This past week we have been singing on street corners, inviting people to church and spending time with the church community here in San Ignacio, Bolivia. Everyone in San Ignacio has been so hospitable and welcoming. Our host family was so gracious and cooked amazing meals for us! They loved us with everything they had and for that I am forever grateful.
But the most memorable moments for me was when we visited the children’s hospital and prayed for all the children and their families. We prayed for 4 year old Omar Enrique who has burns on his arm and leg. We silently prayed for a woman who either terminated her pregnancy or lost her baby.
We walked around visiting children until we got to the last room. I was tired at this point and ready to head back home. We walked in and saw seven year old Allison and her mom, Silvia were sitting on a small bed. There was a blanket and pillow on the floor where the mom slept at night. Allison was in the hospital to help cure the flu that she had been dealing with the past several days. Her mom was explaining how Allison is one of 6 children and most of them had gotten the flu over the past few months. Silvia was exhausted and told is in a moment of vulnerability that she sometimes thought about ending her life because she was so tired and overworked. Her kids were the only reason keeping her alive.
Silvia grew up going to Catholic church. But she stopped going. She said she doesn’t go to church because she doesn’t have time as she is always busy with her family. She prays everyday but doesn’t have relationship with the Lord. One day she was watching television while one of her older sons was reading the bible. He looked up at Silvia and asked why they didn’t go to church anymore. It has made her think about going back to church. We were able to share some words and bible verses of hope and encouragement.
I know that Allison and Silvia were the reason we went to that children’s hospital. The Lord knew that Silvia needed someone to fight for her and encourage her and remind her where her strength comes from. He sent us to help with that process of healing.
The other moment was when we visited a family in Santa Cruz on our last night of ministry. We had just travelled on a bus for 8 hours and had to wake up early for our flight so I was ready to go back to our hosts house and sleep!
We went to this family’s house and met the mom, Patricia and her 4 sons, who were in between the ages of 6 and 11. We were visiting this family so we could pray for dad, Chichi, who has been dealing with cancer for 6 years now. Y’all, this family is full of faith and hope in the Lord’s healing power. They are fighting every single day. Even after 6 years, Chichi is still saying “Glory to God”.
We worshipped and prayed for well over an hour. It was beautiful! You could feel the Lord’s presence as we sang and prayed for healing. God is going to heal Chichi and he is going to walk out his dream of traveling around Bolivia sharing his testimony as living proof of God’s power and faithfulness. One of his sons drew a picture of Chichi in a wheelchair and said “This is you Daddy- you are getting better.” YES LORD!
The Lord is teaching me this month that it is not about me. Month 8 has been a hard and uncomfortable month for me, both physically and emotionally. Even though I was tired and not really feeling up to it, God showed up BIG TIME in both of those moments. He showed me His goodness and reminded me of why I am here on this 11 month mission trip.
The tagline for World Race even says it’s a “stretching journey to serve the least of these…its not about you, it’s about the KINGDOM.”
I needed that reminder this month. God is using me to help spread hope and show them His love to the people that He has called. He is reminding me to push through my tiredness and exhaustion because it is not about me, it is all about getting people to know HIM.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary from doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
