Meet Brian. He is 14. Tony and Rosa took him in a few days after we arrived at Fonducion Resplandecer. At least we think he’s new; sometimes Tony treats him like a son – whispers to him, gives him extra assignments, beams when he works harder than the rest of us.
Brian hangs with us all day. Not just with his time, but also with his might. He churns concrete slabs, digs into mountains, saws wood. At the end of the day, when we relax, he picks up a metal cutter and saws wire for our concrete frames. You might think he’s older than he is. But as the geese attack Scott who lays in a hammock, Brian’s concrete splattered face giggles and reminds you he is still young. He still has his adolescence.
Our verbal interaction is limited with him, though. His English is pretty scarce, and our Spanish is still in the learning stages. We try to communicate anyways, and he likes to repeat things we say. One night I asked him to say ‘blog’ because we wanted to spur Danielle to write a blog.
But he said it under his breath and she didn’t hear. So I asked him to ‘yell’ it, ‘loud’. And instead of saying ‘BLOG’, he said ‘yell’… and… ‘loud’. Then said ‘blog. yell. loud.’ He proceeded to laugh right after. (Sometimes we’re fairly certain he speaks more English than he leads on.)
Our prayer has been that this language barrier wouldn’t hinder our team from sharing the love of Lord with him. We have opportunities to represent it in how we interact with each other, him, and Tony and Rosa. That’s limited to observation, though. We want him, Brian, to have a tangible experience with the Lord. We want Brian to experience the grace, love, and mercy of the Lord.
Well, the other night, he did.
During dinner he came down really hard out of nowhere with a stomach virus. He spoke with Rosa; and his posture noticeably changed from confident to slumped as he walked back to his bed.
As he shook profusely on his bed, not being able to steady his hand, he broke into a 100 degree fever. He continued shaking as white blankets stacked on him.
We gathered around him, prayed healing over him, read scripture, and most of us went out to prayer walk the area. Scott and I felt like there were unhealthy spirits in the area that came out of Brian, but found refuge in the pastures around the house. So we let the Spirit guide us, prayed over the property line and in areas that felt destructive.
When we got back Brian had gotten worse. He had been moved to another bed, as Kirsten and Beka continued praying for and nursing him. As more people joined in, we prayed that whatever was in him would leave. We prayed that the Lord would protect him, restore him, and rid him of the disease that poinsoned him. We asked for purpose in his sickness.
Suddenly, he yelled otra ves (i don’t know how it’s spelled, but translates to one more time). He had gotten sick again, but this time more violent than any of the previous.
When he finished, he laid down again, his eyes closed, arms across his head and stomach, and mouth flat with ease. Although he looked warn out, the restlesness and worry he had for the previous hour had escaped him.
Tony sat next him, put his had on Brian’s head, smiled, and said his fever had left him.
30 minutes later Brian said he was fine. And 30 minutes after that he walked around with beads of sweat running down his face from his fever breaking. As the night came to a close, he asked if we would watch some movies with him. We told him not tonight, and recommended he get some rest, even if he felt restored.
With a sly grin, he raised his pointer finger, said ‘one moment please’ then walked to his room to watch his movies.
That night Tony praised the Lord for Brian’s sickness. Why you might ask? Brian experienced the Lord’s grace and mercy in a tangible way. Very much like the Lord took care of the ultimate poison in overcoming sin and restoring us back to him by offering Christ on the cross, he too restored Brian to the healthy state he desires. He turned sickness and disease on its head to show Brian that he is loved. The Lord took something that is not of him and used it to show his care for Brian.
Something that stuck out to me is that in faith we say the Lord brought healing to Brian, which reminds us of the Lord’s goodness. But this isn’t the full measure of faith. Faith holds that even if the Lord hadn’t healed Brian that night, he is still good though. He owes us no more gifts to be good.
The Lord did heal Brian that night. And in doing so, answered our team prayer. The language barrier didn’t prevent us from caring for Brian. From loving on him. And most importantly, sharing the love of God with him. When God’s language is love and mercy, no differentiation in dialect, whether big or small, will hinder a heart from experiencing him.
That night the Lord looked at Brian and ‘yelled’ ‘loud’ I love you.
