“People who really want to make a difference in the world usually do it, in one way or another. And I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world.” -Beth Clark
Meet Maria. A woman whose face is painted with history, pain, heartache, trial, struggle, joy, overcoming obstacles, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel…this woman is strong. This woman has a servant’s heart. This woman is a beautiful example of what it looks like to truly walk in Christ’s unconditional love. This woman operates in agape love. A love very few of us know or even understand.
Over the past month, I have had the privilege of getting to know this beautiful woman in a deep and personal way. We ate lunch at her restaurant Monday through Friday, I helped her in the kitchen and waitressed during lunch hour. She took me in as a daughter and shared her life stories with me. She got married at 17, and started to have kids very young. She was married to a man who was physically abusive to her for years. They are divorced now, but he is unable to take care of himself because he is ill, so every day he sits in the kitchen of her restaurant, and she takes care of him. She feeds him and helps him get up and walk around, with such love and care. She told me he was a terrible husband, and he hurt her so much. He beat her. He didn’t cherish her or treat her with love and respect. Yet, every day, she is there catering to his needs with such compassion, and not complaining for a second.
This woman is a mother to many in the small town of Carapungo. She has a different meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, every day of the week for only $1.75 so a lot of the locals are regulars and they bring their families there to eat every day. She doesn’t work to make a lot of money. She offers families an opportunity to have a full meal so affordable that they can come to her everyday. It’s like going to grandma’s house. She recives each woman, man, and child, with open arms. I’ve seen her take care of small children in the back of her restaurant and let them be with her in the kitchen, and feed them. I’ve seen her serve all of her guests with a warm smile, a hug and a kiss. Despite all of the hardships she has been through, she chooses joy. She chooses to smile. She chooses laughter. She chooses LOVE.
She is a humble woman, with a heart bigger than life. She may go unnoticed. She may not be famous or recognized on a large scale level. But she is a hero in my eyes. She is an unsung hero who daily pours herself out to the people who come and eat in her restaruant. It doesn’t feel like a business when you go there. When you are there, you are in her home. You can count on her to have her doors open every day rain or shine. She has taught me by example what it looks like to walk in selfless love. She has inspired me in so many ways I cannot fully express with mere words. Each and every day she changes a life. You cannot meet this woman and not be changed. Her love is so powerful, it can melt any coldness or revive any numbness in your heart. She is changing the world one person at a time, because she holds the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, and that every life matters.
I had the privilege of inviting Maria to church on Mother’s Day. She hadn’t been to church in years. She is Catholic, but doesn’t attend mass. Our Pastor has been inviting her to the church for years, but she never had an interest before. He told me that I was an answer to prayer and that God was using me as the tool to get her to want to come. When she got there, I had a seat saved next to me and a bouquet of roses in hand. I ran up to her and embraced her with a bear hug and kissed her cheek. She was beaming. She literally glowed. During worship, tears began to fall down her face, and they continued to pour down throughout the entire service. I held her hand and hugged her as she opened her heart to God and allowed Him to touch her. At the end of the service she thanked me so much for inviting her and she told me that God had been trying to get a hold of her for a long time coming, but she hadn’t allowed Him to until that day. She left that service filled with God’s love and we both hugged with tears running down our faces. She asked me to pray for her ex husband’s health, and for her best friend who lives with her that she also takes care of because of an infirmity in her hand. She asked me to pray for her children, and grandchildren, and for her whole family. It was such an honor to be able to speak life over Maria and see her melt in His presence.
This month we had the opportunity to serve in a local church and help remodel, sand, varnish, paint, and organize. We painted the children’s rooms and were able to get create and fun with it! Here are some pictures to see what we did…
It was an honor to work with Pastor Efren and his wife Monica, and I enjoyed all we were able to do at the church. But in the end, my favorite ministry was serving with Maria in her restaurant, learning from her, and seeing God love through her. It was an unforgettable month, and she will forever have a special place in my heart. I thank God for allowing me to see that we have an opportunity to minister every day to people we meet in the most random places. Ministry is something we do every day as soon as we walk outside of our homes. It is not a job we do, it is a lifestyle.
