I’m in Central America–a place I never thought I’d come. I’ve never felt drawn here; I’ve never had the desire to learn Spanish.
But here I am–finishing my 3rd month!! The language has been difficult–mostly because I don’t have a desire to learn it other than to understand and to get by. And unfortunately, I’ve spent so much time using that as an excuse!
At the beach last weekend, Taylor challenged me to not let the language barrier interfere with ministry. “We have tools for that–use them”. She didn’t know it, but God had told me that very thing about 30 minutes before.
The next morning, I felt prompted and passionate to have a prayer service at church with the intent for healing. At breakfast, I told the group what I felt like I was supposed to do–give a 5-10 minute message/testimony IN SPANISH (since we didn’t have any translators) and then open the floor for prayers for healing. I wanted to use this time to empower the church to pray with us, so that when we leave, they feel equipped to continue praying.
I wrote out a message; with her amazing Spanish skills–and google translate–Amber translated it in Spanish (and showed me how easy it was to do it); she made sure I pronounced the words correctly so that the message would come across clearly.
We arrived at church. I was excited for the night and only nervous for my pronunciation. The team prayed peace over me.
At the end of the service, I was called forward. I read my message–in Spanish!! The crowd gracefully corrected my pronunciation when I was lost, and they finished my sentences a few times–which means they followed my message! A few “amen” and “Gloria a Dios” echoed through the crowd.
After I finished, the church gathered at the front to pray with us. A lady, who has never been to the church before, came forward for prayer. She injured her finger and just recently had her second surgery. She was unable to bend her finger. We prayed twice for her–and she had partial movement!! She was sooooo excited!!
We prayed for two people with stomach issues and another with arm/neck pain; no physical results seen since they currently had no pain and therefore no way to measure the improvement.
It was great to see how involved the church wanted to be! They wanted to lay hands on their community members; they wanted to declare healing.
It was a night that God used to empower my team.
It was a great night that He used to ignite faith in the church. And their excitement was evident last night, as a little girl got up and gave her testimony of how God healed her the night before.
Keidry had a fever; she laid lethargic in her mom’s arms. Her breathing and pulse were both elevated. The “Americanos”, along with family, gathered around and prayed for her; with advise from the many medical personnel on the team, she was placed in the shower, and within 30 minutes, she had a boost in energy. She walked into our bedroom to thank us before she headed to bed. By morning, you never would have known she was sick!! And that night at church, she faithfully rose to the podium to give her story about how God healed her–and the crowd rejoiced with her!!
The seed has been planted and is already growing here in Honduras!! I’m praying that their passion for prayer and intercession becomes like a wild-fire through the church and the community!
