Last night was amazing! Friday nights our established team-time nights where we get to eat a meal out together & go to a free movie. Kara had the choice of where to eat & picked a restaurant called, “Las Palmas”, which by the way happened to be the most beautiful restaurant I have ever been in here in Antigua. Hand-made table cloths, candles galore, & a yummy Avocado sandwich was the best $3 I ever spent on a meal! & the plus of the night was our friend, Normandy, tagged along with us. Normandy studied here briefly at The Christian Spanish Academy (CSA) in Antigua & sadly left today to go back to the States.
Normandy & I spent most of the night together b/c we both wanted to go to a out-reach event after dinner. Thus, our dinner was a fast one. We had 20 minutes to eat before attending the event called, “Soul Patrol”. Besides how uneasy I was about the name of the event, I still really wanted to go. This out-reach is a time where YWAM goes out to tell people about God, share what Christ did for them, & see lives changed–AKA Initiative Evangelism. So, after we had stuffed down our dinner we hurried over to the Coffee House in the pouring rain. Maybe 30 minutes was spent talking, asking & answering questions, praying, & listening to a five minute CD about a man who shared Christ to others–10 times every day! The CD really encouraged me. I think God really used this time at the Coffee House to prepare our hearts & remind us of why would dare share our faith to complete strangers.
Hence, we went out in the rain & the first group of people we got to talk to all prayed to receive Christ as their Savor. This was just amazing! Mark (YWAM staff) just went up to them, did some magic trick, talked with them in Spanish, & 10 minutes into it, they all wanted to pray. Normandy & I were just standing there in awe & I was praying so much that sometimes I would even miss-out on what was going on! There is just something about watching people of another language, hear the Gospel, & want to pray to accept Christ into their lives. It is just a beautiful thing! After praying, Mark, Normandy, & I got to talk with them for awhile about what they did for a living, how they knew each other, & we also had the chance to invite them to church. There were 4 of them: The married couple we met & prayed with (Gloria & Bilo) unfortunately cannot make it to church tomorrow because of work, so I am praying I will get to see them this Wed @ Bible Study. & the other two ladies that were there (sorry to say, I can only remember Augustas name right now) did not say if they were coming to church. I know all I can do is continue to pray for them & hope I will run into them at church or out on the streets of Antigua.
After talking with them, Normandy & I wanted to talk to the two little kids that were standing by us. They were talking with an older American man but we felt like talking to them too. Little Carolina was 7 & her brother, Roberto, was 10. She was a hyper girl who smiled with her whole body & Roberto was kind–calmer than his sister-who happened to know some English. After about 5 minutes with them, the older gentleman walked over, put his hand on Carolinas head & said, “I will see you guys tomorrow.” He then walked directly into the park across the street. At this point, Normandy & I felt a bit un-easy. Why was he meeting these children every day? We noticed he gave them some candy, but he also gave them a small picture. They showed us the picture & it was a picture of an alter with Saints &/or Angels all floating above it. Mark said he probably was of Catholic belief & perhaps was on a mission here. Maybe he was, but it still didn’t seem right to Normandy & I. He never once engaged with us when we were talking with the kids & every time I would look over at him he would just look away, distancing himself from the kids & us. When we asked the kids who that man was, all they said was he was their friend. We asked them what they do with this man & we got the same answer, “He is just our friend”. I don’t know why exactly Normandy & I got a strange feeling from him, but we did. Before we left, we learned they were working. They were supposed to be selling bracelets & there parents were working down the street as well. Every night, these 2 kids are put to work on the city streets–probably every day for that matter. This is just one story of the many here where kids, even as young as 5, have to work to make a living.
I only tell you these things so you would see some of what is going on here. This was just 1 night. People here are encountering a saving Christ, but I also want to tell these things so that you could perhaps learn a little of what life is like here for many & that you could find time to go to your knees & remember to pray for the people of Antigua.
