Pastor Manuel voice rang out loud and passionately in praise, worshiping God with all of himself. It was a beautiful love song to his saviour and it moved me deeply. We had only just met earlier this morning a quick hello and now our team found ourselves in his home with his family.
Manuel loves to sing and praise. He has such passion. I was excited that he was the man we would be working with this month and it would be his church we would be a part of. We talked a little about the community Mogollon and the work that he would want us to do, but most of all we talked about him and his family.
I want you to meet this great man of God. Manuel has been a Christian for over thirty years. He met his wife and they have 4 children together. He is the pastor of a church in Mogollon, and he is known and loved by the people there.
Over a year ago Manuel buried his wife. He speaks openly of his love for her, showing us her pictures and allowing us to hear their stories. The mourning of his wife is coming to a close, but a new loss has just occurred. On Dec 31st, Manuel was given the news that his son Joshua had died. Joshua was a great man of God, and he was about to fly to Chile to be a missionary there. The pain of Manuel’s loss is clear in his voice. He rejoices and celebrates the life of his son. He is proud of the man he was, and he knows that in his sons last moments, he was praising God.
The strength of Manuel, has moved me deeply. I can’t imagine losing a child. He keeps on going, saying that God’s work needs to be done, that the Kingdom of God must keep being built. He knows that he does not have an answer to why he is here, and Joshua is not, but he trusts our Lord. What a faith and a hope God has given Manuel.
I have no idea what grief this man faces, but then I am reminded, that “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life.” God knows exactly how Manuel feels. Just like God, Manuel gave over his son to build the kingdom, to bring hope and help set people free, though he did not know his fate, he was willing to give him into God’s hands.
We know that our ministry is for the people in Mogollon, but we also know that our ministry is for Manuel. We want to be a blessing to him this month. I hope that we can ease the pain a little and bring comfort to him. I am humbled and honoured that it was our team that was chosen to be a part of his life and his story. I ask that you would pray for wisdom for us, compassion and a love for this man and his community and a willingness and passion to serve with all that we have in us. We have been given a great opportunity to be a part of reaping what these faithful men and women of God have been harvesting. The rain has produced a good crop. I look forward to the feast.
