing heart and faith the size of a mustard seed. A mustard seed? I can work with that; I believe anybody can. I hope these testimonies help increase your faith and inspire you to go out into your workplace, your neighborhood, your school, your marriage, your home, into any place and situation expecting a miracle. Expecting the BEST and praying BIG prayers- we serve a God of abundance! Can you imagine if miracles were so normal they were like an everyday occurrence? How beautiful would that be?
Romans 8:11 “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is alive inside of you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to you mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
If you believe in God, you have the Holy Spirit, and you are able to do everything that Jesus did. There’s your permission- now go!
Much love,
Abigail
