As we arrived to the town of Santiago at the lake, approximately 8 hours from our home by foot, Ryan and I prepared our hearts to what the Lord had next. We had been granted this amazing ride to the lake, but it was nighttime and there were no boats running and no chance of walking home. So we were preparing for the possibility of sleeping outside for the night.
As we stepped out of the van, Sandra (our contact from the group that received us), asked us to follow her. We walked through this dimly-lit walkway. Before we knew it we were in a house, and before we knew it were standing in a bedroom.
Sandra
Sandra turned to us and said this is where you will be spending the night.
What?
We were in a room with a full size bed, a full length couch, and an incredibly comfortable recliner.
At this point, Ryan and I are nearly in tears out of gratefulness. We did not ask for any of these things, yet we were given these things freely!
Sandra introduced me to Elena, her aunt and the owner of the house. Elena was in the van as we rode back, but didn’t speak to us.
Elena is a single mother and lives with her son Axel. Elena’s ex-husband left her for another woman and beat her regularly.
Ryan, Axel (Elena’s son), and me
Elena shared with me her story and was in tears through most of it.
As I sat with her, I had a chance to bring her some comfort, speaking truths of the amazing woman she is and the blessing she has been to me and Ryan.
As I sat there with Elena, I asked her the question that had been racing through my mind since the moment I stepped in the van. “Why did you take us in?”
This was her response:
“I am the hospitality manager at my church. It is my duty to make people feel welcomed when they come on Sundays. Since my husband left me, I began praying to God that he would bring me some missionaries to take in and care of. I have been praying this for almost 10 years and I have never received any missionaries.”
(Side note: My jaw dropped.)
“When I saw you guys and heard that you were missionaries, I felt the Lord say those are the missionaries I have brought you. I knew I was supposed to take you in, except I was too nervous to approach you. When you guys came over to speak with us, it was confirmation.”
Seriously, isn’t that the most incredible thing you have ever heard?
Ryan and I on this journey were an answered prayer that started a decade before we arrived!
At this point, I am laughing uncontrollably at the sovereignty of God.
I confess to Elena that I the van was going to drop us off in the middle of nowhere.
She confessed that everyone in the van though me and Ryan were thieves!
We both began to hysterically laugh.
Moments later we cooked an incredible dinner and had a chance to rest up for the next day.
I woke up to the smell of sweet plantains, and proceeded to eat about 2 lbs worth!
This trip at this point seemed completely surreal. We were still across the lake and knew that we needed to get moving to continue our journey. However, we found that there was still more in store with Sandra and Elena…
