Why I Love
Candelaria (Part 1 ~ The Youth)
Itzel is a lovely 15-year-old girl. The
Lord has given me such a love for her from the first day we met. Over the last
couple months, she has faced a lot of pain as her father left their family for
another woman. However, the Lord has worked in her pain. He has used this
situation to reveal Himself as a Father who loves perfectly and who never
leaves or forsakes us. The first day I met Itzel she said, “Only God is my
boyfriend. I love Him so much! Jesus gives me many kisses every day.” This
beautiful young woman has amazing intimacy with the Lord and longs to share His
love with her peers and one day with the nations. I am most going to miss my
conversations about the Lord’s love with Itzel.
Kenia is another beautiful young lady who
recently dedicated her life to serving the Lord. She is always bubbling over
with joy and gives great hugs! I was privileged to pray over her
following her baptism, and I just felt the presence of the Lord resting on her
in a powerful and special way. I know that the Lord wants to use her in a huge
way to impact this community. I am most going to miss watching Kenia worship
during church each night.
I know you
aren’t supposed to have favorites, but I still do and Andres is mine. He doesn’t know his father
and for some reason his mom is living in Costa Rica leaving Andres and his
brother to be raised by their aunt. When we arrived in Candelaria, I could
sense that Andres was at a real crossroads in his life, choosing either to
follow the Lord wholeheartedly or to follow the footsteps of most men in the
community. I was told when we arrived that he had no interest in becoming a
Christian. The Lord really laid a burden on my heart for Andres and I began
praying for him daily. In the time that we have been in Candelaria, the Lord
has been pursuing Andres. He has now made a decision to follow Christ and was
baptized on Saturday. I have seen such a drastic change in him over the past
few weeks. He is just precious! He is so patient with my attempts at Spanish
and the Nicaraguan games I have been learning. He is also really compassionate
and caring. I just see the Lord raising Andres up to be a man after His own
heart and a warrior for this community. I am most going to miss my daily hugs
from Andres (he gives the BEST hugs) and constantly laughing and playing games
with him.
Anthony is another kid that I have really
seen at a crossroads in his life. Just last Thursday he made a decision to
follow Christ and was also baptized on Saturday. Anthony is hilarious and has
such leadership potential, but he also has no dreams for his life. He is no
longer in school because of bad grades and doesn’t seem to have much hope that his
life will amount to much. I am praying that through his new life in Christ,
Anthony’s hope will be restored and that he will find his place within the
kingdom of God. I am most going to miss Anthony’s funny sayings (“La verdad, La
verdad”) and the way he always pulls up his hair in a ponytail right in front
of his head.
Joel is such a funny kid! He is a
goofball and always loves the camera! He was one of the first youth that we met
in Candelaria and he was been faithfully attending our Bible study each Tuesday
and Thursday. He also just recently accepted Christ and was baptized on
Saturday. I am most going to miss his hilarious laugh!
Jose is one of the older youth at 19. He
has a great smile and loves to
worship in song and dance. He has been very
excited about learning salsa and other types of dance from us as well. He has
such natural leadership abilities. I am most going to miss his smile and doing
dances with him during worship.
Elizabeth is another of our youth who
recently accepted Christ and was baptized on Saturday. She has a hunger for the
Word of God. She has been faithfully attending Bible study and is learning the
new scriptures each week. Elizabeth also has a heart for kids and helps in a
kindergarten class. I was able to go with her and teach one day. I loved seeing
her patience and caring for each student. I am most going to miss seeing
Elizabeth dance on Friday nights. She is a great dancer!
Katherine
is Itzel’s older
sister. She is also a beautiful girl with a big heart and a wonderful smile.
She is really
seeking the Lord right now, but feels like she needs more time
before she is ready to commit completely to Him. Pray that the Lord will reveal
Himself to her in a way that she cannot resist. Pray for healing in her heart
in regards to her father leaving. Pray for her to come to rest in the Lord’s
love for her. I am most going to miss her sweet presence and kind smile.
Rigoberto is really an amazing man of God! He
is the only Christian in his family, which is difficult, but he continues to
share the love and hope of Christ with his family. Rigoberto also has a passion
for helping the church and has been one of the guys sleeping at the church each
night to protect the church property and us. He has a heart to see the Holy
Spirit sweep through this community. I also loved watching him on Saturday
praying over the youth who had just been baptized. It was beautiful to see a
more mature Christian pouring into the lives of our youth. I am most going to
miss his heart for worship and for the church. I love seeing his face light up
when he sings or talks about the Lord.
Bismark is another leader among the youth.
I love to see how he longs to protect and defend the church within the
community. I also love to watch him caring for and playing with the kids and
young teenagers. The young boys really look up to him. It was so incredible to
see him just completely embracing the young boys who had been baptized and
praying over them. I am most going to miss watching him play with Alberito and
the other young kids.
Marlyn is the kid who broke into our home.
His life is so broken and my heart just breaks for him. I know that the Lord is
pursuing him. There is something at this church that he knows he needs because
he can’t stay away. Please continue to pray that the Lord will draw Marlyn into
His loving embrace. Pray that the pictures of grace that we were able to offer
him will reveal God’s much larger grace and forgiveness for Marlyn. I will most
miss his mischievous smirk right before he tells a joke or says something
ridiculous.
I am leaving a huge piece of my heart here in Candelaria
with these youth! I haven’t felt this attached to any place since I went to
Kenya. I love these kids with all of my heart and I can’t imagine leaving them
on Friday.
Stay tuned
for more reasons why I love Candelaria in Part 2 of this blog.
