Last month, I lived in Granada, Nicaragua. Granada is a colorful and bustling city full of street vendors, crowded public buses, and men who catcall. Our whole squad got to spend the month together living on the property of the church at El Puente and we did the majority of ministry in a town just outside of Granada, called Pantanal.
Here is the website for the ministry we spent most of our time: createdtobe.org
One evening towards the end of our time in Nicaragua, the whole squad participated in a night of public worship in the square. To set the scene, imagine 50 gringos in the heart of this busy Central American city, standing in a circle and praising the name of God. It was pretty incredible.
After our time of worship, we all split off into our teams and spent time praying for the city and it’s people. Near the end of our team’s prayer, two loud men stumbled up to us. We knew they were from the U.S. because of their loud swearing, their pessimistic attitude, and their ‘I think I am better than you’ demeanor. We could hear them talk about their “shitty day” and then go on sarcastically about how they could use some prayer.
The two men approached the seven of us while we were all still sitting in a circle on the ground. The older gentleman was probably in his early 40s or late 50s. He was wearing a crew neck yellow shirt and a sardonic smile as he spoke. He asked us if we were praying.
“yes.” I replied peacefully
He seemed to lavish the fact that he had not gone ignored.
He carried on smugly, “Oh, that’s just wonderful! Do you think you could pray for me?”
I could hear the bitterness dripping from his words.
At this point we should have been super offended, right? Without saying much, this guy is insulting our beliefs, our intelligence, and ultimately he is insulting our God.
I think that is why my reply caught him off guard:
“Absolutely, what’s your name?”
“Chris.”
Let’s talk about Chris.
At first glance, Chris is just an unhappy man, an atheist who is seemingly confident in his unbelief. Chris probably had a few beers earlier in the evening, and his words were just a manifestation of his inward thoughts.
But there is a lot more to Chris than meets the eye. Whether or not he is aware, Chris is a man created in the image of God. From what I can see, Chris is full of bitterness because it seems life has given him the short end of the stick. Chris is a man who has experienced pain and loss, a man who knows heartbreak. He has shut himself up from real love and vulnerability for so long that he doesn’t feel much of anything. But underneath that tough exterior is fear and spiritual warfare. Nobody fights that hard against something that they are sure is untrue. If God isn’t real and Chris believes that wholeheartedly, why would have reason to be so bent out of shape? If I had to guess, Chris is still searching for satisfaction that only the God he refuses to believe in can provide.
He walked back by ten minutes later, and my good pal AT spoke first.
“We prayed for you, Chris!”
He was incredibly taken aback and the smirk on his face was unmistakable.
He then proceeded to question us with a mocking voice, “Oh really?! What good do you think that will do? How do you think that will benefit me?”
AT’s response was right on the money.
“I don’t know, man! I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. God’s going to do something cool in your life.”
He looked so dumbfounded. Shell-shocked, even. He knew that there was nothing he could have said in response that would prove that he was right and that we were wrong.
I loved what AT said because it was full of sincerity and loving-kindness. She didn’t challenge his disbelief or return with an equally sarcastic comment.
I still think about Chris a lot. I pray for him whenever I can. I wonder if he has a family or friends to depend on. I wish we could have talked more and I wish I knew more about his life now. I seriously love Chris from the bottom of my heart and I want him to have peace and joy instead of bitterness and shame. If I could, I would give my salvation to Chris. I know he is desperate for love and acceptance that I have experienced personally, and in those moments I feel so helpless. A humble reminder that only God can bring the harvest.
Chris reminds me of a young man named Saul. A man who found the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, and proclaimed the good news for the rest of his life. I don’t know what will happen to yellow shirt Chris, but I do know that God is able and capable of more than we can ever ask or imagine.
FINANCIAL UPDATE:
I am only around $600 dollars short of being FULLY FUNDED! Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, emails, and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me personally – I love hearing from you.
