“Oh, let love take you places” resonated in my heart. As I sat on the balcony, letting the words to the song speak to me, my heart stirred for something more.
“Let’s go on a prayer walk around the city,” the Lord said.
I grabbed my rain jacket, 6 Q (just under $1) and my water bottle. I prayed for protection and guidance, and headed out the door.
Immediately, I was surrounded by dogs, each of them growling or snarling at me. I looked across the street and saw more coming my way. These dogs haven’t been aggressive towards us, so why now? I tried walking away, but they followed. One dog came for my calf; I turned towards it, and it backed off. I felt the Lord say, “The devil doesn’t like what is about to happen.” I realized what was going on; I turned to the dogs and told them to get away from me. They backed away, still snarling.
I continued down the street, turned at the mall and headed towards the outdoor shopping area. The area was packed; I followed the crowd down the street, and made a huge circle. I got lost and wasn’t sure how to get to the “Square”, an outdoor park that is in the center of the city; but I continued walking, knowing that the Lord would lead me wherever I was supposed to go.
I eventually found the square, and continued walking up the road toward Grace English School. I passed a small store; as I looked in, my heart was drawn to go inside and buy a pack of crayons. I found a pack of 4 colors for 1 Q. I took the crayons and put them in my pocket, not knowing what their purpose was for this journey.
As I continued walking, I felt prompted to turn down a side street. An occasional bicycle passed, but otherwise the street was empty. As I walked up to a “T” intersection, I heard a thud and a child’s cry. I turned the corner and found a little boy, no more than 5 years old, lying in the road near the sidewalk. His cry was piercing! I walked up to him and found blood dripping off his forehead; his lower leg was deformed. The boy lied still on the road but continued to cry. The street was empty, with nobody in sight. For where he was lying, I perceived that he fell off the roof.
I knelt beside him, placed my hand over the deformed and already-swollen leg, and started praying. His crying slowed to a whimper. After about 2 minutes of praying, he stopped crying, wiped his face with his hands, and sat up. I took my hand off his tiny leg and found NO DEFORMITY. He raised his knees and scooched himself onto the sidewalk step. I tried speaking to him in Spanish, but he couldn’t understand much of what I said; his Spanish was still immature, so I had a hard time understanding him. I went to the door he was sitting near; even after multiple knocks, nobody answered. The street remained empty and quiet.
I sat down beside the him, took a baby wipe from my pack, and wiped the blood off his forehead. To my surprise, there was no injury beneath the blood! I had not prayed for his forehead, but that didn’t stop God from healing that, too!
Him and I sat quietly; he frequently looked at me with a huge grin. I wasn’t sure what to do…I couldn’t leave him alone by himself. I soon remembered the crayons! I pulled them out, handed him three colors, and we began coloring in the street. All the while, I continued praising God for this little boy and for his healing!
After about 25-30 minutes, a woman exited the door that I knocked on; she walked up, grabbed the boy’s hand, and tried pulling him up. With excitement in his voice, he spoke to the woman (I’m assuming the mother) and pointed to his leg. She looked at me. In my broken Spanish (and periods of interpretive dance), I attempted to explain what happened. I don’t know how much she understood, but the Lord was working in her. She began crying. I asked if I could pray for her; she nodded. I prayed for her and her family. When I finished, she gave me hug and nudged her boy to do the same. I knelt down, and he wrapped his tiny arms around my neck and gave me a tight squeeze! He smiled, then took his mother’s hand and walked inside!
WOW, PRAISE GOD!!!
I continued the prayer walk; I passed the school and headed back towards home. I had the opportunity to stop off at the fire department and talk to the volunteers! They said that I’m welcome back anytime—perhaps another ministry opportunity?!?!
The Lord showed up and showed off; he blessed a little boy and his mother!! He is the God of this City, and greater things are yet to come in Chimaltenango!
