After my scary clinic visit and a few days of sleep and recovery I asked the Lord to give me one reason to stay here; here in Bolivia and here on this race. This month we would be working with teens and adults in an alcohol and drug recovery program, at a ministry called Mission Adulam. There are three homes; one for teen girls, one for teen boys, and one for couples with children.
Well, our first official day of ministry, T.J., Benita, Sandra, and myself went to the girls home called Talita Cumi (which means: arise young girl). We walked in to meet the girls. They were so excited about us being there. They loved our clothes, our hair, and our make-up. There were about 12 girls, all with different stories of how they came to live in that house, some more sad than others, but all of them desperate for something. One sweet girl in particular captured my heart right away, Beatriz. In my heart I heard the Lord say, “Here’s one reason.” In the days to follow I would fall in love with every one of those girls. In a million ways they affected me, their stories striking chords in my heart, their faces stored up in the treasure room of my mind. In spite of how I was feeling God helped me to see that there was purpose in being in El Alto. He allowed me to be part of the lives of these precious girls that He wanted to reach, to show His great love, and capture their hearts as they had so easily captured mine.
The girls were surrounded by workers that truly cared for them. People like Hermana Ana and Hermana Teresa that spoke truth into their lives, but sometimes it’s the new and different that we are more apt to listen to. God had given us a platform to speak into the lives of these girls so we took advantage. At least twice a week we gave them cards with encouraging words or scriptures written on them, we sang to them as they came to breakfast one morning, we prayed with them and for them. One Sunday afternoon we gave them a spa day fully equipped with facial massages, facial masks, hand massages and finger nail painting. It was such a fun day and the girls really felt pampered, most of them had never experienced anything like that before. We taught the girls a dance for their talent show night and cheered them on as they represented their house. The grand finale was a coronation. We planned and coordinated with the staff, told the girls to dress up, decorated the dining room, made gifts and construction paper tiaras for each girl. That night we called each girl up to the front, told her how the Lord sees her, prayed over her, and presented her as a Princess! We gave each girl a bouquet of flowers and placed the tiara on their heads. The night was one I will cherish forever; the looks on the girl’s faces as we presented them as Princesses, were unforgettable. God is so good!
When the month was coming to a close the girls prepared a special dinner for us with their fine china, they presented us with gifts and then one by one stood before us and tearfully told us the impact our visit had had on them. We were all wrecked with emotion, broken for these beautiful girls, but so grateful for the opportunity to know them, serve them, and love them.
Starting this month I could not have imagined all that God had in store. I could have so easily resigned myself to leaving this race and letting this great opportunity slip through my fingers. Thankfully in all His sovereignty and mercy the Lord knew what was in store and He gently nudged me to move forward. In spite of my circumstances, in spite of my physical condition, in spite of my desire to give up, He challenged me to keep saying yes and the heart work the He accomplished in both myself and the sweet girls we were ministering to was immeasurable. Thank you God for using me in spite of myself and for inviting me on this amazing adventure!
