Part one of a two part blog… It’s a good one, don’t let the my long-winded posts turn you away!
God preformed a miracle in a Starbucks. The same Starbucks my squad and I visited daily for two weeks while in Lima, Perú. Every day we were greeted by the same sweet smiles of these familiar baristas. 30 gringos can be overwhelming but they tried their very best to speak english and even had immense patience for our not-so-great spanish (taking ownership for this one).
I experienced Jesus daily at this one particular Starbucks. Fun fact, Starbucks is my last resort for coffee back in the States. Ironically, I still found myself there almost daily.
After several visits to our frequent coffee (chia tea lattes) and WiFi destination, God highlighted her. I didn’t even know her name but strangely my heart was drawn to this particular barista. All I knew about her is she had such a warm, radiant kindness about her and she spoke english. She was different. God made that super clear.
God didn’t speak to me audibly but He didn’t have to, it was without a doubt, His voice. The Lord spoke to me through this unusual, unexplainable, strong feeling. He told me to talk to her. God has given me the gift of being able to talk to strangers and make deep connections, so I naturally didn’t think too much of it. Regretfully, any sense of urgency was thrown out of the window. I focused all on my own ability to form and foster relationships, completely forgetting that this gift, was just that, a gift and a grace from God. My ability and insufficiency failed me as it always will. I fail to recognize my deep need for dependence on God in this circumstance. In this case, God spoke yet I didn’t act on it.
Miracle week was quickly coming to an end. Time had slipped by and somehow month three was quick on my heels. It was time for us to leave Lima and explore what God had for us in Ecuador. I was leaving Perú without making a single deep connection all month. This was an unusual place for myself to be sitting in. I felt a sort of emptiness because I felt like I hadn’t used my gift and was disobedient to what the Lord had asked of me. I had missed my opportunity…or so I thought.
The whole squad was scheduled to part ways on Friday. Both my team and team Agape Vita were traveling to Quito, Ecuador. It was solely a God thing and definitely an unexpected blessing that our bus from Lima to Quito only left on Tuesdays. This ‘mishap’ left us with four extra days in Lima. While we were kind of bummed about spending more time in the gloomy climate and also having less ministry days in Ecuador, I felt oddly overwhelmed with peace at the whole situation. Some may call it a coincidence but I don’t believe in coincidences. It could ONLY be God’s grace and provision. We weren’t supposed to be in Lima but it must have been part of God’s perfect plan all along.
Late Saturday morning, the team walked to this dainty local coffee shop around the corner instead of the usual Starbucks because it was a shorter walk. To our surprise it was closed. So, we ended at Starbucks despite our (my) best efforts. We weren’t supposed to be there but it must have been part of God’s perfect plan all along.
We complete our team duties fairly quickly. The team, minus Paige and I, left shortly after. Paige and I basically spent our entire day slouched in the little red chairs. We must have made plans to leave about 27 times (seriously). However, we kept getting distracted, over and over again. Over and over meaning 3 hours. We filled our Saturday with blogging, reading books, Facetiming into my little sister’s birthday, and making a pretty legit birthday scavenger hunt. We weren’t supposed to be there but it must have been part of God’s perfect plan all along.
No surprise but the baristas changed shifts during this time. The barista God highlighted earlier in the week came on shift and she was upstairs cleaning the dining area. The Lord had graciously given me another opportunity to be obedient. Before I could start a convo she rounded the corner to clean the banos. With my eyes deep in an article on my laptop, I was surprised to see her rounding the corner, plopping down on the couch and asking “I thought you all were leaving on Friday.” I see you God. We weren’t supposed to be in Lima or that Starbucks but it must have been part of God’s perfect plan all along.
God spoke to me again, telling me to invite her. This time I listened, asking Valeria if she worked tomorrow. She followed by saying she worked 8:30 to 6. It was perfect because tomorrow was my birthday and we were all going to dinner and bowling that night to celebrate. Almost certain she would say no, she accepted, claiming she didn’t have many close friends nor has she ever gone bowling. It was pretty obvious that the excitement was real for all three of us. We exchanged numbers, told her we would text her more details later then left.
Paige and I were so ecstatic about meeting Valeria that we couldn’t bear waiting until tomorrow to see her again so we returned that night. We stood at the counter for hours chatting about our time on the race and life. Valeria had an hour break so we spent that talking too. Instant friendships are one of my favorite things, and this one in particular was my absolute favorite.
Valeria’s story is coming to you live on my next blog! Her story reminds me of God’s abundant love in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). She has encouraged me, and I hope she will encourage you just as deeply. Be on the lookout!!
