In the Darkest Places, Christ Shines the Brightest

Yesterday was definitely my favorite day of the World Race thus far. We ventured to one of the poorest and most dangerous barrios in Alejuelita, and partnered with a local church to put on a feeding ministry for the children in that area. We were a bit cautious when preparing for ministry in the morning because according to the locals, the area is extremely dangerous and we are “very, very brave” for ministering there.


The area is filled with prostitution, drugs and violence and unless you live in that particular barrio, you just don’t go down there. The barrio is down by the river, and has only one dirt road, so there is only one way in and one way out. A lot of people get robbed coming out of the barrio because people see you entering in and wait for you to come out the same way. There is a very obvious distinction on the path leading down to the river barrio. Once the road turns from asphalt to dirt, you know you’re in a place filled with poverty, prostitution and drugs. Now, while this next statement might sound ridiculous to most of you readers…but, I have never felt safer in my life.

I could literally feel the protection of  Jesus and the legion of angels that was surrounding our group as we descended down into the river barrio, and I had complete peace the entire time we were feeding and pouring love into the women and children there. The Lord will give you exactly what you need when you are being obedient and serving Him and what we all needed was security and peace. Jesus definitely surrounded us during our entire day down there. In order to follow the Lord wholeheartedly,  you sometimes have to go out on a limb. Going to “the dangerous places” in the world are actually the safest places you can ever be, because we are going there for God and we are children of the most high God, so we have nothing to fear. I walk in the authority and confidence of Jesus Christ, and I know fully that the Holy Spirit will protect me and strengthen me through anything. This particular day proved that even further.

When we got down to the barrio I immediately followed some of my team mates into a house, feeling the Spirit tell me that we all needed to pray for something. When I got into the house I saw the most precious little woman I’ve ever seen in my life. Her name is Claudia and she is 92 years old. She stood there, four feet in height, telling Christina (our group member who is fluent in Spanish) that she has been suffering from arthritis and her hands were very crippled and unable to straighten out. We immediately layed hands on her and asked the Lord for a miraculous healing. Some people were praying in English, some people were praying in Spanish and some people were praying in tongues to the Lord. Claudia is a strong believer in the power of God and she knew that God could heal her. After the prayer, Christina started massaging Claudia’s hands and she was able to straighten out her fingers as if she had no arthritis at all!! It was a miracle before our eyes. She was able to bend her fingers and use her hands in ways she wasn’t able to in years, and she said she had no pain at all. GLORIA A DIOS!!! GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!!! I was thrilled. The Lord allowed us to witness one of His miraculous healings, and to such a precious woman. After we hugged and kissed her she came outside and ate lunch with us and the rest of the neighborhood.


I started talking with some of the children and mothers in the barrio, all who are all involved in drugs and prostitution down there. I met a woman named Cindy and started talking to her and playing with her kids. At only 20 years old, Cindy is a mother of four small children and has no husband to help her. The struggles Cindy and the rest of those woman go through every single day breaks my heart and all I wanted to do was tell Cindy how precious she was, how beautiful she was and what a good mother she was. While I was encouraging Cindy, I kept noticing that there was a very questionable looking man sitting outside one of the nearby shacks on a stool. In any other neighborhood this may have been normal but I immediately knew that he was either a pimp or a drug dealer, guarding the outside of the house, waiting for people to come by and pay him to enter and receive either drugs or sex or both.



Cody and I walked down to the end of the barrio and did declarations over the area. We claimed in the name of Jesus that this territory was holy ground, and a place that was no longer going to be in bondage  from the chains Satan had on it. We casted out the demons of territorial holds, lust, fear, addiction and greed. I could instantly feel the Holy Spirit snowing over the barrio and it was a beautiful time of declarations and deliverance for us and for the place.

The day ended with me ministering to and praying over a woman named Roxane, who is married to the most feared drug dealer in the area, and needed healing for a operation she had recently gone through in her stomach. I hope to come back as soon as possible and continue to build relationships with those women and children. I am so thankful that the Lord was in every conversation, every smile, every hug, and answered every prayer during our time in the barrios. I truly felt like a disciple of Christ the day I spent in the barrios, and I have never felt more alive in the Spirit or more in love with my life as a missionary.