yesterday we continued building relationships in the slum of Guachupita. the church has about 30 people, and our only job is to pour into them for three weeks.
yesterday that meant praying over a family whose son has an eye infection who had just returned from the hospital. it was simply visiting, reading James 1, and praying over the three. Alexander, the boy refused to look at any of us at first, but after the prayer, he reached out for us with an eagerness to be held by arms of love.
may God´s love continue to radiate out of us in a really dark area.
i have been investing as much as possible in the lives of two men. i ask you to continue to pray for erica, but add to your prayer list, Papi and Orioles. (there are only 30 people in this house church, so the list wont be any longer than that by the end of the month!) Papi has five kids who are all wonderful and beautiful and love back. i prayed over one of his daughters that ¨Jesu te ama.¨(jesus loves you). her response, “i know he does…and he loves you that much too.” she was ministering me…and i´m humbled by that. Papi took me for a motorcycle ride that was fantastic. i always swore i´d never get on the back of a bike with another dude, but hey…it meant a lot to both of us. Orioles is an alcoholic who broke his wrist in a drunken outrage a while back, and it limits his ability to work. while we prayed over the women of the town, he came out, eager for prayer…standing off to the side. it was my pleasure to pray with him. I prayed in english, but he responded with “yes” after my words. i think he understood my prayers. he needs his heart surrendered, his relationship with his wife completely reconciled, and his hand to be healed.
it´s a slow and steady battle won by dancing in the presence of God.
i ask two prayers for myself from you now. the first is for the next few weeks, the other for the year – and on into life. first, pray my high school and college spanish comes back quick! second, pray that God make me a meek, meek man. that´s a dangerous prayer, but i really need and want it.
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and finally, one last thought i heard this week, and i ask you to play one of these roles throughout this next year. “everyone needs a paul, a timothy, and a barnabas in their life all the time.”
