Her name is Gloria
Her big brown eyes welcome you and pierce the deepest part of your heart.
Her arms wrap around you and squeeze with all that is in her.
Her smile varies from a simple subtle greeting to a great laugh.
She cares for the other children though she too is still a small child.
She brings comfort with her quietness.
And yet in her presence, I have felt the strength of God that absolutely fills her.
Team Spectacle has spent its days in the slums of Guachupita. We have taught songs to the children, worshiped with the families, covered the area in prayer, played, loved, and just yesterday morning spent time building an outhouse. It is so wonderful how God can use us to just teach and learn from each other as relationships continue to grow deeper and deeper.
My heart is lifting Gloria up in such prayer, protection, and thankfulness today. She lives in Guachupita and I hold Gloria in my heart as she has really taught me how strength exists in each one of us. I wonder how I can doubt the strength of God when it is so evident in this small child. She may not understand it right now. But we all see it in her. Yesterday she brought such peace to us as she kept us company while we gathered rocks. Yes, that was our morning. We carried rocks back and forth. Needless to say, strength was the focus of the day. Not only physically, but the true strength of God.
You see this is quite a change from Tuesday. Tuesday when we arrived to the slums, we were hit with a sense of tiredness and weakness. Something was different. We were informed of the news that a drunken man was threatening the families in the area. I saw the fear in their eyes as they shared the news with us and as we covered them in prayer. Anxiety consumed their minds. I felt their fear. I just wanted to know they would be safe, but I felt helpless.
We prayed for them and worshiped with them. But we left still unclear about what we were feeling. Was I doubting the strength of God? Yes. I had to really seek forgiveness for such doubt. I desire to learn more about the strength God provides and really understand what it means to place HIS children in HIS hands. Yesterday morning, we met as a team to discuss what took place. We shared scripture about the strength and protection of God and really armed ourselves more with the word.
I know there is so much I need to learn and understand. But I do know that God is with us all, always. He is our rock and our refuge. Even the smallest of HIS are filled with strength in HIM. And that is something to rejoice about!
