Ricardo has a drug addiction. He tried the Mormons. He tried Jehovah’s Witnesses. He met us in the city center bearing fliers and smiles…and something that he hadn’t tried before. He heard about what Jesus had done for him and heard about God’s grace, and he felt a hope he never had before. He prayed to the Lord for the first time. He has been drug free for a week now.
Fabian was a male prostitute. He met us evangelizing in the park and told us he would come for a visit. He said he wanted to accept Jesus as his Savior and wrote a testimony to share in English. He told us we were all miracles in his life.
Rolando used to go to church with his grandmother growing up, but the twists and turns of life had drawn him away. He spent a time living in Miami and learned English. One day he met me and my English speaking friends in a park near his house and was excited to use his skills. We offered an invitation to church and he accepted as another opportunity to visit with us. The message that was shared told him it was never too late for the Lord to make you into a new creation—it was exactly what he needed to hear. He had been searching for something meaningful in life, and the Lord made a divine appointment for our meeting in the park. He has a Bible now and is hungry to know more about the Lord.
A boy was acting up in school and his mom came for a conference. I was used for counseling. His home life was terrible. I got to speak about the necessity of discipline, establishing stability, and rules-things nonexistent for many families at this school. We talked about the tough things-the likelihood of failure at any attempt to change his behavior without changing any of the external variables in his life. He has an alcoholic and verbally abusive father, a crazy aunt and grandmother, and older friends he plays with in the streets. The smart and handsome 5 year old was dealt a bad hand and has a mom who feels trapped by her circumstances. This is a reality for so many of the children in this neighborhood.
Our team felt convicted to host an all-night prayer vigil for this neighborhood to be changed, for angels to protect the children not only in this sanctuary of a school but in every aspect of their lives, and for the foundation of Christ this school establishes in their lives to be a lasting one.
We have been praying with people in the parks and in front of the grocery store. We take the phone numbers of our taxi drivers for the church to call them. We hear stories about peoples lives and children and hardships. We find people in the mall who are interested in knowing about church. We have met so many people hungry for change.
We have had new people show up at our English classes each week. Amidst learning about the weather, clothing, food, and body parts, some inquisitive minds have sought more about Christ. We have invited them to our services, too, and have had lots of new faces for church.
The church plant phase is a difficult period with the goal of winning souls for Christ but also trying to get members to “stick” to build a church body. We are hopeful and prayerful that the work the Lord has used us for this month will have long term, positive affects on the church and the lives here.
