One moment of the World Race that I will never forget was a couple weeks ago serving in the jungle of Peru with Camino De Vida. I was part of the kids team. We painted faces in the mornings and put on a show every afternoon. The last day of the jungle was the busiest because the president of Peru was visiting the town. We served 1000 breakfasts to the people in line at the medical clinic and the crowds grew. After we served breakfast, I helped decorate another booth for children. My friend Mily brought over a box of bracelets and asked me through my friend and translator Astrid, if I was familiar with the color of the beads and their meanings. I said yes! I remembered those gospel bracelets from Sunday school when I was young. Yellow represented heaven, black represented our sin, red represented Jesus on the cross, white represented our hearts after we accept him, and green represented our growth. Mily said in Spanish to Astrid, “Great, she can explain them and hand them out!”
I looked at Astrid with wide eyes and laughed, “Wait, really? I cannot speak Spanish!” Astrid replied, “I’ll teach you!” I laughed again and replied, “Alright, let’s do it!”
Astrid wrote the gospel out in Spanish on a note in my phone and I rehearsed it a couple of times with her. Mily called over a group of high schoolers and asked them if they would like a bracelet. About ten high schoolers sat down and Mily explained the meaning of each bead on the bracelet. I tied the bracelets on the student’s hands while studying her pronunciation of certain words.
After that group, it was my turn. Mily invited some more children and sat them down in front of me. I read the note in my phone and pointed to each color as I went. The three young girls stared at me and laughed anytime I mispronounced a word. We giggled together and I kept going. At the end, I asked if they understood and they all nodded. Astrid invited them to pray and we all bowed our heads.
I handed out maybe a couple hundred bracelets that day. I read that note on my phone so many times I almost had it memorized. I started to figure out where to pause, add emphasis, and roll my r’s. There were some groups of two or three and some of twenty. At first all of the groups were children. As time passed, adults would sit down to hear the gospel and receive a bracelet.
I could not help but laugh at myself. Here I am in Peru, sharing the gospel in Spanish, mispronouncing every other word! HA!
It was amazing because I could feel God moving through me. I was only a vessel. I was there moving my mouth, but God was doing everything. I was 100% unqualified for sharing the gospel in Spanish, but God took my yes and multiplied it. All we have to do is stay willing. God does not need skill, intellect, talent, or ability. He needs a “Yes Lord.”
There was something so beautiful to me about reading it in Spanish. Hearing new sounds come out of my mouth, not understanding them fully, but knowing the weight that they carry was incredibly beautiful. Worshipping God and proclaiming his name in different languages reveals God’s sovereignty to me in such a tangible way.
There are no barriers that block the power of the gospel. Not language. Not culture. Not even us.
Here is the note I read over and over (this is totally raw, not even sure where the sentences end or if everything is spelled correctly).
Voy a explicarles el significado de los colores de la pulseras.
Dios tiene preparado el cielo para nosotros.
Pero hay un problema que es el pecado, color negro
Pero hay una solucion que es Jesus, color Rojo, que es Jesus que Murio Por nosotros en la cruz y nos limpio del pecado.
Jesus Murio crucificado, y nos Limpio del pecado
Como Jesus nos limpia del pecado nosotros vamos a quedar Blancos como la nieve.
El verde es como una plantita que Sigue creciendo, con el tiempo.
Y para crecer debemos leer la biblia, hablar con Dios, ir a la Iglesias.
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