It was just another day of door-to-door evangelism around the town of Lajas. As we approached the door of a small home we were instantly greeted by two lovely women who invited us in. As we crowded 8 people into the living room, we noticed a man asleep on the couch. After we were settled one of the women woke him up. He instantly sat up and smiled when he heard us. He was 99 years old and blind and had to be cared for by his wife and daughter. At first, we were all kind of uncomfortable not knowing what to say. As the typical questions flowed out like how long have you lived in Lajas and how many kids do you have, we noticed an accordion sitting on the chair next to him. We asked him about it and learned that he played and sang everyday. After some conversation, he picked it up and started playing and singing for us. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. The joy pouring out of him was overwhelming. His smile stretched all the way across his face and he was so happy just sitting there and even though he could not see us, we could see him. We could see his story and the way he impacted others. After a couple of songs we asked him if he had any advice for us since he had lived such a long life. He told us to not think about how long we are going to live and just enjoy everyday as if it were the last. It was an experience that I’ll never forget and a lesson that I’ll keep with me forever. You don’t need all the materialistic things in life to truly be happy, you don’t even need your sight. It was a humbling day and awesome to see how God was working in a tiny house off a dirt road in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.
So my week of evangelism was awesome! After being terrified a first, I soon learned that it wasn’t about entering homes and forcing Jesus onto them. It was about making friends, having conversations, and just showing love to each other. Through these conversations, we found connections with people we didn’t even know we’re possible. It’s crazy how similar our stories can be even though we live completely different lives.
God is working differently in all of our lives here and it’s be awesome being able to grow and share our experiences with each other. I seriously love this group of people and wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else!
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
