today was activation day. every thursday is, actually. what this means is we spend the morning hearing a teaching and then go out and put it into action. today we learned about evangelism! it was really great & got us pretty excited. as we we’re heading out, the staff member that was with us, Gabe, said he thinks we should go to the police station. umm…. can you say intimidating!? but I was STOKED because the entire time we’ve been here I’ve wanted to go there and talk to them but fear has held me back; fear of rejection & fear of awkwardness. but today when Gabe said we were splitting up for half us to go with him, I left it up to him (and God lol) if I’d go with him or with the group who was going to a tienda. immediately he told me SJ, Jackie and I were going with them. we got there and met two officers, Santiago and Selvin. they were 21 and 27, and for some reason my fears multiply when I’m around peers, but after just a few minutes talking my heart was at ease and I knew God was going to use us to do big things. we got to share the gospel & learn what had been holding them back from accepting Christ. and guess what? it was basically all the same things I struggled with before I accepted christ!
well, sounds nice, but i’ve done a lot of things. what if I keep messing up? I don’t know if I can actually change. I can’t accept Him until i’m sure. what if I accept him and then drink in a couple days and i’m a hypocrite?
all the lies that kept me from walking with Christ were the same hurdles they had. I got to share that following Jesus isn’t about religion it’s about relationship! I don’t have to be perfect – I don’t even have a set of rules. rules went out the window the day I started to follow Jesus and what came was a relationship. and when we are in a relationship we will be transformed naturally! it’s like when you hang out with a certain friend a lot you become like them. it’s the same with Jesus! there was never one single day I changed how I was living but through walking with Jesus I slowly changed my habits & lifestyle without even noticing and eventually it become a struggle of the past and my past is something I have complete freedom from! and no one is every perfect so we have to get away from that fear that says we need to have it all together. I still fall. but God helps me get up. we kept talking and being real & honest with the police officers. one of them kept saying it sounds nice but he’s just not sure, and we assured him it’s okay, he doesn’t have to decide, there’s no pressure and we’re here just to share and invite! he kept bringing up being scared of messing up and Gabe told him, “ask God right now if He’ll still love you if you mess up. He will answer within ten seconds and you’ll tell yourself it’s your voice but it’s His.”
immediately he said “He already told me, He’s been helping me when I fall.” and he decided to accept Christ as his king and savior!!! he said after praying that he has never felt such peace before, ever. hallelujah!!!!
after that, the other officer was still unsure but after just a few more minutes said He was ready to accept Christ. we prayed with him and he also said he felt immediate relaxation and peace. thanks God!
as if that wasn’t already amaaaazing enough, they asked us to come back when the rest of the officers are there and maybe start a bible study at the station!!!! wow! God used us to reach them & I know He’s going to use these two men to reach so many more.
